Microspatial heterogeneity in the distribution of ciliates in a small pond

Taylor, William D.; Berger, Jacques

doi:10.1007/bf02020372

Cited by 41 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…This behaviour may be affected by the distribution of prey (Fenchel & Blackburn 1999) or predators (Berryman 1992), or by chemical cues (Buskey & Stoecker 1988, 1989. Although chemotaxis and mechanoreception were first recognised in ciliates more than 100 yr ago (Jennings 1906), and protists are commonly observed to exploit patches of high prey density in situ (Taylor & Berger 1980, Fenchel & Jonsson 1988, Menden-Deuer & Grunbaum 2006, Paffenhöfer et al 2007, understanding the role of chemical-mediated prey location in prey selection, involving attraction to dissolved cues, remains in its infancy. Factors important in chemosensory attraction include proteins, amino acids, and other dissolved inorganic or organic nutrients (Rassoulzadegan 1982, Flynn & Davidson 1993, Ferrier-Pagès et al 1998, Davidson et al 2005.…”

Section: Mechanistic Steps Involved In Selective Protistan Feedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective feeding behaviour of key free-living protists: avenues for continued study

Montagnes¹,

Barbosa²,

Boenigk³

et al. 2008

Aquat. Microb. Ecol.

177

154

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Phagotrophic protists are diverse and abundant in aquatic and terrestrial environments, making them fundamental to the transfer of matter/energy within their respective food webs. Recognising their grazing impact is essential to evaluate the role of protists in ecosystems, and this includes appreciating prey selectivity. Efforts have been made by groups and individuals to understand selective grazing behaviour by protists: many approaches and perspectives have been pursued, not all of which are compatible. This article, which is not a review, is the product of our discourse on this subject at the SAME 10 meeting. It is the work of individuals, assembled for their breadth of backgrounds, approaches, views, and expertise. Firstly, to communicate ideas and approaches, we develop a framework for selective feeding processes and suggest 6 steps: searching, contact, capture, processing, ingestion, digestion. We then separate study approaches into 2 categories: (1) those examining whole organisms at the community, population, and individual levels, and (2) those examining physiology and molecular attributes. Finally, we explore general problems associated with the field of protistan selective feeding (e.g. linking food selection into food webs and modeling). We do not present all views on any one topic, nor do we cover all topics; instead, we offer opinions and suggest avenues for continued study. Overall, this paper should stimulate further discourse on the subject and provide a roadmap for the future.

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Section: Mechanistic Steps Involved In Selective Protistan Feedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective feeding behaviour of key free-living protists: avenues for continued study

Montagnes¹,

Barbosa²,

Boenigk³

et al. 2008

Aquat. Microb. Ecol.

177

154

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recent work has emphasized phytoplankton patchiness at cm scales (Seuront et al 1996, Franks & Jaffe 2001, Lovejoy et al 2001, Waters et al 2003, and ciliate patches 1 to 2 cm in size occur (Taylor & Berger 1980, Kils 1993. Abiotic and biotic processes such as convection currents, smallscale nutrient patches (Seuront et al 2002), reproductive behaviour, predator avoidance, prey/predator ratio, and escape response may be involved in microscale patches generation.…”

Section: Ecological Implications Of Patchiness Scales In the Lagoonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing spatial and temporal patchiness of the autotrophic ciliate Myrionecta rubra: a case study in a coastal lagoon

Bulit

Díaz-Ávalos²,

Montagnes

2004

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Myrionecta rubra patchiness in a Mexican coastal lagoon was studied. The 3 objectives were to (1) characterize the spatial distribution of M. rubra patches through time; (2) characterize and model the spatial distribution of M. rubra at scales ranging from m to km, and from 1 wk to more than 1 yr; and (3) to place the patchiness patterns of M. rubra into an ecological context. Geostatistical analysis was applied to data collected from simple and nested sampling grids in different seasons; autocorrelation analysis was used to detect temporal regularities over 55 wk. Classical statistics were applied to data from 10 sites in the lagoon to identify trends relating ciliate abundance to environmental conditions. Patches were detected and characterized using empirical variograms and modelled by omnidirectional Gaussian and exponential functions. For most of the analysis variance was low in the nugget parameter, indicating a strong spatial resolution of the data, and the range parameter indicated that M. rubra formed patches of 10, 20, 80, 130, and 170 m. Spatial analysis using hierarchical grids produced a more detailed assessment of patches than single grids alone. Conditional simulation of patches indicated the presence of a > 2 km patch covering most of the western lagoon. Patch densities varied from between 4 and 700 cells ml -1 . M. rubra abundance exhibited a temporal, pulse-like pattern; autocorrelation revealed a 13 wk periodicity. At the lagoonal level, multiple regression revealed a trend towards higher abundance in the north-west of the lagoon and a decrease during the dry season. Finally, we speculate on the forces causing heterogeneity at large (>1000 m), meso (100 to 1000 m), and fine (1 to 100 m) scales by examining physical-chemical environmental factors and physiological behavioural properties of the ciliate and its potential predators. We propose that M. rubra patches originate by fragmentation of larger patches, growth of smaller patches, and physical-behavioural aggregation of cells.

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“…Here we explore intra‐ and interspecific density‐dependent dispersal in freshwater protists. These organisms are often patchily distributed in ponds and lakes at the scale of millimetres or centimetres (Arlt 1973; Taylor & Berger 1980; Wiackowski 1981; Smirnov & Thar 2003). We use a prey–predator couple, in aquatic experimental microcosms under controlled conditions and investigate the effects of population density on dispersal, and address three questions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intra‐ and interspecific density‐dependent dispersal in an aquatic prey–predator system

Hauzy

Hulot

Gins

et al. 2007

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Summary1. Dispersal intensity is a key process for the persistence of prey-predator metacommunities. Consequently, knowledge of the ecological mechanisms of dispersal is fundamental to understanding the dynamics of these communities. Dispersal is often considered to occur at a constant per capita rate; however, some experiments demonstrated that dispersal may be a function of local species density. 2. Here we use aquatic experimental microcosms under controlled conditions to explore intra-and interspecific density-dependent dispersal in two protists, a prey Tetrahymena pyriformis and its predator Dileptus sp. 3. We observed intraspecific density-dependent dispersal for the prey and interspecific density-dependent dispersal for both the prey and the predator. Decreased prey density lead to an increase in predator dispersal, while prey dispersal increased with predator density. 4. Additional experiments suggest that the prey is able to detect its predator through chemical cues and to modify its dispersal behaviour accordingly. 5. Density-dependent dispersal suggests that regional processes depend on local community dynamics. We discuss the potential consequences of density-dependent dispersal on metacommunity dynamics and stability.

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Microspatial heterogeneity in the distribution of ciliates in a small pond

Cited by 41 publications

References 8 publications

Selective feeding behaviour of key free-living protists: avenues for continued study

Selective feeding behaviour of key free-living protists: avenues for continued study

Assessing spatial and temporal patchiness of the autotrophic ciliate Myrionecta rubra: a case study in a coastal lagoon

Intra‐ and interspecific density‐dependent dispersal in an aquatic prey–predator system

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