Spatial and temporal variations of tintinnids (Ciliata: Protozoa) in the Bay of Mersin, Northeastern Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Seasonal variations in species composition and abundance of tintinnids were investigated in the eutrophic coastal and offshore waters of Mersin Bay. Twelve sampling cruises were performed from September 2008 to February 2011. A total of 85 tintinnid taxa were identified. Among the recorded genera, agglutinated Tintinnopsis had the largest number of species (12 species), followed by hyaline loricated Eutintinnius (9 species), and Proplectella (7 species). Stenosemella ventricosa, Tintinnopsis beroidea, T. compressa, Favella azorica, and Helicostemella subulata were the dominant species during the study period. There were clear seasonal variations in species composition and abundance of tintinnids. The highest number of tintinnid species occurred in January 2009 and November 2010 in the entire study area, while the lowest species number occurred in March 2009. Morever, species numbers were higher in offshore stations than coastal stations. Some species were present in the coastal area of the bay, and other species were present offshore. The highest tintinnid abundance values were found in September 2008 (820 ind L-1) and August 2009 (749 ind L-1) at coastal stations. The high abundance values in the coastal stations indicates that an increase of tintinnids is closely related to trophic status of the marine environment. In connection with these results, correlation analysis revealed that chlorophyll-a had an important effect on tintinnid abundance. Tintinnid communities may be used as a potential bio-indicator for assessing the trophic state of the coastal seas and bays.

Relationships of pelagic ciliates with the microbial food web components at a coastal station in the oligotrophic Eastern Mediterranean Sea: temporal and vertical variability

“…Regarding tintinnids, a total of 22 species were identified in our study. This number is lower compared to other studies conducted in the Mediterranean Sea, such as in Adriatic waters, where a total of 38 tintinnid species were identified ( Bojanić et al, 2001 ; Heneash et al, 2015 ; Polat et al, 2019 ). Aloricate ciliates constitute the majority of the ciliate community ( Dolan and Marrasé, 1995 ; Ferrier-Pages and Rassoulzadegan, 1994 ).…”

Summertime tintinnids in surface water of the Weddell and Cosmonaut seas: community structure and relationships with different water masses

“…Tintinnid diversity in relation to water masses has been reported worldwide, especially with regard to its uses in indicating the division of inshore and offshore currents (Sitran et al 2007;Polat et al 2019). In our study, Cy.…”

“…The diversity characteristics of tintinnids have been well investigated worldwide based on their species-specific lorica. Owing to their environmental sensitivity, tintinnids are valuable indicators of water masses in many sea regions, such as the coastal Ionian Sea (Sitran et al 2007), Pacific and Atlantic oceans (Fonda Umani et al 2011), north-eastern Mediterranean Sea (Polat et al 2019), Pacific Ocean (Li et al 2021) and Arctic Ocean Wang et al 2023).…”

Microplankton community structure in the subtropical Mlalazi estuary.

“…Characteristics of ciliates include very high metabolic rates, short generation times, broad geographic distribution, and rapid response to changing environmental factors. Because of these characteristics, ciliates are a valuable tool for indicating hydrological conditions and trophic status, and some species are used as water quality bioindicators (Basuri et al, 2020;Polat et al, 2019;Sivasankar et al, 2018;Grinienė et al, 2011;Pfister et al, 2002). For example, in oligotrophic regions, tintinnids are dominant and are the main consumers of primary production, greatly influencing the planktonic assemblage (Noman et al, 2019).…”