Ciliates and their picophytoplankton-feeding activity in a high-altitude warm-monomictic saline lake

Competition Increases Risk of Species Extinction during Extreme Warming

AbstractTemperature and interspecific competition are fundamental drivers of community structure in natural systems and can interact to affect many measures of species performance. However, surprisingly little is known about the extent to which competition affects extinction temperatures during extreme warming. This information is important for evaluating future threats to species from extreme high-temperature events and heat waves, which are rising in frequency and severity around the world. Using experimental freshwater communities of rotifers and ciliates, this study shows that interspecific competition can lower the threshold temperature at which local extinction occurs, reducing time to extinction during periods of sustained warming by as much as 2 weeks. Competitors may lower extinction temperatures by altering biochemical characteristics of the natural environment that affect temperature tolerance (e.g., levels of dissolved oxygen, nutrients, and metabolic wastes) or by accelerating population decline through traditional effects of resource depletion on life history parameters that affect population growth rates. The results suggest that changes in community structure in space and time could drive variability in upper thermal limits.

Planktonic microbial communities from microbialite-bearing lakes sampled along a salinity-alkalinity gradient

Continental freshwater systems are particularly vulnerable to environmental variation. Climate change-induced desertification and the anthropogenic exploitation of hydric resources result in the progressive evaporation and salinization of inland water bodies in many areas of the globe. However, how this process impacts microbial communities and their activities in biogeochemical cycles is poorly known. Here, we take a space-for-time substitution approach and characterize the prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial communities of two planktonic cell-size fractions (0.2-5 μm and 5-30 μm) from lakes of diverse trophic levels sampled along a salinity-alkalinity gradient located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB). We applied a 16S/18S rRNA gene metabarcoding strategy to determine the microbial community composition of 54 samples from 12 different lakes, from the low-salinity lake Zirahuén to the hypersaline residual ponds of Rincón de Parangueo. Except for systems at both extremes of the salinity gradient, most lakes along the evaporation trend bear actively forming microbialites, which harbor microbial communities clearly distinct from those of plankton. Several lakes were sampled in winter and late spring and the crater lakes Alchichica and Atexcac were sampled across the water column. Physicochemical parameters related to salinity-alkalinity were the most influential drivers of microbial community structure whereas trophic status, depth, or season were less important. Our results suggest that climate change and anthropogenic-induced hydric deficit could significantly affect microbial communities, potentially altering ecosystem functioning.

The “Dark Side” of Picocyanobacteria: Life as We Do Not Know It (Yet)

Picocyanobacteria of the genus Synechococcus (together with Cyanobium and Prochlorococcus) have captured the attention of microbial ecologists since their description in the 1970s. These pico-sized microorganisms are ubiquitous in aquatic environments and are known to be some of the most ancient and adaptable primary producers. Yet, it was only recently, and thanks to developments in molecular biology and in the understanding of gene sequences and genomes, that we could shed light on the depth of the connection between their evolution and the history of life on the planet. Here, we briefly review the current understanding of these small prokaryotic cells, from their physiological features to their role and dynamics in different aquatic environments, focussing particularly on the still poorly understood ability of picocyanobacteria to adapt to dark conditions. While the recent discovery of Synechococcus strains able to survive in the deep Black Sea highlights how adaptable picocyanobacteria can be, it also raises more questions—showing how much we still do not know about microbial life. Using available information from brackish Black Sea strains able to perform and survive in dark (anoxic) conditions, we illustrate how adaptation to narrow ecological niches interacts with gene evolution and metabolic capacity.

Functional Ecology of Two Contrasting Freshwater Ciliated Protists in Relation to Temperature

We conducted microcosm experiments with two contrasting freshwater ciliates on functional traits (FTs) related to their growth rate (numerical response, NR) and ingestion rate (functional response, FR) over a range of ecologically relevant temperatures. Histiobalantium bodamicum and Vorticella natans are common planktonic ciliates but their abundance, swimming behavior, and temperature tolerance are different. In contrast to most sessile peritrich species, the motile V. natans is not strictly bacterivorous but also voraciously feeds upon small algae. We observed three main alterations in the shape of NR of both species with temperature, that is, change in the maximum growth rate, in the initial slope and in the threshold food level needed to sustain the population. Similarly, maximum ingestion rate, gross growth efficiency (GGE), and cell size varied with temperature and species. These findings caution against generalizing ciliate performance in relation to the ongoing global warming. Our results suggest that V. natans is the superior competitor to H. bodamicum in terms of temperature tolerance and bottom-up control. However, the abundance of V. natans is usually low compared to H. bodamicum and other common freshwater ciliates, suggesting that V. natans is more strongly top-down controlled via predation than H. bodamicum. The taxonomic position of V. natans has been debated. Therefore, to confirm species and genus affiliation of our study objects, we sequenced their small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rDNA) gene.

Seasonal variability in body-size spectrum of periphytic protozoa during colonization of artificial substrates for marine bioassessment

To identify the seasonal variability of body-size spectrum for monitoring surveys based on periphytic protozoa, a one-year baseline survey was carried out in a coastal region of Yellow Sea, northern China. A total of 240 glass slides were collected after immersion times of 3, 7, 10, 14, 21 and 28 days in a four season cycle, i.e., winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Body-size ranks S2 and S5 dominated the periphytic protozoan communities from the initial stage (from day 3) to the next periods in spring and autumn, while body-size ranks S7, S8 and S4 showed high variety at the equilibrium stages (from day 10) in summer and winter. The expectation analysis revealed that the samples had different patterns of departure from the anticipated body-size spectrum in each season. This study shows that an ideal sampling approach needs to be established when protozoa is used as bioindicators of marine water quality.

Light affects picocyanobacterial grazing and growth response of the mixotrophic flagellate Poterioochromonas malhamensis

We measured the grazing and growth response of the mixotrophic chrysomonad flagellate Poterioochromonas malhamensis on four closely related picocyanobacterial strains isolated from subalpine lakes in central Europe. The picocyanobacteria represented different pigment types (phycoerythrin-rich, PE, and phycocyanin-rich, PC) and phylogenetic clusters. The grazing experiments were conducted with laboratory cultures acclimated to 10 µmol photon/m²/sec (low light, LL) and 100 µmol photon/m²/sec (moderate light, ML), either in the dark or at four different irradiances ranging from low (6 µmol photon/m²/sec) to high (1,500 µmol photon/m²/sec) light intensity. Poterioochromonas malhamensis preferred the larger, green PC-rich picocyanobacteria to the smaller, red PE-rich picocyanobacterial, and heterotrophic bacteria. The feeding and growth rates of P. malhamensis were sensitive to the actual light conditions during the experiments; the flagellate performed relatively better in the dark and at LL conditions than at high light intensity. In summary, our results found strain-specific ingestion and growth rates of the flagellate; an effect of the preculturing conditions, and, unexpectedly, a direct adverse effect of high light levels. We conclude that this flagellate may avoid exposure to high surface light intensities commonly encountered in temperate lakes during the summer.

Spirostomum teres: A Long Term Study of an Anoxic-Hypolimnion Population Feeding upon Photosynthesizing Microorganisms

The pelagic / anoxic hypolimnion population of Spirostomum teres was investigated as a part of the long-term ciliates’ monitoring (2003–2016) in an oligo- to mesotrophic monomictic hyposaline crater lake Alchichica (Puebla / Veracruz, Mexico), including an analysis of picoplankton (both heterotrophic, HPP and autotrophic, APP) and inorganic compounds of nitrogen (ammonium, nitrite, nitrate), phosphorus (dissolved reactive phosphorus, DRP) and silicon. Additionally, detailed studies of the ciliate vertical distribution and feeding activity measured upon fluorescently labelled APP (picocyanobacteria) were carried out. The results were compared with those from a neighbour freshwater crater lake La Preciosa and with a meromictic karstic lake La Cruz (Cuenca, Spain). The ciliate vertical distribution within the water column was very well defined: During the first decade, the benthic population was frequently found throughout a developing stratification of the lake. The established stratification of the lake turned the conditions favourable for the formation of an oxycline / hypolimnion population, typically, several meters below the deep chlorophyll maximum (formed basically by diatoms); the population preferred the layers without detectable dissolved oxygen. However, an observed gradient of light (PAR) could support both oxygenic and anoxygenic photosynthesis. Late stratification after deepening of the thermocline reduced the layers with S. teres population to a minimum apparently due to the drastic change in physicochemical conditions within a metalimnion, coupled with an oxycline, and limited to 1 to 2 meters; microstratification was found. Last years, the very bottom population disappeared or it was reduced and the late stratification S. teres peaks were smaller or did not appeared. Generally, S. teres oxycline / anoxic hypolimnion population was observed from June through November. Optimum picoplankton numbers in conditions that supported the ciliate growth were found: The ciliate was peaking at APP of 0.6 to 1 × 105 cells mL–1; the optimum of HPP was observed round 1.4 × 106 cells mL–1. S. teres was efficiently feeding upon picocyanobacteria in numbers of 105 cells mL–1 reaching the clearance rate of 2000 nL cell–1h–1, which represented in average 130 to 210 cells cell–1h–1 ingested. Feeding upon purple sulphur bacteria was observed but only during the end of the lake stable stratification when the ciliate population was already dropping. On the other hand, the volume specific clearance of S. teres upon picocyanobacteria (103 h–1) did not support the hypothesis that they could serve as a sole prey. Feeding upon eukaryote phytoplankton (chlorophytes Monoraphidium minutum, diatoms Cyclotella choc tawhatcheeana) could be of higher importance that previously supposed. Additionally, a use of ingested and retained photosynthetic prokaryotes is hypothesized.

Spatial variations in trophic-functional patterns of periphytic ciliates and indications to water quality in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea

To evaluate the water quality status using ecological features of the periphytic ciliate communities, a 1-year (Jan. to Dec., 2016) investigation was conducted in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China. Four trophic-functional groups (TFgrs) were recorded from a total of 141 species-abundance dataset: algivores (A); bacterivores (B); non-selectives (N); and predators (R), comprising of 65, 34, 26, and 16 species, respectively. In terms of species number, TFgr A was predominant in clean areas while TFgrs B and N were dominant in heavy polluted areas and TFgr R was dominant in slightly polluted area. The trophic-functional patterns of the periphytic ciliate communities showed a clear spatial variation within the pollution gradient. Trophic-functional trait diversity measures represented a clear increasing trend from polluted stations to the clean area regarding the pollution gradients. Multivariate correlation and best matching analysis revealed that the spatial pattern of the trophic-functional groupings were significantly shaped by environmental variable nutrients and chemical oxygen demand, alone or in combination with pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and transparency. Thus, we suggest that the ecological features based on the trophic-functional patterns of periphytic ciliate communities might be used for bioassessment of water quality in marine ecosystems.

The influence of zooplankton enrichment on the microbial loop in a shallow, eutrophic lake

With increasing primary productivity, ciliates may become the most important members of the microbial loop and form a central linkage in the transformation of microbial production to upper trophic levels. How metazooplankters, especially copepods, regulate ciliate community structure in shallow eutrophic waters is not completely clear. We carried out mesocosm experiments with different cyclopoid copepod enrichments in a shallow eutrophic lake to examine the responses of ciliate community structure and abundance to changes in cyclopoid copepod biomass and to detect any cascading effects on bacterioplankton and edible phytoplankton. Our results indicate that an increase in copepod zooplankton biomass favours the development of small-sized bacterivorous ciliates. This effect is unleashed by the decline of predaceous ciliate abundance, which would otherwise graze effectively on the small-sized ciliates. The inverse relationship between crustacean zooplankton and large predaceous ciliates is an important feature adjusting not only the structure of the ciliate community but also the energy transfer between meta- and protozooplankton. Still we could not detect any cascading effects on bacterio- or phytoplankton that would be caused by the structural changes in the ciliate community.

Pyrosequencing analysis of the protist communities in a High Arctic meromictic lake: DNA preservation and change

High Arctic meromictic lakes are extreme environments characterized by cold temperatures, low nutrient inputs from their polar desert catchments and prolonged periods of low irradiance and darkness. These lakes are permanently stratified with an oxygenated freshwater layer (mixolimnion) overlying a saline, anoxic water column (monimolimnion). The physical and chemical properties of the deepest known lake of this type in the circumpolar Arctic, Lake A, on the far northern coast of Ellesmere Island, Canada, have been studied over the last 15 years, but little is known about the lake’s biological communities. We applied high-throughput sequencing of the V4 region of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene to investigate the protist communities down the water column at three sampling times: under the ice at the end of winter in 2008, during an unusual period of warming and ice-out the same year, and again under the ice in mid-summer 2009. Sequences of many protist taxa occurred throughout the water column at all sampling times, including in the deep anoxic layer where growth is highly unlikely. Furthermore, there were sequences for taxonomic groups including diatoms and marine taxa, which have never been observed in Lake A by microscopic analysis. However, the sequences of other taxa such as ciliates, chrysophytes, Cercozoa, and Telonema varied with depth, between years and during the transition to ice-free conditions. These seasonally active taxa in the surface waters of the lake are thus sensitive to depth and change with time. DNA from these taxa is superimposed upon background DNA from multiple internal and external sources that is preserved in the deep, cold, largely anoxic water column.