Yu. A. Mazei

Structure of a community of testate amoebae in a sphagnum dominated bog in upper sura flow (Middle Volga Territory)

Fifty nine species of testate amoebae were found in a sphagnum moss bog located in the upper Sura flow (Volga highland). The active diversity in communities of sphagnum moss biotopes was formed by 24 species. Minimal species diversity (3 species) and maximum density of organisms were noted in the driest habitat. In the habitats with the medium humidity levels, the level of species richness was similar (13–16 species) and the total density was determined by redox characteristics of the environment: under the conditions of oxygen deficit, it was two to three times lower than in an oxidized environment. The species composition specificity in sphagnum moss biotopes was determined by the degree of humidity: in the driest habitats, Arcella arenaria predominated; in the biotopes with medium humidity, Nebela tenella and Hyalosphenia elegans; and in the most humid biotopes, Hyalosphenia papilio and Heleopera sphagni. Communities of testate amoebae differed by species composition and integral characteristics at different sphagnum moss horizons: the abundance and species richness increased with depth. The proportion of living individuals in the total number of tests was 35 to 75%.

Testate amoebae communities in the southern tundra and forest-tundra of Western Siberia

The species composition and community structure of soil-inhabiting testate amoebae communities have been studied in biotopes of different types in the southern tundra and forest-tundra of the Tazovskaya Lowland, Western Siberia. A total of 93 species and forms have been identified. It has been found that the species richness of testate amoebae is much lower in dry than in moist biotopes due to a lower level of beta-diversity, with alpha diversity being the same (on average, 16.9 and 17.1 species per sample, respectively). Factors acting at the microbiotope level (biotope type and moisture) play the most important role in the formation of species richness; biotope features (soils and vegetation) are second in importance. In moist habitats, local communities of testate amoebae from different microbiotopes (mosses, lichens, or litter) are fairly similar in species structure, and communities from different moist biotopes are heterogeneous. In dry areas, the opposite situation is observed: local communities differ at the microbiotope level but are similar at the biotope level. The abundance of testate amoebae in moist biotopes reaches 200 × 103 ind./g dry soil, being an order of magnitude lower in dry biotopes.

Influence of the period of existence of a biotope on the formation of the species structure of a marine psammophilous ciliate community

The community structure of psammophile (interstitial) ciliates was studied in three areas of the silty sand intertidal zone of the White Sea, the background (a natural community formed under conditions of high siltation) and two experimental areas (the first, unsilted sandy “island” formed in the autumn of 2006, was originally uninhabited and the second was a similar island formed in the autumn of 2008). The experimental biotopes were more aerated and less silted than the background. The principle difference of experimental sites was the duration of their existence. Despite the remaining biotope differences between the background and first experimental site after 3 years of the experiment, the communities were of the same structural pattern. The second experimental biotope, which existing for a short time period, had considerable biotopic similarity to the first experimental one, but significantly differed from it and from the background in the course of succession and structural pattern of the formed community. It was shown that quantitatively and qualitatively (by density and number of species) the community of ciliates formed rather quickly during the first seasonal cycle of development in the new created biotope. However, one annual cycle is not sufficient for the formation of a community species structure, including the species ratio reflecting its niche structure.

Heterotrophic flagellate biodiversity and community structure in freshwater streams

The species diversity and community structure of heterotrophic flagellates in watercourses from different geographical regions were investigated. Forty-one species have been identified. The species diversity of cercomonads, kinetoplastids, choanoflagellates, and flagellates is the highest. Bodo saltans, B. designis and Goniomonas truncata are the most common species. Planktonic communities in different streams are most similar in terms of species composition. The highest similarity within benthic cenoses was noted between geographically distant communities. Communities of heterotrophic flagellates seem to be highly heterogenous systems; species distribution depends mainly on the type of habitat and not on geographical factors.

Distribution of heterotrophic flagellates at the littoral of estuary of Chernaya River (Kandalaksha Bay, White Sea)

Species composition, distribution, and the character of structural changes in the heterotrophic flagellate community were studied along environmental gradients in the Chernaya River estuary. There were 99 species and forms of heterotrophic flagellates, subdivided into three groups: prevalently marine species and euryhaline species preferring biotopes either of higher or decreased salinity. The heterotrophic flagellate community of the estuary was continuously divided into two distinct variants: (1) cenosis of halophilic species, prevalently of sea forms and euryhaline species preferring biotopes of increased salinity; (2) cenosis of halophobic species with prevalence of euryhaline forms gravitating to fresh biotopes. The arbitrary and indistinct boundary between the variants of the community ran at a salinity of 9–10‰. The response of estuarine communities of heterotrophic flagellates and infusorians to variation of abiotic factors was similar and differed from response of communities of microphyto-, meiozoo-and macrozoobenthos; this implied similarity of the response mechanism to environmental factors in organisms of one level of organization.

Specific features of the microspatial distribution of soil testate amoebae in the forests of the Middle Volga region

The microspatial (intraparcel) distribution of soil testate amoebae was studied in 12 heterogeneous oak forests and 7 pine forests of the Middle Volga region. Twenty-five species and forms of testate amoebae were discovered in the oak forests, while 36 were found in the pine forests. The richness, diversity, and structural evenness of species; spatial heterogeneity; and composition of the dominant complex of species do not change significantly within the undercrown spaces of the oak forests and different microbiotopes of the pine forests. From the tree-trunk base spaces through the undercrown to the intercrown areas of the oak forests, the abundance of centrostomic testate amoebae decreases and the abundance of plagiostomic forms increases. In addition, the abundance of the organisms decreases, and the composition of a complex of subdominant species changes. Terricolous forms of xenosome-shell rhizopods are characteristic of the pine forest litter, but small eurybiontic amoebae with shells built of endogenously forming idiosoms are typical for the moss cushions of Pleurozium schreberi and the fruticose lichens Cladonia sp. The regularities of the microspatial community heterogeneity of the soil testate amoebae are defined not so much by the ecological features of the particular species as by the response of the community as a whole to the microstructural heterogeneity of the biotope. As a result the populations of selected species show distinct preferences in different biogeocenoses (oak forests, pine forests).

Species composition and structure of testate amoebae community in a sphagnum bog at the initial stage of its formation

A total of 42 species and forms have been revealed in the testate amoebae community of a transitional bog at the initial stage of transformation into a typical sphagnum bog. A distinctive features of its species composition is dominance of widespread species Assulina muscorum, Arcella arenaria, Phryganella hemisphaerica, and Euglypha laevis in the absence of common sphagnobionts of the genera Nebela, Hyalosphenia, and Heleopera. Vertical heterogeneity of the community structure is weakly manifested, since dominant species are abundant in all horizons. The highest species richness is characteristic of the marginal community formed at the boundary between a sphagnum quagmire and a reed grass-dominated fen.

Heterotrophic flagellates in the littoral and sublittoral zones of the southeast part of the Pechora Sea

For the first time, data on the heterotrophic flagellate fauna in the littoral and the sublittoral zones of the southeastern part of the Pechora Sea were obtained. Sixty-six heterotrophic flagellate species were found in the study region: 48 and 42 species were found on the shelf and in the intertidal zone, respectively. The most common species were Cafeteria roenbergensis, Paraphysomonas sp., Ancyromonas sigmoides, Cafeteria minuta, Actinomonas mirabilis, and Spumella sp. The littoral fauna of the heterotrophic flagellates was more peculiar than the sublittoral fauna and equally rich. In the region studied, the community can be divided into two types: (a) the predominantly littoral community characterized by a special composition of the dominant species and by high similarity between its local varieties and (b) the heterogeneous predominantly sublittoral community characterized by a lack of a complex of particular species. The local diversity of the heterotrophic flagellate community was low (on the average, 4.5 species per one sample 1 cm3 in volume). The overall distribution pattern of the flagellates was extremely heterogeneous. The large amount of species that were encountered only once causes a great variability in the species structure from one station to another. The total number of the species monotonously increased with the growth in the number of samples and no manifested saturation of the cumulative curve was reached. This indicates the potentially greater diversity of the heterotrophic flagellate species in the region studied.

Testate amoebae community pattern in different types of boundary structures at the water-land contact zone

The patterns of changes in the species richness, abundance, species composition, and species structure of the testate amoebae community along six different types of water-land boundaries in the Medveditsa River (Don river Basin) were studied, namely, a new boundary, terrigenous and reogeneous edges, reogeneous and terrigenous hemiecotones, and the full ecotone. The testate amoebae communities are divided into terrestrial and aquatic variants for all types of boundaries. Hydrophilic species of the genera Arcella, Diffugia, Cyphoderia, and Pseudodifflugia dominate in the aquatic types of communities while pedobiont and eurybiont groups from the genera Centropyxis, Euglypha, Plagiopyxis, and Trinema are characteristic of the terrestrial communities. A decrease in the abundance and species richness of testate amoebae in the boundary zones was detected.

Distribution of soil-inhabiting testate amoebae along a mountain slope (Baikal Lake region, Khamar-Daban ridge, Cherskii peak)

The specific composition and distribution of soil-inhabiting testate amoebae along the Cherskii peak slope (Khamar-Daban mountain ridge, Lake Baikal region) were studied within the altitude range from 1000 to 1570 m above sea level according to the changes in biogeocenoses from birch-aspen to cedar-fir forests to cedar-fir-bush forest-tundra. One-hundred-four taxa were identified. The most common species are ubiquits with a wide geographical distribution: Trinema lineare, Euglypha levis, Euglypha rotunda, Trinema enchelys, Phryganella acropodia, Tracheleuglypha dentata, Assulina muscorum, Trinema complanatum, and Centropyxis aerophila. The species richness varies from 12 to 40 species per sample, and the abundance varies from 500 to 120000 ind. per gram of absolutely dry soil. The spatial heterogeneity of the specific composition grows with altitude, and the community composition changes. The absence of a common pattern in the cenotic changes in the communities of testate amoebae in Western Europe and the Lake Baikal region is discussed.