Abundance, species composition of microzooplankton from the coastal waters of Port Blair, South Andaman Island

Aquatic Biosystems

S Sai Elangovan¹  M Arun Kumar¹  R Karthik¹  R Siva Sankar²  R Jayabarathi¹  G Padmavati¹ 

[1] Department of Ocean Studies and Marine Biology, Pondicherry University, Port Blair, Andaman, 744 103, India

[2] Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605 014, India

关键词: South Andaman Sea;    Plankton distribution;    Tintinnids;    Microzooplankton;   

Others  :  794476
DOI  :  10.1186/2046-9063-8-20

 received in 2012-05-14, accepted in 2012-08-17,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

Microzooplankton consisting of protists and metazoa <200 μm. It displays unique feeding mechanisms and behaviours that allow them to graze cells up to five times their own volume. They can grow at rates which equal or exceed prey growth and can serve as a viable food source for metazoans. Moreover, they are individually inconspicuous, their recognition as significant consumers of oceanic primary production. The microzooplankton can be the dominant consumers of phytoplankton production in both oligo- and eutrophic regions of the ocean and are capable of consuming >100% of primary production.

Results

The microzooplankton of the South Andaman Sea were investigated during September 2011 to January 2012. A total of 44 species belong to 19 genera were recorded in this study. Tintinnids made larger contribution to the total abundance (34%) followed in order by dinoflagellates (24%), ciliates (20%) and copepod nauplii (18%). Foraminifera were numerically less (4%). Tintinnids were represented by 20 species belong to 13 genera, Heterotrophic dinoflagellates were represented by 17 species belong to 3 genera and Ciliates comprised 5 species belong to 3 genera. Eutintinus tineus, Tintinnopsis cylindrical, T. incertum, Protoperidinium divergens,Lomaniella oviformes, Strombidium minimum were the most prevalent microzooplankton. Standing stock of tintinnids ranged from 30–80 cells.L^-1 and showed a reverse distribution with the distribution of chlorophyll a relatively higher species diversity and equitability was found in polluted harbour areas.

Conclusions

The change of environmental variability affects the species composition and abundance of microzooplankton varied spatially and temporarily. The observations clearly demonstrated that the harbor area differed considerably from other area in terms of species present and phytoplankton biomass. Further, the phytoplankton abundance is showed to be strongly influenced by tintinnid with respect to the relationship of prey–predator. Consequently, further investigation on microzooplankton grazing would shed light on food web dynamics.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Elangovan et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

Figure 7.

Figure 8.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Porter KG, Sherr EG, Sherr BF, Pace M, Saunders RW: Protozoa in planktonic food webs. J Protozool 1985, 32:409-415.
• [2]Beers JR, Stewart GL: Microzooplankton in the plankton communities of the upper waters of the eastern tropical Pacific. Deep-Sea Res 1971, 18:861-883.
• [3]Sherr EB, Sherr BF: Significant of predation by protists in aquatic microbial food webs. Antonie Leeuwenhoek 2002, 81:293-308.
• [4]Calbet A, Landry MR: Phytoplankton growth, Microzooplankton grazing, and carbon cycling in marine systems. Limnol Oceanog 2004, 40:51-57.
• [5]Marshall SM: Respiration and feeding in copepods. Adv Mar Biol 1973, 11:57-120.
• [6]Nival P, Nival S: Particle retention efficiencies of an herbivorous copepod, Acartia clausi (adult and copepodite stages): effects on grazing. Limnol Oceanogr 1976, 21:24-38.
• [7]Gauns M, Mohanraju R, Madhupratap M: Studies on the microzooplankton from the central and eastern Arabian Sea. Curr Sci 1996, 71:874-877.
• [8]Jyothibabu R, Madhu NV, Maheswaran PA, Nair KKC, Venugopal P, Balasubramanian T: Dominance of dinoflagellates in microzooplankton community in the oceanic regions of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Curr Sci 2003, 84:1247-1253.
• [9]Jyothibabu R, Devi CRA, Madhu NV, Sabu P, Jayalakshmy KV, Jacob J, Habeebrehman H, Prabhakaran MP, Balasubramanian T, Nair KKC: The response of microzooplankton (20–200 μm) to coastal upwelling and summer stratification in the southeastern Arabian Sea. Cont Shelf Res 2008, 28:653-671.
• [10]Jyothibabu R, Madhua NV, Maheswaran PA, Jayalakshmy KV, Naira KKC, Achuthankutty CT: Seasonal variation of microzooplankton (20–200 μm) and its possible implication on the vertical carbon flux in the western Bay of Bengal. Cont Shelf Res 2008, 28:737-755.
• [11]Dawson J, Sun J: Microzooplankton herbivory and phytoplankton biomass and composition in the Jiaozhou Bay, China. http://web2.clarkson.edu/projects/reushen/reu_china/john-dawson.pdf webcite
• [12]Lee JB, Kim YH: Distribution of Tintinnids (Loricate Ciliates) in East Asian Waters in Summer. Coast Environ Ecosyst Issue East China Sea 2010, 1:173-180.
• [13]Godhantaraman N: Seasonal variations in taxonomic composition, abundance and food web relationship of microzooplankton in estuarine and mangrove waters, Parangipettai region, south east coast of India. Indian J Mar Sci 2001, 30:151-160.
• [14]Mishra S, Panigrahi RC: The tintinnids (Protozoa: Ciliata) of the Bahuda estuary, east coast of India. Indian J Mar Sci 1999, 28:219-221.
• [15]Pierce RW, Turner JT: Ecology of planktonic ciliates in marine food webs. Rev Aquat Sci 1992, 6:139-181.
• [16]Krishnamurthy K, Naidu WD, Santhanam R: Further studies on Tintinnids (Protozoa:Ciliata). Arch Protistenkd 1979, 122:171-180.
• [17]Bockstahler KR, Coats DW: Grazing of the mixotrophic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium sanguineum Hirasaka on ciliate populations of Chesapeake Bay. Mar Biol 1993, 116:477-487.
• [18]Bockstahler KR, Coats DW: Spatial and temporal aspects of mixotrophy in Chesapeake Bay dinoflagellates. J Euk Microbiol 1993, 40:49-60.
• [19]Fenchel T: Ecology of Protozoa: The Biology of Free-Living Phagotrophic Protists. Berlin: Springer-Verlag; 1987.
• [20]Dolan JR, Lemee R, Gasparini S, Mousseau L, Heyndrickx C: Probing diversity in the plankton: using patterns in Tintinnids (planktonic marine ciliates) to identify mechanisms. Hydrobiologia 2006, 555:143-157.
• [21]Heinbokel JF: Studies on the functional role of tintinnids in the Southern California Bight. II. Grazing rates of field populations. Mar Biol 1979, 47:191-197.
• [22]Stoecker D, Davis LH, Anderson DM: Fine scale of spatial correlations between planktonic ciliates and dinoflagellates. J Plankton Res 1984, 6:829-842.
• [23]Strickland JDH, Parson TR: A Practical Handbook of Seawater Analysis. The University of California: Fisheries Research Board of Canada; 1972.
• [24]Shannon CE, Weiner W: The mathematical theory of communication. Urbana: University of Illinois Press; 1949:117.