Biodiversity of freshwater ciliates (Protista, Ciliophora) in the Lake Weishan Wetland, China: the state of the art.

ABSTRACT: Ciliates are core components of the structure of and function of aquatic microbial food webs. They play an essential role in the energy flow and material circulation within aquatic ecosystems. However, studies on the taxonomy and biodiversity of freshwater ciliates, especially those in wetlands in China are limited. To address this issue, a project to investigate the freshwater ciliates of the Lake Weishan Wetland, Shandong Province, commenced in 2019. Here, we summarize our findings to date on the diversity of ciliates. A total of 187 ciliate species have been found, 94 of which are identified to species-level, 87 to genus-level, and six to family-level. These species show a high morphological diversity and represent five classes, i.e., Heterotrichea, Litostomatea, Prostomatea, Oligohymen

SUBMITTER: Wang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10077249 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature