Recent Changes in the Use of Phototrophy by a Mixotrophic Testate Amoeba Inferred from δ¹³C Measurements from an Arctic Peat Core.

ABSTRACT: High-latitude ecosystems are undergoing rapid ecological changes in response to climate warming. While some changes are well studied, the responses of microbial communities remain less understood. Testate amoebae, shell-producing protists well preserved in peat, provide a means to reconstruct past microbial dynamics. Mixotrophic taxa such as Archerella flavum host algal endosymbionts (zoochlorellae), allowing both heterotrophic and phototrophic energy acquisition. Previous work has demonstrated that these pathways result in different δ¹³C values. We applied a novel stable isotope approach to a peat core from the North Slope of Alaska to reconstruct changes in phototrophy by Archerella flavum. δ¹³C values were measured on Archerella flavum tests (i.e. shells) and Sphag

SUBMITTER: Stansfield AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12808267 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature