Dataset Information

Diel variations in planktonic ciliate community structure in the northern South China Sea and tropical Western Pacific.

ABSTRACT: Though diel variations are geographically widespread phenomena among phytoplankton and zooplankton, knowledge is limited regarding diel variations in planktonic ciliate (microzooplankton) community structure. In this study, we analyzed diel variations in community structure of planktonic ciliates in the northern South China Sea (nSCS) and tropical Western Pacific (tWP). Hydrological characteristics during day and night were slightly different over both the nSCS and tWP, while ciliate average abundance at night was clearly higher than in the day in the upper 200 m. In both the nSCS and tWP, abundance proportions of large size-fraction (> 30 μm) aloricate ciliates at night were higher than in the day. While for tintinnids, abundance proportion of large lorica oral diameter at night were lower than in the day. The relationship between environmental factors and ciliate abundance pointed out that depth and temperature were main factors influencing aloricate ciliate and tintinnid in both day and night. For some dominant tintinnid species, chlorophyll a was another important factor influencing their diel vertical distribution. Our results provide fundamental data for better understanding the mechanisms of planktonic ciliate community diel variation in the tropical Western Pacific Ocean.

SUBMITTER: Wang C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9995376 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Diel variations in planktonic ciliate community structure in the northern South China Sea and tropical Western Pacific.

Wang Chaofeng C Dong Yi Y Denis Michel M Wei Yuanyuan Y Li Haibo H Zheng Shan S Zhang Wuchang W Xiao Tian T

Scientific reports 20230308 1

Though diel variations are geographically widespread phenomena among phytoplankton and zooplankton, knowledge is limited regarding diel variations in planktonic ciliate (microzooplankton) community structure. In this study, we analyzed diel variations in community structure of planktonic ciliates in the northern South China Sea (nSCS) and tropical Western Pacific (tWP). Hydrological characteristics during day and night were slightly different over both the nSCS and tWP, while ciliate average abu ...[more]

PMID: 36890185

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundBenthic ciliates and the environmental factors shaping their distribution are far from being completely understood. Likewise, deep-sea systems are amongst the least understood ecosystems on Earth. In this study, using high-throughput DNA sequencing, we investigated the diversity and community composition of benthic ciliates in different sediment layers of a seamount and an adjacent abyssal plain in the tropical Western Pacific Ocean with water depths ranging between 813 m and 4566 m. Statistical analyses were used to assess shifts in ciliate communities across vertical sediment gradients and water depth.ResultsNine out of 12 ciliate classes were detected in the different sediment samples, with Litostomatea accounting for the most diverse group, followed by Plagiopylea and Oligohymenophorea. The novelty of ciliate genetic diversity was extremely high, with a mean similarity of 93.25% to previously described sequences. On a sediment depth gradient, ciliate community structure was more similar within the upper sediment layers (0-1 and 9-10 cm) compared to the lower sediment layers (19-20 and 29-30 cm) at each site. Some unknown ciliate taxa which were absent from the surface sediments were found in deeper sediments layers. On a water depth gradient, the proportion of unique OTUs was between 42.2% and 54.3%, and that of OTUs shared by all sites around 14%. However, alpha diversity of the different ciliate communities was relatively stable in the surface layers along the water depth gradient, and about 78% of the ciliate OTUs retrieved from the surface layer of the shallowest site were shared with the surface layers of sites deeper than 3800 m. Correlation analyses did not reveal any significant effects of measured environmental factors on ciliate community composition and structure.ConclusionsWe revealed an obvious variation in ciliate community along a sediment depth gradient in the seamount and the adjacent abyssal plain and showed that water depth is a less important factor shaping ciliate distribution in deep-sea sediments unlike observed for benthic ciliates in shallow seafloors. Additionally, an extremely high genetic novelty of ciliate diversity was found in these habitats, which points to a hot spot for the discovery of new ciliate species.

Dataset Information

Diel variations in planktonic ciliate community structure in the northern South China Sea and tropical Western Pacific.

Publications

Diel variations in planktonic ciliate community structure in the northern South China Sea and tropical Western Pacific.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets