Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China.
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jul 1;932:173115. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173115. Epub 2024 May 9.
Periphytic protozoa are esteemed icons of microbial fauna, renowned for their sensitivity and role as robust bioindicators, pivotal for assessing ecosystem stress and anthropogenic impacts on water quality. Despite their significance, research exploring the community dynamics of protozoan fauna across diverse water columns and depths in shallow waters has been notably lacking. This is the first study that examines the symphony of protozoan fauna in different water columns at varying depths (1, 2, 3.5 and 5 m), in South China Sea. Our findings reveal that vertical changes and environmental heterogeneity plays pivotal role in shaping the protozoan community structure, with distinct preferences observed in spirotrichea and phyllopharyngea classes at specific depths. Briefly, diversity metrics (i.e., both alpha and beta) showed significantly steady patterns at 2 m and 3.5 m depths as well as high homogeneity in most of the indices was observed. Co-associations between environmental parameters and protozoan communities demonstrated temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and pH, are significant drivers discriminating species richness and evenness across all water columns. Noteworthy variations of the other environmental parameters such as SiO-Si, PO-P, and NO-N at 1 m and NO-N, and NH-N, at greater depths, signal the crucial role of nutrient dynamics in shaping the protozoan communities. Moreover, highly sensitive species like Anteholosticha pulchara, Apokeronopsis crassa, and Aspidisca steini in varying environmental conditions among vertical columns may serve as eco- indicators of water quality. Collectively, this study contributes a thorough comprehension of the fine-scale structure and dynamics of protozoan fauna within marine ecosystems, providing insightful perspectives for ecological and water quality assessment in ever-changing marine environments.
周缘原生动物被视为微生物动物群的标志性生物，以其敏感性和作为稳健生物指标的作用而闻名，对于评估生态系统压力和人为活动对水质的影响至关重要。尽管它们意义重大，但对于浅水不同水层和深度的原生动物动物群群落动态的研究却明显缺乏。这是第一项研究，探讨了南海不同水层不同深度（1、2、3.5 和 5 m）的原生动物动物群的交响乐。我们的研究结果表明，垂直变化和环境异质性在塑造原生动物群落结构方面起着关键作用，在特定深度观察到螺旋体类和叶咽类具有明显的偏好。简要地说，多样性指标（即α和β）在 2 m 和 3.5 m 深度显示出明显稳定的模式，并且大多数指数都表现出高度的同质性。环境参数与原生动物群落之间的共同关联表明，温度、溶解氧、盐度和 pH 值是区分所有水层物种丰富度和均匀度的重要驱动因素。值得注意的是，1 m 处的其他环境参数如 SiO-Si、PO-P 和 NO-N 以及更大深度处的 NO-N 和 NH-N 的变化，表明营养动态在塑造原生动物群落方面起着关键作用。此外，在垂直柱之间的各种环境条件下高度敏感的物种，如 Anteholosticha pulchara、Apokeronopsis crassa 和 Aspidisca steini，可能作为水质的生态指标。总的来说，这项研究深入了解了海洋生态系统中原生动物动物群的精细结构和动态，为不断变化的海洋环境中的生态和水质评估提供了有价值的见解。
