TY  - JOUR
A1  - Jersabek, Christian D.
A1  - Weithoff, Guntram
A1  - Weisse, Thomas
T1  - Cephalodella acidophila n. sp (Monogononta: Notommatidae), a new rotifer species from highly acidic mining lakes
JF  - Zootaxa : an international journal of zootaxonomy ; a rapid international journal for animal taxonomists
N2  - We describe a new species of Cephalodella, C. acidophila n. sp., from the plankton of two extremely acidic mining lakes (pH <3) in Austria and Germany. The species is morphologically closely related to Cephalodella delicata Wulfert. It shares with the latter an almost identical trophi morphology and anatomical organization, but differs clearly by form and length of its toes, larger body size, and ecology. Laboratory experiments revealed that the species is acidophilic, i.e. it thrives at low pH (<4) and does not survive at circumneutral conditions. The species occurs in man-made habitats at low to moderate abundance (usually 5-22 individuals l(-1)) and in stock cultures thrives on the green alga Chlamydomonas acidophila. The easily cultured species has previously been used in various experimental studies, but has only now been recognized as an undescribed species.
KW  - Rotifera
KW  - taxonomy
KW  - acidophily
KW  - new species
Y1  - 2011
SN  - 1175-5326
IS  - 2939
SP  - 50
EP  - 58
PB  - Magnolia Press
CY  - Auckland
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Weisse, Thomas
A1  - Berendonk, Thomas U.
A1  - Kamjunke, Norbert
A1  - Moser, Michael
A1  - Scheffel, U.
A1  - Stadler, P.
A1  - Weithoff, Guntram
T1  - Significant habitat effects influence protist fitness  evidence for local adaptation from acidic mining lakes
JF  - Ecosphere : the magazine of the International Ecology University
N2  - It is currently controversially discussed if the same freshwater microorganisms occur worldwide wherever their required habitats are realized, i.e., without any adaptation to local conditions below the species level. We performed laboratory experiments with flagellates and ciliates from three acidic mining lakes (AML, pH similar to 2.7) to investigate if similar habitats may affect similar organisms differently. Such man-made lakes provide suitable ecosystem models to test for the significance of strong habitat selection. To this end, we analyzed the growth response of three protist taxa (three strains of the phytoflagellate Chlamydomonas acidophila, two isolates of the phytoflagellate Ochromonas and two species of the ciliate genus Oxytricha) by exposing them to lake water of their origin and from the two other AML in a cross-factorial design. Population growth rates were measured as a proxy for their fitness. Results revealed significant effects of strain, lake (= habitat), and strain X habitat interaction. In the environmentally most adverse AML, all three protist taxa were locally adapted. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that (1) the same habitat may affect strains of the same species differently and that (2) similar habitats may harbor ecophysiologically different strains or species. These results contradict the 'everything is everywhere' paradigm.
KW  - allopatric speciation
KW  - Chlamydomonas acidophila
KW  - ciliates
KW  - everything is everywhere
KW  - flagellates
KW  - freshwater microbes
KW  - habitat-species interaction
KW  - local adaptation
KW  - Ochromonas spp.
KW  - Oxytricha spp.
Y1  - 2011
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1890/ES11-00157.1
SN  - 2150-8925
VL  - 2
IS  - 12
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Washington
ER  -