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 - Weithoff, Guntram A1 - Bell, Elanor Margaret T1 - Complex Trophic Interactions in an Acidophilic Microbial Community JF - Microorganisms N2 - Extreme habitats often harbor specific communities that differ substantially from non-extreme habitats. In many cases, these communities are characterized by archaea, bacteria and protists, whereas the number of species of metazoa and higher plants is relatively low. In extremely acidic habitats, mostly prokaryotes and protists thrive, and only very few metazoa thrive, for example, rotifers. Since many studies have investigated the physiology and ecology of individual species, there is still a gap in research on direct, trophic interactions among extremophiles. To fill this gap, we experimentally studied the trophic interactions between a predatory protist (Actinophrys sol, Heliozoa) and its prey, the rotifers Elosa woralli and Cephalodella sp., the ciliate Urosomoida sp. and the mixotrophic protist Chlamydomonas acidophila (a green phytoflagellate, Chlorophyta). We found substantial predation pressure on all animal prey. High densities of Chlamydomonas acidophila reduced the predation impact on the rotifers by interfering with the feeding behaviour of A. sol. These trophic relations represent a natural case of intraguild predation, with Chlamydomonas acidophila being the common prey and the rotifers/ciliate and A. sol being the intraguild prey and predator, respectively. We further studied this intraguild predation along a resource gradient using Cephalodella sp. as the intraguild prey. The interactions among the three species led to an increase in relative rotifer abundance with increasing resource (Chlamydomonas) densities. By applying a series of laboratory experiments, we revealed the complexity of trophic interactions within a natural extremophilic community. KW - acid mine drainage KW - extremophiles KW - food web KW - heliozoa KW - intraguild predation KW - mining lakes KW - Rotifera Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10071340 SN - 2076-2607 VL - 10 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz ET - 7 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Weithoff, Guntram A1 - Bell, Elanor Margaret T1 - Complex Trophic Interactions in an Acidophilic Microbial Community T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Extreme habitats often harbor specific communities that differ substantially from non-extreme habitats. In many cases, these communities are characterized by archaea, bacteria and protists, whereas the number of species of metazoa and higher plants is relatively low. In extremely acidic habitats, mostly prokaryotes and protists thrive, and only very few metazoa thrive, for example, rotifers. Since many studies have investigated the physiology and ecology of individual species, there is still a gap in research on direct, trophic interactions among extremophiles. To fill this gap, we experimentally studied the trophic interactions between a predatory protist (Actinophrys sol, Heliozoa) and its prey, the rotifers Elosa woralli and Cephalodella sp., the ciliate Urosomoida sp. and the mixotrophic protist Chlamydomonas acidophila (a green phytoflagellate, Chlorophyta). We found substantial predation pressure on all animal prey. High densities of Chlamydomonas acidophila reduced the predation impact on the rotifers by interfering with the feeding behaviour of A. sol. These trophic relations represent a natural case of intraguild predation, with Chlamydomonas acidophila being the common prey and the rotifers/ciliate and A. sol being the intraguild prey and predator, respectively. We further studied this intraguild predation along a resource gradient using Cephalodella sp. as the intraguild prey. The interactions among the three species led to an increase in relative rotifer abundance with increasing resource (Chlamydomonas) densities. By applying a series of laboratory experiments, we revealed the complexity of trophic interactions within a natural extremophilic community. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1276 KW - acid mine drainage KW - extremophiles KW - food web KW - heliozoa KW - intraguild predation KW - mining lakes KW - Rotifera Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-569945 SN - 1866-8372 SP - 1 EP - 10 ER -