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  -