Soil testate amoebae from sub-Antarctic Îles Crozet

An ecological study of the soil testate amoebae (Protozoa, Rhizopoda) communities on the sub-Antarctic island of Île de la Possession (Îles Crozet) revealed 65 taxa, belonging to 20 genera. Trinema lineare and Euglypha laevis were the most dominant species in all types of soils on the island. A Redu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: VINCKE, SOFIE, LEDEGANCK, PIETER, BEYENS, LOUIS, VAN DE VIJVER, BART
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2004
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102004001993
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102004001993
Description
Summary:An ecological study of the soil testate amoebae (Protozoa, Rhizopoda) communities on the sub-Antarctic island of Île de la Possession (Îles Crozet) revealed 65 taxa, belonging to 20 genera. Trinema lineare and Euglypha laevis were the most dominant species in all types of soils on the island. A Redundancy Analysis revealed three communities that characterize specific habitats: i. fellfield soils, characterized by low moisture values and low organic material content, contained fewer taxa and fewer individuals, ii. peaty valley soils, with lower pH values, showed high abundances and diversity, and iii. soils influenced by sea spray and marine animals had higher nutrient contents, elevated chloride and conductance values, resulting in more tests of Difflugiella oviformis, Nebela dentistoma and Edaphonobiotus campascoides . Special attention was given to the species composition in relation to the soil type and its moisture content. A comparison with aquatic habitats on Île de la Possession was made.