Austral Summer Bloom of Loricate Choanoflagellates in the Central Ross Sea Polynya

A bloom of loricate choanoflagellates was recorded for the first time in the Ross Sea polynya during the austral summer 2017. Both individual cells and uncommon large-size colonies (200 μm length) represent the 42-55% of the total plankton community (i.e. specimens from 5 to 150 μm length). Choanofl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology
Main Authors: Escalera L., Mangoni O., Bolinesi F., Saggiomo M.
Other Authors: Escalera, L., Mangoni, O., Bolinesi, F., Saggiomo, M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2019
Subjects:
Acanthoecidae
Antarctica
colonie
food web
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Austral
Ross Sea
Antarc*
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11588/767418
https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.12720
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1550-7408
Description
Summary:A bloom of loricate choanoflagellates was recorded for the first time in the Ross Sea polynya during the austral summer 2017. Both individual cells and uncommon large-size colonies (200 μm length) represent the 42-55% of the total plankton community (i.e. specimens from 5 to 150 μm length). Choanoflagellates serve as a link between low and mid trophic levels since they prey on bacteria and in turn are ingested by zooplankton. This twofold role and the unusual abundance recorded in the Antarctic ecosystem may have relevant but still unknown effects on food web structure and dynamics in that area.

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