First observations of living sea-ice diatom agglomeration to tintinnid loricae in East Antarctica

Tintinnid ciliates are an important link in marine food webs as they feed on phytoplankton and bacteria while providing nutrients to higher trophic levels. Tintinnids are known to agglutinate mineral particles or dead biogenic material such as diatom frustules to their shell-like housing (lorica), h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Plankton Research
Main Authors: Armbrecht, LH, Eriksen, R, Leventer, A, Armand, LK
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Oxford Univ Press 2017
Subjects:
Southern Ocean
tintinnids
diatom
consortia
sea-ice
Antarctica
Fragilariopsis curta
Fragilariopsis cylindrus
Fragilariopsis pseudonana
Fragilariopsis rhombica
Laackmanniella naviculaefera
Codonellopsis gaussi
Antarctic
The Antarctic
East Antarctica
Antarc*
Antarctica Journal
Sea ice
Online Access:https://eprints.utas.edu.au/25132/
https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbx036
Description
Summary:Tintinnid ciliates are an important link in marine food webs as they feed on phytoplankton and bacteria while providing nutrients to higher trophic levels. Tintinnids are known to agglutinate mineral particles or dead biogenic material such as diatom frustules to their shell-like housing (lorica), however, reasons for this agglutination remain questioned. We report on our observation of agglomeration of the living diatoms Fragilariopsis curta, F. cylindrus, F. pseudonana and F. rhombica to loricae of the Antarctic tintinnid ciliates Laackmanniella naviculaefera and Codonellopsis gaussi. These unusual associations between living diatoms and tintinnids were exclusively observed south of 63.59°S. We discuss the significance of our new finding and generate hypotheses to be tested by future research. It remains unclear where these living diatom–tintinnid associations are initially formed (in or near sea ice or also further north when abundances of L. naviculaefera, C. gaussi, F. curta, F. cylindrus, F. pseudonana and F. rhombica happen to be relatively high); who the beneficiary is in this association; what the exact benefits are; and how they might influence the Southern Ocean carbon cycle. Nevertheless, our observation provides a key step forward towards illuminating the largely unknown ecology of two Southern Ocean-endemic tintinnid species.

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