Overwintering populations of Mesodinium rubrum (Ciliophora: Haptorida) in lakes of the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica

The autotrophic ciliate Mesodinium rubrum Lohmann was observed during winter and spring in saline lakes ranging in salinity from 2 to 78& in the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. The ciliate remained active during winter, and contained chlorophyll even though the level of light available for photosynt...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Biology
Main Authors: Gibson, JAE, Swadling, KM, Pitman, T, Burton, HR
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 1997
Subjects:
270706 Life Histories (incl. Population Ecology)
Mesodinium rubrum
Vestfold Hills
Antarctica
lakes
biogeography
winter
East Antarctica
Vestfold
Ace Lake
Antarc*
Polar Biology
Online Access:https://eprints.utas.edu.au/787/
https://eprints.utas.edu.au/787/1/Mesodinium.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1007/s003000050119
Description
Summary:The autotrophic ciliate Mesodinium rubrum Lohmann was observed during winter and spring in saline lakes ranging in salinity from 2 to 78& in the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. The ciliate remained active during winter, and contained chlorophyll even though the level of light available for photosynthesis was minimal. No evidence of encystment as a means of survival during winter was observed. A seasonal study in one of the lakes, Ace Lake, revealed that M. rubrum was present throughout the year at abundances ranging from 1]104 to 3.5]105 cells l~1. During the winter period, when little light penetrated the lakeÕs ice cover, cells were most common immediately under the ice at 2 m, where cell numbers were typically 8]104 cells l~1.

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