Effect of symbiotic algae on the photoaccumulation capacity of cells of the ciliate Paramecium bursaria

The character of the effect produced by symbiotic algae on photodependent behavior of their host ciliates, Paramecium bursaria, was determined. Partially alga-freed paramecia showed a reliable increase in the rates of photoaccumulation. The photoaccumulation rate gradually decreased with a further decrease in the number of zoochlorellae. Once the chlorophyll content fell down to 20-25 mu/l, the ciliates lost their capacity for photoaccululation. A mathematical model of photoaccumulation has been constructed.     

Cryptophytes of Lake Shira (Khakassia,Russia): explosive growth during breakdown of meromixis

Hydrobiologia - We conducted a monitoring study on the dynamics of the abundance, biomass, and vertical distribution of the cryptophyte population in meromictic saline Lake Shira (90.11 E,...     

Microbial community of the chemocline of the meromictic Lake Shunet (Khakassia,Russia) during summer stratification

The spatio-temporal organization of the bacterial community inhabiting the chemocline of the stratified meromictic Lake Shunet (Khakassia, Russia) was investigated from May to September 2005 by means of microscopy, analysis of photosynthetic pigments, and PCR-DGGE with subsequent 16S rDNA analysis. The samples were collected with a multisyringe stratification sampler, sampling being performed every 5 cm. It was demonstrated that, during the period of investigation, there were no large changes in the bacterial community of the chlemocline, at least among the detected forms. During the whole period of study, purple sulfur bacteria related to Lamprocystis purpurea (Chromatiaceae) were predominant in the chemocline. Beneath the layer of purple bacteria, green sulfur bacteria were revealed that were phylogenetically distant from strain ShNPel02, which was previously isolated from this lake. Development of phytoflagellates of the genus Cryptomonas was observed in the upper zone of the chemocline. In the chemocline of Lake Shunet, the numbers of picoplankton cyanobacteria of the genus Synechococcus increased from May to September. It was demonstrated that the application of universal bacterial primers for DGGE resulted in the same qualitative distributional pattern of predominant species as microscopic studies.     

Meromixis and Seasonal Dynamics of Vertical Structure of Lake Uchum (South Siberia)

The seasonal dynamics of the vertical structure of small saline Lake Uchum, located in the steppe arid zone of the south of Siberia (Krasnoyarsk krai), has been studied in detail for the first time. This lake is a meromictic water body. We have revealed a heterogeneous vertical distribution of plankton organisms and a dense population of purple sulfuric bacteria in the redox zone. The taxonomic composition and seasonal dynamics of phyto- and zooplankton are described. Presumably, the meromixis of Lake Uchum is due to the inflow of fresh water to the surface of the saline water body during the rise of its level in the early 20th century, similarly to lakes Shira and Shunet located nearby. The processes of salt displacement into the solution during the formation of ice, as well as the precipitation of salts in the winter, also contribute to the maintenance of permanent stratification. The information on the current state of the lake can be useful for reconstructing the climate by bottom sediments, as well as for creating a model of water quality and investigating the therapeutic properties of lake mud.     

Vertical stratification of physical,chemical and biological components in two saline lakes Shira and Shunet (South Siberia,Russia)

A feature of meromictic lakes is that several physicochemical and biological gradients affect the vertical distribution of different organisms. The vertical stratification of physical, chemical and biological components in saline, fishless meromictic lakes Shira and Shunet (Siberia, Russia) is quite different mainly because both mean depth and maximum depth of lakes differ as well as their salinity levels differ. The chemocline of the Lake Shira, as in many meromictic lakes, is inhabited by bacterial community consisting of purple sulphur and heterotrophic bacteria. As the depth of the chemocline is variable, the bacterial community does not attain high densities. The mixolimnion in Lake Shira, which is thermally stratified in summer, also creates different habitat for various species. The distribution of phytoplankton is non-uniform with its biomass peak in the metalimnion. The distribution of zooplankton is also heterogeneous with rotifers and juvenile copepods inhabiting the warmer epilimnion and older copepods found in the cold but oxic hypolimnion. The amphipod Gammarus lacustris which can be assigned to the higher trophic link in the fishless lake’s ecosystem, such as Lake Shira, is also distributed non-uniformly, with its peak density generally observed in the thermocline region. The chemocline in Lake Shunet is located at the depth of 5 m, and unlike in Lake Shira, due to a sharp salinity gradient between the mixolimnion and monimolimnion, this depth is very stable. The mixolimnion in Lake Shunet is relatively shallow and the chemocline is inhabited by (1) an extremely dense bacterial community; (2) a population of Cryptomonas sp.; and (3) ciliate community comprising several species. As the mixolimnion of Lake Shunet is not thermally stratified for long period, the phytoplankton and zooplankton populations are not vertically stratified. The gammarids, however, tend to concentrate in a narrow layer located 1–2 m above the chemocline. We believe that in addition to vertical inhomogeneities of both physicochemical parameters, biological and physical factors also play a role in maintaining these inhomogeneities. We conclude that the stratified distributions of the major food web components will have several implications for ecosystem structure and dynamics. Trophic interactions as well as mass and energy flows can be significantly impacted by such heterogeneous distributions. Species spatially separated even by relatively short distances, say a few centimetres will not directly compete. Importantly, we demonstrate that not only bacteria, phytoflagellates and ciliate tend to concentrate in thin layers but also larger-sized species such Gammarus (amphipods) can also under certain environmental conditions have stratified distribution with maxima in relatively thin layer. As the vertical structure of the lake ecosystem is rather complex in such stratified lakes as ours, the strategy of research, including sampling techniques, should consider potentially variable and non-homogeneous distributions.     

Densities and distribution of flagellates and ciliates in the chemocline of saline,meromictic Lake Shunet (Siberia,Russia)

The vertical and seasonal distributions of the phytoflagellate Cryptomonas spp., and its most common, the planktonic ciliate predators (Oligotrichida, Scuticociliatida, Hypotrichida and Prostomatida) were investigated in chemocline region of small saline, meromictic lake Shunet (Siberia, Russia) during 2003 and 2005. The lake has a pronounced chemocline, with abundance of purple and green sulphur bacteria. Vertical distribution of the Cryptomonas populations near the oxic/anoxic boundary layer was studied at close intervals in water sampled using a hydraulically operated thin-layer sampler. In both summer and winter, Cryptomonas peaked in water stratum 5–10 cm above anoxic zone or in the anoxic zone water column in the chemocline (about 5 m). Ciliate densities and biomass were also much higher in chemocline than in mixolimnion. The range of diurnal migration of Cryptomonas population was not very wide, and it was restricted to layers with high light intensity. The ciliates were sometimes detected above the upper border of the anoxic zone but also several centimetres below this zone.