Spatial distribution of gymnamoebae (Rhizopoda, Lobosea) in brackish-water sediments at the scale of centimeters and millimeters

In order to study micro-spatial distribution of amoebae, an intact slice of sandy sediment from the brackish-water Nivå Bay (Baltic Sea, The Sound), 40 × 24 mm in size and 2 mm in thickness was gently sectioned into cubes, 2 × 2 × 2 mm in size. Each cube was inoculated into enrichment media to reveal the biodiversity of amoebae. Seventeen species of amoebae were recovered. The 2-D map of amoebae species distribution in the slice, consisting of 240 2 × 2 mm cells was drawn and analyzed. Results show heterogeneous distribution of amoebae at the scale of centimeters and millimeters and confirm the idea of the presence of microhabitats, selectively occupied by amoebae species. Three types of distribution patterns were found: random, aggregated and equally spaced. Microelectrode studies indicated that amoebae distribution was not related to the dissolved oxygen content in the sediment. The studied slice of sediment contained several pronounced “hotspots” of amoebae biodiversity, where up to four species co-occur in the same area. Seven species of amoebae numbered 1–4 specimens in the studied slice (i.e. there was 0.5–2 cell ml^–1). Analysis of the amoebae distribution map shows the high probability of undersampling rare amoebae species during faunistic studies.