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Determinants of structure in aquatic non-pelagic protozoan communities

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Abstract

Although microbes have traditionally been used as models for testing ecological theory, research on the organization of these communities has largely been isolated from other areas of community ecology. Early studies indicated that microbial populations can form dynamic, interacting assemblages. Observations of distributional patterns suggest that certain deterministic forces regulate community structure. It appears that protozoans are tolerant of a wide range of environmental conditions although evidence for this is largely based on gross environmental analyses. Laboratory studies have suggested the importance of negative and positive biotic interactions in determining community membership, but little field evidence for this exists. The importance of transport processes in controlling community composition is being increasingly recognized. All three types of processes likely act to regulate the colonization and successional dynamics of these communities. A simple model is presented to promote the development of synthetic field and laboratory studies to test for different determinants of community structure.

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  1. University Center for Environmental and Hazardous Materials Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 24061, Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A.

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Cairns, J., McCormick, P.V. Determinants of structure in aquatic non-pelagic protozoan communities. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 11, 215–228 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02850853

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