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The ciliate Mesodinium rubrum and its cryptophyte prey in Antarctic aquatic environments

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Abstract

For growth, the mixotrophic ciliate Mesodinium rubrum sequesters organelles from ingested prey. Feeding in the field is poorly known; however, isolates of an Antarctic M. rubrum strain are maintained in culture on a diet of Teleaulex/Plagioselmis/Geminigera-like cryptophytes, suggesting that cryptophyte presence may be an important factor controlling M. rubrum distribution and abundance in nature. We augmented field surveys with published findings to establish the distribution of both M. rubrum and a Geminigera-like cryptophyte in a range of East Antarctic aquatic environments. We also studied their overwinter abundances in Ace Lake to determine whether a predator–prey relationship existed between the two species in this natural enclosed ecosystem. The ciliate and the cryptophyte co-occurred in the majority of sites sampled which ranged widely in salinity (2.2–150 ‰) and temperature (−3.0–16 °C). We observed a cyclic relationship in species abundances in Ace Lake, implying population growth for M. rubrum responded to changed cryptophyte abundance. Mesodinium rubrum likely exerts top-down pressure on cryptophyte abundances in natural enclosed ecosystems especially under low-light winter conditions. The ciliate can be considered an apex predator in highly truncated food webs.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. John Ferris and Harry Burton conceived the early field survey. EMB was supported by an Australian Scientific Advisory Committee (ASAC) grant (#40) with additional support provided by a Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) Prince of Asturias Fellowship (2003) and a Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) overseas stipend (#BE 2579/3-1). Drs John Gibson, Fiona Scott and Andrew Davidson improved early versions of the manuscript. David Smith of the Australian Antarctic Data Centre produced Online Resource 2. Sarah Payne collected and photographed Mesodinium from Ace Lake for Fig. 1b and c in August, 2014.

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  1. Australian Antarctic Division, 203 Channel Highway, Kingston, TAS, 7050, Australia

    John van den Hoff & Elanor Bell

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  1. John van den Hoff
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  2. Elanor Bell
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Correspondence to John van den Hoff.

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van den Hoff, J., Bell, E. The ciliate Mesodinium rubrum and its cryptophyte prey in Antarctic aquatic environments. Polar Biol 38, 1305–1310 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1686-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1686-z

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