Abstract
To study population dynamics of marine ciliates in different artificial seawaters (ASW), the population growth dynamics of a common marine ciliate Euplotes vannus were investigated using beef extract media and rice media for five types of ASW and natural seawater (NSW). The results show that: (1) the population growth rate was in the order of NSW>Flack ASW>Nakamula ASW>Schmadz ASW>Oshima ASW>Subow ASW and was considerably higher in rice media than in beef extract media (apart from Subow ASW); (2) the maximum density of E. vannus in stationary phase in each treatment was ranked as Flack ASW>Nakamula ASW>Schmadz ASW>NSW>Oshima ASW>Subow ASW, and was again higher in rice media than in beef extract media (except for Subow ASW); (3) the exponential and stationary phases were longer in rice media than in beef extract media; (4) strains of E. vannus that had been domesticated for >1 year in ASW grew significantly slower, with lower maximum density and longer stationary phase than those isolated and maintained in NSW. It was demonstrated that: (1) E. vannus may grow well in Flack, Nakamula and Schmads ASW compared with NSW (mainly in terms of growth rate); and (2) Oshima ASW is the preferred choice for stock cultures of E. vannus, but the ASWs Flack, Nakamula and Schmadz are preferred for mass culture. These findings suggest that these three ASWs are effective for the cultivation of marine protozoa for experimental studies on ecology, toxicology and molecular biology.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Berges J A, Franklin D J, Harrison P J. 2001. Evolution of an artificial seawater medium: improvements in enriched seawater, artificial water over the last two decades. J. Phycol., 37: 1 138–1 145.
Bonnet J L, Dusser M, Bohatier J, Laffosee J. 2003. Cytotoxicity assessment of three therapeutic agents, cyclosporin-A, cisplatin and doxorubicin, with the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena pyriformis. Res. Microbiol., 154: 375–385.
Caron D A, Goldmann J C. 1990. Protozoan nutrient regeneration. In: Capriulo G M Jr ed. Ecology of Marine Protozoa. Oxford University Press, New York.
Day J G, Achilles-Day U, Brown S, Warren A. 2007. Cultivation of algae and protozoa. In: Hurst C J ed. Manual of Environmental Microbiology. ASM Press, Washington.
Fenchel T. 1968. The ecology of marine microbenthos III. The reproductive potential of ciliates. Ophelia, 5: 123–136.
Finlay B J, Esteban G F. 1998. Freshwater protozoa: biodiversity and ecological function. Biodivers Conservat., 7: 1 163–1 186.
Ji D D, Ma H G, Zhang S L, Song W B. 2001. On the methods for mass-cultivation of Pseudocohnilembus hargisi. Acta. Zool. Sin., 47: 1–5. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Li J Q, Xu H L, Lin X F, Song W B. 2009. Colonization of periphytic ciliated protozoa on an artificial substrate in mariculture waters with notes on responses to environmental factors. Prog. Nat. Sci., 19: 1 235–1 240.
Perez-Uz B. 1995. Growth rate variability in geographically diverse clones of Uronema (Ciliophora: Scuticociliatida). FEMS. Microbiol. Ecol., 16: 193–204.
Peštová D, Macek M, Pérez M E M. 2008. Ciliates and their picophytoplankton-feeding activity in a high-altitude warm-monomictic saline lake. Europ. J. Protistol., 44: 13–25.
Pisani K A, Landers S C, Pappanastos E. 2008. Salinity tolerance in Hyalophysa chattoni (Ciliophora, Apostomatida), a sysmbiont of the estuarine grass shrimp Palaemonetes pugio. Europ. J. Protistol., 44: 141–148.
Pratt J R, Balczon J M. 1992. Biomonitoring using protozoans. In: Lee J J, Soldo A T eds. Protocols in Protozoology. Society of Protozoologists, Lawrence, KS.
Song W B, Zhao Y J, Xu K D, Hu X Z, Gong J. 2003. Pathogenic Protozoa in Mariculture. Science Press, Beijing.
Sunda W G, Barber R T, Huntsman S A. 1981. Phytoplankton growth in nutrient rich seawater-importance of copper-manganese cellular interactions. J. Mar. Res., 39: 567–586.
Taylor W D. 1978. Maximum growth rate, size and commonness in a community of bactivorous ciliates. Oecologia (Berl.), 36: 263–272.
Taylor W D, Berger J. 1975. Growth of Colpidium campylum in monoxenic batch culture. Can. J. Zool., 54: 392–398.
Xu H L, Song W B, Zhu M Z, Wang M, Ma H G, Hu X Z. 2005. Ecological functions of ciliated protozoa in marine ecosystem: effects of ammonium on the population growth of Euplotes vannus. High Technol. Lett., 11: 101–106.
Xu H L, Zhou L S, Yu L, Zhou X S, Jiang J G, Tian Y J, Miao Y L. 2007. Experimental ecological study on marine ciliates IV: Effects of media and temperature on population growth of Euplotes vannus. Chin. J. Appl. Environ. Biol., 13: 41–45. (in Chinese with English abstract)
Xu H L, Song W B, Warren A, Al-Rasheid K A S, Al-Faffaj S A, Gong J, Hu X Z. 2008. Planktonic protist communities in a semi-enclosed mariculture pond: structural variation and correlation with environmental conditions. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U. K., 88: 1 353–1 362.
Xu H L, Min G S, Choi J K, Jung J H, Park M H. 2009. An approach to analyses of periphytic ciliate colonization for monitoring water quality using a modified artificial substrate in Korean coastal waters. Mar. Pollut. Bull., 58: 1 278–1 285.
Xu H L, Min G S, Choi J K, Kim S J, Jung J H, Lim B J. 2009. An approach to analyses of periphytic ciliate communities for monitoring water quality using a modified artificial substrate in Korean coastal waters. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U. K., 89: 669–679.
Xu H L, Min G S, Choi J K, Zhu M Z, Jiang Y, Al-Rasheid K A S. 2010. Temporal population dynamics of the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum in a semi-enclosed mariculture pond and its relationship to environmental factors and protozoan grazers. Chin. J. Oceanol. Limnol., 28: 75–81.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Supported by the National Natural Science foundation of China (Nos. 41076089, 40976075), a Post-Doctoral Fellowship by Inha University awarded to XU Henglong, a Grant from the Center of Excellence in Biodiversity Research, King Saud University, and the 111 Project of China (No. B08049)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Xu, H., Zhu, M., Jiang, Y. et al. Population dynamics of marine ciliate Euplotes vannus (Protozoa, Ciliophora) in different artificial seawaters. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 29, 109–117 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-011-9913-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-011-9913-0