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Planktonic ciliates in different water masses in open waters near Prydz Bay (East Antarctica) during austral summer, with an emphasis on tintinnid assemblages

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Abstract

Planktonic ciliates are important microzooplankton in pelagic ecosystems. Previous studies in Antarctic waters have only investigated ciliate assemblages in different habitats without considering water masses. In this article, we report the characteristics of ciliate assemblages in different water masses in open waters near Prydz Bay (East Antarctica) during austral summer. Three water masses were identified according to temperature and salinity: Summer Surface Water (SSW), Winter Water (WW), and Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW). SSW was further divided into SSWChl a < 3 (in vivo Chlorophyll a > 3 mg m−3) and SSWChl a < 3 (in vivo Chlorophyll a < 3 mg m−3). Ciliate abundance and biomass in water masses decreased in the order: SSW > WW > CDW. SSWChl a > 3 had a higher proportion (38.2%) of tintinnids to the total ciliate abundance and larger aloricate ciliates (ciliates in the 10–20 µm size class were < 15% of the total aloricate ciliate abundance) than in other water masses. WW had a higher proportion (> 30%) of Southern Ocean endemic tintinnid species in total tintinnid abundance than in other water masses. Each water mass had the following indigenous tintinnid species: SSW, Salpingella sp., Codonellopsis gaussi; WW, Salpingella costata, S. faurei, Cymatocylis affinis/convallaria forma drygalskii, and C. vanhoeffeni. Laackmanniella naviculaefera and C. affinis/convallaria forma cristallina were present at high abundance in both WW and SSWChl a > 3. Upwelling caused discontinuity of the ciliate distribution. Our results will help predict the spatial and temporal variations of ciliate assemblages and other plankton according to the dynamics of water masses in Antarctic waters.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the 31st CHINARE Antarctic expedition for providing logistical support and environmental data. We thank Jeremy Kamen, MSc, from Liwen Bianji, Edanz Group China (www.liwenbianji.cn/ac), for editing the English text of a previous version of this manuscript. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 41576164); Chinese Polar Environment Comprehensive Investigation & Assessment Programmes (CHINARE2015-01-06 and CHINARE2015-01-05); the Scientific and Technological Innovation Project by Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (No. 2015ASKJ02); and the CNRS-NSFC Joint Research Projects Program (NSFC 41711530149).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, People’s Republic of China

    Chen Liang, Haibo Li, Yi Dong, Yuan Zhao, Zhencheng Tao, Chaolun Li & Wuchang Zhang

  2. Laboratory for Marine Ecology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266237, People’s Republic of China

    Chen Liang, Haibo Li, Yi Dong, Yuan Zhao, Zhencheng Tao, Chaolun Li & Wuchang Zhang

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Chen Liang

  4. Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7 Nanhai Road, Qingdao, 266071, People’s Republic of China

    Chen Liang, Haibo Li, Yi Dong, Yuan Zhao, Zhencheng Tao, Chaolun Li & Wuchang Zhang

  5. Aix-Marseille University, Toulon University, CNRS, IRD, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanology UM110, 13288, Marseille, France

    Gerald Gregori

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  1. Chen Liang
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Liang, C., Li, H., Dong, Y. et al. Planktonic ciliates in different water masses in open waters near Prydz Bay (East Antarctica) during austral summer, with an emphasis on tintinnid assemblages. Polar Biol 41, 2355–2371 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2375-5

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