Biodiv Sci ›› 2014, Vol. 22 ›› Issue (5): 649-657.  DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1003.2014.13257

Special Issue: 海洋生物多样性

• Marine Biodiversity Special Feature • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Seasonal change of the community of large-sized tintinnids (Ciliophora, Tintinnida) in Laizhou Bay

Xue Chen1,3, Wuchang Zhang1,*(), Qiang Wu2, Qingshan Luan2, Tian Xiao1   

  1. 1 Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, Shandong 266071
    2 Laboratory of Stock Assessment and Ecosystem, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, Shandong 266071
    3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049
  • Received:2013-12-11 Accepted:2014-04-17 Online:2014-09-20 Published:2014-10-09
  • Contact: Zhang Wuchang

Abstract:

The abundance and seasonal change of large-sized tintinnids were studied in Laizhou Bay. Large-sized tintinnids were collected by vertical towing using a shallow sea type III plankton net (open area 0.1 m2, mesh size 76 μm) during 9 cruises between May and November of 2011 and from March to April, 2012. The samples were fixed in formalin solution to a final concentration of 5% and counted using an inverted microscope in the laboratory. We sampled 8 stations to avoid fluctuations over a short time period. The purpose of this study was to characterize seasonal change of the large-sized tintinnid community. Maximum tintinnid species richness was 19 in August and minimum was 5 in May. Tintinnid abundance ranged from 0 ind./L to 318 ind./L. Average abundance at all stations was highest (63 ind./L) in July and lowest (2 ind./L) in March, and there was a secondary peak of 48 ind./L in May. The abundance of Codonellopsis mobilis and Tintinnopsis chinglanensis were more than 50 ind./L. Agglutinated species occurred from March to November, while the hyaline species only occurred from June to September when the temperature was > 15°C. Codonellopsis mobilis occurred from March to November. The number of dominant species ranged from 1 in May, to 8 in August. Codonellopsis mobilis was a dominant species during all time periods and this one species significantly influenced the pattern of total ciliate abundance. Using the average abundance data of 8 stations, two distinct cluster groups were observed (30% similarity): cluster I (July to September) and cluster II (March to June, October to November). The cluster results showed that there was a seasonal change of the large-sized tintinnid community. Average abundance and species richness were not significantly correlated with temperature and salinity.

Key words: Tintinnid, community, seasonal change, Laizhou Bay