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Diversity
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Microzooplankton Affecting Lower and Upper Food-Web Dynamics in Changing Aquatic...
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Microzooplankton Affecting Lower and Upper Food-Web Dynamics in Changing Aquatic Systems

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 13864

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Nicole Aberle-Malzahn

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Tronhjem Biological Station, Department of Biology, Trondheim, Norway
Interests: plankton ecology; pelagic food-webs; global change biology; trophic transfer

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

While knowledge on biodiversity and food web interactions in the plankton has increased considerably during the last decades, community composition, seasonality/biodiversity patterns, and the trophic role of small-sized protozoan (e.g., ciliates and dinoflagellates) and metazoan grazers (e.g., copepod nauplii, meroplanktonic larvae) at the base of planktonic food-webs remain poorly understood. Microzooplankton is considered as a primary grazer of phytoplankton, with a crucial role as a trophic intermediary between primary producers and mesozooplankton (copepods, meroplanktonic larvae, ichthyoplankton). However, ecological studies on microzooplankton are often challenged by difficulties in taxonomic identification, time-consuming analytical efforts, and the necessity of sampling efforts at a high spatial and temporal resolution. This Special Issue aims at stressing the relevance of microzooplankton in aquatic systems in terms of biodiversity and ecological function in the pelagic realm in order to understand and parameterize this component of the plankton properly in ecological and predictive models. Special emphasis will be on studies addressing changes in planktonic systems in the light of climate change, thus taking the strong thermal and functional responses of microzooplankton into account. Contributions from marine and freshwater microzooplankton research are invited, ranging from field and experimental approaches, molecular/traditional taxonomy, ecology, modeling, environmental sciences, and climate change biology. The objective of the Special Issue is to enhance our understanding on the role of microzooplankton in aquatic systems, to tackle challenges and develop perspectives for future microzooplankton research.

Dr. Nicole Aberle-Malzahn
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pelagic food webs
  • plankton
  • trophic dynamics
  • zooplankton
  • microbial loop
  • predator–prey interactions
  • energy transfer
  • biodiversity
  • protozoa
  • meroplanktonic larvae
  • molecular taxonomy
  • traditional taxonomy

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 5025 KiB  
Article
Production Performance of Moina macrocopa (Straus 1820) (Crustacea, Cladocera) Cultured in Different Salinities: The Effect on Growth, Survival, Reproduction, and Fatty Acid Composition of the Neonates
by Amirah Yuslan, Sharifah Najuwa, Atsushi Hagiwara, Mazlan A. Ghaffar, Hidayu Suhaimi and Nadiah W. Rasdi
Diversity 2021, 13(3), 105; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d13030105 - 26 Feb 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 7367
Abstract
Salinity is a known factor in shaping population dynamics and community structure through direct and indirect effects on aquatic ecosystems. Salinity changes further influence food webs through competition and predation. The responses of Moina macrocopa (Cladocera) collected from Setiu Wetland lagoon (Terengganu) was [...] Read more.
Salinity is a known factor in shaping population dynamics and community structure through direct and indirect effects on aquatic ecosystems. Salinity changes further influence food webs through competition and predation. The responses of Moina macrocopa (Cladocera) collected from Setiu Wetland lagoon (Terengganu) was evaluated through manipulative laboratory experiments to understand the ability of M. macrocopa to tolerate high salinity stress. Specifically, the fatty acid composition, growth, survival, and reproduction of this cladocerans species was examined. Sodium chloride (NaCl) as used in the treatments water with the concentration 0, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 15 salinity. Fatty acid levels were determined using Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrophotometry (GC-MS). The results indicated that optimal conditions produced the highest fatty acid content, especially the polyunsaturated fatty acid content, such as EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), ALA (alpha-linoleic acid), ARA (arachidonic acid), and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). Furthermore, M. macrocopa survival was best at salinity 0, with a percentage of 98%, whereas the opposite occurred at salinity 15, with approximately 20% of viable animals surviving. Besides, M. macrocopa also showed the highest reproduction rate at salinity 0 (e.g., average initial age of reproduction, 4.33 ± 0.58 days) compared with other salinities level. Interestingly, the difference in growth at different salinities was not evident, an unusual finding when considering adverse effects such as osmoregulation pressure on the organism. Based on the results, we conclude that M. macrocopa can only tolerate salinity below salinity 8 and cannot withstand stressful environmental conditions associated with salinities above 8. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microzooplankton Affecting Lower and Upper Food-Web Dynamics in Changing Aquatic Systems)
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19 pages, 2071 KiB  
Article
Planktonic Microcrustacean Community Structure Varies with Trophic Status and Environmental Variables in Tropical Shallow Lakes in Malaysia
by Wahidah Ahmad Dini Umi, Fatimah Md Yusoff, Ahmad Zaharin Aris, Zati Sharip and Artem Y. Sinev
Diversity 2020, 12(9), 322; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d12090322 - 24 Aug 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3045
Abstract
A study was conducted to evaluate planktonic microcrustacean species composition, abundance, and diversity in lakes with different trophic status and to determine the relationship between microcrustacean community structure and lake environmental conditions. This study hypothesized that there are correlations between eutrophication levels and [...] Read more.
A study was conducted to evaluate planktonic microcrustacean species composition, abundance, and diversity in lakes with different trophic status and to determine the relationship between microcrustacean community structure and lake environmental conditions. This study hypothesized that there are correlations between eutrophication levels and microcrustacean community structures in a lake. Three shallow lakes of different trophic status (Sembrong, Putrajaya and Subang lakes) were selected for this study. Two-Way Analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) revealed differences in microcrustacean diversity and density amongst lakes, where the hypereutrophic condition in Sembrong lake resulted in the lowest diversity but the highest density of microcrustaceans. Similarity percentage (SIMPER) analysis identified the discriminator species among lakes where the domination of small-sized microcrustaceans was observed in lakes with high levels of eutrophication; the hypereutrophic Sembrong lake (Ceriodaphnia cornuta, 74.0%); the meso-eutrophic Putrajaya lake (Bosmina longirostris, 46.9%; C. cornuta, 19.4%). Chlorophyll a, total phosphorus and water transparency showed significant roles in the distribution of microcrustaceans. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) scores indicated that small-sized C. cornuta and B. longirostris were related to the eutrophic conditions of lakes. This study elucidated that the lake trophic status could be one of the main factors contributing to the community restructuring of microcrustaceans in tropical lakes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microzooplankton Affecting Lower and Upper Food-Web Dynamics in Changing Aquatic Systems)
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Review

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26 pages, 461 KiB  
Review
Microzooplankton Communities in a Changing Ocean: A Risk Assessment
by M. Celeste López-Abbate
Diversity 2021, 13(2), 82; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d13020082 - 16 Feb 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2774
Abstract
Microzooplankton communities are fundamental components of marine food webs and have the potential to impact the functioning of carbon pumps. The identification of common responses of microzooplankton to global change has been challenging due to their plasticity and complex community-level interactions. However, accumulating [...] Read more.
Microzooplankton communities are fundamental components of marine food webs and have the potential to impact the functioning of carbon pumps. The identification of common responses of microzooplankton to global change has been challenging due to their plasticity and complex community-level interactions. However, accumulating research is providing new insights on the vulnerability of this group to different climate and other human-related hazards. Here, the current and future risk levels of microzooplankton associated with global change are assessed by identifying prevailing hazards, exposure, sensitivity, natural adaptability, and observed impacts based on available evidence. Most documented hazards for the survival and yield of microzooplankton are ocean warming, acidification, deoxygenation, and coastal eutrophication. Overall, heterotrophic protists are expected to respond and adapt rapidly to global trends. Fast growing, mixotrophy, wide internal stoichiometry, and their capacity to track optimal environmental conditions by changing species’ range distribution are among the most important traits that shape their high adaptability to global change. Community-level responses to warming, however, are predicted to be amplified in polar and subpolar regions. At the individual level, the highest risk is associated with the sensitivity to deoxygenation since microzooplankton, especially ciliates, are known to reduce metabolic rates under hypoxic episodes; however, vulnerable species can be readily replaced by specialized taxa from a similar functional type. Microzooplankton seem to act as functional buffers of environmental threats, thus conferring stability, in terms of community connectedness to marine food webs and ecosystems against external disturbances. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microzooplankton Affecting Lower and Upper Food-Web Dynamics in Changing Aquatic Systems)
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