Mixotrophy in Marine Planktonic Ciliates

本研究讨论了营养地位和生产力 叶绿素在海洋中的作用。 为了 了解南极寡毛类的营养地位 纤毛虫，决定纤毛虫对两者依赖的因素 光合作用和吞噬营养模式将是 在有限数量的实验室实验中研究。 主要 重点将是记录叶绿体的发生率， 陆架、陆坡和大洋沃茨中纤毛虫的滞留， 将其与关于其在浅海沃茨发生率的现有数据进行比较。 基于放射性标记碳的生产力研究将用于 估计浮游纤毛虫对初级 生产 纤毛虫是一种原生动物， 栖息地 它们被认为是地表水的一部分 动物群，并从消费其他动物中获得食物需求， 浮游生物。 然而，Stoecker以前的工作 结果表明，沿海地区约有40%的寡毛纤毛虫 沃茨中保留有来自被摄取藻类的叶绿体。 许多 因此，这些纤毛虫的营养来源于 光合作用（从保留的藻类叶绿体），以及 从颗粒摄入，并模糊了通常的区别， 植物和动物营养。 这项工作将调查 控制这两个相对贡献的因素 摄食方式对纤毛虫的营养，并确定如何 这种非传统的喂养方式在其他地区也很普遍， 海洋

This study addresses the trophic position and productivity role of chlorophyll retaining ciliates in the ocean. In order to understand the trophic position of planktonic oligotrichous ciliates, factors that determine the ciliates' dependence on both photosynthetic and phagotrophic modes of nutrition will be studied in a limited number of laboratory experiments. The major focus will be on documenting the incidence of chloroplast retention among ciliates in shelf, slope, and oceanic waters, and compare it to existing data on its incidence in neritic waters. Productivity studies based on radiolabeled carbon will be used to estimate the contribution of planktonic ciliates to primary production. Ciliates are a type of protozoan that are common in aquatic habitats. They are considered to be part of the surface water fauna and to derive their food requirements from consuming other planktonic organisms. However, previous work by Stoecker has shown that about 40% of the oligotrichous ciliates in coastal waters retain chloroplasts derived from ingested algae. Many of these ciliates therefore, derive their nutrition from both photosynthesis (from the retained algal chloroplasts), as well as from particle ingestion, and blur the usual distinction between plant and animal nutrition. This work will investigate the factors that control the relative contributions of these two feeding modes to the nutrition of the ciliate, and determine how extensive this unconventional feeding mode is in other parts of the ocean.