engleski

Trophic structure of ciliate associations in periphytic communities in karstic waters

Current speed, temperature, and the amount of dissolved and suspended organic matter as food source are the factors most responsible for the dynamics of ciliated protozoans living in different types of periphyton communities. In lotic and lentic habitats in the Plitvice cascade lake system located in the karstic Dinaric area we observed that the community and the trophic structure of ciliate associations depend upon the physical structure of the vegetation cover. These differences in trophic ciliate composition were explained by the degree of the retention and accumulation of organic detritus in periphytic habitats.

ciliata; trophic structure; periphyton; current velocity; karsic waters

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