Variation Characteristics of the Ciliate Protozoan Community in the Intertidal Zone by the Outbreak of Enteromorpha Prolifera

Xinhan Chen

doi:10.54097/a3kbqv66

Authors

Xinhan Chen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/a3kbqv66

Keywords:

Ciliate, Enteromorpha Prolifera, Community Structure, Intertidal Zone, Ecological Effect

Abstract

Ciliates, a representative group of unicellular eukaryotes, play multidimensional and crucial roles within environmental ecosystems. They constitute a vital component of intertidal ecosystems and are significant drivers for ecosystems' material cycling, functional regulation, and energy flow. Given that their community structure is susceptible to external environmental variations, ciliates can be utilized as biological indicator species, thereby playing a pivotal role in biological monitoring and environmental conservation research. This study focuses on ciliates to investigate the influence of Enteromorpha prolifera outbreaks on the ciliate protozoan community in the intertidal ecological setting. The findings indicate that during Enteromorpha prolifera outbreaks, the ciliate community structure generally transitions from simplicity to complexity. Specifically, species diversity and the relationships of interaction among species continuously increase. Additionally, within the ciliate community, the succession of dominant species occurs due to certain morphological and functional disparities. Furthermore, the alterations in environmental factors induced by Enteromorpha prolifera outbreaks have a significant impact on the composition of the ciliate community. These results all suggest the potential for ciliates to serve as a biological indicator group for the occurrence of E. prolifera green tides.

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