Ref ID : 1743
Michael A. Gates; Quantitative importance of ciliates in the planktonic biomass of lake ecosystems. Hydrobiologia 108:233-238, 1984
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No previous study of plankton in lakes has estimated the relative contribution of ciliated protozoa to the biomass of the total plankton community, including phytoplankton. In a series of south-central Ontario lakes, ciliates comprise on the order of 5 to 10% of the total planktonic biomass of these relatively oligotrophic lakes and exist there in densities of 20-40 ml-1. Therefore, ciliates constitute an important component of lake ecosystems that should not be ignored in limnological studies of zooplankton abundance and distribution.