Ref ID : 4636
Mirna H. Regali-Seleghim and Mirna J.L. Godinho; Peritrich epibiont protozoans in the zooplankton of a subtropical shallow aquatic ecosystem (Monjolinho Reservoir, Sao Carlos, Brazil). J.Plankton Research 26(5):501-508, 2004
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Peritrich epibiont protozoans and metazooplankton (rotifers, cladocerans and copepods) were investigated seasonally in a shallow eutrophic artificial reservoir in a subtropical region (Monjolinho Reservoir, Brazil). The ciliated peritrichs Rhabdostyla sp. and Scyphidia sp. were found to colonize individuals of different metazooplanktonic groups, especially copepods (47.20% of the total number of metazooplanktonic organisms found with epibionts and 57.14% of infection in the copepod population). Copepods also had the greatest epibiont load, followed by cladocerans and rotifers. Rotifers were the most important metazooplanktonic group (90.14% of the total) and the taxa observed with epibionts were Filinia longiseta, Polyarthra, Brachionus and Keratella, with highest preference for the first organism. F. longiseta was present at low density compared with the others and the preference as a substrate for epibionts may be related to its type of adhesion surface (soft) and/or feeding habits (particle feeding).