Simultaneous enumeration of diatom,protozoa and meiobenthos from marine sediments using Ludox-QPS method

The Ludox-QPS method is a newly developed technique,which combines the Ludox HS 40 density centrifugation and quantitative protargol stain,to enumerate marine ciliates with good taxonomic resolution.We tested the method for simultaneous enumeration of diatoms,protozoa and meiobenthos and compared its extraction efficiency for meiobenthos with that of the routine Ludox-TM centrifugation and a modified protocol using Ludox HS 40.We conducted the evaluation with a sample size of 8.3 ml each from sandy,muddy-sand and muddy sediments collected from the intertidal area of the Yellow Sea in summer 2006 and spring 2007.The Ludox-QPS method not only produced high extraction efficiencies of 97±1.3% for diatoms and 97.6±0.8% for ciliates,indicating a reliable enumeration for eukaryotic microbenthos,but also produced excellent extraction efficiencies of on average 97.3% for total meiobenthos,97.9% for nematodes and 97.8% for copepods from sands,muddy sands and mud.By contrast,the routine Ludox-TM centrifugation obtained only about 74% of total meiobenthos abundance with one extraction cycle,and the modified Ludox HS 40 centrifugation yielded on average 93% of total meiobenthos:89.4±2.0% from sands,93±4.1% from muddy sands and 97.1±3.0% from mud.Apart from the sediment type,sample volume was another important factor affecting the extraction efficiency for meiobenthos.The extraction rate was increased to about 96.4% when using the same modified Ludox centrifugation for a 4 ml sediment sample.Besides the excellent extraction efficiency,the Ludox-QPS method obtained higher abundances of meiobenthos,in particular nematodes,than the routine Ludox centrifugation,which frequently resulted in an uncertain loss of small meiobenthos during the sieving process.Statistical analyses demonstrated that there were no significant differences between the meiobenthos communities revealed by the Ludox-QPS method and the modified Ludox HS 40 centrifugation,showing the high efficiency of the Ludox-QPS method for simultaneous enumeration of diatom,protozoa and meiobenthos.Moreover,the comparatively high taxonomic resolution of the method,especially for diatoms and ciliates,makes it feasible to investigate microbial ecology at community level.

Meiobenthos Assemblages as Bioindicators for Coastal Pollution Assessment

Coastal pollution assessment is a pressing matter as the anthropogenic pressure continues to increase worldwide. A leading approach to assess coastal pollution is using bioindicators. However, identifying species is time-consuming and demands profound morphological knowledge. Our goal was to find the meiobenthic composition in each pollution level. By utilizing the meiobenthic assemblage’s ratios, we will be able to indicate the pollution level. We examined the meiobenthos distribution at three sites exposed to a pollution gradient. We quantified the changes in the fauna assemblage in the community phylum level, focusing on nematodes and foraminifera (90% of the total population). Over 400 samples were examined, covering an annual seasonal cycle. Nematodes population dominated in the polluted coast. Nematodes density increased with the pollution level, up to seemingly harmful levels of pollution. In contradiction, the foraminifera flourished in the control site and exhibited an inverse relationship to the nematodes. We witnessed drastic changes in the entire meiobenthic population in the winter, which we speculate that originated from winter turbulences. We suggest that nematodes-foraminifers’ population ratios may be utilized as bioindicators for assessing coast intertidal zone pollution levels.

A new species of the genus Haloschizopera Lang, 1944(Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Miraciidae, Diosaccinae) from the East China Sea

A new species belonging to the genus Haloschizopera Lang, 1944 (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Miraciidae, Diosaccinae) was identifi ed based on the samples collected from the East China Sea, near the off shore of Zhejiang Province, East China. The new species is closely related to H . pygmaea Norman & Sccot T., 1905 and shares a combination of the following features: A1 eight-segmented;A2 exp-2 with one distal seta, exp-3 with three setae;P1 endopodal segments subequal, enp-1 not exceeding exp-2;exp-3 of P3 with one inner seta, of P4 with two inner setae. The new species is characterized by the presence of one inner seta on P2 exp-3 of both sexes. It can also be distinguished from its congeners by the characters of female: P5 exopod subcircular, endopodal lobe extending beyond half-length of exopod;genital doublesomite ornamented with three dorsolateral rows of spinules on anterior part.