FAQ
Jagiellonian University logo

Ciliates of the Silent Valley National Park, India: Urostyloid Hypotrichs of the Region with a Note on the Habitat

Publication date: 2010

Acta Protozoologica, 2010, Volume 49, Issue 4, pp. 339 - 364

Authors

,
Santosh Kumar
Universität Salzburg, FB Organismische Biologie, Salzburg, Austria
All publications →
,
Komal Kamra
Ciliate Biology Laboratory, Acharya Narendra Dev College, University of Delhi, Govindpuri, Kalkaji, New Delhi, India
All publications →
Rai Sapra
Ciliate Biology Laboratory, Acharya Narendra Dev College, University of Delhi, Govindpuri, Kalkaji, New Delhi, India
All publications →

Titles

Ciliates of the Silent Valley National Park, India: Urostyloid Hypotrichs of the Region with a Note on the Habitat

Abstract

The Silent Valley National Park in the state of Kerala, India, ranks high among the biodiversity hotspots of the world with 4.8 as the alpha diversity index. The Valley is surrounded by mountain ranges and has a diverse topography with a mosaic of varied habitats that have remained isolated from extraneous influences. The present report describes urostyloid ciliates from diverse ecozones within the core zone of the National Park. Six species of the urostyloids, including Anteholosticha angida n. sp. and Bakuella nilgiri n. sp., were found in soil samples. Anteholosticha angida n. sp. differs from its cogeners in having a unique combination of characters – presence of colourless cortical granules, ~ 53 macronuclear nodules, ~ 3 micronuclei, ciliature with 3–4 buccal cirri in a row and 4 dorsal kineties. Bakuella nilgiri n. sp. is characterized by the presence of colourless cortical granules, ~ 98 macronuclear nodules, 3–4 micronuclei, ciliature with 4–8 buccal cirri in a row and a mid-ventral complex comprising of ~ 21 cirral pairs and 2–10 cirri in 2–3 rows reaching up to the level of the 6–11 transverse cirri.

References

Download references

Agamaliev F. G., Alekperov I. K. (1976) A new genus Bakuella (Hypotrichida) from the Caspian Sea and the Djeiranbatansky water reservoir. Zool. Zh. 55: 128–131

Ammermann D., Steinbruck G., von Berger L., Hennig W. (1974) The development of the macronucleus in the ciliated protozoan Stylonychia mytilus. Chromosoma 45: 401–429

Berger H. (2003) Redefinition of Holosticha Wrzesniowski, 1877 (Ciliophora, Hypotricha). EurJ. Protistol39: 373–379

Berger H. (2006) Monograph of the Urostyloidea (Ciliophora, Hypotricha). Monogr. Biol. 85: 1–1303

Berger H., Foissner W. (1989) Morphology and biometry of some soil hypotrichs (Protozoa, Ciliophora) from Europe and Japan. Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist. (Zool.) 55: 19–46

Bergh R. S. (1889) Recherches sur les noyaux de l’Urostyla intermedia n. sp. Archs Biol. 9: 497–514, Planche XXXV

Bird Life International (2005) World Bird Database, Version 2.0. Cambridge, UK

Borror A. C. (1972) Revision of the order Hypotrichida (Ciliophora, Protozoa). J. Protozool. 19: 1–23

Borror A. C., Wicklow B. J. (1983) The suborder Urostylina Jankowski (Ciliophora, Hypotrichida): morphology, systematics and identification of species. Acta Protozool. 22: 97–126

Buitkamp U. (1977) Uber die Ciliatenfauna zweier mitteleuropaischer Bodenstandorte (Protozoa, Ciliata). Decheniana 130: 114–126

Eigner P., Foissner W. (1992) Divisional morphogenesis in Bakuella pampinaria nov. spec. and reevaluation of the classification of the Urostylids (Ciliophora, Hypotrichida). Eur. J. Protistol. 28: 460–470

Foissner W. (1982) Okologie und taxonomie der Hypotrichida (Protozoa: Ciliophora) einiger osterreichischer Boden. Arch. Protistenk. 126: 19–143

Foissner W. (1987a) Soil protozoa: fundamental problems, ecological significance, adaptations in ciliates and testaceans, bioindicators, and guide to the literature. Progress in Protistol2: 69–212

Foissner W. (1987b) Neue und wenig bekannte hypotriche und colpodide Ciliaten (Protozoa: Ciliophora aus Boden und Moosen, Zool. Beitr. (N. F.) 31: 187–282

Foissner W. (1995) Tropical protozoan diversity: 80 ciliate species (Protozoa, Ciliophora) in a soil sample from a tropical dry forest of Costa Rica, with descriptions of four new genera and seven new species. Arch. Protistenk. 145: 37–79

Foissner W. (1998) An updated compilation of world soil ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora), with ecological notes, new records, and descriptions of new species. Eur. J. Protistol. 34: 195–235

Foissner W. (2004) Some new ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) from an Austrian flood plain soil, including a giant, red “flagship”, Cyrtohymena (Cyrtohymenides) aspoecki nov. subgen., nov. spec. Denisia 13: 369–382

Foissner W., Agatha S., Berger H. (2002) Soil ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) from Namibia (Southwest Africa), with emphasis on two contrasting environments, the Etosha region and the Namib Desert. Part I: Text and line drawings. Part II: Photographs. Denisia 5: 1–1459

Gopi K. C. and Radhakrishnan C. (2002) Silent Valley National Park (Kerala) and its biodiversity richness – a treasure saved for humanity. ENVIS newsletter (ZSI) 8: 5–8

Groliere C.-A. (1975) Descriptions de quelques cilies hypotriches des tourbieres a sphaignes et des etendues d’eau acides. Protistologica 11: 481–498

Gupta S. (1990) Studies on the regulation of macronuclear DNA content, corticomorphogenesis and the pseudoencystment process in the ciliate Pseudourostyla levis (Takahashi) Thesis submitted to the University of Delhi for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Kahl A. (1928) Die Infusorien (Ciliata) der Oldesloer Salzwasserstellen. Arch. Hydrobiol. 19: 189–246 

Kamra K., Sapra G. R. (1990) Partial retention of parental ciliature during morphogenesis of the ciliate Coniculostomum monilata (Dragesco and Njine 1971) Njine 1978 (Oxytrichidae, Hypotrichida). Eur. J. Protistol25: 264–278

Manilal K. S. (1988) Flora of Silent Valley tropical rainforests of India, Calicut. The Mathrubhumi (MM) Press, 398 pp.

Mathew G., Rahamathulla V. K. (1993) Studies on the butterflie s of Silent Valley National Park. Entomon (Division of Entomology, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Kerala, India) 18: 185–192

Mathew G., Rugmini P., Binoy C. F. (2003) Impact of forest fire on insect species diversity – a study in the Silent Valley National Park, Kerala, India. Entomon (Division of Entomology, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Kerala, India) 28: 105–114

Mihailowitsch B., Wilbert N. (1990) Bakuella salinarium nov. spec. und Pseudokeronopsis ignea nov. spec. (Ciliata, Hypotrichida) aus einem solebelasteten Fliesgewasser des oslichen Munsterlandes. BRD. Arch. Protistenk. 138: 207–219

Ramchandran K. K., Joseph G. (2001) Distribution and demography of diurnal primates in Silent Valley National Park and adjacent areas, Kerala, India, Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 98: 191–196

Shen Y., Liu J., Song B., Gu M. (1992) Protozoa. In: Subtropical soil animals of China, (Eds. W. Yin et al.). Science Press, Beijing, pp. 97–156

Shin M. K. (1994) Systematics of Korean Hypotrichs (Ciliophora, Polyhymenophora, Hypotrichida) and molecular evolution of Hypotrichs. Dissertation Seoul National University, Seoul 270 pp.

Shin M. K., Kim W. (1993) Redescription of two holostichid species of genus Holosticha Wrzesniowski 1877 (Ciliophora, Hypotrichida,Holostichidae) from Seoul, Korea. Korean J. syst. Zool. 1: 251–259

Song W., Wilbert N., Berger H. (1992) Morphology and morphogenesis of the soil ciliate Bakuella edaphoni nov. spec. and revision of the genus Bakuella Agamaliev & Alekperov, 1976 (Ciliophora, Hypotrichida). Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist. (Zool.) 58: 133–148

Takahashi T. (1973) Mating types and two conjugation types of Pseudourostyla levis sp. n. (Ciliata). J. Sci. Hiroshima Univ., Series B, Division 1. Zoology 24: 145–163

Takahashi T. (1988) Reorganization in amicronucleates with defective mouth of the ciliate Pseudourostyla levis. J. Protozool. 35: 142–150

Takahashi T., Suhama M. (1991) Regeneration of amicronucleate fragments in the hypotrichous ciliate Pseudourostyla levis. Europ. J. Protistol26: 308–318

UNESCO (2007) World Heritage sites (tentative list), The Western Ghats, Nilgiris sub cluster

Wiackowski K. (1985) The morphology and morphogenesis of Keronella gracilis n. gen., n. spec. (Hypotrichida, Ciliophora). Protistologica 21: 81–91

Wicklow B. J. (1981) Evolution within the order Hypotrichida (Ciliophora, Protozoa): ultrastructure and morphogenesis of Thigmokeronopsis jahodai (n. gen., n. sp.); phylogeny in the urostylina (Jankowski, 1979). Protistologica 17: 331–351

Z.S.I. (1986) “Silent Valley”. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 84 (Silent Valley Special Issue): 1–4

Information

Information: Acta Protozoologica, 2010, Volume 49, Issue 4, pp. 339 - 364

Article type: Popular-science-article

Authors

Universität Salzburg, FB Organismische Biologie, Salzburg, Austria

Ciliate Biology Laboratory, Acharya Narendra Dev College, University of Delhi, Govindpuri, Kalkaji, New Delhi, India

Ciliate Biology Laboratory, Acharya Narendra Dev College, University of Delhi, Govindpuri, Kalkaji, New Delhi, India

Published at: 2010

Received at: 28.06.2010

Accepted at: 15.07.2010

Article status: Open

Licence: None

Percentage share of authors:

Santosh Kumar (Author) - 33%
Komal Kamra (Author) - 33%
Rai Sapra (Author) - 34%

Article corrections:

-

Publication languages:

English

View count: 266

Number of downloads: 336