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The Distribution of Soil Testate Amoebae under Winter Snow Cover at the Plot-scale Level in Arctic Tundra (Qeqertarsuaq/Disko Island, West Greenland)

Publication date: 28.09.2012

Acta Protozoologica, 2012, Volume 51, Issue 2, pp. 155 - 167

https://doi.org/10.4467/16890027AP.12.012.0516

Authors

,
Andrey N. Tsyganov
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,
Stijn Temmerman
University of Antwerp, Department of Biology, Ecosystem Management Research Group (ECOBE), Belgium
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,
Pieter Ledeganck
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Louis Beyens
University of Antwerp, Department of Biology, Ecosystem Management Research Group (ECOBE), Belgium
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Titles

The Distribution of Soil Testate Amoebae under Winter Snow Cover at the Plot-scale Level in Arctic Tundra (Qeqertarsuaq/Disko Island, West Greenland)

Abstract

Understanding the spatial distribution of soil protozoa under the snow cover is important for estimation of ecosystem responses to climate change and interpretation of results of field experiments. This work explores spatial patterns of soil testate amoebae under the snow cover at the plot scale (the range of metres) in arctic tundra (Qeqertarsuaq/Disko Island, West Greenland). To explain spatial patterns in abundance, species diversity and assemblage composition of testate amoebae, we measured microtopography, snow depth and substrate density. The results indicate that the abundance of active testate amoebae under the snow cover was quite low. The empty shell assemblage was characterised by the presence of linear spatial trends in the species composition across the site, whereas no patterns were detected within the plot. The distribution of the abundance and the species diversity were unstructured. The linear trends in the species composition corresponded to the site microtopography and were controlled by the topography-related soil moisture. Snow depth also affected the linear trends presumably by controlling soil temperatures. Overall, the results suggest that population processes do not generate spatial patterns in protozoan assemblages at the plot scale so that protozoan distribution can be considered random at macroscopically homogeneous plots.

Information

Information: Acta Protozoologica, 2012, Volume 51, Issue 2, pp. 155 - 167

Article type: Original article

Authors

University of Antwerp, Department of Biology, Ecosystem Management Research Group (ECOBE), Belgium

University of Antwerp, Department of Biology, Ecosystem Management Research Group (ECOBE), Belgium

Published at: 28.09.2012

Article status: Open

Licence: None

Percentage share of authors:

Andrey N. Tsyganov (Author) - 25%
Stijn Temmerman (Author) - 25%
Pieter Ledeganck (Author) - 25%
Louis Beyens (Author) - 25%

Article corrections:

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Publication languages:

English