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Impacts of turbidity on an epibiotic ciliate in the St Lucia Estuary, South Africa

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Abstract

Ciliate epibionts inhabit aquatic systems globally and may exert negative impacts on their hosts. Evidence of the environmental drivers of these epibionts is lacking. This study aimed to test the effects of turbidity on the attachment success of the ciliate Epistylis sp. on the copepod Pseudodiaptomus stuhlmanni in the turbid St Lucia Estuary, South Africa. Epistylis sp. was exposed to P. stuhlmanni individuals for 24 h under six turbidity treatments (range 8–1,500 NTU). The prevalence and density of Epistylis sp. exposed to inorganic silt decreased significantly across the turbidity range in both runs of this experiment. In the natural silt treatments, prevalence increased with turbidity up to 500 and 250 NTU in the first and second experiment, respectively. Beyond these peaks, prevalence decreased. Density peaked at 250 NTU in both experiments. High prevalence and density in the natural silt experiments is directly related to the high organic matter content in this treatment. Association of Epistylis sp. with turbidity may impact negatively P. stuhlmanni, as the longevity of this copepod is negatively related to heavy cover by Epistylis sp. and to turbidity. These findings show that environmental factors may play a key role in modulating epibiotic interactions.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal (EKZN) Wildlife conservation authorities for their support. We also thank Dr Sarah Bownes for providing us with the map of St Lucia (Fig. 1), and the postgraduate students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (School of Life Sciences) who assisted with sample collections. This work is based on the research supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF, unique Grant Nos. 94962 and 99441).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, P. Bag 54001, Durban, 4000, South Africa

    Salome Jones, Nicola K. Carrasco, Andre Vosloo & Renzo Perissinotto

  2. DST/NRF Research Chair in Shallow Water Ecosystems, Nelson Mandela University, P.O. Box 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa

    Renzo Perissinotto

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  1. Salome Jones
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  2. Nicola K. Carrasco
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  3. Andre Vosloo
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  4. Renzo Perissinotto
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Correspondence to Salome Jones.

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Handling editor: Mariana Meerhoff

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Jones, S., Carrasco, N.K., Vosloo, A. et al. Impacts of turbidity on an epibiotic ciliate in the St Lucia Estuary, South Africa. Hydrobiologia 815, 37–46 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3545-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3545-8

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