Abstract
We report for the first time the in situ dynamics of a vampyrellid in a marine system. A high sampling frequency (twice-weekly) was applied in a tropical eutrophic lagoon (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) for 5 years (2012–2016). The vampyrellid Hyalodiscus sp. specifically fed on the diatom Chaetoceros minimus during a short time window (~3 months), although the prey was intermittently detected as the dominant phytoplanktonic species over a longer period (~1 year). A classic Lotka–Volterra predator–prey dynamic was observed between the two partners, with a significant modification of the short-term oscillations of the prey. Specific abiotic preferences (i.e., relatively low temperature, intermediate salinity, and stratified conditions) associated with prey availability seemed to define this narrow temporal window of occurrence. Our results suggest that vampyrellids can be ecologically relevant in marine pelagic systems, with their impact on planktonic dynamics strongly depending on complex interactions between both biotic and abiotic factors.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Secretary of Environment of the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro for allowing us access to the data used in this work. We also thank Wendy Strangman for the English review of the manuscript. This work was funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) (14/2014 446687/2014-6, PDJ/CNPq503443/2012-3 to CA-d-S) and the International Research Network “Diversity, Evolution and Biotechnology of Marine Algae” (GDRI No. 0803 to LG and CA-d-S).
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Alves-de-Souza, C., Benevides, T.S., Menezes, M. et al. First report of vampyrellid predator–prey dynamics in a marine system. ISME J 13, 1110–1113 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-018-0329-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-018-0329-0
