Functional ecology of aquatic phagotrophic protists - Concepts, limitations, and perspectives



Weisse, Thomas, Anderson, Ruth, Arndt, Hartmut, Calbet, Albert, Hansen, Per Juel and Montagnes, David JS ORCID: 0000-0001-8826-9837
(2016) Functional ecology of aquatic phagotrophic protists - Concepts, limitations, and perspectives. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PROTISTOLOGY, 55 (Pt A). pp. 50-74.

[img] Text
Weisse et al_FuncEcol_2016.pdf - Unspecified

Download (2MB)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-12T11:30:27Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-12T12:26:40Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-12T13:25:52Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-12T14:25:57Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-12T15:26:01Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-12T16:26:38Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-12T17:25:52Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-12T18:26:51Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-12T19:26:19Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-12T20:26:41Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-12T21:26:56Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-12T22:27:52Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-12T23:33:36Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-13T01:28:35Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-13T02:27:37Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-13T03:27:51Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-13T04:51:11Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-13T05:27:45Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-13T06:26:49Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-13T07:27:06Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-13T08:27:36Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)
[img] Atom XML (admin)
2017-05-13T09:26:47Z.atom - Unspecified

Download (0B)

Abstract

Functional ecology is a subdiscipline that aims to enable a mechanistic understanding of patterns and processes from the organismic to the ecosystem level. This paper addresses some main aspects of the process-oriented current knowledge on phagotrophic, i.e. heterotrophic and mixotrophic, protists in aquatic food webs. This is not an exhaustive review; rather, we focus on conceptual issues, in particular on the numerical and functional response of these organisms. We discuss the evolution of concepts and define parameters to evaluate predator-prey dynamics ranging from Lotka-Volterra to the Independent Response Model. Since protists have extremely versatile feeding modes, we explore if there are systematic differences related to their taxonomic affiliation and life strategies. We differentiate between intrinsic factors (nutritional history, acclimatisation) and extrinsic factors (temperature, food, turbulence) affecting feeding, growth, and survival of protist populations. We briefly consider intraspecific variability of some key parameters and constraints inherent in laboratory microcosm experiments. We then upscale the significance of phagotrophic protists in food webs to the ocean level. Finally, we discuss limitations of the mechanistic understanding of protist functional ecology resulting from principal unpredictability of nonlinear dynamics. We conclude by defining open questions and identifying perspectives for future research on functional ecology of aquatic phagotrophic protists.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Functional response, Independent Response Model, Mixotrophy, Nonlinear dynamics, Numerical response, Protist grazing
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 06 May 2016 13:56
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 07:37
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejop.2016.03.003
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3001125