A first description of ciliate assemblages in a subtropical, eutrophic bay, South China Sea: species assemblage and environmental correlates

The ciliate community together with physical-chemical variables was investigated in a subtropical, eutrophic bay of the South China Sea from January 7–10 (dry season) and April 27–30 (wet season), 2012. Both temperature and salinity exhibited typical seasonality. A total of 27 species of ciliates belonging to 19 genera were identified, and the dominant species were Strombidium globosaneum in January and Codonella rapa in April. The composition and abundance exhibited spatial and temporal fluctuations, with total mean abundance of ciliates in April (1219 ± 919 ind l-1), was much higher than that in January (283 ± 137 ind l-1). Spatially, high species numbers were found mainly near the mouth of the estuary, and the abundance decreased from inside to the mouth of the bay. Statistical analysis showed that ciliate assemblages were closely related to the environmental variables. The distribution patterns of salinity and chlorophyll a concentration were similar, suggesting that, prey abundance may correlate significantly with ciliate abundance, and salinity may not be the main factor explaining the spatial variation in the ciliate community in the study area.