Back
Full-text
Journal article

Assessing the ecological value of small testate amoebae (<45 μm) in New Zealand peatlands.

  • McKeown MM Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, 54 Gerald Street, 7608 Lincoln, New Zealand. Electronic address: mckeownm@landcareresearch.co.nz.
  • Wilmshurst JM Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, 54 Gerald Street, 7608 Lincoln, New Zealand; School of Environment, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, 1142 Auckland, New Zealand.
  • Duckert C Laboratory of Soil Biodiversity, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
  • Wood JR Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, 54 Gerald Street, 7608 Lincoln, New Zealand.
  • Mitchell EAD Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, 54 Gerald Street, 7608 Lincoln, New Zealand; Laboratory of Soil Biodiversity, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Jardin Botanique de Neuchâtel, Chemin du Perthuis-du-Sault 58, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Show more…
  • 2019-01-15
Published in:
  • European journal of protistology. - 2019
Bogs
Human impact
New Zealand
Taxonomy
Testate amoebae
Wetlands
Amoeba
Biodiversity
Environment
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
New Zealand
Wetlands
English Methodological advances are essential for robust ecological research. Quantitative reconstructions of environmental conditions using testate amoebae rely on sound taxonomy. While the taxonomy of large species is relatively well resolved, this is not the case for most small taxa (typically <45 μm long). In New Zealand, peatlands contain a diversity of both cosmopolitan and characteristic large southern endemic taxa, but also have a high abundance of small taxa. The latter are often lumped into morphotypes reducing their value as ecological indicators. In this study, we demonstrate how (a) lumping small taxa versus splitting them into unique types, and (b) including or excluding them from community analysis influenced their ecological inference. We assessed testate amoeba composition in six peat bogs from New Zealand, three that were moderately-to-highly impacted, and three that were non-impacted. Environmental variables were measured at each sampling site and the surface testate amoeba community patterns and community-environment relationships compared. We found a clear division between impacted and non-impacted sites. Several distinct small taxa were more strongly related to water-table depth and conductivity, while the larger taxa were more correlated to pH. These results show that improved taxonomic resolution of small taxa can provide more informed environmental assessment.
Language
  • English
Open access status
green
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/125565
Statistics
Document views: 11 File downloads:
  • fulltext.pdf: 0