Ciliate news

Jun
12

Pelagostrombidium fallax

Posted by sonntag

Pelagostrombidium fallax feeds on planktonic algae and digests everything but the chloroplast (=’stolen chloroplast’ or ‘kleptoplast’). From the kleptoplasts (photosynthesis), the ciliate receives additional nutrients.

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Jun
12

Bursaridium sp.

Posted by sonntag

Bursaridium sp. is a ciliate living in the plankton of alpine lakes above the treeline. Compared to other planktonic ciliates it is a relatively large species (ca. 150 x 120 µm). Bursaridium sp. feeds on algae that provide UV sunscreen compounds (MAAs) to the ciliate.

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Jan
15

Urotricha castalia (video)

Posted by sonntag

Urotricha castalia is a heterotrophic ciliate feeding mainly on small algae that appear simultaneously in lake plankton. In video ‚Urotricha castalia 1‘, we see the contractile vacuole in the posterior end of the cell and several elongated caudal cilia. In the video ‚Urotricha castalia 2‘, we see a squeezed individual with many intracellular bacteria (symbionts? […]

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Jan
15

Uroleptus willii (video)

Posted by sonntag

Uroleptus willii is a ciliate thriving in lake plankton that can also build a mucous house, the so-called lorica. In the video, we see how U. willii feeds on bacteria or other small unicellular eukaryotes with its densely arranged ciliary bundles located at the tapering anterior. Characteristic for the species is that it lives in […]

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Jan
14

Uroleptus willii

Posted by sonntag

Uroleptus willii is a ciliate thriving in lake plankton that can also build a mucous house, the so-called lorica. In the video, we see how U. willii feeds on bacteria or other small unicellular eukaryotes with its densely arranged ciliary bundles located at the tapering anterior. Characteristic for the species is that it lives in […]

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