Faunistic study on the freshwater ciliates from Delhi, India

The ciliated protist communities show richness as well as uniqueness. This is true both for aquatic and soil ciliates. Delhi region lies in the subtropical semi-arid zone wherein the temperatures are highest in May-June and lowest in January. It also receives its monsoonal rainfall during the month of July-August. Thus, the region offers ideal conditions for the growth and proliferation of aquatic living beings. During the past three decades, a series of investigation has been carried out on the freshwater free-living ciliate fauna from fourteen sites at the river Yamuna and different freshwater bodies in Delhi. Samples were brought to the laboratory, ciliates were identified using live-cell observations and silver staining methods. A large number of Spirotrich species and a lower proportion belonging to class Heterotrichea, Litostomaea, Phyllopharyngea, Oligohymenophorea, Prostomatea, and Colpodea were identified. A total of 55 species belonging to 7 classes, 16 orders, 26 families, 40 genera were identified and documented. Ciliate diversity was found to be highest in the water sample from Okhla bird sanctuary (OBS). All ciliate species recorded during the present study have been listed and their general characteristics have been discussed.

The biodiversity and community structure of soil ciliates of Talish forests in south-eastern Azerbaijan

New information on the fauna of the soil ciliates of south-eastern Azerbaijan is presented in this article. As a result of surveys conducted in 2017–2019, 65 species of soil ciliates assigned to 33 families were recorded. The highest diversity of pedobiont ciliates was observed in Masalli and Lankaran forest soils. On the other hand, the lowest species diversity was recorded in the Astara region. The highest species diversity was found for the family Colpodidae, of which 7 species were found. Four of them belong to the pedobiont genus Colpoda. Almost all representatives of this genus are typically soil species and euribionts with wide ecological plasticity. In addition, two species that are the representatives of the genus Tillina were found in soil, but they can be occasionally found in freshwater bodies. It should be noted that the special climatic conditions of south-eastern Azerbaijan impact on the distribution regularity of ciliates in the mountain-forest soils. The accumulation of ciliates in forest soils in spring was observed in the upper horizon of the 5 cm soil litter layer in summer. Due to the decrease in humidity in upper layers, pedobiont ciliate migrates to deeper layers (10–15 cm), and in autumn with the increase in precipitation and humidity in the upper soil horizons, the mass of soil ciliates is again localized in the forest litter and in the upper soil layer. It is also worth noting another specific complex of ciliates in the forest soils of south-eastern Azerbaijan. In early spring and autumn, with the maximum moisture content in the forest soil, we often observed ciliates, which usually dwell in fresh waters. Among them are representatives of such genera as Zosterodasys, Nassula, Aspidisca, Blepharisma, Frontonia, Urotricha etc. The species diversity and community similarity index of soil ciliates in Talish forests of Lankaran natural area were also calculated. The study attempts to compare the difference in ciliates community among five different regions of south-eastern Azerbaijan. The analysis showed that there are 3 clusters of the similarity of species diversity of ciliate communities. The similarity between the ciliate fauna of the high mountainous regions and fauna of the plain regions was 52.15–69.00 %.

Soil Ciliates of Different Trophic Groups in Samur-Yalama National Park, Azerbaijan

A comparative investigation of the ciliates of separate trophic groups on the areas of Samur-Yalama National Park with different strength of anthropogenic impact was carried out. The ratio of trophic groups in the soil ciliates communities was found to reflect the ecological conditions in soil environment. It is expressed primarily in the reduction of the number of trophic groups caused by deteriorating environmental conditions.

The Use of Ciliates (Ciliophora) for Bioassay of the Toxicity of Insecticides

Field and laboratory experiments have been carried out to determine the degree of toxicity in the soil community of ciliates of two insecticides: “Confidor Extra” and “Decis Profi” at concentrations of 80 mg/l, 50mg/l and 25mg/l. Laboratory experiments were performed with the soil ciliates species Colpoda cucullus (Müller, 1773). Changes in phagocytosis and osmoregulation were used as indicators of the survival and physiological parameters. In addition to the laboratory experiments, we carried out field experiments on experimental plots (50 × 50 cm) of the virgin soil. Field experiments were carried out in 5 replications. The results showed that the modification of physiological parameters is thinner exponent toxicity than survival.