Morphology and ecology of endemic ciliates from bromeliads

At the turn of the millennium, Foissner et al. (2003) discovered a likely specific (endemic) ciliate fauna in tank bromeliads. Ciliates are single-celled organisms (protists) of microscopic size (~15-1000 m), for instance, the widely known slipper animal (Paramecium). Bromeliads are a group of rosette plants of the Liliidae restricted to Central and South America. The "tanks" (= small bodies of water) are formed by the coalescing leaf axils which collect the rain water and plant litter. Since Picado (1913), it is known that bromelian tanks are inhabited by many specific organisms, now ranging from protists to frogs. Our research started without any grant support (Foissner et al. 2003). Now, we have a lot of interesting material (~ 40 new species, including several new genera and families) and ideas, whose realization and publication needs personnel and financial support. The project is planed with an ecological partner (Prof. Weisse, Austria); a not yet specified molecular partner; and three Jamaican partners from the University of the West Indies, viz., Dr. K. Wolf (on-site coordinator), Dr. G. Procter (a botanist for identifying bromeliads), and, hopefully, a Jamaican post-doc so that the knowledge is transferred to the country. Main objectives and perspectives include: To publish the taxonomic data accumulated and those obtained during a planed stay at Jamaica University. Likely, these are about 60 new ciliate species whose distribution will be investigated at various spatial scales. This part of the project should firmly establish the specificity of the bromelian tank ciliate community and thus the occurrence of micro-organisms with restricted geographic distribution. To contribute to biodiversity of protists from a region of which very few is known. Ecological research will include the functional ecology of some of the more common en-demic tank ciliates and experiments for exploring the unusually high frequency of species which can switch between bacteriophagous microstomes and predaceous macrostomes. To educate a young Jamaican scientist in classical and molecular alpha-taxonomy (= de-scription of species), a specific discipline threatened to become extinct in Europe and the USA, at least as concerns heterotrophic, free-living protists. The project is planed for three years and is supported by the Dean of the University of the West Indies and the president of the Natural History Society of Jamaica (see letters in the appendix). The financial support needed amounts to about 299,000 Euro, mainly to finance a post-doc and a technician.

Ciliophora or ciliates (Infusoria) are single-celled organisms (Protozoa) of microscopic size (usually < 1 mm). Their diversity (number of species) and phylogeny (relationships) are poorly known. Ciliates occur in most water- containing habitats, i.e., in marine and limnetic ecosystems and in and on multicellular animals and plants. As the name says, ciliates have covered the body with fine hairs (cilia), used for swimming and food acquisition. When the environmental conditions become unfavourable, they have the ability to produce a dormant stage, called resting cyst. During encystment, the cells round up and secret a wall so resistant that the fragile cells can survive for years. Ciliates belong to the heterotrophic protists, together with amoebae, flagellates and sporozoans, which lack chlorophyll and must thus feed for nutrition. As yet, about 10.000 ciliate species have been described; however, this are possibly only 20% of the actual diversity, which is poorly known because most ciliates are harmless and thus comparatively uninteresting for most scientists.In the year 2000, I spent my holidays in Brazil at the so-called Mater Atlantica. There, the coast is covered with large terrestrial bromeliads which have arranged their leaves in a way that the rain-water cannot flow out. Thus, many small ponds (tanks, cisterns) are formed between the leaves. It is well-known that these cisterns contain many specific, endemic organisms. However, the single-celled protists have been never investigated in detail. Thus, I took two samples to the Salzburg laboratory, and a simple view with the microscope showed that a new world was waiting to be discovered, i.e., the two samples contained five new species, three representing also new genera.Thus, I applied for a FWF grant, together with an ecologist (Prof. Dr. Thomas Weisse) and a German researcher in Jamaica (Dr. habil. Klaus Wolf). The results of our project have been published in 40 full, peer-reviewed papers and were presented in many meetings. As an example, the new genus and species Bromeliothrix metopoides should be mentioned. This ciliate occurs only in tank bromeliads because it needs very high food concentrations, indeed the highest known in ciliates. When such a concentration is present then it can reproduce very fast making a division chain with four individuals. Our investigations also confirmed the first impression that there must be hundreds of undescribed ciliate species in bromeliad tanks. As yet, we have described 20 of them.A main goal of the project was the education of young scientists in morphological and molecular systematics. But this is a difficult task with little social reputation although species describers are heavily needed globally. Fortunately, I could interest Mag. Omar Atef from Egypt. He promoted in November 2013 with a study on the microthoracid ciliates in tank bromeliads.