Monograph of the family Euplotidae Ehrenberg, 1838 (Ciliophora, Spirotrichea)

The family Euplotidae is an important, relatively homogenous subgroup of the Euplotia, one of the three major groups (Oligotrichia, Hypotrichia) of the spirotrichous ciliates. The pre- dominantly benthic euplotids are widely distributed in marine and limnetic habitats (including sewage treatment plants) and sometimes rather abundant. Few species live in terrestrial habitats. The euplotids are a very uniform group compared to the hypotrichs. Most species are small or medium-sized (about 40 m to <200 m), often distinctly sculptured, have 810 frontoventral cirri, five transverse cirri, three or four marginal and caudal cirri, and 810 dorsal kineties. An important morphological feature is the striking silverline system of the dorsal side. The nuclear apparatus is composed of a strongly curved macronucleus and a micronucleus. The contractile vacuole is in the posterior body portion near the right cell margin. Until now, about 160 species, subspecies, varieties, and forms have been described. In recent classifications, usually four genera or subgenera are accepted (Euplotes, Euplotoides, Euplotopsis, Moneuplotes). However, these morphological separation is only partly supported by gene sequence analyses. The Monograph of the Euplotidae will have the same structure like the six-volume Monograph of the Hypotricha (Monographiae Biologicae, Springer) authored by the applicant. The project comprises the following points: The critical revision of the available data comprises the major part of the project. The experience of the applicant with the group and the closely related hypotrichous spirotrichs (many publications mainly dealing with hypotrichs and other ciliates, inter alia, 12 mono- graphs comprising many thousands of pages) as well as comprehensive preliminary works (e.g., indexation of about 3800 papers dealing with euplotids to species level; current index to all species of the euplotids and hypotrichs; making of a bibliography) simplify, respectively, are prerequisite for the monographic treatment of this group. Description of the supposed ground pattern on the basis of a detailed analysis of all relevant features as well phylogenetic analysis. Investigation of some new populations mainly from limnetic and marine (Adriatic Sea) habitats with classical morphological methods. The monograph of the euplotids will be not only an important reference book for taxonomists dealing with this group, but also a comprehensive source of information for biologists of other disciplines (ecology, molecular biology, physiology, ). The PDF-file of the monograph will be freely available (Open Access). However, on safety grounds a printed version will be also available to ensure long-term availability (>100 years).

The FWF-project Monograph of the family Euplotidae Ehrenberg, 1838 (Ciliophora, Spirotrichea) deals with single-celled organisms belonging to the ciliated protozoa (= ciliates or Ciliophora). The generally known Paramecium (slipper animalcule) and the bell animalcules (e.g., Vorticella) are also ciliates, however, they belong to different subgroups. The main goal of the project was to compose a book (a monograph) about the species of the family Euplotidae. A monograph treats the systematics (morphology, ecology, genealogical relationships, distribution, etc.) of a group in the most complete detail possible (Winston 1999, p. 121; Describing species, Columbia Univ. Press). The present monograph is basically a sequel of a series treating a closely related group of ciliates, the hypotrichs; for details on this group, see https://www.protozoology.com/monograph/index.html. Originally, it was planned to treat all species of the family in a single volume. About 170 species have been described since 1758, the beginning of zoological nomenclature. Until 1978, almost all species have been classified in the genus Euplotes Ehrenberg, 1830. Later, this genus was split and the present monograph deals with the members of the genus Euplotoides Borror & Hill, 1995 and some little-known species perhaps also belonging to this genus. Euplotoides species have several interesting features in common (e.g., nine frontoventral cirri, a double silverline pattern on the dorsal side, symbiotic bacteria) and live mainly in freshwater. The monograph comprises 16 valid species, several of them are very well known, for example, E. patella, E. eurystomus, E. aediculatus. However, in total 42 nominal species and subordinate taxa (subspecies, varieties, forms) are treated. The 26 invalid taxa are either junior synonyms of the valid species or species which cannot be recognized from the original description (species indeterminata). About 2000 papers about Euplotoides species have been published between 1773 and 2017. The common Euplotoides patella (type species of the genus) was already discovered by Müller (1773; Vermium Terrestrium et Fluviatilium, Heineck & Faber) and is thus mentioned in more than 700 papers. Each of the about 550 faunistic records from the literature is listed in detail and thus the monograph is the first work where the geographic distribution of this and the other species is presented comprehensively. Three species (E. patella, E. eurystomus, E. aediculatus) are used as biological indicators of water quality and thus the monograph is not only very useful for taxonomists dealing with ciliates, but also valuable for practitioners dealing with water quality or sewage treatment. Another important topic of the monograph is nomenclature (= assigning names to the groupings found). All scientific names mentioned in the monograph are explained in detail and registered in ZooBank, the official registry of zoological nomenclature (www.zoobank.org). The book will be published in Denisia (Linz, Upper Austria) in 2018.Data on funding: 1 person (Helmut BERGER); 3 years (July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2017); 20 h/week; amount granted: 102.474,01 Euro; used: 96.657,48 Euro. Further details, see project website: https://www.protozoology.com/monograph_euplotidae/index.htm