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Protozoa (Unicellular Zooplankton): Ciliates and Flagellates

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Lake Kinneret

Part of the book series: Aquatic Ecology Series ((AQEC,volume 6))

Abstract

Heterotrophic and mixotrophic protozoa have been recognized as important constituents of aquatic microbial food webs since the 1990s. Much less is known about the ecosystem roles of these organisms than about bacteria and archaea. Several pioneering studies in Lake Kinneret made in the 1980s clearly indicated that heterotrophic and mixotrophic ciliates and flagellates were of great significance in the mineralization of organic matter and cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Modeling studies suggested that the protozoa, especially ciliates, appeared to be a critical food source for copepods. However, only after many years there was renewed research on protozoa as drivers of carbon flux and nutrient cycling. Routine monitoring of the lake ciliate populations was begun in 2006.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Yigal Allon Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, P.O. Box 447, 14950, Migdal, Israel

    Ora Hadas, Tom Berman, Nehama Malinsky-Rushansky & Gideon Gal

Authors
  1. Ora Hadas
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  2. Tom Berman
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  3. Nehama Malinsky-Rushansky
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  4. Gideon Gal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ora Hadas .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Department, Kinneret Limnological laboratory, Migdal, Israel

    Tamar Zohary

  2. Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Department, Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, Migdal, Israel

    Assaf Sukenik

  3. Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Department, Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, Migdal, Israel

    Tom Berman

  4. Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Department, Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, Migdal, Israel

    Ami Nishri

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Hadas, O., Berman, T., Malinsky-Rushansky, N., Gal, G. (2014). Protozoa (Unicellular Zooplankton): Ciliates and Flagellates. In: Zohary, T., Sukenik, A., Berman, T., Nishri, A. (eds) Lake Kinneret. Aquatic Ecology Series, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8944-8_14

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