Colonization dynamics of trophic-functional patterns of PFU protozoan communities in Dongchang Lake, northern China

Abstract

The colonization dynamics of trophic-functional patterns of protozoan communities were studied based on a dataset collected using the polyurethane foam unit (PFU) method in a man-made lake in northern China from April to May 2006. The protozoa represented different trophic-functional groups during the colonization process. Only some trophic-functional groups, e.g., photoautotrophs (flagellates) and bacterivores (mainly ciliates), occurred within the PFU protozoan communities at the initial stage (3–6 days), while more trophic-functional groups, e.g., photoautotrophs, bacterivores (mainly ciliates and sarcodines), non-selectives (mainly ciliates and sarcodines), raptors (mainly ciliates), and algivores (mainly ciliates), contributed to the communities with increased species richness at the transitional (9 days), equilibrium (12–15 days) and decline (18–22 days) stages. The colonization curve of total protozoan communities significantly fitted the MacArthur–Wilson model. However, of five trophic-functional groups recorded, only bacterivores colonized in a colonization curve that significantly fitted the above equation model. These findings may provide necessary understandings for colonization dynamics of PFU protozoan communities in freshwater ecosystems.