Ecology of testate amoebae in Dajiuhu peatland of Shennongjia Mountains, China, in relation to hydrology

Abstract

This study investigates the testate amoeba communities of a large peatland in Central China. The ecology and seasonal variability of testate amoeba communities were studied during 2009–2010. Investigation of environmental controls using ordination showed that the relationship between testate amoeba communities and depth to water table (DWT) and pH are extremely weak. The small proportion of variance explained by water table depth here (only 1.9% in the full data) shows that the hydrological control is weaker than we expected in this peatland, and weaker than any study we are aware of using a similar methodology. Attempts to develop species-environment (transfer function) models or identify indicator species for future palaeoecological studies were unsuccessful. Previous large-scale studies of peatland testate amoeba ecology have been largely restricted to Europe and North America and results have been relatively consistent among studies. Our results contrast with this consensus and suggest that at least in minerotrophic peatlands in China testate amoeba communities may be primarily controlled by different environmental variables. In China, testate amoebae have been relatively little studied but may prove to be valuable for a variety of applications in palaeoecology and biomonitoring and much further work is required.