Barrel animals

Barrel animals
	Coleps sp.
Systematics
without rank:	Alveolata
without rank:	Ciliates (ciliophora)
without rank:	Intramacronucleata
without rank:	Conthreep
without rank:	Prostomatea
Genre :	Barrel animals
Scientific name
	Coleps
	Nitzsch , 1817

The coleps ( Coleps ) are one of the species of the taxon prostomatea and are among the ciliates (ciliates). The elongated to oval barrel animals are reminiscent of a barrel with their solid shell made of overlapping armor plates.

features

The armor plate belts of the barrel animals: ACP = Anterior Corollary Plates (front secondary plates), AMP = Anterior Main Plates (front main plates), PMP = Posterior Main Plates (rear main plates), PCP = Posterior Corollary Plates (rear secondary plates)

A characteristic feature of the barrel animals are the four transverse belts of overlapping plates made of calcined polysaccharide , which are easily recognizable under the light microscope . Two other belts made of armor plate cannot be seen under the light microscope: the surrounding mouth belt and the anal belt. They are stored in the alveoli, flat vacuoles under the cell membrane (pellicula). The armor plates have thorns on one side, but these are not easily recognizable because they lie below the respective preceding armor plate. Furthermore, each armor plate has characteristic windows that are either pretzel-shaped or kidney-shaped.

Locomotion

With the help of the cilia all over the body and one or more caudal (at the end of the body) cilia (s), Coleps move quickly. Barrel animals cover longer distances in a straight line while rotating rapidly around the longitudinal axis.

Occurrence

Shellfish are found in both fresh and salt water . They are widespread, mainly on the bottom of bodies of water and in bodies of water with a lot of debris . In general, barrel animals tolerate low and very low oxygen concentrations and sometimes even anaerobic conditions.

Shellfish occur all year round, a little more frequently in spring. In exceptional cases, concentrations of up to 10 · 10 ⁶ individuals per liter were observed. Normal concentrations range from a few 100 to 10,000 individuals per liter, depending on the body of water and the season.

Way of life

nutrition

Barrel animals eat algae , bacteria , hunt other ciliates and even rotifers . They also feed on dead organic matter. Some species, for example Coleps hirtus viridis and Coleps spetai , have zoochlorella ( Chlorella vulgaris ), which give them a survival advantage when there is a lack of food.

Multiplication

Coleps sp., Conjugation. Two partners who look alike but are sexually different are connected at the front ends and exchange genetic material via a plasma bridge.

Coleps sp., Early (left) and late (right) phases of cell division

Barrel animals reproduce asexually by dividing laterally into two daughter cells. After cell division, each of the new specimens has three of the six belts (two of the four visible under a light microscope) and forms three (two of the visible) belts anew. Under certain conditions, such as a lack of food, a sexual process also takes place, conjugation . Two individuals with different sexual characteristics combine and form a plasma bridge through which genetic information is exchanged.

Enemies

Tonned animals are found to a lower proportion in the ingested biomass of invertebrates than their frequency would suggest. Presumably, their armor gives them a certain protection against certain predators. In crustaceans of the genus Thermocyclops , it was observed that up to 9% of the diet consisted of coleps .

Importance to humans

Barrel animals are important indicators of water pollution.

Art	Lead organism	Grade
Coleps hirtus	Yes	β-mesosaprob
Coleps nolandi	No	oligosaprob / β-mesosaprob to α-mesosaprob

Due to their possibly very numerous occurrence, barrel animals that have symbiotic zoochlorella can produce a clearly visible green coloration in the water of lakes, much like an algal bloom .

Species of the genus Coleps were identified as the cause of the death of young aquarium fish, namely Corydoras , Sumatran barbs ( Puntius cf. tetrazona ) and black telescope eyes. The shellfish had attached themselves with their mouth (cytostoma) to the cover tissue (epithelium) and the fins of the fish. The mortality rate in the observed cases was 20–90%.

In the field of forensics, Coleps sp. reported in wounds and orifices of water corpses.

Types (selection)

Coleps arenarius buck, 1952
Coleps arenicolus Dragesco, 1965
Coleps bicuspis Noland, 1925
Coleps crenarius buck, 1952
Coleps dentatus Lepsi, 1964
Coleps elongatus (Ehrenberg, 1830) Kahl, 1930
Coleps grandis Vacelet, 1961
Coleps hirtus (OF Müller, 1786) Nitzsch, 1817
Coleps niger Lepsi, 1964
Coleps nolandi Kahl, 1930
Coleps pulcher mirror, 1926
Coleps remanei Kahl, 1933
Coleps similes Kahl, 1933
Coleps spinosus Vacelet, 1961
Coleps spiralis Noland, 1937
Coleps striata Smith, 1897
Coleps tesselatus Kahl, 1930
Coleps vesiculosus Lepsi, 1964

Optical characteristics of some common species

Art	Optical features
Coleps hirtus hirtus	No symbiotic zoochlorella. Four pretzel-shaped windows in the anterior mainplate in contrast to C. spetai with five. The edges of the plates are rough, but not widened like wings like in C. spetai . The thorns of the armor plates are offset from the windows, not at the same height as in C. nolandi .
Coleps hirtus viridis	Has symbiotic zoochlorella. Otherwise exactly like C. hirtus hirtus .
Coleps nolandi	No zoochlorella. Thorns from the armor plates at the window level.
Coleps spetai	Symbiotic zoochlorella. Five windows in the front main battens, unlike C. hirtus with four windows. The edges of the plates are widened like wings.

literature

W. Foissner: Taxonomic and ecological revision of the ciliates of the saprobic system. Bavarian State Office for Water Management, 1991.
H. Linder: Herman Linder Biology. 13th edition. JB Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung / Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag, Stuttgart 1963.
Heinz Streble , Dieter Krauter : Life in a drop of water. Microflora and microfauna of freshwater. An identification book. 10th edition. Kosmos, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-440-10807-4 .

Individual evidence

↑ Sina M. Adl, Alastair GB Simpson, Mark A. Farmer, Robert A. Andersen, O. Roger Anderson, John A. Barta, Samual S. Bowser, Guy Bragerolle, Robert A. Fensome, Suzanne Fredericq, Timothy Y. James , Sergei Karpov, Paul Kugrens, John Krug, Christopher E. Lane, Louise A. Lewis, Jean Lodge, Denis H. Lynn, David G. Mann, Richard M. McCourt, Leonel Mendoza, Øjvind Moestrup, Sharon E. Mozley-Standridge , Thomas A. Nerad, Carol A. Shearer, Alexey V. Smirnov, Frederick W. Spiegel, Max FJR Taylor: The New Higher Level Classification of Eukaryotes with Emphasis on the Taxonomy of Protists. In: The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 52 (5), 2005, pp. 399-451. doi : 10.1111 / j.1550-7408.2005.00053.x .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Heinz Streble, Dieter Krauter: Life in the water drop. Microflora and microfauna of freshwater. An identification book. 10th edition. Kosmos, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-440-10807-4 .
^ DW Coats, JC Clamp: Ciliated Protists (Ciliophora) of the Gulf of Mexico . In: DL Felder, DK Camp (Ed.): Gulf of Mexico-Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity . Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas 2009, pp. 57-79 .
↑ P. Madoni, T. Berman, O. Hadas, R. Pinkas: Food selection and growth of the planktonic ciliate Coleps hirtus isolated from a monomictic subtropical lake . In: Journal of Plankton Research . tape 12 , no. 4 , 1990, pp. 735-741 ( oxfordjournals.org ).
↑ ^a ^b B. Auer, E. Czioska, H. Arndt: The pelagic community of a gravel pit lake: Significance of Coleps hirtus viridis (Prostomatida) and its role as a scavenger . In: Limnologica - Ecology and Management of Inland Waters . tape 34 , no. 3 , 2004, p. 187-198 , doi : 10.1016 / S0075-9511 (04) 80044-6 .
^ ^A ^b W. Foissner, H. Berger, J. Schaumburg: Identification and ecology of limnetic plankton ciliates . Ed .: Bavarian State Office for Water Management. 1999.
↑ D. Lynn: The Ciliated Protozoa: Characterization, Classification and Guide to the Literature . Springer, 2008, ISBN 978-1-4020-8238-2 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-1-4020-8239-9 .
↑ C. Székely, MC Bereczky: An unusual case of disease in pet fish stocks caused by Coleps sp. In: Dis. aquat. Org. Band 13 , 1992, pp. 143-145 ( int-res.com [PDF]).
^ W. Foissner: Taxonomic and ecological revision of the ciliates of the saprobic system . Ed .: Bavarian State Office for Water Management. tape III , 1991.
↑ P. Rudberg, O. Sand: Bistable membrane potential of the ciliate Coleps hirtus . In: J. Exp. Biol. Volume 203 , Pt 4, February 2000, p. 757-764 , PMID 10648217 .

Web links

Article about the barrel animal with photos of a rotifer egg being attacked and eaten. items
Video of a barrel beast eating (Russian). Video

[adl-1] Sina M. Adl, Alastair GB Simpson, Mark A. Farmer, Robert A. Andersen, O. Roger Anderson, John A. Barta, Samual S. Bowser, Guy Bragerolle, Robert A. Fensome, Suzanne Fredericq, Timothy Y. James , Sergei Karpov, Paul Kugrens, John Krug, Christopher E. Lane, Louise A. Lewis, Jean Lodge, Denis H. Lynn, David G. Mann, Richard M. McCourt, Leonel Mendoza, Øjvind Moestrup, Sharon E. Mozley-Standridge , Thomas A. Nerad, Carol A. Shearer, Alexey V. Smirnov, Frederick W. Spiegel, Max FJR Taylor: The New Higher Level Classification of Eukaryotes with Emphasis on the Taxonomy of Protists. In: The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 52 (5), 2005, pp. 399-451. doi : 10.1111 / j.1550-7408.2005.00053.x .

[wassertropfen-2] Heinz Streble, Dieter Krauter: Life in the water drop. Microflora and microfauna of freshwater. An identification book. 10th edition. Kosmos, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-440-10807-4 .

[mex-3] DW Coats, JC Clamp: Ciliated Protists (Ciliophora) of the Gulf of Mexico . In: DL Felder, DK Camp (Ed.): Gulf of Mexico-Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity . Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas 2009, pp. 57-79 .

[madoni1990food-4] P. Madoni, T. Berman, O. Hadas, R. Pinkas: Food selection and growth of the planktonic ciliate Coleps hirtus isolated from a monomictic subtropical lake . In: Journal of Plankton Research . tape 12 , no. 4 , 1990, pp. 735-741 ( oxfordjournals.org ).

[auer2004-5] B. Auer, E. Czioska, H. Arndt: The pelagic community of a gravel pit lake: Significance of Coleps hirtus viridis (Prostomatida) and its role as a scavenger . In: Limnologica - Ecology and Management of Inland Waters . tape 34 , no. 3 , 2004, p. 187-198 , doi : 10.1016 / S0075-9511 (04) 80044-6 .

[foissner99-6] A ^b W. Foissner, H. Berger, J. Schaumburg: Identification and ecology of limnetic plankton ciliates . Ed .: Bavarian State Office for Water Management. 1999.

[DLynn-7] D. Lynn: The Ciliated Protozoa: Characterization, Classification and Guide to the Literature . Springer, 2008, ISBN 978-1-4020-8238-2 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-1-4020-8239-9 .

[szek-8] C. Székely, MC Bereczky: An unusual case of disease in pet fish stocks caused by Coleps sp. In: Dis. aquat. Org. Band 13 , 1992, pp. 143-145 ( int-res.com [PDF]).

[Foissner91-9] W. Foissner: Taxonomic and ecological revision of the ciliates of the saprobic system . Ed .: Bavarian State Office for Water Management. tape III , 1991.

[pmid10648217-10] P. Rudberg, O. Sand: Bistable membrane potential of the ciliate Coleps hirtus . In: J. Exp. Biol. Volume 203 , Pt 4, February 2000, p. 757-764 , PMID 10648217 .