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Volume 7, Issue 2 (Suppl)

J Ecosyst Ecography, an open access journal

ISSN:2157-7625

September 18-20, 2017

September 18-20, 2017 Toronto, Canada

Joint Conference

International Conference on

Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology

Ecology and Ecosystems

Ciliate-zooplankton epibiosis inAfrica’s largest estuarine lake

Salome Jones

, Andre Vosloo

, Nicola Carrasco

and

Renzo Perissinotto

1, 2

University of KwazZulu-Natal, South Africa

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa

pibiosis is a symbiotic association between two organisms, in which one species (epibiont) uses the surface of another species

(host) as an attachment substrate. Although not traditionally regarded as parasitic, recent studies have revealed that epibionts

mainly have a deleterious effect on zooplankton hosts. In spite of its widespread occurrence, there are very few studies in Africa

that address epibiosis in the aquatic environment, particularly that involving zooplankton as hosts. Epibiotic ciliates are often found

in zooplankton samples from the St Lucia estuary, Africa’s largest estuarine lake. A study was conducted in the St Lucia Estuary

between 2014 and 2016 to determine the identity of the epibiotic ciliates, their species-specific association with the zooplankton of

St Lucia, their effect on their hosts and also the environmental conditions that promote their proliferation. The results of this study

revealed that the epibiotic ciliates are the

peritrich. Epistylis sp.,

are specific for the dominant copepod

Pseudodiaptomus stuhlmanni

and have a negative association with the fitness of this copepod.

Epistylis sp.

also appears to be favoured by salinities below 20 and

turbid conditions, with the latter only holding true if there is a high organic matter content. The ecological implications of ciliate-

zooplankton epibiosis in the St Lucia estuary and similar systems will be discussed.

J Ecosyst Ecography 2017, 7:2 (Suppl)

DOI: 10.4172/2157-7625-C1-030