CHANGES IN TESTATE AMOEBA ASSEMBLAGES IN A SERIES OF DIFFERENT-TYPE AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL HABITATS OF WETLAND AND FOREST ECOSYSTEMS

Abstract

Patterns of changes in the species richness, abundance, community structure, and biomass of testate amoebae were studied in a series of different-type aquatic and terrestrial habitats along an interlake transect in the Tyumen Region. Altogether, 112 species and forms of testate amoebae, including subspecies, were identified. Micrographs of all species detected are given. The species Conicocassis pontiguasiformis (Beyens et al., 1986) Nasser and Anderson, 2015, previously described as an arctic endemic, was found in the south of Western Siberia for the first time. The species richness of testate amoeba assemblages is maximal in the periphyton. The highest values of species numbers and biomass were detected in the bottom detritus of the coastal part of a swamp lake. Testate amoeba assemblages in various habitats along the transect are divided into aquatic and terrestrial, according to the results of cluster and principal component analyses. The species composition of testate amoeba assemblages depended on substrate wetness, as well as the type of vegetation. The dominants in relative biomass were identified for aquatic, forest, and well-lit Sphagnum habitats.