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CITATION Sherr, E. 2013. Review of The Biology and Ecology of : Models for Marine , edited by J.R. Dolan, D.J.S. Montagnes, S. Agatha, W. Coats, and D.K. Stoecker. Oceanography 26(2):184–185, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2013.25.

DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2013.25

COPYRIGHT This article has been published inOceanography , Volume 26, Number 2, a quarterly journal of The Oceanography Society. Copyright 2013 by The Oceanography Society. All rights reserved.

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The Biology and Ecology of Tintinnid Ciliates: Models for Marine Plankton

Edited by John R. Dolan, David J.S. -inhabiting ciliates are easily col- Montagnes, Sabine Agatha, Wayne lected in plankton nets. Some tintinnid Coats, and Diane K. Stoecker, 2013, species are amenable to laboratory cul- Wiley-Blackwell, 304 pages, ISBN 978- ture and experimentation. These charac- 0-470-6715-1, Hardcover $149.95 US, teristics are desirable for a model group E-book $119.99 US of organisms, hence the wealth of knowl- edge about presented here. REVIEWED BY EVELYN SHERR And wealth it is. The editors, Dolan, Montagnes, Agatha, Coats, and Stoecker, Single-celled called all highly respected plankton ecologists, were published throughout the 1800s. are vitally important to marine ecosys- have combined their deep knowledge An interesting tidbit: the term “lorica” tems. Protists with chloroplasts () of with that of other used for the tintinnid shell was adopted carry out most of the primary produc- scientists to produce a delightfully com- from a Latin word for protective armor tion in the sea. What feeds on this algal prehensive treatise. From an overview of worn by Roman soldiers. production? Mainly predatory protists tintinnids (Chapter 1 by Dolan) to the The chapters following the introduc- such as ciliates in the microzooplankton, formation and composition of tintinnid tion provide in-depth reviews of work organisms that are 20 to 200 microns loricae (Chapter 2 by Agatha, Michéle done on tintinnids since the initial in size. This fact is well supported by Laval-Peuto, and Paul Simon), to tintin- descriptive reports. The amount of empirical data. Still, predatory protists nid systematics based on both lorica information just on the structure, com- remain the Rodney Dangerfield “I don’t characteristics and molecular genetics position, and formation of the tintin- get no respect” of planktonic organisms. (Chapter 3 by Agatha and Michaela nid lorica (Chapter 2) is formidable. Compared to the amount of investigative Strüder-Kypke), to tintinnid physiology Chapter 3 on tintinnid evolution and effort devoted to , phytoplank- and ecological roles as predator and prey systematics reveals not only the com- ton, and , these (Chapter 4 by Montagnes; Chapter 5 by plicated story of how tintinnids split protists, while unquestionably the domi- Stoecker; Chapter 9 by George McManus from the ancestral, naked but also nant consumers of other microbial cells and Luciana Santoferrara), and the rest, how systematics based on morphology in plankton food webs, just don’t seem to the chapters are uniformly informa- of the lorica does not always agree with get the research interest they deserve. tive and readable. The text is beautifully more recent molecular genetic trees of A notable exception to the lack of enhanced by images of the diversity of relationships between tintinnid species. study of phagotrophic protists, as thor- tintinnid loricae that range from Ernst Apparently, few tintinnids have managed oughly explicated in this book, is the Haeckel’s precise drawings of 1873 to to colonize freshwater habitats; virtually tintinnid ciliate group. The euphoni- modern light microscopy and scanning all species are marine. Later chapters on ous name of this group stems from the electron micrographs. tintinnid fossils (Chapter 8 by Jere Lipps, implied ringing of the bell-shaped shell, Dolan begins the book with a general Thorsten Stoeck, and Micah Dunthorm) or lorica, of the type species. The loricae description of tintinnid ciliates, and then and on biogeography of tintinnid species of these curious ciliates are also the chief summarizes the long history of research in the global ocean (Chapter 10 by Dolan reason they have piqued the interest of on these protists. The first known obser- and Richard Pierce) complement the marine biologists for over 200 years. vations are from 1776, and detailed evolutionary history based on relation- Attributes of the lorica can be used to morphological descriptions of tintinnids ships of extant ciliates. Because tintinnid identify individual tintinnid species, and by Haeckel and other natural historians species are easily distinguished by lorica

184 Oceanography | Vol. 26, No. 2 characteristics, abundant data on the dis- global distribution of Hands-on tribution of these ciliates have revealed parasites of tintinnids. The inclusion of much endemism and variation in species tintinnid parasites is significant, as there Oceanography richness in different habitats. is as yet little understanding of how http://www.tos.org/hands-on A cautionary note that McManus and by eukaryotic microbes affects Santoferrara (Chapter 9) make clear is the functioning of marine food webs. that tintinnids, although a fascinating Chapter 7 (Takashi Kamiyama) is group and a useful model for marine devoted to another underappreciated herbivorous protists, represent only a aspect of protists: formation of resting small fraction of marine ciliates. So far, cysts. Although most marine ciliates do only about 1,000 species of marine tin- not form cysts, a few, including species tinnids have been described, and tintin- of tintinnids, do. Kamiyama reviews the nids usually comprise only a few percent dynamics of cyst formation and excyst- of the total number of ciliates in the ment in tintinnids and other ciliates, and microzooplankton. the potential importance of this strategy The most useful chapters for eco- for dispersal and survival. system modelers are those on the roles This well-produced, well-referenced of tintinnids in marine food webs. In book provides a great resource for both Chapter 4, Montagnes presents general protozoologists and marine plankton background on the mathematical pred- ecologists. Each chapter concludes with Hands-On Oceanography provides ator-prey functional responses used in a list of key points for a quick summary an opportunity for you to publish modeling before delving into specifics of of the contents. However, even with teaching materials developed for tintinnid prey selectivity, growth, swim- the information gained over decades of undergraduate and/or graduate classes ming behavior, and effects of abiotic study, it is also clear that gaps remain in oceanography. Activities must factors such as temperature and salinity. in understanding of tintinnid biol- actively engage students (i.e., activities Stoecker’s review (Chapter 5) of tintin- ogy and ecology. For instance, why where students have to make decisions, nid predators is also impressive. There is tintinnids evolved loricae, and what record results, and interpret results). abundant documentation of tintinnids advantage these shells confer, is still not All submissions are peer reviewed. as prey based on recognizable loricae in resolved. The book should stimulate Publication of teaching materials may food vacuoles and in zooplankter much thought and future research not address the broader impacts criterion guts and fecal pellets. Feeding experi- only on tintinnids, but also on marine for NSF-funded research. ments have also quantified ingestion of protists in general. tintinnids by protists, including by other Visit http://www.tos.org/hands-on to tintinnids, by , and by jellyfish. Evelyn Sherr ([email protected]. download published activities or for An unexpected body of work involves edu) is Professor Emeritus, College of Earth, more information on submitting an the microbial parasites of tintinnid Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon activity of your own for consideration. ciliates. D. Wayne Coats and Tsvetan State University, Corvallis, OR, USA. Bachvaroff (Chapter 6) summarize known ciliate parasites, then provide details on the most studied of them: that parasitize tintinnids. They cover morphology, infection cycles, host specificity, evolutionary relation- ships based on molecular genetics, and

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