The biology and ecology of tintinnid ciliates. Models for marine plankton
Edited by John R. Dolan, David J.S.Montagnes, Sabine Agatha, D. Wayne Coats and Diane K. Stoecker
Chichester, UK, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2013
296 pp, ISBN 978-0-470-67151-1, £75.00
Tintinnids represent a group of ciliates belonging to the subclass Choreotrichida. The choreotrichids are characterized by a row of radially oriented ciliary membranelles that encircle the oral opening situated at the anterior end of the cell. The membranelles serve for motility as well as for feeding; otherwise, the ciliature is relatively reduced. The cells are roughly radially symmetric and the organisms typically lead a planktonic life. What especially characterizes the tintinnids is that the cell is housed in a vase-shaped or cylindrical lorica; this may be hyaline consisting of a transparent proteinaceous material or it may be made up of agglutinated fine mineral particles or of particles of biogenic material such as diatom frustules. The cell is attached to the lorica by the cell's posterior contractile end. The tintinnids comprise a species-rich group: about a thousand species have been named. The vast majority of the species occur in marine plankton, but a few have adapted to life in freshwater (the freshwater species are largely ignored in the book).
Historically, it is a well-studied group of organisms. The popularity of tintinnids was due to the lorica allowing easy preservation of samples (in contrast to most other protozoans) on, for example, oceanographic cruises, and in the past lorica morphology was almost the only basis for tintinnid taxonomy and for species descriptions. Lorica morphology, however, has more recently been shown to provide little information on phylogeny. Culturing of different species has also shown that some of them are polymorphic with respect to lorica structure because different types occur during different stages of the cell cycle and environmental factors affect lorica morphology, and so examples of synonymous species have been revealed and the estimated number of tintinnid species may be inflated.
This book is a comprehensive and up-to date account of what is known about tintinnids. Ten chapters authored by altogether 16 authors cover the following aspects: morphology, life cycles and cyst formation, systematics and evolution, ecophysiological aspects (including motile behaviour, feeding mechanisms, food preferences, and bioenergetics), enemies of tintinnids (in the form of predators and parasites), fossil tintinnids, role of tintinnids in plankton communities, and distribution patterns of species in the world oceans. Different tintinnid biota are characteristic for warmer and for colder waters as well as for neritic versus oceanic waters. Tintinnids are unusual among unicellular eukaryotes in that they may form recognizable fossils due to their lorica. Molecular evidence suggests that the tintinnids originated during the late Precambrian; putative tintinnid fossils have been recorded from Palaeozoic deposits, but the earliest bona fide tintinnid fossils derive from the Jurassic.
This is a good book. The individual chapters are well-written and authoritative. Together, they cover all aspects of tinitinnid biology and several chapters emphasize functional aspects. The book is well illustrated and it appears attractive (as are the organisms that the book describes), and the reference list is comprehensive. The book can, of course, be recommended to all who are fond of protozoa. However, since the book treats all aspects of an important group of microzooplankton emphasizing functional biology and its role in plankton ecosystems, it should also be of value to all interested in biological oceanography.
Tom Fenchel
Emeritus Professor
Marine Biological Laboratory
University of Copenhagen, Helsingør, Denmark
E-mail: [email protected]
© 2013 Tom Fenchel