Survival of ciliate protozoa under starvation conditions and at low bacterial levels

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Abstract
Under starvation conditions, 50% survivorship times displayed no significant relationship with cell size in 2 ciliate species in this study and 5 protozoan species from the literature. Differences in survival ability were attributed to differences in weight-specific respiratory rate and relative motility among these 7 species. At low bacterial levels, 4 ciliate species in this study displayed significant differences in survivorship. High survivorship ofEuplotes patella relative to that ofParamecium caudatum andParaurostyla sp. at low ciliate densities was attributed to the lower individual energy requirements of this smaller species. High survivorship ofStentor coeruleus was interpreted as an effect of its large quantity of reserves and low respiratory rate. The survivorship ofE. patella was reduced at a higher population density. Four ciliate species survived longer at 15‡C than at 22‡C. Q10 values based on 50% survivorship times at these 2 temperatures were much lower than Q10 values based on respiratory rates and growth rates of well-fed ciliates over a similar temperature range.