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Rediscovery of <i>Nebela ansata</i> (Amoebozoa: Arcellinida) in eastern North America: biogeographical implications
Auteur(s)
Heger, Thierry J.
Booth, Robert K.
Sullivan, Maura E.
Wilkinson, David M.
Warner, Barry G.
Asada, Taro
Mazei, Yuri
Meisterfeld, Ralf
Date de parution
2011
In
Journal of Biogeography, Wiley, 2011/38/10/1897-1906
Résumé
<b>Aim</b> The question whether free-living protists are generally cosmopolitan is currently a matter of debate. In this study we investigate the geographical distribution of a distinctive testate amoeba species, <i>Nebela ansata</i>, and use our data to assess the potential for highly restricted distribution patterns in some protist species. <br> <b>Location</b> Global. <br> <b>Methods</b> We analysed (1) 3400 testate amoeba publications from North America and other continents, (2) unpublished slides of the Penard Collection of the Natural History Museum, London, UK, and (3) 104 <i>Sphagnum</i> samples from eastern North America. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) was used to visualize the similarities in testate amoeba community composition among 1012 North American samples, including two communities that contained <i>N. ansata</i>. <br> <b>Results</b> We rediscovered <i>N. ansata</i> at a site in New Jersey located close to its type locality, and in Nova Scotia. We also report the existence of an apparently unpublished museum specimen originally collected from New Jersey. Our extensive literature survey confirmed the presence of this species only in the temperate part of eastern North America. The NMDS revealed that communities with <i>N. ansata</i> were less similar to each other than to communities from other parts of North America, suggesting that favourable habitats for <i>N. ansata</i> occur in other <i>Sphagnum</i>-dominated peatlands, a habitat type that has been extensively sampled in North America and elsewhere. <br> <b>Main conclusions</b> These data provide an unusually convincing case of a free-living microorganism with a very limited distribution range in the temperate part of eastern North America. The remarkably restricted distribution of <i>N. ansata</i> highlights the extent of our ignorance about the natural history of free-living microorganisms, and raises questions about the lack of attention to microbial diversity in conservation biology.
Identifiants
Type de publication
journal article
