title: The relative importance of different ciliate taxa in the pelagic food web of lake constance.
abstract: Abundance, biovolume, and species composition of pelagic ciliates in Lake Constance were recorded over two annual cycles (1987/88). Production was estimated from mean annual biovolumes and size-specific growth rates obtained from the literature. Cell concentrations and biovolumes ranged from 0.1 to 120 cells ml(-1) and from 3 to 1,200 mm(3) m(-3), respectively. Mean annual values were, respectively, 6.8 cells ml(-1) and 94 mm(3) m(-3) in 1987, and 12.0 cells ml(-1) and 130 mm(3) m(-3) in 1988. In both years, prostome nanociliates (<20μm) dominated numerically, while strobiliids in the size range 20-35μm contributed most significantly to ciliate production. Ciliate community production, according to a crude calculation, yielded approximately 10-15 g C m(-2) year(-1).
authors.affiliation: Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, P.O. Box 5560, D-7750, Konstanz, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Müller