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Diversity Of Oligotrichia And Choreotrichia Ciliates In Coastal Marine Sediments And In Overlying Plankton, Jan A.C. Vriezen Dr., Mary Doherty Dr., Maiko Tamura Dr., George B. Mcmanus Dr.

Jan A.C. Vriezen Dr.

Elucidating the relationship between ciliate communities in the benthos and the plankton is critical to understanding ciliate diversity in marine systems. Although data for many lineages are sparse, at least some members of the dominant marine ciliate clades Oligotrichia and Choreotrichia can be found in both plankton and benthos, in the latter either as cysts or active forms. In this study, we developed a molecular approach to address the relationship between the diversity of ciliates in the plankton and those of the underlying benthos in the same locations. Samples from plankton and sediments were compared across three sites along the …