The vast majority of theses in this collection are open access and freely available. There are a small number of theses that have access restricted to the WWU campus. For off-campus access to a thesis labeled "Campus Only Access," please log in here with your WWU universal ID, or talk to your librarian about requesting the restricted thesis through interlibrary loan.

Date Permissions Signed

5-30-2012

Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biology

First Advisor

Sulkin, Stephen D.

Second Advisor

Strom, Suzanne L., 1959-

Third Advisor

Miner, Benjamin G., 1972-

Fourth Advisor

Olson, M. Brady (Michael Brady)

Abstract

Marine phytoplankton are important players in the global ecosystem, contributing up to 50% of global primary productivity. Predation by microzooplankton is one of the most important sources of mortality for phytoplankton. However, phytoplankton defenses against predators are not well understood despite their expected importance. I tested for inducible defenses in the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi, an abundant and ecologically important bloom-forming species with a heteromorphic haploid-diploid life cycle, against the common ciliate predator, Strombidinopsis acuminatum. The calcifying diploid and non-calcifying, flagellated haploid phases of E. huxleyi likely occupy different ecological niches, potentially explaining the maintenance of haploid-diploidy in this species. The role of the haploid phase in the ecology of E. huxleyi remains little studied. I hypothesized that the two phases are differently defended against predation. To test this, I first exposed haploid and diploid E. huxleyi to ciliate predators for 24 hr. I then compared ciliate ingestion rates on predator-exposed prey to rates on naïve prey over the course of 30 min. I quantified ingestion by counting the prey inside ciliate food vacuoles under epifluorescence microscopy at three time points (5, 10, and 30 min). Prey were considered to have a defense response when ingestion rates on naïve cells were higher than ingestion rates on predator-exposed cells. Haploid E. huxleyi, although ingested at a lower rate than the larger diploid cells, had the strongest defense response. Diploid E. huxleyi had little to no defense response. The defense response in haploid E. huxleyi was dependent on nutrient availability. Ingestion rates on nutrient-replete haploid cells were reduced by 25 - 43% when previously exposed to the ciliate predator. In contrast, nutrient-limited haploid cells showed no evidence of a defense response within 30 min. I found that this defense was specific to haploid E. huxleyi and that the presence of defended E. huxleyi did not reduce ciliate ingestion on another prey species (Heterocapsa triquetra). To my knowledge this is the first demonstration of an inducible defense system in the Coccolithophoridae, although the mechanism of defense remains unknown. The question of this species' success as a common and bloom-forming phytoplankter may be answered in part by the haploid-diploid life cycle and an accompanying ability to separate traits for rapid growth/bloom formation and predator defense into two morphologically distinct phases, allowing this species to enjoy the best of both worlds and a wide ecological range.

Type

Text

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25710/9rz5-cc75

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

795236971

Subject – LCSH

Cocolithus huxleyi--Ecology; Ciliata; Predation (Biology)

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.

Download

Included in

Biology Commons

Share

COinS