In situ imaging of a kleptoplastidic ciliate thin layer indicates traditional sampling underestimates oceanic mixotroph biomass

Abstract

Planktonic mixotrophs, including ciliates, are abundant, yet understudied, mediators of primary and secondary production in aquatic food webs. Here, we report high-resolution in situ observations of a thin layer—a vertically limited patch of high organism abundance—of the ciliate, Laboea strobila. Within the thin layer, peak L. strobila abundances were as high as 62,000 cells/L, six times higher than previously reported, and were strongly positively correlated with co-measured chlorophyll a concentrations, indicating that the organism indulged in kleptoplasty, retaining plastids from ingested algae. Estimates indicated L. strobila contributed to ~63–78% of chlorophyll a within the layer, in sharp contrast to conventional expectations that phytoplankton dominate this signature, suggesting that mixotroph biomass, and consequently, their contribution to marine ecosystems is widely underestimated. These observations also highlight the importance of pairing traditional approaches such as chlorophyll a measurements with high-resolution imaging for proper attribution of biomass proxies.