Tecamebianos (Protozoa: Rhizopoda) de una turbera del Parque Nacional Puyehue (40°45′ S; 72°19′ W), Chile

Abstract

Thecamoebians are protozoans that inhabit a wide variety of terrestrial and freshwater habitats, including wet soils, lakes, saltmarshes, peatlands, etc. Their fossil shells can be recuperated from sediments in quantity sufficient to permit estimation of relative abundance. The objective of this study was to provide a first report on the distribution of thecamoebian fauna within a peatland located in the Puyehue National Park, Chile. This study revealed 42 taxa belonging to 9 families and 15 genera of thecamoebians. Six taxa (Arcella artocrea, Difflugia elegans, Euglypha sp. "A", Heleopera sp. "A", Hyalosphenia subflava and Nebela speciosa) have not previously been recorded from Chile. We have used an informal infraspecific nomenclature to account for the variability in shell morphology within some species (Centropyxis constricta, Centropyxis ecornis, Certesella martiali and Heleopera petricola). In the four microsites studied two groups of characteristic thecamoebian species were distinguished. The results of this study suggest that Oxygen and pH may influence the distribution of thecamoebians in the peatland.