Relative contributions of disparate animal vectors to the development of freshwater ciliate communities

Here, we evaluate the role of two disparate animal groups, amphibians and odonates, in the dispersal of ciliates. We performed a 33-day outdoor experiment from July to August 2018 with four treatments: (i) a control, with only wind action; (ii) a treatment with the addition from propagules of odonates; (iii) a treatment with propagules from amphibians; and (iv) a treatment with the addition of propagules from both animals. We recorded 54 species of ciliates from 11 groups, with Peritrichia the most representative. Species richness and abundance increased markedly after the 12th day. The species composition of the ciliate species showed differences between treatments within each time period, as well as between the different treatments throughout the experiment. As expected, our results not only evidenced that the dispersal of ciliate protists was improved when mediated by biological vectors, but also demonstrated that the impact depends on the animal vector, and that the effect is even more relevant when propagules are carried by both animal vectors. Our findings support the importance of animal vectors in the dispersal and structuring of ciliates, and highlight the potential differences in the effectiveness of amphibians and odonates for the dispersal of this group.