Tintinnids : a taxon-vertical distributional study of settling assemblages from the Panama Basin

Abstract

A series of samples collected in sediment traps deployed in the Panama Basin at various depths for 112 days were analyzed to examine the vertical flux of tintinnids, the trumpet-shaped ciliate protozoans. Tintinnids in the 63-250 pm size range reveal that: (1) faunal composition does not change significantly through the water column; (2) at approximately 1,200 m there is a slight increase with depth in the abundance of Codonellopsis, a lorica with a hyaline neck and an agglutinated bowl, and an associated slight decrease in the abundance of Rhabdonella, a lorica consisting entirely of a delicate hyaline nature; and (3) no apparent effect of dissolution was noticed in tintinnid specimens in sediment traps at all depths.