Protozoa and Oxygen

TY - JOUR

T1 - Protozoa and Oxygen

AU - Fenchel, Tom

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Aerobic protozoa can maintain fully aerobic metabolic rates even at very low O2-tensions; this is related to their small sizes. Many - or perhaps all - protozoa show particular preferences for a given range of O2-tensions. The reasons for this and the role for their distribution in nature are discussed and examples of protozoan biota in O2-gradients in aquatic systems are presented. Facultative anaerobes capable of both aerobic and anaerobic growth are probably common within several protozoan taxa. It is concluded that further progress in this area is contingent on physiological studies of phenotypes.

AB - Aerobic protozoa can maintain fully aerobic metabolic rates even at very low O2-tensions; this is related to their small sizes. Many - or perhaps all - protozoa show particular preferences for a given range of O2-tensions. The reasons for this and the role for their distribution in nature are discussed and examples of protozoan biota in O2-gradients in aquatic systems are presented. Facultative anaerobes capable of both aerobic and anaerobic growth are probably common within several protozoan taxa. It is concluded that further progress in this area is contingent on physiological studies of phenotypes.

U2 - 10.4467/16890027AP.13.0020.1117

DO - 10.4467/16890027AP.13.0020.1117

M3 - Review

SN - 0065-1583

VL - 53

SP - 3

EP - 12

JO - Acta Protozoologica

JF - Acta Protozoologica

IS - 1

M1 - 02

ER -