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Prevalence of epibiosis in plankton community of the Indian EEZ: a review

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Abstract

Epibiotic associations in the plankton community have been documented along the west and east coast of India. This report indicates a higher predominance of epibiosis along the east coast compared to the west. A total of 28 ciliates and one diatom species were reported epibiotic on the various planktonic host in the east coast, whereas only 17 ciliates and two diatoms were listed as epibiotic along the west coast. Ciliates formed the prevalent epibiotic species mainly on zooplanktonic crustacean host. Females of the host organisms were more infected due to their higher number in the population. The host specificity of various epibionts are also well-defined. The abundance of epibiotic organisms results from global warming and eutrophication and acts as indicators of ecosystem shifts.

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Acknowledgement

The second author is thankful to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, for the award of Junior Research Fellowship

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  1. Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology & Biochemistry, School of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, Kerala, India

    M. P. Sandra, Aishwarya Purushothaman & K. B. Padmakumar

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  1. M. P. Sandra
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  2. Aishwarya Purushothaman
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AP wrote the manuscript with input from SMP and KBP. AP and SMP performed the literature search and data analysis. KBP supervised this review and provided research materials. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to K. B. Padmakumar.

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Sandra, M.P., Purushothaman, A. & Padmakumar, K.B. Prevalence of epibiosis in plankton community of the Indian EEZ: a review. Symbiosis 85, 259–271 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-021-00816-x

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