Dependence between temperature and clearance rate of Balanion comatum Wulff *

The dependence between temperature and clearance rate of the ciliate Balanion comatum Wulff 1919 was assessed in the coastal zone of the southern Baltic Sea. Five in situ experiments were carried out with the use of wheat starch as a surrogate of food particles. The clearance rate rose from 1.4 to 7.0 μl cell−1 h−1 with a temperature rise from 8 to 19°C. B. comatum preferred particles of size 1.9–4.4 μm, and the clearance rates calculated for the preferred particles were consistently higher than those measured for the whole range of particles ingested (Wilcoxon’s signed rank test, p = 0.04). The exponential dependence between temperature and clearance rates for preferred particles was statistically significant (R2 = 0.86, p = 0.02) and enabled the Q10 coefficient to be calculated. This amounted to 2.9 and lay within the range of typical values. The linear dependence (also drawn for preferred particles) demonstrated a higher significance (R2 – 0.91, p = 0.02), indicating the linear dynamics of the process.