Functional traits data for testate amoebae of Northern Holarctic realm.

The functional traits of soil protists have been employed in ecological research to enhance comprehension of the underlying mechanisms of ecological processes. Among the numerous soil protists, testate amoebae emerge as a prominent and abundant group, playing a pivotal role in soil micro-food webs. Furthermore, they are regarded as valuable bioindicators for environmental monitoring and palaeoecological studies due to their sensitivity to environmental changes.

Size compartmentalization of energy channeling in terrestrial belowground food webs.

Size-structured food webs form integrated trophic systems where energy is channeled from small to large consumers. Empirical evidence suggests that size structure prevails in aquatic ecosystems, whereas in terrestrial food webs trophic position is largely independent of body size. Compartmentalization of energy channeling according to size classes of consumers was suggested as a mechanism that underpins functioning and stability of terrestrial food webs including those belowground, but their structure has not been empirically assessed across the whole size spectrum.

Morphology and phylogeny of the testate amoebae Euglypha bryophila Brown, 1911 and Euglypha cristata Leidy, 1874 (Rhizaria, Euglyphida).

The genus Euglypha contains the largest number of filose testate amoeba taxa which were mainly described based on the morphological characteristics of shells. Despite the increasing amount of molecular data, the phylogenetic relationships within the genus Euglypha remain unresolved. In this work we provide new data on SSU rRNA gene sequences, light and electron microscopy for the two euglyphid species Euglypha bryophilaBrown, 1911 and Euglypha cristataLeidy, 1874.