Alessandro Saccà

ABSTRACT: The importance of anaerobic free-living phagotrophic protists has gained renewed attention following the discovery of an unexpectedly high diversity in anoxic aquatic habitats. Here I attempt to illustrate the physiology and trophic role of phagotrophic protists in anoxic compartments of chemically stratified lakes.

The long-standing notion of the low productivity of anaerobic food webs is partly disputed and the possibility of aerobic metazoans that are able to withstand anoxia acting as a trophic link between anaerobic primary production and the aerobic food web of metazoans is briefly covered.

In book: ANOXIA: Evidence for Eukaryote Survival and Paleontological Strategies, Edition: In: Cellular Origins, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology. (COLE) Series., Publisher: Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, Editors: Altenbach AV, Bernhard JM, Seckbach J 01/2012; ISBN: 978-94-007-1895-1