Diversity of Moss-Dwelling Testate Amoebae from Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary, Bihar, India: A Preliminary Survey
V. M. Sathish Kumar *
Gangetic Plains Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Patna, Bihar, India.
L. Bindu
Western Ghat Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Kozhikode-673006, Kerala, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The presence of moss-dwelling testate amoebae at the Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary, Bihar has not been reported in literature before. The current study represents the first documentation of testate amoeba in this conservation area. Testate amoebae are single-celled protists that are characterized by being encased by external tests of chitin (shells) and are commonly known to be a good bioindicator due to their strong susceptibility to environmental variations. In November 2024, as part of faunal survey, moss samples were collected from soil by scraping with a spatula into polythene bags and brought to the laboratory for further processing by the non-flooded petri dish method then prepared permanent slide mounts and examined using microscopes equipped with camera attachment for image capturing and species-level identification to determine the diversity of testate amoeba living in moss microhabitats in the sanctuary. The study showed 13 species belonging to 6 genera and 6 families. The results are the first report of testate amoebae in Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary, Bihar and have demonstrated the ecological importance of moss as an important microhabitat in sustaining testate amoeba diversity as they respond rapidly to environmental changes.
Keywords: Testate amoebae, protozoa, moss, Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary, pollution indicator