Comparison of the fixation effect of formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde on the Ludox–QPS method

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1000-5641.2022.03.009

Abstract

Abstract:

Density gradient centrifugation in combination with quantitative protargol stain (Ludox–QPS) is an important research method for the separation, extraction, and staining of microbenthos. Glutaraldehyde solution is the most widely used fixative for this method; however, it is a hazardous chemical and transportation by civil aviation is forbidden. Hence, biogeography studies using glutaraldehyde solution on a large scale are greatly limited. In contrast, samples fixed with formaldehyde solution can be transported by air consignment under certain conditions. To test whether the results of a study on microbenthic communities fixed with formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde are comparable, we collected microbenthic samples from three natural habitats (bare mudflat, Scirpus mariqueter meadow, sandy beach) and fixed them with either formaldehyde (final concentration is 1%) or glutaraldehyde (final concentration is 2%). Then, we tested the significance of differences in species composition, diversity, and biomass of the communities using an ANOSIM two-way crossed analysis (fixative type and habitat type). The results of this study demonstrate that although significant differences exist in the community structures among the three habitats, the species composition, diversity indices (number of species, number of individuals, evenness, Shannon-Wiener diversity index), and biomass of the microbenthic communities between the two fixative types have no significant differences. NMDS analysis also shows similar results (stress = 0.11). In conclusion, the data indicates that the microbenthic communities fixed by the two fixatives are comparable. Therefore, formaldehyde is also suitable for ecological research of microbenthos as a fixative.

Key words: diversity, community structure, microbenthos, ciliates, fixative

CLC Number:

Miaoxun WANG, Yuan XU. Comparison of the fixation effect of formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde on the Ludox–QPS method[J]. Journal of East China Normal University(Natural Science), 2022, 2022(3): 82-89.

Figures/Tables 6

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Table 1

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	物种组成	物种数	个体数	均匀度	香农-维纳多样性指数	生物量
固定剂类型	0.104	–0.014	–0.052	0.045	–0.019	–0.051
生境类型	0.235*	0.063	0.127*	0.160*	0.041	0.234**

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