THE COMPOSITION OF THE ECOFAUNA OF CILIATES IN WILD UNGULATES OF YAKUTIA

The article is dedicated to the study of endobiont ciliates inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract of various ungulate species, with a focus on their species, diversity, and dependence on diet and physiological characteristics. The study provides detailed data on the microbiota of the rumen in moose, the forestomachs of wild reindeer, mountain goats, and roe deer. In the moose (Alces alces), four species of ciliates were identified, belonging to three genera: Entodinium, Epidinium, and Diplodinium. These species include Entodinium exiguum, Epidinium ecaudatum ecaudatum, Epidinium ecaudatum cattaneoni, and Metadinium minorum. Studies of endobiont ciliates in wild reindeer inhabiting Yakutia revealed the presence of 14 ciliate species, belonging to six genera: Entodinium, Diplodinium, Eudiplodinium, Ostracodinium, Epidinium, and Dasitricha. Of these, six species were common across all investigated populations and were classified into four genera: Entodinium, Diplodinium, Eudiplodinium, and Epidinium. These findings indicate the diversity of the microbiota in reindeer, which is dependent on their ecosystem and diet.
In the mountain goat, five species of ciliates were found, belonging to three genera: Entodinium, Epidinium, and Eudiplodinium. Notably, Entodinium anteronucleatum was identified as species-specific for the mountain goat, making it unique in the context of the microbial biodiversity in the forestomachs of even-toed ungulates. As for the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus pygargus), two ciliate species were detected in its forestomachs: Entodinium dubardi and Entodinium exiguum, both belonging to the genus Entodinium. The study results emphasize the importance of species-specific nutrition and physiological characteristics in shaping the gastrointestinal microbiota. Furthermore, the potential of using endobiont ciliates for transplantation into the forestomachs of other animals is discussed, with the aim of improving their health and productivity.

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