Associations of testate rhizopods (Protozoa) in the plankton of a Malaysian estuary and two nearby ponds

Plankton samples were collected from the Chukai‐Kemaman estuary in Malaysia in order to determine the distribution of testate rhizopods in relation to salinity. Two nearby freshwater ponds were sampled for comparison. In the ponds, 35 species of testate rhizopods were found, 13 of which were not found in the estuary. From the estuary 53 species were found, of which 31 were not found in the ponds. Some species appeared to have been lifted into the plankton by the rising tide. At a generic level, the Arcella species were very similar in both ponds and estuary (Sorensen Index 80), the Difflugia species were moderately similar (Sorensen Index 47), while Nebela and Quadrullela were present in the estuarine samples, but absent from the pond samples. The salinity gradient ranged from sea water down to a conductivity of 27 μS. All the estuarine stations were tidal. The first freshwater testate rhizopods were found in a region where the conductivity was between 3000 and 4000 μS at high tide. Where the conductivity was below 1000 μS at high tide the number of species rapidly increased, and reached a maximum of 25 in the samples from the lowest conductivities. The flowering tree, Hibiscus tiliaceus , appears to be an indicator of the region where the first freshwater testate rhizopods might be encountered upstream from the sea.