Free Living Continental Aquatic Ciliates (Alveolata: Ciliophora) from Mexico: An Overview of their Species Richness and Distribution

Authors

Rosaura Mayén-Estrada
National Autonomous University of Mexico
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3156-1295
Carlos Alberto Durán-Ramírez
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6583-0035
Fernando Olvera-Bautista
National Autonomous University of Mexico
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1166-1707
Víctor Manuel Romero-Niembro
National Autonomous University of Mexico
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1006-9023

Synopsis

We present the data of the ciliate species including free-swimming and sessile that have been recorded in Mexico inhabiting different types of continental water bodies. We found that 294 ciliate species were documented in 16 Mexican states through the period from 1922 to 2023. This species richness represents around 28.7 % of the more than 1,000 ciliate species recorded for Mexico and indicates that its study is still incomplete and that there exist possibilities for new records and new species descriptions.

Author Biographies

Rosaura Mayén-Estrada, National Autonomous University of Mexico

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3156-1295

Full-time Professor at the Faculty of Sciences, UNAM. With SNII, level II. Her research field includes the taxonomy, ecology, distribution and phylogeny of heterotrophic protists. In the teaching field, she teaches the subjects of Biology of Protists and Algae, Protozoology and Biology of Animals I, at the Faculty of Sciences, UNAM.

Carlos Alberto Durán-Ramírez

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6583-0035

PhD from UNAM since 2021, involved in the study of protists biodiversity that inhabit in tank bromeliads from Neotropical forests and aquatic environments of Mexico. Teacher of more than 30 lectures of botany, protistology and protozoology at Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM. Joined as a member of the National System of Researchers of SECIHTI in 2024.

Fernando Olvera-Bautista, National Autonomous University of Mexico

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1166-1707

Biologist graduated from the Faculty of Sciences, UNAM. He obtained his Master’s degree in Biological Sciences (UNAM) working with ciliate epibiont protists of marine algae. He has worked professionally as a scientific consultant in the private sector and collaborated in institutional projects UNAM-CONABIO. Until June 2024, he was a lecturer in the Biology degree of the Faculty of Sciences, where he taught the course Biology of protists and algae for 13 years.

Víctor Manuel Romero-Niembro, National Autonomous University of Mexico

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1006-9023

Victor Romero is a Biologist from the Faculty of Sciences of the UNAM, he graduated from the Protozoology Lab working with taxonomy and ecology of ciliates. Later he developed a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and since then he has been dedicated to the development, optimization, innovation and sustainability projects in the agricultural industry.

The cover features a photograph of a river surrounded by lush trees at sunset, with sunlight piercing through the branches to create glints of light. Overlaying the image is the title 'Topics of limnological research in Mexico' and the coordinator's name, Alfredo Pérez Morales. The University of Colima editorial seal is displayed at the bottom.

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Charpter 10

Volume

Topics of Limnological Research in Mexico

Pages

194-215

Published

December 8, 2025

Series

In Good Plan

Categories

Copyright (c) 2025 Copyright will be automatically assigned to Alfredo Pérez-Morales (Author); Gerardo Hernández-Flores, Martha Angélica Gutiérrez-Aguirre, Adrián Cervantes-Martínez, Martín López-Hernández, Fernando González-Farías, María Guadalupe Ramos-Espinosa, Fernando Córdova-Tapia, Mario Alejandro Gómez-Ponce, José Antolín Aké-Castillo, Miriam Guadalupe Ramos-Escobedo, Eduardo Aranda-Delgado, Blanca Esther Raya-Cruz, José Luis Alanís-Méndez, Carlos Francisco Rodríguez-Gómez, Karla Cirila Garcés-García, Juan Alfredo Gómez-Figueroa, Carlos Antonio Poot-Delgado, Jaime Rendón-von Osten, Yuri Okolodkov, Patricia Margarita Valdespino-Castillo, Jorge Alberto Ramírez-Zierold, Rocío Jetzabel Alcántara-Hernández, Mariel Barjau-Aguilar, Mario Alberto Neri-Guzmán, Paola Julieta Cortés-Cruz, Oscar Alejandro Gerardo-Nieto, Martín Merino-Ibarra, Gabriela Vázquez, Angeles Rosseth Cruz-Ramírez, Gloria Garduño-Solórzano, José Manuel González-Fernández, Valeria Naomi Barranco-Vargas, Karla De la Luz-Vázquez, Cristian Alberto Espinosa-Rodríguez, Laura Valdés-Santiago, José Luis Castro-Guillén, Jorge Noé García-Chávez, Cynthia Paola Rangel-Chávez, Rosalba Alonso-Rodríguez, Alejandra Sarahí Ramírez-Segovia, Juan Gualberto Colli-Mull, Rafael Vargas-Bernal, Rosaura Mayén-Estrada, Carlos Alberto Durán-Ramírez, Fernando Olvera-Bautista, Francisco José Torner-Morales, Cesar Alejandro Zamora-Barrios, Araceli Adabache-Ortiz, Mario Joshue Espinosa-Hernández, Manuel Castillo-Rivera, Lorena Violeta León-Deniz, Juan Juárez-Flores, Frida Sabine Álvarez-Solís, José Francisco Miranda-Vidal, Víctor Manuel Romero-Niembro, José María Ahuatzin-Hernández, Michael Anai Figueroa-Sánchez, Brenda Rodríguez-Cortés, Karina E. Ruíz-Venegas, Rosa Martha Moreno-Gutiérrez, Gerardo Guerrero-Jiménez, Uriel Arreguín-Rebolledo, Marco Antonio Jiménez-Santos, Omar Alfredo Barrera-Moreno, Lizbeth Cano-Parra, Everardo Barba-Macías, José Cristóbal Román-Reyes, Elaine Aguilar-Nazare, Marcelo Silva-Briano, Cinthia Trinidad-Ocaña, and Rocío Natalia Armas-Chávez (Chapter Author) upon publication.

License

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How to Cite

Mayén-Estrada, R., Durán-Ramírez, C. A. ., Olvera-Bautista, F. ., & Romero-Niembro, V. M. . (2025). Free Living Continental Aquatic Ciliates (Alveolata: Ciliophora) from Mexico: An Overview of their Species Richness and Distribution. In A. . Pérez-Morales, Topics of Limnological Research in Mexico (pp. 194-215). University of Colima. https://www.libros.ucol.mx/index.php/dgp/catalog/book/175/chapter/248