The study deals with the vertical distribution and seasonal dynamics of planktonic ciliates in the pelagic and littoral zones of a saline meromictic Lake Shira. Fourteen species of free-living ciliates have been found in the Lake, seven of them inhabiting the pelagic zone. The richness of ciliates is higher both in terms of the number of species and biomass in the littoral zone compared to the pelagic zone. Although the ciliate species diversity is low in the pelagic zone, in certain seasons, the biomass of some of the species may reach considerable values, up to 3.4 g m⁻² in the water column. The biomass of ciliates in Lake Shira is generally comparable to the average values for other mesotrophic lakes. The abundance and composition of ciliate populations in Lake Shira vary considerably with depth.

Changes in the Lake ecosystem caused by meromixis breakdown in 2015-2016, which induced considerable variations in many Lake components, affected the vertical distribution of planktonic ciliates. However, the annual average biomass of the species that inhabited the Lake before meromixis breakdown remained unchanged. The total ciliate biomass increased due to the presence of the new species.

这项研究涉及盐度大环的西拉湖中上层和沿海地区浮游纤毛的垂直分布和季节动态。在湖中发现了十四种自由纤毛的纤毛虫，其中七种栖息在中上层带。与沿海地区相比，沿岸地区的纤毛虫种类和生物量都更高。尽管中上层带纤毛虫物种多样性较低，但在某些季节，某些物种的生物量可能达到相当高的值，在水柱中可达3.4 gm ^-2。Shira湖中纤毛虫的生物量通常可与其他中营养湖泊的平均值相媲美。Shira湖中纤毛虫种群的数量和组成随深度而有很大差异。

2015年至2016年，由混合虫分解导致的湖泊生态系统变化，导致许多湖泊成分发生明显变化，影响了浮游纤毛的垂直分布。然而，在混杂体分解之前居住在该湖的物种的年平均生物量保持不变。由于新物种的存在，纤毛虫的总生物量增加了。