LAUSR

Abstract Forty-four taxa belonging to 14 genera of testate amoebae were recorded in three biotopes: benthal, benthal with an overgrowth of aquatic vegetation and phytal from the coastal zone of the “Marsh Malak Preslavets” protected area. It is found that in regard to taxonomic richness the testacean fauna in investigated biotopes is quite similar. Concerning the species composition and number of specimens in different biotopes, however, some differences were found, which leads to the conclusion that each biotope is characterized by specific testate amoebae fauna. The abundance and structure of the testacean communities depend on the type of biotope, although all three are from the coastal zone of the marsh. Only eleven testate amoebae (or 25%) were found in all studied biotopes. About 47.7% of species were established only in one biotope.