Diversity and Ecology of Zooplankton in Freshwater Subhabitats: Second Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Biodiversity is the key indicator of the health of an ecosystem; in any ecosystem, the wider the variety of species, the better the coping mechanism against threats, and vice versa. Aquatic ecosystems are a vital component as they support a substantial portion of Earth’s biological diversity. Today, freshwater ecosystems are experiencing a staggering increase in biodiversity loss due to eutrophication, pollution, habitat loss, invasion of alien species, and climate change. Since zooplankton communities respond to environmental changes, environmental deterioration usually results in the elimination of rare and stenotobiotic species, thereby further disrupting aquatic life.

Lake ecosystems contain numerous habitats, such as the relatively homogeneous pelagial zone, as well as many different subhabitats in the littoral zone (psammon, pelon, epiphyton, epiliton, epixylon, etc.) or sediments which are often overlooked. Most studies on the large-scale geographic distribution of zooplankton mainly focus on the pelagic zones of lakes. However, only through a comprehensive analysis of all the other habitats can we estimate the true species richness in a lake ecosystem.

This Special Issue aims to collate papers that address zooplankton diversity in the less studied lake habitats and subhabitats. We particularly welcome papers that employ a macroecological approach to study zooplankton diversity, shedding light on the molecules, populations, species, communities, and ecosystems of zooplankton.

Dr. Maciej Karpowicz
Prof. Dr. Carlos López
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• subhabitats
• zooplankton
• freshwater
• biodiversity
• native, invasive, and alien species
• macroecology