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Diversity
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Biodiversity of Rotifers-2nd Edition
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Biodiversity of Rotifers-2nd Edition

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 6410

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Evangelia Michaloudi

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Guest Editor
Department of Zoology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: zooplankton ecology; food web interactions in Mediterranean freshwater ecosystems; morphology, taxonomy of zooplankton organisms (rotifers, cladocera, copepoda); use of zooplankton in ecological water quality estimation; diversity and biogeographical patterns of zooplankton organisms; lake restoration and management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Sarma Nandini

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Guest Editor
Laboratorio de Zoología Acuática, División de Investigación y Posgrado, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Iztacala, Av. de los Barrios # 1, Los Reyes Iztacala, Tlalnepantla 54090, Mexico
Interests: lake management; control of toxic cyanobacteria; fish larvae-zooplankton interactions; aquaculture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. S.S.S. Sarma

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Guest Editor
Laboratorio de Zoología Acuática, Edificio UMF, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala (FES Iztacala), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. de los Barrios, No. 1, Los Reyes, Tlalnepantla 54090, Mexico
Interests: fish larval feeding; zooplankton; live food; feeding behaviour; Rotifera; Cladocera; Copepoda
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rotifera is an amazing Phylum containing more than 2000 valid species described up to date. They are microscopic organisms found in both marine and freshwater systems, from large permanent lakes to small temporal puddles, from natron to acidic lakes, and from hyperoligotrophic lakes to sewage ponds. They represent a taxonomic challenge in several ways, while the limited number of morphological traits along with the vast range of plasticity halts the identification of their true diversity. Molecular tools assist, to that end, in unraveling a great number of cryptic species in the Phylum. Combined in an integrative approach with morphology and ecology, they contribute to accurate species description, which is fundamental in order to explain patterns of biological diversity and biogeography, understand population genetic processes, detect ecological divergence, and ultimately assess the ways in which ecosystems function. Rotifers, due to their short generation time and their reproductive mode, show rapid local adaptations, making them useful indicators of environmental change. The patterns of rotifer diversity can identify disturbance in aquatic ecosystems and assist in trophic state and water quality assessment, while the rotifer community (both in terms of composition and seasonal succession) plays a very important role in ecosystem functioning.

Dr. Evangelia Michaloudi
Prof. Dr. Sarma Nandini
Prof. Dr. S.S.S. Sarma
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • taxonomy
  • species delimitation
  • morphology
  • phylogeny
  • biodiversity
  • biogeography
  • indices
  • community ecology
  • seasonality patterns

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 2742 KiB  
Article
Improving Aquatic Biodiversity Estimates in Africa: Rotifers of Angola and Ghana
by Radoslav Smolak, Patrick D. Brown, Robert N. Walsmith, Judith V. Ríos-Arana, Peter Sanful, Lukáš Kalous and Elizabeth J. Walsh
Diversity 2024, 16(5), 269; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16050269 - 30 Apr 2024
Viewed by 2553
Abstract
Afrotropical inland waters are highly diverse ecosystems; however, they remain poorly studied, especially for rotifers. Here, we contributed to the knowledge of the rotifer species richness in the largely understudied African countries of Angola and Ghana. We assessed the roles of habitat type [...] Read more.
Afrotropical inland waters are highly diverse ecosystems; however, they remain poorly studied, especially for rotifers. Here, we contributed to the knowledge of the rotifer species richness in the largely understudied African countries of Angola and Ghana. We assessed the roles of habitat type and a suite of abiotic environmental factors in determining rotifer species richness of Ghana. A total of 37 sites (Ghana 32, Angola 5) in 19 water bodies from a variety of aquatic habitat types were sampled. In Ghana, we identified 118 taxa (105 species or subspecies level, 13 identified to genus). We identified 15 taxa (13 species) in the Angola samples. For Ghana, 100 of 118 (~85%) taxa were new records for the country, of which 13 species (~11%) were also new records for Africa. Nearly all the species (~93%) were new records for Angola. Species richness was positively correlated with conductivity and reservoir habitat type and negatively with pH. Redundancy analysis (RDA), conducted at the species level for the Ghana dataset, indicated suites of species associated with latitude, longitude, temperature, TDS, or pH. We also evaluated the effect of climate on species distribution in 27 African countries by conducting a review of all reports from Africa to determine factors associated with species richness. A Spearman’s correlation confirmed a significant positive correlation between the number of rotifer species and the number of climatic regions (R = 0.53, p < 0.001) for certain countries, based on species distributions in relation to Köppen–Geiger climate regions. This fact validates the environmental heterogeneity hypothesis for African rotifers. Lastly, we predicted that rotifer species richness in Ghana, as a country with a tropical climate, could approach ~190 taxa, while in climatically heterogeneous Angola we predict ~200 taxa. This study contributes to our knowledge of rotifer biogeography and species richness patterns in Africa. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity of Rotifers-2nd Edition)
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55 pages, 7312 KiB  
Article
Diversity, Composition and Environmental Relations of Periphytic Rotifer Assemblages in Lentic Freshwater Bodies (Flanders, Lower Belgium)
by Luc Denys and Willem H. De Smet
Diversity 2023, 15(12), 1214; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15121214 - 12 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1680
Abstract
Periphytic rotifer assemblages from lentic habitats are understudied. To improve knowledge on the principal environmental determinants of their structure and composition, we examined summer periphyton from 184 freshwater bodies from a taxonomic and multi-trait-based perspective. Only the latter allowed consideration of all bdelloids. [...] Read more.
Periphytic rotifer assemblages from lentic habitats are understudied. To improve knowledge on the principal environmental determinants of their structure and composition, we examined summer periphyton from 184 freshwater bodies from a taxonomic and multi-trait-based perspective. Only the latter allowed consideration of all bdelloids. Alpha diversity decreased with electrolyte and aluminium concentration but increased with macrophyte richness, pointing at salinization, metal toxicity and loss of structural niche heterogeneity as potential threats for rotifer diversity. Replacement was the prominent component of beta diversity, with acidified sites showing the highest local contributions. Variation partitioning indicated that local conditions explained variation in species composition best, but general setting (soil type, land cover, connectivity) and spatial context were also not insignificant. Redundancy analysis related species composition more particularly to gradients of pH and trophic status, whereas the representation of functional groups was structured mainly by phytoplankton productivity. Mirroring shifts observed in the plankton, high phytoplankton productivity associated with larger size and more detritibacterivory. Dominance of collectors constrained variation in guild ratios, underlining the need for more refined functional approaches. To aid the use of periphytic rotifers in regional water quality assessment, we identified indicators and community thresholds for pH and trophic variables and determined optima and tolerances for individual taxa. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity of Rotifers-2nd Edition)
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17 pages, 3946 KiB  
Article
Seasonal Diversity and Morphometric Variations of Rotifers in Relation to Selected Environmental Variables from a Tropical High-Altitude Lake in Mexico
by Sergio González-Gutiérrez, S. S. S. Sarma and S. Nandini
Diversity 2023, 15(8), 942; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15080942 - 19 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1460
Abstract
We studied the species diversity and morphometric variations of rotifers from a high-altitude water body, the Llano reservoir, in central Mexico during September 2021 to August 2022. Samples were collected from four stations in the reservoir every month. During the study period we [...] Read more.
We studied the species diversity and morphometric variations of rotifers from a high-altitude water body, the Llano reservoir, in central Mexico during September 2021 to August 2022. Samples were collected from four stations in the reservoir every month. During the study period we were able to identify 54 monogonont rotifer species of which Polyarthra vulgaris, Lecane closterocerca, Trichocerca porcellus, Lepadella patella and Keratella cochlearis were numerically the most abundant. Depending on the season, the total rotifer density varied from 250 to 2450 ind L−1. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that the species of Trichocerca similis, Keratella cochlearis, Mytilina ventralis and Scaridium longicaudum were directly related to temperature. Using rotifer species richness and abundance data, we derived the Shannon diversity index, saprobic index and rotifer trophic state index. Data on the geometric morphometrics showed that Keratella cochlearis was found in two of the three climatic periods of the year (dry and winter), while Lecane closterocerca and Trichocerca porcellus occurred during the three climatic seasons (dry, winter and rainy) and formed three distinct clusters in relation to body size. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity of Rotifers-2nd Edition)
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