The studies of differences in life history and suitability of water temperatures among rotifer species improve our understanding of species co-existence and possible niche differentiation over time as well as the geographical range shifts of species, community reorganization, and consequences for the functioning of ecosystems induced by climate change. Keratella tropica and Keratella valga are two morphologically similar rotifer species. We collected K. tropica and K. valga individuals, respectively, from Lake Tingtang and Lake Jinghu in Wuhu city, Anhui, China, clonally cultured them in lab and investigated their life table parameters at four temperatures (15 C, 20 C, 25 C, and 30 C). The results showed that the responses to increasing temperature in each of the life table parameters differed with rotifer species. Temperature and the interaction between temperature and species affected significantly the duration of prereproductive, reproductive, and post-reproductive periods. Temperature, species, and their interaction affected significantly life expectancy at hatching, generation time, and intrinsic rate of population increase; and temperature and species affected significantly net reproductive rate. Regardless of the effect of temperature, the life expectancy at hatching, the generation time, the net reproductive rate and the intrinsic rate of population increase of K. tropica were greater than those of K. valga. The intrinsic rate of population increase of K. tropica was the highest at 30 8C, whereas that of K. valga was the highest at 25 C, indicating that in subtropical shallow lakes, K. tropica is adapted to higher temperatures than K. valga.
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