Biodiversity down by the flow: new records of monogonont rotifers for Italy found in the Po River

Abstract

Surveys on the zooplankton of the middle reach of the Po River (Northern Italy) carried out from 2008 to 2010 led to the discovery of 24 species of monogonont rotifers that are new for Italy. Among the 17 recorded genera, six are new for the Italian fauna, while three species have never been reported in the Palaearctic Region before. Temporal patterns, abundance and site of occurrence of the species are provided. Available information on the ecology and distribution of each taxon was derived from the literature and is also reported. Most of the new records are littoral and/or benthic-periphytic taxa. Results of the present study underline the still unsatisfactory status of present biogeographical knowledge on monogonont rotifers and the need for detailed taxonomic surveys in order to improve our understanding of the ecology and distributional patterns of this group

A revised and updated checklist of Monogononta rotifers from Argentina

“…The left uncus has three slender teeth; in addition, the ventral side of the left ramus has three large teeth ( Figure Ecology: According to Segers (2003), this species frequently inhabits the psammon. In periphyton and psammon of standing waters as well as in the littoral of streams and occurring only occasionally in open-water habitats; T. tenuoir is also present in bogs (Bertani et al 2011).…”

4. Rotifera

“…In rivers and streams, however, rotifers usually form the dominant component of the potamoplankton (e.g., Shiel et al 1982, Walz 1995, Zimmermann-Timm et al 2007, Bertani et al 2011. Swift flowing mountain waters cannot maintain downstream-directed rotifer plankton populations: species found in such habitat originate from vegetation, benthos, and hyporheos.…”

Monogonot rotifers species of the island Cozumel, Quintana Roo, México

“…The collected material was preserved in alcohol and formaldehyde and live samples were also analysed in the laboratory. The organisms were identified by consulting specialised literature: Koste (1978), Nogrady et al (1993), Shiel (1995), De Smet and Pourriot (1997), Sarma and Elías-Gutiérrez (1999), Segers (2007), Jersabek and Bolortsetseg (2010), Bertani et al (2011). In some cases, it was necessary to isolate the trophi dissolving tissues using NaOCl and, after isolation, trophi were washed using distilled water; finally we preserved the trophi(?)…”