Thalassic Rotifers from the United States: Descriptions of Two New Species and Notes on the Effect of Salinity and Ecosystem on Biodiversity

Leasi, Francesca; Smet, Willem H. De

doi:10.3390/d12010028

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 65 publications

(60 reference statements)

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“…All rotifers (Bdelloidea, Monogononta, and Seisonacea, with the exclusion of Acanthocephala) belong to meiofauna as they are minute in size, usually between 0.05 and 1 mm ; some species can be found in the meiobenthos, others in the zooplankton, and also as epibionts or in the periphyton (Wallace et al 2006). They are mostly freshwater and limno-terrestrial organisms, but several species can be found in haline habitats: out of more than 2000 known rotifer species, about 450 have been found in marine waters (Fontaneto et al 2006;Leasi & De Smet 2020). Of these, 90 are known to occur along the Italian coasts, including seven bdelloids, 81 monogononts, and two seisonaceans (De Smet et al 2015).…”

Section: Rotiferamentioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of soft-bodied meiofaunal taxa to Italian marine biodiversity

Curini-Galletti

Artois

Domênico

et al. 2020

The European Zoological Journal

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Meiofauna includes an astonishing diversity of organisms, whose census is far from being complete. Most classic ecological studies have focused on hard-bodied Ecdysozoan taxa (notably Copepoda and Nematoda), whose cuticle allows determination at species-level after fixation, rather than soft-bodied, Spiralian taxa, which most often lose any diagnostic feature in fixed samples. Yet, metabarcoding studies have recently revealed a species-richness of softbodied taxa comparable, and in cases superior, to that of Copepoda and Nematoda together. However, given objective difficulties inherent to their study, which necessarily has to be performed on living individuals, and their limited utilisation for ecological and applicative research, taxonomic expertise on soft-bodied organisms has declined over the years, and diversity of these phyla in most areas of the world is presently completely unknown. Here we present an expert-based survey of current knowledge on the composition and distribution of soft-bodied meiofaunal taxa in Italy, with special references to the predominantly or exclusively meiobenthic phyla Gastrotricha, Gnathostomulida, Platyhelminthes, Rotifera, Xenacoelomorpha, and macrofaunal taxa with conspicuous meiofaunal representatives (Annelida, Mollusca and Nemertea). A total of 638 described species have been reported from Italian coasts; furthermore, the existence of a large number of undescribed species is mentioned. Knowledge of Annelida, Gastrotricha, and Rotifera appears particularly detailed, placing Italy among the best-known country worldwide. In contrast, knowledge of Platyhelminthes and Xenacoelomorpha appears patchy, and limited to few areas. Sampling effort has been uneven, with most species recorded from the Tyrrhenian Sea, while large sections of the Adriatic and Ionian seas have been poorly explored. Results highlight the role that Marine Biological Stations, notably the Zoological Station "Anton Dohrn" in Naples, have had in promoting the study of soft-bodied taxa in Italy.

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Section: Rotiferamentioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of soft-bodied meiofaunal taxa to Italian marine biodiversity

Curini-Galletti

Artois

Domênico

et al. 2020

The European Zoological Journal

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Synchaeta’s community in the urban coastal area of the Thessaloniki Bay

Kourkoutmani,

Iliadou,

Vlachodimou

et al. 2023

Hydrobiologia

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Rotifers’ presence and significance are being underestimated among marine zooplankton because rotifers are lost when using larger mesh size nets. Furthermore, samples’ preservation often makes species identification difficult, creating a knowledge gap regarding their diversity and abundance in coastal ecosystems. Our study aimed to address this gap by documenting the biodiversity and distribution patterns of the rotifer species, exploring their relationships with the components of the zooplankton community and determining the environmental variables driving their seasonal dynamics. Samplings were carried out in an urban coastal area in the North Aegean Sea in Greece, within two sampling periods. Four coexisting Synchaeta species were encountered, whose temporal distribution patterns were mainly driven by temperature; S. neapolitana exhibited a preference for colder temperatures, contrary to the thermophilic distribution patterns of S. baltica and S. vorax. Network analysis unveiled several negative links among Synchaeta species and other zooplankton taxa, suggesting potential competitive trophic interactions. The present study is one of the very few dealing with marine rotifers across the Mediterranean Sea and thus provides a significant contribution to our understanding of the dynamics of this group of micrometazoans.

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A synthesis of the biogeographical distribution of Rotifera in Africa

Smolak

Walsh

Brown

et al. 2022

Journal of Plankton Research

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The rotifer fauna of Africa has been studied for >100 years, but there has been no recent synthesis. We compiled data from 265 publications that reported information on African rotifers. Our dataset yielded information on the distribution of 765 taxa from ~1850 separate sites; these included both natural and artificial habitats such as lakes, ponds, puddles, oases, artificial systems, rivers and wetlands. A heat map of predicted rotifer biodiversity indicated that the greatest diversity should be present in the sub-Saharan region including a large hotspot in Mali and several smaller ones scattered in that region. Lakes Kariba, Tanganyika and Malawi showed high-predicted diversity, but surprisingly, Lake Victoria had lower diversity than expected. Two regions showed unusually high-predicted diversity: northwestern Algeria extending into Morocco and Egypt. Equatorial Africa is rich in habitats well suited for rotifers, yet their predicted biodiversity seems low. Latitude and elevation were negatively correlated with richness, while permanent water source and littoral zone were positively correlated according to generalized linear modeling results. Partial RDA analyses showed significant correlations among several environmental features and species occurrences. It is clear that more survey work remains to be done to achieve a better understanding of African rotifers.

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Thalassic Rotifers from the United States: Descriptions of Two New Species and Notes on the Effect of Salinity and Ecosystem on Biodiversity

Cited by 4 publications

References 65 publications

Contribution of soft-bodied meiofaunal taxa to Italian marine biodiversity

Contribution of soft-bodied meiofaunal taxa to Italian marine biodiversity

Synchaeta’s community in the urban coastal area of the Thessaloniki Bay

A synthesis of the biogeographical distribution of Rotifera in Africa

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