engleski

Rotifer community structure in temperate versus semiarid habitats: impact of aquatic macrophytes and salinity

The main aim of this study was to investigate rotifer assemblages in the littoral zone of shallow lakes in two different climate zones in Europe and Asia, temperate and semiarid, respectively. To analyze the rotifer community structure, 4 shallow lakes in Croatia (45°57′37″ N, 15°50′63″ E) and 3 shallow lakes in Iran (3708'30'' N, 4513'26'' E) were compared along gradients of vegetation cover, trophic level and antrophogenic influence. We recorded higher rotifer diversity in temperate lakes, contrary to the lower diversity in the semiarid waters. In both climate zones, rotifer diversity increased with enhanced macrophyte coverage and decreased at higher trophic levels. Rotifer density positively correlated with trophic levels in both areas, as well as with elevated salinities in the semiarid waters. Remarkablely higher rotifer densities at increased salinity of semiarid climate were mirrored in domination of few species. According to the feeding guilds, microphagous species prevailed in all the investigated waters. Results of our study confirm that Brachionus rotifers are well-adapted to salinization and could be considered as susceptible indicators of environmental changes..It was also clarified that ecological drivers of rotifer diversity and density can have similar impacts even in distinct and independent ecosystems.

zooplankton; diversity; density; vegetation; trophic level

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