Abstract
We confront patterns in the chorology and diversity of freshwater and limnoterrestrial Rotifera with predictions following from the recently revived ubiquity theorem on the distribution of microscopic organisms. Notwithstanding a strong taxonomic impediment and lack of data, both bdelloid and monogonont rotifers appear to conform to the hypothesis’ predictions that local diversity is relatively high compared to global diversity and that cosmopolitism is important. To the contrary, however, a latitudinal diversity gradient is obvious, and endemicity is present, and exhibits diverse patterns. This is illustrated by the case of Keratella rotifers, in which we identify purported relict endemicity hotspots in the east Palaearctic (China) and in temperate and cold regions of the southern hemisphere, and a recent radiation in North America. The apparent paradox may result from an antagonism between rotifer’s high population sizes and presence of potentially highly efficient propagules, versus pre-emption of habitats and local adaptation by resident populations, specific dispersal ability, and ecological and geographical factors. We conclude that distribution patterns of microscopic organisms, as represented by rotifers, most likely span the whole range of alternatives, from full cosmopolitanism to local endemism, and suggest that studying this diversity is more productive to come to an understanding of their chorology and diversity.
Special Issue: Protist diversity and geographic distribution. Guest editor: W. Foissner.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Ahlstrom EH (1943) A revision of the Rotatorian genus Keratella with descriptions of three new species and five new varieties. Bull Am Mus Nat Hist 80:411–457
Baas-Becking LGM (1934) Geobiologie of Inleiding tot de Milieukunde. Van Stockum en Zoon, The Hague, The Netherlands
Bailey SA, Duggan IC, van Overdijk et al (2003) Viability of invertebrate diapausing eggs collected from residual sediment. Limnol Oceanogr 48:1701–1710
Bērziņš B (1954) A new rotifer, Keratella canadensis. J Quekett Microsc Club 4:113–115
Bērziņš B (1955) Taxonomie und Verbreitung von Keratella valga und verwandten Formen. Ark Zool 8:549–559
Birky CW, Wolf C, Maughan H et al (2005) Speciation and selection without sex. Hydrobiologia 546:29–45
Cáceres CE, Soluk DA (2002) Blowing in the wind: a field test of overland dispersal and colonization by aquatic invertebrates. Oecologia 131:402–408
Chao A, Li P, Agatha S et al (2006) A statistical approach to estimate soil ciliate diversity and distribution based on data from five continents. Oikos 114:479–493
Chittapun S, Pholpunthin P, Segers H (2005) Restoration of tropical peat swamp rotifer communities after perturbation: an experimental study of recovery of rotifers from the resting egg bank. Hydrobiologia 546:281–289
De Meester L, Gómez A, Okamura B et al (2002) The monopolization hypothesis and the dispersal-gene flow paradox in aquatic organisms. Acta Oecol 23:121–135
De Ridder M (1981) Some considerations on the geographical distribution of rotifers. Hydrobiologia 85:209–225
De Ridder M (1986) Annotated checklist of non-marine rotifers (Rotifera) from African inland waters. Zoologische Documentatie, Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika, Tervuren, Belgium, 21, 123 pp
De Ridder M (1991) Additions to the “annotated checklist of non-marine rotifers (Rotifera) from African inland waters”. Rev Hydrobiol Trop 24:25–46
De Ridder M (1993) Additions II to the “annotated checklist of non-marine rotifers (Rotifera) from African inland waters”. Biol Jb Dodonaea 61:99–153
De Ridder M, Segers H (1997) Rotifera Monogononta in six zoogeographical regions after publications between 1960–1992. In: Van Goethem J (ed) Studiedocumenten van het Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen, 481 pp
Derry AM, Hebert PDN, Prepas EE (2003) Evolution of rotifers in saline and subsaline lakes: a molecular phylogenetic approach. Limnol Oceanogr 48:675–685
Dobers E (1915) Über die Biologie der Bdelloidea. Int Rev Hydrobiol Hydrograph, Suppl 7:1–128
Dumont HJ (1980) Workshop on taxonomy and biogeography. In: Dumont HJ, Green J (eds) Rotatoria. Hydrobiologia 73:205–206
Dumont HJ (1983) Biogeography of rotifers. Hydrobiologia 104:19–30
Euliss ND, Jarvis RL, Gilmer DS (1991) Feeding ecology of waterfowl wintering on evaporation ponds in California. Condor 93:582–590
Fenchel T, Finlay JB (2004) The ubiquity of small species: patterns of local and global diversity. Bioscience 54:777–784
Finlay JB (2002) Global dispersal of free-living microbial eukaryote species. Science 96:1061–1063
Foissner W (1999) Protist diversity: estimates of the near-imponderable. Protist 150:363–368
Foissner W (2006) Biogeography and dispersal of micro-organisms: a review emphasizing protists. Acta Protozool 45:111–136
Fontaneto D, Melone G (2003) Redescription of Pleuretra hystrix, an endemic alpine bdelloid rotifer. Hydrobiologia 497:153–160
Fontaneto D, De Smet WH, Ricci C (2006a) Rotifers in saltwater environments, re-evaluation of an inconspicuous taxon. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 86:623–656
Fontaneto D, Ficetola GF, Ambrosini R et al (2006b) Patterns of diversity in microscopic animals: are they comparable to those in protists or in larger animals? Glob Ecol Biogeogr 15:153–162
Fontaneto D, Herniou EA, Boschetti C et al (2007) Independently evolving species in asexual bdelloid rotifers. PLoS Biol 5:1–8
Friedrich C, De Smet WH (2000) The rotifer fauna of arctic sea ice from the Barents Sea, Laptev Sea and Greenland Sea. Hydrobiologia 432:73–89
Gilbert JJ (1974) Dormancy in rotifers. Trans Am Microsc Soc 93:490–513
Gislén T (1948) Aerial plankton and its conditions of life. Biol Rev 23:109–126
Gomez A, Serra M, Carvalho GC et al (2002) Speciation in ancient cryptic species complexes: evidence from the molecular phylogeny of Brachionus plicatilis (Rotifera). Evolution 56:1431–1444
Gray DK, Bailey SA, Duggan IC et al (2005) Viability of invertebrate diapausing eggs exposed to saltwater: implications for Great Lakes’ ship ballast management. Biol Invasions 7:531–539
Green J (1972) Latitudinal variation in associations of planktonic Rotifera. J Zool, Lond 167:31–39
Havel JE, Stelzleni-Schwent J (2000) Zooplankton community structure: the role of dispersal. Verh Int Ver Limnol 27:3264–3268
Holland LE, Jenkins DG (1998) Comparison of processes regulating zooplankton assemblages in new freshwater pools. Hydrobiologia 387/388:207–214
Janiec K (1996) Short distance wind transport of microfauna in maritime Antarctic (King George Island, South Shetland Islands). Pol Polar Res17:203–211
Jenkins DG (1995) Dispersal-limited zooplankton distribution and community composition in new ponds. Hydrobiologia 313/314:15–20
Jenkins KM, Boulton AJ (2003) Connectivity in a dryland river: short-term aquatic microinvertebrate recruitment following floodplain inundation. Ecology 84:2708–2723
Jenkins DG, Underwood MO (1998) Zooplankton may not disperse readily in wind, rain, or waterfowl. Hydrobiologia 387/388:15–21
Jenkins DG, Brescacin CR, Duxbury CV et al (2007) Does size matter for dispersal distance? Glob Ecol Biogeogr 16:415–425
Jennings HS (1900) Rotatoria of the United States, with especial reference to those of the Great Lakes. Bull US Fish Comm 1899:67–104
Koste W (1978) Rotatoria. Die Rädertiere Mitteleuropas, vol 2. Borntraeger, Berlin
Koste W, Shiel RJ (1987) Rotifera from Australian inland waters. II. Epiphanidae and Brachionidae (Rotifera: Monogononta). Invertebr Taxon 7:949–1021
Koste W, Shiel RJ (1989) Classical taxonomy and modern methodology. Hydrobiologia 186/187:79–284
Lachance M-A (2004) Here and there or everywhere? Bioscience 54:884
Langley JM, Shiel RJ, Nielsen DL et al (2001) Hatching from sediment egg-bank, or aerial dispersing?-the use of mesocosms in assessing rotifer biodiversity. Hydrobiologia 446/447:203–211
Lauterborn R (1898) Vorläufige mittheilung über den Variationskreis von Anurea cochlearis Gosse. Zool Anz 21:597–604
Lauterborn R (1900) Der Formenkreis von Anurea cochlearis. Ein Beitrag zur Kenntniss der Variabilität bei Rotatorien. Verh Nat-Med Ver Heidelberg 6:412–448
Maguire BJ (1959) Passive overland transport of small aquatic organisms. Ecology 40:312
Maguire BJ (1963) The passive dispersal of small aquatic organisms and their colonization of isolated bodies of water. Ecol Monogr 33:161–185
Marchoux E (1898) Note sur un rotifère (Philodina parasitica n. sp.) vivant dans le tube digestif de larves aquatiques d’insectes. Compt rend Séanc Soc Biol Fil, Sér 10:749–750
McCormick PV, Cairns J (1990) Microbial colonization dynamics in temporary aquatic systems. Hydrobiologia 196:229–253
Mills S, Lunt DH, Gómez A (in press) Global isolation by distance despite strong regional phylogeography in a small metazoan. BMC Evol Biol
Nelder MP, McCreadie JW (2003) Bdelloid rotifers (Rotifera: Bdelloidea) inhabiting larval black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) and their effect on trichomycete (Zygomycota) fungal abundance. Proc Entomol Soc Wash 105:794–796
Örstan A (1995) Desiccation survival of the eggs of the rotifer Adineta vaga (Davis, 1873). Hydrobiologia 313/314:373–375
Örstan A (1998) Microhabitats and dispersal routes of bdelloid rotifers. Sci Nat 1:27–36
Padilla DK, Williams SL (2004) Beyond ballast water: aquarium and ornamental trades as sources of invasive species in aquatic ecosystems. Front Ecol Environ 2:131–138
Pejler B (1977) On the global distribution of the family Brachionidae (Rotatoria). Arch Hydrobiol 53(Suppl):255–306
Pejler B (1998) History of rotifer research in northern Europe. Hydrobiologia 387/388:267–278
Pourriot R, Snell TW (1983) Resting eggs in rotifers. Hydrobiologia 104:213–224
Ricci C (1998) Anhydrobiotic capabilities of bdelloid rotifers. Hydrobiologia 387/388:321–326
Ricci C, Caprioli M (2005) Anhydrobiosis in bdelloid species, populations and individuals. Integr Comp Biol 45:759–763
Ricci C, Vaghi L, Manzini ML (1987) Desiccation of rotifers (Macrotrachela quadricornifera): survival and reproduction. Ecology 68:1488–1494
Ricci C, Melone G, Sotgia C (1993) Old and new data on Seisonidea (Rotifera). Hydrobiologia 255/256:495–511
Rousselet CF (1909) On the geographical distribution of the Rotifera. J Quekett Microsc Club 10:465–470
Ruttner-Kolisko A (1989) Problems in the taxonomy of rotifers, exemplified by the Filinia longiseta–terminalis complex. Hydrobiologia 186/187:291–298
Sandlund OT (1982) The drift of zooplankton and microzoobenthos in the river Strandaelva, western Norway. Hydrobiologia 94:33–48
Schlichting HE (1960) The role of waterfowl in the dispersal of algae. Trans Am Microsc Soc 79:160–166
Schlichting HE (1961) Viable species of algae and Protozoa in the atmosphere. Lloydia 24:81–88
Schlichting HE (1964) Meteorological conditions affecting the dispersal of airborne algae and Protozoa. Lloydia 27:64–78
Schlichting HE, Milliger LE (1969) The dispersal of microorganisms by a hemipteran, Lethocerus uhleri (Montadon). Trans Am Microsc Soc 88:452–454
Schröder T (2005) Diapause in monogonont rotifers. Hydrobiologia 546:291–306
Segers H (1996) The biogeography of littoral Lecane Rotifera. Hydrobiologia 323:169–197
Segers H (1998) An analysis of taxonomic studies on Rotifera: a case study. Hydrobiologia 387/388:9–14
Segers H (2001) Zoogeography of the Southeast Asian Rotifera. Hydrobiologia 446/447:233–246
Segers H (2003) A biogeographical analysis of rotifers of the genus Trichocerca Lamarck, 1801 (Trichocercidae, Monogononta, Rotifera), with notes on taxonomy. Hydrobiologia 500:103–114
Segers H (2007a) Global diversity and distribution of the rotifers (Phylum Rotifera). Hydrobiologia (in press)
Segers H (2007b) A global checklist of the rotifers (Phylum Rotifera). Zootaxa 1564:1–104
Shurin JB (2000) Dispersal limitation, invasion resistance, and the structure of pond zooplankton communities. Ecology 81:3074–3086
Sides SL (1973) Internal and external transport of algae and protozoa by sea gulls. Trans Amer Microsc Soc 92:307–311
Sørensen MV, Segers H, Funch P (2005) On a new Seison Grube, 1861 from coastal waters of Kenya, with a reappraisal of the classification of the Seisonida (Rotifera). Zool Stud 44:34–43
Suatoni E, Vicario S, Rice S et al (2006) An analysis of species boundaries and biogeographic patterns in a cryptic species complex: the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis. Mol Phylogenet Evol 18:70–74
Suren A (1990) Microfauna associated with algal mats in melt ponds of the Ross Ice Shelf. Polar Biol 10:329–335
Wallace RL, Snell TW, Ricci C et al (2006) Rotifera vol 1: biology, Ecology and Systematics. In: Segers H, Dumont HJF (eds) Guides to the identification of the microinvertebrates of the continental waters of the World 23. Kenobi productions, Ghent/Backhuys Acad Publ/The Hague 299p
Whitaker RJ, Grogan DW, Taylor JW (2003) Geographic barriers isolate endemic populations of hyperthermophilic archaea. Science 301:976–978
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Segers, H., De Smet, W.H. (2007). Diversity and endemism in Rotifera: a review, and Keratella Bory de St Vincent. In: Foissner, W., Hawksworth, D.L. (eds) Protist Diversity and Geographical Distribution. Topics in Biodiversity and Conservation, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2801-3_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2801-3_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-2800-6
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-2801-3
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)