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JPR Advance Access published online on February 13, 2008
Journal of Plankton Research, doi:10.1093/plankt/fbn027
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Multifactorial nature of rotifer water layer preferences in an oligotrophic lake

Ulrike Obertegger*,{dagger}, Giovanna Flaim* and Ruben Sommaruga+

* IASMA Research Center, Natural Resources Department, Via E. Mach, 1, 38010 San Michele all Adige (TN), Italy + Laboratory of Aquatic Photobiology and Plankton Ecology, Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria

{dagger} CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: obertegger{at}gmx.net, ulrike.obertegger{at}iasma.it

Received on November 22, 2007; revised on February 6, 2008; accepted on February 11, 2008


  Abstract

Rotifer preference for the upper (0 - 2 m) or deeper layer (5 - 35 m) of the water column was assessed at midday and midnight in an oligotrophic mountain lake during summer, and related to temperature, food availability, presence of predators, and exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Whereas Keratella cochlearis and Synchaeta pectinata showed a population maximum in the deeper layer during midday and in the upper layer during midnight, Asplanchna priodonta, Synchaeta kitina, and Filinia terminalis always remained in the deeper layer. In contrast, Polyarthra dolichoptera and Synchaeta grandis were the only rotifer species that remained in the upper layer. Possession of mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), a family of photoprotective compounds seemed to be an important strategy for occupying the upper layer. For other species, midday positioning in the deeper layer seemed to be related to UVR avoidance rather than to predation pressure, while the upward shift at night was species dependent. Migrating species seemed favoured by higher temperatures in the upper layer, while non-migrating species seemed restricted by factors such as food supply. Our study indicates that rotifers exhibit different species-specific strategies for dealing with factors such as UVR exposure, temperature, and food availability.

Key Words: Rotifer species • UVR • mycosporine-like amino acids • food availability • temperature

Communicating Editor: Dr Roger Harris


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