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Studies on the epibiotic association between rotifer Brachionus rubens and cladocerans from water bodies of Jammu and Kashmir, India

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Abstract

The epibiotic relationship was studied between the rotifer Brachionus rubens and five cladocerans (Daphnia carinata, Moina micrura, Simocephalus vetulus, Diaphanosoma sarsi, and Ceriodaphnia cornuta) present in lentic waters of four water bodies in the Jammu region of India. The association was assessed to be facultative in nature. This epizoic lifestyle of B. rubens is predicted to be a defence against predatory rotifers because the co-occurrence of B. rubens and its predator Asplanchna was observed during periods of infestation. The epibiotic rotifer seemed to have several adverse effects on its cladoceran hosts, including reduced locomotion. Epibiosis was observed particularly during the period with low dissolved oxygen levels. The findings of this study imply that the occurrence of epibiosis is related to high organic contents in the water body. This type of epibiotic association is reported for the first time from water bodies in this region of India.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Head, Department of Zoology, University of Jammu for providing necessary laboratory and transport facilities for the present research. We are equally thankful to DST PURSE (Department of Science & Technology, Promotion of University Research & Scientific Excellence) and DST FIST (Department of Science & Technology, Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure) for providing research grant for purchase of equipments used in the present research. The research fellowship granted by CSIR (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research), New Delhi to the corresponding author is gratefully acknowledged. We are also immensely indebted to Dr. Robert L. Wallace for his expert comments and valuable suggestions on the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Zoology, University of Jammu, 180006, Jammu, J&K, India

    Supreet Kour, Deepanjali Slathia & Sarbjeet Kour

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  1. Supreet Kour
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  2. Deepanjali Slathia
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Correspondence to Supreet Kour.

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Kour, S., Slathia, D. & Kour, S. Studies on the epibiotic association between rotifer Brachionus rubens and cladocerans from water bodies of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Symbiosis 88, 11–19 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-022-00881-w

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