Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Comparative analysis of rotifer community structure in five subtropical shallow lakes in East China: role of physical and chemical conditions

  • Primary research paper
  • Published:
Hydrobiologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Worldwide, there have been few comparative studies on rotifer communities in subtropical lakes. We studied changes in rotifer community structure over 1 year and its relationship to several physicochemical variables in five subtropical shallow lakes in East China, covering a nutrient gradient from mesotrophy to moderate eutrophy. In these lakes, the genera Brachionus, Lecane, and Trichocerca dominated the rotifer species composition, and Polyarthra dolichoptera, Keratella cochlearis, Filinia longiseta, T. pusilla, and Anuraeopsis fissa were the dominant species. With increased nutrient loading, total rotifer abundance and species dominance increased, indicating that rotifer abundance might be a more sensitive indicator of trophic state than species composition. Comparative analyses of the six rotifer community indices calculated in this study and redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that the two slightly eutrophic lakes and the other two moderately eutrophic lakes exhibited a high degree similarity in community structure. This suggests that the trophic state of a lake determines the rotifer community structure. In contrast, in the two moderately eutrophic lakes, the mass ratios of TN:TP and the contents of TP suggested N-limitation and cyanobacteria dominance in phytoplankton communities might be possible. In these lakes TN played a more important role in shaping the rotifer community according to stepwise multiple regression and RDA. RDA analysis also suggested that rotifer species distribution was strongly associated with trophic state and water temperature, with water temperature being the most important factor in determining seasonality.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alekseev, V. R. & I. I. Potina, 1986. Use of structural indices of zooplankton for estimation of planktophagous fish effect. In Lavrentyeva, G. M. (eds), Structures and Trophical Relations in the Ecosystems of the Small Fishery Lakes. Nauka, Leningrad: 68–76 (in Russian).

  • Andronikova, I. N., 1993. Lake classification with respect to biological productivity. In Teoreticheskie voprosy klassifikatsii ozer [Theoretical Problems of Lake Classification]. Nauka, St. Petersburg: 51–72.

  • Arora, J. & N. K. Mehra, 2003. Seasonal dynamics of rotifers in relation to physical and chemical conditions of the river Yamuna (Delhi), India. Hydrobiologia 491: 101–109.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Auer, B., U. Elzer & H. Arndt, 2004. Comparison of pelagic food webs in lakes along a trophic gradient and with seasonal aspects: influence of resource and predation. Journal of Plankton Research 26: 697–709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balvay, G. & M. Laurent, 1990. Long-term quantitative evolution of rotifers during the eutrophication in Lake Geneva. Aquatic Science 52: 162–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bartsch, L. A., W. B. Richardson & M. B. Sandheinrich, 2004. Zebra mussels (Driessena polymorpha) limit food for larval fish (Pimephales promelas) in turbulent systems: a bioenergetics analysis. Hydrobiologia 495: 59–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berzins, B. & B. Pejler, 1989a. Rotifer occurrence and trophic degree. Hydrobiologia 182: 171–180.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Berzins, B. & B. Pejler, 1989b. Rotifer occurrence in relation to temperature. Hydrobiologia 175: 223–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borcard, D., P. Legendre & P. Drapeau, 1992. Partialling out the spatial component of ecological variation. Ecology 73: 1045–1055.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castro, B. B., S. C. Antunes, R. Pereira, A. M. V. M. Soares & F. Goncalves, 2005. Rotifer community structure in three shallow lakes: seasonal fluctuations and explanatory factors. Hydrobiologia 543: 221–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Contreras, J. J., S. S. S. Sarma, M. Merino-Ibarra & S. Nandini, 2009. Seasonal changes in the rotifer (Rotifera) diversity from a tropical high altitude reservoir (Valle de Bravo, Mexico). Journal of Environmental Biology 30: 191–195.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crisman, T. L., E. J. Phips & J. R. Beaver, 1995. Zooplankton seasonality and trophic state relationships in Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Archiv für Hydrobiologie Beiheft Ergebnisse der Limnologie 45: 213–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Ridder, M., 1981. Some considerations on the geographical distribution of rotifers. Hydrobiologia 85: 209–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devetter, M., 1998. Influence of environmental factors on the rotifer assemblages in an artificial lake. Hydrobiologia 387(388): 171–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downing, J. A. & E. McCauley, 1992. The nitrogen: phosphorus relationship in lakes. Limnology and Oceanography 37: 936–945.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duggan, I. C., J. D. Green & R. J. Shiel, 2001a. Distribution of rotifers in North Island, New Zealand, and their potential use as bioindicators of lake trophic state. Hydrobiologia 446(447): 155–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duggan, I. C., J. D. Green, K. Thompson & R. J. Shiel, 2001b. The influence of macrophytes on the spatial distribution of littoral rotifers. Freshwater Biology 46: 777–786.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duggan, I. C., J. D. Green & R. J. Shiel, 2002. Distribution of rotifer assemblages in North Island, New Zealand, lakes: relationships to environmental and historical factors. Freshwater Biology 47: 195–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dumont, H. J. & H. Segers, 1996. Estimating lacustrine zooplankton species richness and complementarity. Hydrobiologia 341: 125–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etilé, R. N., A. M. Kouassi, M. N. Aka & N. J. Kouassi, 2009. Spatio-temporal variations of the zooplankton abundance and composition in a West African tropical coastal lagoon (Grand-Lahou, Côte d’Ivoire). Hydrobiologia 624: 171–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gannon, J. E. & R. S. Stemberger, 1978. Zooplankton (especially crustaceans and rotifers) as indicators of water quality. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 97: 16–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, J. J., 1988. Suppression of rotifer populations by Daphnia: a review of the evidence, the mechanisms, and the effects on zooplankton community structure. Limnology and Oceanography 33: 1286–1303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green, J., 1972. Latitudinal variation in associations of planktonic Rotifera. Journal of zoology 167: 31–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green, J., 1994. The temperate-tropical gradient of planktonic Protozoa and Rotifera. Hydrobiologia 272: 13–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green, J., 2003. Association of planktonic and periphytic rotifers in a tropical swamp, the Okavango Delta, Southern Africa. Hydrobiologia 490: 197–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Havens, K. E., R. T. James, T. L. East & V. H. Smith, 2003. N:P ratios, light limitation, and cyanobacterial dominance in a subtropical lake impacted by non-point source nutrient pollution. Environmental Pollution 122: 379–390.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Havens, K. E., T. L. East & R. B. John, 2007. Zooplankton response to extreme drought in a large subtropical lake. Hydrobiologia 589: 187–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henry, R., K. Hino, J. G. Tundisi & J. S. B. Riberio, 1985. Responses of phytoplankton in Lake Jacaretinga to enrichment with nitrogen and phosphorus in concentrations similar to those of the River Solimoes (Amazon, Brazil). Archiv für Hydrobiologie Beiheft Ergebnisse der Limnologie 103: 453–477.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herzig, A., 1987. The analysis of planktonic rotifer populations: plea for long-term investigations. Hydrobiologia 14: 163–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, M. O. & H. E. J. Gauch, 1980. Detrended correspondence analysis: an improved ordination technique. Vegetatio 42: 47–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillbricht-Ilkowska, A., 1983. Morphological variation of Keratella cochlearis (Gosse) in Lake Biwa, Japan. Hydrobiologia 104: 297–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann, W., 1977. The influence of abiotic environmental factors on population dynamics in planktonic rotifers. Archiv für Hydrobiologie Beiheft Ergebnisse der Limnologie 8: 77–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang, X. F., 1999. Survey, Observation and Analysis of Lake Ecology. Chinese standard press, Beijing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang, X. F., C. Y. Hu & Z. T. Wu, 1985. Rotifers in Lake Donghu, Wuhan. Acta Hydrobiologica Sinica 9: 129–143. (in Chinese with English abstract).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulbert, S. H., 1971. The nonconcept of species diversity: a critique and alternative parameters. Ecology 52: 577–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, S. J. & T. R. Heath, 1997. Bacterial productivity and protistan bacterivory in coastal and offshore communities of Lake Erie. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 54: 788–799.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, S. J. & T. R. Heath, 1999. Zooplankton bacterivory at coastal and offshore sites of Lake Erie. Journal of Plankton Research 21: 699–719.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, R. T., K. Havens, G. W. Zhu & B. Q. Qin, 2009. Comparative analysis of nutrients, chlorophyll and transparency in two large shallow lakes (Lake Taihu, P. R. China and Lake Okeechobee, USA). Hydrobiologia 627: 211–231.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jeppesen, E., M. Søndergaard, O. Sortkjær, E. Mortensen & P. Kristensen, 1990a. Interactions between phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish in a shallow, hypertrophic lake: a study of phytoplankton collapses in Lake Søbygård, Denmark. Hydrobiologia 191: 149–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeppesen, E., J. P. Jensen, P. Kristensen, M. Søndergaard, E. Mortensen, O. Sortkjær & K. Olrik, 1990b. Fish manipulation as a lake restoration tool in shallow, eutrophic, temperate lakes 2: threshold levels, long-term stability and conclusions. Hydrobiologia 200(201): 219–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeppesen, E., J. P. Jensen, M. Søndergaard, T. Lauridsen & F. Landkildehus, 2000. Trophic structure, species richness and biodiversity in Danish lakes: changes along a phosphorus gradient. Freshwater Biology 45: 201–218.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Karabin, A., J. Ejsmont-Karabin & R. Kornatowska, 1997. Eutrophication processes in a shallow, macrophyte-dominated lake-factors influencing zooplankton structure and density in Lake Łuknajn (Poland). Hydrobiologia 342(343): 401–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koste, W., 1978. Rotatoria: Die Rädertiere Mitteleuropas. Gebrüder Borntraeger, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuczyńska-Kippen, N., 2001. Seasonal changes of the rotifer community in the littoral of a polymictic lake. Verhandlungen der Internationale Vereinigüng für Limnologie 27: 2964–2967.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuczyńska-Kippen, N., 2009. The spatial segregation of zooplankton communities with reference to land use and macrophytes in shallow Lake Wielkowiejskie (Poland). International Review of Hydrobiology 94: 267–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuczyńska-Kippen, N. M. & B. Nagengast, 2006. The influence of the spatial structure of hydromacrophytes and differentiating habitats on the structure of rotifer and cladoceran communities. Hydrobiologia 559: 203–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, Y. J., Z. L. He, Y. G. Yang, P. J. Stoffella, E. J. Phlips & C. A. Charles, 2008. Nitrogen versus phosphorus limitation of phytoplankton growth in Ten Mile Creek, Florida, USA. Hydrobiologia 605: 247–258.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Macarthur, R. & E. O. Wilson, 1967. The Theory of Island Biogeography (Foliage Height Diversity). Princeton University Press, Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mäemets, A., 1983. Rotifer as indicators of lake types in Estonia. Hydrobiologia 104: 357–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • May, L. & M. O’Hare, 2005. Changes in rotifer species composition and abundance along a trophic gradient in Loch Lomond, Scotland, UK. Hydrobiologia 546: 397–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pejler, B., 1977. On the global distribution of the family Brachionidae (Rotatoria). Archiv für Hydrobiologie Beiheft Ergebnisse der Limnologie Suppl. 53: 255–306.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phlips, E. J., M. Cichra, K. Havens, C. Hanlon, S. Badylak, B. Rueter, M. Randall & P. Hansen, 1997. Relationships between phytoplankton dynamics and the availability of light and nutrients in a shallow subtropical lake. Journal of Plankton Research 19: 319–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phlips, E. J., S. Badylak & T. Grosskopf, 2002. Factors affecting the abundance of phytoplankton in a restricted subtropical lagoon, the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, USA. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 55: 385–402.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Qian, F. P., Y. L. Xi, X. L. Wen & L. Huang, 2007. The influence of eutrophication on community structure and species diversity of rotifers in five lakes. Biodiversity Science 15: 344–355. (in Chinese with English abstract).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Romare, P., S. Berg, T. Lauridsen & E. Jeppesen, 2003. Spatial and temporal distribution of fish and zooplankton in a shallow lake. Freshwater Biology 48: 1353–1362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenzweig, M. L., 1991. Habitat selection and population interactions: the search for mechanisms. American Naturalist 137: 5–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, R. W., K. G. Porter, S. J. Bennett & A. E. DeBiase, 1989. Seasonal pattern of bacteriovory by flagellaes, ciliates, rotifers, and cladocerans in a freshwater planktonic community. Limnology and Oceanography 34: 673–687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Segers, H., 2001. Zoogeography of the Southeast Asian Rotifera. Hydrobiologia 446(447): 233–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Segers, H., 2008. Global diversity of rotifers (Rotifera) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia 595: 49–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Segers, H., C. S. Nwadiaro & H. J. Dumont, 1993. Rotifera of some lakes in the floodplain of the River Niger (Imo State, Nigeria). 2. Faunal composition and diversity. Hydrobiologia 250: 63–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shao, Z. J., P. Xie & Y. Zhuge, 2001. Long-term changes of planktonic rotifers in a subtropical Chinese lake dominated by filter-feeding fishes. Freshwater Biology 46: 973–986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sládeček, V., 1983. Rotifers as indicators of water quality. Hydrobiologia 100: 169–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, V. H., 1983. Low nitrogen to phosphorus ratios favor dominance by blue-green algae in lake phytoplankton. Science 221: 669–671.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sommer, U., 1989. Plankton Ecology: Succession in Plankton Communities. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Špoljar, M., I. Habdija, B. Primc-Habdija & L. Sipos, 2005. Impact of environmental variables and food availability on rotifer assemblage in the Karstic Barrage Lake Visovac (Krka River, Croatia). International Review of Hydrobiology 90: 555–579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stemberger, R. S. & J. E. Gannon, 1977. Multivariate analysis of rotifer distributions in Lake Huron. Archiv für Hydrobiologie Beiheft Ergebnisse der Limnologie 8: 38–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tadonléké, R. D., B. Pinel-Alloul, N. Bourbonnais & F. R. Pick, 2004. Factors affecting the bacteria-heterotrophic nanoflagellate relationship in oligo-mesotrophic lakes. Journal of Plankton Research 26: 681–695.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Telesh, I. V., 1993. The effect of fish on planktonic rotifers. Hydrobiologia 255(256): 289–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ter Braak, C. J. F., 1986. Canonical correspondence analysis: a new eigenvector technique for multivariate direct gradient analysis. Ecology 67: 1167–1179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ter Braak, C. J. F. & P. F. M. Verdonschot, 1995. Canonical correspondence analysis and related multivariate methods in aquatic ecology. Aquatic Sciences 57: 255–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ter Braak, C. J. F. & P. Smilauer, 2002. CANOCO Reference Manual and CanoDraw for Windows User’s Guide: Software for Canonical Community Ordination, Version 4.5. Microcomputer Power, Ithaca, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vollenweider, R. A. & J. Kerekes, 1982. Eutrophication of Waters – Monitoring, Assessment and Control. Synthesis Report. OECD, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, R. L., T. W. Snell, C. Ricci & T. Nogrady, 2006. Rotifera vol. 1: biology, ecology and systematics. In Segers, H. & H. J. Dumont (eds), Guides to the Identification of the Microinvertebrates of the Continental Waters of the World, 23, 2nd ed. Kenobi Productions, Gent, Belgium and Backhuys Academic Publishing BV., The Hague, The Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, S. B., P. Xie & H. Geng, 2010. The relative importance of physicochemical factors and crustacean zooplankton as determinants of rotifer density and species distribution in lakes adjacent to the Yangtze River, China. Limnologica 40: 1–7.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wen, X. L., Y. L. Xi, L. Zhang & X. J. Lu, 2006. Analysis of community structure of Rotifera and ecological assessment of water quality in Lake Jinghu, Wuhu city. Acta Hydrobiologia Sinica 30: 152–158. (in Chinese with English abstract).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Williamson, C. E., 1983. Invertebrate predation on planktonic rotifers. Hydrobiologia 104: 385–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williamson, C. E. & N. M. Butler, 1986. Predation on rotifers by the suspension-feeding calanoid copepod Diaptomus pallidus. Limnology and Oceanography 31: 393–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xi, Y. L., H. J. Jin, P. Xie & X. F. Huang, 2002. Morphological variation of Keratella cochlearis (Rotatoria) in a shallow, eutrophic subtropic Chinese lake. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 17: 447–454.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, G. J., H. K. Pan, Z. W. Liu, W. M. Wang & B. Q. Qin, 2007. Comparative study on seasonal variations in rotifers of the waters with different trophic states in Lake Taihu. Journal of Lake Sciences 19: 652–657. (in Chinese with English abstract).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, G. J., C. N. Zhong & H. K. Pan, 2009. Comparative studies on seasonal variations of metazooplankton in waters with different eutrophic states in Lake Taihu. Environmental Monitoring Assessment 150: 445–453.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshida, T., J. Urabe & J. J. Elser, 2003. Assessment of “top-down” and “bottom-up” forces as determinants of rotifer distribution among lakes in Ontario, Canada. Ecological Research 18: 639–650.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, S. C., X. F. Huang & Q. H. Cai, 2009. Temporal and spatial distributions of rotifers in Xiangxi Bay of the Three Gorges reservoir, China. International Review of Hydrobiology 94: 542–559.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhuge, Y. & X. F. Huang, 1993. Species composition of Rotifera with reference to some taxonomic aspects in Lake Donghu, Wuhan. Acta Hydrobiologica Sinica 17: 347–356. (in Chinese with English abstract).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Yun-Zhi Yan and Dr. Mei-Ling Shao for their valuable suggestions and comments on the application of the software of CANOCO 4.5 and Dr. Terry Snell for editorial assistance in improving the English. This research was funded by Natural Science Foundation of China (30770352, 30499341), Excellent Youth Foundation in Anhui Province and university of Anhui Province (08040106904, 2009SQRZ029), the Foundation of Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization for Important Biological Resource in Anhui, and the Grant for Youth of Anhui Normal University (2007xqn74, 2008xqn71) and Natural Science Foundation of Educational Committee of Anhui Province (KJ2009B089Z).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Biotic Environment and Ecological Safety in Anhui Province, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui Province, People’s Republic of China

    Xin-Li Wen, Yi-Long Xi, Fang-Ping Qian, Gen Zhang & Xian-Ling Xiang

Authors
  1. Xin-Li Wen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yi-Long Xi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Fang-Ping Qian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gen Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Xian-Ling Xiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yi-Long Xi.

Additional information

Handling editor: K.E. Havens

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wen, XL., Xi, YL., Qian, FP. et al. Comparative analysis of rotifer community structure in five subtropical shallow lakes in East China: role of physical and chemical conditions. Hydrobiologia 661, 303–316 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0539-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0539-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation