Robert Wallace publishes new research on rotifers

“A meta-analysis of benthic rotifer community structure as a function of lake trophic state,” to which Robert L. Wallace, professor emeritus of biology, contributed, was published during the spring semester by Aquatic Ecology.

The abstract states: “Our understanding of the ecological drivers that control community structure of benthic rotifers is poorly known. By reviewing 21 papers on freshwater benthic rotifers, we compiled an inventory of an additional 258 species, 27 genera, and six families. …

“Using selected papers within our dataset we tested two hypotheses: (1) Within lakes of different trophic state benthic rotifer communities differ in their species composition and (2) because rotifer trophi types reflect strong specificity for certain foods, there is a difference in the distribution of trophi types in lakes of different trophic state.

“We found that the trophic state of water bodies influences species composition of benthic rotifers, but there was no significant difference in the distribution of their trophi types. To aid in understanding community assembly of benthic rotifers, we provide a list of knowledge gaps that future studies could address.”