The Diversity and Distribution of Rotifers in Two Selected Biotopes of Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India

Rotifers are the free floating and microscopic animals found in all aquatic ecosystems. It is important for many of the fishes as they are used as the source of food. They are filter feeders that will eat dead materials, algae, and other microscopic living organisms, and are therefore very important components of aquatic food webs. Zooplankton are playing important role in biomonitoring of water pollution and rotifers exhibit complex patterns of diversity and distribution in freshwater because many species are cosmopolitan. The zooplankton community fluctuates according to the physicochemical parameters of the environment, especially rotifer species change with biotic factors. Zooplankton is heterotrophic and plays an important role in the food web by linking primary producers to higher trophic level. Kumaracoil temple tank and Suchindrum temple tanks are selected for present study and they were highly fertile freshwaters of Kanyakumari District. Zooplankton samples were collected by filtering 100 liter of water through a zooplankton net made up of bolting silk 35 µm mesh size. Brachionus falcatus, Brachionus caudatus, Brachionus angularis, Brachionus calyciflorus, Brachionus patulus, Brachionus quadridentatus, Brachionus forficula, Keratella tropica, Keratella procurva, Platias quadricornis, Brachionus donneri, Brachionus durgae, Keratella edmondsoni, Keratella lenzi, Platyias eloupi, Pseudoeuchlanis longipedes, Mytilina acanthophora, Macrochaetus longipes, Lepadella biloba, Lepadella dactyliseta, Lepadella eurysterna, Lecane braumi, Lecane eswari, Lecane lateralis, Lecane simonneae, Lecane sola, Lecane Monostyla anthinula, Lecane Monostyla bulla diabolica, Ascomorpha ecaudis, Trichocerca bicristata, Trichocerca iernis, Asplanchnopus bhimavaramensis species were identified. Most of the species identified are new to Kanyakumari District and some are new to Tamil Nadu. A. Sivaselva Rajan. | Renu, A. | Rinaldin Aroma, S. "The Diversity and Distribution of Rotifers in Two Selected Biotopes of Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-6 | Issue-7 , December 2022, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd52383.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/biological-science/biotechnology/52383/the-diversity-and-distribution-of-rotifers-in-two-selected-biotopes-of-kanyakumari-district-tamil-nadu-india/a-sivaselva-rajan