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Rotifers of Plitvice lakes National park (Croatia, Europe)

Plitvice Lakes National Park area belongs to the karstic region of the NW Dinarid Mountains, and has both surface and subterranean drainage systems. The basic phenomenon of the Plitvice Lakes is a formation of a porous calcareous precipitate (tufa) that shapes a cascade system of 16 oligotrophic barrage lakes interconnected by tufa barriers, waterfalls and cascades, channels and rapids. The lake cascade descends from an altitude of 636 to 503 m a.s.l. over a distance of 8.2 km and is divided into two clusters: (1) the Upper Lakes situated on less permeable dolomite and (2) the Lower Lakes placed in a narrow canyon composed of very permeable limestone. Rotifer fauna of Plitvice Lakes have been investigated from the middle of 20th century, and 105 different taxa are known so far. Most of investigations were conducted in two largest and deepest lake Prošće and Kozjak. Dominant and constant planktonic species inhabiting these lakes are: Collotheca mutabilis, Kellicottia longispina, Keratella cohlearis, Keratella quadrata, Gastropus stylifer, Ascomorpha saltans, Polyarthra spp., Synchaeta tremula, and Trichocerca similis. At the beginning of 21th century rotifers from plankton, littoral and benthos were considered within longitudinal transport of seston. Also, rotifers in bryophytes and tufa sediment were investigated, as part of meiofauna. The most common rotifers within bryophytes and tufa habitats were bdelloid Philodina roseola and several species from genera Colurella and Lecane.

Rotifera, Plitvice lakes, check list

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