engleski

Rotifera functional groups in Lake Dojran (North Macedonia) – assessing tool of ecosystem functioning

The functional feeding groups of rotifers as biological indicators in different water bodies are increasingly studied. The aim of this study was to assess the spatial and temporal patterns of Rotifera functional feeding guilds in relation to the environmental conditions in Lake Dojran. Pelagial rotifers of high abundance (110 ± 98 ind./L) obtained remarkable share (78%) in the zooplankton assemblage. They consisted of 18 species, where ten species are microphagous and was mainly comprised of the most abundant rotifers Brachionus diversicornis and Keratella quadrata in summer and autumn. The other 8 species are raptorial and have a significantly lower abundance. The microphagous rotifers occupied water layers from the surface to 4 m depth while raptorials prefer surface layers due to low transparency of only 0.5 to 1.8 meters. A correlation analyses revealed significant relationship between the microphagous rotifer abundance and the concentration of nutrients (TP and TN). The dominance of microphagous rotifers and other zooplankters indicated increased productivity in the shallow Lake Dojran. The findings of this study reveal that the functional group approach can be useful assessing tool of ecological processes in the shallow freshwater ecosystems

shallow lake ; pelagial rotifers ; feeding traits

nije evidentirano