Rotifers of lake psammon: a knowledge synthesis

AbstractMost information on rotifers living in lake sands comes from the 1930s, when the first reports on this subject by Jerzy Wiszniewski appeared. After some decline in the interest in lake psammon in the following years, research on lake psammon returned in the last decade of the twentieth century. The last comprehensive review of ecology of psammon Rotifera was included in the excellent 1998 publication by Schmid-Araya on Rotifera in interstitial sediments. More than 20 papers have been published since that time. So far, research conducted almost exclusively in the northern hemisphere have dealt with issues related to distribution of rotifers, their species structure and diversity as well as to their relation to abiotic and biotic factors. The aim of the present study was to collect all available information on psammon rotifers, assess the shortcomings in our knowledge and fill these gaps with the results of some of my recent research. The results of the study show that the species richness of this group in geographical terms is still unknown. It means we also do not know the level of endemism among the psammon rotifers. The role of psammon rotifers in benthic food webs is another issue requiring research.