Loktak Lake, Manipur, northeast India: a Ramsar site with rich rotifer (Rotifera: Eurotatoria) diversity and its meta-analysis

Composition Distribution Interesting species New records Richness Wetland.

Authors

  • Bhushan Kumar Sharma University Freshwater Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong-793 022, Meghalaya, India.
  • Telsing Paongam Haokip University Freshwater Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong-793 022, Meghalaya, India.
  • Sumita Sharma University Freshwater Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong-793 022, Meghalaya, India.
April 21, 2016

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A total of 162 species (S) of Rotifera belonging to 40 genera and 20 families examined from Loktak Lake, an important floodplain lake of northeast India (NEI) that is one of the richest assemblages of the taxon known from the Indian sub-region. It merits biodiversity value as ~40.0% and ~62.0% of species recorded from India and NEI, respectively. One species is new to India, 23 species are new to Manipur and 14 species are new to Loktak basin. Biogeographically interesting elements included three Australasian, five Oriental, ten palaeotropical and one cosmo-subtropical species. Lecanidae > Lepadellidae > Brachionidae > Trichocercidae collectively comprised 65.4% of S; Lecane > Lepadella > Trichocerca are diverse genera; and paucity of Brachionus spp. is distinct. Loktak Rotifera indicated importance of cosmopolitan, the littoral-periphytonic and small-sized species, and "˜tropical character'. ANOVA recorded significant variations of the rotifer richness amongst three sampling sites of Loktak during June 2010–May 2012 survey. The richness followed osscillaring monthly variations and indicated lack of significant influence of any individual abioitic parameter at all three stations.