The editorial series Freshwater Fauna of Poland has existed since 1935. Up to now 22 volumes (in Polish) have been published, treating both vertebrate and invertebrate animals.
Particular volumes contain rich general data concerning described taxa and detailed information on species, genera, families and orders. Integral parts of all volumes are identification keys. Thanks to such a way of presentation, monographs of particular faunistic groups are true compendia of the up-to-date state of theoretical and practical knowledge of these animals. The volumes of the series are authored by eminent specialists of the Polish fauna.
The present volume, by Professor Irena BielańskaGrajner (University of Silesia, Katowice), Professor Jolanta Ejsmont-Karabin (University of Białystok and Hydrobiological Station of Polish Academy of Sciences, Mikołajki) and late Professor Stanisław Radwan (University of Life Sciences, Lublin), concerns rotifers (Rotifera) from the order Monogononta. The general part includes such topics as the origin of rotifers, taxonomy and systematics, morphology, anatomy, biology, ecology, zoogeography, and methods of sample collection, preservation, storage, and processing. The systematic part comprises the keys to orders, families and genera, and survey of species, based on illustrations including many original micrographs in colour. In total, over 460 rotifer species found in Poland are presented and characterized, as well as over 140 species which have not yet been recorded from Poland but are known to occur in the neighbouring countries, so may be encountered in Poland in future.
This book will be useful not only for those who specialise in rotifer research, but also for other such as zoologists and hydrobiologists, biology students, university teachers and specialists of water quality management and protection practice.
Acknowledgements 7
I. Introduction 9
II. History of research on Polish rotifers and the present state of their knowledge 11
III. General Part 17
1. General characteristics of rotifers 17
2. The origin of rotifers 17
3. Taxonomy and systematics 19
4. Morphology and anatomy of rotifer females 27
External appearance and body cover 27
Head 30
Foot 34
Alimentary tract and mouth parts (trophi) 34
Muscle system 38
Nervous system and sense organs 38
Excretory and reproductive systems 42
Morphology and anatomy of rotifer males 42
5. Biology 44
Locomotion 44
Feeding 46
Respiration 48
Reproduction and development 48
Dormant eggs 51
Heterogony 53
Anhydrobiosis 56
6. Ecology 57
Rotifer habitats and environmental conditions 57
Environmental factors 59
Morphological variability and cyclomorphosis 60
Sessile and colony-forming rotifers 63
Interactions between rotifers and other organisms 63
Predation and parasitism 65
7. Importance of rotifers for the functioning of aquatic ecosystems 66
8. Geographic distribution 69
9. Methods of sample collection, preservation, storage, and processing and techniques of rotifer culture 70
Sampling 70
Fixation and preservation 71
Live materials 72
Examination of trophi 72
Laboratory culture 73
Quantitative analysis 74
Biomass assessment 75
IV. Systematic part: a key for the identification of monogonont rotifers of Poland 79
V. Alphabetical survey of species 123
VI. A survey of species not yet recorded in Poland but reported from neighbouring countries 435
VII. References 505
VIII. Index of scientific names 535
IX. List of synonyms used in the Polish literature 557
X. Annex 567
XI. Autors 579
Za darmo