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Title: A synthesis of the biogeographical distribution of Rotifera in Africa
Abstract

The rotifer fauna of Africa has been studied for >100 years, but there has been no recent synthesis. We compiled data from 265 publications that reported information on African rotifers. Our dataset yielded information on the distribution of 765 taxa from ~1850 separate sites; these included both natural and artificial habitats such as lakes, ponds, puddles, oases, artificial systems, rivers and wetlands. A heat map of predicted rotifer biodiversity indicated that the greatest diversity should be present in the sub-Saharan region including a large hotspot in Mali and several smaller ones scattered in that region. Lakes Kariba, Tanganyika and Malawi showed high-predicted diversity, but surprisingly, Lake Victoria had lower diversity than expected. Two regions showed unusually high-predicted diversity: northwestern Algeria extending into Morocco and Egypt. Equatorial Africa is rich in habitats well suited for rotifers, yet their predicted biodiversity seems low. Latitude and elevation were negatively correlated with richness, while permanent water source and littoral zone were positively correlated according to generalized linear modeling results. Partial RDA analyses showed significant correlations among several environmental features and species occurrences. It is clear that more survey work remains to be done to achieve a better understanding of African rotifers.

 
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Award ID(s):
2051704
PAR ID:
10387815
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Oxford University Press
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of Plankton Research
Volume:
45
Issue:
1
ISSN:
0142-7873
Format(s):
Medium: X Size: p. 65-81
Size(s):
p. 65-81
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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