Rotifers Jasira Ziglar

Kenneth Cortavarria

General Information Rotifers are known as Phylum rotifera They feed on algae and planktonRotifers are filter feeders2200 different species of rotifers have been

discovered

Habitat

Rotifers need to live in water to survive or very damp soil

Different rotifers are found in salt water or fresh water

Life CycleMost Rotifers reproduce using

parthenogenesisParthenogenesis is when a female undergoes

mitosis and the eggs remain dormant until conditions in the environment are favorable again

Importance to HumansRotifers are important to humans because they

eat microorganisms smaller than them and keep bodies of water clean by eliminating animal matter

Euchlanis

EuchlanisThe Brown region is the stomachOn its sides a pair of long bundled muscles

are barely visibleLives in freshwater, generally found in lakes

and ponds

Keratella

KeratellaFound in almost every body of waterVery commonAble to survive with low amounts of food due

to its small sizeSexually reproduces, female undergoes

meiosis and creates eggs, some will hatch into males. These males undergo mitosis to create sperm to fertilize an egg

Conochilus

ConochilusFound in saltwaterThis group of rotifers form a spinning colonyFeet are bound together in a small mass of

jelly

External AnatomyThey range in size from 50um-2mm, and are

smaller than many protistsThey are multi cellularThere is cilia that is at the head of the rotiferThey have a “foot” that allows them to stick

to surfaces

Internal AnatomyRotifers have an alimentary canal: a digestive

tube with a separate mouth and anusThere are jaws in the pharnyx which are

called trophi, that are used to grind up foodThere is a small brain and nerves that extend

through the bodyRotifers have up to 5 eyes

Internal Anatomy (cont.)The internal organs are in a body cavity

called the pseudocoelom In the pseudocoelom there is fluid that serves

as a hydrostatic skeleton (fluid that us held under pressure in a closed body compartment)

SymmetryRotifers have bilateral symmetry

Bibiography Microscopy-UK Micscape Microscopy and Microscopes Magazine. (n.d.).

Microscopy-UK full menu of microscopy and microscopes on the web. Retrieved February 9, 2011, from http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/wimsmall/rotidr.html

Microscopy-UK Micscape Microscopy and Microscopes Magazine. (n.d.). Microscopy-UK full menu of microscopy and microscopes on the web. Retrieved February 9, 2011, from http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artsep98/conochil.html

Rotifers. (n.d.). FCPS Home Page Redirect Page. Retrieved February 9, 2011, from http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/rotifer.htm

Wallace, R. (n.d.). Rotifers: Exquisite Metazoans — Integr. Comp. Biol. . Oxford Journals | Life Sciences | Integrative and Comparative Biology. Retrieved February 9, 2011, from http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/content/42/3/660.full

Zooplankton of the Great Lakes. (n.d.). College of Science and Technology - Central Michigan University. Retrieved February 9, 2011, from http://www.cst.cmich.edu/users/mcnau1as/zooplankton%20web/keratella/ker.html