The biodiverse rotifers (Rotifera: Eurotatoria) of Northeast India: faunal heterogeneity, biogeography, richness in diverse ecosystems and interesting species assemblages

摘要

The biodiverse Rotifera of northeast India (NE1) revealed 303 species belonging to 53 genera and 24 families; -96% of these species examined from seven states of NEI affirm the rotifer heterogeneity of our plankton and semi-plankton collections. Thisstudy documents the record number of species of global and regional biogeographic interest, highlights affinity with Southeast Asian and Australian faunas, and indicates notable heterogeneity in richness and composition amongst the seven northeastern states. The speciose rotifers of small lentic biotopes of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura, the floodplain lakes (beels) and small wetlands (dobas and dubies) of the Brahmaputra and the Barak floodplains of Assam, and thefloodplain lakes (pats) of Manipur are noteworthy. Deepor Beel and Loktak Lake (two Ramsar sites) are the globally rich rotifer 'hotspots'. Interesting assemblages per sample of 80+ species in certain beels and pats, and up to 50 species in dobas and dubies depict the 'Rotifera paradox'. The most diverse and interesting Rotifera of NEI, than any other region of India, is attributed to habitat and ecosystem heterogeneity of water bodies spread over varied ecological regimes, the location of the region in the Himalayan and Indo-Burma Biodiversity hotspots, vital biogeographic corridor of 'the Assam gateway', 'the rotiferologist effect' and the sampling intensity. Our study marks a valuable contribution to biodiversity and biogeography of the Indian, Asian and Oriental Rotifera.