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Zooplankton Past Paer 2018
Zooplankton Past Paer 2018
Shape of Rotifer:
The rotifer body is divided into head, a middle trunk and a tail
or foot. A neck may separate head and trunk.
There is a well-developed cuticle, which may be thick and rigid.
1. Head:
The most distinctive feature of rotifers is the presence
of a ciliated structure, called the corona, on the head.
3. Tail/Foot:
Feeding Of rotifer:
The word diel comes from the Latin dies day, and means a 24-
hour period. In terms of biomass, it is the greatest migration in
the world.
Various stimuli are responsible for this phenomenon, the most
prominent being response to changes in light intensity, though
evidence suggests that biological clocks are an underlying
stimulus as well.
This mass migration is generally nocturnal, with the animals
ascending from the depths at nightfall and descending at
sunrise.
Types of vertical migration:
1. Diel:
This is the most common form of vertical migration.
Organisms migrate daily through different depths in the water
column.
2. Seasonal
Organisms are found at different depths depending on what
season it is. Seasonal changes to the environment may
influence changes to migration patterns.
3. Ontogenetic
Organisms spend different stages of their life cycle at
different depths.
Predator avoidance:
Light-dependent predation by fish is
a common pressure that causes DVM behavior in
zooplankton. In many instances it is advantageous for
zooplankton to migrate to deep waters during the day to
avoid predation and come up to the surface at night to
feed.
Metabolic advantages:
By feeding in the warm surface
waters at night and residing in the cooler deep waters
during the day they can conserve energy. Alternatively,
organisms feeding on the bottom in cold water during the
day may migrate to surface waters at night in order to
digest their meal at warmer temperatures.
Avoid UV damage:
The sunlight can penetrate the water
column. If an organism, especially something small like
a microbe, is too close to the surface the UV can damage
them. So, they would want to avoid getting too close to
the surface, especially during daylight.
2.