ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Effects of Salinity on Species Diversity of Rotifers
in Anthropogenic Water Bodies
Irena Bielańska-Grajner1, Anna Cudak2
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1Hydrobiology Department,
2Ecology Department,
University of Silesia, Bankowa 9, 40-007 Katowice, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2014;23(1):27-34
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the influence of anthropogenic salinization on planktonic rotifer communities
and traced changes in their diversity along a salinity gradient. The experiment was conducted in 14 ponds of
varied anthropogenic origin located in Poland’s Silesian Upland. On the basis of the mean concentration of
total dissolved solids (TDS) and principal component analysis (PCA), the water bodies were divided into 4
groups in respect to salinity: freshwater ponds, TDS < 500 mg·dm-3; subsaline ponds, TDS = 500-3,000
mg·dm-3; hyposaline ponds, TDS = 3,000-20,000 mg·dm-3; and mesosaline ponds, TDS = 20,000-50,000
mg·dm-3. An increase in salinity resulted in a decrease of rotifer species richness and diversity. Salinity also
had a negative effect on mean rotifer density. The highest densities were recorded in freshwater and hyposaline
ponds, whereas the lowest were in subsaline and mesosaline waters. Rotifer species richness differed significantly
at 2 salinity thresholds: TDS = 500 mg·dm-3 and 20,000 mg·dm-3.