https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2025.2206

A survey of bdelloid rotifers from coastal ponds in Southern Norway

Vol. 84 (2025)
Submitted: 30 August 2024
Accepted: 13 December 2024
Published: 10 February 2025
Bdelloidea, biodiversity, coastal pond, DNA barcoding, Norway, Rotifera
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Authors

Giulia Lin
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8778-2110
National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Water Research Institute (IRSA), Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Verbania-Pallanza, Italy.
Michael Plewka
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9092-4969
Department of Biology, State Gymnasium, Gevelsberg, Germany.
Erling Brekke
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2150-123X
Rådgivende Biologer AS, Bergen, Norway.
Øystein N. Kielland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1387-1724
Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Trondheim, Norway.
Glenn Dunshea
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8683-0181
Department of Natural History, NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Diego Fontaneto
diego.fontaneto@cnr.it
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5770-0353
National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Water Research Institute (IRSA), Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Verbania-Pallanza; National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Palermo, Italy.

We report the results of the first survey of bdelloid rotifers, microscopic aquatic animals, in continental Norway, collected from coastal ponds in the Southern part of the country in Autumn 2021, using a morphological approach in species identification. Out of 25 ponds, 19 bdelloid species were found, ten in water samples and another nine in limno-terrestrial habitats just above the waterline of the ponds. Seven of the species are new records for mainland Norway. Three species could be identified to genus level only and may be novel taxa, not only for Norway but for science: further studies are needed on these animals to clarify their taxonomic identity. We also obtained COI sequences from 194 animals of eight of the species to compare them with what is known in GenBank in a phylogenetic context and confirm the reliability of morphological identification. This data contributes to our understanding of the taxonomic and biogeographic diversity of bdelloid rotifers in Norway. In addition, the newly available sequences increase the coverage of the reference library of bdelloid rotifers for future studies employing DNA metabarcoding.

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Edited by

Michela Rogora, CNR-IRSA Water Research Institute, Verbania-Pallanza, Italy

Supporting Agencies

Norwegian Biodiversity Information Center, National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC) of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of Italy
Giulia Lin, National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Water Research Institute (IRSA), Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Verbania-Pallanza

Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf
Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH-Zürich, Switzerland

How to Cite

Lin, Giulia, Michael Plewka, Erling Brekke, Øystein N. Kielland, Glenn Dunshea, and Diego Fontaneto. 2025. “A Survey of Bdelloid Rotifers from Coastal Ponds in Southern Norway”. Journal of Limnology 84 (February). https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2025.2206.
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