James RickardWhat the heck is a rotifer?
January 15th 2012 22:11
Ever hear of a rotifer? Don't feel bad if you haven't but it may be one of those things you always knew about but never knew the name of.
Colonial rotifers such as these gather in a group around a milimeter in diameter,
Rotifers are nearly microscopic plankton-like animals which are found throughout most of the world in both salt and fresh water but mainly in fresh water.
Another variety you may find.
If you look at a drop of lake water you may think there's a speck of dust in the water because rotifers are only 0.1 to 0.5 mm long. Some rotifers are free swimming but others inch their way through the mud. No matter which you run across, they're small enough you're going to have to look carefully or overlook them!
You may be reading this and say, "So what?" Not so fast! Many animals, such as other plankton, herring, crappie, salmon,or even jellyfish, and starfish feed on rotifers. It turns out they may be pretty low on the food chain but a lot of life depends on these tiny organisms.
You can look at it this way--do we fish for them? Hardly. Do they affect our fishing? Definitely!
Remember to take the hooks outta yer pocket before ya sit down!
| 38 |
| Vote |
Comments (2)
Add Comments
Read More
