Functional groups of rotifers and an exotic species in a tropical shallow lake.

In freshwater environments the rotifer group may be divided into microphagous and raptorial species regarding their feeding patterns, and such guilds differently interact with other community components. Here, we analyzed the influence of cladocerans, cyclopoid nauplii, temperature, food resources and an exotic species on rotifer guilds, based on weekly samplings for 1 year. We have identified rotifer species and their trophi types in order to separate them into the raptorial and microphagous functional groups.