Irena Telesh, Reinhard HeerklossAtlas of Estuarine Zooplankton of the Southern and Eastern Baltic Sea

About this book deutschenglish

Zooplankton is an important component of the food chain in natural waters. Accordingly, the number of the specialists in zooplankton studies is large. They are often interested in a short illustrated guide that covers the most important species of their investigation area. The time consuming work of species determination with the help of comprehensive keys of the standard books can be facilitated with the help of such a guide.

The present atlas serves this purpose. It is intended for university students studying aquatic fauna and aquatic ecologists working in the coastal area of the Baltic Sea. The booklet is the first of three planned parts. It provides information on planktonic rotifers. The 149 species, which were found in the area so far, are listed concerning their geographical distribution. 43 most common species are selected from this list and described with the help of line drawings, photos and text. 57 line drawings and 88 original photographs are included to facilitate the identification of species. The combination of line drawings with photos aims to facilitate the determination of taxonomically important characters under the microscope.

Additionally to the descriptions of the species, the atlas contains a general part with information on the morphology of rotifers, the methodology of sampling and counting as well as extensive reference literature.

A CD is attached to the booklet, which presents all information as hypertext. The photos appear in color. The line drawings enlarge after clicking on them. The table of contents is directly accessible from each page. All hints to the literature list and the data of page numbers of the index of species names are linked to the respective pages.

Information on species composition of zooplankton is essential for the water quality evaluation and conservation of natural biological diversity. The atlas published in the form of booklet and the attached CD will be of practical use for education purposes and for governmental institutions that monitor productivity and water quality in the Baltic coastal zone.