| Title | Tardigrada and rotifera from moss microhabitats on a disappearing ugandan glacier, with the description of a new species of water bear |
| Abstract | Glaciers and ice sheets are a peculiar biome with characteristic abiotic and biotic components. Mountain glaciers are predicted to decrease their volume and even to melt away within a few decades. Despite the threat of a disappearing biome, the diversity and the role of microscopic animals as consumers at higher trophic levels in the glacial biome still remain largely unknown. In this study, we report data on tardigrades and rotifers found in glacial mosses on Mount Stanley, Uganda, and describe a new tardigrade species. Adropion afroglacialis sp. nov. differs from the most similar species by having granulation on the cuticle, absence of cuticular bars under the claws, and a different macroplacoid length sequence. We also provide a morphological diagnosis for another unknown tardigrade species of the genus Hypsibius. The rotifers belonged to the families Philodinidae and Habrotrochidae. In addition, we discuss the diversity of microinvertebrates and potential role of tardigrades and rotifers on mountain glaciers as top consumers. As for any organism living apparently exclusively in glacial habitats on tropical glaciers, their extinction in the near future is inevitable, possibly before we can even discover their existence. |
| Source | Zootaxa 4392 (2), pp. 311–328 |
| Keywords | Adropion afroglacialis sp. novBiodiversity lossEndangered habitatsExtreme ecosystemsExtremophilesHypsibiusTropical glaciersUganda |
| Journal | Zootaxa |
| Editor | Magnolia Press,, Auckland, N.Z., Nuova Zelanda |
| Year | 2018 |
| Type | Articolo in rivista |
| DOI | 10.11646/zootaxa.4392.2.5 |
| Authors | Zawierucha, Krzysztof; Gasiorek, Piotr; Buda, Jakub; Uetake, Jun; Janko, Karel; Janko, Karel; Fontaneto, Diego |
| Text | 385604 2018 10.11646/zootaxa.4392.2.5 Scopus 2 s2.0 85043352996 Adropion afroglacialis sp. nov Biodiversity loss Endangered habitats Extreme ecosystems Extremophiles Hypsibius Tropical glaciers Uganda Tardigrada and rotifera from moss microhabitats on a disappearing ugandan glacier, with the description of a new species of water bear Zawierucha, Krzysztof; Gasiorek, Piotr; Buda, Jakub; Uetake, Jun; Janko, Karel; Janko, Karel; Fontaneto, Diego Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu; Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; Uniwersytet Jagiellonski w Krakowie; National Institute of Polar Research; Ostravska Univerzita v Ostrave; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Glaciers and ice sheets are a peculiar biome with characteristic abiotic and biotic components. Mountain glaciers are predicted to decrease their volume and even to melt away within a few decades. Despite the threat of a disappearing biome, the diversity and the role of microscopic animals as consumers at higher trophic levels in the glacial biome still remain largely unknown. In this study, we report data on tardigrades and rotifers found in glacial mosses on Mount Stanley, Uganda, and describe a new tardigrade species. Adropion afroglacialis sp. nov. differs from the most similar species by having granulation on the cuticle, absence of cuticular bars under the claws, and a different macroplacoid length sequence. We also provide a morphological diagnosis for another unknown tardigrade species of the genus Hypsibius. The rotifers belonged to the families Philodinidae and Habrotrochidae. In addition, we discuss the diversity of microinvertebrates and potential role of tardigrades and rotifers on mountain glaciers as top consumers. As for any organism living apparently exclusively in glacial habitats on tropical glaciers, their extinction in the near future is inevitable, possibly before we can even discover their existence. 4392 Published version http //www.scopus.com/record/display.url eid=2 s2.0 85043352996 origin=inward zaw 2018_Zootaxa_Zawierucha et al.pdf Articolo in rivista Magnolia Press, 1175 5326 Zootaxa Zootaxa Zootaxa Zootaxa. diego.fontaneto FONTANETO DIEGO |
