Abstract
Bosmina longirostris is a small-bodied, filter-feeding cladoceran. The species is widely distributed throughout the world in temperate and tropical climates, where it persists in all kinds of freshwater bodies regardless of their trophy, acidification, or salinity. Its wide distribution causes B. longirostris to be one of the most taxonomically recognizable Cladocera species all over the world, despite the fact that the species is a well-known example of a taxon with confused taxonomy. Although B. longirostris often displays high abundances in the world’s freshwaters and sporadic studies on its feeding suggest that the species can have an important role in energy transfer throughout the food web, B. longirostris is still perceived by scientists as having a minor role in the classical food web structure. This perception of B. longirostris as a food web component could be altered in the near future due to global climatic changes, including increases in temperature which may cause cyanobacterial blooms that may be more harmful to Daphnia than B. longirostris. The response of B. longirostris to environmental, competitive, and predatory conditions has been repeatedly studied to search for application of that species as indicator in ecological, neolimnological, and paleolimnological research. Regardless of its common use as test species in ecological and limnological studies, B. longirostris still lacks appropriate study by researchers because of its problematic systematics. Research directed at this species seems to be hampered by the absence of an accurate taxonomical revision of B. longirostris or group of cryptic species called B. longirostris.
Highlights
IntroductionThe Cladocera (commonly called water fleas) constitute an ancient clade of branchiopod crustaceans comprising 16 or 18 family lineages (Olesen, 1998; Stenderup et al, 2006)
The Cladocera constitute an ancient clade of branchiopod crustaceans comprising 16 or 18 family lineages (Olesen, 1998; Stenderup et al, 2006)
Cladocerans fulfill the pivotal role in aquatic food webs, for, through their grazing activities on picoplankton, nannoplankton, and microplankton populations, they function as intermediaries between lower trophic levels and fish
Summary
The Cladocera (commonly called water fleas) constitute an ancient clade of branchiopod crustaceans comprising 16 or 18 family lineages (Olesen, 1998; Stenderup et al, 2006) An interest in the ecology of B. longirostris has increased, since some studies have reported probable changes in food web components caused by current climate changes Those changes may include the diminishment of Daphnia as a key herbivore and the increase of smallbodied cladocerans. Thereby, a number of studies have undertaken the challenge of testing how changes in the environment influence small herbivores represented mostly by B. longirostris This has been done to predict future changes in aquatic ecosystems. I hope the review will encourage others and provide a firm foundation for future research on B. longirostris
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