Distinctive aspects of the zooplankton of large lakes in Australasia, Antarctica and South America

Abstract

Not only has the degree of species-level cosmopolitanism amongst zooplanktonic organisms been considerably overestimated, but differences between the different classical biogeographic regions (established from terrestrial studies) occur at supra-specific levels as high as family or even suborder. The Centropagidae, and particularly the genus Boeckella, are found in New Zealand, most of Australia, southern and high altitude regions of South America, and around the periphery of Antarctica. The biogeography and ecology of this family is discussed in detail. Most predaceous families of Cladocera are entirely absent from the Australian and Neotropical regions. The genus Daphniopsis occurs in salt lakes in Australia and South America and in freshwater lakes in Antarctica. In southern Australia numerous species of ostracod have colonized the limnetic region of salt lakes, and the largest of these prey on species of Calamoecia, Daphniopsis and small ostracods. Chaoboridae are absent from New Zealand as, too, are obligate planktivorous fish. The Chilean flamingo, Phoenicopterus chilensis, and Wilson's phalarope, Phalaropus tricolor, are significant predators on Boeckella poopoensis in salt lakes on the Andean Altiplano and elsewhere in South America.