Great Lakes Water Life Photo Gallery

Image Link	Scientific Name	Lake Superior	Lake Michigan	Lake Huron	Lake Erie	Lake Ontario	Habitat
	Ploesoma spp.		x	x	x	x	Spring through fall with peaks in July-August.
	Ploesoma hudsonii	x	x	x		x
	Ploesoma lenticulare		x	x	x
	Ploesoma tricanthum						Not reported for the Great Lakes but occurs in humic and acid waters of the region.
	Ploesoma truncatum	x	x	x	x	x
	Polyarthra spp.		x	x	x	x
	Polyarthra dissimulans					x	Transitional form between P. vulgaris and P. dolichoptera.
	Polyarthra dolichoptera	x	x	x	x	x	Found March-June.
	Polyarthra euryptera		x	x	x	x	Warm waters, summer-fall.
	Polyarthra longiremis				x	x	Transitional form between P. vulgaris and P. dolichoptera.
	Polyarthra major	x	x	x	x	x	Found summer and fall peaking July-August.
	Polyarthra remata		x	x	x	x	Smallest of the limnetic members of the genus. Found May-December.
	Polyarthra vulgaris		x	x	x	x	One of the major rotifer species of the Great Lakes. Perennial, peaks in June-October.
	Synchaeta spp.		x	x	x	x
	Synchaeta asymmetrica	x	x	x			Cold stenotherm.
	Synchaeta grandis	x	x	x			Uncommon spring species. Largest Great Lakes member of the genus.
	Synchaeta kitina		x	x			Found late summer-fall.
	Synchaeta lakowitzianna	x	x	x		x	Found throughout the year, hypolimnetic in summer. Major winter species.
	Synchaeta oblonga		x	x			Rare, found in summer.
	Synchaeta pectinata		x	x	x	x	Found throughout the year.
	Synchaeta stylata	x	x	x	x	x	Found spring-fall peaking late spring-summer.
	Synchaeta tremula		x		x

Based on: A Guide to the Rotifers of the Laurentian Great Lakes. RS Stemberger. 1979. U.S. EPA. EPA-600.
with additions from:
A Lakewide Comparison of Zooplankton Biomass and Its Species Composition in Lake Erie, 1983-87. Makarewicz, Joseph C.J. Great Lakes Res. 19(2):275-290. 1993.
A Decade of Predatory Control of Zooplankton Species Composition of Lake Michigan. Makarewicz, Joseph C., Bertram, Paul, Lewis, Theodore, and Brown, Jr., Edward H. J. Great Lakes Res. 21(4):620-640. 1995.
Feasibility of Shoreside Monitoring of the Great Lakes. Makarewicz, Joseph C. J. Great Lakes Res. 17(3):344-360. 1991.
Lake Huron Rotifer and Crustacean Zooplankton, APRIL-JULY, 1980. Evans, Marlene S. J. Great Lakes Res. 12(4):281-292. 1986.
Seasonal Abundance of Planktonic Rotifers in a Nearshore Area of Central Lake Michigan. Duffy, Walter G., and Liston, Charles R. J. Great Lakes Res. 4(1):46-49. 1978.
Lake Superior: an invasion coldspot? 2003. Igor A. Grigorovich, Alexei V. Korniushin, Derek K. Gray, Ian C. Duggan, Robert I. Colautti& Hugh J. MacIsaac. Hydrobiologia 499: 191–210.

Ploesoma hudsonii
	Profile: Omnivorous feeding primarily on rotifers and Chlamydomonas. 300-600um.

Ploesoma lenticulare

An Image-Based Key To The Zooplankton Of The Northeast (USA)

Alternative Names: Ploesoma lenticulare = P. lynceus

Profile: Omnivorous feeding primarily on rotifers and Chlamydomonas. 150-300um.

Ploesoma tricanthum
	Profile: Omnivorous feeding primarily on rotifers and Chlamydomonas.

Ploesoma truncatum

An Image-Based Key To The Zooplankton Of The Northeast (USA)

Profile: Omnivorous feeding primarily on rotifers and Chlamydomonas. 150-300um

Polyarthra dissimulans

Profile: Transitional form between P. vulgaris and P. dolichoptera.

Polyarthra dolichoptera

An Image-Based Key To The Zooplankton Of The Northeast (USA)

Profile: Bacterivorous. 80-160um.

Polyarthra euryptera

P. euryptera

Information provided with the permission of The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA

Profile: 170-190um.

Additional photos and information:

An Image-Based Key To The Zooplankton Of The Northeast (USA)

Polyarthra longiremis

Profile: Transitional form between P. vulgaris and P. dolichoptera.

Polyarthra major

An Image-Based Key To The Zooplankton Of The Northeast (USA)

Profile: 134-201um.

Polyarthra remata

An Image-Based Key To The Zooplankton Of The Northeast (USA)

Profile: Smallest of the limnetic members of the genus. 70-120um.

More photos and information:

The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA

Polyarthra vulgaris

An Image-Based Key To The Zooplankton Of The Northeast (USA)

Alternative Names: Polyarthra vulgaris = P. trigla, P. platyptera

Profile: Feeds on Cryptomonas, Chrysococcus and Rhodomonas. 90-152um

Synchaeta asymmetrica

An Image-Based Key To The Zooplankton Of The Northeast (USA)

Profile: A grasping rotifer group, known to feed on cryptomonads, chrysomonads and centric diatoms. 275-300um.

Synchaeta grandis

An Image-Based Key To The Zooplankton Of The Northeast (USA)

Profile: A grasping rotifer group, known to feed on cryptomonads, chrysomonads and centric diatoms.
S. grandis - Largest Great Lakes member of the genus. 400-600um.

More photos and information:

The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia