Zooplankton from a polluted river, Mula (India), with record of Brachionus rubens (Ehrenberg, 1838) epizoic on Moina macrocopa (Straus, 1820)

Rotifera and Cladocera are free living zooplankton elements known to dominate freshwater habitats. Few rotifersare known to be parasitic and epizoic living in association with other organisms. Zooplankton from the polluted river Mula, Pune,Maharashtra was sampled from January to November 2009. Eighteen rotifers and ten cladocerans were recorded during the study.Samples revealed rotifer Brachionus rubens (Ehrenberg, 1838) epizoic on cladoceran Moina macrocopa (Straus, 1820), theoccurrence of which coincided with lower dissolved oxygen (DO) content. The rotifers Asplanchnopus multiceps (Schrank,1793), Lacinularia elliptica (Shephard, 1897) and the cladoceran Kurzia longirostris (Daday, 1898) are new records to Maharashtrastate. The present study was an attempt to monitor a polluted habitat for zooplankton fauna. Detailed studies onorganically polluted eutrophic habitats could add new insights into zooplankton diversity and behaviour.