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I.INTRODUCTION
Rotifers(Rotifera)areanimalswhichoccurineverytypeofaquaticenviron-
ment,bothmarineandfreshwater;theydwellalsoinmoistsoil.Theyowetheir
widedistributiontorapidreproduction.Duetotheirhighabundances,theyplay
animportantroleinfreshwaterecosystems.Theworld’sfaunaincludesabout
2000rotiferspecies,1350ofthembeingreportedfromEurope(BēRZIņš1978).
Sofar,about480speciesbelongingtotheMonogonontahavebeenrecordedin
Poland,afurther156ofthembeingsupposedtooccurinthecountry(BIELAńS-
KA-GRAjNERandRADWAN1997,EjSmONT-KARABINetal.2004).Asevidencedby
theresearchreportedhitherto,theorderBdelloideaisrepresentedby117species
(BIELAńSKA-GRAjNERetal.2013).
ThispublicationisatributetotheeminentPolishresearchersofrotiferswho
havecontributedconsiderablytotheknowledgeofrotifertaxonomy,biology,and
ecology.Whilepayinghomagetothosescientists,particularlytoAntoniWierzej-
ski,AntoniJakubski,JerzyWiszniewski,andLeszekK.Pawłowski,wewishto
emphasisethatthebookdrawssubstantiallyupontheirworkand,atthesame
time,providesanoverviewof100yearsofPolishstudiesonrotifers.
AparticularlyimportantplaceinthehistoryofPolishrotiferresearchbelongs
toJerzyWiszniewskiwhodiscoveredanddescribedtherichandextremelyin-
terestingworldofpsammicrotiferswhichinhabitinterstitialspacesoflacustrine
beachsands.Hislastwork,entitled“FaunawrotkówPolskiirejonówprzyległych”
[“TheRotiferFaunaofPolandandAdjacentRegions”],publishedposthumously
in1953,containshismessage,hislastwill,addressedtosubsequentgenerations
ofPolishresearchers.Themessagefocusesontheimportanceofcomprehensive
researchonthebiologyandecologyofrotifersinhabitingdiverseandspecific
ecosystemsandhabitats.Hewrote:“Thefuturestudiesshouldaim,ontheone
hand,atobtainingamoredetailedknowledgeofthefaunasofhabitatsthatshow
aconsiderablepotential(smallwaterbodies,subterraneanwaters,acidandbrack-
ishwaters,muds,mosses,moistleavesandforestlitter,andperiphytonaswellas
putativehostsofvariousparasiticandcommensalrotifers,etc.);ontheotherhand,
theresearchshouldaddressrelationshipsbetweentherotiferfaunaandecological
characteristicsofitshabitats,intensificationofrotiferresearchbeinganoverall
goal”[translation:TeresaRadziejewska].Itisthehopeofthepresentauthorsthat
thispublicationwillmakeiteasierforfuturegenerationsofPolishresearchersto
liveuptowhatJerzyWiszniewskiexpectedofthem.
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