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Augustus C. Mamaril, Associate Professor; M.S. The
Institute of Biology of the University of the Philippines in Diliman,
wrote following about the first version of the key (1981, before the
present updating):
"A professor at the University of Waterloo
in Ontario, Canada, once remarked, "To study zooplankton, one must
have a great capacity to get bored". That classic statement would
most likely apply to aquatic biologists who attempt to do taxonomic
studies of these little beasts.
"An Illustrated Key To the Philippine Freshwater Zooplankton"
(1981) aims to fill in remaining gaps in Philippine zooplankton
identification and perhaps to make available to those who have anything to
do with freshwater zooplankton a key to identification. The use of the key
is facilitated by the provision of line drawings, many of which were
adapted from various sources and the rest done by FP. Unlike most keys (e.g.,
Edmondson 1959) and monographs (Bylov 1948; Dussart 1967, 1969), this work
is blessed with a liberal dose of illustrations that include those of
external morphological variations of several species, especially rotifers
(brachionids, in particular). These variations were reported in the
literature the author has had access to. The section on literature cited
includes several of the significant and relevant works on Philippine
freshwater zooplankton. Overall, this present work should serve the
purpose for which it is intended, i.e., as a ready reference to the
identification of freshwater zooplankton.
Already there seems to be an
undercurrent of interest in zooplankton, including marine species. The
present work cannot but help stir up more studies in Philippine waters.
True, computer technology has made inroads into zooplankton identification
and counting. In the final analysis, however, what a zooplanktonologist
needs is a reliable and complete key. And, with the risk of being
redundant, a great capacity to get bored. Mills (1981) summed it up: Those
exciting little aquatic animals living at low Reynolds numbers deserve no
less.
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