The Undiscovered Country: Ten Grand Challenges in Rotifer Biology

Authors have attributed the statement "All science is either physics or stamp collecting" to the Physicist, Ernest Rutherford. Putting this sarcastic quip aside, we know that scientific disciplines come of age when they can generate testable, repeatable, and falsifiable hypotheses; yet disciplines begin, and continue, by simply collecting observational information. It is clear, even with a casual assessment of all 16 International Rotifer Symposia, as well as the extensive literature published since our first congress, that rotifer research has moved beyond describing species, making lists of their occurrences, and describing changes in their population dynamics. In spite of the excellent progress that has been made in rotiferology we believe more remains to be done. In this review we nominate 10 fields in rotifer research that we believe will advance understanding of rotiferan biology; these include the following topics: (1) neurobiological connectomes, (2) genomic architecture and control systems, (3) physiology, (4) life history, including sexuality, development, and aging, (5) ecological responses to stresses, (6) biogeography and distribution of cryptic species, (7) analysis of rotiferan morphospace, (8) rotifer evolution within Gnathifera including Acanthocephala, (9) educational opportunities for beginning students, and (10) fostering international collaboration.