The effects of drying and rewetting on rotifer egg bank hatching were examined for three habitats in a mainstem reservoir embayment, Kentucky Lake, KY: a littoral zone with an annual drying and wetting cycle, a floodplain that was only rarely inundated, and a permanently wetted embayment. Hatching from surface sediments also was compared with hatching from sediments 4–10 cm and 14–20 cm deep. Seven rotifer species normally associated with littoral zones and two other zooplankton species hatched from sediments following rewetting. No pelagic species hatched. Surface sediments normally experiencing drying and rewetting cycles had a greater number of species than permanently wetted sediments. Eggs hatched more quickly from deeper than surface sediments. Results demonstrated that reservoir water level fluctuations may play a role in rotifer community dynamics by providing favorable conditions for littoral as well as pelagic species.