Background
China is an important biogeographical zone in which the genetic legacies of the Tertiary and Quaternary periods are abundant, and the contemporary geography environment plays an important role in species distribution. Therefore, many biogeographical studies have focused on the organisms of the region, especially zooplankton, which is essential in the formation of biogeographical principles. Moreover, the generality of endemism also reinforces the need for detailed regional studies of zooplankton.
Bosmina
, a group of cosmopolitan zooplankton, is difficult to identify by morphology, and no genetic data are available to date to assess this species complex in China. In this study, 48 waterbodies were sampled covering a large geographical and ecological range in China, the goal of this research is to explore the species distribution of
Bosmina
across China and to reveal the genetic information of this species complex, based on two genetic markers (a mtDNA 16S and a nuclear ITS). The diversity of taxa in the
Bosmina
across China was investigated using molecular tools for the first time.
Results
Two main species were detected in 35 waterbodies: an endemic east Asia
B. fatalis
, and the
B. longirostris
that has a Holarctic distribution.
B. fatalis
had lower genetic polymorphism and population differentiation than
B. longirostris. B. fatalis
was preponderant in central and eastern China, whereas
B. longirostris
was dominated in western China. The third lineage (
B. hagmanni
) was only detected in a reservoir (CJR) of eastern China (Guangdong province).
Bosmina
had limited distribution on the Tibetan plateau.
Conclusions
This study revealed that the biogeography of
Bosmina
appear to be affected by historical events (Pleistocene glaciations) and contemporary environment (such as altitude, eutrophication and isolated habitat).
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (10.1186/s12862-019-1474-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
It has been reported that community structure of crustacean zooplankton is related to environment factors and abundance of predacious fishes. Most studies, however were based on observation on independent water bodies, which may complicate the results with uninterested factors. A large river-connected lake has partitioned regions with the characteristics of either a river or a lake albeit allowing exchanging of zooplankton of different regions. Thus, a river-connected lake is an ideal system for studying distribution of crustacean zooplankton and investigating its affecting factors. In this study, 11 stations of a large river-connected lake, Lake Gaoyou, were sampled in all four seasons. Taxonomic diversity and species abundance were recorded and their correlation with environmental factors was investigated. A total of 26 and 22 species of crustacean zooplankton were recorded in the river and lake region, respectively. The abundance of crustacean in the river region was significantly higher than that in the lake region. The relative abundance of calanoids and Bosmina fatalis in the river region was lower than that in the lake region, whereas the abundance of cyclopoids and other cladocera species was lower in the lake region than in the river region. Cluster analysis showed that crustacean assemblages could be divided into two, one cluster grouping all sites from the river region, and the other cluster included all sites in the lake region. According to Pearson correlation and canonical correspondence analysis, the distribution of crustacean was positively correlated with water temperature and chlorophyll a gradient. Chlorophyll a and fish abundance are excellent predictors on spatial distribution of crustacean zooplankton in Lake Gaoyou. Our findings may also help in planning of bighead carp stocking in Lake Gaoyou.
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