The Balkan Peninsula is one of three major European refugial areas. It has high biodiversity and endemism, but data on the age and origin of its fauna, especially endemics, are limited. Mitochondrial sequence data (COI and 16S genes) were used to study the population structure and phylogeography of the caddisfly Drusus croaticus and the phylogeny and divergence of seven other Drusus species, mostly range-restricted endemics of the Dinaric region of the Balkan Peninsula. The divergence of D. croaticus populations in Croatia and allopatric Drusus species in Bosnia dated to the Pleistocene, showing the importance of this time period for the origin and diversification of Balkan endemic taxa. The divergence of more distantly related species dated to the Late Miocene/Early Pliocene. Population genetic and phylogeographic analysis of 115 individuals from 11 populations of D. croaticus revealed a high level of genetic differentiation and absence of gene flow between populations separated by more than 10 km. The existence of allopatrically fragmented lineages in D. croaticus and the endemic Bosnian species is most likely the result of long-term isolation in multiple microrefugia, probably due to the specific habitat requirements and life-history traits of Drusinae coupled with the topographic complexity and historical changes in geomorphology of the region. Overall, these findings shed light on the processes generating the high genetic complexity of this refugial region that parallels the 'refugia within refugia' pattern widely reported from the Iberian refugium.

The karst areas in the Dinaric region of the Western Balkan Peninsula are a hotspot of freshwater biodiversity. Many investigators have examined diversification of the subterranean freshwater fauna in these karst systems. However, diversification of surface-water fauna remains largely unexplored. We assessed local and regional diversification of surface-water species in karst systems and asked whether patterns of population differentiation could be explained by dispersaldiversification processes or allopatric diversification following karst-related microscale vicariance. We analyzed mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtCOI) sequence data of 4 caddisfly species (genus Drusus) in a phylogeographic framework to assess local and regional population genetic structure and Pliocene/Pleistocene history. We used BEAST software to assess the timing of intraspecific diversification of the target species. We compared climate envelopes of the study species and projected climatically suitable areas during the last glacial maximum (LGM) to assess differences in the species climatic niches and infer potential LGM refugia. The haplotype distribution of the 4 species (324 individuals from 32 populations) was characterized by strong genetic differentiation with few haplotypes shared among populations (16%) and deep divergence 6 ana.previsic@biol.pmf.hr 7 jan.schnitzler@senckenberg.de 8 mladen.kucinic@biol.pmf.hr 9 wolfram.graf@boku.ac.at 10 halilibrahimi@yahoo.com 11 mladen.kerovec@biol.pmf.hr 12 steffen.pauls@senckenberg.de AP and SUP designed the research; AP, MK, MK, WG, and HI contributed new reagents/analytic tools; AP, JS, and SUP performed the research, analyzed the data, and wrote the paper. All authors edited the drafts and approved the final version of the manuscript. Europe PMC Funders Group Europe PMC Funders Author ManuscriptsEurope PMC Funders Author Manuscripts among populations of the 3 endemic species, even at local scales. Divergence among local populations of endemics often exceeded divergence among regional and continental clades of the widespread D. discolor. Major divergences among regional populations dated to 2.0 to 0.5 Mya.Species distribution model projections and genetic structure suggest that the endemic species persisted in situ and diversified locally throughout multiple Pleistocene climate cycles. The pattern for D. discolor was different and consistent with multiple invasions into the region. Patterns of population genetic structure and diversification were similar for the 3 regional endemic Drusus species and consistent with microscale vicariance after the onset of intensified karstification in the Dinaric region. Karstification may induce microscale vicariance of running surface-water habitats and probably promotes allopatric fragmentation of stream insects at small spatial scales. et al. , Milá et al. 2007). Differentiation of species and populations on small scales also are often associated with limited dispersal (e.g., Brändle et al. 2007, Johannesen et al. 2010, and smal...

Adult Trichoptera were observed at the Plitvice Lakes, Croatia during two years (2000 and 2001) using pyramid-type emergence traps. A total of 1350 individuals and 37 species were collected. Throughout the study, the emergence patterns showed only minor variations regarding differences in particular habitats. During 2000 most species emerged in June, and in 2001 in May. The complete emergence period is shown for all collected species and studied in detail for abundant species. Excluding Allogamus uncatus, all abundant species emerged in summer, with most exhibiting a long emergence period. Rhyacophila fasciata had the longest emergence period in both years of the study and also showed winter activity. Trichopteran diversity and equitability were calculated and trophic relationships of the collected species were identified for each sampling site in order to obtain better insight into trichopteran community structure. Results indicated that the trichopteran community could be grouped according to travertine barriers and stream habitat types. IntroductionTo date, there have been various studies focusing on trichopteran communities in karst habitats, but mostly based on larval stages (e.g. BONADA et al., 2005;HABDIJA, 1988; HAB-DIJA et al., 2002). Besides, data of adult Trichoptera ecology and faunistics are commonly obtained by sampling with light and Malaise traps (e.g. SMITH et al., 2002;SVENSSON, 1974;WARINGER, 1991;. Thus emergence patterns and the length of the emergence periods are still insufficiently investigated for many species inhabiting karst areas.The emergence method has been used for various studies all over the world. At first, the method was used for quantitative production studies (ILLIES, 1971;MALICKY, 1976), but more recently it is mostly used for faunistic, phenological and biodiversity studies of running waters (FREITAG, 2004;FÜREDER et al., 2005;PETERSEN et al., 1999;WARINGER, 1996) due to its advantages over some other methods, e.g. benthos sampling (MALICKY, 2002). Hence, the emergence method was applied to investigate trichopteran community composition and emergence patterns in different karstic habitats.The Balkan Peninsula is known to be an important evolutionary centre for a number of trichopteran genera (e.g. Drusus, Rhyacophila, Tinodes, Potamophylax) resulting in a high species endemism (KUMANSKI and MALICKY, 1999). The Plitvice Lakes National Park was chosen for this study because of the presence of different habitat types typical of the karst systems (springs, streams, lakes and travertine barriers). Moreover, some endemic species from the mentioned genera inhabit the Plitvice Lakes area (KUČINIĆ and MALICKY, 2002;MARINKOVIĆ-GOSPODNETIĆ, 1971) and were thus encompassed in the study. The objectives of the study were (1) to define emergence patterns of species inhabiting karst but also to compare these with data from different habitats and regions (2) to investigate the composition, diversity and similarity of trichopteran fauna at different karst habitats, (3) to determine ...

The influences of river regulations on aquatic biota are insufficiently investigated. We assessed the level of ecological disturbance of the mayfly assemblages through the damming and flow alterations at two highly regulated Mediterranean rivers in Croatia: the Cetina River and its tributary, the Ruda. Contrary to our hypotheses, species richness, abundance and diversity of mayflies increased along the river’s course. At the sites directly influenced by the river regulations, mayfly assemblage changed: it was less diverse and less abundant. However, no obvious influence of the river regulation on the mayfly assemblages was detected for the sites that were indirectly influenced by these alterations. This was most likely due to specific karst hydrology, i.e., the presence of lateral springs along the course of the river. Multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS) revealed grouping of sites according to the similarity in physico-chemical water properties. The pH and water temperature were the most important environmental variables influencing mayfly assemblages. The data on ecology and distribution of mayflies presented in the current study represent a valuable background for further research and conservation practices in the Mediterranean region.

Croatobranchus mestrovi is a troglobitic leech from deep shaft‐like caves in the Velebit Mountain, Dinaric karst, Croatia, living in cold (4–6 °C) water. Its oral sucker extends to form four pairs of triangular tentacles, each with about five finger‐like papillae, but widening into a marginally crenulated disc when attached to a substrate. Pairs of stiff, finger‐like lateral projections, probably gills, occur along the body behind the clitellum. Somites are simple five‐annulate. Despite the unique head morphology and the presence of lateral outgrowths, the anatomy and 18S rRNA gene sequence of this species indicate that it is a member of the Erpobdellidae, closely related to Dina.