Species Richness and Taxonomic Distinctness of Zooplankton in Ponds and Small Lakes from Albania and North Macedonia: The Role of Bioclimatic Factors

Abstract

Resolving the contribution to biodiversity patterns of regional-scale environmental drivers is, to date, essential in the implementation of effective conservation strategies. Here, we assessed the species richness S and taxonomic distinctness Δ+ (used a proxy of phylogenetic diversity) of crustacean zooplankton assemblages from 40 ponds and small lakes located in Albania and North Macedonia and tested whether they could be predicted by waterbodies’ landscape characteristics (area, perimeter, and altitude), together with local bioclimatic conditions that were derived from Wordclim and MODIS databases. The results showed that a minimum adequate model, including the positive effects of non-arboreal vegetation cover and temperature seasonality, together with the negative influence of the mean temperature of the wettest quarter, effectively predicted assemblages’ variation in species richness. In contrast, taxonomic distinctness did not predictably respond to landscape or bioclimatic factors. Noticeably, waterbodies’ area showed a generally low prediction power for both S and Δ+. Additionally, an in-depth analysis of assemblages’ species composition indicated the occurrence of two distinct groups of waterbodies characterized by different species and different precipitation and temperature regimes. Our findings indicated that the classical species-area relationship hypothesis is inadequate in explaining the diversity of crustacean zooplankton assemblages characterizing the waterbodies under analysis. In contrast, local bioclimatic factors might affect the species richness and composition, but not their phylogenetic diversity, the latter likely to be influenced by long-term adaptation mechanisms.

Interspecific and interpopulation variation in individual diet specialization: Do environmental factors have a role?

“…Climatic variables did not contribute significantly to the best candidate models (Table 1). Indeed, the underlying null hypothesis of this study was that the explanatory power of bioclimatic variables was generally negligible, as their spatial resolution is too coarse to capture Eltonian trophic niche‐related processes taking place at microhabitat scale (Soberón 2007; see also Mancinelli et al 2019). The spatial (approx.…”

The Use of Winter Water Temperature and Food Composition by the Copepod Cyclops vicinus (Uljanin, 1875) to Provide a Temporal Refuge from Fish Predation

“…were identified as dominant species. These species are widely distributed internationally, and their seasonal distribution and food preferences have been reported in various empirical studies [ 56 , 57 , 58 ]. These copepods are more abundant from spring to autumn, which is closely related to the ease of food acquisition and efficient population growth [ 15 ].…”

First limnological characterization of Lakes Leqinat and Drelaj in Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park, Kosovo

“…No diaptomid copepod was found in Leqinat, which may be due to the high feeding pressure of the large alpine newt population (see Dodson 1970;Wissinger et al 1999). On the other hand, Drelaj contains a considerably smaller newt population (see below) associated with Mixodiaptomus tatricus, a species typical of temporary high-altitude water bodies in the Alps and the Balkans (Jersabek et al 2001;Mancinelli et al 2019). We are aware that Daphnia rosea may be a morphotype and belongs to the D. longispina complex (Petrusek et al 2008;Błędzki & Rybak 2016), but we acknowledge morphological differences and distinct ecological divergences between the two taxa, as known from numerous studies in the Austrian Alps (Gaviria-Melo et al 2005), by assigning the taxon from Drelaj to D. rosea.…”

“…The Balkan Peninsula is as an important biodiversity hotspot (Griffiths et al 2004). Mountain lakes harbour unique invertebrate communities often containing large zooplankton species like diaptomid copepods or anostracans (Belmonte et al 2018;Mancinelli et al 2019). Under natural, fish-free conditions, amphibians are the native top predators of these aquatic ecosystems (Lejeune et al 2018;Schabetsberger & Jersabek 1995;Schabetsberger et al 2006).…”