Taxonomic, ecological and morphological diversity of Ponto-Caspian gammaroidean amphipods: a review

Copilaş‐Ciocianu, Denis; Sídorov, Dmitry

doi:10.1007/s13127-021-00536-6

Cited by 27 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 97 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among the endemic Ponto-Caspian evolutionary radiations, crustaceans appear the most diverse with three orders being well represented: Amphipoda, Mysida, and Cumacea 23,25,26 . Amphipods are by far the most speciose, with 96 endemic species currently known, spanning across a broad eco-morphological gradient 23 . Nevertheless, only a fraction of these species has been sequenced 25,27−30 , a handful have been studied in a detailed phylogeographic context [31][32][33][34][35] , and even scarcer are the modern integrative taxonomic studies 33,36 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, only a fraction of these species has been sequenced 25,27−30 , a handful have been studied in a detailed phylogeographic context [31][32][33][34][35] , and even scarcer are the modern integrative taxonomic studies 33,36 . Generally, Ponto-Caspian amphipods are poorly studied from evolutionary, ecological, and taxonomic perspectives as most studies focused on a few species of the well-known invaders 23 . As a result, Ponto-Caspian amphipod taxonomy is plagued by numerous issues ranging from ambiguous species identity (including invasive ones), to uncertain species diversity at generic or even family levels 23,25,32,33 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generally, Ponto-Caspian amphipods are poorly studied from evolutionary, ecological, and taxonomic perspectives as most studies focused on a few species of the well-known invaders 23 . As a result, Ponto-Caspian amphipod taxonomy is plagued by numerous issues ranging from ambiguous species identity (including invasive ones), to uncertain species diversity at generic or even family levels 23,25,32,33 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As much as 40% of the currently recognized Ponto-Caspian amphipod species have now dispersed outside their native range due to shipping, canals and intentional introductions 15,23,37,38 . Their ongoing expansion to non-native areas is routinely reported [39][40][41][42] , while some taxa became notorious invaders.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

The “Crustacean seas” in the light of DNA barcoding: a reference library for endemic Ponto-Caspian amphipods

Copilaş‐Ciocianu

Rewicz

Sands

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Ponto-Caspian region is an endemicity hotspot that harbors several crustacean radiations, among which amphipods are the most diverse. These poorly known species are severely threatened in their native range, while at the same time they are invading European inland waters with significant ecological consequences. A proper taxonomic knowledge of this fauna is paramount for its conservation within and monitoring outside the native region. Here, we assemble a DNA barcode reference library for nearly 60% of all known Ponto-Caspian amphipod species. We use several methods to define molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) based on two mitochondrial markers (COI and 16S) and assess their congruence with current species-level taxonomy based on morphology. Depending on the method, we find that 54–69% of species had congruent morpho-molecular boundaries. The cases of incongruence resulted from lumping distinct morphospecies into a single MOTU (7–27%), splitting a morphospecies into several MOTUs (4–28%), or both (4–11%). MOTUs defined by distance-based methods without a priori divergence thresholds showed the highest congruence with morphological taxonomy. These results indicate that DNA barcoding is valuable for clarifying the diversity of Ponto-Caspian amphipods, but reveals that extensive work is needed to resolve taxonomic uncertainties. Our study advances the DNA barcode reference library for the European aquatic biota, paving the way towards improved taxonomic knowledge needed to enhance monitoring and conservation efforts.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The “Crustacean seas” in the light of DNA barcoding: a reference library for endemic Ponto-Caspian amphipods

Copilaş‐Ciocianu

Rewicz

Sands

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

To be alive or not to be alive: Radiocarbon data provide new perspective on species diversity in the Caspian Sea

Clewing,

Albrecht,

Anistratenko

et al. 2024

Aquatic Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Caspian Sea is undergoing a severe biodiversity crisis. However, estimates of current extinction rates are difficult to obtain due to the lack of reliable pre‐Anthropocene baseline data. For example, because the majority of endemic gastropod species was described from “fresh looking” shells, it remains unclear which species still existed prior to the Anthropocene. This study therefore used the species‐rich microgastropod family Hydrobiidae to assess the extent to which endemic species were collected alive during the Anthropocene. Literature and database searches were performed. In addition, 14C dating was conducted on “fresh looking” shells collected in the Caspian Sea during the last 150 years. The literature review revealed that 75% of the “recent” species are only known from empty shells and 25% were recorded with a soft body. The 14C data showed that all “recent” specimens examined had an age between 1624 cal BC and 1888 cal AD. Two species studied predate the beginning of the Anthropocene. Two other species potentially or likely existed during the Anthropocene. This suggests that the number of endemic species still present at the beginning of the Anthropocene is lower than previously thought. The data also suggest that there was a substantial loss of species between the late 18th century and the 1950s and that only two endemic hydrobiid species have recently been found alive. These findings further contribute to the notion of a severe biodiversity crisis in the Caspian Sea. For accurate estimates of current extinction rates of Caspian Sea gastropods, pre‐Anthropocene biodiversity data need to be further corroborated. Particularly, studies are required to clarify the taxonomic status of the dubious taxa and a possible “collection crisis” in the Caspian Sea due to decreasing sampling efforts in recent decades. In addition, comprehensive IUCN assessments are urgently required.

show abstract

Invasive Ponto‐Caspian amphipods are less carnivorous outside their native range

Copilaș‐Ciocianu,

Garbaras,

Šidagytė‐Copilas

2024

Limnology & Oceanography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A species' expansion beyond the native range is often assumed to be associated with an increased dietary niche breadth. However, empirical evidence remains limited due to a scarcity of studies comparing both the parental and invaded ranges. Here, we test the trophic niche expansion hypothesis by examining stable isotopes and functional morphology across native (NW Black Sea) and invaded (SE Baltic Sea) ranges of two amphipods, Dikerogammarus villosus and Pontogammarus robustoides, originating from the Ponto‐Caspian region—a major source of species invading Holarctic inland waters. Stable isotopes revealed that both species underwent a marked dietary niche contraction by becoming less carnivorous in the invaded range. This dietary shift was morphologically mirrored by an overall reduction of functional traits related to predation. The magnitude of dietary and morphological change was greater in D. villosus. Our findings indicate that previous experimental reports of aggressive predation in D. villosus reflect opportunistic foraging and align with local stable isotope studies which generally indicate a low trophic position. We conclude that Ponto‐Caspian species can undergo rapid dietary changes outside the native range, and that dietary niche expansion is not a prerequisite for successful non‐native establishment.

show abstract

Taxonomic, ecological and morphological diversity of Ponto-Caspian gammaroidean amphipods: a review

Cited by 27 publications

References 97 publications

The “Crustacean seas” in the light of DNA barcoding: a reference library for endemic Ponto-Caspian amphipods

The “Crustacean seas” in the light of DNA barcoding: a reference library for endemic Ponto-Caspian amphipods

To be alive or not to be alive: Radiocarbon data provide new perspective on species diversity in the Caspian Sea

Invasive Ponto‐Caspian amphipods are less carnivorous outside their native range

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About