title: Can environment predict cryptic diversity? The case of Niphargus inhabiting Western Carpathian groundwater.
abstract: In the last decade, several studies have shown that subterranean aquatic habitats harbor cryptic species with restricted geographic ranges, frequently occurring as isolated populations. Previous studies on aquatic subterranean species have implied that habitat heterogeneity can promote speciation and that speciation events can be predicted from species' distributions. We tested the prediction that species distributed across different drainage systems and karst sectors comprise sets of distinct species. Amphipods from the genus Niphargus from 11 caves distributed along the Western Carpathians (Romania) were investigated using three independent molecular markers (COI, H3 and 28S). The results showed that: 1) the studied populations belong to eight different species that derive from two phylogenetically unrelated Niphargus clades; 2) narrow endemic species in fact comprise complexes of morphologically similar species that are indistinguishable without using a molecular approach. The concept of monophyly, concordance between mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, and the value of patristic distances were used as species delimitation criteria. The concept of cryptic species is discussed within the framework of the present work and the contribution of these species to regional biodiversity is also addressed.
authors.affiliation: Emil Racoviţă Institute of Speleology, Romanian Academy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Ioana Nicoleta
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Meleg
authors.forename: Valerija
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zakšek
authors.forename: Cene
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fišer
authors.forename: Beatrice Simona
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kelemen
authors.forename: Oana Teodora
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Moldovan
mesh_terms: D033304:Amphipoda / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D060829:Arthropod Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D017753:Ecosystem; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005843:Geography; D060587:Groundwater / Q000469:parasitology*; D006657:Histones / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S / Q000235:genetics; D012383:Romania; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D060829:Arthropod Proteins; D006657:Histones; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV