Ancient Endemic or Recent Invader? Phylogenetic Position and the Probable Origin of the Ccladoceran Diaphanosoma macedonicum (Diplostraca, Sididae) from the Ancient Lakes in the Balkans.

ABSTRACT: Ancient lakes contain unique and very vulnerable fauna. Determining and understanding the origin of such biodiversity is a key factor in promoting conservation and management actions in some of the most singular ecosystems on the planet. Lake Ohrid in the Balkans is known as a natural laboratory for speciation, containing a high number of endemic species. However, the identity and origin of the planktonic cladoceran Diaphanosoma is uncertain. Representatives of the genus were long considered to have invaded the lake, but recent morphological studies have suggested that they belonged to the endemic taxon in the Balkans, D. macedonicum. Here, phylogenetic methods based on two mitochondrial gene fragments (COI and 16S) were used to identify Diaphanosoma specimens f

SUBMITTER: Lopez-Blanco C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11561547 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature