Are caves enough to represent karst groundwater biodiversity? Insights from geospatial analyses applied to European obligate groundwater-dwelling copepods.

ABSTRACT: Caves are recognized as biodiversity hotspots for groundwater fauna, including obligate groundwater-dwelling copepods (Crustacea: Copepoda), exhibiting high species richness, endemism, and phylogenetic rarity. However, the extent to which caves alone provide a representative estimate of copepod species richness in karst areas remains uncertain. Taking advantage of the recently published EGCop dataset, the first expert-validated, Europe-wide occurrence dataset for obligate groundwater-dwelling copepods (hereinafter, GW copepods), this study investigates the distribution of GW copepods into karst areas, comparing species richness in caves versus other karst groundwater habitats (e.g., springs, karst streams, artificial wells), within and among the European karst units. The main aims a

SUBMITTER: Galmarini E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12596886 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature