The evolution of epigean and stygobitic species of Koonunga Sayce, 1907 (Syncarida: Anaspidacea) in Southern Australia, with the description of three new species

Three new species of Koonunga were discovered in surface and subterranean waters in southern Australia, and were defined using mtDNA analyses and morphology. The new species are: Koonunga hornei Leijs & King; K. tatiaraensis Leijs & King and K. allambiensis Leijs & King. Molecular clock analyses indicate that the divergence times of the species are older than the landscape that they currently inhabit. Different scenarios explaining this apparent discrepancy are discussed in the context of the palaeography of the area. A freshwater epigean origin for Koonunga is considered the most likely hypothesis, whereby some lineages made the transition to the subterranean environment within the last few million years influenced by significant climatic cooling/drying. We discuss the possibility that one stygobitic lineage secondarily regained some of its body pigmentation as adaptation to increased photic conditions after cave collapse and forming of cenotes during the last glacial maximum.Remko Leijs, Tessa Bradford, James G. Mitchell, William F. Humphreys, Steven J. B. Cooper, Peter Goonan, Rachael A. Kin

Aspects de la dynamique des populations chez un Isopode interstitiel

A study of the breeding cycle and population structure of Angeliera phreaticola (Isopoda, Asellota, Microparasellidae) has been carried out in the western Mediterranean. The species shows a seasonal reproductive cycle. The breeding season occurs from mid-April to the end of September. Release of juveniles is limited to the period from June to the end of September. Fourty to seventy days are necessary for the embryological development which is very long, eighty days for the post-marsupial one. It is suggested that in spring the increasing temperature of the interstitial waters accelerates the maturity of the ovocyte and post-embryonic development, and causes an advance of the breeding season. Each summerborn generation reproduces next year and yields reproducing animals two years after. Each female produces two broods (rarely three) per reproduction season and can get three to six descendants at most. Sex ratio of males to females is expressed as a function of the season and the size; males outnumber females. A. phreaticola has a maximum life span of about two years and two or three months

Recherches sur le crustac\ue9s souterrains et m\ue9sopsammiques

Volume: 75Start Page: 1End Page: 10

The first Microcharon (Crustacea, Isopoda, Microparasellidae) from the Moroccan North Saharan Platform. Phylogeny, origin and palaeobiogeography

The interstitial stygobites of the genus Microcharon (Crustacea, Isopoda, Microparasellidae) are highly diversified in Morocco, especially in the High Atlas. A new species from the North Saharan platform is described. Microcharon oubrahimae n. sp. is characterized by the original morphology of the first male pleopod which exhibits a concave inner margin of the distal part and a subdistal position of the armature. From a phylogenetic point of view, M. oubrahimae does not belong to the lineage which includes the Moroccan Atlasian species. In contrast, it belongs to the eastern- Mediterranean group of species. It is related to the species of the group M. orghidani-M. bureschi-M. phlegetonis from Romania and Bulgaria. The two-step model of colonization and evolution provides an understanding of the origin and evolutionary history of this stygobiont. M. oubrahimae derived from marine ancestors that lived in the littoral interstitial waters of the marine gulfs which covered the Errachidia-Boudnib-Erfoud basin within the pre-African trench during the Turonian or more likely Early Senonian. These marine ancestors might have settled in fresh groundwater during the regressive phases of the Turonian embayment or more likely of the brief Coniacian-Santonian gulf

Towards an optimal sampling strategy to assess groundwater biodiversity: comparison across six European regions

1. Reliable assessments of groundwater biodiversity are urgently needed to resolve current issues relating to the protection of aquifers. The assessment of groundwater biodiversity is hampered by the physical complexity and difficult access to the subterranean environment, which is related to the vastness, high degree of fragmentation and environmental heterogeneity of groundwater systems. Knowledge on groundwater biodiversity is also biased towards penetrable karstic habitats (caves), whereas other common habitats such as those found in porous aquifers have been neglected. This situation calls for a standardised and comprehensive strategy to sample an exhaustive and balanced set of groundwater habitats. 2. A standardised sampling protocol aimed at capturing the main sources of environmental heterogeneity within regions was applied in six regions across Europe. Four hierarchical levels were considered: (i) region (c. 400 km2); (ii) basin (c. 100 km2); (iii) aquifer type (karstic or porous) and (iv) habitat (hyporheic and phreatic zones for porous aquifers; saturated and unsaturated zones for karst aquifers). A total of 192 sampling sites equally distributed among habitats were sampled within each region. 3. Stygobiotic species richness significantly varied across regions, probably as a result of important difference in physical and biogeographical characteristics among the regions. Only one species (Graeteriella unisetigera) occurred in all six regions, underlining the narrow geographic range and high degree of endemism of stygobiotic fauna. The low frequency of occurrence of stygobionts also points to the importance of rarity in ground waters and its relevance for drawing up sampling designs. 4. Rarefaction curves were calculated to determine sampling efficiencies within each region. Despite the high sampling effort, the curves did not reach saturation, especially in the Cantabria, Lessinia and Krim regions, which had the greatest numbers of rare species. 5. Species accumulation curves were also calculated by c