In:
Subterranean Biology, Pensoft Publishers, Vol. 39 ( 2021-05-25), p. 1-31
Kurzfassung:
Knowledge on the diversity and distribution of subterranean organisms is still scattered, even in faunistically relatively well-researched countries such as Switzerland. This is mostly due to the restricted access to these subterranean habitats. Better knowledge on these organisms is needed, because they contribute substantially to overall biodiversity of a region, often contain unique elements of biodiversity, and can potentially be indicative of the ecological status of subterranean ecosystems that are providing important ecosystem services such as drinking water. Past research on subterranean organisms has often used highly specialised sampling techniques and expert knowledge. Here, we show that inclusion of non-professionals can be an alternative and highly promising sampling strategy. We retrieved citizen science-based samples from municipal groundwater wells across Switzerland, mainly from the Swiss Plateau. Opportunistic samples from 313 sites revealed a previously undocumented groundwater fauna including organisms from different major invertebrate groups, with a dominance of crustaceans. Here, we studied amphipods of the genus Niphargus . Among all 363 individuals sampled, we found in total eight nominal species. Two of them, namely N. fontanus and N. kieferi , are reported for Switzerland for the first time. We also found four further phylogenetic lineages that are potentially new species to science. One of them is here formally described as Niphargus arolaensis sp. nov. The description is based on molecular and morphometric data. Our study proves the suitability of citizen science to document subterranean diversity, supports groundwater conservation efforts with data, and raises awareness for the relevance and biodiversity of groundwater amphipods among stakeholders.
Materialart:
Online-Ressource
ISSN:
1314-2615
,
1768-1448
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.figure1
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.figure2
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.figure3
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.figure4
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.figure5
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.figure6
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.figure7
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.figure8
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.figure9
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.suppl1
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.suppl10
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.suppl11
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.suppl2
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.suppl3
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.suppl4
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.suppl5
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.suppl6
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.suppl7
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.suppl8
DOI:
10.3897/subtbiol.39.66755.suppl9
Sprache:
Unbekannt
Verlag:
Pensoft Publishers
Publikationsdatum:
2021
ZDB Id:
2633922-5
SSG:
12