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Abstract
The aim of the present study was to assess copepod species richness in groundwater habitats from the Pădurea Craiului Mountains, Transylvania (northwestern Romania). Five species richness estimators (one asymptotic, based on species accumulation curves, and four non-parametric) were compared by testing their performances in estimating copepod species richness at three hierarchical spatial scales: cave, hydrographic basin, and karstic massif. Both epigean and hypogean species were taken in account. Two data sets were used in computing copepod species richness: 1. samples collected continuously during one year (dripping water) and seven months (pools) from five caves, and 2. samples collected from pools in twelve additional caves (data gathered from literature). Differences in copepod species richness among caves and hydrographic basins suggest that local environmental features are important in determining local species richness trends.
Highlights
The vadose zone, i.e. the unsaturated karstic layer between surface and groundwater table, consists of the epikarst and the void network through which water percolates towards the phreatic zone (Mangin1994; Ford and Williams 2007)
The Pădurea Craiului Mountains are a karstic “island” that lies in North-Western Romania
Thirteen copepod species were sampled from dripping water and pools in the five caves studied over one year (UC, Vadu Crişului Cave (VC), Leşului Cave (LC), Ciur Izbuc Cave (CC) and Doboş Cave (DC))
Summary
The vadose zone, i.e. the unsaturated karstic layer between surface and groundwater table, consists of the epikarst (the uppermost unsaturated zone of the carbonate bedrock) and the void network through which water percolates towards the phreatic zone (Mangin1994; Ford and Williams 2007). Communities inhabiting the vadose zone are diverse, consisting of surface dwellers and specialized subterranean species The faunal assemblages of the vadose zone can be studied by sampling drip water systems and pools (Pipan 2005). Assessing species diversity is a challenge for ecologists, due to difficulties in collecting and identifying all species and estimating their relative abundance with a limited sampling effort (Chao et al 2005). This challenge becomes even more difficult for diversified communities with many rare representatives 2004), such as the case of the vadose zone with diverse and confined aquatic assemblages. 1994; Chazdon et al 1998; Colwell et al 2004; Magurran
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