Abstract
Aquifer ecosystems provide a range of important services including clean drinking water. These ecosystems, which are largely inaccessible to humans, comprise a distinct invertebrate fauna (stygofauna), which is characterized by narrow distributions, high levels of endemism and cryptic species. Although being under enormous anthropogenic pressure, aquifers have rarely been included in conservation planning because of the general lack of knowledge of species diversity and distribution. Here we use molecular sequence data and phylogenetic diversity as surrogates for stygofauna diversity in aquifers of New South Wales, Australia. We demonstrate how to incorporate these data as conservation features in the systematic conservation planning software Marxan. We designated each branch of the phylogenetic tree as a conservation feature, with the branch length as a surrogate for the number of distinct characters represented by each branch. Two molecular markers (nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I) were used to evaluate how marker variability and the resulting tree topology affected the site-selection process. We found that the sites containing the deepest phylogenetic branches were deemed the most irreplaceable by Marxan. By integrating phylogenetic data, we provide a method for including taxonomically undescribed groundwater fauna in systematic conservation planning.
Highlights
Aquifers store 95% of the world’s available freshwater, and the groundwater within is the primary source of drinking water to an estimated 2 billion people worldwide [1]
The aim of this study is to explore the use of molecular sequence data and Phylogenetic Diversity (PD) as surrogates for stygofauna diversity in systematic conservation planning using Marxan
We do acknowledge that the Marxan solutions did not always maximise PD to the extent of the summed heuristic (Fig. 3), and this difference does require some consideration
Summary
Aquifers store 95% of the world’s available freshwater, and the groundwater within is the primary source of drinking water to an estimated 2 billion people worldwide [1]. Phylogenetic Conservation for Groundwater Systems populations, but it is vital to sustaining a wide range of groundwater dependent ecosystems such as rivers, riparian zones and estuaries [2]. The ultimate groundwater dependent ecosystems are those contained within the aquifer itself [3]. These environments harbor a rich diversity of organisms, and provide a variety of ecosystem services including bioremediation (the degradation of contaminants, including nitrates, by living organisms) and nutrient cycling [4]. As a substantial part of the ecosystem, groundwater invertebrates (stygofauna) contribute towards maintaining a healthy aquifer environment. This diverse fauna often has convergent morphology and cryptic species are common [5, 6]. Poor dispersal abilities have resulted in narrow distributions and high levels of endemism among stygofauna [7], making them vulnerable to extinction in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures [8]
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