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Assessing and Conserving Groundwater Biodiversity
20 April 2009
Groundwater biodiversity is vastly underestimated and underappreciated. Clearly, however, aquatic subterranean habitats are varied and harbour unique biological communities of remarkable diversity, with organisms ranging widely in taxonomic affiliation and body size, from less than 1 μm in groundwater microbes to vertebrates that reach more than 10 cm. Freshwater Biology have recently published a special issue which synthesises information on the first comprehensive, broad-scale examination of aquatic subterranean diversity in both karstic and non-karstic aquifers.
Data are mainly derived from a survey carried out across multiple regions in Europe and a data base elaborated within the European PASCALIS project (Protocol for the ASsessment and Conse rvation of Aquatic Life In the Subsurface), but information from studies elsewhere in Europe, North America and Australia is also included.
Three reviews are devoted to the biology and ecology of groundwater bacteria and archaea, oligochaetes, and copepods - all poorly investigated but important subterranean taxa. Five papers address broad-scale diversity patterns across European regions, spatial partitioning of species richness, cryptic diversity, sampling methodology, and the use of surrogate taxonomic groups for assessing total species richness of groundwater communities. These analyses are complemented by four papers exploring biodiversity patterns in selected regions and by two papers addressing conservation issues. Three additional papers expand on the central themes of adequate sampling and dispersal, and a final synthesis summarizes the advances made in elucidating groundwater biodiversity patterns and points to important challenges that lie ahead. Collectively, the papers in this special issue should provide a solid foundation on which to build future investigations and effective strategies for protecting the astonishing diversity hidden in subterranean environments.
Special Issue : Assessing and Conserving Groundwater Biodiversity
Guest Editors: Janine Gibert and David C.Culver
