Ojo Guareña: A Hotspot of Subterranean Biodiversity in Spain
| Autor: | Ana Camacho, Carlos Puch |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Junta de Castilla y León, CSIC - Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España), European Commission |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Species complex QH301-705.5 010607 zoology Biodiversity Ojo Guareña natural monument 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Cave Biology (General) Nature and Landscape Conservation Subterranean biodiversity geography geography.geographical_feature_category Ecology biology Stygobionts Ecological Modeling Bathynellacea biology.organism_classification Karst Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous) Biodiversity hotspot Taxon Hotspot caves Troglobionts Species richness |
| Zdroj: | Diversity, Vol 13, Iss 199, p 199 (2021) Digital.CSIC: Repositorio Institucional del CSIC Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) Diversity Volume 13 Issue 5 Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC instname |
| Popis: | Ojo Guareña Natural Monument in Burgos (Spain) is an important and large karstic system. It consists of more than 110 km of surveyed galleries, and it has rich sources of organic material from the surface and permanent water circulation. It is the fourth largest cave system in the Iberian Peninsula, and one of the 10 largest in Europe. Ojo Guareña also ranks 23rd among the world’s largest caves. To date, only volcanic caves in the Canary Islands, in which between 28 and 38 subterranean species occur, are considered subterranean diversity hotspots in Spain. Here, we provide the first list of subterranean taxa present in Ojo Guareñ, which is comprised of 54 taxa that includes 46 stygobiotic and eight troglobiotic species (some still unidentified at the species level), revealing Ojo Guareña as the largest known subterranean biodiversity hotspot in Spain and Portugal. In addition, we provide a list of an additional 48 taxa, 34 stygophiles and 14 troglophiles, found in the system, whose ecological status could change with detailed biological studies, which may change the number of strictly subterranean species present in the system. Indeed, at present, these numbers are provisional as they correspond to a small part of this sizeable cave system. The biodiversity of large areas of the system remains unknown as these areas have yet to be explored from the biological point of view. In addition, a large number of samples of both terrestrial and aquatic fauna are still under study by specialists. Furthermore, evidence of cryptic species within Bathynellacea (Crustacea) indicates an underestimation of biodiversity in the karstic system. Despite these limitations, the data available reveal the typical uneven distribution of subterranean aquatic fauna, and suggest that the great heterogeneity of the microhabitats in this wide and highly connected karstic extension led to the great richness of aquatic subterranean species. Thanks also to Consuelo Temiño and Beatriz Cabezas for their help from 2002–2010 under the agreements of the Junta de Castilla y León and the CSIC, and to the MNCN and the CSIC for their support in carrying out this work. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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