Bündelantrag: "Scientific Collaboration On Past Speciation Conditions in Ohrid (SCOPSCO)": Recent and fossil Ostracodes from Lake Ohrid as indicators of past environments: A coupled ecological and molecular genetic approach with deep-time perspective

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Ancient Lake Ohrid is characterized by a high degree in endemism and an unresolved geological history. Ostracodes are preserved in satisfactory abundances in at least two interglacial sediment sequences and thus provide a unique record to test the aquatic ecosystem response to environmental change. Our initial analyses yield a minimum of 62 ostracode species of which at least 19 are endemic. Because knowledge of ecological dependences is insufficient to interpret fossil assemblages from long sediment cores, and taxonomy is difficult, we propose to (1) perform autecological and taxonomic analyses of recent ostracodes and environmental parameters characterizing their habitats, to (2) unravel the response of the lake system and ostracode assemblages during the Eemian and the Holocene using sediment core CO1202 covering the past approx. 136 ka, and to (3) determine the degree of extinction due to anthropogenic pressure using short sediment cores from one polluted and one pristine site. Recent ostracodes will also be used to (4) establish phylogeny and date speciation events using genetic techniques. This will allow to verify ostracode taxonomy and degree of diversity as well as speciation ages provided by other organisms analyzed by our cooperation partners Wilke and Albrecht (WI 1902/8). The coupling of taxonomic and autecological analyses with genetic techniques and results from fossil assemblages will be used to narrow down age and cause of speciation events, and origin of Lake Ohrid.