Cryptic variation in a cryptal environment: Biodiversity and ecology of cave invertebrates in the Central German Uplands

《生物多样性公约》将生物多样性定义为基因、物种和生态系统的多样性。生物多样性的丧失影响到生态系统的稳定性、其功能和服务以及地球上的可持续生命。持续的、部分由生物多样性引起的生物多样性丧失被认为是我们这个时代的核心生态和社会全球风险之一。然而，为了衡量基因变异、物种和生态系统类型的损失，必须首先评估现状。特别是，关于地下生态系统的遗传多样性和物种库的知识缺失，迄今为止无法对目前和未来的生物多样性变化作出任何有效的陈述。在德国，已知有740种来自洞穴和地下水栖息地，可分为三个生态类别：i）真球生物，其完全适应地下生活并且通常表现出适应性形态特征，ii）真球生物，其在多代中形成稳定的地下种群，但是可以定殖在可比的表面环境中，和iii）亚球生物，只有在特定的季节或发育阶段才积极地在地下栖息地定居。本项目调查地下物种库的空间和季节变化的自然水平，确定了受旅游业影响的洞穴物种，并比较了洞穴物种之间的种内遗传多样性水平，生态洞穴亲和性该项目设计由六个旅游景点以及附近的六个德国中部高地的近自然石灰岩洞穴组成，将在三个时间点（冬季，春季，夏季）进行采样。地下物种库将通过DNA元条形码方法进行鉴定。对12个典型洞穴物种的种内遗传多样性进行了分析，结果将首次全面地反映德国中部高地洞穴群落的生态、物种库和遗传多样性。他们将进一步确定地下物种库的自然空间和季节动态，从而使自然与人为（旅游）和未来气候引起的生物多样性变化相比，能够更有力地分化。

The Convention on Biological Diversity defines biodiversity as the variety of genes, species and ecosystems. Biodiversity loss influences the stability of ecosystems, their functions and services as well as sustainable life on our planet. The ongoing and partly anthropogenic-induced biodiversity loss is recognized as one of the central ecological but also societal global risks of our time. However, to measure the loss of gene variants, species and ecosystem types, the status quo has to be assessed first. In particular, knowledge about the genetic diversity and species pool of subterranean ecosystems is missing, preventing any valid statements about present and future biodiversity changes so far. In Germany, 740 species are known from cave and groundwater habitats, which can be classified into three ecological categories: i) eutroglobionts, which are fully adapted to a subterranean life and often demonstrate adaptive morphological traits, ii) eutroglophiles, which form stable underground populations over multiple generations but can colonize comparable surface environments, and iii) subtroglophiles, which actively colonize subterranean habitats only during a particular season or developmental stages.This project investigates the natural level of spatial and seasonal changes in subterranean species pools, identifies cave species affected by tourism and compares the levels of intraspecific genetic diversity among cave species with contrasting mobility and ecological cave-affinities. The project design is composed of six touristic as well as six nearby, near-natural limestone caves of the Central German Uplands, which will be sampled at three time points (winter, spring, summer). Subterranean species pools will be identified by a DNA Metabarcoding approach. The analysis of intraspecific genetic diversity is performed for twelve characteristic cave species within a comparative phylogeographical framework.The results will provide a first comprehensive picture of the ecology, species pool and genetic diversity of cave communities in the Central German Uplands. They will further identify the natural spatial and seasonal dynamics of subterranean species pools, thus to enable a more robust differentiation of natural compared to human-made (touristic) and future climate-induced biodiversity changes.