Brancelj Anton

National Institute of Biology - Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo | NIB · Department for Freshwater and Terrestrial Ecosystems Research

Abstract: Dripping water habitats within caves (drips or adjacent drip-fed pools) were investigated as a surrogate for sampling the epikarst aquifer. This was conducted in three geographically dispersed caves in Britain – Ogof Draenen in South Wales, Swildon’s Hole in the Mendips and Baker’s Pit in Devon. Trays were placed at four locations in each...

Supplementary data to support the paper of the same name

Two new species of copepods of the genus Elaphoidella Chappuis, 1929 were discovered in a cave and a spring in northeastern Thailand. The first species, E. phuphamanensis sp. nov., belongs to species-group VII sensu Lang. It is most similar to E. turgisetosa Petkovski, 1980 in the armament of the male third exopod of the fourth swimming leg and the...

Groundwater is a vital ecosystem of the global water cycle, hosting unique biodiversity and providing essential services to societies. Despite being the largest unfrozen freshwater resource, in a period of depletion by extraction and pollution, groundwater environments have been repeatedly overlooked in global biodiversity conservation agendas. Dis...

The Dinarides in the Western Balkans host a globally exceptional subterranean biodiversity, but still areas remain with little or no data on subterranean species. In this work, we present the study of subterranean fauna in the upper Neretva River catchment (Eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina), which included the first systematic exploration of the inte...

Organismal fitness depends on performance of functional traits. In subterranean biology, function has usually been inferred from either morphology or behavior, but rarely from both. Here we introduce a well-known principle, the “many-to-one relationship of form and function”, stating that enhancement of functional performance is possible in diverse...

Groundwater is a vital ecosystem of the global water cycle, hosting unique biodiversity and providing essential services to societies. Despite being the largest unfrozen freshwater resource, in a period of depletion by extraction and pollution, groundwater environments have been repeatedly overlooked in global biodiversity conservation agendas. Dis...

To clarify the indication of plankton fatty acids (FAs) under the influence of the natural environmental factors that affect FA composition and transmission, the Hongfeng Reservoir was investigated including plankton community structure and FA composition as well as the physical and chemical indicators of water quality. Thereafter, redundancy analy...

This chapter introduces the structure and ecology of karstic subterranean habitats that support a diverse and specialized fauna from tropical to sub-polar zones. These karstic habitats are distinguished in four main functional vertical layers, i.e., the epikarst, vadose, epiphreatic and phreatic zones, which are controlled by local climate conditio...

A descriptive survey of the aquatic invertebrate fauna of 32 caves across various regions of Scotland was carried out between April 2015 and April 2021. Most of the vadose streams in the Scottish cave systems investigated were allogenic in nature and hence were dominated by aquatic invertebrate assemblages of benthic taxa presumed to have drifted i...

In aquatic ecosystems, the dynamics of ecological parameters play an important role in community organization. To understand the changes in the phytoplankton community structure in karstic reservoirs, the Hongfeng reservoir in Guizhou plateau was monitored monthly from 2016 to 2019. The results showed that the dominant organisms in phytoplankton co...

The time and space dynamics of phytoplankton and its driving factors were studied in Hongfeng Reservoir, southwestern China, from March 2016 to December 2019 to explore the spatiotemporal dynamics and driving factors of the phytoplankton community structure. The structural equation model (SEM) was used to analyze the relationship between abundance...

Reservoirs are an important water source in many densely populated areas in southwest China. Phytoplankton play an essential role in maintaining the structure and function of reservoir ecosystems. Understanding the succession in phytoplankton communities and the factors driving it are essential for effective water quality management in drinking wat...

Rivers are an important mediator between human activities and the natural environment. They provide multiple functions, including irrigation, transportation, food supply, recreation, and water supply. Therefore, evaluations of water quality and pollution sources are of great significance for ecological restoration and management of rivers. In this...

Thirteen mountain lakes, originally fishless, at 1325 and 2150 m a.s.l., with the maximum depths ranging from two to 15 m, and areas of 0.3 to 4.5 ha, were monitored between 1991 and 2012 in the Triglav National Park (Slovenia, Central Europe). The lakes are located on limestone bedrock, with no surface inflow or outflow. They range from ultra-olig...

Aim Climatic oscillations altered distributions through migration, extinction, adaptation or speciation. Their joint effect has been rarely studied. Here, we tested how Pleistocene climatic oscillations shaped the evolutionary history and distribution of a subterranean amphipod. We tested four predictions for extant populations: (i) populations of...

The number of freshwater species belonging to the genus Parastenocaris reported from ten countries of Southeast Asia is quite limited. Only two species have been reported so far from freshwater habitats there, compared to over 290 described species of the family Parastenocarididae worldwide. During the first study of the hyporheic zone of two small...

Two new copepod species from two caves in northeastern and southern Thailand are described. Elaphoidella isana sp. nov. and Schizopera paktaii sp. nov. were collected from the unsaturated zone of freshwater pools fed only by dripping water. They are closely related to E. intermedia Chappuis, 1931 and S. validior Sars, 1909, respectively. Elaphoidel...

Harpacticoids are an important component of meiofaunal assemblages in hyporheic zone. The goal of this study was to investigate distribution patterns of interstitial harpacticoid assemblages from four pre-Alpine streams originating in the Dinaric Karst and flowing into the Ljubljanica River. The sampling was conducted in 2002 at 12 locations distri...

In aquatic ecosystems, the biomass, activity and composition of microorganisms are determined to a large extent by local and regional environmental conditions. While karst aquifers are an important source for drinking water, the ecology of microbial communities in karst waters has hardly been studied. This study examined the regional variations and...

Multidisciplinary, natural history monograph of Vjetrenica cave, a biodiversity hot-spot of Dinaric Alps.

Interstitial water that occupies the pore spaces within unconsolidated sediments is a unique habitat, inhabited by surface as well as exclusively subterranean species (stygobionts). The best studied of all interstitial habitats is the hyporheic zone, an interface between surface water and groundwater (phreatic zone) environments. The Sava River in...

The Classical Karst (sensu stricto) represents a complex hydro-geomorphological unit as well as one of the best-known karstic systems in the world. For this reason, it was selected as a model area both for applied research and for the conservation of its highly diverse subterranean fauna. With this paper, we aim to provide an overview of groundwate...

Presenting author: Roman Ozimec

A preliminary molecular phylogenetic framework for 12 genera (23 species) of the family Parabathynellidae from Europe, Australia, North Africa and India is presented based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers (Cox1 and 18S). The generated hypothesis places the Southeast Asia genus Paraeobathynella closer to European genera (Iberobathynella, Paraibe...

Integrity of freshwater surface- and groundwater ecosystems and their ecological and qualitative status greatly depends on ecological processes taking place in streambed sediments overgrown by biofilm, in the hyporheic zone (HZ). Little is known about the interactions and effects of multiple stressors on biologically driven processes in the HZ. In...

Bathynella natans Vejdovsky, 1882, the first described Bathynellidae species, was found in a well in Prague. Its original description was short and incomplete, and the holotype was already damaged in 1899. The lack of type material resulted in the poor description of the type genus of the morphologically very homogeneous family. This troubled begin...

Two obligate cave-dwelling species of cyclopoid copepods (Copepoda, Cyclopoida) were discovered inside caves in central Thailand. Siamcyclops cavernicolus gen. et sp. nov. was recognised as a member of a new genus. It resembles Bryocyclops jankowskajae Monchenko, 1972 from Uzbekistan (part of the former USSR). It differs from it by (1) lack of poin...

The invertebrate fauna of the Ogof Draenen cave system in South Wales was investigated between 2012 and 2015. Fifty-nine sites were sampled within the cave, comprising 51 sites on vadose streams, four pools and four dripping avens. The main method employed in vadose streams was three minutes of "kick sampling" using an FBA pattern net. Pools and sm...

Bathynella natans Vejdovsky, 1882, the first described Bathynellidae species, was found in a well in Prague. Its original description was short and incomplete, and the holotype was already damaged in 1899. The lack of type material resulted in the poor description of the type genus of the morphologically very homogeneous family. This troubled begin...

Groundwater-dwelling Cladocera are to date known only from the caves and hyporheic zones of the rivers in Europe (Belgium, England, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia, Spain), Turkey (European part) and Arabian Peninsula (Yemen). All these animals belong to the subfamily Aloninae Dybowski & Grochowski of the family Chydoridae Dybow...

Karstodiaptomus sheni n. gen., n. sp. is a new stygobiotic species of Calanoida (Crustacea: Copepoda), described from a cave in Yunnan Province, China. It is the first record of stygobiotic calanoids from China and the fourth species from Asia. To accommodate the new species, a new genus, Karstodiaptomus n. gen., was erected. The new species is dis...

Elaphoidella paraaffinis sp. nov. and E. ligorae sp. nov. are described from Phra Kayang and Khao Plu caves respectively in southern Thailand. They both belong to Group I sensu Lang (1948). Elaphoidella paraaffinis and E. ligorae are similar to E. affinis Chappuis, 1933 and E. cabezasi Petkovski, 1982 respectively. Elaphoidella paraaffinis differs...

Water quality and quantity significantly affects the aquatic fauna in the epikarst and conversely can also reflect the hydrological environment. Intensive, long-term studies on hydrological and hydrochemical parameters were monitored at 4 permanent dripping sites (VP1-VP4) in the Velika Pasica Cave (Slovenian) over a period from 2006 to 2013 concur...

Floodplains are vital components of river ecosystems and play an important role in carbon cycling and storage at catchment and global scales. For efficient river management and conservation, it is critical to understand the functional role of spatiotemporally complex and dynamic habitat mosaics of river floodplains. Unfortunately, the fundamental u...

Nannodiaptomus phongnhaensis Dang & Ho, 2001, an endemic stygobiotic diaptomid from Vietnam and the type species of the genus Nannodiaptomus Dang & Ho, 2001, is redescribed on the basis of a new material from its type locality: Hang Phong Nha Cave, Quang Binh province, central Vietnam. We also designated a neotype, because the type material has bee...

In order to reveal the temperature variation mechanism of a small and relatively closed cave, the surface temperature, the cave air temperature and the drip water temperatures were monitored with high-resolution recorders for a 7-year period. The results indicated that the cave temperature is mainly affected by the external seasonal oscillations. T...

The latest results on epikarstic aquifer faunal research are briefly introduced here, and the relevant research remains rare in China. Epikarst is not only an essential part of karst formations, but also the most active zone of karstification, and it is also habitat for numerous ground aquifer fauna. The fractures in epikarst are highly heterogeneo...

Two new species of the genera Haplophallonella Serban and Coineau, 1975a and Racovitzaibathynella Serban and Coineau, 1994 are described from Africa. This is the first record of the members of the order Bathynellacea Chappuis, 1915 from Chad. Representatives of the genus Haplophallonella have hitherto been known only from the Ivory Coast type local...

Recession curves are widely used in hydrological studies and projects, such as in rivers, streams or springs. However, no cave drip water has been analysed with recession curves. In this paper, four cave drips were monitored in the Velika Pasica Cave, in order to discover the water flow and storage properties of the epikarst. Various methods were a...

Specimens of a new species, Elaphoidella sanoamuangae n. sp., were collected during an investigation of cave-dwelling copepods in a tourist cave in the Phuket mountain range, South Thailand, and the new species is described and depicted herein. Elaphoidella sanoamuangae n. sp. fits into Elaphoidella group VII sensu Lang (1948). The new species is m...

The fauna in the hyporheic zones of rivers has been relatively well studied but that from the phreatic zone remains comparatively unknown and there are few investigations into deeper intergranular aquifers (over 30 m in depth) due to technical difficulties. Two shallow boreholes of 29 m depth and two deep boreholes of 100 m depth, both near Ljublja...

Metabolic potential and respiration rate have been measured in the early life stages of native marble trout Salmo marmoratus (MT), introduced brown trout Salmo trutta (BT) and their hybrids (MH = female of MT 9 male of BT and BH = female of BT 9 male of MT) to examine the differences in their metabolic characteristics. Metabolic potential and respi...

27.5 x 20.3 cm, 110 p.; Slovene/English language Research of terrestrial fauna since 1853; research of aquatic fauna living in the epikarst since 2000; description of new copepod species; long-term ecological/hydrological/meteorological observations in small epikarst cave (length of coridors: 105 m; distance from surface: 4-10 m; altitude of entran...

Bryocyclops maholarnensis, new species, is a stygobiotic copepod found in four caves in northeastern Thailand. It is described and figured hereafter. The new species shares some characteristics with those of species from the Group II sensu Lindberg (1954). However, it stands out by having the following distinctive features: no modified spine in the...

Groundwater in karst regions is important source of drinking water, especially in Slovenia, where karst covers nearly half of the country. For that reason sanitary monitoring of drinking water is performed regularly on springs that are used for drinking water supply. However, only the presence of pathogenic bacteria, namely E. coli and coliform bac...

Leta 1924 je bilo v Dolini Triglavskih jezer vzpostavljeno zavarovano območje. Danes je del srednjega dela obsežnejšega Triglavskega narodnegaparka. Dolini daje jo poseben pečat jezera, izstopa pa tudi po drugih naravnih posebnostih. V okviru nežive narave so predstavljene nekatere njene geološke, reliefne in vodne značilnosti, v okviru žive narave...

Between 4^th and 18^th March 2014, an international group of biologists carried out a hydrobiological expedition to the Ounianga-Tibesti area of northern Chad (Africa). The Tibesti is a desert volcanic area, intersected by the beds of ancient rivers which were active in the Tertiary. In deep canyons there are small water bodies...

Maraenobiotus slovenicus sp. nov. is described from subterranean waters of a very cold, temporary karstic spring in the vicinity of Velika Pasica cave, central Slovenia. A detailed examination of numerous specimens reveals a low level of morphological variability in this population. Morphological characters traditionally used in the genus Maraenobi...

The Channel Islands are a small archipelago of British dependencies just off the coast of Normandy at the western end of the English Channel. There were only three records for stygobitic Crustacea [Niphargus fontanus Bate, 1859 and N. kochianus Bate, 1859 from Jersey and N. aquilex Schiodte, 1855 from Guernsey] from the archipelago and no systemati...

Climate change may result in future alterations in thermal regime which could markedly affect the early developmental stages of cold water fish due to their expected high sensitivity to increasing temperature. In the present study, the effect of temperature increase of 2, 4 and 6 °C on the oxygen consumption rate (R), the activity of respiratory el...

The size and composition of fish eggs are related to female’s characteristics, such as age, size and individual conditions, and they have an impact on the properties of offspring that are important for their fitness. Electron transport system (ETS) activity and respiration rate (R) of early life history stages (i.e. non-fertilized eggs, eggs at eye...

Elaphoidella thailandensis sp. nov. and E. jaesornensis sp. nov., collected during an investigation of cave-dwelling copepod fauna in the northern part of Thailand, are described and figured herein. The new species were collected from pools filled by percolating water from the unsaturated zone of a karstic aquifer in Phitsanulok and Lampang Provinc...

Groundwater invertebrate drift, collected from the spring outlets at the interface of vadose and phreatic zones, has been examined for its potential for identifying sources of discharge from a karst aquifer. Concurrently, major ion geochemistry, dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13CDIC), particulate organic carbon (δ13CPOC), and naturally occurring stab...

The always increasing demand for good quality freshwater has ancient roots, and when the resource to be protect is a transboundary aquifer, the challenge is quite high, as the case of Classical Karst Reka/Timavo aquifer system, a shared aquifer between Italy and Slovenia. The importance of this water resource depends from the use of the resource it...

A more accurate interpretation of data is required in order to understand the processes of hydrological movement and hydrochemical variation of epikarst water flow. A drip, VP1, from the Velika Pasica Cave (Central Slovenia) was studied during a period which occurred at the end of a long wet, cold winter. The sources for the percolation water in th...

Epikarst harbours a rich fauna of obligate subterranean-dwelling aquatic species, i.e., stygobionts, especially among the Copepoda. Since May 2006 till February 2013, 80 sample sets were collected and twelve aquatic species (predominantly stygobionts) were found from four permanent drip sites in the Velika Pasica Cave, Central Slovenia. The abundan...

Data on temperature and water discharge from four permanent drips (VP1-VP4) were logged since June 2006 at one hour intervals within the Velika Pasica Cave, located in central Slovenia south of Ljubljana. In order to clarify the hydrochemical response of drip water to the water supplement regime, Drips VP1 and VP2 were selected for detailed analyse...

We describe two new species of the genus Fierscyclops Karanovic, 2004, F. tanaosriensis n. sp. and F. solaris n. sp. from western Thailand, which are also the first records of this genus in Southeast (SE) Asia (and also Asia). The two new species share several characters such as: i) presence of lateral sensillum on the caudal ramus in both females...

Groundwater fauna consists of organisms that are adapted to live their whole life-time in different types of groundwater (=aquifers): with fissured (karstic) and porous (alluvium) types as the most common. About 3800 species of obligate groundwater species (stygobionts) have been recorded worldwide and 2000 of them from groundwater in Europe. Befor...

Microcrustacean (Copepoda, Ostracoda) assemblages were investigated at the interface of the vadose and phreatic zones in the alpine karstic aquifer from the Julian Alps in Slovenia (SE Europe). Two temporary and one perennial karstic outlets were sampled by filtering the water several times over 2 years. Concurrently, benthos from the mouth of a pe...

The precipitation, surface air temperature, the cave air and the cave drip water temperatures were monitored over two years in order to interpret the cave climate in a shallow karstic cave located in central Slovenia. The cave temperature is controlled by the external climate, due to seasonal oscillations. The temperature curve of inner cave area w...

Whether electron transport system (ETS) activity could be used as an estimator of crayfish thermal tolerance has been investigated experimentally. Food consumption rate, respiration rates in the air and water, the difference between energy consumption and respiration costs at a given temperature (‘potential growth scope', PGS), and ETS activity of...

The Velika Pasica Cave is a small cave located south of Ljubljana (Slovenia). Within the cave, there are four permanent drips from which data on temperature (water & air) and water discharge (percolation) has been collected by a data logger at one-hour intervals since June 2006. According to the hydrological profile of each drip, only VP1’s hydroch...

Copepod diversity in southern European groundwater at different spatial scales was examined to evaluate the scale effect on α-, β- and γ-diversity across four regions. A total of 94 stygobiotic species were identified. permanova demonstrated that regional scale accounted for 47% of total variation for β-diversity. The aquifer scale was a significan...