Michal Grabowski

University of Lodz · Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology

The Ponto-Caspian region is an endemicity hotspot that harbours several crustacean radiations, among which amphipods are the most diverse. These poorly known species are severely threatened in their native range, while at the same time they are invading European inland waters with significant ecological consequences. A proper taxonomic knowledge of...

Amphipods have diversified greatly in the Ponto-Caspian region. Although many of these species are prominent invaders their systematics remains unclear. Taking an integrative approach, we investigate the taxonomy of Trichogammarus trichiatus, a widespread invader in European inland waters. It was initially described from the northeastern Black Sea...

Aims: The main aim of this study was to fill a significant gap in Chironomidae barcoding in the Balkan region, developing and testing for the efficiency of a reference DNA barcode library for Chironomidae from the ancient Skadar Lake basin Montenegro/Albania), a European area never interested in barcoding studies on Chironomidae before. Moreover,...

DNA barcoding represents a handy tool for species identification. In addition, it serves as a complementary approach that improves the characterisation of evolutionary lineages and facilitates the detection of potentially undescribed and cryptic species. Based on the case study in the Western Carpathians, which belong to the Carpathian biodiversity...

Transition to novel environments, such as groundwater colonization by surface organisms, provides an excellent research ground to study phenotypic evolution. However, interspecific comparative studies on evolution to groundwater life are few because of the challenge in assembling large ecological and molecular resources for species‐rich taxa compri...

Introduction: Post-glacial climate variation is known to have influenced the distribution of marine species in the North Atlantic. In particular, the Atlantic side of the Arctic has experienced strong fluctuations in both atmospheric and sea surface temperature, as well as seasonal ice coverage since the last glacial maximum (LGM). Here, we aim to...

We provide an overview of the World Amphipoda Database (WAD), a global species database that is part of the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Launched in 2013, the database contains entries for over 10,500 accepted species names. Edited currently by 31 amphipod taxonomists, following WoRMS priorities, the WAD has at least one editor per maj...

The study focuses on the pristine rivers of the Biebrza National Park (BNP), an extensive area of wetlands, which holds significant biodiversity importance on a European scale. The aim of this work was to identify the taxonomic resources of the river network of this area and to compare the biodiversity of various aquatic organisms, and moreover, ev...

Standardized terminology in science is important for clarity of interpretation and communication. In invasion science — a dynamic and quickly evolving discipline — the rapid proliferation of technical terminology has lacked a standardized framework for its language development. The result is a convoluted and inconsistent usage of terminology, with...

The microsporidian genus Nosema is primarily known to infect insects of economic importance stimulating high research interest, while other hosts remain understudied. Nosema granulosis is one of the formally described Nosema species infecting amphipod crustaceans, being known to infect only two host species. Our first aim was to characterize Nosema...

Lake Skadar with its surrounding springs, wetlands and larger affluents is among the most diverse freshwater ecosystems in the Mediterranean region and a key biodiversity/ende-mism hotspot in Europe. It is also highly endangered due to climate change and rapid tourism development in the area. Being abundant, diverse and mostly predatory, true aquat...

Lake Skadar with its surrounding springs, wetlands and larger affluents is among the most diverse freshwater ecosystems in the Mediterranean region and a key biodiversity/endemism hotspot in Europe. It is also highly endangered due to climate change and rapid tourism development in the area. Being abundant, diverse and mostly predatory, true aquati...

Non-indigenous species (NIS) contribute to the decrease of native species’ diversity on a local and global scale. One of Europe's most significant donors of freshwater invasions is the Ponto-Caspian region. Following the construction of artificial canals connecting isolated water bodies and resulting heavy boat traffic, the Ponto-Caspian Amphipoda...

The advent of genetic methods has led to the discovery of an increasing number of species that previously could not be distinguished from each other on basis of morphological characteristics. Even though we observe an exponential growth of publications on cryptic species, cryptic species are rarely considered in ecotoxicology. Thus, particularly th...

The exceptional diversity of freshwater fauna of the Mediterranean Basin currently faces a crisis in which climate change combined with overexploitation of freshwaters heavily threatens the local fauna. In this context, it is urgent to define conservation priorities on how to best protect freshwater biodiversity. One of the main limits to define su...

Aim A detailed, comparative DNA-barcoding and morphospecies based overview of the vertical and horizontal distribution of Lake Ohrid endemic Gammarus species-flock. Re-evaluation of the origin of the species-flock dating, identification of events that putatively influenced diversification patterns in the species-flock. Location Lake Ohrid: a deep a...

Ctenolepisma calvum was first described in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in 1910, and this island is probably the origin of this species. Later, it was also found in the Caribbean (Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago). Up until the present, it has only been identified within buildings (a synanthropic species), and its natural habitat is unknown. In 2007, it was disc...

Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) are among the oldest pterygote insects, with the earliest fossils dating back to the Late Carboniferous. Within mayflies, Leptophlebiidae are a highly diverse and widespread group, with approximately 140 genera and 640 species. Whereas taxonomy, systematics, and phylogeny of extant Leptophlebiidae are in the focus of extens...

Here, we conducted a molecular survey on microsporidian diversity in different lineages (operational taxonomic units = OTUs) of Asellus aquaticus from 30 sites throughout Europe. Host body length was determined prior to dissection and removal of the intestine. DNA was extracted from the remaining host tissue and amplified by microsporidian-specific...

The Ponto-Caspian region is an endemicity hotspot that harbors several crustacean radiations, among which amphipods are the most diverse. These poorly known species are severely threatened in their native range, while at the same time they are invading European inland waters with significant ecological consequences. A proper taxonomic knowledge of...

Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) are among the oldest pterygote insects, with the earliest fossils dating back to the Late Carboniferous. Within mayflies, Leptophlebiidae are a highly diverse and widespread group, with approximately 140 genera and 640 species. Whereas taxonomy, systematics, and phylogeny of extant Leptophlebiidae are in the focus of extens...

In the present study, benefiting of faunistic information acquired from individuals collected during 2014 and 2015, in association with physical-chemical conditions of the collecting sites, the environmental factors influencing the composition and distribution of chironomid assemblages were investigated. In total, 164 Chironomidae taxa reported in...

The Ponto-Caspian amphipod Dikerogammarus bispinosus Martynov, 1925 was originally described from the Black Sea basin. Its recent discovery in the Caspian Sea basin was puzzling because it was unknown whether it was an invasive or an overlooked native species in this area. Here, we examined specimens collected from both the Black and Caspian Sea ba...

The region of the Western Carpathians is, among other aspects, very important for the survival and diversity of European freshwater fauna due to the presence of a large number of (sub)mountain springs and streams. However, these ecologically and faunistically diversified habitats are still understudied in the context of the genetic diversity and po...

BOLD dataset analysed in article: BOZÁŇOVÁ, J., ČIAMPOR, F., MAMOS, T., GRABOWSKI, M. & ČIAMPOROVÁ-ZAŤOVIČOVÁ, Z. 2021. DNA barcodes evidence the contact zone of eastern and western caddisfly lineages in the Western Carpathians. Scientific Reports 11: 24020, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-03411-8.

The Carpathians are one of the key biodiversity hotspots in Europe. The mountain chain uplifted during Alpine orogenesis and is characterised by a complex geological history. Its current biodiversity was highly influenced by Pleistocene glaciations. The goal of the current study was to examine the phylogenetic and demographic history of Gammarus ba...

The Ponto-Caspian region is the main donor of invasive amphipods to freshwater ecosystems, with at least 13 species successfully established in European inland waters. Dikerogammarus spp. and Pontogammarus robustoides are among the most successful, due to their strong invasive impact on local biota. However, genomic knowledge about these invaders i...

Rivers are one of the most commonly transformed aquatic ecosystems. Most papers present significantly negative effects of activities such as dredging or channel regulation on the ecological status of rivers. The purpose of this work was to compare the response of various groups of invertebrates (Mollusca, Hydrachnidia, Odonata, Heteroptera, Coleopt...

The Mediterranean Region is a biodiversity/endemism hotspot whose freshwater fauna remains largely unexplored. Our integrative study challenges the taxonomic status of two freshwater palaemonid shrimps, Palaemon antennarius and Palaemon minos. Three molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) were defined based on 352 cytochrome oxidase subunit I...

European mountains are important areas regarding biodiversity of the continent, and they also harbour diverse freshwater fauna, which is critically endangered in terms of the current species extinction. However, sufficient knowledge of this valuable part of European biota is no longer possible without molecular data. This study focuses on the genet...

The Carpathians are one of the key biodiversity hotspots in Europe. The mountain chain uplifted during Alpine orogenesis and is characterised by a complex geological history. Its current biodiversity was highly influenced by Pleistocene glaciations. The goal of the current study was to examine the phylogenetic and demographic history of Gammarus ba...

The Carpathians are one of the key biodiversity hotspots in Europe. The mountain chain uplifted during Alpine orogenesis and is characterised by a complex geological history. Its current biodiversity was highly influenced by Pleistocene glaciations. The goal of the current study was to examine the phylogenetic and demographic history of Gammarus ba...

Background. Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) are important components in biomonitoring due to their amphibiotic lifecycle and specific habitat requirements. They are charismatic and popular insects, but can be challenging to identify despite large size and often distinct coloration, especially the immature stages. DNA-based assessment tools re...

Barcoding and population genetics of caddishly Rhyacophila tristis from Western Carpathians

Lake Ohrid, located on the Balkan Peninsula at the Albanian-Macedonian border, is the oldest European lake (1.3-1.9 My old) and one of the world’s smallest ancient lakes. Taking into account the size of the lake and its biodiversity, it harbors the highest level of endemism, especially within amphipod crustaceans (ca. 90%) with the endemic Gammarus...

We present the first results of the study aiming to investigate the diversity of the non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) fauna of the Skadar Lake system (Montenegro and Albania), a well-known hotspot of freshwater biodiversity composed by the young lake Skadar (originated 1200 before present) and by its old system of springs (originated durin...

In the present study, we developed and evaluated the first reference barcode library for non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) as flagship taxa of freshwater ecology from Skadar Lake system (Montenegro and Albania), a well-known hotspot of freshwater biodiversity composed by the young lake Skadar (originated 1200 before present) and by its old...

The freshwater ecosystems in the Republic of North Macedonia are considered as biodiversity hotspot on the European level since they provide diverse habitats that correspond with the complex of ecological preferences that many species require. This specially applies to the freshwater crustaceans that, unfortunately, have never been in the focus of...

DNA barcoding has proven to be an essential tool in providing molecular tags for animal species. In addition, the value of DNA barcoding undoubtedly consists in giving information about intraspecific genetic diversity, which is of great importance for biodiversity monitoring and conservation assessments. Such data are especially valuable in case of...

Although the Mediterranean Region is known as a hotspot for biodiversity and endemism its freshwater fauna is still greatly unexplored, and even the emblematic taxa such as decapods require in-depth integrative investigation. In our research we used integrative approach composed of various geometric morphometric and molecular methods to challenge t...

We present the results of the first-ever DNA barcoding study of odonates from the Maltese Islands. In total, ten morphologically identified species were collected during a two-week long expedition in 2018. Eighty cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcodes were obtained from the collected specimens. Intra- and interspecific distances ranged from...

The Atlantification of the European Arctic has been an increasingly discussed topic in polar science over the past two decades. The alteration of local marine ecosystems towards a more temperate state and the appearance/range expansion of subarctic-boreal species at higher latitudes is a complex phenomenon induced mainly by the changing properties...

Parasites and other symbionts deeply influence host organisms, and no living organism can be considered to have evolved independent of its symbionts. The first step towards understanding symbiotic influences upon host organisms is a strong supporting knowledge of parasite/symbiont diversity. Parasites of freshwater amphipods are diverse, with Micro...

Our main aim was to investigate the diversity, origin and biogeographical affiliations of the freshwater gammarids inhabiting the Aegean Islands by analysing their mtDNA and nDNA polymorphism, thereby providing the first insight into the phylogeography of the Aegean freshwater gammarid fauna. The study material was collected from Samothraki, Lesbos...

Background: Although the processes of co-evolution between parasites and their hosts are well known, evidence of co-speciation remains scarce. Microsporidian intracellular parasites, due to intimate relationships with their hosts and mixed mode of transmission (horizontal but also vertical, from mother to offspring), may represent an interesting bi...

Gammarus roeselii Gervais, 1835 is a morphospecies with a wide distribution range in Europe. The Balkan Peninsula is known as an area of pre-Pleistocene cryptic diversification within this taxon, resulting in at least 13 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs). The morphospecies diversified there during Neogene and has probably invaded other...

The Western Carpathians are a particularly interesting part of the Carpathian Arc. According to recent molecular data upon aquatic and terrestrial taxa, this mountain area is an important biodiversity hotspot of Europe. Moreover, the W Carpathians include rich systems of karst springs inhabited by specific fauna, where molecular diversity and phylo...

Traditional morphological diagnoses of taxonomic status remain widely used while an increasing number of studies shows that one morphospecies might hide cryptic diversity, i.e. lineages with unexpectedly high molecular divergence. This hidden diversity can reach even tens of lineages, i.e. hyper cryptic diversity. Even well-studied model-organisms...

BOLD dataset analysed in article: BOZÁŇOVÁ, J., ČIAMPOROVÁ-ZAŤOVIČOVÁ, Z., ČIAMPOR JR, F., MAMOS, T. & GRABOWSKI, M. 2020. The tale of springs and streams: how different aquatic ecosystems impacted the mtDNA population structure of two riffle beetles in the Western Carpathians. PeerJ 8:e10039 http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10039.

BOLD dataset analysed in article: BOZÁŇOVÁ, J., ČIAMPOROVÁ-ZAŤOVIČOVÁ, Z., ČIAMPOR JR, F., MAMOS, T. & GRABOWSKI, M. 2020. The tale of springs and streams: how different aquatic ecosystems impacted the mtDNA population structure of two riffle beetles in the Western Carpathians. PeerJ 8:e10039 http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10039.

In comparison to Central Europe, the knowledge about water mites inhabiting the natural lakes of southern Europe is scarce. This is a first study focusing on the water mite species composition and zonation in a large Mediterranean lake, i.e. ancient Lake Skadar basin, and identifying the role of physical and chemical water parameters in their distr...

The aim of our study was to provide a first overview of the population genetic structure of the invasive Chinese sleeper, Perccottus glenii, (Actinopterygii: Odontobutidae) in European water bodies. This species originates from inland waters of north-eastern China, northern North Korea and the Russian Far East. The 1172 bp long portion of the cytoc...

The region of the Black, Caspian, and Azov seas are known both as (i) the place of extensive crustacean radiation dated to the times of Paratethys and Sarmatian basins, and (ii) present donor of alien and invasive taxa to many areas worldwide. One amphipod morphospecies, Dikerogammarus haemobaphes, is known both as native to rivers draining to the...

Since the mid- 20th century we have been living in a new geological epoch, Anthropocene, characterized by an overwhelming impact of human activity on the Earth’s ecosystems, leading to mass species extinction by habitat destruction, pollution, global climate warming, and homogenization of biota by intra- and intercontinental transfer of species. Cr...

Until the 2000s, faunal exchange between endemic faunas of the Caspian Sea basin and the Azov-Black Sea (aka Pontic) basin was asymmetrical, with fauna heading towards the Volga Delta and Caspian Sea from or via the Black and Azov Seas and little exchange in the opposite direction. This study is based on a hydrobiological survey of the Don River Ba...

Cryptorchestia garbinii Ruffo, Tarocco and Latella, 2014 (Amphipoda: Talitridae), a semiterrestrial amphipod, reported (as Orchestia cavimana Heller, 1865) from the Polish inland waters, e. g., the lowermost Vistula River, for the first time in 2009. Now, we have reported this species from the upper Oder River, which is c.a. 350 km SE from the clos...

The severe climatic changes during the Pleistocene ice ages have shaped the genetic structure and distribution of biota in Europe. We aimed to reveal in detail the genetic diversity, geographical population structure, historical and present demography, migration patterns, and the presence of possible glacial refugia within the nominative subspecies...