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Lauterbornia 84:103-107, D-86424 Dinkelscherben, 2017-12-15
Experimental hatching of resting eggs of large Branchiopoda from
temporary ponds in the steppe Biosphere Reserve "Askania Nova"
(Ukraine)
Mikhail O. Son, Alexander V. Koshelev, Igor K. Polishchuk and Vitaliy P. Dumenko
With 3 figures
Keywords: Streptocephalus, Branchipus, Leptestheria, Limnadia, Cyzicus, Lepidurus, Triops, Branchiopoda,
Crustacea, Ukraine, temporary pond, steppe, egg, hatching, incubation
Schlagwörter: Streptocephalus, Branchipus, Leptestheria, Limnadia, Cyzicus, Lepidurus, Triops, Branchiopoda,
Crustacea, Ukraine, Temporärgewässer, Steppe, Ei, Brut, Inkubation
In the most famous Great Chapli Depression of the Ukraine under protection within the Biosphere Reserve
"Askania Nova", seven species of large Branchiopoda were recorded (Streptocephalus torvicornis, Branchipus
schaefferi, Leptestheria dahalacensis, Limnadia lenticularis, Cyzicus tetracerus, Lepidurus apus, Triops cancri-
formis) by means of incubating and hatching resting eggs, inventorying old collections taking pictures and
filming. These species of the Ukrainian fauna are rare and little studied.
1 Introduction
Branchiopoda are an archaic group of invertebrates widespread in temporary ponds. They
rely on the stock of resting eggs (egg banks) that can remain viable for decades or possibly
centuries without re-hydration (Brendonck et al. 2008). Such latent periods of the life cycle
lead to the fact that large Branchiopoda species are the least studied group of aquatic
macroinvertebrates. Localities with Branchiopoda can be repeatedly studied with traditional
monitoring methods, but that can not reveal the presence at rest stage (Martin et al. 2016).
In Ukraine, the most of large Branchiopoda are only known from one or two records.
At the same time, these are precisely the species, which are adapted to drought and con-
tribute to the diversity of ephemeral freshwater and brackishwater communities in the step-
pe zone. At present, the most of European steppe landscapes are destroyed due to agricultu-
ral activity, aquatic ecosystems specific for this zone (temporary rivers and ponds) remain
little studied. Studies of a few steppe water bodies still existing in their natural state show
that they are inhabited by original faunal complexes including rare and relic species (Vinars-
ky et al. 2010, Kovalenko & Utevsky 2012).
However, with the exception of insects, aquatic invertebrates of the most interesting ori-
ginal water bodies of the steppe zone, “pods” or “steppe saucers”, have never been studied.
In large depressions of flat steppe melt water accumulates from a vast area in case of a coin-
cidence of many weather factors. Such flood waters can form huge temporary ponds in the
centre of a depression, but in dry periods (usually 5-10 years) no ponds appear, except for
rain puddles (Fig. 1). This distinguishes them from lowlands with a high level of groundwa-
ter, where conditions of steppe ponds are less extreme, such as Horila Dolyna, Kharkiv Re-
gion (Kovalenko & Utevsky 2012).
The most famous large steppe depression of the Ukraine is located in an undisturbed
territory , Great Chapli Depression (Bolshoy Chapelskiy Pod, Velykyj Chapelskyj Pid) and
is protected within the Biosphere Reserve “Askania Nova” and included to “Ramsar sites”
designated as “Wetlands of International Importance”. Aquatic invertebrates of this water
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body have not been studied before. Photographs and video recordings show the presence of
large Branchiopoda species during the late flooding in 2010 (Fig. 2).
Studying the biodiversity of this locality, we used experimental hatching of resting eggs
of Branchiopoda from the surface layer of soil sampled in dry stage of this ecosystem.
Fig. 1: Dry (A) and submerged (B) stages of the Great Chapli Depression in 2015 and in 2010
Fig. 2: Large Branchiopoda from the Great Chapli Depression during the last flooding in 2010
A: Triops cancriformis (Bosc, 1803), B: Cyzicus tetracerus (Krynicki, 1830)
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2 Methods
Was used authoring algorithm developed by A.V. Koshelev that includes:
(1) sampling of resting eggs in places of their accumulation, with surface layer of the soil;
(2) washing the selected soil sample through a set of laboratory sieves to concentrate resting
stages (in the field);
(3) activation of resting eggs by means of short-term freezing in a refrigerating chamber (24
hours);
(4) exposure of resting eggs in distilled water under conditions of round-the-clock illumina-
Сtion at a temperature of 20-25 ° .
At these conditions, experimental hatching occurs within 1-3 days. After that, organisms are
grown to stages used for identification. At the stage of sampling, large Daphnia ephippia visi-
ble to the naked eye can serve as indicators of an egg bank with different resting eggs (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3: Large Daphnia ephippia on a surface layer of the soil
We used samples from three different steppe localities: Great Chapli Depression (46°29'01;
N 33°51'10 E), artificial pond (46°27'45 N; 33°51'33 E) and the dry bottom of a small
steppe pool (46°27'28 N 34°06'33 E), but large Branchiopoda were obtained only from the
first locality. Also we examined I. K. Polishchuk`s collections and photo and video
materials made during the previous flooding of the Great Chapli Depression in 2010.
3 Results
Seven species of large Branchiopoda were collected in the Great Chapli Depression: Strep-
tocephalus torvicornis (Waga, 1842), Branchipus schaefferi Fischer, 1834, Leptestheria daha-
lacensis (Rüppel, 1837), Limnadia lenticularis (Linne, 1761), Cyzicus tetracerus (Krynicki,
1830), Lepidurus apus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Triops cancriformis (Bosc, 1803).
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Four species (S. torvicornis, B. schaefferi, L. dahalacensis, L. lenticularis) were obtained
using experimental hatching. Cyzicus tetracerus, L. apus and T. cancriformis were photo-
graphed and and filmed in 2010 during the previous flooding of the Great Chapli Depres-
sion. Both L. apus and T. cancriformis were also repeatedly observed in diverse small pools
in the surrounding area.
Additionally, C. tetracerus and L. dahalacensis were present in another nearby pond, the
Small Chapli Depression (near the village of Krestovka, 15.06.1985; coll. I. K. Polishchuk).
Now, this depression, which is situated outside the reserve, is totally transformed into an
agricultural land.
Both species of Notostraca found, L. apus and T. cancriformis, occur sporadic but
widespread in Ukraine. Unlike them, all Anostraca and Spinicaudata species are rare and
threatened. Branchipus schaefferi has been known in Ukraine only from the Crimean Pen-
insula (Samchyshyna & Turbanov 2008). Another Anostraca species, S. torvicornis, is more
widespread, but its occurrence in Ukraine is not properly studied. Within the last decades
its presence in active stage were reliably confirmed only for one locality in eastern Ukraine
ікі(S dorovs y 2011), but communications by amateur scientists and experimental hatching
show that it is present in many localities of the steppe zone in Ukraine (unpublished data).
Cyzicus tetracerus is the only Spinicaudata species that has been repeatedly recorded in Uk-
raine (Shkorbatov 1950, Brtek & Thiery 1995, Sidorovsky 2014), but it has never been re-
corded from the steppe zone. Leptestheria lenticularis is a rare species in Eastern Europe
(Brtek & Thiery 1995) and has been recorded, only for two localities in the steppe zone:
temporary ponds in Odessa (Okul 1937) and an artificial fishery pond near the Dnieper
Delta (Dobrynina 2010).
4 Discussion
The results show that the Great Chapli Depression is a very few known area with diverse
communities of large Branchiopoda in Ukraine. As already noted, this area is well preserved
in comparison with other steppe areas. On the other hand, the Biosphere Reserve "Askania
Nova" is one from the largest protected natural territories important for many waterfowl
species migration routes that pass along the northern shores of the Black Sea and Azov Sea
(Havrylenko 2000). Large Branchiopoda inhabiting temporary ponds have developed di-
verse passive strategies to pass the barrier of the surrounding land such as dispersal of rest-
ing eggs by migrating birds (Rogers 2014, Incagnone et al. 2015). This locality may be fa-
vorable for large Branchiopoda both with respect to the survival of old populations and
introductions of new species. Perhaps the massive use of experimental hatching for steppe
sites will help to distinguish between these two possibilities.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Dr. N. I. Yasinetskaya for organization of joint expeditionary research and B. G. Linet-
skiy for field assistance. We gratefully acknowledge the valuable comments and suggestions of Dr. S. Y. Utevsky.
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Adresses of the authors
Dr. Mikhail O. Son, Institute of Marine Biology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Pushkinskaya Str. 37,
Odessa 65011, Ukraine, E-mail: michail.son@gmail.com
Dr. Alexander V. Koshelev, Institute of Marine Biology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Pushkinskaya
Str. 37, Odessa 65011, Ukraine, E-mail: koshelev2006@ukr.net
Igor K. Polishchuk, Falz-Fein Biosphere Reserve "Askania Nova", National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of
Ukraine, с Parkovaya 15, As ania Nova, Chaplynka district, Kherson region, Ukraine, 75230, Ukraine, E-mail:
polishchukigor@rambler.ru
Vitaliy P. Dumenko, Falz-Fein Biosphere Reserve "Askania Nova", National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of
Ukraine, сParkovaya 15, As ania Nova, Chaplynka district, Kherson region, Ukraine, 75230, Ukraine, E-mail:
wolf-st@rambler.ru
Received: 2017-04-08
Accepted: 2017-05-09
