Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Patterns in the distribution of Arctic freshwater zooplankton related to glaciation history

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Polar Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We analysed circumpolar samples from 68 lakes within the 10°C-July isotherm from Arctic Canada, Nunavut, Greenland, Svalbard, Eastern Siberia, the Beringia region, and Alaska. In total, we found 3 species of Anostraca, 17 of Diplostraca, 1 species of cyclopoid and 14 species of calanoid copepods. Our study identifies a wider distribution for some copepods—e.g. Eurytemora pacifica, Leptodiaptomus sicilis, Arctodiaptomus novosibiricus, Cyclops abyssorum—than previously known. Moreover, one anostracan species, Artemiopsis bungei, was recorded in North America for the first time; and one chydoriid, Chydorus gibbus, is a new species for Greenland. We observed that species richness of crustaceans is lower in lakes that were glaciated during the Quaternary period, compared to those not glaciated (e.g. Chukotski Peninsula, Siberia; Point Barrow, Alaska; and Disko Island, Greenland). This confirms the findings of classic studies: glaciation has strongly affected the biogeography of freshwater crustaceans in circumpolar areas.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abramova EN, Sokolova VA (1999) On findings and life cycle of Limnocalanus johanseni Marsh, 1920 (Copepoda, Calanoida) over the Lena River Delta (in Russian). Zool Zhurnal 78:1360–1363

    Google Scholar 

  • Andersson T, Forman SL, Ingólfsson O, Manley WF (2000) Stratigraphic and morphologic constraints on the Weichselian glacial history of Northern Prins Karls Forland, Western Svalbard. Geogr Ann Ser A Phys Geogr 82:455–470

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anisimov MA et al (2002) On the environmental changes of the Novosibirskiye Islands in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene (in Russian). Izv RGO 134:32–37

    Google Scholar 

  • Antonsson U (1992) The structure and function of zooplankton in Thingvallavatn Iceland. Oikos 64:188–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belk D, Brtek J (1995) Checklist of the Anostraca. Hydrobiologia 298:315–353

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennike O (2000) Colonisation of Greenland by plants and animals after the last ice age: a review. Polar Rec 195:323–336

    Google Scholar 

  • Bij de Vaate A et al (2002) Geographical patterns in range extension of Ponto-Caspian macroinvertebrate species in Europe. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 59:1159–1174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borutsky EV et al (1991) Key to Freshwater Calanoida of the USSR. Opredelitel Calanoida Presnykh Vod SSSR. Nauka, Sankt Petersburg (in Russian)

  • Brodsky KA (1950) Calanoida of the far eastern seas and polar basin of the U.S·S.R. Opredeliteli po Faune SSSR. Nauka, Leningrad (in Russian)

  • Brooks JL (1959) Cladocera. In: Edmonson WT (ed) Freshwater biology. Wiley, New York, pp 587–656

    Google Scholar 

  • Brtek J, Mura G (2000) Revised key to families and genera of the Anostraca with notes on their geographical distribution. Crustaceana 73:1037–1088

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christoffersen K et al (2005) Plankton investigations in lakes at southern Disko. In: Andersen AM et al (eds) Arctic biology field course. University of Copenhagen, Qeqertarsuaq, pp 124–129

  • Cunningham FF (1990) James David forbes: pioneer Scottish glaciologist. Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh

    Google Scholar 

  • Dexter RW (1959) Anostraca. In: Edmonson WT (ed) Freshwater biology. Wiley, New York, pp 558–586

    Google Scholar 

  • Einsle U (1993) Crustacea: Copepoda: Calanoida und Cyclopoida. Süsswasserfauna von Mitteleuropa. Band 8/4. Gustav Fisher Verlag. (in German)

  • Elgmork K, Halvorsen G (1971) Reidentifications of a freshwater, planktonic cyclopoid (Copepoda, Crustacea) from Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Norw J Zool 19:267–274

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon DG (1997) A key to cladocerans (Crustacea) of British Columbia: Families Daphniidae, Sididae, Bosminidae, Holopediidae Leptodoridae and Polyphemidae. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria

    Google Scholar 

  • Gyllström M, Hansson LA (2004) Dormancy in freshwater zooplankton: induction, termination and the importance of benthic-pelagic coupling. Aquat Sci 66:274–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hairston NG Jr et al (1995) Age and survivorship of diapausing eggs in a sediment egg bank. Ecology 76:1706–1711

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halvorsen G, Gullestad N (1976) Fresh water Crustacea in some areas of Svalbard, Norway. Arch Hydrobiol 78:383–395

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansson L-A (2000) Induced pigmentation in zooplankton: a trade-off between threats from predation and ultraviolet radiation. Proc R Soc Lond B 267:2327–2331

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hansson L-A (2004) Plasticity in pigmentation induced by conflicting threats from predation and UV radiation. Ecology 85:1005–1016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansson L-A et al (2007) Escape from UV threats in zooplankton: a cocktail of behavioral and phenotypic traits. Ecology 88:1932–1939

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hebert PDN, Hann BJ (1986) Patterns in the composition of Arctic tundra pond microcrustacean communities. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 43:1416–1425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heron GA (1964) Seven species of Eurytemora (Copepoda) from Northwestern North America. Crustaceana 7:199–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hewitt G (1999) Post-glacial re-colonization of European biota. Biol J Linn Soc 68:87–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hewitt G (2000) The genetic legacy of the Quaternary ice ages. Nature 405:907–914

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins DM (1967) The bering Land Bridge. Stanford University Press, Stanford

    Google Scholar 

  • Hultén E (1937) Outline of the history of Arctic and Boreal biota during the quarternary period. Lehre J Cramer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental panel on climate change (2001) In: Houghton JT et al (eds) Climate change 2001. Cambridge University Press, New York

  • Irving L (1972) Arctic life of birds and mammals including man. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson MW (1961) On zooplankton of some Arctic coastal lagoons of northwestern Alaska, with description of a new species of Eurytemora. Pac Sci 15:311–323

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiefer F (1971) Revision der bacillifer-Gruppe der Gattung Arctodiaptomus Kiefer (Crustacea Copepoda: Calanoida) (in German). J Memorie dell’Istituto Italiano di Idrobiol 27:113267

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiefer F (1978) Das Zooplankton der Binnengewässer (in German). Freilebende Copepoda. Die Binnengewässer, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Köppen W (1900) Versuch einer Klassification der Klimate vorsugsweise nach ihren Bezichungen zur Pflanzenwelt (in German). Geogr Z 6:657–679

    Google Scholar 

  • Korovchinsky NM (1992) Sididae and Holopediidae. Guides to the identification of the microinvertebrates of the continental waters of the world, vol 3. SPB Academic, The Hague

    Google Scholar 

  • Landvik JY, Brook EJ, Gualtieri L, Raisbeck G, Salvigsen O, Yiou F (2003) Northwest Svalbard during the last glaciation: ice-free areas existed. Geology 31:905–908

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levings CD et al (2004) The origin and identity of invertebrate organisms being transported to Canada’s Pacific coast by ballast water. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 61:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manujlova EF (1964) Vetvistousye rachki (Cladocera) fauny USSR (in Russian). Nauka, Moskva Leningrad

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews JV (1979) Tertiary and quaternary environments: historical background for an analysis of the Canadian insect fauna. In: Danks HV (ed) Canada and its insect fauna. Entomological Society of Canada, Ottawa, pp 31–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Mattox NT (1959) Conchostraca. In: Edmonson WT (ed) Freshwater biology. Wiley, New York, pp 558–586

    Google Scholar 

  • Morison JH, Aagaard K, Steele M (2000) Recent environmental changes in the Arctic: a review. Arctic 53:359–371

    Google Scholar 

  • Olofsson O (1918) Studien über die Süsswasserfauna Spitzbergens. Zoologiska Bidrag (in German). Uppsala 6:183–646

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed EB (1994) Arctodiaptomus novosibiricus Kiefer, 1971 in Alaska and Northwest territories, with notes on A. arapahoensis (Dodds, 1915) and key to New World species of Arctodiaptomus (Copepoda: Calanoida). Proc Biol Soc Wash 107:666–679

    Google Scholar 

  • Richard J (1897) Entomostracés recueillis par M. Ch. Rabot à Jan Mayen et au Spitzberg. B Soc Zool Fr 22:193–198

    Google Scholar 

  • Røen U (1962) Studies on freshwater Entomostraca in Greenland. II. Localities, ecology, and geographical distribution of the species. Bianco Lunos Bogtrykkeri A/S, København

  • Rylov VM (1930) Freshwater Calanoida of the USSR. Nauka, Leningrad (in Russian)

  • Sage B (1986) The Arctic and its wildlife. Croom Helm, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Satô I (1913) Plankton-Copepods. Bulletin Takashima Fisheries Experimental Station (Hokkaido) 1 (in Japanese)

  • Scher O et al (2000) The crustacean fauna (Branchiopoda, Copepoda) of shallow freshwater bodies in Iceland. Vestn zool 34:11–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Smirnov SS (1930) Zur geographischen Verbreitung und Systematik von Eurytemora raboti Richard (in German). Zool Anz 89:309–318

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith LC et al (2005) Disappearing Arctic lakes. Science 308:1429

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Steig EJ et al (1998) Wisconsinan glacial refugia on eastern Baffin Island: coupled geochronological evidence from cosmogenic isotopes and lake sediments. Geology 26:835–838

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stemberger RS (1995) Pleistocene refuge areas and postglacial dispersal of copepods of the northeastaern United States. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 52:2197–2210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stonehouse B (1989) Polar ecology. Blackie, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Summerhayes VS, Elton CS (1923) Contributions to the ecology of Spitsbergen and Bear Island. J Ecol 11:282–286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland I (1982) A collection of zooplankton from Tuktoyaktuk Harbour, Northwest Territories. Can J Zool 60:477–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torke B (2001) The distribution of calanoid copepods in the plankton of Wisconsin Lakes. Hydrobiologia 453(454):351–365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner JT (1981) Latitudinal patterns of calanoid and cyclopoid diversity in estuarine waters of eastern North America. J Biogeogr 8:369–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vekhoff NV (1990) Fauna and distribution of fairy shrimps (Anostraca) and tadpole shrimps (Notostraca) in water reservoirs of Northern Circumpolar region [USSR] (in Russian). Izv Sib Otd An Biol 3:71–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Vekhoff NV (1993) The fauna and zoogeography of fairy and tadpole shrimps of Russia and adjacent lands (Crustacea Anostraca, Notostraca). Artropoda selecta 2:11–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Weider LJ, Hobæk A (2000) Phylogeography and arctic biodiversity: a review. Ann Zool Fennici 37:217–231

    Google Scholar 

  • Weider LJ et al (1996) Molecular characterization of clonal population structure and biogeography of arctic apomictic Daphnia from Greenland and Iceland. Mol Ecol 5:107–118

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson MS (1959) Free-living Copepoda. Calanoida. In: Edmonson WT (ed) Freshwater biology. Wiley, New York, pp 735–794

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Swedish Institute. We would also like to thank Dr. Gerben van Geest (Netherlands Institute of Ecology, NIOO-KNAW) for contributing samples to this study and to Dr. Maria Hołyńska (Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences) for help with identification of cyclopoid copepods. Consultations in taxonomy with Dr. Nina Vyshkvartseva (Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences), Acad. Vladislav Monchenko (Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) and Dr. Alexey Kotov (A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of Russian Academy of Sciences) were much appreciated.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fauna and Systematics of Invertebrate Animals, Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Bogdan Chmielnicky Str. 15, 01601, Kyiv, Ukraine

    Larysa Samchyshyna

  2. Department of Ecology and Limnology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden

    Lars-Anders Hansson

  3. Freshwater Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen, Helsingørsgade 51, 3400, Hillerød, Denmark

    Kirsten Christoffersen

Authors
  1. Larysa Samchyshyna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lars-Anders Hansson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kirsten Christoffersen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Larysa Samchyshyna.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Samchyshyna, L., Hansson, LA. & Christoffersen, K. Patterns in the distribution of Arctic freshwater zooplankton related to glaciation history. Polar Biol 31, 1427–1435 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-008-0482-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-008-0482-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation