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The Carpathians as a Major Diversity Hotspot in Europe

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Abstract

The Carpathians are one of the major mountain ranges of Europe, but still one of its least studied regions. It is increasingly recognized that they played a major role in the formation and Pleistocene survival of numerous continental, arctic, and arctic–alpine taxa. Many endemic taxa have been described from these mountains. The number of phylogeographic/phylogenetic studies covering at least partially the Carpathians is also increasing. These studies reveal unevenly distributed genetic and taxonomic diversity. In this work, we analyse population genetic structures in the Carpathians revealed by case studies on aquatic insects, comparing them to existing literature data on plants, butterflies, vertebrates, and the distribution of several microendemics. The distribution of molecular lineages and/or microendemics show strong biogeographic structures within the Carpathians. The overlap between the distribution barriers of microendemics and intraspecific molecular lineages suggests that isolation of populations among the major Carpathian ranges (Western Carpathians, Eastern Carpathians, Apuseni Mts, Southern Carpathians, Banat and Serbian Carpathians) played a major role in promoting Carpathian diversity.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jan C. Habel and Frank E. Zachos for inviting us to participate in this volume on Biodiversity Hotspots. The text of the manuscript substantially benefited from comments from Zoltán Varga, and an anonymous reviewer. We are also very grateful to Peter Barnard for his comments. This synthesis was prepared with financial support from the research funding programme “LOEWE – Landes-Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-ökonomischer Exzellenz” of Hesse’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and the Arts, Germany. Miklós Bálint and Noémi Mészáros participated in the Biodiversity Hotspots – Evolution and Conservation conference (Luxembourg 2009) with the support of the Hungarian University Federation of Cluj, Romania. Additonal funding for Miklós Bálint was kindly provided by the HTMTÖ programme of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Biology Center, Babeş-Bolyai University, Treboniu Laurian 42, 400271, Cluj, Romania

    Miklós Bálint

  2. Biodiversität und Klima Forschungszentrum (BiK-F), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Miklós Bálint & Steffen U. Pauls

  3. Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Clinicilor 5–7, 400002, Cluj, Romania

    Lujza Ujvárosi

  4. Department of Limnology and Conservation, Research Institute Senckenberg, Clamecystrasse 12, 63571, Gelnhausen, Germany

    Kathrin Theissinger & Stephanie Lehrian

  5. Department of Ecology, Institute of Zoology, Johannes Gutenberg-University, J. J. Becherweg 13, 55128, Mainz, Germany

    Kathrin Theissinger

  6. Department Aquatic Ecotoxicology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Siesmayerstr. 70, 60054, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Stephanie Lehrian

  7. Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Center, Temesvári krt. 62, 6726, Szeged, Hungary

    Noémi Mészáros

  8. Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, 219 Hodson Hall, 1980 Folwell Avenue, St Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Steffen U. Pauls

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  1. Miklós Bálint
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  2. Lujza Ujvárosi
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  3. Kathrin Theissinger
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  4. Stephanie Lehrian
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  5. Noémi Mészáros
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  6. Steffen U. Pauls
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Correspondence to Steffen U. Pauls .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Mammal Collection, Natural History Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, Vienna, 1010, Austria

    Frank E. Zachos

  2. Naturelle, Luxembourg, Musée National de Histoire, rue Münster 25, Luxembourg, 2106, Luxembourg

    Jan Christian Habel

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Bálint, M., Ujvárosi, L., Theissinger, K., Lehrian, S., Mészáros, N., Pauls, S.U. (2011). The Carpathians as a Major Diversity Hotspot in Europe. In: Zachos, F., Habel, J. (eds) Biodiversity Hotspots. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20992-5_11

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