Population genetics and landscape ecology large Branchiopoda

The goal of our project is to understand the influence of human activities like land-use practices and climate change on the presence of temporary water bodies (small pools and puddles) and their invertebrate communities. One of the most iconic groups of invertebrates living in these water bodies are the so-called large Branchiopoda. Since these habitats are threatened and in decline due to urbanization, changes in land use and climate change also populations of large Branchiopoda are more and more in decline. The extent of habitat destruction depends on local land-use practices. A great study case are the countries of the former Habsburg empire (here Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia) as their land-use practices are well documented and diverged strongly since the 1950s. In this project we will combined modern landscape ecology and genetic methods. Present and historic distributions will be assessed for two exemplar species: Triops cancriformis and Leptestheria dahalacensis. Changes in the presence, size and time of filling of the temporary water bodies will be studied based on historic maps, written records as well as satellite image data. Furthermore, freshy collected contemporary as well as historic samples (up to 150 years old) from the scientific collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna of the two species will be genetically analyzed. Their comparison will reveal potential changes in the genetic composition of the respective populations. It can be assumed that in regions with more dramatic changes to the temporary habitats (e.g., reduction in the total number of water bodies and/or changing the time and duration of filling with water) also the large branchiopod populations underwent stronger changes. Many populations may have gone extinct and also the genetic diversity within the remaining populations may have been reduced. A special geographic focus will be on the Morava floodplain. Many historic samples are available from this region and as a border between Austria and Slovakia is it provides a natural setting for testing the impact different land-use practices on small geographic scales. The combination of historic and contemporary data and samples together with the combination of genetics and landscape ecology makes this project unique. Our study will provide the opportunity to better understand the impact of human activities on these animals, an important foundation for future conservation efforts.