caa a22 4500 445891580 CHVBK 20180317145618.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170323e20111101xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10750-011-0892-0 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10750-011-0892-0 The Afromontane Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) of the Rwenzori (Uganda-D. R. Congo): taxonomy, ecology and biogeography [Elektronische Daten] [Kay Van Damme, Hilde Eggermont] The timely characterization of high-altitude freshwater habitats allows an assessment of the diversity of its biota and provides the basis for monitoring community change. In this study, we investigate the Cladocera fauna of 29 water bodies (pools, freshwater lakes, and surrounding swamps sampled at various occasions between 2005 and 2009) in the Rwenzori Mountains (Uganda, D. R. Congo), which are part of the East African Sky Island Complex. All sites except one are located above 3700m altitude. We include notes on the morphology, taxonomy, distribution, and ecology of each recorded taxon and describe a new species of the Alona rustica-group (Alona sphagnophila n.sp.; Chydoridae). We found 11 species of which seven are restricted to Lake Mahoma, the lowest lake in our study area (2990m) (Alona affinis barbata, A. intermedia, Alonella exisa, Alonella nana, Daphnia cf. obtusa, Pleuroxus aduncus) and/or Lake Bujuku (Daphnia cf. curvirostris, P.aduncus) (3900m). Two taxa (Ilyocryptus cf. gouldeni, A. sphagnophila n.sp.) are restricted to Carex/Sphagnum bogs surrounding lakes in the afroalpine zone. Pigmented populations of Chydorus cf. sphaericus occur in all the sites. It is the only cladoceran species surviving the extreme alpine and nival conditions in the Rwenzori. The species is joined by A. guttata at locations at lower altitudes (ca. 3000-4000m), present in about half of the sites. The Rwenzori Cladocera fauna is characterized by a strong extratropical temperate component and a low level of speciation/endemism. Harboring an impoverished boreal cladoceran community, Lake Mahoma is given closer attention. At 2990m, the lake is a cold-temperate aquatic island in the tropics and may function as a stepping stone for Palaearctic taxa. We introduce a new term for high-altitude, cold-water habitats in the tropics, which act as climatic islands for extratropical freshwater faunas, Löffler Islands, in honor of Dr Heinz Löffler. In comparison to surveys in 1961, we list five new records in Lake Mahoma, which could indicate cladoceran community changes over the past few decades at ca. 3000m in the Rwenzori. Since the species distributions correlate to temperature and catchment properties of the lakes, the Rwenzori cladoceran fauna can be expected as sensitive indicators for local changes. Springer Science+Business Media B.V., 2011 Alona sphagnophila n.sp nationallicence Biogeography nationallicence Cladocera nationallicence Rwenzori Mountains nationallicence Taxonomy nationallicence Löffler Island nationallicence East African Sky Island Complex (EASIC) nationallicence Van Damme Kay Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium aut Eggermont Hilde Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium aut Hydrobiologia Springer Netherlands 676/1(2011-11-01), 57-100 0018-8158 676:1<57 2011 676 10750 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0892-0 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0892-0 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Van Damme Kay Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Eggermont Hilde Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Hydrobiologia Springer Netherlands 676/1(2011-11-01), 57-100 0018-8158 676:1<57 2011 676 10750 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer