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The groundwater fauna of the Classical Karst: hydrogeological indicators and descriptors

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Abstract

The Classical Karst (sensu stricto) represents a complex hydro-geomorphological unit as well as one of the best-known karstic systems in the world. For this reason, it was selected as a model area both for applied research and for the conservation of its highly diverse subterranean fauna. With this paper, we aim to provide an overview of groundwater fauna in the phreatic zone of the Classical Karst aquifer, based on all published material along with new surveys, and search for patterns of species distribution within hydrogeological subunits, with a focus on the potential use of species as tracers of hydrological connections and groundwater flowpaths. The Classical Karst, with an area of approximately 750 km2, and adjacent to alluvial and flysch areas provides habitats for 83 stygobionts (accompanied by 16 stygophiles) and is one of the richest hotspots for groundwater fauna across the globe. The rate of endemism within the area is very high (around 50%). Multivariate statistical analyses revealed the faunal turnover between hydrogeological subunits, as well as the effect of water flow regime. Our approach, using species turnover and the species indicator value, allowed us to recognise groups of indicator species, which can be considered as descriptors of aquifer type and habitat structure, as well as water flow regime and groundwater flowpaths.

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Acknowledgements

The study was funded by Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, Direzione centrale risorse agroalimentari, forestali e ittiche, Servizio biodiversità (Monitoring of the subterranean fauna of the Special Conservation Zone IT3340006), by the HYDROKARST project (Grant No. 22749/GFC/IT-SLO/07-13) part of the Crossborder Cooperation Programme Italy-Slovenia 2007–2013 and by the Slovenian Research Agency (research program P1-0255). The authors thank Gianfranco Tomasin and Paolo Sossi for their assistance in the field, Luca Zini for the facilities and Lee Knight for linguistic corrections.

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Tab. S1

List of stygobitic and stygophylic species reported for the Classical Karst and neighbouring basins, with indication of (i) the first citation in literature for the area (if any) and (ii) the type locality, if endemic to the study area (for caves, cadastre numbers are reported: JK – as recorded in Slovenian cave cadaster and VG – as recorded in Italian cave cadastre). Supplementary file1 (XLSX 16 kb)

Tab. S2

Literature and other sources (museum or private collections, personal communications) used in the study to compile TabS1. Supplementary file2 (XLSX 28 kb)

Tab. S3

Results of the Indicator Analysis applied to the species in the six hydrogeological units defined in text; IndVal = Indicator Value; Prob = probability; Sign = significance (***: P<0.001; **: P<0.01; *: P<0.05). Supplementary file3 (XLSX 12 kb)

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Brancelj, A., Mori, N., Treu, F. et al. The groundwater fauna of the Classical Karst: hydrogeological indicators and descriptors. Aquat Ecol 54, 205–224 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-019-09737-w

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