Abstract—In July 2018, in the estuary of the Sura River (a tributary of the first order of the Cheboksary reservoir, Nizhny Novgorod oblast, Russia), a tropical exogenous copepod Thermocyclops taihokuensis Harada, 1931 (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) was found. Information on the finding of this species in the European part of Russia is extremely scarce. There is only one report of a finding of this species in the lower reaches of the Volga River. The main habitat of T. taihokuensis is in East and Central Asia, as well as tropical regions. This paper presents a brief description of T. taihokuensis with updated drawings. The T. taihokuensis females registered in the estuarine area of the Sura River had an average size of 1060 ± 20 μm. The spread of tropical crustaceans beyond their natural habitat appears to be linked to human activities and the transport of ballast water by ships. In addition, the concept of zoochoria suggests that the settlement of this species may be associated with the transfer of T. taihokuensis at the resting stages by migratory species of waterfowl. Thus, migration routes of various bird species from the Arctic and temperate climatic zones to subtropical and tropical regions cross the European part of Russia. Alien species have high phenotypic and ecological plasticity and are able to cause imbalances in ecosystems. Therefore, new studies of the Sura River and the Cheboksary reservoir will help not only to assess the success of the naturalization of T. taihokuensis, but also to estimate the environmental consequences of the penetration of this species into the territory of the European part of Russia.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Alekseev, V.R., Cyclopiformes, in Opredelitel’ zooplanktona i zoobentosa presnykh vod Evropeyskoi chasti Rossii (The Determinant of Zooplankton and Zoobenthos of Fresh Waters of the European Part of Russia), vol. 1: Zooplankton (Zooplankton), Moscow, KMK, 2010, pp. 328–376.
Bollens, S.M., Cordell, J.R., Avent, S., and Hooff, R., Zooplankton invasions: a brief review, plus two case studies from the northeast Pacific Ocean, Hydrobiologia, 2002, vol. 480, no. 1–3, pp. 87–110.
De Ridder, M., Some considerations on the geographical distribution of rotifers, Hydrobiologia, 1981, vol. 85, no. 3, pp. 209–225.
Duggan, I.C., Green, J.D., and Shiel, R.J., Distribution of rotifer assemblages in North Island, New Zealand, lakes: relationships to environmental and historical factors, Freshwater Biol., 2002, vol. 47, pp. 195–206.
Frisch, D., Green, A.J., and Figuerola, J., High dispersal capacity of a broad spectrum of aquatic invertebrates via waterbirds, Aquatic Sci., 2007, vol. 69, pp. 568–574.
Karanovic, T., Koomput, K., and Sanoamuang, L., Two new Thermocyclops species (Copepoda, Cyclopoida) from Thailand, with notes on the genus phylogeny inferred from 18S and ITS sequences, Zoologischer Anzeiger, 2017, vol. 269, pp. 26–47.
Lazareva, V.I., Sabitova, R.Z., Bykov, S.V., Zhdanova, S.M., and Sokolova, E.A., The distribution of summer zooplankton in the cascade of reservoirs of the Volga and Kama rivers, Tr. Inst. Biol. Vnutr. Vod Ross. Akad. Nauk, 2018, vol. 83, pp. 62–84.
Lopez, M.L.D., Pascual, J.A.F., Dela Paz, E.S.P., Rizo, E.Z.C., Tordesillas, D.T., Guinto, S.K., Han, B., Dumont, H.J., Mamaril, A.S., and Papa, R.D.S., Annotated checklist and insular distribution of freshwater microcrustaceans (Copepoda: Calanoida and Cyclopoida; Cladocera: Anomopoda and Ctenopoda) in the Philippines, Raffles Bull. Zool., 2017, vol. 65, pp. 623–654.
Metodicheskie rekomendatsii po sboru i obrabotke materialov pri gidrobiologicheskikh issledovaniiakh na presnovodnykh vodoemakh: zooplankton i ego produktsiya (Guidelines for the Collection and Processing of Materials in Hydrobiological Studies in Freshwater Bodies: Zooplankton and Its Products), Leningrad: GosNIORKH, 1982.
Mirabdullayev, I.M. and Kuzmetov, A.R., The genus Thernocyclops (Crustacea: Copepoda) in Uzbekistan (Central Asia), Int. Rev. Hydrobiol., 1997, vol. 82, no. 2, pp. 201–212.
Mirabdullayev, I.M., Reid, J.W., and Ueda, H., Copepoda: Cyclopoida genera Mesocyclops and Thermocyclops, genus Thermocyclops Kiefer, 1927, in Guides to the Identification of the Microinvertebrates of the Continental Waters of the World 20, Leiden: Backhuys Publishers, 2003, pp. 214–302.
Monchenko V. I. Redescription of the Oriental Thermocyclops taihokuensis (Harada, 1931) (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) from its westernmost population, Zool. Middle East, 2008, vol. 43, pp. 99–104.
Podshivalina, V.N. and Sheveleva, N.G., Record of the Far Eastern species Nordodiaptomus siberiensis (Wilson, 1951) (Copepoda: Calanoida) in the European Part of Russia, Invertebr. Zool., 2018, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 292–298.
Reynolds, C. and Cumming, G.S., The role of waterbirds in the dispersal of freshwater Cladocera and Bryozoa in Southern Africa, Afr. Zool., 2015, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 307–311.
Funding
This work was supported by the Russian Geographic Society (project no. 06/2018-P Floating University of the Volga Basin Expedition).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Statement on the welfare of animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.
Additional information
Translated by N. Smolina
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhikharev, V.S., Gavrilko, D.E. & Shurganova, G.V. A Record of the Tropical Species Thermocyclops taihokuensis Harada, 1931 (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) in European Russia. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 47, 1347–1350 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S106235902010026X
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S106235902010026X