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Evolutionary history, genetic diversity and human impact on selected leuciscids from the southern Balkans
Viñuela Rodríguez, Nuria ; Vukićová, Jasna (advisor) ; Perea, Silvia (referee) ; Kalous, Lukáš (referee)
- ABSTRACT - Fishes represent the most diverse group of vertebrates on Earth, with freshwater fishes accounting for half of this diversity, and occupying a mere 0.01 % of the world's water surface. The Balkans are considered a European hotspot of biodiversity, and its southern section is recognized as centre of ichthyological diversity, characterized by its exceptional richness and endemicity. Within the southern Balkans, the Ionian ecoregion stands out as one of the most isolated ichthyological regions in Europe due to its very complex geological history and the variety of events that influenced its ichthyofaunal composition. All fish species inhabiting the Ionian region are endemic, and most of them display reduced distribution areas with a marked geographic pattern. The western Aegean region, on the contrary, is considered a species-poor ecoregion within the southern Balkans, despite also harbouring a significant number of endemic species. However interesting the region of the southern Balkans is in terms of its ichthyofauna, there is a lack of knowledge for many of the fish species inhabiting them. In this thesis, we address some of these knowledge gaps for two representative genera, Pelasgus and Telestes, of the most diverse family in the area (Leuciscidae), with the aim to better understand the...
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Phylogeny and phylogeography of the cyprinid fish genus Pelasgus (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)
Viñuela Rodríguez, Nuria ; Vukićová, Jasna (advisor) ; Rovatsos, Michail (referee)
The genus Pelasgus (Cyprinidae) is endemic to the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula and includes seven species. In this work, a multilocus approach has been applied to study phylogenetic relationships between the species and their populations and to revise their distribution areas. 180 specimens from 47 localities from 30 river drainages were analyzed, comprehensively covering the distribution range of the genus. Moreover, samples from type localities of all species were included in the analyses. Mitochondrial (cytochrome b) and nuclear markers (the first intron of ribosomal protein S7, recombination activating gene RAG1 and rhodopsin) were used. Existence of seven well supported lineages was revealed based on cytochrome b, which is the most variable marker. These lineages correspond to P. laconicus, P. marathonicus, P. minutus, P. stymphalicus, P. thesproticus, P. prespensis and Pelasgus sp. The most variable nuclear marker was first intron of S7, which provides almost the same results as cytochrome b, revealing six well supported lineages, whereas RAG1 and rhodopsin appear to be less informative, revealing only four well supported clades. These markers did not separate several species (P. marathonicus, P. stymphalicus, P. thesproticus, and Pelasgus sp.) due to low variability of the markers...
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