Gastrotricha of Sweden - Biodiversity and Phylogeny

Abstract: Gastrotricha are small aquatic invertebrates with approximately 770 known species. The group has a cosmopolitan distribution and is currently classified into two orders, Chaetonotida and Macrodasyida. The gastrotrich fauna of Sweden is poorly known: a couple of years ago only 29 species had been reported. In Paper I, III, and IV, 5 freshwater species new to science are described. In total 56 species have been recorded for the first time in Sweden during the course of this thesis. Common species with a cosmopolitan distribution, e. g. Chaetonotus hystrix and Lepidodermella squamata, as well as rarer species, e. g. Haltidytes crassus, Ichthydium diacanthum and Stylochaeta scirtetica, are reported. In Paper II molecular data is used to infer phylogenetic relationships within the morphologically very diverse marine family Thaumastodermatidae (Macrodasyida). Results give high support for monophyly of Thaumastodermatidae and also the subfamilies Diplodasyinae and Thaumastoder­matinae. In Paper III the hypothesis of cryptic speciation is tested in widely distributed freshwater gastrotrichs. Heterolepidoderma ocellatum f. sphagnophilum is raised to species under the name H. acidophilum n. sp. The results indicate that L. squamata may be a complex of at least two species. In Paper III and V the phylogeny of Chaetonotidae (Chaetonotida), the largest family within Gastrotricha, is inferred. The group suffers from a troubled taxonomy and is hypothesized to be non-monophyletic. Results show that members of Dasydytidae are nested within the group. Since only 3 of 17 sampled genera are monophyletic, it is hypothesized that the cuticular structures used in current classification do not reflect phylogenetic relationships. The phylogenetic hypothesis generated in Paper V indicates a marine origin of the predominantly limnic Chaetonotidae with a subsequent secondary invasion to marine environments of some taxa.