engleski

Dynamics of epizoic populations of Thorea hispida (Thore) Desvaux (Thoreaceae, Rhodophyta) on aquatic gastropods in the carbonate stream in Croatia

This paper reports for the first time the occurrence of Thorea hispida (Thore) Desvaux gametophyte stage as epizoic growth on aquatic gastropods, and also reports a new locality of T. hispida in Croatia and SE Europe. This is the second record for Croatia but first in which a population together with its microdiagnostic features is fully described. Thorea has been recorded in the Kupa River near Nebojan Village (central Croatia, SE Europe) on various size fractions of stones in the river sediment, and on shells of living aquatic gastropods. Specimens were attached to shell microdents, mostly on the apex, lip and shell sutures. Each shell hosted one large thallus, over 20 cm long, or 2–4 smaller thalli, less than 20 cm long. Comprehensive vegetation and riverbed surveys have been carried out in the investigated area, resulting in the finding of four populations of Thorea in a 300 metre-long section of the river. The discovery of its gametophyte stage on gas- tropods expands the knowledge about freshwater rhodophyte epizoic events, and also brings a new insight on the ability of aquatic gastropods to handle macroalgal overgrow from the perspective of gastropod mobility and the influence of water flow velocity on the selection of individuals in the population.

AUDOUINELLA ; CHANTRANSIA ; DISPERSAL ; FRESHWATER ; GAMETOPHYTE ; SPATIAL MOTION

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