Spatio-temporal variability of terrestrial and aquatic communities in intermittent rivers in the Dinaric karst DinDRY

Funding: Croatian Science Fund (HRZZ): Installation Research Grants (UIP-2020-5385 )

Project leader: Assoc. Prof. Andreja Brigić, PhD
Beneficiary: Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb
Duration: 23.02.2021. – 22.02.2026.
Funding: 1.999.941,67 HRK

Intermittent rivers and streams (IRES) are hydrologically highly dynamic and complex freshwater ecosystems, which seasonally cease to flow and run dry. Flow intermittence, evident in drying and rewetting events, is the main driver of ecological processes in IRES. It causes alternation of aquatic and terrestrial phases, supporting a habitat mosaic of lotic, lentic and terrestrial patches. Thus, IRES biota, adapted to extreme disturbance in their habitats, comprise aquatic, semiaquatic and terrestrial communities. They alternate, coexist and interact in space and time, experiencing great species turnover. Accordingly, this project aims at advancing our knowledge on IRES by: I) understanding diversity patterns of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate communities of IRES, and II) revealing dispersal patterns of aquatic and terrestrial taxa in IRES communities. These aims will be achieved by simultaneous sampling of aquatic and terrestrial communities and by combining the approaches of ecological, i.e. life history traits, and molecular genetic analyses in order to determine recolonization pathways.