The Alpine Gistova (Mount Gramos, Albania-Greece border) biodiversity of an isolated microcosm

Abstract

En
The zooplankton composition of the lake Gistova has been studied for the first time. The lake is a small, permanent water body, of glacial origin, at 2365 m above the sea level on mount Gramos on the border between Albania and Greece. The lake has been visited 5 times over 4 years, during the ice/snow free period (July-September). A total of 6 zooplankton samples were collected (with nets of different mesh size), and 2 samples of the muddy sediments, too. Crustacea were represented by 7 species: a large anostracan, three copepods, three cladocerans. Five rotifer species completed the zooplankton composition. Sediments contained at least 12 different types of resting stages, whose correspondence with active stages has been ascertained only in 4 cases. The faunal assemblage of the lake Gistova has been discussed on the basis of its extreme isolation, young age, and geographic position, representing a reference point for further researches on high mountain lakes of the Balkan region.