Resting egg bank reveals high cladoceran species richness in high-altitude temporary peat land pools

The use of egg bank analysis proved a valuable approach to uncover hidden diversity in permanent lakes. The efficiency of the method remains largely unexplored in temporary aquatic systems that remain dry for a variable part of the year. We assessed species richness of the cladoceran assemblage Branchiopoda, Crustacea) from the dormant egg bank of 61 temporary peat land pools in the high Andes of Bolivia. The analysis of the dormant egg bank yielded more species (total: 24; mean per peat land pool: 6.7) than snapshot samples from active communities taken previously (total: 21; mean per peat land pool: 4.6). On average, the dormant egg bank resulted in the detection of 2.1 (45%) more cladoceran species per peat land pool than on the basis of active cladoceran assemblages. The accumulated (active plus dormant) cladoceran species richness of the study peat land pools mounted up to 28 species. RDA analyses indicated a significant difference in assemblage composition between dormant and active samples. Different environmental variables explained variation in the structure of the dormant and active cladoceran assemblages. Water plant cover significantly explained variation in active assemblages, while a model constructed by chlorophyll-a, sediment thickness, and connectivity explained variation in dormant cladoceran assemblages. The analysis of the dormant assemblages was essential, not only in revealing the potential species richness but also for better understanding assemblage structure of aquatic organisms.status: publishe