COPEPOD DISTRIBUTION AS AN INDICATOR OF EPIKARST SYSTEM CONNECTIVITY

Abstract

The distribution of 27 copepod species was determined in 35 drips in four Slovenian caves (Dimnice, Postojna Planina Cave System, Skocjanske Jame, Zupanova Jama), and of ten species from 13 drips in one US cave (Organ Cave, West Virginia). The dripping water comes from epikarst, the skin of karst. A significant fraction of the copepod species found (nine species in Slovenia and three in West Virginia) occurred over a maximum linear extent of 100 m. These and other localized distributions probably resulted from colonization of epikarst by an ancestral surface population in a single location, with subsequent lateral spread in the direction of epikarst flow. This suggests that the distribution of copepods could potentially be used to trace major flow paths in epikarst without the need for the injection of dyes or other tracers.