Phylogeography of Simulium Subgenus Wilhelmia (Diptera: Simuliidae)—Insights From Balkan Populations

Abstract

Many morphologically similar species of the simuliid (Diptera: Simuliidae) subgenus Wilhelmia, Enderlein are difficult to distinguish. Thus, the revision of the subgenus using various morphological, cytogenetic, and genetic analyses has been attempted. Neglected until now, the Balkan Peninsula, a crossroad between Europe and Anatolia, provides insight which could resolve problematic interrelationships of the taxa within this subgenus. To uncover the status and relations within the subgenus Wilhelmia, mtDNA was extracted from 47 individuals of six morphospecies: Simulium balcanicum (Enderlein, 1924), Simulium turgaicum Rubtsov, 1940, Simulium lineatum (Meigen, 1804), Simulium pseudequinum Séguy, 1921, Simulium equinum (Linnaeus, 1758), and Simulium paraequinum Puri, 1933 from 21 sites throughout the Balkan Peninsula. Phylogenetic analysis of the Wilhelmia species using mitochondrial DNA barcoding (COI) gene showed two major branches, the lineatum branch, which includes the lineages sergenti, paraequinum, and lineatum, and the equinum branch. In the equinum branch, the mtDNA sequences formed six clades, with high genetic distances, suggesting the existence of different species. Historically, the clades of the equinum branch appeared at numerous islands, perhaps as a result of allopatric speciation. The paraequinum lineage (lineatum branch) is composed of two species. However, six clades of the lineatum lineage overlapped with intra- and interspecific genetic distances. Our results revealed that the species S. balcanicum, S. pseudequinum B, and S. equinum were omnipresent in the Balkans. The results point to not only the fair diversity of Wilhelmia species in the Balkans, but also indicate that most Wilhelmia species live in sympatry.

Simulium reptans (Linnaeus, 1758) and Simulium reptantoides Carlsson, 1962 from the Balkan Peninsula

“…The divergence between them (7.38-7.94%) confirmed the existence of two species. According to previous studies (Rivera and Currie 2009;Hernández-Triana et al 2012;Đuknić et al 2019), genetic divergences in the range of 2.83-15.33% suggest the existence of different species, while genetic divergences in the range of 0-3.84% suggest intraspecific differences. The typology of trees using different methods (ML, MP and Bayesian) showed the same position of the main clades, with high bootstrap values.…”

Species composition and distribution of the dipterans (Insecta: Diptera) in Bulgaria

“…Simulium (Wilhelmia) balcanicum (Enderlein, 1924) [W. balcanica severinense (Dinulescu, 1966)] -DW, DM, E1, E2, P1, P2, P3, B1, B2, K3, K7, K8, K9, V1, V4, S1, TL, T1, O61, O62, R1, R5, RR; 20-700 m; 1, 2; ean, ? eant; Enderlein, 1924;Tschorbadjiew 1925e;Buresch 1926bBuresch , 1938Rubtsov 1956;Russev 1962Kovachev 1975Kovachev , 1976Kovachev , 1985aKovachev , 1985cKovachev , 1990Russev et al 1976Russev et al , 1987Russev et al , 1994Uzunov et al 1981Uzunov et al , 2011Janeva & Russev 1985Islam et al 1986;Janeva 1987;Janeva & Bancheva 2002;Borisova et al 2013;Varadinova et al 2013;Adler & Crosskey 2018;Đuknić et al 2019. Simulium (Wilhelmia) equinum (Linnaeus, 1758) [W. secundum (Baranov, 1926); W. equina ivashentzovi Rubtsov, 1940] -DW, DM, P1, P2, B1, V1, V5, O62; 20-820 m; 1, 2; tp, ?…”

“…Simulium (Wilhelmia) equinum (Linnaeus, 1758) [W. secundum (Baranov, 1926); W. equina ivashentzovi Rubtsov, 1940] -DW, DM, P1, P2, B1, V1, V5, O62; 20-820 m; 1, 2; tp, ? po; Enderlein, 1924;Tschorbadjiew 1925e;Buresch 1938;Russev 1962Russev , 1977Kovachev 1969;Russev et al 1976Russev et al , 1994Kenderov et al 2008;Adler & Crosskey 2018;Đuknić et al 2019. Simulium (Wilhelmia) lineatum (Meigen, 1804) [W. equina falcula Enderlein, 1921] -DW, DM, P1, P2, B1, B2, K7, V1, S1, S21, TL, R1, RE; 50-950 m; 1, 2; e; Enderlein, 1924;Konsuloff & Paspalev 1925;Tschorbadjiew 1925e;Buresch 1938;Kovachev 1975Kovachev , 1976Kovachev , 1985aRussev et al 1976Russev et al , 1984bRussev et al , 1994Russev 1977;Beschovski 2006;Adler & Crosskey 2018.…”

Springs and Headwater Streams in Serbia: The Hidden Diversity and Ecology of Aquatic Invertebrates

“…Due to the incredible diversity (the number of determined species of macroinvertebrates is usually higher than 100 in small watercourses of Serbia, [9]), systematic research of macroinvertebrates of springs, brooks and streams in Serbia began almost a century ago [10,11] and have been ongoing with varying intensity to date [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. The earliest research on macrozoobenthos dealt with springs and brooks.…”