Niches within a niche: ecological differentiation of subterranean amphipods across Europe's interstitial waters

• Published in: Ecography (Copenhagen) Vol. 42; no. 6; pp. 1212 - 1223
• Main Authors: Fišer, Cene, Delić, Teo, Luštrik, Roman, Zagmajster, Maja, Altermatt, Florian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2019; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Abiotic factors; Adaptation; Amphipoda; Cluster analysis; Coexistence; Differentiation; Divergence; ecological differentiation; Ecology; environmental factors; Europe; European groundwater; eyes; Functional morphology; Interspecific; interspecific competition; interstitial community; Landscape; Microhabitats; Model testing; Morphology; Niches; Phylogeny; Pigments; Probabilistic models; Species; Europe

Species that successfully colonized subterranean environments are subject to two opposing selection processes. Stringent abiotic factors select for convergent adaptations, such as loss of eyes and pigments, while interspecific competition drives between‐species divergence. Subterranean species can r...