Cryptic species, i.e. species that are morphologically hard to distinguish, have been detected repeatedly in various taxa and ecosystems. In order to evaluate the importance of this finding, we have to know in how far cryptic species differ in various aspects of their biology. The amphipod Gammarus fossarum is a key invertebrate in freshwater streams and contains several cryptic species. We exa...

The question of whether animal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) undergoes recombination has recently been the subject of intense debate. In a recent paper (Ladoukakis and Zouros 2001), we presented evidence for mtDNA recombination from direct recovery of recombinant molecules in the gonads of several males of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Because in this species there exist two lineages of mit...

The effects of multiple experimental floods in the same year on the ecology of a river (River Spöl) below a large reservoir were investigated. In the flood year (2000), three floods of different magnitude (10 m/s on 15 June, 25 m/s on 5 July, and 10 m/s on 10 August) were implemented, each lasting 7–8 h. Regulated baseflow discharge was maintained at less than 2.5 m/s. Samples of macroinvertebr...

Abstract Exposure to pesticides may cause adaptation not only in agricultural pests and pathogens, but also non-target organisms. Previous studies mainly searched for adaptations organisms pesticide-polluted sites. However, propagate heritable pesticide effects, such as increased tolerance, non-exposed populations through gene flow. We examined the tolerance—as one of pre-assumptions local adap...