Current invasions of East Asian cyclopoids (Copepoda, Cyclopoida)in Europe: new records from eastern Ukraine

Authors: ELENA ANUFRIIEVA, NICKOLAI SHADRIN

Abstract: The East Asian freshwater cyclopoid copepods Mesocyclops pehpeiensis (Hu, 1943) and Eucyclops roseus Ishida, 1997, which are new for Europe, were recorded from samples collected in the water bodies of the city of Lugansk, eastern Ukraine. In 2012 the same species of cyclopoids, new or rare for Europe, were found in Crimean ponds where there is no human agency that could lead to introductions of alien species. Long-distance transportation by birds, probably, is the more plausible explanation for their appearance in Lugansk. These alien species were found in newly formed water bodies without stable communities, which may serve as a jumping-off place for further distribution of East Asian cyclopid copepods across Europe.

Keywords: Alien species, Eucyclops roseus, Mesocyclops pehpeiensis, Ukraine

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