Stoneflies (Plecoptera) of the Russian Far East: diversity and zoogeography

Abstract

Based on an extensive field survey of stoneflies in mountain streams and rivers across the different climatic zones of the Russian Far East (from polar deserts in the north to the subtropics in the south), we describe the diversity of the stonefly fauna and analyse its zoogeography. The stonefly fauna of the Russian Far East is rich and unique; it includes 139 species from 45 genera and eight families, with endemism at the generic level. By stonefly distribution patterns, the 24 zoogeographical districts to which Russian Far Eastern streams are assigned can be consolidated into Beringian, East Siberian and East Asian Subregions. Similarities between the local stonefly faunas of the 24 zoogeographic districts were evaluated using Sorensen's coefficient of similarity, and the resulting similarity matrix then subjected to UPGMA cluster analysis. The non-relict stonefly fauna originated from three primary sources: a southern source on the Asian mainland by way of the Amur River Basin; a northeastern Asiamerican source from across the Beringian Bridge, and a western source in Siberia, including a few European taxa.

Keywords:

• Plecoptera
• distribution
• diversity
• zoogeographical regions
• Russian Far East

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) for the opportunity to participate in the XVI International Symposium on Plecoptera. The work described here was supported by the Far Eastern Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Grant Nos. 06-III-A-140 (V. Bogatov, principal investigator) and No 06-I-BBS-101(T. Tiunova, principal investigator).