Plecoptera

Bojková, Jindřiška, Soldán, Tomáš & Cr, Biology Centre As, 2013, Stoneflies (Plecoptera) of the Czech Republic: species checklist, distribution and protection status, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 53 (2), pp. 443-484 : 457-458

Distribution of Plecoptera in the Czech Republic

The highest number of species (80 species) was found in the Vltava river basin ( Table 2). It was caused primarily by an exceptional species richness of the Šumava Mts. and the neighbouring Novohradské hory Mts. These are inhabited by the majority of montane species occurring in other Hercynian mountains in the Czech Republic and by several species not occurring elsewhere in the Czech Republic, such as: Isoperla goertzi , Chloroperla susemicheli , Brachyptera monilicornis , Capnia nigra , Capnopsis schilleri , and Leuctra cingulata . The majority of these species have their northern area limits in this region. Lowland rivers, mainly the Vltava river and the Lužnice river, are the second hotspot of species diversity in this basin. They host several large river specialists, such as Isogenus nubecula , Isoperla obscura , and Xantoperla apicalis . However, the majority of their records are more than a hundred years old and the present stonefly assemblages are mere fragments of their original fauna ( BOJKOVÁ et al. 2012b). The same impoverished fauna inhabits other large rivers in the Czech Republic, mainly the Labe river.

The upper (eastern) part of the Labe river basin drains the western and central part of the Sudete Mts. and the Czech Plateau and it is inhabited by 74 species of stoneflies ( Table 2). The lower (western) part of the Labe river drains the Elbe Sandstone Mts. and Krušné hory Mts. and is inhabited by 65 species. The fauna of the Krušné hory Mts. is rather poorly known and more species can be expected there. Streams at the highest altitude of the Labe river basin are valuable because they host diverse and species-rich taxocenoses with many rare montane species, such as Arcynopteryx dichroa , Protonemura brevistyla , and Leuctra rosinae .

A similar number of species as in the upper part of the Labe river basin was found in the Morava river basin, including tributaries of the Váh river, and Odra river basin (70 and 72 species, respectively). Both basins consist of a Hercynian and a Carpathian region, which differ in their stonefly fauna. Plecoptera of the Hercynian regions are similar to those in the Labe river and Vltava river basins, whereas the Carpathian region hosts a unique fauna. The Carpathian fauna includes many species not occurring elsewhere, namely Isoperla buresi , Nemoura carpathica , N. fusca , Protonemura autumnalis , Leuctra bronislawi , and L. quadrimaculata . Moreover, there are several species that are much more frequent and abundant than in any other region of the Czech Republic. These are particularly Isoperla tripartita , Nemoura sciurus , Protonemura aestiva , and Capnia bifrons in the Morava river basin, and Perla grandis , Arcynopteryx dichroa , and Leuctra armata in the Odra river basin.

Lower number of species was found in the Berounka river and Dyje river basins, 54 and 51 species, respectively ( Table 2). This lower diversity is connected with the absence of high mountains in these basins, thus, montane stoneflies do not occur here. Naturally, the lowest number of species was found in the Bohemian part of the Dunaj river basin ( Table 2) which occupies only small area of the Czech Republic and includes only the upper parts of streams. Therefore, many species preferring large and mid-sized streams are absent there.