An inventory of invertebrate fauna of Albania and Macedonia Lakes

Abstract

The results of faunal studies carried out in the last 13 years (2005-2017) are reported, regarding 52 different water sites in Albania and Republic of Macedonia. Lakes (natural and artificial), and ponds (temporary and perennial) have been investigated. A total of 155 taxa have been identified in the plankton, and a particular detail has been devoted to Crustacea, which were subdivided in 101 taxa. Many Cladocera (31 species) and Copepoda (36 species) were new at least for one of the two Countries. Eight genera are here reported for the first time for the whole geographic area. The present investigation contributes to fill in the gap existing among Albania and Macedonia due to a different attention paid to the fauna of the two Countries, with Cladocera more studied in Albania and Copepoda more studied in Macedonia. High mountain lakes, however, have been scarcely considered in the past faunal studies, and their faunal assemblages contributed noteworthy to the knowledge of the regional biodiversity.