Summary
Two populations of Clunio, an intertidal one and a sublittoral one, were found sympatric in the Kviturdvikpollen near Bergen, western Norway. The times of eclosion and the immediately following reproduction were strictly separated in each species by only a few hours' difference. The emergence time of the intertidal population was strictly correlated with the afternoon low water of spring tides; the population resembles the Helgoland (North Sea) population in nearly all its morphological and physiological characteristics. The sublittoral population emerged nearly every day (during the summer) just after sunset, independent of the tides, with only a slight increase in number during the time of the first and last quarters of the moon. The sublittoral population is similar to the populations from the Baltic Sea, especially in its characteristics of emergence control and sinking of the suffused egg masses. Cross-breeding experiments with stocks from both populations resulted in an intermediary emergence time of the first filial generation which was never observed in the field. Therefore, one can conclude that the sympatric populations are perfectly isolated in nature and that they have the well-defined rank of two species. The intertidal population belongs to the well-known Clunio marinus; the sublittoral population together with well-known open-sea populations of the Baltic Sea are classified as a new species, Clunio balticus n. sp.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Caspers, H.: Rhythmische Erscheinungen in der Fortpflazung, von Clunio marinus (Dipt Chiron.) und das Problem der lunaren Periodizität bei Organismen. Arch Hydrobiol., Suppl. 18, 415–594 (1951)
Endrass, U.: Physiologische Anpassungen eines marinen Insekts. I. Die zeitliche Steuerung der Entwicklung. Mar. Biol. 34, 361–368 (1976a)
Endrass, U.: Physiologische Anpassungen eines marinen Insekts. II. Die Eigenschaften von schwimmenden und absinkenden Eigelegen. Mar. Biol. 36, 47–60 (1976b)
Hashimoto, H.: Seasonal variation in the marine chironomid, Clunio tsushimensis Tokunaga (Diptera). Ann. Zool. Fenn. 5, 45–48, (1968)
Heimbach, F.: Semilunare und diurnale Schlüpfrhythmen südenglischer und norwegischer Clunio-Populationen (Diptera, Chironomidae). Doctoral thesis, University of Cologne (1976)
Jorde, I.: Algal association of a coastal area south of Bergen, Norway. Sarsia 23, 1–52 (1966)
Koskinen, R.: Seasonal emergence of Clunio marinus Haliday, (Dipt., Chironomidae) in Western Norway. Ann. Zool. Fenn. 5, 71–75 (1968)
Krüger, F.: Tanytarsus-Studien. I. Die Subsectio Atanytarsus. Arch. Hydrobiol. 33, 208–256 (1933)
Mayr, E.: Animal species and evolution. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press 1963
Neumann, D.: Die lunare und tägliche Schlüpfrhythmik der Mücke Clunio. Steuerung und Abstimmung auf die Gezeitenperiodik. Z. Vg. Physiol. 53, 1–61 (1966)
Neumann, D.: Eine nicht-reziproke Kreuzungssterilität zwischen ökologischen Rassen der Mücke Clunio marinus. Oecologia, (Berl.) 8, 1–20 (1971)
Neumann, D.: Adaptations of chironomids to intertidal environments. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 21, 387–414 (1976)
Neumann, D., Honegger, H.W.: Adaptations of the intertidal midge Clunio to arctic conditions. Oecologia (Berl.) 3, 1–13 (1969)
Olander, R., Palmén, E.: Taxonomy, ecology and behaviour of the northern Baltic Clunio marinus Halid. (Dipt., Chironomidae). Ann. Zool. Fenn. 5, 97–110 (1968)
Palmén, E., Lindeberg, B.: The marine midge, Clunio marinus Hal (Dipt., Chironomidae) found in brackish water in the northern Baltic. Int. Rev. Ges. Hydrobiol. 44, 383–394 (1959)
Remmert, H.: Ökologische Untersuchungen über die Dipteren der, Nord- und Ostsee. Arch. Hydrobiol. 51, 1–53 (1955)
Strenzke, K.: Metamorphose und Verwandtschaftsbeziehungen der Gattung Clunio Hal. (Dipt.) (Terrestrische Chironomiden XXIV). Ann. Zool. Soc. ‘Vanamo’ 22, 4, 1–30 (1960)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The author owes great thanks to Prof. Dr., D. Neumann for his guidance of this research, which is part of a doctoral thesis, and to the Biological Station of the Universityof Bergen for giving the author, generous opportunities for field research. Financial aid, was granted by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Heimbach, F. Sympatric species, Clunio marinus Hal. and Cl. balticus n. sp. (Dipt., Chironomidae), isolated by differences in diel emergence time. Oecologia 32, 195–202 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00366071
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00366071