The Cryptic Bombus lucorum Complex (Hymenoptera:Apidae) in Austria: Phylogeny Distribution Habitat Usage and a ClimaticCharacterization Based on COI Sequence Data

摘要

The complex represents agroup of three distinct but cryptic bumblebee species in Europe. With the advent ofDNA-based identification methods, their species status was confirmed and the use of COIbarcoding proved to be an especially useful tool for species identification within thegroup. Meanwhile, the identification based on morphology remains difficult and recentstudies challenged the general distinguishability by revealing an important character tobe unreliable. This has consequences for our understanding of the distribution and ecologyof the species in Europe and aggravates our patchy knowledge of the situation in Austriaand the whole area of the European Alps. In this study, we investigate the exact speciescomposition and distribution of the complex in Austriabased on the reliable species identification with COI sequence data. The habitat usage isstudied and the first extensive investigation of altitudinal and climatic differentiationis provided. The results support three distinct genotypic groups in the complex. and co-occur in several areas across the country, with being the most common and most widespread species. The study provides no evidencefor the presence of in Austria. The less common species, , mainly occurs in the high mountains and is thepredominant species of the complex above altitudes of 2100 m a.s.l. Further, is almost absent from woodlands and is relatively more abundant inhabitats with colder climate than in Austria. Additionally,the results indicate a very low intraspecific genetic variation within and . This study confirms previous findings of threedistinct species within the species complex. Based on reliable COI identification, thefirst coherent overview of the species complex in Austria can be achieved. The climaticdata allows us to explain the differences in the distribution patterns. Moreover, the lowintraspecific variation may indicate past bottleneck conditions for and .