Acronym: META-TAR

Principal Investigator: Matteo Vecchi (m.vecchi@isez.pan.krakow.pl)
Mentor: Daniel Stec (daniel.stec@isez.pan.krakow.pl)
Location: Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków, Poland

Summary

Understanding how habitat desiccation influences the animal communities is fundamental in today’s changing word and a detailed knowledge of their tolerance limits will help in forecasting the effects of global change. Natural ecosystem can be studied;however, they are extremely complex and as such challenging for researchers. the opposite end, laboratory experiments are easy to implement but their oversimplification can lower their translatability to processes that occur in nature. To solve this issue, I propose rock pools as a new model system that integrates both the advantages of natural and laboratory systems. Rock pools are small clearly defined replicated natural habitats hosting relatively simplified biological communities.

In this project, I will study how many and what tardigrades live in Polish rock pools and how they react to multiple desiccation-hydration cycles and compare the results with similar data obtained for Italian rock pools. I will use a metabarcoding approach which is a molecular technique that allows to sequence a small fragment of gene of from all the creature (microscopic and macroscopic) that are found in a rock pool. These sequences constitute barcodes specific for each species. Therefore, by comparing the sequences with a reference database it is possible to classify them and determine what organisms inhabit a rock pool.In this project, I will study how many and tardigrades live in Polish rock pools and how they react to multiple desiccation-hydration cycles and compare the results with similar data obtained for Italian rock pools. I will use a metabarcoding approach which is a molecular technique that allows to sequence a small fragment of gene of interest from all the creature (microscopic and macroscopic) that are found in a rock pool. sequences constitute barcodes specific for each species. Therefore, by comparing the sequences with a reference database it is possible to classify them and determine what organisms inhabit a rock pool.

I will be interested in how the environmental conditions of the rock pools determine what tardigrade species and how many individuals can colonize them. I will also study how tardigrades disperse between rock pools and whether the distance between them is important.
Tardigrades do not live alone in rock pools, but share their habitat with some predators, flatworms. However, tardigrades are much more resistant to desiccation than their predators. Thus, I will test if tardigrade populations are more abundant in the rock pools that desiccate too often to allow predators to live in it, creating a safe haven for tardigrades.
This project will allow to advance our understanding of how animal communities assembled in extreme habitats and answer the question of what is the contribution of specific species traits to live in particular habitat and not elsewhere.
By describing the diversity of the fauna from rock pools, this project will also provide information useful to plan conservation strategies for this unique and overlooked habitat that is home to likewise unique and charismatic animals.

Location

Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals
Polish Academy of Sciences
Sławkowska 17
31-016, Kraków, Poland

Contact

Matteo Vecchi
m.vecchi@isez.pan.krakow.pl
Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals
Polish Academy of Sciences
Sławkowska 17
31-016, Kraków, Poland

Project outputs (updated on 24/03/2025):

Papers published:

Vecchi, M., & Stec, D. (2024). Mitogenome of a new Ramazzottius species (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada: Ramazzottiidae) discovered in rock pools along with its temperature and desiccation-related proteins repertoire. Organisms Diversity & Evolution.htps://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-024-00662-x

Vecchi, M., Stec, D., Rebecchi, L., Michalczyk, Ł., & Calhim, S. (2023). Ecology explains anhydrobiotc performance across tardigrades, but the shared evolutionary history maters more. Journal of Animal Ecology, 93(3), 307 - 318. htps://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14031

Presentations to congresses:

Vecchi M., Godziek J., Ferrari C., Fontaneto D., Stec D. (2024). Tardigrades biodiversity in Italian rock pools revealed trought metabarcoding. 83° Congresso dell’Unione Zoologica Italiana (Pisa, Italy, 11th-14th September 2024). p. 120. Oral presentation

Vecchi M., Camarda D., Ferrari C., Lisi O., McDaniel J., Walsh E. (2023). Freshwater rock pools: an unexplored