A trip to the swamps of Eastern Spain

The swamp (Marjal) of Pego Oliva

Not only tropical waters are habitats for intresting invertebrates. Also in Europe we can find areas of high interest to invertebrate zoology. On of them is located near Valencia in Eastern Spain where we can find two large swamp areas. Beside brackish lagoons there are some freshwater springs called "Ullals" retreats of numerous species of water fauna endemic to this area.

Some of them, like the slightly brackish thermal spring Font Salada with a water temperature of about 25°C water temperature all-the-year are also used by humans for recreation or health puroposes.

Font Salada                                                                                                                          Palaemonetes zariquieyi

Atyids are represent in this swamp areas whith Dugastella valentina a species morphological most similar to the wide distributed shrimp Atyaephyra desmaresti but which is phylogenetical near to the cave-dwelling genus Troglocaris.

Dugastella valentina female                                                                                               Dugastella valentina male

Beside freshwater shrimp we found some intresting freshwater snails in the Ullals or their drainages.

Melanopsis tricarinata                                                                                                             Theodoxus sp.

D. valentina is also found in some clean mountain creeks. Specimes are lighter colored in this waters. 

Rio Serpis near L´Orcha                                                                                               D. valentina from the river Serpis

Beside fertilizers and insecticides unsed in agriculture the endemic water fauna is also vulnerabled by bioinvaders like the american crayfish Procambarus clarkii which can found in almost all waterbodies in the region. 

Typical traces of P. calrkii at a canal in the Marjal Pego-Oliva.

Traditional fisheries with nets in the Albufera de Valencia