Drei Höhe(n)punkte am Mittelrhein. Die Exkursion

Three highlights on the Middle Rhine The Upper Middle Rhine valley, part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 2002, has long been known as a classical travel region due to the impressive beauty of its landscape. The steep und narrow canyon comprises a complex series of remarkable geo‐ along with biotopes. These are characterized by their unique tectonics as well as by their floristic and faunistic elements. This excursion proposal highlights three selected destinations on the borderline of the valley which particularly appear equally promising and recommendable.     

The distribution and environmental state of vegetated islands within human‐impacted European rivers

1. Vegetated islands within river corridors are pivotal landscape features and are among the first to disappear as a consequence of flow regulation and channelisation. However, how vegetated islands vary along human‐impacted rivers is poorly understood. 2. We carried out a detailed analysis of the contemporary distribution, diversity and environmental state of vegetated islands within 12 human‐impacted European rivers, using 75 Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite images (1999–2002), historical maps, DEM data and landscape metrics. We tested whether channel fragmentation, catchment land use and the environmental state of fringing floodplains determine the spatial patterns of the islands. We also analysed the historical change of islands within selected sections of the Upper Danube, Upper Rhine and Olt rivers. 3. We identified 2771 islands in the contemporary landscape, varying from 0.06 to 9828 ha. Islands covered up to 21% of the active channel area and contributed up to 32% of the total riparian ecotone length. Island density ranged from 0.06 islands per river‐km (River Sava) to 1.6 islands per river‐km (River Tagliamento). River regulation has led to a marked loss of island density: 94% in the Upper Danube, 93% in the Upper Rhine, and 69% in the Olt. The environmental state of the islands was significantly less altered by human activity than of their fringing floodplains; 93.4% of the vegetated islands exhibited a near‐natural state, while 86% of the fringing floodplains were expansively converted to agricultural and urban land uses. 4. Our results highlight the ubiquitous presence of vegetated islands, their sensitivity to river regulation and their pivotal role for the future restoration and management of river corridors.     

The rivers Rhine and Meuse in The Netherlands: present state and signs of ecological recovery

The ecosystems of the rivers Rhine and Meuse have suffered drastic environmental changes, for example because of the regulation of the stream bed and the construction of weirs and dams. Furthermore, discharges of industrial and municipal waste water have caused the water quality of these rivers to deteriorate; this problem became acute in the sixties and seventies. Recently some chemical parameters of water quality have improved in the Rhine, and as a consequence some aquatic communities are showing signs of recovery after decades of severe degradation. This paper describes the present state of the aquatic communities in the Dutch part of the rivers Rhine and Meuse, using published observations on plankton, macrophytes, invertebrates, and fish. The sparse information on the food chain in these rivers is summarized. The main channels of the Rhine and Meuse are characterized by a dense plankton that develops rapidly in the nutrient-rich river waters. The stream beds, now dominated by wave-exposed sand and gravel, have a sparse fauna and flora. The river banks, mostly consolidated by blocks of stone, offer a substratum for numerous benthic organisms, particularly now that the water quality has improved. The floodplain waters and old river channels harbour a flora and fauna rich in species. The degree of water exchange with the river is crucial for the ecological development of the river and its backwaters. Today the freshwater tidal reaches of the rivers occupy a very restricted area, and only remnants of the previously abundant vegetation of rushes are found. Losses in the numbers of animal and plant species, notably those specific to rivers, are evident, but over the last 15 years several species have returned. Allochthonous species (exotics), including crustaceans and molluscs, have also settled in the Rhine and Meuse. Fish species characteristic of these rivers, such as river lamprey, sea trout, barbel, and flounder, have recently been observed in appreciable numbers. The Rhine Action Programme provides a framework for the large-scale rehabilitation of the Rhine. Experiments on re-stocking the Rhine with Atlantic salmon and on the ecological rehabilitation of floodplains are being carried out on the assumption that there will be a further reduction of the pollution load. A similar programme is required for the Meuse.     

Genetic analysis of potential postglacial watershed crossings in Central Europe by the bullhead (Cottus gobio L.)

Natural colonizations across watersheds have been frequently proposed to explain the present distributions of many freshwater fish species. However, detailed studies of such potential watershed crossings are still missing. Here, we investigated potential postglacial watershed crossings of the widely distributed European bullhead (Cottus gobio L.) in two different areas along the Rhine–Rhône watershed using detailed genetic analysis. The main advantage of studying bullheads vs. other freshwater fish species is that their distribution has been lightly influenced by human activities and as such, interpretations of colonization history are not confounded by artificial transplantations. The genetic analyses of eight microsatellite loci revealed strong genetic similarities between populations of both sides of the Rhine–Rhône watershed in the Lake Geneva area, giving strong evidence for a natural watershed crossing of bullheads from the upper Rhine drainage into the Rhône drainage in the Lake Geneva area likely facilitated by the retreat of the glaciers after the last glacial maximum some 20 000 years ago. Populations from the Lake Geneva basin were genetically more similar to populations from across the watershed in the upper Rhine drainage than to populations further downstream in the lower Rhône. In contrast, populations from Belfort, an area, which was not covered by ice during the last glacial maximum, showed strong genetic differentiation between populations of the upper Rhine and Rhône drainages. Based on our results on the bullhead, we propose that glacial retreat may have eased the dispersal of numerous European freshwater fish species across several geological boundaries.     

Buried Pleistocene human remains of Weissenthurm, Mayen-Koblenz district: new and old information]

The landscape at central Rhine and Mosel is one of the most famous archaeological sites in middle Europe. A layer of pumicetufa from the eruption of the lake Laacher volcano 13,000 years B.P. is an important mark which approximately divides the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic period. Although numerous excavations in this area have been carried out, quaternary hominid remains are quite rare. A few short notes from the early 1920s reports of human bones "below the pumice, in Weissenthurm, District Mayen-Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate". However, these remains were probably destroyed in the Second World War in Munich on April 25, 1944. Recently, some new information has appeared on the discovery and the whereabouts of these fragments. The chronological classification of the Weissenthurm-hominid into the Pleistocene based on this information remains uncertain.     

哈尔滨东部城乡土地梯度带的划分及景观结构

以哈尔滨市及东部郊区为对象,重点研究城乡土地梯度带的划分以及造成这种景观分异的内在机制,特别是对镶嵌在城市到乡村之间土地类型的数量变化,研究土地景观结构的特点.研究区范围东西35km,南北16km,在GIS平台上使用TM与SPOT卫星图像划分出东西2.5km,南北16km大小的14条等面积的连续梯度带,根据等面积梯度带的建筑密度和道路密度将研究区域划分为市区、近郊区、远郊区3个梯度区.应用计算机目视判读方法对研究区内进行了土地类型的识别及区划,利用GIS空间分析,计算了各种梯度带的内的不同土地类型的长度、面积.通过这些计算与分析研究了哈尔滨市及东部城乡之间不同梯度带的绿地景观空间结构特点,以绿地建设为核心,辅以城市景观结构及空间格局的特点,分析讨论不同城乡梯度带景观分异的成因.研究表明,区域道路密度和建筑物密度可以在一定程度上反应出城市化进程,据此将哈尔滨及东部城乡划分为市区、近郊区和远郊区;不同梯度区域有其各自的人文景观结构特点和绿地景观结构特点,讨论了造成这种梯度特征的内在机制,并对研究区域未来的城乡绿地及景观建设和可持续发展提出了建议.     

Potential barriers to gene flow in the endangered European wildcat (Felis silvestris)

The European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) is a focal species for conservation in many European countries. After a severe population decline during the 19th century, many populations became extinct or isolated. Within Germany, suitable wildcat habitat is assumed to be highly fragmented. We thus investigated fine-scale genetic structure of wildcat populations in Central Germany across two major potential barriers, the Rhine River with its valley and a major highway. We analyzed 260 hair and tissue samples collected between 2006 and 2011 in the Taunus and Hunsrück mountain ranges (3,500 km² study area). We identified 188 individuals by genotyping 14 microsatellite loci, and found significant genetic substructure in the study area. Both the Rhine River and the highway were identified as significant barrier to gene flow. While the long-term effect of the river has led to stronger genetic differentiation in the river compared to the highway, estimates of current gene flow and relatedness across barriers indicated a similar or even stronger barrier effect to ongoing wildcat dispersal of the highway. Despite these barrier effects, we found evidence for the presence of recent migration across both the river and the highway. Our study thus suggests that although wildcats have the capability of dispersal across major anthropogenic and natural landscape barriers, these structures still lead to an effective isolation of populations as reflected by genetic analysis. The results strengthen the need for currently ongoing national strategies of wildcat conservation aiming for large scale habitat connectivity.     

Colonization history of the Swiss Rhine basin by the bullhead (Cottus gobio): inference under a Bayesian spatially explicit framework

The present distribution of freshwater fish in the Alpine region has been strongly affected by colonization events occurring after the last glacial maximum (LGM), some 20 000 years ago. We use here a spatially explicit simulation framework to model and better understand their colonization dynamics in the Swiss Rhine basin. This approach is applied to the European bullhead ( Cottus gobio ), which is an ideal model organism to study fish past demographic processes since it has not been managed by humans. The molecular diversity of eight sampled populations is simulated and compared to observed data at six microsatellite loci under an approximate Bayesian computation framework to estimate the parameters of the colonization process. Our demographic estimates fit well with current knowledge about the biology of this species, but they suggest that the Swiss Rhine basin was colonized very recently, after the Younger Dryas some 6600 years ago. We discuss the implication of this result, as well as the strengths and limits of the spatially explicit approach coupled to the approximate Bayesian computation framework.     

The river Rhine: a global highway for dispersal of aquatic invasive species

The river Rhine is heavily influenced by human activities and suffers from a series of environmental constraints which hamper a complete recovery of biodiversity. These constraints comprise intensive navigation and habitat modification by hydraulic engineering. Improving water quality while these constraints remain in place has led to increased colonization by aquatic invasive species. This tendency has been accelerated by the construction of canals connecting river basins. Over the last two centuries, the total surface area of river catchments connected to the river Rhine via inland waterways has been increased by a factor 21.6. Six principal invasion corridors for aquatic species to the river Rhine are discerned. The extensive network of inland waterways has allowed macroinvertebrate species from different bio-geographical regions to mix, changing communities, affecting the food webs and forming new constraints on the recovery of the native biodiversity. From the eighteenth century onward, in the freshwater sections of the river Rhine, a total of 45 non-indigenous macroinvertebrate species have been recorded. The average number of invasions per decade shows a sharp increase from <1 to 13 species. Currently, the contribution of non-indigenous species to the total species richness of macroinvertebrates in the river Rhine is 11.3%. The Delta Rhine and Upper Rhine exhibit higher numbers of non-indigenous species than other river sections, because the sea ports in the Delta Rhine and the Main-Danube canal function as invasion gateways. Important donor areas are the Ponto-Caspian area and North America (44.4 and 26.7% of the non-indigenous macroinvertebrate species, respectively). Transport via shipping and dispersal via man made waterways are the most important dispersal vectors. Intentional and unintentional introductions are highest for the period 1950–1992. The cumulative number of non-indigenous species in time is significantly correlated with the increase in total surface area of other river catchments connected to the river Rhine by means of networks of canals. The species richness of non-indigenous macroinvertebrates is strongly dominated by crustaceans and molluscs. Invasive species often tolerate higher salt content, temperature, organic pollution and current flow than native species. Spatiotemporal analyses of distribution patterns reveal that average and maximum dispersal rates of six invasive species vary between 44–112 and 137–461 km year⁻¹, respectively. Species arriving in upstream sections first show a shorter time lag between colonisation of the Delta and Upper Rhine than species initially arriving in downstream areas. Temporal analyses of macroinvertebrate assemblages in the littoral zones indicate that native species are displaced by non-indigenous species. However, established non-indigenous species are also displaced by more recent mass invaders.     

Genotoxic effects in the Eastern mudminnow (Umbra pygmaea L.) after exposure to Rhine water, as assessed by use of the SCE and Comet assays: a comparison between 1978 and 2005

Surface water used for drinking-water preparation requires continuous monitoring for the presence of toxic compounds. For monitoring of genotoxic compounds fish models have been developed, such as the Eastern mudminnow (Umbra pygmaea L.) because of its clearly visible 22 meta-centric chromosomes. It was demonstrated in the late seventies that Rhine water was able to induce chromosome aberrations and sister chromatid exchange in this fish species. Although in vitro mutagenicity studies of the RIWA (Rhine Water Works, The Netherlands) have shown that the genotoxicity of the river Rhine steadily decreased during the last decades, there is still concern about the presence of some residual mutagenicity. In addition, in most studies the water samples have been tested only in in vitro test systems such as the Salmonella-microsome test. For this reason, and in order to be able to make a comparison with the water quality 27 years ago, a study was performed with the same experimental design as before in order to measure the effect of Rhine water on the induction of SCE in the Eastern mudminnow. As a new test system the single cell gel electrophoresis assay (Comet assay) was performed. Fish were exposed to Rhine water or to groundwater for 3 and 11 days in flow-through aquaria. Fish exposed for 11 days to Rhine water had a significantly higher number of SCE and an increased comet tail-length compared with control fish exposed to groundwater. After exposure for three days to Rhine water there was no difference in SCE and a slightly increased comet tail-length compared with the control. It was concluded that genotoxins are still present in the river Rhine, but that the genotoxic potential has markedly decreased compared with 27 years ago. Furthermore, the Comet assay appears to be a sensitive assay to measure the genotoxic potential of surface waters in fish.     

Strong genetic exchange among populations of a specialist bee, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Andrena vaga</Emphasis> (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae)

Habitat fragmentation is believed to be a key threat to biodiversity, with habitat specialists being stronger affected than generalists. However, pioneer species might be less affected by fragmentation, as their high colonization potential should increase gene flow. Here, we present an analysis of the genetic structure of populations of the solitary bee Andrena vaga, which naturally occurs in sandy habitats and is specialized on willow (Salix) pollen as larval food and sandy soils as nesting sites. While the species is widespread in the young sandy landscapes of our main study area (Emsland, northwestern Germany), it occurs less frequently in the Lower Rhine valley. Our analyses of six polymorphic microsatellites show that the populations are only slightly differentiated, suggesting a relatively strong gene flow. No genetic structure corresponding to the geographic origin was found as the variability within populations accounted for the major proportion of variation. F_ST values were higher and allelic richness was lower in the Lower Rhine valley, supporting the hypothesis that habitat availability affects the degree of genetic exchange between populations. Inbreeding coefficients were generally high and nearly all populations had a heterozygote deficiency, which could be explained by the breeding strategy of A. vaga, which nests in aggregations.     

Crossing the Rhine: a potential barrier to wildcat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Felis silvestris silvestris</Emphasis>) movement?

The European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) underwent a severe decline across Europe in the early twentieth century. Remaining populations are often very small and isolated, though there are indications that wildcat populations are currently expanding their range. However, linear landscape elements such as rivers and roads are thought to present barriers to dispersal, inhibiting gene flow and, thus, affecting the recolonization process. In this study, we investigated the fine-scale genetic structure of wildcats in the Upper Rhine Valley. We specifically analysed wildcats on both sides of the Rhine River by genotyping 55 individual wildcats, using 20 microsatellite loci. Genetic differentiation was weak and positive spatial autocorrelation was found up to a distance of 10 km (females: 5 km, males: 10 km) indicating substantial gene flow among sampling sites. High levels of gene flow, even across the Rhine River, indicated that the water body itself does not necessarily have a strong barrier effect, which is in contrast to other studies. Our findings could best be explained by the populations’ history, a local extinction east of the River Rhine and a current ongoing population expansion. Our study highlights that potential barriers, such as rivers, may have different effects in different local wildcat populations and that the history of the populations is important to interpret genetic results. As many wildcats still occur in isolated and patchy forest fragments, maintaining connectivity between populations is crucial to ensure their viability in the long term.     

基于修正的转移概率方法进行城市景观动态研究——以南昌市区为例

利用南昌市1988～2000年期间5个时段的TM卫星影像数据编制了景观组分类型图,并通过叠图分析统计了全部组分类型在4个比较时段的转移概率矩阵。在此基础上构建了组分转入、转出贡献率和特定转移过程贡献率等3个动态分析参数,对南昌市的景观动态变化特征和驱动机制进行了研究。结果显示,城市化引发的建设用地规模急剧膨胀是工作区内景观结构在研究时段内急剧调整的主要原因;农业经营的稳定性需要作为一种重要驱动因素,在农业用地大量流失的同时,使其它景观组分向农田转移成为优势性转移过程类型;地形和水文变化对于林地和水体等组分变化具有次要约束性影响,但对于一些特定优势转移过程的出现则具有决定性作用。研究结果还证实了所提出的3种基于组分转移概率矩阵的量化参数在景观动态变化特征和驱动机制研究中的合理性和有效性。     

Activity of potential predators of European hare (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lepus europaeus</Emphasis>) leverets and ground-nesting birds in wildflower strips

The population decline of the European hare (Lepus europaeus) in Switzerland is generally attributed to low leveret survival. A significant intensification of agricultural practices led to a landscape transformation that reduced leveret survival by increasing negative factors such as predation pressure. Habitat improvement by means of wildflower strips has yielded some positive effects on European hare population trends, probably by improving food supply and providing year-round cover from predation. For this study, remote cameras were used to examine relationships between landscape and wildflower strip variables and the frequency of predator visits to wildflower strips as well as the probability of them visiting core areas of the strips. Of a total of 1586 visits of potential predators to wildflower strips, 91% were mammals and 9% were birds. Predators were more frequently observed at the edges of the wildflower strips than in their cores (72% of visits by mammalian predators and 76% by avian predators were at the edge). The results revealed that the frequency of observing predators was negatively correlated with adjacent crop height and the distance of the wildflower strip from settlements, roads and forests or hedgerows. The probability of a predator penetrating the core of the wildflower strip was negatively correlated with the vegetation cover, especially with the cover of wood, herbaceous plant species and teasel (Dipsacus fullonum). Appropriate management of wildflower strips by considering their spatial placement, creating low margin to surface area ratios and promoting heterogeneous wildflower structure can thus lead to reduced predator pressure on leverets as well as on ground-nesting birds.     

落叶松毛虫对大兴安岭呼中林区森林的景观长期影响模拟

应用空间直观景观模型(LANDIS)模拟了落叶松毛虫对呼中林区森林景观的长期影响,利用统计软件APACK计算了落叶松毛虫、代表性树种的分布面积以及反映物种分布格局的聚集度指数和森林斑块的平均面积,模拟了300年(1990—2290年)内有无落叶松毛虫干扰预案下大兴安岭呼中林区森林景观的动态变化.结果表明:研究区落叶松毛虫的分布面积呈先增加后降低的趋势;在落叶松毛虫干扰预案下,落叶松在模拟前150年的分布面积、平均斑块面积均低于无干扰预案,聚集度指数在前190年低于无干扰预案;干扰预案下白桦的分布面积和平均斑块面积百分比均高于无干扰预案,聚集度指数只在模拟的80～190年高于无干扰预案;樟子松的分布面积、聚集度指数和平均斑块面积在干扰预案下略低于无干扰预案.落叶松毛虫在一定程度上导致森林景观的破碎化.     

Monitoring the toxicity of organic compounds dissolved in Rhine water

Organic concentrates of the River Rhine water were tested for toxicity with a 15 minute test (Microtox^TM) on luminescent bacteria (Photobacterium phosphoreum, Bacteria). A total number of 18 stations in the Dutch lower Rhine area were sampled five times with an interval of one month (April 1988–August 1988), whereas two stations located the most apart (Lobith and Maassluis) were sampled with two-week intervals in the period between January and October. The river samples were concentrated by neutral absorption on XAD resins, followed by elution with acetone. Toxicity is expressed on a relative scale. The relative toxicity is in the range of approximately 3 to 18, which means that the organic toxicants present in Rhine water had to be concentrated between 55-and 330-fold. During transport in The Netherlands, the dissolved organic toxicity contained in the water of the River Rhine decreases gradually, either as a consequence of degradation, or by adsorption to newly formed particulates. In the industrialized areas of the lower Rhine in The Netherlands a slight, but temporary increase of toxicity is observed.Since water quality improved strongly with respect to inorganic (heavy metal) pollution, the organic toxicity reflects the actual pollutional status more closely than in former days.The speed and simplicity of the combination of XAD concentration and Microtox toxicity determination enables large-scale monitoring studies on organic toxicants in moderately polluted surface water.     

Fire and the relative roles of weather,climate and landscape characteristics in the Great Lakes‐St. Lawrence forest of Canada

Question: In deciduous‐dominated forest landscapes, what are the relative roles of fire weather, climate, human and biophysical landscape characteristics for explaining variation in large fire occurrence and area burned? Location: The Great Lakes‐St. Lawrence forest of Canada. Methods: We characterized the recent (1959–1999) regime of large (≥ 200 ha) fires in 26 deciduous‐dominated landscapes and analysed these data in an information‐theoretic framework to compare six hypotheses that related fire occurrence and area burned to fire weather severity, climate normals, population and road densities, and enduring landscape characteristics such as surficial deposits and large lakes. Results: 392 large fires burned 833 698 ha during the study period, annually burning on average 0.07%± 0.42% of forested area in each landscape. Fire activity was strongly seasonal, with most fires and area burned occurring in May and June. A combination of antecedent‐winter precipitation, fire season precipitation deficit/surplus and percent of landscape covered by well‐drained surficial deposits best explained fire occurrence and area burned. Fire occurrence varied only as a function of fire weather and climate variables, whereas area burned was also explained by percent cover of aspen and pine stands, human population density and two enduring characteristics: percent cover of large water bodies and glaciofluvial deposits. Conclusion: Understanding the relative role of these variables may help design adaptation strategies for forecasted increases in fire weather severity by allowing (1) prioritization of landscapes according to enduring characteristics and (2) management of their composition so that substantially increased fire activity would be necessary to transform landscape structure and composition.     

BasinBox: A Generic Multimedia Fate Model for Predicting the Fate of Chemicals in River Catchments

Multimedia fate models have proven to be very useful tools in chemical risk assessment and management. This paper presents BasinBox, a newly developed steady-state generic multimedia fate model for evaluating risks of new and existing chemicals in river basins. The model concepts, as well as the intermedia processes quantified in the model, are outlined, and an overview of the required input parameters is given. To test the BasinBox model, calculations were carried out for predicting the fate of chemicals in the river Rhine basin. This was done for a set of 3175 hypothetical chemicals and three emission scenarios to air, river water and cropland soils. For each of these hypothetical chemicals and emission scenarios the concentration ratio between the downstream area and the upstream area was calculated for all compartments. From these calculations it appeared that BasinBox predicts significant concentration differences between upstream and downstream areas of the Rhine river basin for certain types of chemicals and emission scenarios. There is a clear trend of increasing chemical concentrations in downstream direction of the river basin. The calculations show that taking into account spatial variability between upstream, midstream and downstream areas of large river basins can be useful in the predictions of environmental concentrations by multimedia fate models.     

Upland–wetland linkages: relationship of upland and wetland characteristics with watersnake abundance

Land-use practices surrounding a wetland may be as important for maintaining wildlife populations as the wetland itself. Although imperiled species may appear to be more impacted than ubiquitous species from changes in the landscape surrounding wetlands, studies of common wetland species are useful for conservation because they provide insight into why some species persist despite landscape changes. We therefore investigated the relationship between connectivity, measured as the wetland distance to other wetlands; connectivity quality, implied by wetland distance to roads and forest area within 30, 125, 250, 500 and 1000 m buffer zones around the wetland; and patch size as indicated by wetland size with northern watersnake Nerodia sipedon sipedon abundance. Our results suggest that both upland and wetland characteristics influence the abundance of N. s. sipedon , as wetland size and wetland connectivity to other wetlands were significantly associated with abundance. Abundance was positively correlated with increasing wetland size and wetland connectivity. We were not able to find a significant relationship between abundance and connectivity quality, and wetland distance to road or forest area within 30, 125, 250, 500 and 1000 m buffer zones. We conclude that wetland conservation should focus on wetland complexes as well as individual wetlands. In addition, common wetland species such as the northern watersnake do not appear to be negatively impacted by modifications to nearby terrestrial habitats, such as deforestation and roads, and may benefit from the creation of larger, permanent wetlands.     

Complex patterns of colonization and refugia revealed for European grayling Thymallus thymallus,based on complete sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA control region

The complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (1043 base pairs) and 162-bp of flanking transfer RNA genes were sequenced in 316 European grayling, Thymallus thymallus, from 44 populations throughout the Western European range of the species. A total of 58 haplotypes were revealed with pairwise divergence ranging from 0.001 to 0.038. An inferred intraspecific phylogenetic tree revealed two well-supported clades within the Danube basin, one highly divergent clade in the Adriatic basin, and one large, diverse group representing most other populations. A deeply divergent haplotype fixed in the Loire basin in central France, more groups of haplotypes from distinct Danubian tributaries, and a relatively ancestral haplotype fixed in former tributaries of the Elbe in Denmark all suggest a complex pattern of interglacial and postglacial expansions originating from disjunct refugia throughout central Europe. Despite some evidence of human-mediated stock transfers, parsimony-network-based nested-clade analysis (NCA) supported specific inferences relating to corridors of postglacial expansion such as the lower Rhine (Moselle) and Elbe systems (Danish populations) serving as sources for expansion into the Baltic to the north as well as the upper Rhine and Danube to the south; and specific Rhine populations (Doller, Orbe and Reuss) serving as sources for colonization of the Rhone. The multiple divergent clades representing populations in the upper Danube, as well as the deeply divergent haplotypes found in the Adriatic and Loire basins (> 5% divergence from Asian outgroups) support the theory that European grayling have had a long history in Western Europe, pre-dating Pleistocene glacial cycles. The patterns of mtDNA divergence shown here support a perspective of rich inter- and intrabasin genetic diversity that should be protected from current trends to translocate brood stocks for rearing and release in response to declining populations, especially in southern European basins.