Habitat Specialization and Genetic Structure of Trichoptera in Northern German Peatlands Under Anthropogenic Pressure

Habitat Specialization and Genetic Structure of Trichoptera in Northern German Peatlands Under Anthropogenic Pressure | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Habitat Specialization and Genetic Structure of Trichoptera in Northern German Peatlands Under Anthropogenic Pressure Simon Bober, Martin Kubiak, Matthias Glaubrecht This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7536888/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Peatlands are critical ecosystems that regulate carbon, water, and biodiversity. However, extensive degradation of these habitats, particularly in northern Germany, has led to significant biodiversity loss, especially among specialized species. This study investigates the impact of peatland degradation on Trichoptera species in northern Germany, focusing on species' genetic differentiation and population structure in relation to habitat alteration. We compare sites across a gradient of peatland condition, from intact raised bogs to degraded, urbanized areas, to examine how changes in habitat quality affect Trichoptera communities. Using double-digest RAD sequencing (ddRADseq), we analyze the genetic structure of three Trichoptera species representing different habitat guilds: Limnephilus flavicornis (generalist), Glyphotaelius pellucidus (moderate habitat specificity), and Limnephilus elegans (raised bog specialist). Our results indicate subtle genetic differentiation influenced by non-spatial factors rather than a geographic pattern. These findings underscore the complex relationship between ecological specialization, habitat fragmentation, and genetic structure in peatland species. Biological sciences/Evolution/Population genetics/Genetic variation/Structural variation Biological sciences/Genetics/Evolutionary biology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Biogeography Biological sciences/Ecology/Biodiversity Biological sciences/Evolution/Evolutionary genetics Full Text Additional Declarations There is a duality of interest Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: revise 07 Jan, 2026 Review # 2 received at journal 18 Dec, 2025 Review # 3 received at journal 11 Dec, 2025 Review # 1 received at journal 02 Dec, 2025 Reviewer # 3 agreed at journal 23 Oct, 2025 Reviewer # 2 agreed at journal 16 Oct, 2025 Reviewer # 1 agreed at journal 16 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 02 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 04 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 04 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7536888","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":523700402,"identity":"c6b3fa84-3f3d-46ea-89b0-bafd110bfd55","order_by":0,"name":"Simon Bober","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABBUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZjB5gMGAgYHxAQODBIjBxgAVJKiF2YA4LQwILWwSICZBLfLt3ImPCxjuyJmz9z6r5t1hwWDOfjrtMe+eWga+4w1YtRgc5t1sPIPhmbFlz3Gz27xnJBgse3K3G/M8O84geQa7NQbMvNukeRgOJ264kcZ2m7dNon7DgVygyIFjDAY3ErA7rBmm5f4ztmKgFgaD82+hWu4/wO6Zw3Bb2NiYwVpugG2pATKw6wD7hccA5Jc0Zsm5YC1vtxvOOXCAR/IMDof1n934mKcCFGLHGD+8basDOix324M3B+rk+I5j9z7ULiwO5sGjHjuoI1nHKBgFo2AUDFsAAB0TXhcV3/T2AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"University of Hamburg","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Simon","middleName":"","lastName":"Bober","suffix":""},{"id":523700403,"identity":"49b73c37-3d63-4503-b09e-be5bee8902a4","order_by":1,"name":"Martin Kubiak","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Martin","middleName":"","lastName":"Kubiak","suffix":""},{"id":523700404,"identity":"b4907522-78ad-4a96-a4c9-b2408c9e59c6","order_by":2,"name":"Matthias Glaubrecht","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universität Hamburg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Matthias","middleName":"","lastName":"Glaubrecht","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-09-04 14:07:28","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7536888/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7536888/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":93552494,"identity":"ed32061c-0ead-440f-9719-038d551aca0d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-15 05:41:25","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2260102,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"TrichopteraGeneticsinDegradedPeatlands.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7536888/v1_covered_e6be0fab-9829-4d0f-a227-454dbf3c7d7d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is a duality of interest","formattedTitle":"Habitat Specialization and Genetic Structure of Trichoptera in Northern German Peatlands Under Anthropogenic Pressure","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"heredity","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"hdy","sideBox":"Learn more about [Heredity](http://www.nature.com/hdy/)","snPcode":"41437","submissionUrl":"https://mts-hdy.nature.com/cgi-bin/main.plex","title":"Heredity","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7536888/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7536888/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Peatlands are critical ecosystems that regulate carbon, water, and biodiversity. However, extensive degradation of these habitats, particularly in northern Germany, has led to significant biodiversity loss, especially among specialized species. This study investigates the impact of peatland degradation on Trichoptera species in northern Germany, focusing on species' genetic differentiation and population structure in relation to habitat alteration. We compare sites across a gradient of peatland condition, from intact raised bogs to degraded, urbanized areas, to examine how changes in habitat quality affect Trichoptera communities. Using double-digest RAD sequencing (ddRADseq), we analyze the genetic structure of three Trichoptera species representing different habitat guilds: Limnephilus flavicornis (generalist), Glyphotaelius pellucidus (moderate habitat specificity), and Limnephilus elegans (raised bog specialist). Our results indicate subtle genetic differentiation influenced by non-spatial factors rather than a geographic pattern. These findings underscore the complex relationship between ecological specialization, habitat fragmentation, and genetic structure in peatland species.","manuscriptTitle":"Habitat Specialization and Genetic Structure of Trichoptera in Northern German Peatlands Under Anthropogenic Pressure","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-15 05:33:16","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7536888/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"revise","date":"2026-01-07T15:16:47+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"This content is not available.","date":"2025-12-18T07:45:40+00:00","index":2,"fulltext":"This content is not available."},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"This content is not available.","date":"2025-12-11T12:26:27+00:00","index":3,"fulltext":"This content is not available."},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"This content is not available.","date":"2025-12-02T14:59:49+00:00","index":1,"fulltext":"This content is not available."},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"This content is not available.","date":"2025-10-23T11:21:11+00:00","index":3,"fulltext":"This content is not available."},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"This content is not available.","date":"2025-10-16T11:00:44+00:00","index":2,"fulltext":"This content is not available."},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"This content is not available.","date":"2025-10-16T08:03:06+00:00","index":1,"fulltext":"This content is not available."},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-10-02T08:28:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-09-04T14:05:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Heredity","date":"2025-09-04T14:05:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"heredity","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"hdy","sideBox":"Learn more about [Heredity](http://www.nature.com/hdy/)","snPcode":"41437","submissionUrl":"https://mts-hdy.nature.com/cgi-bin/main.plex","title":"Heredity","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"4dace835-d857-4e3b-a6cf-617d17d0028f","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 15th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"in-revision","subjectAreas":[{"id":55663230,"name":"Biological sciences/Evolution/Population genetics/Genetic variation/Structural variation"},{"id":55663231,"name":"Biological sciences/Genetics/Evolutionary biology"},{"id":55663232,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Biogeography"},{"id":55663233,"name":"Biological sciences/Ecology/Biodiversity"},{"id":55663234,"name":"Biological sciences/Evolution/Evolutionary genetics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-07T15:21:19+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-15 05:33:16","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7536888","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7536888","identity":"rs-7536888","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}