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This study aimed to examine the pollution level in the central part of the Büyük Menderes River (in both the main tributary and Çürüksu stream) in Denizli (Turkey) using water physicochemical parameters and biomarker responses in Chironomus riparius (Diptera: Chironomidae). In physicochemical parameter evaluations, Sığma, Korucuk, and Güzelköy stations were determined to have higher mean temperature, pH, salinity, conductivity, and total dissolved solids (TDS) values and lower dissolved oxygen (dO2) and saturated oxygen (sO2) values than Bekilli, Mahmutlu, and Sarayköy stations. In biomarker response evaluations, C. riparius larvae from Sarayköy, Sığma, Korucuk, and Güzelköy stations were found to exhibit inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities (55%?68%) and elevated 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activities (191%?281%), glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities (138%?187%), and metallothionein (MT) contents (155%?231%) when compared with the control values. This study proves that different stations are exposed to different pollution sources, the pollution level of a station varies depending on the season, and the stations on Çürüksu stream, among which Güzelköy appears to be the most contaminated, are exposed to more pollutants than those on the main tributary of the river. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The genus Cricotopus (Diptera: Chironomidae) has a worldwide distribution and possesses a wide variation in ecology and habitat preference across its distribution. Identification of Cricotopus species and distinguishing them from the species of closely related genera (i.e. Orthocladius and Paratrichocladius) are generally difficult. This study aimed to investigate the evolutionary history of several Cricotopus species, with the main focus on C. bicinctus, C. flavocinctus, C. triannulatus, C. patens, C. intersectus, C. laricomalis, C. ornatus, C. reversus, and C. sylvestris from Turkey, using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Molecular classifications of Turkish Cricotopus species were full compatible with the morphological species identity, suggesting the adequacy and practicability of existing larval keys for identifying these specimens o species level. The sampled Turkish Cricotopus species with two or more representatives were found to produce monophyletic groups. Diversification time estimates showed that the diversification of Cricotopus was initiated in the late Cretaceous. Additionally, these estimates suggested a distinct continental structuring in the evolution of some species and a possible origination of the sampled Turkish representatives of this genus from North European representatives. Based on the results of this study, the COI gene is concluded to be useful both for species identification in the genus Cricotopus and for estimating their evolutionary relationships. This study provides valuable information on the evolutionary relationships among Cricotopus species. However, to obtain more accurate and/or persuasive results, an intensive and targeted sampling from more locations and the inclusion of more sequence data from not only the mitochondrial COI gene but also additional nuclear and/or mitochondrial markers are highly recommended for further studies.

Mitochondrial DNA sequences from cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) were used to provide a phylogeny of the Chironomidae (Diptera) from Turkey. Data were obtained from 70 species of Chironomidae belonging to the genera Ablabesmyia, Chironomus, Cladotanytarsus, Conchapelopia, Cricotopus, Cryptochironomus, Dicrotendipes, Endochironomus, Eukiefferiella, Kiefferulus, Macropelopia, Micropsectra, Microtendipes, Paracladopelma, Paracricotopus, Paratanytarsus, Paratendipes, Paratrichocladius, Polypedilum, Psectrocladius, Psectrotanypus, Rheocricotopus, Tanytarsus, Thienemannimyia, Virgatanytarsus and Zavrelimyia. Neighbour-joining (NJ) and maximum likelihood (ML) analyses were used to identify the relationships among species. We confirmed monophyly of all sampled subfamilies and also tribes Chironomini, Tanytarsini, Macropelopiini and Pentaneurini, with the exception of subfamily Tanypodinae in ML analysis. However, in Chironomini, genus Chironomus, Cryptochironomus, Endochironomus and Paratendipes were monophyletic, while Polypedilum was not. Likewise, in Tanytarsini, genus Paratanytarsus and Cladotanytarsus were monophyletic, while Tanytarsus and Micropsectra were not. Also, in Macropelopiini and Pentaneurini, genus Macropelopia and Zavrelimyia were monophyletic. However, Ablabesmyia, genus of Pentaneurini, formed monophyletic group only in NJ analysis. In this study, we determined an unexpected inclusion of a Tanytarsus brundini individual into Micropsectra group. According to our pairwise distance analyses, the mean interspesific divergence was 19.4% for all species studied. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.