Zusammenfassung: A remarkable trend in the evolution of lampreys is the occurrence in most genera of 'paired species', in which the parasitic anadromous lampreys are believed to have given rise to nonparasitic freshwater resident populations. The present work examines the phylogeography of the European paired species Lampetra fluviatilis and Lampetra planeri, in an attempt to elucidate species pair evolutionary history. We studied sequence variation in cytochrome b and ATPase 6, 8 mitochondrial genes in 63 individuals from 21 localities of the paired species throughout their distribution range. Results from the phylogenetic and nested clade analyses were largely consistent, suggesting the existence of three major evolutionary lineages: lineage I and possibly lineage II are widespread throughout Europe, while the most ancestral lineage III is apparently restricted to the Iberian Peninsula. The high genetic diversity observed in the Iberian Peninsula is probably the result of refugial persistence and subsequent accumulation of variation over several ice ages, whereas the low levels of genetic diversity observed in central and northern Europe should reflect a rapid postglacial colonization. Results suggest that L. planeri originated within at least two distinct evolutionary lineages, rejecting the single origin hypothesis. The observed lack of taxa monophyly within lineage I may be the result of ongoing gene flow if the two taxa are alternate life-history forms of a single species. However, structure within lineage I is also consistent with the hypothesis of divergence of taxa after postglacial dispersion (around 2000 generations ago) with incomplete lineage sorting. Further testing of the alternative hypotheses is warranted.

Zusammenfassung: The Enns River runs through the Gesäuse National Park and is generally characterized by relatively pristine morphological features. During the late 1990s the fish densities of this stretch collapsed, including the dominant species of this river zone, the European grayling. River restoration efforts have been undertaken to improve habitat quality and connectivity of the Enns River but also its largest tributary in the Gesäuse, the Johnsbach River, which had been heavily alternd for flood protection. However, due to intense sediment transport in the Johnsbach River, the newly built ground sills might still pose barriers for fish migrating from the Enns into the Johnsbach River. To check whether grayling enter the Johnsbach for spawning and whether these sills are passable for grayling during their migrations, we took environmental DNA samples from both the Enns River and the Johnsbach River and applied a qPCR protocol originally developed for Arctic grayling. We received positive signals of European grayling in the Enns River, as well as the Johnsbach River but only during the spring spawning season. This suggests that at least a few grayling individuals manage to pass the sills and migrate into the Johnsbach River to attempt to spawn.