DNA barcoding as a tool to monitor the diversity of endangered spring snails in an Austrian National Park.

The Kalkalpen National Park is situated in Upper Austria and contains more than 800 springs. The international importance of this Park is, from the perspective of nature conservation directives, highly significant (European Nature Reserve Natura 2000, recognised wetland of the Ramsar convention). In the current study, the hydrobioid fauna ('spring snails') of the Kalkalpen National Park was evaluated. These tiny snails are difficult to determine; however, their investigation is especially desirable, as several species are threatened and as they are important for water quality assessment. Snails collected in 39 selected springs were examined with classical morphological methods (shell and genital anatomy) and, subsequently, by DNA analysis. For this task, the DNA barcode, a partial sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene (length of the sequence 658-682 bp), was PCR amplified and sequenced. From 107 specimens, the DNA barcoding sequence could be obtained and compared with already existing DNA sequences. The (sub)endemic species