Three new species of Crenitis Bedel, 1881 from South Africa, with a revised key to African species (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)

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What's in a name? What have taxonomy and systematics ever done for us?

There is increasingly little doubt that we are in the midst of an anthropogenically driven extinction event which may end up rivalling the mass extinctions of the geological past (Barnosky et al., 2011). Increasingly the world’s natural and seminatural habitats are being irreversibly transformed by human populations, meaning that much of global biodiversity is under threat (see Caro et al., 2011 on remaining intact ecosystems). Given this “biodiversity crisis” and the fact that biodiversity is ultimately essential to human survival on this planet (e.g. Juniper, 2013) one might expect that the basic science underpinning the study of biodiversity would be a priority worldwide. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, one would be wrong – and indeed a so-called “Taxonomic Impediment” has been recognized as a major obstacle to biodiversity research for over two decades (Wilson, 1988; Riedel et al., 2013). The fact remains that despite much time devoted to discussing the problem and its possible solutions (e.g. House of Lords Science and Technology Committee 1992, 2008; Deans et al., 2011) we are still not training enough people in taxonomy, nor are we employing enough taxonomically-orientated biologists in universities. Some of the educational consequences of this have been discussed before, including in the pages of this journal. Leather and Quicke (2009) point out how a limited study of organismal biology in many modern university curricula translates through to a lack of natural history knowledge in schoolchildren, as it results in biology teachers with limited knowledge of the wider diversity of life. Here, rather than revisiting these arguments I instead focus on some of the perhaps lesser-known academic, educational and societal benefits of systematic biology, as well as highlighting what I believe is the major remaining obstacle to taxonomy and systematics, and their benefits, being better embedded in the modern biology curriculum. It is important to remember that taxonomy is about more than simply giving a name to an organism, and adding this name to a list. Species names are hypotheses, these hypotheses forming the basic currency of comparative biology, a science which allows us to better understand the natural world, and our place in it

Toward a New Understanding of Creative Dynamics: From One-Size-Fits-All Models to Multiple and Dynamic Forms of Creativity

This article proposes an alternative to a managerial best practice approach to creativity based on the notion of creativity as a singular concept. Our alternative draws on three fundamental ideas that are emerging in different pockets of the creativity literature in a way that can be readily conceptualized and applied in practice. The first idea is that creativity is really about creativities , or a cluster of different and discrete qualities that can be combined to suit the context in which they operate. The second is that creativity is not static: it is about creativitying , or the action and the practice of combining these creativities, which evolve over time. The third is that being creative in organizations is not an individual act: rather, it is the multiple activities of groups as they go about creativitying

The Meladema Laporte, 1835 (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae) of the Sahara Desert

Meladema Laporte, 1835 is a genus of large diving beetles, found in the Western Palaearctic, from the Canary Islands and Madeira to western Turkey (Bilton &amp; Ribera 2017). The genus currently contains four species: the widespread M. coriacea Laporte, 1835, distributed from the Canary Islands to Turkey and ranging from southern France and the central Balkans south to the central Sahara, two Atlantic Island endemics, M. imbricata (Wollaston, 1871) from the western Canary Islands and M. lanio (Fabricius, 1775) from the main island of Madeira, and a fourth, recently described species, M. lepidoptera Bilton &amp; Ribera, 2017 from the Tyrrhenian Islands (Corsica, Sardinia, Elba, Montecristo) and parts of the Italian mainland (Bilton &amp; Ribera 2017). </jats:p

The exotic weevil Stenopelmus rufinasus Gyllenhal, 1835 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) across a "host-free" pond network

The presence of the exotic weevil Stenopelmus rufinasus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is closely related to the occurrence of the exotic red water fern, Azolla filiculoides. In this paper, we present the first records of S. rufinasus in Doñana National Park (SW Spain), based on sampling of macroinvertebrates in 91 temporary ponds, including monthly samples of 22 ponds, during two successive years (2005-2007). The exotic weevil was present in 21% of the sampled ponds where the host plant, A. filiculiodes, was not detectable. Because A. filiculoides can reach high densities in an adjacent area of marsh, we suggest that the occurrence of the exotic weevil in these ponds is a consequence of dispersal from nearby marshes. Our study demonstrates that S. rufinasus adults can occur at relatively high densities in ponds where the host plant is not present, suggesting that such apparently “host-free” sites may act as stepping stones for the spread of this speciesLa presencia de la especie de gorgojo exótico Stenopelmus rufinasus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) está íntimamente rela- cionada con la planta acuática exótica Azolla filiculoides. En este estudio se registró por primera vez la presencia de S. rufinasus en el Parque Nacional de Doñana (SO España) tras realizar un muestreo de macroinvertebrados en 91 lagunas que incluye muestreos mensuales de 22 de las mismas durante dos años consecutivos (2005-2007). El gorgojo exótico estuvo presente en el 21% de las lagunas muestreadas a pesar de que su supuesto hospedador, A. filiculiodes, no fue detectado. Dado que A. filiculiodes puede alcanzar grandes densidades en la marisma adyacente, sugerimos que la presencia del gor- gojo exótico en las lagunas temporales se debe a su dispersión desde la marisma. Este estudio demuestra que individuos adultos de S. rufinasus pueden aparecer con densidades relativamente altas en lagunas donde su hospedador potencial no está presente, lo que sugiere que estos sitios libres de hospedador podrían actuar como zonas de paso para la dispersión de la especiePeer reviewe

Water beetles as models in ecology and evolution

Embargo date changed from 12.01.2021 to tomorrow as there is no embargo stated in SHERPA/RoMEO. SR 14.02.1