Madagascar is the top biodiversity hotspot in the world, with levels of endemism almost unanimously reaching 80-100% across all organism groups. At the same time it is one of the most threatened regions, already 90% of the natural forest is destroyed and almost half of what remains still lack protection. While even new lemur species are continuously being discovered, the knowledge of the arthropod fauna is rudimentary.
When sampling water beetles we have estimated that approximately 20% of sampled species are new to science. This is a long-term project that aims at exploring, discovering, and describing the water beetle fauna of Madagascar, initially with a focus on the Adephagan families Dytiscidae, Gyrinidae, Noteridae and Haliplidae.
Several expeditions have already been completed with visited localities all over the island. The collected material includes many new species and some new genera, all of which are extracted for DNA. The work includes taxonomic revisions and new descriptions where DNA is used alongside morphology in the species discovery/delineation step. Here we use and develop different algorithms of species delimitation. All groups will also be treated in phylogenetic analyses with special focus on endemic radiations.
By dating phylogenies we will look at the age, origin and speciation rate which together with distribution data will be used to test a theory of the microendemic pattern of Madagascar (Wilmé et al, 2006). In other groups we will estimate colonization events across the Mozambique Channel from mainlandAfrica , or links to the fauna of the Indian subcontinent.
The first paper will deal with the genus Africophilus where six new species have been discovered. Work is also in progress on Pachynectes, Hovahydrus, Uvarus and Madaglymbus.
Collaborators: Michael Balke, Zoologische Staatssamlung München Benjamin Isambert, Natural History Museum, London Michael Monaghan, Leibniz-Institute of freshwater ecology and inland fisheries, Berlin
Sampling at Isalo N. P, Canyon de Makis. Photo J. Bergsten
Sampling, N. of fort Dauphin. Photo J. Bergsten
Visited localities, Madagascar. Image: B. Isambert
Click to enlarge the image.
Sampling hygropetric fauna at Andringitra N. P. Photo J. Bergsten
Africophilus nesiotes male ventral side. VP-SEM. Photo J. Bergsten
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