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A Faunal Review of Aleocharine Beetles in the Rapidly Changing Arctic and Subarctic Regions of North America (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae)

  • The first comprehensive book about arctic and subarctic aleocharine beetles of North America

  • Provides necessary knowledge base required for monitoring and analyzing climate change in the northern part of North America using a well represented indicator group of insects

  • An invaluable source for entomologists, taxonomists, ecologists, conservationists, and biodiversity specialists to study ecosystem change in North America

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Table of contents (21 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiv
  2. Introduction

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 1-2
  3. A Historical Review of Research on Aleocharinae of the Arctic and Subarctic Ecoregions of North America and an Overview of the Study Region

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 3-9
  4. Material and Methods

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 11-71
  5. Effects of Global Warming on the Distribution and Diversity of Arctic and Subarctic Insects

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 73-83
  6. Aleocharine Beetles as Indicators of Environmental Change

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 85-90
  7. Faunal Analysis and Discussion

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 91-97
  8. List of Recorded Arctic and Subarctic Aleocharine Species of North America and Their Composition

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 99-108
  9. Key to Aleocharinae Tribes of Arctic and Subarctic North America

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 109-133
  10. Tribe Gymnusini Heer, 1839

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 135-153
  11. Tribe Aleocharini Fleming, 1821

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 155-181
  12. Tribe Oxypodini C.G. Thomson, 1859

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 183-274
  13. Tribe Tachyusini C.G. Thomson, 1859

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 275-303
  14. Tribe Boreocyphini Klimaszewski and Langor, 2011

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 305-308
  15. Tribe Hypocyphtini Laporte, 1835

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 309-312
  16. Tribe Myllaenini Ganglbauer, 1895

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 313-321
  17. Tribe Liparocephalini Fenyes, 1918

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 323-337
  18. Tribe Homalotini Heer, 1839

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 339-357
  19. Tribe Placusini Mulsant and Rey, 1871

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 359-369
  20. Tribe Athetini Casey, 1910

    • Jan Klimaszewski, Adam Brunke, Derek S. Sikes, Mikko Pentinsaari, Benoit Godin, Reginald P. Webster et al.
    Pages 371-643

About this book

Arctic and Subarctic North America is particularly affected by climate change, where average temperatures are rising three times faster than the global average. Documenting the changing climate/environment of the north requires a structured knowledge of indicator taxa that reflect the effects of climate changes.
Aleocharine beetles are a dominant group of forest insects, which are being used in many projects as indicators of environmental change. Many species are forest specialists restricted to certain microhabitats, some are generalists and others are open habitat specialists. They represent many ecological niches and, as such, are good indicators for many other species as well. The majority of Canadian aleocharine beetle species (about 600 spp.) has been studied and published by Jan Klimaszewski et al. (2018, 2020), mainly from southern, central, and western Canada, while the northern taxa remain poorly known and documented. 
The aim of the present book is to summarize the knowledge on this insect group in the Arctic and Subarctic North America and to provide a diagnostic and ecological tool for scientists studying and monitoring insects in northern Canada and Alaska. The book includes a review of the literature, information on 238 species and their habitats, taxonomic review, images, and identification tools.




Reviews

“I am in awe of the efforts put forward by the authors of this volume. … This book is an excellent addition to the library of anyone interested in the effects of climate change on Arctic and Subarctic insects.” (Stylianos Chatzimanolis, The Coleopterists Bulletin, Vol. 76 (4), 2022)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Laurentian Forestry Centre, Nat. Res. Canada, Can. Forest Service, Stn. Sainte-Foy, Canada

    Jan Klimaszewski

  • Canadian National Collection of Insects, Agriculture and Agriculture-Food Canada, Ottawa, Canada

    Adam Brunke

  • University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks, USA

    Derek S. Sikes

  • Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

    Mikko Pentinsaari

  • Whitehorse, Canada

    Benoit Godin

  • Charters Settlement, Canada

    Reginald P. Webster

  • Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian National Collection of Insects, Ottawa, Canada

    Anthony Davies

  • Laurentian Forestry Centre, Nat. Resources Canada, Can. Forest Serv., Stn. Sainte-Foy, Canada

    Caroline Bourdon

  • Department of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, USA

    Alfred F. Newton

About the authors

Jan Klimaszewski is a research scientist at the Laurentian Forestry Centre, Natural Resources Canada, Quebec City. He graduated from the University of Wroclaw, Poland, and held research positions at: Lyman Entomological Museum, McGill University, Quebec, Canada; Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, South Africa; National Insect Collection, Auckland, New Zealand; and BC Research, Vancouver, Canada. His research deals with taxonomy and ecology of Coleoptera, and particularly the speciose family Staphylinidae (Aleocharinae). Many species of this beetle family are sensitive indicators of forest change and are useful in environment impact studies. He has fruitful collaboration with research scientists all over the world. His research also deals with adventive species of Coleoptera in Canada and USA. He published over 170 scientific articles and over 12 books.

Adam Brunke is a research scientist at the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada). He has conducted research at the University of Guelph (Canada), University of Copenhagen (Denmark) and the Natural History Museum of Vienna (Austria). His research focuses on the phylogeny, taxonomy, classification and biogeography of rove beetles (Staphylinidae) using both morphological and molecular evidence.  Fieldwork has taken him to Costa Rica, Myanmar, Vietnam, Bolivia and the southern and western United States. He has published over 30 articles on rove beetles, described over 50 new species and published a higher-level reclassification of subfamily Staphylininae.

Derek S. Sikes is Alaska's first curator of Insects for the University of Alaska Museum and Professor of Entomology in the Department of Biology and Wildlife at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Derek Sikes has spent the last 13 years exploring Alaska, working to improve the Alaskan state insect collection, teaching systematics and entomology to University of Alaska Fairbanks students and the public, and expanding knowledge of Alaska's most numerous animals. Dr. Sikes is a specialist on the evolution and taxonomy of the carrion beetle subfamily Nicrophorinae, which includes the behaviorally complex burying beetles.

Mikko Pentinsaari is a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph. His research focuses on DNA barcoding and its various applications in species identification and taxonomy, with a special interest in beetles. He obtained a PhD from the University of Oulu, Finland, and moved to Canada in 2017 to work on DNA barcode reference libraries for Canadian Coleoptera.

Benoit Godin is a former Head of Environmental Assessment with Environment and Climate Change Canada in Whitehorse, Yukon. His areas of expertise are the environmental impact assessment for major industrial projects using aquatic and terrestrial insects, and the biogeography of Aleocharinae in Western Canada.

Reginald Webster is a self-employed entomologist and a Research Associate with the New Brunswick Museum. He obtained a PhD from Michigan State University and has held postdoctoral positions at Duke University in North Carolina, University of Massachusetts, and Laval University in Quebec. His research interests deal with the Coleoptera and Lepidoptera of New Brunswick, focusing on the taxonomy and biology of rove beetles (Staphylinidae), especially the Aleocharinae. Other interests include the conservation of endangered insects in Canada and the protection of old-growth forests forests in New Brunswick. He has published over 90 peer-reviewed publications based on this research and has co-authored the descriptions of over 50 species of Coleoptera, mostly in the staphylinid subfamily Aleocharinae.

Anthony Davies has been providing research, curatorial and technical support for coleopterists at the the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, since 1971, including J.M. Campbell, A. Smetana and P. Bouchard, while identifying several families of beetles for the National Identification Service, specializing in the Staphylinoidea. He was a contributing author in both editions of the “Checklist of Beetles of Canada and Alaska”, the “Reclassification of the North Temperate Taxa Associated with Staphylinus Sensu Lato” (with A. Smetana), the “Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera”, “Family Group Names in Coleoptera”, two volumes of “Adventive Species of Coleoptera Recorded from Canada”, and the two books on eastern Canadian and British Columbian aleocharine beetles, as well as smaller revisionary studies. He is also frequently called upon to review publications dealing with Coleoptera.

Caroline Bourdon is a forestry technician who graduated from CEGEP de Ste-Foy, Quebec. She works as a research technician at the Laurentian Forestry Centre, Natural Resources Canada, where she is involved in many projects in forest entomology and pathology. She participated in research leading to 22 publications for this Center.

Alfred F. Newton is a Curator Emeritus at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. His research is primarily on the taxonomy, classification, phylogeny and evolution of rove beetles (Staphylinidae) and related beetle groups. He has conducted more than three years of field work worldwide, mainly in the United States, Mexico, Chile, Australia and New Zealand, and has produced more than 135 peer-reviewed research publications as well as many scientific notes and reports, and contributed to building several internet resources including the Staphylinoidea and Hydrophiloidea parts of the Catalogue of Life.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access