RESEARCH AT THE ENTOMOLOGY DEPARTMENT 1993-1997

RESEARCH AT THE ENTOMOLOGY DEPARTMENT 1993-1997

(published research is marked with an asterisk, see list of publications)

Because of the overwhelming species richness of the groups covered by the Department, exhaustive description and systematizing of their members are very remote goals, and the same is true for the elucidation of the life-history and distributional range of individual species. Judicious selectivity must therefore be exercised in identifying target taxa for revision, particularly at species-level. Special emphasis is given to taxa which for one reason or another are of particular general interest, be it for a phylogenetic key position, notable life-history traits, notable distributional patterns etc. The departmental staff, students and associates are involved in studies at all levels in the phylogenetic hierarchy. In addition to the systematic core activities of revisionary taxonomy and preparation of identification literature on selected taxa departmental research had four foci in 1993-1997:

High-rank phylogeny of terrestrial arthropod taxa, partly drawing on characters on soft anatomy not otherwise routinely studied in collections-based entomological systematics.

Biodiversity patterns: local/regional patterns of species richness of terrestrial arthropods, and the methodology for elucidating those patterns.

Historical biogeography of terrestrial arthropods: patterns and analytical procedures.

Ecological phylogenetics: The study of interactions between phylogenetic systematics and biological/ecological information on terrestrial arthropods.

Molecular approaches to phylogeny reconstruction were initiated within this 5-years period and will foreseeably play an increasing role henceforth.

The Department's research has been substantially enhanced through frame grants (project title: "Entomology - Biodiversity and phylogeny of terrestrial arthropods") from the Danish Natural Science Research Council in 1993-95 and 1996-98 to N.M. Andersen (project leader), H. Enghoff, M. Hansen, N.P. Kristensen, V. Michelsen and N. Scharff.

The Department's staff, associates and students published a total of 194 papers during 1993-1997.

Research projects at the Entomology Department, 1993-1997:

General systematic theory and methodology

Phylogeny of the Animal Kingdom

Spider systematics and phylogeny

Millipede systematics and phylogeny

Hexapod high-rank phylogeny

Systematics, phylogeny and biogeography of Hemiptera, with special reference to semiaquatic bugs

Beetle taxonomy and phylogeny

Morphology, phylogeny and systematics of Hymenoptera

Morphology and phylogeny of smaller lineages in the superorder Antliophora

Morphology, phylogeny and systematics of Diptera