DAWN - Damselfly Workers at Naturalis
Dawn of the Damsels:
phylogeny and biogeography of the Zygoptera (Odonata)
With historic (Maurits A. Lieftinck, Dirk C. Geijskes, Jean Belle) and present-day workers, Naturalis has a tradition in odonatological research, possibly owning the best Odonata collection and library in the world (see below). DAWN (DAmselfy Workers at Naturalis) focuses on the biogeography and phylogeny of the more poorly studied families of damselflies (Zygoptera), especially those with their greatest diversity in the Old World tropics. These families include many relict forms, e.g. in the mountains of Cameroon, China, and New Guinea, or isolated corners of the earth like the African Cape, Madagascar, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Australia, but also large and successful radiations of rainforest damselflies, such as the jewels (Chlorocyphidae) of Africa and Asia with their colourful displays and the shadowdamsels (Platystictidae) of The Philippines and Malay Archipelago with their bizarre morphological diversity.
Our main phylogenetic and biogeographic research is presently focused on:
1. Chlorocyphidae
2. Platycnemididae
3. Platystictidae
4. Old World ‘Protoneuridae’
5. 'Megapodagrionidae' sensu lato, incl. taxa near Pseudolestes and Rhipidolestes
Of further interest are:
6. Euphaeidae
7. Isostictidae
8. Synlestidae, including the closely related Perilestidae
9. 'Amphipterygidae' sensu lato, incl. taxa near Lestoidea and Diphlebia
In the future we also hope to work on Lestidae, Coenagrionidae and some remaining families to obtain an overview of the entire suborder.
Please e-mail if you want to know more or participate in our research programme. There are plenty of opportunities for student internships!
DAWN members:
Klaas-Douwe 'KD' B. Dijkstra
Rory A. Dow
Dirk Gassmann
Vincent J. Kalkman
Matti Hämäläinen
Frank R. Stokvis
Jan van Tol
National Museum of Natural History Naturalis
P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands (mail)
Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR, Leiden, The Netherlands (courier)
The Odonata Collections of Naturalis
Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) are popular for their colour, charisma and conspicuity. Almost all 5,680 species depend on freshwater habitats, with the highest diversity in flowing waters in tropical rainforests. The status and trends of global biodiversity are often measured with a bias towards terrestrial vertebrates, like birds and mammals. The importance of freshwater for mankind has lead to an increasing interest in aquatic biodiversity. As freshwater insects, dragonflies represent a vital resource as well as the largest class of animal diversity. They are both attractive and convenient: beautiful and popular, but also relatively well studied and indicative of aquatic biodiversity and watershed health.
The Netherlands in general, and Naturalis in particular, has a great tradition in odonatology, which has lead to the possibly best dragonfly collection and library in the world. Naturalis owes its wealth especially to two former curators, Maurits A. Lieftinck and Dirk C. Geijskes, who were specialists of the faunas of the former Dutch colonies Indonesia and Suriname respectively. After Selys-Longchamps, the founder of dragonfly taxonomy who named 12% of the known species, Lieftinck described more species than any other author (9%). Moreover, the Dutchman Jean Belle was also one of the most productive authors of all-time (see list). As a consequence of their productiveness, Naturalis holds one of the greatest collections of odonate types in the world. With present-day specialists adding more taxa, over 700 primary types are kept. These are being photographed to be disclosed on the internet.
Number of species currently recognised as valid described by the ten most productive authors (bold those associated with Naturalis; data kindly provided by M. Wasscher):
1. Selys-Longchamps: 704
2. Lieftinck: 510
3. Fraser: 369
4. Hagen: 261
5. Ris: 243
6. Calvert: 221
7. Rambur: 123
8. Needham: 122
9. Pinhey: 122
10. Belle: 118
What separates Naturalis from other historic Odonata collections, such as that of Selys-Longchamps in Brussels, is that the collections are still expanding due to the presence of an active research group, including specialists for Europe, Africa, tropical Asia and New Guinea. This has lead to three PhDs at Leiden University in five years time: Dirk Gassmann (2005), Klaas-Douwe B. Dijkstra (2007), and Jan van Tol (2009). A thesis by Vincent J. Kalkman is in preparation. Currently, the entire collection contains 100,000s of specimens from all over the world. Two very significant collections are:
1. Suriname, 20-25,000 specimens assembled by Jean Belle and Dirk C. Geijskes This collection is currently being databased with a subsidy from the Dutch foreign ministry for Dutch-Surinamese collaboration.
2. The Philippines, 35-38,000 specimens assembled by Roland A. Müller The Philippine rainforests are one of the most endangered and species-rich habitats in the world, with different unique species inhabiting each island or forest fragment. This collection is one of the most important documentations of this richness.
The collections are instrumental in research and conservation activities coordinated from the museum:
1. Evolutionary research Naturalis is a leading institute on the molecular systematics of Zygoptera (damselflies), one of the two suborders of Odonata (see above).
2. Global Dragonfly Assessment Through worldwide collaboration, the GDA brings range and habitat data together to assess the status and threat of all 5,680 odonate species for IUCN’s Global Red List.
3. Biogeography Phylogenetic (1) and geographic (2) data are being combined for innovative research on the history of life on Earth, addressing such questions as how tropical biodiversity developed and how it can be conserved.
Friday, November 27, 2009