Terrestrial Zoology

2008 Orthopt 120 2008 Coleoptera 120 2008 Danaid 120 2008 Odonata 120
  

News

Note: See links to publications and page of the odonate study group at the bottom of this page.  

1 January 2009. -- Entomologists, terrestrial malacologists and herpetologist of Naturalis now form Department of Terrestrial Zoology.

 

Research

We are fascinated by the immense diversity of arthropods, molluscs and vertebrates. Not surprisingly, a core activity of Naturalis entomologists and malacologists is revising taxonomic groups, including describing newly discovered species. The last few decades, Naturalis entomologists have described about one thousand species new to science. Ultimately, however, we are interested in how this diversity evolved. Based on our rich collections, and intimate knowledge of particular groups, we reconstruct phylogenies, study and describe the global distributions of the species involved. These studies all aim to understand how such phylogenetic and biogeographical patterns evolved on a geological time scale. Our studies mainly focus on two geographical regions. Based on a long tradition of the museum, we continue the study of the fauna of the Oriental region, presently mainly related to fieldwork in Indonesia and Vietnam. The study of the entomofauna of the Palaearctic region also continues up to today. A special project team focuses on the fauna of the Netherlands.  

We also try to understand speciation processes in various groups of organisms. Please check the pages of Pim Arntzen and Menno Schilthuizen if you wish to read more of this aspect of our work.

Consultancy and applied studies

Many of our research activities are in the domain of pure sciences. However, we wish to be involved in the application of the results of our studies in society as well. Presently, we are contributing to various projects with a distinct societal component, such as the dynamics of the insect fauna of the Netherlands, including the recognition of invasive species, and the effects of such species on the native fauna. We are also a partner in a project for improving the knowledge infrastructure for the Plant Protection Service, aiming to make the Netherlands commercially more competitive in the agro-industry.

Scientific services

The department of entomology was and is involved in various projects to upgrade the information infrastructure in Europe, such as the Fauna Europaea project >, and 'Species 2000 europa' . The Netherlands office of the European Invertebrate Survey, a unit of the entomology department, maintains and co-ordinates the Dutch species register of plants, fungi and animals. All staff members are actively working as editors of scientific journals to maintain the international publication infrastructure. Many of us are also active in national or international professional organisations, such a the Netherlands Entomological Society, and the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. 

Research scientists

Presently, the department of entomology consists of three permanent systematic entomologists, one malacologist, and two staff members working on co-ordinating amateur research on the invertebrates of the Netherlands. An arachnologist will join our department later in 2008. All staff members have personal web pages on the Naturalis Science site.

Dr. Jan van Tol, head of the department. – Odonata.
Dr. Kees van Achterberg. – Hymenoptera, Braconidae.
Dr. Pim Arntzen. – Amphibia and Reptilia.
Dr. Bram Breure. – Mollusca.  
Drs. Roy Kleukers. – Fauna of the Netherlands.
Drs. André van Loon. – Fauna of the Netherlands.
Dr. Jeremy Miller. – Arachnida.
Dr. Erik van Nieukerken. – Lepidoptera, Nepticulidae and other microlepidoptera.
Prof. dr. Menno Schilthuizen. – Coleoptera, Mollusca.
Dr. Ton de Winter. – Mollusca.  

Research associates

The department is privileged to have a group of distinguished systematic entomologists  as research associates. Many of them are either curator emeritus of the department, or professional systematists or ecologists working at universities, research institutes or commercial organisations, but we also have amateurs with an excellent publication list of systematic revisions.  Some or the research associates have personal web pages on the Science Naturalis site.

Dr. Matty Berg. – Collembola.
Dr. A.C. van Bruggen. –  Mollusca.
Ms. Dr. Pingping Chen. – Aquatic and semiaquatic Heteroptera.
Dr. ‘KD’ Dijkstra. – Odonata.
Dr. Piet van Doesburg. – Heteroptera.
Dr. Dirk Gassmann. – Odonata.
Dr. Cees Gielis. – Lepidoptera, Pterophoridae.
Dr. Matti Hämäläinen. – Odonata.
Drs. Hans Huijbregts. – Coleoptera, Scarabeoidea; Diptera.
Dr. Rienk de Jong. – Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae.
Dr. Bas Kokshoorn – Mollusca. 
Mr. Sjaak Koster. – Microlepidoptera.
Drs. Jan Krikken. – Coleoptera.
Dr. Oscar Vorst. – Coleoptera.
 

Staff and honorary staff of the Netherlands office of the European Invertebrate Survey
Dr. Peter van Helsdingen. – Arachnida.
Ing. Vincent Kalkman. – Odonata.
Drs. Menno Reemer. – Diptera.
Drs. John Smit. – Diptera. 

Teaching

We welcome M.Sc. students of all universities to work at the Naturalis department of entomology. Students are advised to check the web pages of the staff for recent lists of practical traineeships of 3-12 months. Many kinds of studies are possible, including taxonomic revisions, phylogenetic studies and molecular systematics. We strongly encourage students to work on topics involving the interest of Naturalis entomologists. Fieldwork in tropical countries is possible for some topics. Staff of the department also teaches a practical course in entomology (about 7 days), as a component of the Biodiversity II course of the University of Leiden. We also lecture during various courses at other universities.  

Collection

Odonata Typen  2008 Odonata Plastic zakken
 

Most of our research is based on, or at least starts with, the collection of our museum. The museum was established about 190 years ago, and the collection of the 19th century includes some highlights as the results of the expeditions of the Natural Sciences Commission for the Dutch East Indies (c. 1820-1850), and the Japan collection made by von Siebold and Burger. However, many entomological collections of that time remained unstudied up to the 20th century since nearly all curators at the ‘Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie’ of the 19th century focused on vertebrates. Significant contributions to our knowledge of the fauna of Southeast Asia were made between c. 1940 and 1980 by former colleagues A. Diakonoff (microlepidoptera), M.A. Lieftinck (Odonata and Hymenoptera, Apidae) and J. van der Vecht (Hymenoptera aculeata).  This strong tradition in collection-based research is carried on up to today. Expeditions and faunistic inventories in tropical regions of Southeast Asia, in co-operation with local authorities and research institutes, continue to add specimens to the already extensive collections of this region. Our expertise on the phylogeny of groups of special concern, in combination with local assessments, may contribute to the recognition and conservation of biodiversity hotspots.  

 

Co-operation and other relationships

Netherlands

  1. European Invertebrate Survey in the Netherlands   ♦
  2. Fauna Malesiana Foundation, Leiden
  3. Nederlandse Entomologische Vereniging
    (Netherlands Entomological Society)   ♦
  4. Plantenziektenkundige Dienst    ♦
  5. Universiteit van Leiden (University of Leiden)    ♦
  6. Rijksuniversiteit Groningen   ♦

 International

  1. Fauna Europaea    ♦
  2. Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Hanoi
  3. International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature   ♦
  4. Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, see Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense
  5. Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense >
  6. Species2000    ♦
  7. Tropenbos International   ♦ 
  8. Vietnamese Academy of Sciences, see Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Hanoi