Thesis (M.S.)--Tennessee Technological University, 2009. / Title from title page screen (viewed on July 16, 2010). Bibliography: leaves 28-33.

The purpose of this paper is to discover and make known the species of aquatic and semiaquatic Coleopters of the sub-order ADEPHAGA which occur in Utah and to give something of their distribution, environment and habits whenever possible. When ever possible the original description or a description from a recent revision has been included for each species. Descriptions given in recent revisions have been regarded as more desirable because they describe the species in comparison with its nearest relatives, while many fo the original descriptions were very incomplete and could not be used to separate many of our present species or even genera, if the types were not known.

Rocky plateaus are globally threatened ecosystems and the lateritic plateaus in northern section of the Indian Western Ghats/Sri Lanka Biodiversity Hotspot (NWG) are notable landscape features. The NWG are geologically distinct from and biologically isolated from the other two sections of the Western Ghats. The NWG is known to possess elevated levels of endemic flora their biotic relationships remain poorly understood. We present here the first quantitative multi-taxa comparative study of plateau fauna in the northern Western Ghats. Ants, water beetles and amphibians were selected for the comparison as they use different ecological resources from each other and at various times of year therefore may provide a wider representation of plateau usage. Distribution and endemism were expected to reflect distribution and isolation by plateau and inter-plateau environment related to elevational, latitudinal, climatic and land-use clines. The study explored patterns of amphibian, water beetle, ant and fungal distribution and sampling seasonal pools and terrestrial surfaces of 13 representative plateaus in western Maharashtra, with sites ranging from 67-1179 m and across 2° of (sub) tropical latitude. Distribution of all taxonomic groups was spatially non-random at all levels of organisation and across all spatial scales. At the macroscale assemblages differed significantly with climate related to elevation, latitude but at a local scale land-use and microhabitat availably had an impact. Ants displayed a large seasonal assemblage variation, responding to seed availability. Water beetles the ants (combined survey data) were the best surrogates for all taxa data with amphibians the weakest representatives. Infection by the fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, was extensive but less intense below the escarpment. We report the first records of infection in 13 endangered and data deficient amphibian species in the Western Ghats. The plateaus of western Maharashtra have recently been recognised as fragile and threatened ecosystems most still lack adequate statutory protection. In the absence of peer reviewed comparative data, the importance of individual sites is difficult to demonstrate hampering evidence-based conservation decisions.

La tesis aborda el problema de la conservación de la biodiversidad acuática en la Península Ibérica e Islas Baleares desde una doble perspectiva, estableciendo prioridades de conservación para espacios y especies utilizando inventarios de coleópteros acuáticos. En primer lugar, se evalúa si los coleópteros acuáticos pueden ser utilizados como buenos indicadores de biodiversidad en ecosistemas acuáticos mediterráneos. Posteriormente, se seleccionan áreas prioritarias para la conservación de la biodiversidad acuática usando coleópteros como indicadores. Se crea una base de datos de coleópteros acuáticos ibéricos y se evalúa tanto el esfuerzo de muestreo, como la cantidad y naturaleza de los posibles sesgos de los datos. Se ha obtenido una función basada en variables ambientales y espaciales capaz de predecir la distribución de la riqueza de especies en la Península Ibérica. Por último se identifican las especies endémicas mas amenazadas, y se evalúa la efectividad de la Red Natura 2000 en su protección. / This thesis comprises the problem of freshwater biodiversity conservation in the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands using inventories of water beetles as surrogates of biodiversity. The thesis involves different approaches and methods from the double perspective of setting conservation priorities for species and areas. Firstly, the use of water beetles as reliable biodiversity indicators in Maditerranean aquatic ecosystems was assessed. Then, areas for freshwater biodiversity conservation at regional scale were selected using water beetles as biodiversity surrogates. Afterwards, a database of Iberian water beetles was compiled. The survey effort, the degree of geographical coverage and the amount and nature of bias in this database were assessed. Subsequently, a function based on environmental and spatial variables able to predict species richness distribution in the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands were obtained. Lastly, the most threatened endemic water beetles were identified and the effectiveness of existing reserve network (Natura 2000) in protecting them was evaluated.

La presente tesis doctoral aborda distintas estrategias y metodologías en el contexto de la conservación de la biodiversidad de ecosistemas de aguas continentales en el Sureste Ibérico, utilizando inventarios de coleópteros acuáticos. En primer lugar, se propone un método para evaluar la vulnerabilidad de especies y para asignar prioridades de conservación a especies y poblaciones de insectos. A continuación, se compara la eficacia de diferentes métodos de selección de áreas y se estudia el rendimiento de las áreas protegidas en el contexto de la conservación de la biodiversidad de sistemas acuáticos. Por otro lado, se testa el comportamiento de tres índices de diferenciación taxonómica con relación a los niveles de impacto antrópico en aguas continentales. Finalmente, se estudia la variación genética y la filogeografía de Ochthebius glaber, un escarabajo acuático raro y amenazado endémico de arroyos hipersalinos del sur y sureste de la Península Ibérica.