- Room 610, Davy Building, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA
- +44 1752 584608
- D.Bilton@plymouth.ac.uk
Profiles
Professor David Bilton
Professor of Aquatic Biology
School of Biological and Marine Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering)
Professor David Bilton can be contacted through arrangement with our Press Office, to speak to the media on these areas of expertise.
- Biodiversity
- Invertebrates
- Entomology
- Beetles
- Freshwater ecology
- Fauna – UK
- Conservation
Email publicrelations@plymouth.ac.uk to enquire.
Biography
Biography
Professor of Aquatic Biology, University of Plymouth
Vising Professor, Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Deputy Director, NERC ARIES DTP
Faculty of Science and Engineering PGR lead, University of Plymouth.
My research focuses on a variety of ecological and evolutionary issues, mainly using aquatic insects as models. I have published over 200 scientific papers and four authored books, as well as a number of invited reviews and book chapters.
Qualifications
Winner ZSL Marsh Award for Marine and Freshwater Conservation
Career History
2016 - Professor of Aquatic Biology, Plymouth University
1996- 2016 Lecturer/Senior Lecturer/Reader in Aquatic Biology, Plymouth University
1995-1996 Browne Research Fellow in Biological Sciences, The Queen’s College, Oxford University.
1993-1995 Research Fellow in Biological Sciences, University of York.
1993 Royal Society Research Fellow, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
1992 Research Fellow in Genetics, Uppsala University, Sweden.
Education & Qualifications
2015 Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
1997 SEDA Accredited Teacher in Higher Education
1988-1991 PhD (Population Genetics), University of London
1990 MA Zoology, Oxford University
1985-1988 BA (Hons) Zoology (First Class), Oxford University - Gibbs Prize for the highest academic performance in year
1979-1985 Trinity Comprehensive School, Carlisle
Professional membership
Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society
Fellow of the Linnean Society
Member of the Freshwater Biological Association
Member of the International Biogeography Society
Roles on external bodies
Deputy Director, NERC ARIES DTP
NERC Peer Review College - Member 2009-date.
Subject Editor - Zootaxa
Subject Editor - Biodiversity Data Journal
Associate Editor - Journal of Insect Conservation
Editorial Board - Psyche: A Journal of Entomology
Aquatic Coleoptera Conservation Trust - ACCT. ACCT was founded to promote and co-ordinate conservation and research work on threatened water beetles. Aquatic beetles are a diverse group, and are excellent indicators of habitat quality, age, and 'naturalness'. Around 400 species of British beetle live in water for a significant proportion of their lives, including the familiar diving beetles. Many species have shown significant and dramatic contractions in range since the mid 20th century, in response to a variety of factors, particularly agricultural intensification and associated drainage of wetlands and increases in diffuse pollution, leading to eutrophication. (Secretary) .
Ponds Advisory Council. International body concerned with the biology and conservation of small water bodies. Ponds harbour the vast majority of regional aquatic biodiversity in most countries, but are often ignored by ecologists, who study the larger (and often ecologically simpler!) lakes and rivers instead. (Member).
Balfour-Browne Club. Aquatic Coleoptera World specialist group, with over 200 members, who, like water beetles, are distributed on all continents except Antarctica. Co-ordinated from the UK. (Committee Member).
Grant Referee for NERC, BBSRC, Austrian Science Foundation, Icelandic Research Fund.
Invited Referee for numerous journals, including: Molecular Ecology, Proceeding of the Royal Society Series B, Journal of Applied Ecology, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Freshwater Biology, Conservation Genetics, Invertebrate Reproduction and Development, Functional Ecology, Hydrobiologia, Aquatic Conservation, Ecology Letters, Vie et Milieu, Annales Zoologici Fennici, Archive fur Hydrobiologie, Aquatic Insects, Diversity and Distributions, Ecography, Biological Conservation, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Estuaries, Journal of Biogeography, Ecological Entomology.
New animals I've named
Genera
Beetles
Capelatus Bilton & Turner, 2015
Introduced for a newly-discovered species - an isolated lineage of diving beetles endemic to the far southwest of the South African Cape. Closest relatives in Australasia.
Riberazantaena Bilton, 2021
Two species of litter-dwelling 'water' beetles from montane forests in the Eastern Arcs of Tanzania.
Rhithrops Bilton & Shepard, 2022
Long-legged, deep water river dweller from the Cederberg, Western Cape of South Africa. Morphologically highly divergent from any known relatives.
Mesoceratops Bilton & Jach, 2022
New genus required following our work on the phylogeny and biogeography of Southern Hemisphere hydraenid water beetles.
Species
Mammals
Talpa hakkariensis Gunduz, Dermitas, Silsupur, Ozmen, Polly & Bilton, 2023
New mole discovered recently in eastern Anatolia, highly distinctive on both morphology and DNA.
Talpa davidiana tatvanensis Gunduz, Dermitas, Silsupur, Ozmen, Polly & Bilton, 2023
Another new Anatolian mole. Whilst this is morphologically quite distinct, we use the subspecies category due to the limited molecular divergence of this taxon, which occurs allopatrically wrt. T. davidiana davidiana.
Isopods (Woodlice)
Oniscus ancarensis Bilton, 1992
Terrestrial isopod (woodlouse), endemic to NW Spain
Oniscus asellus occidentalis Bilton, 1994
Terrestrial isopod (woodlouse), known from the UK, Ireland and France, first recognized in Dartmoor woodlands. Frequently hydridizes with the common Oniscus asellus asellus where the two meet.
Oniscus galicianus Bilton, 1997
Terrestrial isopod (woodlouse), endemic to NW Spain
Beetles
Hydraena zezerensis Diaz-Pazos & Bilton, 1995
A hydraenid water beetle with elaborate male secondary sexual characters - endemic to a single headwater stream at the top of a glacial valley in Portugal's highest mountain massif, the Serra Estrela. Still known from knowhere else - one of the rarest water beetles in Europe.
Agabus picotae Foster & Bilton, 1997
Diving beetle, endemic to SW Portugal and Spain. Associated with wet rock faces beside headwater streams.
Hydraena hosseiniorum Bilton & Jach, 1998
Hydraenid water beetle endemic to the Zagros Mountains in western Iran - the most easterly member of its group.
Stictonectes rebeccae Bilton, 2012
A diving beetle endemic to the north and west of Spain and Portugal.
Discozantaena occidentalis Bilton & Perkins, 2012
A small 'water' beetle which has become secondarily terrestrial, living in damp litter by water. Known only from a single waterhole in West Coast National park, on the Western Cape of South Africa.
Pneuminion fontinalis Bilton & Perkins, 2012
Another small water beetle, restricted to permanent trickles of water, running like condensation on a window pane, in the high mountains near Paarl in the Western Cape of South Africa.
Crenitis bicolor Bilton, 2013
A hydrophilid water beetle so far only known from the high Kamiesberg in the Northern Cape of South Africa, an outlying fragment of the fynbos biome in arid Namaqualand.
Hydraena lotti Bilton, 2013
A small stream dwelling water beetle which I found to be common in high altitude streams in a very small area of the Taygetos Mountains in the Peloponnese, Greece. The 92 member of the "Haenydra" lineage, most of which are similarly narrow-ranged endemics. Its closest relatives are in eastern Greece and central Italy.
Prosthetops wolfbergensis Bilton, 2013
Yet another water beetle, which at 4.2 mm long is by far the largest known 'minute moss beetle' amongst the thousands described to date. Relatively widespread in the Western Cape mountains in South Africa, occurring in temporary pools where rainwater has dissolved bare rock. Named after the Wolfberg Arch, a striking geological feature of the Cederberg mountains, in whose shadow the beetle was abundant.
Sharphydrus brincki Bilton, 2013
A small diving beetle endemic to the Western Cape of South Africa, in mountain streams. The third known member of this genus, which is endemic to temperate South Africa. Named after the late Professor Per Brinck, who first collected this species in the early 1950s.
Sharphydrus kamiesbergensis Bilton, 2013
A small diving beetle so far only known from the high Kamiesberg in the Northern Cape of South Africa - the fourth known species of the genus.
Pterosthetops baini Bilton, 2014
A specialist of wet rock faces, living in a trickles of water and so far known from a single mountain pass in the Cape of South Africa. Named after the guy who directed the pass's construction in the 19th century, making accessible habitat available for these beetles in the process!
Pterosthetops coriaceus Bilton, 2014
A wet-rock seepage specialist, found only at a single site in the Cederberg mountains in South Africa.
Pterosthetops indwei Bilton, 2014
Another wet-rock seepage specialist, known from the Langeberg and Outeniquaberg mountains in South Africa - named after the Blue Crane, an iconic bird of this part of the Cape.
Pterosthetops pulcherrimus Bilton, 2014
Another wet-rock seepage specialist, this time known from one wet mountain pass in the Cederberg of South Africa. Named in reference to its strinking appearance, and the view form the type locality.
Pterosthetops swartbergensis Bilton, 2014
Another wet-rock seepage specialist, found, as its name suggests, in the Groote Swartberg, South Africa.
Pterosthetops tuberculatus Bilton, 2014
Yet another wet-rock seepage specialist - relatively widespread in the Western Cape, South Africa - on mountain passes.
Pterosthetops uitkyki Bilton, 2014
Again a wet-rock seepage specialist, known only from Uitkyk Pass in the Cederberg range, South Africa.
Laccobius leopardus Bilton & Gentili, 2014
Lives in pools in drying river margins on the edge of the Cederberg mountains in South Africa, an area transitional between fynbos and succulent karoo. Named after the leopards which frequent the area, and in reference to its spotted appearance.
Mesoceration hantam Bilton, 2014
From temporary pools and stream on the Hantamsberg, an inselberg in the Northern Cape of South Africa.
Parhydraena faeni Bilton, 2014
Again from temporary pools and stream on the Hantamsberg, an inselberg in the Northern Cape of South Africa.
Yola matsikammae Bilton, 2015
From a stream on the Matsikammaberg, another inselberg, this time on the northern edge of the Fynbos biome in the Western Cape of South Africa.
Capelatus prykei Turner & Bilton, 2015
An entirely new lineage of diving beetle from close to Cape Town. Not related to anything else in sub-Saharan Africa, its closest relatives being in the Mediterranean and Australasia. Also highly endangered by ongoing urbanisation and habitat loss.
Canthyporus namaqualacrimus Bilton, 2015
The name translates as "the tears of Namaqualand". A diving beetle known from seepages over rock in the highest mountains of this arid region of the Northern Cape. These summits present a mesic island in an otherwise semi-desert landscape, and a re home to many endemics.
Canthyporus pallidus Bilton, 2015
A small diving beetle of wet rock seepages and small rockpools on mountains around the edges of Namaqualand, South Africa.
Mesoceration caniplenum Bilton, 2015
A water beetle from trickling streams in the SE of the Drakensberg, South Africa. It's name is in reference to the type locality, Injisuthi, which means 'place of the well-fed dog' in isiZulu, in reference to the formerly abundant game of this area.
Mesoceration foggoi Bilton, 2015
A water beetle endemic to a table mountain at the northern end of the Fynbos biome in South Africa, where it is common in almost all running waters. Named after Andy Foggo, who helped collect it.
Mesoceration helmei Bilton, 2015
Known only from the high Winterhoek mountains in the Cape, in a small stream which spends a couple of months every year under snow. Named after Nick Helme, the South African botanist who dragged me up this mountain!
Mesoceration hirsutum Bilton, 2015
Yet another new species from the Cederberg Mountains, South Africa. Only known from the holotype, in a high altitude stream, where it lived with nine other members of the genus.
Mesoceration rugulosum Bilton, 2015
Known only from a wet rockface beside a mountain stream above Franschhoek, South Africa.
Mesoceration sinclairi Bilton, 2015
Common in a stream flowing down the Kogelberg into False Bay, in the far SW Cape of South Africa. Names after my old friend Magnus Sinclair.
Coelometopon glenavoni Bilton, 2015
Found on wet cliffs in the pray zone of Glen Avon Falls, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Eyes raised up like a hippo so that it can see out of the water film in which it lives.
Oomtelecopon disjunctum Bilton, 2015
A beetle from damp rocks beside a road close to Ceres in the Western Cape - the third new species so far from this place. It's only close relative lives close to Cape Town.
Oomtelecopon namaqum Bilton, 2016
A beetle from damp rocks beside a stream in the Kamiesberg mountains - an area of relatively high rainfall, supporting fynbos, in Namaqualand.
Pterostetops nitidus Bilton, 2016
Wet rockface specialist from the eastern side of False Bay, Western Cape Province, South Africa.
Anacaena namaqua Bilton & Komarek, 2016
A common species where it occurs, in both pools and streams, in the area where the fynbos biome meets the succulent karoo in South Africa.
Hydrobiomorpha perissinottoi Bilton, 2016
The first species of this genus of relatively large water scavenger beetles reliably reported from South Africa. Common in iSimangaliso Wetland Park in the NE of the country.
Leielmis gibbosus Bilton, 2017
A relatively common riffle beetle in Western Cape mountain streams, which has previously been overlooked.
Leielmis hirsutus Bilton, 2017
One high altitude stream at ca. 1,200 m in the Western cape of South Africa. Common there.
Pterosthetops chrysomallus Bilton, 2017
Wet rock faces on the Bokkeveld Plateau, at the northern fringes of the Fynbos Biome in South Africa.
Parasthetops porcellus Bilton, 2017
Widespread on the Bokkeveld Plateau, at the northern fringes of the Fynbos Biome in South Africa.
Mesoceration castaneus Bilton, 2017
One male from a stream on the Bokkeveld Plateau, at the northern fringes of the Fynbos Biome in South Africa.
Mesoceration chasmum Bilton, 2017
Found in Oorlogskloof Canyon, on the Bokkeveld Plateau, at the northern fringes of the Fynbos Biome in South Africa.
Mesoceration sabulosum Bilton, 2017
Two steams over sand on the Bokkeveld Plateau, at the northern fringes of the Fynbos Biome in South Africa.
Meladema lepidoptera Bilton & Ribera, 2017
A cryptic sibling of the widespread large diving beetle Meladema coriacea. First detected from DNA sequence data, and subsequently found to differ morphologically as well. Restricted to parts of Italy and the Tuscan Archipelago.
Parhydraena cataracta Bilton, 2018
Semi-terrestrial 'water' beetle from permanently wet plant litter beside a mountain waterfall in the Hex River Mountains, South Africa. Closest relative is endemic to Table Mountain.
Leielmis armipes Bilton, 2018
Riffle beetle from high mountain stream in the Cape Fold Mountains, South Africa.
Mesoceration explanatum Bilton & Mlambo, 2019
Stream-dwelling hydraenid endemic to the Piketberg, an outlying mountain range in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
Mesoceration piketbergense Bilton & Mlambo, 2019
Another stream-dwelling hydraenid endemic to the Piketberg, an outlying mountain range in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.Agabus austellus Englund, Bilton & Bergsten, 2020
Predacious diving beetle which is relatively widespread in South Africa. The genus Agabus is largely Holarctic, but has invaded the Afrotropical region, where its species are montane or south temperate in occurrence. This was considered the same species as another from mountains associated with the East African Rift system, but is actually a different taxon, endemic to the temperate south of the continent.
Agabus riberae Bilton, Englund & Bergsten, 2020
A semi-cryptic species, close to the previous one, but very distinct genetically. Apparently occurs mostly to the northwest of A. austellus and again endemic to South Africa. Named after out late friend and colleague Ignacio Ribera.
Agabus agulhas Bilton, Englund & Bergsten, 2020
The most southerly member of this mostly Holarctic diving beetle genus in the world. Apparently endemic to wetlands on the Agulhas Plain in the far south of the South African Cape.
Ochthebius mlamboi Bilton, 2021
A coastal rock pool water beetle, widespread but apparently endemic to the Agulhas Current region in South Africa. Missed by previous workers and named after my friend and colleague Dr Musa Mlambo, who helped collect the type series.
Riberazantaena latissima Bilton, 2021
A terrestrial hydraenid 'water' beetle, collected in damp leaf litter in a Tanzanian Eastern Arc Mountain forest. Both the genus and the species are new to science, the genus being named after my friend and colleague Dr Ignacio Ribera, who sadly passed away in 2020. Species name refers to its broad, flat body shape.
Protozantaena birdi Bilton, 2022
Known from the South African Great Escarpment and Western Drakensberg, from stream margins. Closest relative in the Namibian mountains far to the north.
Copelatus mkambati Bilton & Mlambo, 2022
A small-eyed diving beetle which is likely semi-subterranean, being collected from groundwater seepages after heavy rain. Known only from the type locality on the South African Wild Coast; closest relative being in the Congo Basin.
Liodessus meridensis Balke, Bilton, Garcia, Viloria, Villastrigo & Hendrich, 2022
Small diving beetle from high altitude lakes in the Venezuelan Andes.
Liodessus venezuelensis Balke, Bilton, Garcia, Viloria, Villastrigo & Hendrich, 2022
Another small diving beetle from high altitude lakes in the Venezuelan Andes.
Rhithrops capensis Bilton & Shepard, 2022
Deep water river-dwelling beetle from South Africa. Only distantly related to other known species of its family.
Coelometopon riberae Bilton & Mlambo, 2022
Wet rock face dweller from beside a waterfall on the Wild Coast of South Africa, named after our sadly departed colleague Ignacio Ribera, in a special journal issue dedicated to him.
Coelometopon dedzae Bilton, 2023
Another madicolous species, this time from a Malawi mountain.
Hydraena mulanje Bilton, 2023
Terrestrial, forest-litter dwelling 'water' beetle from Malawian mountain forest.
Ochthebius erinaceus Bilton, 2023
Terrestrial, forest-litter dwelling 'water' beetle from Malawian mountain forest. Spiny like a hedgehog!
Hydraena saotometerrestris Bilton, 2023
Terrestrial, forest-litter dwelling 'water' beetle from Sao Tome Island in the Gulf of Guinea. Apparently part of a small adaptive radiation, its closest relative being fully aquatic.
Hydraena turneri Bilton, 2023
Water beetle from Sao Tome Island in the Gulf of Guinea. Apparently part of a small adaptive radiation, its closest relative being terrestrial.
Rhithrodytes pantaleonii Toledo, Bilton, Balke, Shizzerotto & Villastrigo, 2023
A rare find - a species new to science in Europe that was immediately obivous as such when I first saw it in the field! Known from a single stream in SW Sardinia. Split from its closest relative when this area was a separate island in the Miocene. Semisubterranean.
Delevea madiba Bilton & Mlambo, 2023
One of the largest myxophagan water beetles on earth, known from the Oorlogskloof Canyon in Namaqualand. Named in honour of the late, great Nelson Mandela.
Delevea namaqua Bilton & Mlambo, 2023
THE largst myxophagan on earth (at a staggering 2.85 mm!). Known from a single, isolated, seasonal river in arid Namaqualand.
Approximately 20 additional water beetles and a millipede are in the system.
New animals named after me
Armadilloniscus biltoni Taiti & Ferrara, 1989
A terrestrial isopod (woodlouse) found in the entrance to a sea cave on the Togian Islands, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Althepus biltoni Deeleman-Reinhold, 1995
A spider from forests on the Togian Islands, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Neptosternus biltoni Hendrich and Balke, 1997
A small diving beetle from forest streams on one of the Togian Islands, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The adjacent island had a different species, also new to science at the time.
Deronectes biltoni Fery & Hosseinie, 1998
A diving beetle endemic to mountains in northern Iran, close to the Caspian Sea.
Helophorus biltoni Angus, Mahdizadeh & Hosseinie, 2005
A small crawling water beetle endemic to the Zagros Mountains in western Iran, where I first collected it in the late 1990s. It has close relatives on the Golan Heights, and in Spain.
Hydraena biltoni Jach & Diaz-Pazos, 2012
A small water beetle currently known only from a handful of places in central Montenegro. Closely related to the widespread Hydraena morio, which also occurs in the region, but not, so far, in the same localities.
Galicisoma biltoni Mauries, 2015
A winter-active millipede I found back in 1993 in a relict Atlantic oak woodland in Galicia in the far northwest of Spain.
Ochthebius biltoni Jach & Delgado, 2017
A marine rockpool species I found in Sicily a few years ago.
Cercyon biltoni Jia, Liang, Ryndevich & Fikacek, 2019
A forest litter dwelling 'water' beetle from Sichuan, China.
Agraphydrus biltoni Komarek, 2020
A small hydrophilid beetle from stream pools inthe Kamiesberg, Northern Cape, South Africa - a centre of aquatic endemism in a semi-arid region.
Another water beetle and a centipede are currently on their way.
Teaching
Teaching
Teaching interests
I am interested in a range of questions related to biogeography, conservation and evolution, particularly using aquatic invertebrates as models. Much of my teaching reflects my research interests, covering topics such as macroecology and biogeography, aquatic conservation, biological species concepts and speciation, and arthropod zoology. I teach on courses to all three undergraduate years, and supervise a range of BSc and MSc/MRes projects.
Stage 1
MBIO123 Biodiversity - Overview of the diversity of life, covering microbes, fungi, algae, plants and animals, plus some material on behaviour. I cover the arthropods - the most important animals on earth.
MBIO120 Introduction to Marine Biology - What it says on the tin. I am heavily involved in field week, and lead field sampling trips to a number of locations in the region. In addition I give a lecture on the 'terrestrial' specialists of the shore.
MBIO123 Marine Biology Field Course - I attend this residential course in Brittany each year, and do some of the taxonomy practicals before we go.
Stage 2
BIOL214 Ecology - An up-to-date exploration of the fundamental principles of population and community ecology. I teach community ecology from a large-scale, or macroecological, perspective, examining the assembly of communities, island biogeography, adaptive radiation, biodiversity and ecosystem function, and asking why most species are rare, and why there are there are more species of organisms in the tropics?
MBIO213 Coastal Biodiversity and Ecology Fieldcourse - An exploration of biodiversity in a coastal setting, currently in one of the World's Biodiversity Hotspots, on the western Cape of South Africa. I attend this residential course each year.
Stage 3
MBIO324 Speciation and Diversity - What is a species? How do new species originate? What generates and maintains the diversity of life? How do we quantify this biodiversity? What are the ecological and evolutionary processes which underpin global patterns in biodiversity? Does biodiversity matter? An up-to-date exploration of the nature and generation of biological diversity, examining model taxa from a wide range of habitats and groups. I co-ordinate this course and teach biological species concepts and speciation.
BIOL304 Global Change Biology - what it says on the tin. Mostly on the causes and consequences of current global change. I deliver three lectures on Quaternary climate change and biological responses to ice ages, to give a wider historical/evolutionary context to ongoing change.
I supervise a range of projects in aquatic biology, ecology and evolution - typically 6-10 students per year.
Module leader for:
MBIO324 Speciation and Diversity
Personal Tutor
For approx.10 students in each year
Staff serving as external examiners
External Examiner for Undergraduate Programmes
School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway College, University of London 2011-2014
PhD examinations
2019 Oxford University, UK. Taxonomy of Afrotropical Scarabaeinae. Dr Hitoshi Takano
2018 Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa. Freshwater invertebrates of the Karoo. Dr Annah Mabidi
2015 Murdoch University, Australia. Invertebrate resistance to wetland drying. Dr Scott Strachan
2013 University of Sussex. The ecology of great diving beetles (Dytiscus spp.) on the Somerset Levels and Moors. Dr Anthony Serjeant
2011 Cardiff University. Phylogeography and conservation genetics of Lusitanian sea stars. Dr David Darrock
2011 Anglia Ruskin University/British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge. The taxonomy and ecology of Tardigrada. Dr Sandra MacInnes.
2010 Imperial College, London. The causes of insect endemicity with the example of Madagascar. Dr Benjamin Isambert.
2008 Murcia University, Spain. Use of Iberian water beetles in biodiversity conservation. Dr David Sanchez Fernandez.
2006 Murcia University, Spain. Conservation of freshwater biodiversity in southeastern Spain: methods and approaches from water beetle data. Dr Pedro Abellan Rodenas.
2003 Uppsala University, Sweden. Phylogeographic structure and genetic variation in Formica ants. Dr Anna Goropashnaya.
2003 Imperial College, London. Evolution and ecology of seed predation in weevils (genus Curculio). Dr Joseph Hughes
2003 Imperial College, London. Ecomorphological and Phylogenetic Analysis of Dung Beetle Communities in South Africa. Dr Claire Wilsher.
2002 Royal Holloway, University of London. Chromosomal studies on dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea). Dr Christine Wilson.
Research
Research
Research interests
My work addresses a range of questions in aquatic biology, using both freshwater and marine organisms as model systems, but with a particular focus on water beetles. Some of our water beetle work to date is summarized in a recent invited review in Annual Review of Entomology (Bilton, et al., 2019). Much of my research focuses on attempts to understand the geographical distribution and evolutionary differentiation of organisms at a number of spatial scales. Specific areas of interest include:
Macroecology and macrophysiology of aquatic invertebrates. What determines relative geographical range size - why are most species rare? Testing hypotheses of rarity, using selected clades of aquatic insects as model systems. Investigation of thermal tolerance across clades containing both widespread and restricted endemic taxa. Unravelling the mechanisms underlying differences in thermal tolerance.
Systematics and evolution of aquatic beetles. I work extensively on the taxonomy and systematics of water beetles, in various families and regions, with a particular focus on the Western Palaearctic and Southern Africa. I have also co-authored a recent Royal Entomological Society/Field Studies Council guide the British and Irish hydrophiloid water beetles, and am working on a further guide to remaining aquatic taxa, as well as being a co-author on the atlases of British and Irish Hydradephaga (predaceous water beetles), Hydrophiloidea (mainly water scavenger beetles) and a third volume on the rest.
Ecology and conservation of temporary waters. The invertebrate assemblages of temporary and fluctuating water bodies. Exploration of factors structuring communities at regional and local scales. The use of aquatic insects as biodiversity surrogates and indicator taxa in conservation.
Dispersal biology of aquatic invertebrates. Causes and consequences of dispersal in aquatic invertebrates.
Ecology and conservation of aquatic Coleoptera (water beetles). Evolution and ecology of aquatic beetles. Sexual conflict in diving beetles. Conservation biology of threatened taxa. Use of aquatic beetles as surrogates in ecosystem assessment and monitoring. Water beetle systematics and phylogeny.
Current projects include:
Ecology and conservation of temporary waters. The invertebrate assemblages of temporary and fluctuating water bodies. Exploration of factors structuring communities at regional and local scales. The use of aquatic insects as biodiversity surrogates and indicator taxa in conservation.
Dispersal biology of aquatic invertebrates. Causes and consequences of dispersal in aquatic invertebrates.
Ecology and conservation of aquatic Coleoptera (water beetles). Evolution and ecology of aquatic beetles. Sexual conflict in diving beetles. Conservation biology of threatened taxa. Use of aquatic beetles as surrogates in ecosystem assessment and monitoring. Water beetle systematics and phylogeny.
Current projects include:
Multiple stressors in inland waters, climate change vulnerability and the evolution of salinity tolerance in water beetles. Fundacion Seneca International Fellowship for Dr Susana Pallares.
Ecophysiology of European water beetles. Determinants of range size and ecological range; evolution of salinity tolerance. Collaborators: Ignacio Ribera (CSIC, Barcelona); Josefina Velasco & Andres Millan (Universidad de Murcia).
Oxygen limitation in aquatic arthropods. Does oxygen limitation set thermal limits in aquatic arthropods, and does respiratory mode influence this? Collaborator: Dr Wilco Verberk (Radboud University, Netherlands).
Systematics and Biodiversity of South African water beetles. Fieldwork in poorly known areas of this biodiverse region is combined with taxonomic and systematic work, which has resulted in the discovery of numerous new species and genera. Collaborators: Prof. Renzo Perissonotto (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa), Manfred Jach (Vienna Natural History Museum, Austria), Michael Balke (Zoologische Staatsammlung, Munich, Germany), Ignacio Ribera (CSIC, Barcelona).
Conservation biology of threatened aquatic beetles
Ecology and conservation of UK Biodiversity Action Plan species. In association with the Aquatic Coleoptera Conservation Trust.
Sexual conflict in diving beetles
Inter-relationships between male and female morphology in sexually dimorphic taxa; evolution and biogeography of sexual dimorphism in dytiscids.
Other research
Current Postdocs
Dr Susana Pallares. Multiple stressors in inland waters, climate change vulnerability and the evolution of salinity tolerance in water beetles. Fundacion Seneca International Fellowship.
Current ResM & PhD Students
Ben Green. The aquatic macroinvertebrates of restored river gravels: community composition and ecosystem function. ResM (Supervised with Andy Foggo).
Sam Tasker. Is Crassula helmsii the biggest threat to European freshwater biodiversity? PhD (Supervised with Andy Foggo).
Charlotte Clubley. Testing environment filters as mechanisms of ecosystem resilience to non-native species invasion. PhD (Supervised with Anthony Knights).
Recent Lab Visitors
Dr Pedro Abellán (University de Murcia, Spain)
Dr David Sanches-Fernandez (University de Murcia, Spain)
Dr Maragrita Florencio (Doñana Biological Station, Seville, Spain)
Dr Juan-Carlos Guitterez Estrada (University of Huelva, Spain)
Dr Félix Picazo Mota (University of Murcia, Spain)
Dr Cristina Coccia (Doñana Biological Station, Seville, Spain)
Dr Paula Arribas (University of Murcia, Spain)
Dr Simone Guareschi (University of Murcia, Spain)
Dr Jose Carbonell (University of Murcia, Spain)
Dr Susana Pallares (University of Murcia, Spain)
Prof Luis-Felipe Valladares (University of Leon, Spain)
Dr Vanessa Cespedes (Doñana Biological Station, Seville, Spain)
Dr Musa Mlambo (Albany Museum & Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa)
Vojtech Kolar (University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic)
Maria Botella Cruz (University of Murcia, Spain)
Research degrees awarded to supervised students
Dr Lucy Kelly . Dispersal, Genetic Differentiation and Community Composition of Insular Stream Invertebrates. (Supervised with Simon Rundle). Awarded 2001.
Dr Louise McAbendroth . Mediterranean Temporary Ponds in the UK: Ecology, Status and Management. (Supervised with Simon Rundle and Andy Foggo ). Awarded 2004.
Dr Punyasloke Bhadury . Molecular resolution of marine nematode biodiversity: Development of a rapid assessment technique. (Supervised with Mel Austin & Gary Smerdon, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and John Lambshead, Natural History Museum, London). Awarded 2006.
Dr Ena Mata-Zayas. The distribution of phylogenetic diversity of mammals in Mexico and its implications for conservation. (Supervised with Miguel Franco). Awarded 2007.
Dr Victor Aguirre-Hidalgo . Demographic and genetic diversity of the Mexican black iguana Ctenosaura pectinata. (Supervised with Miguel Franco). Awarded 2008.
Dr Sonia Fontani . Genetic biodiversity of the European barnacle Chthalamus montagui. (Supervised with John Bishop). Awarded 2009.
Dr Tony Bicknell. Population biology of Leach's storm petrel. (Supervised with Steven Votier and Mairi Knight). Awarded 2011.
Dr Nigel Marley. Biology of Tardigrada. Awarded 2011.
Dr Rebekah Cioffi. Understanding rarity and latitudinal range size relationships in European diving beetles (Dytiscidae) using metabolic plasticity and immunocopmetence. (Supervised with John Moody and Richard Billington). Awarded 2017.
Dr John Thorpe. Biogeography of rocky plateaus in the Western Ghats, India. (Supervised with Mairi Knight). Awarded 2018.
Dr Balbina Ramsay. The ecology and biogeography of tardigrades. (Supervised with Simon Rundle). Awarded 2019.
Grants & contracts
2022-2025 Thermal tolerance of Austral freshwater macroinvertebrates in Southern Africa. Co-I with Matthew Bird (University of Johannesburg, SA) (ZAR 527,000).
2019-2021 Multiple stressors in inland waters, climate change vulnerability and the evolution of salinity tolerance in aquatic beetles. PI. Fundacion Seneca Postdoctoral Fellowship for Susanna Pallares. (Euro 96,000).
2016-2023 Conservation biology of Europe's most threatened water beetles Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund PI ($8,000)
2017-2022 CAVEHheAT - Climate change, thermal niche and conservation of subterranean biodiversity. Co-I with David Sanchez-Fernandez (Universidade de Castille la Mancha, Spain) (EURO 368,000)
2014-2017 The evolution of habitat transitions in aquatic Coleoptera. Co-I with Ignacio Ribera (CSIC, Barcelona) and Andres Millan & Josefina Velasco (Universidad de Murcia). CSIC (EURO 266, 200)
2013-2016 Jack of all trades, master of all? Physiological niche, immunocompetence metabolic plasticity and the evolution of geographical range size
University of Plymouth (ca. £72,000 - Competitive PhD Studentship)
2011-2015 Integrating ecophysiological and evolutionary aspects to undersatnd past, present and future distributions of Iberian hypersaline beetles
Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation PI: Josefa Velasco García, Murcia, Spain. Co-PIs : David Bilton (University of Plymouth, UK), Andres Millan(Universidad de Murcia), Ignacio Ribera (CSIC, Barcelona)
2011-2013 Evolution of the thermal tolerance in Pleistocene range expansions of aquatic Coleoptera from Mediterranean refugia
Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation PI: Ignacio Ribera, Barcelona, Spain. Co-PIs: David Bilton (University of Plymouth, UK), Josefina Garrido (Universidad de Vigo), Luis Felipe Valladares (Universidad de León)
2010-2012 RESPIRE - Climate-driven oxygen limitation in freshwater macroinvertebrates
European Union Marie Curie Fellowship (Euro 180,103) for Dr Wilco Verberk
2009-2011 Oxygen deficiency in stream ectotherms
Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Rubicon Fellowship (Euro 97,060) for Dr Wilco Verberk
2009-2012 THESEUS: Innovative technologies for safer European coasts in a changing climate
European Union (Euro 250,000) Co-PI with R.C. Thompson, S.D. Rundle & M Hanley
2007-2010 Population genetics of grazing marsh invertebrates
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (£38,000) PI
2007-2010 Biodiversity of lower, tidally-influenced river reaches
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (£128,000) Co-PI with S.D. Rundle & M.J. Attrill
2007-2010 The evolution of the size of the geographical range as a key factor in the generation of biodiversity.
Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation PI: Ignacio Ribera, Barcelona, Spain. Co-PIs: David Bilton (University of Plymouth, UK), Josefina Garrido (Universidad de Vigo), Juan Angel Díaz-Pazos (Universidad de Santiago de Compostela), Luis Felipe Valladares (Universidad de León), Michael Balke (Zoologische Staatssammlung München).
2008-2009 Thermal adaptation in ectotherms: linking life history, physiology, behaviour and genetics
European Science Foundation ThermAdapt Programme, collaboration Short Visit grant (working with Ignacio Ribera, Barcelona) (Euro 750) PI
2006-2008 What determines a species' geographic range? Physiology and range size relationships in European diving beetles.
Leverhulme Trust (£51,000) PI
2005-2008 Neutral theories to explain genetic diversity of aquatic insects
NERC (£272,000) Co-PI with A.P. Vogler & T.G. Barraclough, Natural History Museum & Imperial College, London
1999-2004 Status, ecology and management of Mediterranean Temporary Ponds in the UK
English Nature & UoP (£32,000 - £18,000 each) PI & DoS (supervised with Simon Rundle)
1999-2000 Molecular solutions to previously intractable aspects of trophic ecology NERC new investigator’s grant (£25,654) PI
Publications
Publications
Key publications
Key publications are highlighted
Journals
Articles
(2023) 'Out of the Palaearctic: the Helophorus water beetles of the Afrotropical Region (Coleoptera: Helophoridae)' Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 249-264 , DOI
(2023) 'Eupotemus tuberculatus sp. nov., the first hooded shore beetle confirmed from southern Africa (Coleoptera, Epimetopidae)' Zootaxa 5339, (2) 196-200 , DOI
(2023) 'Reconstructing ancient dispersal through Antarctica:
A case study of stream-inhabiting beetles' Journal of Biogeography , DOI
(2023) 'Field evidence of caddisfly larvae (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae, Leptoceridae) using alien Crassula helmsii (Kirk) Cockayne fragments (Saxifragales: Crassulaceae) in case construction' Aquatic Insects 1-5 , DOI
(2023) 'Notes from the Anatolian underground: two new mole taxa from Eastern Turkey, together with a revised phylogeny of the genus Talpa (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Talpidae)' Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , DOI
(2023) 'A revision of Delevea Reichardt, 1976: a Southern African endemic water beetle genus including the largest known extant myxophagans (Coleoptera: Myxophaga: Torridincolidae)' Zootaxa 5285, (2) 311-324 , DOI
(2023) 'A new, putatively semisubterranean, Rhithrodytes diving beetle from southwestern Sardinia (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)' Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 125-133 , DOI
(2023) 'Two new species of Hydraena Kugelann, 1794 from São Tomé Island—an apparent adaptive radiation (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)' Zootaxa , DOI
(2023) 'Science paper or big data? Assessing invasion dynamics using
observational data' Science of the Total Environment , DOI
(2023) 'New species and new records of minute moss beetles
from East Africa (Coleoptera: Hydraenidae)' Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae , DOI Open access
(2022) 'Ecological niche modeling of the Macedonian mouse, Mus macedonicus (Mammalia, Rodentia), under climate change conditions' Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution , DOI Open access
(2022) 'Minute moss beetles in the Southern Hemisphere: Molecular phylogeny, historical biogeography and habitat shifts (Coleoptera: Hydraenidae)' Systematic Entomology Publisher Site , DOI Open access
(2022) 'A new species of Coelometopon Janssens
from the Wild Coast of South Africa (Coleoptera: Hydraenidae)' Boletin de la Asociacion Espanola de Entomologia Publisher Site Open access
(2022) 'Rhithrops capensis gen. et sp. nov., a new aquatic dryopid beetle from the Western Cape of South Africa (Coleoptera: Dryopoidea: Dryopidae)' Zootaxa 5195, (6) 539-553 , DOI Open access
(2022) 'The colonization of saline waters is associated with lowered immune responses in aquatic beetles' Freshwater Biology , DOI Open access
(2022) 'Quantifying the ecological impacts of alien aquatic macrophytes: a global meta-analysis of effects on fish, macroinvertebrate and macrophyte assemblages' Freshwater Biology Publisher Site , DOI Open access
(2022) 'The complete mitochondrial genome of Talpa martinorum (Mammalia: Talpidae), a mole species endemic to Thrace: genome content and phylogenetic considerations' Genetica , DOI Open access
(2022) 'Cryptic lineages, cryptic barriers: Historical seascapes and oceanic fronts drive genetic diversity in supralittoral rockpool beetles (Coleoptera: Hydraenidae)' Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , DOI Open access
(2022) 'Two new high Andean species of Liodessus diving beetles
from Venezuela (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Bidessini)' Alpine Entomology 6, 7-12 , DOI Open access
(2022) 'A new Copelatus with small eyes from the Eastern Cape Wild Coast, South Africa (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)' Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 62, (1) 15-21 , DOI Open access
(2022) 'A new species of Protozantaena Perkins, 1997 from the Great Escarpment of South Africa (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)' Zootaxa , DOI Open access
(2021) 'The structure of tardigrade communities at fine spatial scales in an Andean Polylepis forest' Neotropical Biodiversity 7, (1) 443-454 , DOI Open access
(2021) 'Plasticity of thermal performance curves in a narrow range endemic water beetle' Journal of Thermal Biology 102, , DOI Open access
(2021) 'Riberazantaena, a new hydraenid genus from the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)' Zootaxa 4999, (6) 573-581 , DOI Open access
(2021) 'Differentiation of South African coastal rock pool Ochthebius is associated with major ocean currents (Coleoptera: Hydraenidae)' Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 61, (1) 253-260 Publisher Site , DOI Open access
(2020) 'Loss of heat acclimation capacity could leave subterranean specialists highly sensitive to climate change' Animal Conservation , DOI Open access
(2020) 'Taxonomic revision of the Afrotropical Agabus raffrayi species group with the description of four new species (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae)' ZooKeys 963, 45-79 , DOI Open access
(2020) 'Universal metabolic constraints shape the
evolutionary ecology of diving in animals' Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences , DOI Open access
(2020) 'What should we call the Levant mole? Unravelling the systematics
and demography of Talpa levantis Thomas, 1906 sensu lato
(Mammalia: Talpidae)' Mammalian Biology , DOI Open access
(2020) 'The call of the squeak beetle: bioacoustics of Hygrobia hermanni (Fabricius, 1775) revisited (Coleoptera: Hygrobiidae)' Aquatic Insects 1-14 , DOI Open access
(2019) 'Do differences in developmental mode shape the potential for local adaptation?' Ecology , DOI Open access
(2019) 'Phylogenomics of the superfamily Dytiscoidea (Coleoptera: Adephaga) with an evaluation of phylogenetic conflict and systematic error' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution , DOI Open access
(2019) 'Two new Mesoceration Janssens, 1967 from the Piketberg, South Africa (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)' Zootaxa , DOI Open access
(2018) 'Deeper knowledge of shallow waters: reviewing the invertebrate fauna of southern African temporary wetlands' Hydrobiologia 827, (1) 89-121 , DOI Open access
(2018) 'Scotolemon doriae Pavesi, 1878, a soil-dwelling
harvestman new to Britain (Opiliones:
Phalangodidae)' Arachnology 17, (8) , DOI Open access
(2018) 'A new species of Leielmis Delève, 1964, with a revised key to members of the genus (Coleoptera: Elmidae)' Zootaxa Open access
(2018) 'Micro-habitat distribution drives patch quality for sub-tropical rocky plateau amphibians in the northern Western Ghats, India' PLoS ONE , DOI Open access
(2018) 'The Meladema Laporte, 1835 (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae) of the Sahara Desert' Zootaxa 4399, (1) 119-122 Open access
(2018) 'A new humicolous Parhydraena d’Orchymont, 1937 from South Africa (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)' Zootaxa 4378, (2) , DOI Open access
(2017) 'Does plasticity in thermal tolerance trade off with inherent tolerance? The influence of setal tracheal gills on thermal tolerance and its plasticity in a group of European diving beetles' J Insect Physiol , DOI Open access
(2017) 'Three new species of Crenitis Bedel, 1881 from South Africa, with a revised key to African species (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)' Aquatic Insects 38, (3) 101-113 , DOI Open access
(2017) 'A revision of Meladema diving beetles (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae), with the description of a new species from the central Mediterranean based on molecules and morphology' ZooKeys 702, 45-112 , DOI Open access
(2017) 'The chicken or the egg? Adaptation to desiccation and salinity tolerance in a lineage of water beetles' Molecular Ecology , DOI Open access
(2017) 'Pleistocene range shifts, refugia and the origin of widespread species in Western Palaearctic water beetles' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution , DOI Open access
(2017) 'Water beetles from the Bokkeveld Plateau: a semi-arid hotspot of freshwater biodiversity in the Northern Cape of South Africa' Zootaxa 4268, (2) 191-191 , DOI Open access
(2017) 'A revision of the South African riffle beetle genus Leielmis Delève, 1964 (Coleoptera: Elmidae)' Zootaxa 4254, (2) 255-255 , DOI Open access
(2017) 'Frequent discordance between morphology and mitochondrial DNA in a species group of European water beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)' PeerJ , DOI Open access
(2017) 'Diversity and distribution of polyphagan water beetles (Coleoptera) in the Lake St Lucia system, South Africa' ZooKeys 656, 51-84 , DOI Open access
(2016) 'Metabolic and reproductive plasticity of core and marginal populations of the eurythermic saline water bug Sigara selecta (Hemiptera: Corixidae) in a climate change context' Journal of Insect Physiology , DOI Open access
(2016) 'Aquatic insects dealing with dehydration: do desiccation resistance traits differ in species with contrasting habitat preferences?' PeerJ Publisher Site , DOI Open access
(2016) 'A new species of Anacaena Thomson, 1859 from South Africa (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)' ZOOTAXA 4139, (4) 593-599 , DOI Open access
(2016) 'A new species of Hydrobiomorpha from iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)' ACTA ENTOMOLOGICA MUSEI NATIONALIS PRAGAE 56, (1) 149-157 Open access
(2016) 'Two new water beetles from the South African Cape (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)' ZOOTAXA 4137, (4) 585-591 , DOI Open access
(2016) 'Sexual dimorphism and sexual conflict in the diving beetle Agabus uliginosus (L.) (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)' BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 119, (4) 1089-1095 , DOI Open access
(2016) 'Observed shifts in the contact zone between two forms of the diving beetle Hydroporus memnonius are consistent with predictions from sexual conflict' PeerJ 4, e2089-e2089 , DOI Open access
(2016) 'Predaceous water beetles (Coleoptera, Hydradephaga) of the Lake St Lucia system, South Africa: biodiversity, community ecology and conservation implications' ZooKeys 595, 85-135 , DOI Open access
(2016) 'Physiological niche and geographical range in European diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)' Biology letters 12, (6) , DOI Open access
(2016) 'Stable isotopes and mtDNA reveal niche segregation but no evidence of intergradation along a habitat gradient in the Lesser Whitethroat complex (Sylvia curruca; Passeriformes; Aves)' Journal of Ornithology , DOI Open access
(2016) 'Reconstructing ancient Mediterranean crossroads in Deronectes diving beetles' Journal of Biogeography 1533-1545 , DOI Open access
(2016) 'Molecular phylogeny of the highly disjunct cliff water beetles from South Africa and China (Coleoptera: Aspidytidae)' ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 176, (3) 537-546 , DOI Open access
(2015) 'Home advantage? Decomposition across the freshwater-estuarine transition zone varies with litter origin and local salinity' MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 110, 1-7 , DOI Open access
(2015) 'Capelatus prykei gen. et sp.n. (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Copelatinae) - a phylogenetically isolated diving beetle from the Western Cape of South Africa' SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY 40, (3) 520-531 , DOI Open access
(2015) 'How well do protected area networks support taxonomic and functional diversity in non-target taxa? The case of Iberian freshwaters' BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 187, 134-144 , DOI Open access
(2015) 'Oxygen-limited thermal tolerance is seen in a plastron-breathing insect and can be induced in a bimodal gas exchanger' J Exp Biol 218, (Pt 13) 2083-2088 , DOI Open access
(2015) 'New species and new records of Mesoceration Janssens, 1967 from South Africa (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)' Zootaxa 3972, (4) 495-520 , DOI Open access
(2015) 'The exotic weevil Stenopelmus rufinasus Gyllenhal, 1835 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) across a "host-free" pond network' Limnetica 34, (1) 79-84 , DOI Open access
(2015) 'A review of the Canthyporus exilis group, with the description of two new species (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)' Zootaxa 3957, (4) 441-454 , DOI Open access
(2015) 'The comparative osmoregulatory ability of two water beetle genera whose species span the fresh-hypersaline gradient in inland waters (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae, Hydrophilidae)' PLoS One 10, (4) e0124299-e0124299 , DOI Open access
(2015) 'A new species of Yola Gozis, 1886 from the Western Cape of South Africa (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Bidessini)' Zootaxa 3905, (3) 441-446 , DOI Open access
(2015) 'A new species of Yola Gozis, 1886 from the Western Cape of South Africa (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Bidessini)' Zootaxa 3905, (3) 441-446 , DOI
(2015) 'Two new species of madicolous water beetle from South Africa (Coleoptera: Hydraenidae)' AFRICAN INVERTEBRATES 56, (1) 181-190 Open access
(2014) 'Thermal niche evolution and geographical range expansion in a species complex of western Mediterranean diving beetles' BMC Evol Biol 14, , DOI Open access
(2014) 'What's in a name? What have taxonomy and systematics ever done for us?' JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL EDUCATION 48, (3) 116-118 , DOI Open access
(2014) 'Laccobius leopardus sp nov from the Western Cape of South Africa (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)' ZOOTAXA 3835, (3) 397-400 , DOI
(2014) 'New species and new records of Pterosthetops: eumadicolous water beetles of the South African Cape (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)' ZOOTAXA 3811, (4) 438-462 Open access
(2014) 'Intercolony movement of pre-breeding seabirds over oceanic scales: implications of cryptic age-classes for conservation and metapopulation dynamics' DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS 20, (2) , DOI Open access
(2014) 'The consequences of doing nothing: The effects of seawater flooding on coastal zones' Coastal Engineering , DOI
(2014) 'Laccobius leopardus sp. nov. from the Western Cape of South Africa (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)' Zootaxa 3835, (3) 397-400 Open access
(2014) 'Two new water beetles from the Hantamsberg, an inselberg in the Northern Cape of South Africa (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)' Zootaxa 3887, (4) 471-480 Open access
(2013) 'A taxonomic revision of South African Sharphydrus, with the description of two new species (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Bidessini)' Zootaxa 3750, 26-36 , DOI
(2013) 'A taxonomic revision of South African Sharphydrus, with the description of two new species (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Bidessini)' ZOOTAXA 3750, (1) 26-36
(2013) 'Riding the storm: the response of Plantago lanceolata to simulated tidal flooding' JOURNAL OF COASTAL CONSERVATION 17, (4) 799-803 , DOI
(2013) 'Respiratory control in aquatic insects dictates their vulnerability to global warming' Biol Lett 9, (5) , DOI
(2013) 'Prosthetops wolfbergensis sp nov.-a giant amongst the 'minute moss beetles', with new data on other members of the genus (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)' ZOOTAXA 3666, (3) 345-357 , DOI
(2013) 'Hydraena lotti sp nov., a new member of the "Haenydra" lineage from the Peloponnese (Greece), with additional records of Hydraena species in the region (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)' ZOOTAXA 3637, (1) 29-38 , DOI
(2013) 'Description of the male of Sebasthetops omaliniformis Jach, 1998-a phylogenetically isolated water beetle from South Africa, with notes on its ecology (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)' ZOOTAXA 3635, (1) 94-100 , DOI
(2013) 'Crenitis bicolor sp n. from the Kamiesberg of South Africa (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)' ZOOTAXA 3626, (4) 589-592 , DOI
(2013) 'Consistency of fuzzy rules in an ecological context' ECOLOGICAL MODELLING 251, 187-198 , DOI
(2013) 'Correction: Does Ecophysiology Determine Invasion Success? A Comparison between the Invasive Boatman Trichocorixa verticalis verticalis and the Native Sigara lateralis (Hemiptera, Corixidae) in South-West Spain' PLoS One 8, (11) , DOI
(2013) 'Does ecophysiology determine invasion success? A comparison between the invasive boatman Trichocorixa verticalis verticalis and the native Sigara lateralis (Hemiptera, Corixidae) in South-West Spain' PLoS One 8, (5) , DOI
(2012) 'Life-history and thermal tolerance traits display different thermal plasticities and relationships with temperature in the marine polychaete Ophryotrocha labronica La Greca and Bacci (Dorvilleidae)' JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY 438, 109-117 , DOI
(2012) 'La vulnerabilidad de las especies frente al cambio climático, un reto urgente para la conservación de la biodiversidad' Ecosistemas 21, (3) 79-84 , DOI
(2012) 'The effect of geographical scale of sampling on DNA barcoding' Syst Biol 61, (5) 851-869 , DOI Open access
(2012) 'Evaluating drivers of vulnerability to climate change: a guide for insect conservation strategies' GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 18, (7) 2135-2146 , DOI
(2012) 'Two new species of Parhydraenini from South Africa (Coleoptera: Hydraenidae)' ZOOTAXA (3342) 51-59 , DOI
(2012) 'THE LARVA OF HYDROPORUS ZIMMERMANNI J. MULLER, 1926 (COLEOPTERA: DYTISCIDAE: HYDROPORINAE), WITH NOTES ON ITS ECOLOGY AND A REVIEW OF DESCRIBED LARVAE OF HYDROPORUS CLAIRVILLE' COLEOPTERISTS BULLETIN 66, (2) 81-91 , DOI
(2012) 'Dispersal ability rather than ecological tolerance drives differences in range size between lentic and lotic water beetles (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)' JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY 39, (5) 984-994 , DOI
(2012) 'Population genetic structure and long-distance dispersal among seabird populations: Implications for colony persistence' Molecular Ecology 21, (12) 2863-2876 , DOI
(2012) 'Water beetle biodiversity in Mediterranean standing waters: assemblage composition, environmental drivers and nestedness patterns' INSECT CONSERVATION AND DIVERSITY 5, (2) 146-158 , DOI
(2012) 'Stictonectes rebeccae sp n. from the Iberian Peninsula, with notes on its phylogenetic position (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae)' ZOOTAXA (3188) 42-54
(2012) 'The comparative biology of diving in two genera of European Dytiscidae (Coleoptera)' J Evol Biol 25, (2) 329-341 , DOI
(2012) 'Assessing the congruence of thermal niche estimations derived from distribution and physiological data. A test using diving beetles' PLoS One 7, (10) , DOI Open access
(2011) 'Characterisation and predicted genome locations of Leach's storm-petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) microsatellite loci (Procellariidae, Aves)' CONSERVATION GENETICS RESOURCES 3, (4) 711-716 , DOI
(2011) 'Oxygen supply in aquatic ectotherms: partial pressure and solubility together explain biodiversity and size patterns' Ecology 92, (8) 1565-1572 , DOI
(2011) 'Effects of formalin preservation on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures in Calanoid copepods: implications for the use of Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey samples in stable isotope analyses' Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 25, (13) 1794-1800 , DOI
(2011) 'Spatio-temporal nested patterns in macroinvertebrate assemblages across a pond network with a wide hydroperiod range' Oecologia 166, (2) 469-483 , DOI
(2011) 'Can oxygen set thermal limits in an insect and drive gigantism?' PLoS One 6, (7) , DOI Open access
(2010) 'Reduced salinities compromise the thermal tolerance of hypersaline specialist diving beetles' PHYSIOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY 35, (3) 265-273 , DOI
(2010) 'A heuristic approach to predicting water beetle diversity in temporary and fluctuating waters' ECOLOGICAL MODELLING 221, (11) 1451-1462 , DOI
(2010) 'What determines a species' geographical range? Thermal biology and latitudinal range size relationships in European diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)' J Anim Ecol 79, (1) 194-204 , DOI
(2009) 'Ecology and conservation status of temporary and fluctuating ponds in two areas of southern England' AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS 19, (2) 134-146 , DOI
(2009) 'Detection of fungal 18S rRNA sequences in conjunction with marine nematode 18S rRNA amplicons' Aquatic Biology 5, 149-155 , DOI
(2009) 'Comment on the proposed Amendment of Articles of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature to expand and refine methods of publication' Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 63, (3) 215-215
(2008) 'Inter- and intrasexual dimorphism in the diving beetle Hydroporus memnonius Nicolai (Coleoptera : Dytiscidae)' BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 94, (4) 685-697 , DOI
(2008) 'Are the endemic water beetles of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands effectively protected?' BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 141, (6) 1612-1627 , DOI
(2008) 'Evaluation of combined morphological and molecular techniques for marine nematode (Terschellingia spp.) identification' Marine Biology 154, (3) 509-518 , DOI
(2008) 'Thermal tolerance, acclimatory capacity and vulnerability to global climate change' Biology Letters 4, (1) 99-102 , DOI
(2007) 'The diving response of a diving beetle: effects of temperature and acidification' Journal of Zoology 273, (3) 289-297 , DOI
(2007) 'The diving response of the diving beetle Ilybius montanus (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae): the effects of temperature and acidification' Journal of Zoology 273, 289-297
(2007) 'An investigation of body size-range size and wing-size range size relationships in North American Enallagma damselflies' Freshwater Biology 52, 471-477
(2007) 'Do developmental mode and dispersal shape abundance-occupancy relationships in marine macroinvertebrates?' Journal of Animal Ecology 76, (4) 695-702
(2007) 'Exploitation of archived marine nematodes- a hot lysis DNA extraction protocol for molecular studies' Zoologica Scripta 36, 93-98
(2007) 'Phylogenetic relatedness and ecological interactions determine antipredator behavior' Ecology 88, (10) 2462-2467
(2007) 'Range size in North American Enallagma damselflies correlates with wing size' Freshwater Biology 52, (3) 471-477
(2007) 'Thermal tolerance and geographic range size in the Agabus brunneus group of European diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)' Journal of Biogeography 35, 295-305
(2007) 'What determines a species' geographic range? Thermal biology and geographical range sizerelationships in European diving beetles' Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A-Molecular & Integrative Physiology 146, (4) S209-S209
(2006) 'Can taxonomic distinctness assess anthropogenic impacts in inland waters? A case study from a Mediterranean river basin' Freshwater Biology 51, (9) 1744-1756
(2006) 'How wide to cast the net? Cross-taxon congruence of species richness, community similarity and indicator taxa in ponds' Freshwater Biology 51, 578-590
(2006) 'Molecular detection of marine nematodes from environmental samples: overcoming eukaryotic interference' Aquatic Microbial Ecology 44, (1) 97-103
(2006) 'Development and evaluation of a DNA-barcoding approach for the rapid identification of nematodes' Marine Ecology-Progress Series 320, 1-9
(2005) 'Combined morphological and molecular analysis of individual nematodes through short-term preservation in formalin' Molecular Ecology Notes 5, (4) 965-968
(2005) 'Does macrophyte fractal complexity drive invertebrate diversity, biomass and body size distributions?' Oikos 111, (2) 279-290
(2005) 'Larval morphology of Aspidytidae (Coleoptera : Adephaga) and its phylogenetic implications' Annals of the Entomological Society of America 98, (4) 417-430
(2005) 'Questioning attitudes in freshwater ecology?' Global Ecology and Biogeography 14, 295-296
(2005) 'Unravelling nestedness and spatial pattern in pond assemblages' Journal of Animal Ecology 74, (1) 41-49
(2005) 'Temporary ponds of eastern Poland: an initial assessment of importance for nature conservation' Archives de Sciences 57, 25-37
(2004) 'Temporary ponds of eastern Poland: an initial assessment of their importance for nature conservation' Archives des Sciences 57, (2-3) 73-83
(2003) 'Evolution, mitochondrial DNA phylogeny and systematic position of the Macaronesian endemic Hydrotarsus Falkenstrom (Coleoptera : Dytiscidae)' Systematic Entomology 28, (4) 493-508
(2003) 'Mitochondrial DNA phylogeography and population history of Meladema diving beetles on the Atlantic Islands and in the Mediterranean basin (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae)' Molecular Ecology 12, (1) 153-167
(2003) 'The net result: evaluating species richness extrapolation techniques for littoral pond invertebrates' Freshwater Biology 48, (10) 1756-1764
(2002) 'Are distribution patterns linked to dispersal mechanism? An investigation using pond invertebrate assemblages' Freshwater Biology 47, (9) 1571-1581
(2002) 'Dispersal, genetic differentiation and speciation in estuarine organisms' Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 55, (6) 937-952
(2002) 'Genetic population structure and dispersal in Atlantic Island caddisflies' Freshwater Biology 47, (9) 1642-1650
(2002) 'Population genetics and biodiversity in a red agarophyte in south west Britain' The Phycologist 61,
(2001) 'Dispersal in freshwater invertebrates' Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 32, 159-181
(2001) 'First data of Iberian nematomorpha, with redescription of Gordius aquaticus Linnaeus, G-plicatulus Heinze, Gordionus wolterstorffii (Camerano) and Paragordius tricuspidatus (Dufour)' Contributions to Zoology 70, (2) 73-84
(2001) 'Larval morphology of Hydrotarsus Falkenstrom: Generic characteristics, description of H. compunctus (Wollaston), and analysis of relationships with other members of the tribe Hydroporini (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae, Hydroporinae)' Coleopterists Bulletin 55, 341-350
(2001) 'Population structure and dispersal in the Canary Island caddisfly Mesophylax aspersus (Trichoptera, Limnephilidae)' Heredity 86, 370-377
(2001) 'Size, permanence and the proportion of predators in ponds' Archiv fur Hydrobiologie 151, (3) 451-458
(1999) 'Genetic differentiation and natural hybridization between two morphological forms of the common woodlouse, oniscus asellus linnaeus 1758' Heredity (Edinb) 82 Pt 4, 462-469 , DOI
(1999) 'The impact of encroachment and bankside development on the habitat complexity and supralittoral invertebrate communities of the Thames Estuary foreshore' Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 9, (2) 237-247 , DOI
(1999) 'The impact of encroachment and bankside development on the habitat complexity and supralittoral invertebrate communities of the Thames Estuary foreshore' AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS 9, (2) 237-247 , DOI
(1998) 'Mediterranean Europe as an area of endemism for small mammals rather than a source for northwards postglacial colonization' Proc Biol Sci 265, (1402) 1219-1226 , DOI
(1997) 'The Oniscus asellus complex (Crustacea: Isopoda: Oniscidea) in the Iberian peninsula with the description of a new species' REVUE SUISSE DE ZOOLOGIE 104, (1) 217-227 , DOI
(1996) 'A North African European transition fauna: Water beetles (Coleoptera) front the Ebro delta and other Mediterranean coastal wetlands in the Iberian peninsula' AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS 6, (3) 121-140 , DOI
(1996) 'A North African–European transition fauna: water beetles (Coleoptera) from the Ebro delta and other Mediterranean coastal wetlands in the Iberian peninsula' Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 6, (3) 121-140 , DOI
(1994) 'INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION IN THE TERRESTRIAL ISOPOD ONISCUS-ASELLUS LINNAEUS, 1758 (CRUSTACEA, ISOPODA, ONISCIDEA)' ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 110, (4) 325-354 , DOI
(1994) 'PHYLOGEOGRAPHY AND RECENT HISTORICAL BIOGEOGRAPHY OF HYDROPORUS-GLABRIUSCULUS AUBE (COLEOPTERA, DYTISCIDAE) IN THE BRITISH-ISLES AND SCANDINAVIA' BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 51, (3) 293-307 , DOI
(1993) 'A MORPHOMETRIC STUDY OF THE DIVING BEETLE HYDROPORUS-GLABRIUSCULUS (COLEOPTERA, DYTISCIDAE) IN WESTERN-EUROPE, INCLUDING A COMPARISON OF MORPHOLOGICAL AND GENETIC-DIVERGENCE PATTERNS' ZOOLOGISCHER ANZEIGER 231, (3-4) 111-124
(1992) 'GENETIC POPULATION-STRUCTURE OF THE POSTGLACIAL RELICT DIVING BEETLE HYDROPORUS-GLABRIUSCULUS AUBE (COLEOPTERA, DYTISCIDAE)' HEREDITY 69, 503-511 , DOI
(1992) 'A CLASSIFICATION AND EVALUATION OF IRISH WATER BEETLE ASSEMBLAGES' AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS 2, (2) 185-208 , DOI
(1992) 'A NEW SPECIES OF ONISCUS LINNAEUS, 1758 (CRUSTACEA, ISOPODA, ONISCIDEA) FROM NORTHERN SPAIN, WITH A REVISED KEY TO MEMBERS OF THE GENUS' ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 104, (2) 117-125 , DOI
(1992) 'SEX-CHROMOSOME SYSTEMS OF EUROPEAN NOTERID BEETLES (COLEOPTERA, ADEPHAGA, NOTERIDAE)' ENTOMOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA 23, (1) 115-119
(1991) 'Further records of aquatic Coleoptera from Ireland' Irish Naturalists' Journal 23, (10) 389-397
(1989) 'CLASSIFICATION OF WATER BEETLE ASSEMBLAGES IN ARABLE FENLAND AND RANKING OF SITES IN RELATION TO CONSERVATION VALUE' FRESHWATER BIOLOGY 22, (3) 343-354 , DOI
Books
Foster, G.N., Bilton, D.T., Hammond, M. & Nelson, B.H. 2020. Atlas of the Water Beetles of Britain and Ireland - smaller families of Polyphaga. Field Studies Council.
Foster, G.N., Bilton, D.T., Hammond, M. & Nelson, B.H. 2018. Atlas of the Hydrophiloid Beetles of Britain and Ireland. Field Studies Council.
Foster, G.N., Bilton, D.T. & Nelson, B.H. 2016. Atlas of the Predaceous Aquatic Beetles (Hydradephaga) of Britain and Ireland. Field Studies Council.
Foster, G.N., Bilton, D.T. & Friday, L.E. 2014. Keys to adults of the water beetles of Britain and Ireland (Part 2). Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects 4(5b): i-iv, 1-126.
(2020) Atlas of the Water Beetles of Britain and Ireland - Smaller Families of Polyphaga. Field Studies Council
(2018) Atlas of the Hydrophiloid Beetles of Britain and Ireland. Telford, UK Field Studies Council
(2016) Atlas of the Predaceous Water Beetles (Hydradephaga) of Britain and Ireland. Field Studies Council
(2014) A Key to the Adults of British Water Beetles Part 2. Handbooks For the Identification of British Insects
Chapters
(2023) 'Dispersal in Dytiscidae' Ecology, Systematics, and the Natural History of Predaceous Diving Beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) Springer International Publishing 505-528 , DOI
(2023) 'The Conservation of Predaceous Diving Beetles: Knowns, More Unknowns and More Anecdotes' Ecology, Systematics, and the Natural History of Predaceous Diving Beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) Springer International Publishing 529-566 , DOI
(2015) 'Case Studies Worldwide' Coastal Risk Management in a Changing Climate Elsevier 325-628 , DOI
(2015) 'Chapter 4 Ecological Approaches to Coastal Risk Mitigation' Coastal Risk Management in a Changing Climate 171-236 , DOI
(2015) 'Chapter 7 Case Studies Worldwide' Coastal Risk Management in a Changing Climate 325-628 , DOI
(2015) 'Ecological Approaches to Coastal Risk Mitigation' Coastal Risk Management in a Changing Climate Elsevier 171-236 , DOI
(2014) 'Dispersal in Dytiscidae' Ecology, Systematics, and the Natural History of Predaceous Diving Beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) Springer Netherlands 387-407 , DOI
(2014) 'The Conservation of Predaceous Diving Beetles: Knowns, Unknowns and Anecdotes' Ecology, Systematics, and the Natural History of Predaceous Diving Beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) Springer Netherlands 437-462 , DOI
(2007) 'By wind, wings or water: body size, dispersal and range size in aquatic invertebrates' Body Size: The Structure and Function of Aquatic Ecosystems Cambridge University Press 186-209 , DOI
(2007) 'Body size, range size and dispersal in aquatic invertebrates' in Hildrew AG; Raffaelli DG; Edmunds-Brown R Body size: the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 186-209
(2006) 'Aspidytidae (Cliff Water Beetles)' in Stals R Guides to the Freshwater Invertebrates of Southern Africa. Volume 10: Aquatic Coleoptera Pretoria, South Africa
(2002) 'The geographical ecology of freshwater meiofauna' in Rundle SD; Robertson AL; Schmid-Araya JM Freshwater Meiofauna: Biology and Ecology Backhuys Publishers 279-294
Conference Papers
(2013) 'How oxygen and temperature changes across latitude and elevation determine ecological distribution patterns' E219-E219
(2009) 'Dispersal responses and tolerance to temperature and salinity in two hydraenid beetles from hypersaline inland waters' S171-S172 , DOI
(2009) 'Oxygen deficiency under elevated temperatures: a mechanism connecting the response of stream ectotherms to global warming?' S169-S169 , DOI
(2009) 'Thermal biology of the interstitial polychaete species Ophryotrocha labronica (Polychaeta, Dorvilleidae)' S172-S172 , DOI
Presentations and posters
'The CAVEheAT project: climate change, thermal niche and conservation of subterranean biodiversity' , DOI
Personal
Personal
Conferences organised
Royal Entomological Society
Annual Meeting. Plymouth 2008
Climate Change in Aquatic Systems: Past Present & Future
(British Ecological Society, Freshwater Biological Association, Marine Biological Association) Plymouth 2004
European Temporary Ponds
(Freshwater Biological Association, Ponds Conservation Trust) Birmingham 2001
Aquatic Habitats as Ecological Islands
(British Ecological Society, Marine Biological Association, Freshwater Biological Association) Plymouth 2000