Abstract
The Haliplidae, Gyrinidae and Dytiscidae (Coleoptera) of Prince Edward Island, Canada were surveyed during the years 2004–2005. A total of 2450 individuals from 79 species were collected from 98 different localities, among which 30 species are newly recorded from that region. Among these, Acilius sylvanus Hilsenhoff, Rhantus consimilis Motschulsky and Neoporus sulcipennis (Fall) stand out as representing the easternmost reports of these species in Canada. Once removed, Gyrinus aquiris LeConte (Gyrinidae) is reinstated in the faunal list of Prince Edward Island. According to this study and literature 84 species of Hydradephaga are currently known from Prince Edward Island. The Nearctic component of the fauna is made up of 68 species (80.9%) and the Holarctic component of 16 species (19.1%). Most species are characteristic of the Boreal and Atlantic Maritime Ecozones and have a transcontinental distribution. In an examination of the Hydradephaga of insular portions of Atlantic Canada, we found that despite significantly different land areas and different distances to the neighbouring continental mainland the island faunas of Prince Edward Island and insular Newfoundland are very similar in the number of species (84 and 94 species respectively) despite differences in composition. With a land area significantly larger than that of Prince Edward Island, however, the fauna of Cape Breton Island was 39% smaller consisting of 53 species. This difference could be due to the comparative lack of collecting efforts on Cape Breton Island.
Highlights
The Maritime Provinces are a region of eastern Canada on the Atlantic coast consisting of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island
This study aims to fill this gap by presenting for the first time the results of an extensive field oriented research on the Hydradephaga biodiversity of Prince Edward Island
30 species are reported for the first time and an additional one is reinstated in the faunal list of Prince Edward Island
Summary
The Maritime Provinces are a region of eastern Canada on the Atlantic coast consisting of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. These provinces lie within the Atlantic Maritime Ecozone along with Québec’s Gaspé Peninsula, Magdalen Archipelago and portions of the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The Atlantic Ocean provides moisture to the region, producing mean precipitation of 900 mm a year inland and 1500 mm a year on the coast. This region is a mix of sedimentary and igneous bedrock (Alarie 2009)
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