Derek Lott Coleoptera Dataset

Biological Records Centre

Description

The Derek Lott Coleoptera dataset comprises 61366 records collated by Derek Lott into the Stenus Research Coleoptera Database. Stenus Research is an entomological consultancy set up by Derek Lott in 2004. It inherited a large number of beetle records amassed by Derek Lott since 1982. To these were added records collected during projects carried out on behalf of a variety of government agencies and charities. This database contains all those records from Britain and Ireland that were either collected or identified by Derek.

Geographic Description

Excellent geographic coverage, particularly for wetland Staphylinidae, but with a focus on Leicestershire for some species.

Purpose

Records are collated in order to add to knowledge of this group, including distribution, population trends, autecology and phenology. In addition, the scheme works with all contributing recorders to raise the profile of the species group and its conservation. Sharing the data via NBN helps achieve these aims.

Data quality

All records were either collected or identified by Derek Lott and the quality is, therefore, extremely high. The wetland Staphylinid records are the most thoroughly recorded within this dataset.

Methods

The records fall into three main categories:

1) Casual field records made by Derek Lott starting with a collection made from flood refuse on 3rd January 1982. A large proportion of the earlier records come from the vice county of Leicestershire and Rutland. From the late 1980s, Derek Lott increasingly specialised in wetland Staphylinidae (rove beetles). Records for this family should be counted as the most thoroughly recorded and the most reliably identified.

2) Data collected systematically from samples obtained during projects to classify invertebrate assemblages or to study the responses of invertebrate assemblages to environmental variables. The samples were collected using repeatable protocols designed to generate comparable data for use in multivariate analysis and exploration of species diversity. A variety of different protocols have been used, mainly in order to develop protocols for common standards monitoring in conjuntion with ISIS. The main sets of sample data included here are i) the WETCAST database of wetland Carabidae and Staphylinidae, ii) a database of pitfall trap samples using a protocol developed by Martin Luff and Mick Eyre at Newcastle University and iii) a database of samples of aquatic invertebrates collected using pond-nets and kitchen sieves.

3) Records extracted from specimen labels in both private and museum collections.

Citation

Biological Records Centre ([Insert download year]). Derek Lott Coleoptera Dataset. Occurrence dataset on the NBN Atlas

Rights

CC-BY

Digitised records