Fellow, California Academy of Sciences. Worldwide in distribution, this family includes more than 40,000 described species and many thousands of additional species yet to be discovered and described. Members of the family are also highly diverse in their form, behavior, habitat preference, and life history. About 55 species are found in North America, all confined to cool or cold habitats, and, therefore, found mainly in northern or montane areas.
Many species live at the margins of cold mountain streams or alpine snowfields and glaciers.
My studies of these beetles have taken me to all the major mountain ranges in North America to learn first hand about the distributions, habitat requirements, and other aspects of biology of these species. I am also investigating the evolutionary relationships and geographical histories of members of this group through the study of fossil specimens and the use of such analytical techniques as cladistics and vicariance biogeography. Such work depends on inference gained from detailed comparative studies of internal and external structure, life history, behavior, distribution, and habitat. I am also working on faunal inventories for several areas around the world, including Costa Rica, Madagascar, China, and Papua New Guinea. I am also interested in theoretical aspects of systematics, biogeography, and evolution and plan to continue contributing to the conceptual development of these active research fields.