Aim Based on seven consecutive seasons of biotic survey and inventory of the terrestrial and freshwater plants and animals of the 30 major islands of the Kuril Archipelago, a description of the biodiversity and an analysis of the biogeography of this previously little known part of the world are provided.Location The Kuril Archipelago, a natural laboratory for investigations into the origin, subsequent evolution, and long-term maintenance of insular populations, forms the eastern boundary of the Okhotsk Sea, extending 1200 km between Hokkaido, Japan, and the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia. A chain of more than 56 islands, the system is only slightly smaller than the Hawaiian Islands, covering an area of 15,600 km 2 and providing 2409 km of coastline.Methods Collections of whole specimens of plants and animals, as well as tissue samples for future molecular studies, were made by teams of scientists from Russia, Japan, and the USA, averaging 34 people for each of the seven annual summer expeditions (1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000). Floral and faunal similarities between islands were evaluated by using Sorensen's coefficient of similarity. The similarity matrix resulting from pair-wise calculations was then subjected to UPGMA cluster analysis.

AEèçíåííûé öèêë ïðåñíîâîäíûõ äâó-ñòâîð÷àòûõ ìîëëþñêîâ ïåðëîâèö (ïîäñåìåéñòâî Nodulariinae, ñåìåéñòâî Unionidae) âêëþ÷àåò ñòàäèþ ãëîõèäèÿ ñâîåîáðàçíîé ëè÷èíêè, êîòîðàÿ â ïåðèîä ìåòàìîðôîçà îïðåäåëåííîå âðåìÿ ïàðàçèòèðóåò íà ðûáå. Èññëåäîâàíèÿ ãëîõèäèåâ ïåðëîâèö (íàÿä) ðîäà Nodularia Conrad, 1853 íåìíîãî÷èñëåííû. Ñðåäè îòå÷åñòâåííûõ ìàëàêîëîãîâ ïåðâóþ î÷åíü êðàòêóþ õàðàêòåðèñòèêó ãëî-

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Die Dytiscidenfauna der nordostasiatischen Halbinsel Kamtschatka wird auf der Grundlage von Literaturnachweisen und neueren Aufsammlungen zusammengestellt. Die folgenden zehn Arten werden erstmals für Kamtschatka nachgewiesen: Hygrotus marklini (Gyllenhal), Hydroporus notabilis LeConte, H. submuticus Thomson, H. tristis (Paykull), H. uenoi Nakane, Oreodytes okulovi Lafer, Agabus balkei Fery & Nilsson, A. discolor Harris, Ilybius chishimanus Kôno, Rhantus suturellus (Harris), und Graphoderus perplexus Sharp. Insgesamt 38 Dytiscidenarten, davon 22 mit holarktischer Verbreitung, sind nun von Kamtschatka bekannt. Graphoderus perplexus wird erstmals aus der Paläarktis nachgewiesen. Weitere Nachweise werden für Sachalin und die Kurilen genannt. Die folgenden Arten sind Erstnachweise für Sachalin: Hydroporus nigellus Mannerheim, Agabus kholini Nilsson, Ilybius angustior (Gyllenhal), und Acilius canaliculatus (Nicolai). Zehn Arten werden erstmals für die Kurilen nachgewiesen: Hydroporus nigellus, H. notabilis, H. submuticus, H. tristis, Agabus clypealis (Thomson), A. confinis (Gyllenhal), A. costulatus (Motschulsky), A. discolor, Ilybius discedens Sharp, und Colymbetes dahuricus Aubé. Neun dieser Arten wurden auf den nördlichen, H. tristis dagegen auf den südlichen Kurilen gefunden. Damit sind jetzt von Sachalin 39 und von den Kurilen 36 Arten bekannt.

Regional and local species richness of temporary pond dytiscid water beetles were compared among three regions within the Palearctic: (1) Sweden in north west Europe, (2) Primorye and (3) Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East. Both local and regional species richness were highest in Sweden and lowest in Sakhalin. Regional species richness was calculated from literature and collecting data for each region and for nested parts of regions. Local species richness was estimated from standardized net samples from fourteen or fifteen ponds in each region. Two different rarefaction techniques applied to the net‐sample data confirmed the observed interregional differences in species richness. Partial least square regression showed that pond area, depth and temperature affected local species richness positively in each region, whereas increasing shade and drought frequency had negative effects. Residuals from the regression analysis were positive in Sweden, negative in Sakhalin, and near zero in Primorye ponds. Consequently, the local species richness was related positively to regional species richness also when compensated for differences in the local pond environment. This was verified when pond species richness of each region was correlated with principal component scores representing a combination of pond area, depth and temperature. The species’ distributions among ponds displayed significantly nested patterns in Sweden and Sakhalin. However, species were significantly sorted along the pond area gradient only in Sweden. It is concluded that the observed interregional differences in local species richness are best explained by the accompanying gradient in regional species richness, lending support to the hypothesis of regional enrichment. Selected historical and ecological explanations for the observed differences in regional species richness are discussed.