Andrew Short

Assistant Professor
Entomology
Assistant Curator
Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Research Center
Ph.D., Cornell University
Address: Division of Entomology, 1501 Crestline Drive, Suite 140
Phone: (785) 864-2323
Email: aezshort@ku.edu

Related Websites

Lab Website: http://sites.google.com/site/theshortlabl
Lab Blog: http://shortlab.blogspot.com/

Research Interests

My research program centers on elucidating the diversity, biology, and evolutionary history of aquatic beetles, an aggregate group of ca. 20 families with more than 11,000 described species. I focus primarily on the superfamily Hydrophiloidea (the ‘water scavenger’ beetles), one of the few lineages of insects to have diversified in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. I place strong emphasis on 1) descriptive, alpha-level taxonomy through collaborative biodiversity surveys and inventories, and 2) developing robust phylogenetic hypotheses for clades of aquatic beetles utilizing data from varied sources, with a focus on morphological data sets. I am particularly interested in combining ecological data generated through biotic surveys with phylogenetic hypotheses to examine the patterns and prevalence of morphological adaptations associated with various aquatic ways of life and shifts between aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

Representative Publications

Short, A.E.Z. 2010. Phylogeny, Evolution, and Classification of the Giant Water Scavenger Beetles (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae: Hydrophilini: Hydrophilina). Systematics and Biodiversity 8: 17-37.

Fikacek, M., E. Gentili, & A.E.Z. Short. 2010. Order Coleoptera, family Hydrophilidae. In: van Harten, A. (ed.): Arthropod fauna of the United Arab Emirates, volume 3.

Hall, W.E. & A.E.Z. Short. 2010. A new species of Hydroscapha LeConte from northwestern Venezuela (Coleoptera: Myxophaga: Hydroscaphidae). Zootaxa 2358: 49-56.

Short, A.E.Z. 2009. Two new species of the hygropetric genus Oocyclus Sharp from eastern India (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae). Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis 49: 625-630.

Short, A.E.Z. 2009. Micramphiops gen.n. from Madagascar (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae). Koleopterologische Rundschau 79: 189-195.

Short, A.E.Z. & M.S. Caterino. 2009. On the validity of habitat as a predictor of genetic structure in aquatic systems: a comparative study using California water beetles. Molecular Ecology 18: 403-414.

Shaverdo, H., A.E.Z. Short, & D. Enkhnasan. 2008. Predacious water beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) of Mongolia. Koleopterologische Rundschau 78: 43-53.

Short, A.E.Z. 2008. Revision of the Afrotropical genus Tritonus Mulsant (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae). Zootaxa 1855: 41-55.

Short, A.E.Z. & J.K. Liebherr. 2007. Systematics and Biology of the Endemic Water Scavenger Beetles of Hawaii (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae). Systematic Entomology 43: 601-624.