A general lack of complete inventories for aquatic beetles in Morocco

Conservation-planning approaches must be supported by a good understanding of the geographical distribution of species. Despite the efforts conducted so far to compile data on aquatic insects, the information on the distribution of water beetles in Morocco is scarce. In this study, we assess for the first time the degree of inventory quality of aquatic insects in Africa. Using an exhaustive database of Moroccan water beetles, likely the most complete database for any group of aquatic insects in Africa (with 11,229 records for 305 species), we specifically aim to explore the patterns of species richness, sampling effort and inventory completeness at four different spatial resolutions, identifying those spatial units that can be considered as sufficiently surveyed, and locating areas in need of further sampling effort. Our results showed a lack of complete and extensive inventory data; as less than 12% of Moroccan cells at the coarsest resolution assessed (45′) can be considered as well surveyed (slope 70%), while at the finest resolution (7′), only 1% of Moroccan cells could be identified as being well prospected. Finally, we highlight the importance of these procedures to improve monitoring planning of aquatic fauna and to improve their effective conservation and management. Implications for insect conservation Considerable information is still required to provide an accurate picture of the richness patterns of aquatic insects in North-Western Africa. Thus, results on the pattern of species richness must be used cautiously, as they could be just mirroring the pattern of sampling effort carried out. We recommend the use of modelling procedures as a shortcut to improve our knowledge on the biodiversity patterns of aquatic insects in North-Western Africa and to establish efficient conservation strategies for their protection.