Invertebrates (animals without backbones) constitute 95% of all animal species on earth, but many are being driven to the edge of extinction.
 INVERTEBRATE CONSERVATION PROGRAM
Invertebrates dominate
virtually every global ecosystem in terms of species richness, biomass,
and ecological function. Taken as a whole, the Invertebrata constitute
80% of Earth’s species, and over 95% of all animal species. The
phylum Arthropoda alone, with roughly 1.1 million described species,
represents over 82% of all animal diversity. Invertebrates are pervasive
elements of every food chain, as herbivores, predators, parasites,
and decomposers. They are food for mammals, birds, fish, reptiles,
and other invertebrates. Ecosystem services provided by invertebrates—such
as pollination, soil creation and aeration, decomposition, and seed
dispersal—are estimated to be worth trillions of dollars to our
economy each year.
Widespread
threats to invertebrate biodiversity, such as habitat loss, introduced
species, and pollution, are rapidly driving many invertebrate species
to the edge of extinction. In the US, the three most endangered groups
of organisms— freshwater mussels, crayfish, and stoneflies—are
all invertebrate s. Almost 70% of all freshwater mussel species are
in need of immediate conservation measures, compared to just 16% of
mammals and 14% of bird species. The imperilment of invertebrates is
not solely a North American crisis—some 22% of Austria’s
invertebrates are considered threatened or endangered, as are almost
1,600 species of Britain’s insect fauna.
Despite
their importance, these poorly described and misunderstood animals
are largely absent from the majority of conservation planning and biodiversity
management strategies. Developing innovative approaches to overcoming
the dearth of taxonomic and ecological understanding of many invertebrates,
while devising strategies for monitoring, managing, and conserving
the millions of invertebrate species represents one of the greatest
challenges facing today’s conservation community. In addition,
efforts to conserve invertebrates are severely hampered by a lack of
public understanding of the values of invertebrate biodiversity.
The
CBC Invertebrate Conservation Program seeks to promote the incorporation
of invertebrates into all levels of the conservation process. The program
serves as a convener and forum, bringing researchers and conservationists
together to discuss and develop principles and practices of invertebrate
conservation; as a developer of scientific tools to address key obstacles
to invertebrate conservation, drawing on the taxonomic strengths of the
Museum; and as a clearinghouse, linking a broader user base to practical
information and tools for invertebrate conservation.
In
June 2002 CBC Invertebrate Program Manager Dr. Sacha Spector took the
lead in forming the Scarabaeinae Research Network (called ScarabNet).
ScarabNet's mission is to assemble the taxonomic and practical tools needed
to include invertebrate groups like the dung beetles in conservation planni ng
and priority setting. A working model for other invertebrate focal group
efforts, ScarabNet has developed a worldwide network of ecologists and
taxonomists who are collaboratingto describe the diversity of dung beetles
and develop their use as an invertebrate biodiversity focal taxon. Over
40 members of the network are pooling their research and experience to
build a complete database of all of theworld's dung beetle species, to
design a standardized dung beetle sampling protocol, and to create innovative identification tools.
The CBC is receiving exciting results
from collaborating taxonomists on the thousands of specimens collected
during a 2001 survey conducted in Bolivia. The survey site, at 2,100
meters on the eastern slope of the Andes, appears to have contained exceptionally
high numbers of undescribed and rare species. Of the six species of stone
flies collected  during the survey, for example, five are new to science.
Eight of ten species of caddisflies that were collected are new to science
as well.
The
Invertebrate Conservation Program organized the CBC's 2004 spring symposium, Expanding the Ark: The
Emerging Science and Practice of Invertebrate Conservation. The symposium
featured over 30 speakers and 70 poster presentations from around the
world, covering a wide variety of invertebrate conservation topics. Timed
to coincide with the symposium, Dr. Spector co-curated Vital
Variety: A Visual Celebration of Invertebrate Biodiversity, a photographic
exhibition highlighting the critical roles that invertebrates play in
the global ecosystem and economy. Featuring stunning close-up photographs
by Dr. Piotr Naskrecki, the exhibition is on display at the Museum.
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