Invertebrate Conservation Program

INVERTEBRATE CONSERVATION PROGRAM

Invertebrates (animals without backbones) constitute the vast bulk of biodiversity on Earth and 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 invertebrates. 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.

Program Highlights
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 planning and priority setting. A working model for other invertebrate focal group efforts, ScarabNet has developed a worldwide network of ecologists and taxonomists who are collaborating to 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 the world'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 will be on display through March 2005.

Next Steps
A number of post-symposium products that will extend the momentum of Expanding the Ark are being created. Foremost among these products is a “Blueprint for Invertebrate Conservation,” currently being crafted by a working group assembled from the symposium's steering committee, plenary
speakers, CBC staff, and other outside experts. The “Blueprint” document will be a consensus vision of the most critical research, policy and funding priorities for invertebrate conservation in the next decade. Later this year, editing will begin on a volume on advances in invertebrate conservation, for publication in 2006.

In collaboration with Museum curators, researchers at three other universities, and two partner institutions in Boliva, the project is developing a proposal to the National Science Foundation to support biodiversity surveys in Bolivian freshwater systems.