According
to the report ‘Spineless,’ published by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
in conjunction with IUCN, the invertebrates are under serious threat. The book
was made public on 31st August, 2012.
Earthworms,
butterflies, honey bees, houseflies, dragonflies, garden worms, etc. all have
their roles in their ecosystems. What a pleasant pastime it will be if we spare some time to understand about invertebrates, their roles in ecosystem services, and indulge in reading about them and photograph their beautiful, adaptable, magnificent forms and sizes.
If we do so it will certainly strike
out at our deeper inner and we will not be able to resist our bondage to them, for what they are, and for our evolutionary relationship to them. The beauty of a ladybird beetle,
a butterfly, a colorful centipede and dragonfly and many more is irresistible!
Tiny insects have a role like pollination of our crops and our orchards: a
service that they do free in one-to-one relationship with plants and trees which
provide them nectar and pollens to eat, in return. Others like earthworms
recycle waste nutrients and coral reefs support a myriad of life forms. Imagine
if this all vanishes. Here is the deadly caution: several invertebrates are now on verge of extinction. And if
they disappear, will follow the extinction of humans.
A slug (Mollusk): Photo by Dr.Zaka Imam
The IUCN report, 'Spineless' cautions against invertebrates' extinction
“The
IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) is currently trying to expand the number
of invertebrates species assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species™,” says Dr Simon Stuart, SSC Chair. “The early results of this
work are included in the book, Spineless. I very much hope that the expansion
of conservation-related information on invertebrates will give these species a
much higher conservation profile in future.”
Conservation
scientists have reviewed more than 12,000 invertebrates from The IUCN Red List;
scientists have also discovered freshwater species to be under the highest risk
of extinction, followed closely by terrestrial and marine invertebrates. These initial
findings from global, regional and
national assessments provide important insight into the overall status of
invertebrates.
Scientists indicate that the threat status of invertebrates
is very likely similar to that of vertebrates and plants. Invertebrates
are at risk from a variety of threats: pollution from agricultural sources, dam
construction, impact of invasive species and diseases.
“Invertebrates
constitute almost 80% of the world’s species, and a staggering one in five
species could be at risk of extinction,” says Dr Ben Collen, Head of the
Indicators and Assessments unit at ZSL. “While the cost of saving them will
be expensive, the cost of ignorance to their plight appears to be even
greater.”
The
highest risk of extinction tends to be associated with species that are less
mobile and are only found in small geographical areas. For example, vertebrate
amphibians and invertebrate freshwater mollusks both face high levels of
threat– around one-third of species are at risk. In contrast, invertebrate
species like dragonflies and butterflies, which are more mobile, face a similar
threat to that of birds, and around one-tenth of species are at risk.
“The
ecology of vertebrates and the threats posed to them are reasonably well
documented, and there is often more effort to conserve them—but the
conservation attention paid to creepy crawlies lags far behind that of
charismatic and well known animals like tigers, elephants and gorillas,” says
Professor Jonathan Baillie, ZSL’s Director of Conservation. “We ignore the
loss of invertebrates at our peril, as they provide many of the ecosystem
services from which humans benefit.”
Invertebrates
are the engineers of the many benefits which humans accumulate from an intact
and fully functioning environment; however human demand for resources is
continually increasing the pressure on invertebrate populations. This book
paints a clear picture of how biodiversity is changing, and will enable experts
to implement successful conservation plans for those invertebrates which are
struggling to survive.
ZSL
will be presenting ‘Spineless: Status and Trends of the World’s Invertebrates’
at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Jaju on 7 September.
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