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The Importance of The Importance of Conserving Conserving
InvertebratesInvertebrates Presentation Presentation
prepared by E. Nichols prepared by E. Nichols and S. Spectorand S. Spector
Reproduction of this material is authorized by the recipient institution for non-profit/non-commercial educational use and
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without limitation, in publications distributed by a commercial publisher, without the prior express written consent of
AMNH.
All reproduction or distribution must provide full citation of the original work and provide a copyright notice as follows:
"Copyright 2009, by the authors of the material, with license for use granted to the Center for Biodiversity and
Conservation of the American Museum of Natural History. All rights reserved."
This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under the Course, Curriculum and
Laboratory Improvement program (NSF 0127506), and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Grant Agreement
No. 98210-1-G017).
Any opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do
not necessarily reflect the views of the American Museum of Natural History, the National Science Foundation, or the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Unless otherwise noted, all images are from wikimedia commons.
Dominant
96% of all animal species
74% of all known species
>85% of all animal biomass
Unknown
• Number of species within an order of magnitude
• Habitat requirements
• Conservation status
Diverse
• Life histories
• Body forms
• Ecological niches
What are invertebrates?What are invertebrates?
Over 1,207,900 described species
≈10 million estimated undescribed insect species alone
34 of 37 phyla of life on earth
How many invertebrates on that list did you already know?
What’s in a name?– Is familiarity a prerequisite
for conservation?
• Velvet worms• +200 species• Restricted to the
tropics• Highly threatened• Habitat requirements
broadly unknown
Example
• Flatworms• +25,000 known species• Parasitic and free-living• Marine, freshwater, and
terrestrial • Range in size from nearly
microscopic to > 20m
Example
• Water bears• +900 known species• Found in lichen,
mosses, beach sands, and soils
• Can withstand extreme cold, heat, radiation, and dehydration
• Tiny, 0.1 - 1.5mm long
Example
• Some parasites follow the global distributions of their host species
• Many human parasites are expanding their ranges– Trichuris trichiura (whipworm)– Ancyclostoma duodenale and Necator americanus
(hookworm)– Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm)
Example
• Aren’t widespread taxa less likely to be threatened?
• Not always - several examples of widespread species extinctions are documented, usually as a consequence of loss of critical habitat
•Rocky Mountain Locust (Melanoplus spretus)
–Swarms of up to 3.5 trillion individuals–Extinct in 1902
• Other species are narrow habitat specialists
• Bone-eating Osedax worms – Marine annelids – 2 species, discovered in 2002– Restricted to the carcasses of dead whales– Microscopic males live inside females
Example
• Obligate parasites face special conservation concern
• Neotrichodectes sp (the ferret louse) – Obligate on black footed ferrets
(Mustella nigripes)– Likely extinct following:
• Ferret population crash• Subsequent delousing of captive
ferret populations
Example
• Invertebrate ecological interactions and processes are fundamental to every ecosystem on earth
• We value many of these functions
• Utilitarian value- values for humans and other organisms– Direct Use– Indirect Use
• Intrinsic value- the inherent value of being
• Direct Use– Ecosystem Goods
• Food• Materials• Medicines
• Indirect Use– Ecosystem Functions
& Services• Pollination• Trophic regulation• Ecosystem engineering• Educational tools• Cultural significance
Do invertebrates only interact ‘positively’ with humans?
Plant pests and diseases decrease the quantity and quality of crop and livestock production and increase the costs of agricultural products
Human invertebrate vectored and transmitted diseases cause widespread mortality and morbidity disproportionately felt by the poor
Invertebrates form a major component of the human diet
– Tasty– Culturally significant– High in protein
Most edible invertebrates are marine - commanding
higher prices than fish-based fisheries
Crustaceans - shrimp, lobster, crab, crayfish
Insects - >1,200 edible species - caterpillars, beetles, antsMollusks - squid, oysters, clams, octopus, mussels
Echinoderms - sea cucumber, sea urchins
Direct UseUtilitarian Value
Invertebrates have long been popular as personal artifacts
– Cultural significance
– Beauty
– Sessile nature
– Perception of abundance
All factors which have contributed to the
harvesting and over-harvesting of invertebrates
Jewelry - pearls, coral, beetle elytra, shells
Buttons - abalone, freshwater mussels, oysters
Decor - tourism trinkets, combs, sinks, nacre inlays
Direct UseUtilitarian Value
Invertebrates are turned into industrial additives and products
Many of the species used here are now domesticated
Dye - Dactylopius coccus. Textiles, yogurt, Jell-O, Campari
Textiles - Bombyz mori. Produces silk
Shellac - Laccifer lacca. Wood, hairspray, pills, records
Direct UseUtilitarian Value
Many pharmaceuticals come from invertebrates
– Sessile– Evolutionary arms-race
Diverse array of secondary metabolites
Pain - Cone snails & painkillers (e.g. Ziconotide)
Cancer - Sponges & anticancers (e.g. Topsentin)
– High hit rate Profitable
Direct UseUtilitarian Value
Fluorescence - Cnidarians & fluorescent proteins
Insects underpin much of our food and fiber supply
– Arecaceae - palm oil
– Prunoidea - cherry, almond, peach– Malvacea - cotton, chocolate– Fabacea - wild soybean, clover, alfalfa
Wild insect pollinators
contribute to 1/3 of the average
human caloric intake
Flies - myophilous and sapromyophilous plants
Butterflies - pollinate diurnal, bright, odorless flowers
Beetles - attracted by heat, odor, food, protection
Bees - wild species pollinate about 80% of world’s crops
Indirect Use
Utilitarian Value
Dung beetles
– Plant seeds excreted in frugivorous mammal dung under the soil surface
– Reduce seed predation pressure
Increase likelihood of successful
germination and emergence
Indirect Use
Utilitarian Value
Dung beetles might play a
significant role in structuring tropical forest
Invertebrates regulate individual abundance of many species via
– Predation – Herbivory– Parasitism– Parasitoidism
Pronounced dominance of any one species in a
ecosystem often signals natural or anthropogenic
disturbance
Pests - predation of plant and animal pest species
Diseases - suppression of vectors and pathogens
Diversity- maintain diversity via predation and herbivory
Indirect Use
Utilitarian Value
Invertebrates affect atmospheric regulation via
– Supporting healthy ecosystems
– CO2 accretion and storage
– Gas emission through bioturbation
Hard corals & oysters - trap/store CO2 via CACO3
deposition
Invertebrates play a major but poorly understood role
in maintaining the ecosystems which
regulate atmospheric gases
Worms & dung beetles - contribute to N mineralization and CO2 release
Indirect Use
Utilitarian Value
The creation, modification and maintenance of habitat
– Reef building– Shelter building– Mound building
Support a tremendous range of other organisms
through the provisioning of ‘refugia’
Termites - mounds support high fungal diversity
Hard corals - reef builders in coastal and marine systems
Oysters - reef builders in freshwater and estuarine systems
Caterpillars - create leaf rolls, used by other arthropods
Indirect Use
Utilitarian Value
‘Canary in the coal mine’ for environmental pollutants
– Range of sensitivities – High fecundity– Widespread distributions– Stable populations
Individual species or community response
used as metrics to assess pollutant
levels
Blue mussels - accumulate heavy metals and pesticides
Stone & Mayflies - used to monitor dissolved oxygen
Terrestrial snails - used to monitor urban air pollution
Indirect Use
Utilitarian Value
Transmit information about broader ecosystem
– Easily sampled– Stable taxonomy, easy identification – Predictable response – Correlated with other taxa
Ideal focal taxa traits
Indirect Use
Utilitarian Value
• Awareness – A connection with nature in any
system
• Stewardship – Spur local conservation activity
• Global action– The ‘Pigeon Paradox’
Indirect Use
Utilitarian Value
Genomic biology - Gene mapping, gene expression
Cell biology - Neurotransmitters, ion channels
Ideal model systems for biological research– Small-bodied– Highly fecund– Rapid development
Ideal for lab research
Neuro-biology - Nerve function and disorders
Indirect Use
Utilitarian Value
• Paintings– Ch'i Pai Shih (1863-1957)
• Sculpture– The Blaschakas
• glass marine models
• Odds and ends
Indirect Use
Utilitarian Value
Mann Library, Cornell University
Stories– Myths, TV shows, books
Idioms–‘Snail’s pace’’–“Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee’’
Poetry–Shakespeare, Rumi–Aristophane, Du Fu
Superheroes
–The Tick–El Chapulín Colorado (O Vermelhinho)
Indirect Use
Utilitarian Value
Religion
– Aztecs -Xochiquetzal - butterfly goddess
– Greek -Potnia and Artemis- goddess symbolized by bees
– !Khomani San - Kaggen - mantis god of creation
Bees were seen through the ancient Near East as the bridge between the natural world and underworld, and were often
carved on tombs
Indirect Use
Utilitarian Value
Intrinsic value conveys concepts of: – Morality– Responsibility– Stewardship
If each individual invertebrate has an
inherent right to exist, do each of us have an
inherent responsibility to do it no harm?
Do all individuals (humans and non humans alike) have the inherent right to exist?
What about….
Parasites ?
Pathogens ?
Crop Pests ?
Disease Vectors ?
Stingers/Biters ?
Cockroaches ?
Species with no clear ‘worth’ ?
The 17 spp of priapulid worms ?
Most pathogen-related strategies are intended to destroy or control them
Pathogens are obvious threats to well being….
Do pathogens warrant conservation?
Pathogens are critical players in ecological and evolutionary processes
How do you conserve pathogens?
–major component of the planet’s diversity–powerful selection agents –host population regulation–represent unique evolutionary lineages
Habitat Loss - agricultural expansion, human development
Co-decline - strict and diffuse obligate species
Climate change - changes in phenology and habitat loss
Over-harvesting - home décor, consumption, industrial use
Invertebrates face an array of direct and indirect threats
-Combined with limited information on basic biology, population sizes, distributions, and limited research support, understanding invertebrate decline is extremely challenging
• Agricultural conversion – Expansion– Intensification
Invertebrate Decline
• Habitat fragmentation– A combination of habitat loss
and redistribution
• Shift in land management– Often accompanies
agricultural intensification
Phenological changes– Food resources – Reproduction– Emergence
Habitat shifts– Altitude– Landscapes– Latitude
Invertebrate Decline
Pharmaceuticals – Collection size dependent on concentration of
active compounds in organism
– Collections can be enormous, but effects of bioprospecting are unknown
Invertebrate Decline
Collectors– Live beetle trades– Decorative ornamentals
Fisheries– Freshwater and marine fishery collapses
• Chesapeake Bay Oyster• Puget Sound Abalone• Freshwater mollusks
Two types– Obligate
• 1-1 relationship• Decline of host
often means obligate extinction
Invertebrate Decline
– Mutual keystone• 1-many relationship• Decline of host often
means broad decline of multiple species
• Complex life cycles • Naturally stochastic populations
Invertebrate biology poses conservation challenge
© Texas Parks and Wildlife
• Human perceptions pose conservation challenge – Social– Scientific– Financial
If we valued invertebrates more,
would these challenges be resolved?
Low civic support - negative perception, few flagship species
Low financial support - lower funding priority than other taxa
Taxonomy - identifying and curating huge numbers takes resources
Planning - seldom incorporated in conservation planning, assessment
• Most invertebrates are poorly known and will remain so
– <10% of the total estimated species have been described
– Many of those in need of revision
– Taxonomic expertise thinly spread where it is most needed
• Invertebrate collection and management is data heavy– Museum collections often
not digitized or georeferenced
– Need a home for integrated specimen-based, genetic, morphological and geographic information
– High demand, low expertise
A poverty of richness…
– incredibly diverse– incredibly dominant– critical to the human condition– subject to lesser conservation
measures– key ecosystem players– often highly threatened
Never use the words higher and lower..certainly they are difficult words, not only descriptive but value laden…while
bald eagles are an endangered species, so are 129 species of American freshwater mussels….is it more important to
save the eagle than ten dozen species of mussel? Perhaps eagle and mussels are just there, and neither is higher or lower. Of the animal biomass on our planet, 90 percent is
invertebrate who account for 95 percent of all animal species
-Charles Darwin in an apparent note to self