Among the coastal sand dunes of the San Francisco Bay area, there once lived an insect called the Xerces Blue Butterfly. It was first recognized in 1852 and by 1941 had completely vanished. Its extinction was the result of human development and urbanization. Perhaps if this threat had been known an effort to conserve the endangered butterfly would have occurred.
The story of the Xerces Blue Butterfly is similar to other cases that lead to the extinction of invertebrate species, such as the Oahu treesnail, the Antioch katydid and the Tennessee riffleshell mussel. Most of these species were wiped out due to human activity.
Although the Endangered Species Act (ESA) supposedly includes all threatened species, the act clearly favors vertebrates over invertebrates, which animals without a backbone. If more invertebrates are not considered for protection under the ESA, earth may continue to lose its valuable species.
The purpose of the ESA is to provide a means to conserve the ecosystems that endangered and threatened species depend upon. The act also requires government agencies, such as U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, to develop recovery programs for species listed as an endangered or threatened.
Invertebrates represent approximately 95 percent of the animal species on earth and are found in almost every ecosystem. These animals aid in pollination, decomposition and provide food for other species, including humans. Conservation and protection of these spineless beings is not only important for people, but is crucial in maintaining balanced ecosystems.
The bias toward invertebrates is clear when looking at the Endangered Species Act. According to the Xerces Society, an organization that works for invertebrate conservation, insects constitute more than 72 percent of animal diversity on earth. Yet only four percent of the endangered animal species listed by Fish and Wildlife are insects, while 17.9 percent of vertebrates in the United States are listed as threatened or endangered.
A possible reason for this bias is that the endangered species act imposes land restrictions and costs on private property, said Jean Melious, professor at Western’s Huxely College of the Environment.
"If the government is restricting people’s use of their land and imposing costs, then they need to get the public interested in conservation and get them to accept the benefit from that action," Melious said.
Because invertebrates are not as charismatic as common vertebrates, such as panda bears or orca whales, it is somewhat understandable as to why invertebrates are underrepresented in the ESA.
"It’s a lot easier to sell the conservation of the bald eagle to the public then it is to sell the conservation of the Dehli Sands Flower Loving Fly," Melious said.
Melious said the process of listing species on the ESA is backwards because it is more about conserving the habitat than conserving a specific species. People want to preserve a geographical area, and to do that they look for an endangered species inhabiting that area, which is how invertebrates get listed, she said.
Invertebrates play as much a role in ecosystems as vertebrates. Without invertebrates plants would not be able to reproduce since some invertebrates are pollinators, such as bees. If these pollinators were to become extinct, thousands of plant species would die off and consequently animals that rely on plants for food would die as well. Many invertebrates are also a direct source of food for other species and play a key role in major food webs.
"Being a member in a food web is probably the most important role of an invertebrate," said Brian Bingham, professor of marine science at Huxely.
Some invertebrates also possess pharmaceutical properties. The Ecteinascidin is an example of such a species. This invertebrate is found in the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas and produces a compound with potential to be used as an anti-cancer agent, Bingham said. According to Mesothelioma Web, Ecteinascidin has the potential to treat a variety of cancers.
"If this invertebrate had been destroyed, we would have never known that this compound existed," Bingham said.
Examples like Ecteinascidin should help people understand how important invertebrates can be, not only to other species but to humans as well.
"It’s hard to get people to love invertebrates," Melious said. "I think the main thing is to bring in an administration that is species friendly in general and bring in a Congress that is likely to fund an act that focuses as much on invertebrates as it does on vertebrates."
Instead of examining individual species, returning to better ecosystem planning would better protect invertebrates, Melious said.
Enlisting an endangered species begins when an interest group with information suggesting the species is in trouble starts a petition, said Joan Jewett, spokeswoman for the Pacific Region of Fish and Wildlife. When Fish and Wildlife receives the petition, the agency endures a 90-day review process to see if the information provided in the petition indicates that the species in question should be listed, she said.
"We have one year after we’ve received the petition to either propose listing the species or to decide that there isn’t enough information about the species or that there is no information that proves the species needs to be protected," Jewett said.
Only after a species has been listed will recovery plans begin.
"If they are listed then we develop a recovery plan, that plan would propose ways to restore these species," Jewett said.
Not much is known about invertebrates in both the scientific and non-scientific communities, which is one reason why most forms petitioning for the listing of a species are not invertebrates, Jewett said.
"Our decisions are based on scientific information," she said. "And the bottom line is there is just not enough information about invertebrates."