1st July 2011
Adding to 15 dossiers already published, these 47 documents provide summary information for invertebrate groups known to occur in Scotland, and provide species checklists.This is the first time this information has ever been available in many cases.
The new species knowledge dossiers cover a wide range of terrestrial and marine invertebrates, including earthworms, amphipods (marine & freshwaters shrimps, whale-lice, terrestrial shrimps and sandhoppers), ticks, dragonflies, butterflies, scorpionflies, alderflies, lacewings, snakeflies, bees, wasps, ants and parasitoid wasps.
_laying_eggs_(c)_Daisy_Shepperd_2.JPG) |
| Female Sabre wasp ( Rhyssa persuasoria ) - the Uks largest parasitoid wasp © Daisy Shepperd |
Amongst the new documents, the parasitoid wasps present the largest achievement, with 6,418 species known from the UK, 3,234 of which are included on the Scottish checklists (spread between 20 documents).This is the first time this information has been collected in one place and made widely available.It has also highlighted our massive knowledge gaps – for example, parasitoid wasps are so terribly under-recorded (and the available information therefore poor) that we are uncertain which UK country 1,479 species have been collected from!There is clearly much work to be done for parasitoid wasps and many other groups of invertebrates before we can fully understand their distribution and ecology.This is a fantastic opportunity for people to make real discoveries – there will almost certainly be new species to be found!This information is also essential so that we can better focus our conservation efforts.
Invertebrates represent 98% of all species of plants and animals known to occur in Scotland. They provide many essential services, such as pollination (of crops and wild plants), soil and nutrient cycling, waste management, water purification, habitat management and, of course, the main food source for many birds and mammals. Therefore, it is essential that we work to conserve our Scottish invertebrates.
The first step in conserving any animal group is knowing what is present in the first place. Literally, if you don’t know what you have, you can’t protect it.While most invertebrates are under-recorded, collating the existing information allows us to identify knowledge gaps and target conservation action.
The 47 published Scottish Invertebrate Species Knowledge Dossiers are available to download here.
The Scottish Invertebrate Species Knowledge Dossiers contribute towards the implementation of the Strategy for Scottish Invertebrate Conservation (click here to read this document), and is part of the Action for Scottish Invertebrates Project. This project is grant-aided by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and delivered on behalf of the Initiative for Scottish Invertebrates (ISI) by Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust.
