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.
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| An adult female Northern February red stonefly (Brachyptera putata) © David Pryce. An important endemic stonefly. |
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.
What is a Species Knowledge Dossier?
The Scottish Invertebrate Species Knowledge Dossiers provide summaries of existing information for groups of invertebrates known to occur in Scotland, and are an important step for the implantation of the 'Strategy for Scottish Invertebrate Conservation (to download a copy of the strategy click here).
The aim of these documents is to represent all groups of invertebrates, whether they live on land, in freshwater or the sea. The first publications include 15 diverse invertebrate groups, ranging from Freshwater flatworms (Tricladida) to Springtails (Collembola) to Stoneflies (Plecoptera). They are prepared by experts, and provide basic information such as checklists of species known to occur in Scotland, distribution data sources and identification resources.
While there may be UK-wide checklists, for most groups this is the first time a Scottish checklist has ever been available. For other groups this is the first Scottish checklist for many years – for example, the last attempt at a Scottish Sawfly (Hympenoptera: Symphyta) checklist was published in 1878*
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| A Pseudoscorpion (Microbisium brevifemoratum) that is likely to occur in Scotland, although currently unrecorded © Gerald Legg |
In many cases, we hold very little information about invertebrate species present in Scotland. Pseudoscoprions provide a good example of this. This dossier also highlights the possibility of an additional species occurring in Scotland - Microbisium brevifemoratum (a sphagnum bog specialist). In these cases we must address the skills gap and encourage recording before we can adequately assess conservation status.
Click here to find out more and to download the first 15 Scottish Invertebrate Species Knowledge Dossiers.
*Cameron, P. 1878. The fauna of Scotland, with special reference to Clydesdale and the Western District. Hymenoptera. Part I. Proceedings (& Transactions) of the Natural History Society of Glasgow, Glasgow 3 [1875-1878] (Supplement), 1-52.
