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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/10/up-to-three-insect-species-become-extinct-in-australia-every-week-report-says>
"Australia is losing up to three native insects and other invertebrates to
extinction every week, according to research.
More than 9,000 invertebrate species have disappeared since European
colonisation, with another 39 to 148 species predicted to become extinct in
2024 despite the Australian government’s pledge to prevent all extinctions.
According to the paper, published in
Cambridge Prisms: Extinction, many of
the losses were “ghost extinctions” where critters were gone before they could
be named.
Lead author Prof John Woinarski, from Charles Darwin University and the
Biodiversity Council, said Australians were blind to the loss of invertebrate
species.
“We’ve caused far more harm, loss of species, loss of nature, than what we’ve
recognised and acknowledged to date,” he said.
Only one invertebrate extinction – the Lake Pedder earthworm – was officially
recognised under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act, he said.
The Tasmanian worm became extinct after its only habitat – the lake’s original
beach – was flooded in the early 1970s.
Woinarski said threats facing invertebrates were similar to those facing other
species, including climate change, habitat loss, land clearing, waterway
pollution, misuse of insecticides and introduced species.
“Climate change is a major factor for invertebrate conservation,” he said.
Warming temperatures and worsening bushfires put many at risk, especially
ancient creatures such as velvet worms, which he described as “relics of an age
of millions and millions of years ago, when Australia used to be cooler and
wetter”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
