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The IUCN invertebrate red data book
Biological Conservation 33 (1985) 89-93
Book Reviews
The IUCN Invertebrate Red Data Book. Compiled by Susan M. Wells, Robert M. Pyle and N. Mark Collins. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. 1983. 631 pp. ISBN 2880326028. Price: £12.00 (US$20).
This companion volume to the other Red Data Books of IUCN is one of the most interesting. Invertebrates are always neglected compared with plants and birds, and it is a great credit to the compilers to have succeeded in getting so much material together. About 700 species are listed, surely the tip of the iceberg, but it should stimulate workers in this field to provide more comprehensive information for a future edition. Of special interest in this volume is an account of threatened invertebrate communities, which takes up the last 56 pages of the book. These range from tropical forests to a small area of estuarine and marine habitats on the south coast of Cornwall, UK. A number of cave environments are also included. This approach is to be highly commended because all invertebrate ecologists know that it is only by protecting the biotopes that the endangered species are likely to survive. For example, on a European scale, the protection of a comprehensive range of different types of freshwater marshes, mires and bogs would safeguard the habitats of many different invertebrate species. Unfortunately these wetlands are threatened almost everywhere and while birds and plants help to save some of them, invertebrates alone are usually a lost cause. The ten pages of Introduction are well worth reading as they make a case for invertebrate conservation and take a look into the future. EoDo 89 Biol. Conserv. (33) (1985)--© Elsevier Applied Science Publishers Ltd, England, 1985. Printed in Great Britain
Book Reviews
The IUCN Invertebrate Red Data Book. Compiled by Susan M. Wells, Robert M. Pyle and N. Mark Collins. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. 1983. 631 pp. ISBN 2880326028. Price: £12.00 (US$20).
This companion volume to the other Red Data Books of IUCN is one of the most interesting. Invertebrates are always neglected compared with plants and birds, and it is a great credit to the compilers to have succeeded in getting so much material together. About 700 species are listed, surely the tip of the iceberg, but it should stimulate workers in this field to provide more comprehensive information for a future edition. Of special interest in this volume is an account of threatened invertebrate communities, which takes up the last 56 pages of the book. These range from tropical forests to a small area of estuarine and marine habitats on the south coast of Cornwall, UK. A number of cave environments are also included. This approach is to be highly commended because all invertebrate ecologists know that it is only by protecting the biotopes that the endangered species are likely to survive. For example, on a European scale, the protection of a comprehensive range of different types of freshwater marshes, mires and bogs would safeguard the habitats of many different invertebrate species. Unfortunately these wetlands are threatened almost everywhere and while birds and plants help to save some of them, invertebrates alone are usually a lost cause. The ten pages of Introduction are well worth reading as they make a case for invertebrate conservation and take a look into the future. EoDo 89 Biol. Conserv. (33) (1985)--© Elsevier Applied Science Publishers Ltd, England, 1985. Printed in Great Britain