Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- PART I FACTORS DRIVING CHANGES IN WILDLIFE
- PART II CONSERVATION IN ACTION
- PART III THE CASE HISTORIES
- 15 Mammals in the twentieth century
- 16 Bats
- 17 State of bird populations in Britain and Ireland
- 18 The conservation of the Grey Partridge
- 19 Reptiles
- 20 Amphibians
- 21 Freshwater fishes: a declining resource
- 22 Riverflies
- 23 Bumblebees
- 24 Butterflies
- 25 Moths
- 26 Dragonflies (Odonata) in Britain and Ireland
- 27 Flies, beetles and bees, wasps and ants (Diptera, Coleoptera and aculeate Hymenoptera)
- 28 Hemiptera
- 29 Grasshoppers, crickets and allied insects
- 30 Aerial insect biomass: trends from long-term monitoring
- 31 Other invertebrates
- 32 Land and freshwater molluscs
- 33 The seashore
- 34 The offshore waters
- 35 Plants
- 36 Conclusion: what is the likely future for the wildlife in Britain and Ireland?
- Glossary
- Name index
- Subject index
- Plate section
- References
31 - Other invertebrates
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- PART I FACTORS DRIVING CHANGES IN WILDLIFE
- PART II CONSERVATION IN ACTION
- PART III THE CASE HISTORIES
- 15 Mammals in the twentieth century
- 16 Bats
- 17 State of bird populations in Britain and Ireland
- 18 The conservation of the Grey Partridge
- 19 Reptiles
- 20 Amphibians
- 21 Freshwater fishes: a declining resource
- 22 Riverflies
- 23 Bumblebees
- 24 Butterflies
- 25 Moths
- 26 Dragonflies (Odonata) in Britain and Ireland
- 27 Flies, beetles and bees, wasps and ants (Diptera, Coleoptera and aculeate Hymenoptera)
- 28 Hemiptera
- 29 Grasshoppers, crickets and allied insects
- 30 Aerial insect biomass: trends from long-term monitoring
- 31 Other invertebrates
- 32 Land and freshwater molluscs
- 33 The seashore
- 34 The offshore waters
- 35 Plants
- 36 Conclusion: what is the likely future for the wildlife in Britain and Ireland?
- Glossary
- Name index
- Subject index
- Plate section
- References
Summary
Summary
This chapter involves those orders of invertebrates which are not insects – including crustaceans, spiders, myriapods and worms – which, though frequently overlooked, are useful indicators of the state of our wildlife, because of their profound response to environmental pressures.
The chapter is arranged in two broad sections – terrestrial and fresh water – but it will be seen that the pressures are common to both environments. Habitat destruction, climate change (with the secondary effects, such as drought, flood and changes in life cycle), changing agricultural practices and introduction of alien species have all played a part in forcing change in the British fauna, at broad scales, such as national distribution of species, and local scales, such as changes at a community or population level.
Among terrestrial invertebrates, colonists and introduced species tend to live mainly in gardens and other man-made habitats in southern or south-eastern England, where temperatures are higher, and competition may be reduced. In recent years, several of these species have begun to expand their range northward and westward, and at the same time to colonise semi-natural habitats.
Included in the case studies are examples of the contraction in distribution or population size of cold-loving species (e.g. highland flatworms, montane spiders) and the concomitant rise of those which prefer warmer climates (e.g. the colourful Wasp Spider, Argiope bruennichi), superimposed against the other pressures outlined above. […]
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- Silent SummerThe State of Wildlife in Britain and Ireland, pp. 556 - 575Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010
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