One-Fifth Of World’s Invertebrate Species Face Extinction
Twenty percent of the invertebrate species across the globe — spineless creatures ranging from earthworms to bees to butterflies to lobsters and beyond — are facing the possible risk of extinction unless more is done to protect them, say researchers from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
As part of their 87-page study, ZSL scientists joined forces with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to review more than 12,000 invertebrate species listed on the organization’s Red List of Threatened Species.
They discovered that an estimated one-fifth of those species are threatened to the point that they could eventually die out, with freshwater creatures most at risk of extinction, followed by terrestrial invertebrates and marine creatures without backbones, the organization said in an August 31 online report.
“The highest risk of extinction tends to be associated with species that are less mobile and are only found in small geographical areas,” the ZSL said. “For example, vertebrate amphibians and invertebrate freshwater mollusks both face high levels of threat — around one third of species. In contrast, invertebrate species which are more mobile like dragonflies and butterflies face a similar threat to that of birds, and around one tenth of species are at risk.”
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http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112685831/extinction-invertebrates-090112/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Sorry, I couldn't resist such a straight line. 
