About Invertebrates
Invertebrates are vitally important to healthy ecosystems and the planet, humans and other life forms could not survive without them. From the food we eat, the birds we see, the flowers we smell, life would simply not exist without them, they are the engine room of all life. Invertebrates pollinate, decompose and recycle the energy, nutrients and diversity that underpins all life on earth, without them the world’s ecosystems would collapse. Forming the base of the pyramid of life, they account for 97 percent of all animal species on Earth.
To quote Sir David Attenborough ‘If we and the rest of the back-boned animals were to disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if the invertebrates were to disappear, the world’s ecosystems would collapse.’
There are more than 40,000 invertebrate species in the UK, and many of these are under threat as never before (Buglife 2016). These include over 2,500 species of moth but fewer than 60 species of butterfly, over 4000 species of beetle, over 7000 species of bees, wasps, ants and sawflies and around 150 species of land snails and slugs.
Our Invertebrate Services
We undertake invertebrate surveys of a wide range of terrestrial and aquatic environments.
All protected invertebrate species surveys can be covered by our licensed surveyors, including freshwater crayfish and lesser silver water beetle surveys (our surveyor is a national expert on the ecology of this species).
Survey methods are wide ranging dependent on the target species but include; netting, kick sampling, sweep netting and various traps and bait methods.
Pennine Ecological have undertaken numerous invertebrate surveys across England and Wales. These include significant strategic surveys for linear developments such as pipeline routes and new road schemes, small to large scale developments and monitoring of nature reserves.
Examples of our work with Invertebrates
National Grid
Gas Pipelines in Lancashire
Taylor Wimpey Limited
Sites in Cheshire
Chorley Borough Council
Hic Bibi LNR & County Biological Heritage Site; over 10 years of invertebrate surveys and monitoring including; aquatic invertebrates, butterfly, dragonfly and damselfly surveys and other all other terrestrial invertebrates.
Quick Contact
If you would like to discuss how Pennine Ecological can help you, please get in touch with us.