Conserving species that are known to be threatened is a challenging process – one that countries around the world are largely failing at, with the population trajectory of most threatened species being stable at best, and rapidly declining at worst. But what about species that are data deficient?

Research has shown that for well understood species groups like mammals, species listed as data deficient on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species are more likely to be threatened than stable. But what about species groups we know relatively little about? Invertebrates have been largely left out of the global conservation agenda, including regulatory frameworks like threatened species lists and impact assessment processes.

It is estimated of the 20,000 moth species in Australia, only half have scientific names. In the past seven years studies have been showing catastrophic declines in insect numbers globally, and experts recently estimated that as many as 150 species of insects may have gone extinct in Australia in 2024, many of them unknown to science.

This webinar will examine the role of research, government, and the private sector as they relate to current state of invertebrate conservation in Australia, using moths and butterflies as case studies.

This event will run off Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) and will run for 1 hour. The webinar will be recorded and a link to the webinar will be sent to all registered attendees in the days after the webinar.

Chris Sanderson | Senior Ecologist at Biodiversity Assessment and Management Pty Ltd

Chris is a zoologist with a varied career. Starting with BirdLife Australia in 2005, Chris has spent the past 20 years working in NGOs, Government, Academia, and in the private sector as an Ecological Consultant. Most recently, Chris has been running a national citizen science project, Butterflies Australia, and has left government to return to Biodiversity Assessment and Management (BAAM). Chris is also the conservation officer for the new NGO, Moths and Butterflies Australasia. Having worked across conservation, research, government, and the private sector, Chris brings a unique perspective to the conservation framework around invertebrates.

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