This is the way the world ends; not with a bang but a whimper: Estimating the number and ongoing rate of extinctions of Australian non-marine invertebrates

There are pervasive biases against invertebrates and other less charismatic groups in most aspects of conservation. As a consequence, extinctions of invertebrates are largely unrecognised, untallied and unmourned - and little effort is made to save highly imperilled invertebrate species from extinction. Only one invertebrate species is formally listed as extinct in Australia, whereas 39 Australian mammal taxa are listed as extinct. We attempted to estimate the actual number of invertebrate extinctions in Australia, and its ongoing rate. Our assessment was based on a range of estimates of the numbers of invertebrate species in Australia; and using Monte Carlo sampling, we extrapolated likely and conservative estimates of proportional extinctions from hose of other taxonomic groups in Australia and, separately from the global proportions of extinctions amongst the world's invertebrate species. We describe the assumptions underlying these estimates. We conclude that about 9000 Australian endemic invertebrate species have been made extinct since 1788, with the current rate of loss between one and three species per week. This figure sets a more realistic account of biodiversity loss arising from European colonisation of Australia, and we assert that this rate of loss will not be staunched unless far more attention is give to the conservation plight of invertebrates.