Aquatic Invertebrates
as Indicator Species

Stylogomphus abistylus
Stylogomphus abistylus (Gomphidae),
a Dragonfly larva
[Photo by EcoAnalysts, Inc. & EPA]

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), aquatic invertebrates make good indicators of watershed health because they:

  • live in the water for all or most of their life,
  • stay in areas suitable for their survival,
  • are easy to collect,
  • differ in their tolerance to amount and types of pollution,
  • are easy to identify in a laboratory,
  • often live for more than one year,
  • have limited mobility, and
  • are integrators of environmental condition.

Featured Resources

Butterflies and Moths of North America

Butterflies and Moths of North America is an interactive, searchable, and updateable web-enabled database of butterfly and moth information. Data contained therein include distribution maps, species accounts, photographs, and checklists of species by U.S. county or by Mexican state. Go directly to the web site, or learn more about this project.

blue butterflyThe Children's Butterfly Site is an educational opportunity for all ages. Investigate a butterfly's transformation during metamorphosis, browse images of species from across the globe, or print coloring book pages. Learn all about these magnificent creatures by reading answers to the extensive frequently asked questions.

Invertebrates of the Southwest Region

Scorpion [Photo: Gary M. Stolz, USFWS]
Scorpion
[Photo: Gary M. Stolz, USFWS]

Invertebrates are animals having no backbone or spinal column such as insects, mollusks, crustaceans, worms, and similar organisms. Invertebrates inhabit aquatic environments including freshwater and marine habitats, as well as terrestrial habitats on land. Invertebrates depending on freshwater ecosystems such as lakes, rivers, streams and ponds are called freshwater invertebrates. Invertebrates that do not depend on aquatic ecosystems to complete any phase of their life cycle are called terrestrial invertebrates, living entirely on land.

Invertebrate Species of Greatest Conservation Need
Four hundred and thirty invertebrate species have been identified in state wildlife action plans as Species of Greatest Conservation Need (GCN) for the Southwest Region, which includes Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The Southwest Species of Greatest Conservation Need interactive application brings together resources on these 430 GCN invertebrate species and other GCN taxa from multiple authoritative sources including the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) and NatureServe.

Spicebush Swallowtail [Photo: Paul Opler] Butterflies and Moths
Learn about butterflies and moths and explore additional resources for the region, for North America, for kids, and for teachers.
Southwest Species of Greatest Conservation Need [Image: NBII] Species of Greatest Conservation Need
Browse the interactive application to find out more about the 430 invertebrate species of greatest conservation need in the Southwest Region.


So Many Invertebrates

Under the modern system of classification, there is no one unified group of invertebrates. All invertebrate animals belong to the Kingdom Animalia, and there are more than thirty phlya (singular phlyum) that contain invertebrates. Invertebrates are grouped together by this common term not because they share features in common, but largely because of what they lack: a backbone or vertebrae.

All of these phyla are considered to be invertebrates:

Phylum Acanthocephala Phylum Annelida Phylum Arthropoda
Phylum Brachiopoda Phylum Chaetognatha Phylum Cnidaria
Phylum Ctenophora Phylum Cycliophora Phylum Echinodermata
Phylum Echiura Phylum Ectoprocta Phylum Entoprocta
Phylum Gastrotricha Phylum Gnathostomulida Phylum Hemichordata
Phylum Kinorhyncha Phylum Loricifera Phylum Mesozoa
Phylum Mollusca Phylum Nematoda Phylum Nematomorpha
Phylum Nemertea Phylum Onychophora Phylum Pentastoma
Phylum Placozoa Phylum Platyhelminthes Phylum Pogonophora
Phylum Porifera Phylum Priapula Phylum Rotifera
Phylum Phoronida Phylum Sipuncula Phylum Tardigrada

Authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world can be explored using the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), a partner of the NBII.

Invertebrates as Pollinators

A hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe). [Photo: Bruce Marlin, www.cirrusimage.com.]
A hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe). [Photo: Bruce Marlin, www.cirrusimage.com.]

Invertebrates, such as ants, bees, wasps, beetles, butterflies, moths, flies, mosquitoes, and midges all act as pollinators.

Learn more about invertebrate pollinators.

Learn more about other pollinators and pollination.

Taxonomy Helper

ITIS Logo
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

Invertebrates

For each species name, ITIS provides the author and date, taxonomic rank, common names, a unique taxonomic serial number, expert and publication lists and data quality indicators. Click "more..." below to view ITIS taxonomic records for invertebrates.

more...

Photographs of
Freshwater Invertebrates

Freshwater Invertebrates
Freshwater Invertebrates
[Photographs: North American Benthological Society]

The North American Benthological Society Digital Image Library contains photographs and drawings of freshwater invertebrates.

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