Is the public really interested in invertebrates? What the Queensland Museum Reference Centre enquiries from 1986-1993 tell us

6 Pages·1994·1.3 MB·

by  Gregory V Czechura

IS THEPUBLIC REALLY INTERESTEDININVERTEBRATES?
WHATTHEQUEENSLANDMUSEUMREFERENCE CENTRE ENQUIRIES
FROM 1986-1993 TELL US
GREGORY V. CZECHURA
Czcchura. G.V. 1994 06 30: Is the public really interested in invertebrates7 What the
Queensland Museum Reference Centre enquiries from 1986-1993 tell us. Memoirs ofthe
QueenslandMuseum36(1): 41-46. Brisbane. ISSN0079-8835.
Many ofthe successes ofwildlife conservation can be attributed lo public interest in, and
sympathy for, the animals that are the subjects of such programs. Traditionally, most
attentionhasfocusedonvertebrates, especially birdsandmammals. Thereisan increasing
needtoextend publicsympathyandinteresttoinvertebrates.Ananalysisofnaturalhistory
enquiries received at the Queensland Museum Reference Centre was used to determine
present levels of public interest in invertebrates and to understand why people were
interested. Vertebratesdominatedenquiries bui thelevelsofinterestinspiders and insects
were similarto those forbirds and mammals. Interest in invertebrates was usually highly
specific: taxa that were perceived to be dangerous or spectacular in appearance attracted
most attention. In conclusion, 1 summarise the problems formarketing invertebrates and
SQggeslsolutions. I stressthai there haslobe aconcertedcommitment to the productionof
readily available information. £2Museum education, invertebrates, information,
t
popularity, enquiries, marketing,folk, biodiversity, ronsenntion, Queensland Australia.
Gregory V* Czechura, Queensland Museum, HO Box 3300, Soiah Brisbane* Queensland
4J0J Australia; 1September 1993.
t
Biodiversity has become a major conservation deed, such slaughtercan be popularly regarded
issue andone thaiis increasingly focusing atten- as benign, if not beneficial. If concern about
tion on plant and animal groups that have mosquitocontrol isexpressed,itisusuallyabout
received little or no attention in the past. Tradi- die effects of pesticides on the birds, frogs and
11- -ra—lly, these issues have highlighted flagsh—ip ftshthat share the wetlandswith theinsects.
taxa especially rare or threatened species Public support is a vital part of successful
thiiiwereusuallyvertebrates, andmostly birdsor wildlife conservation and is expressed through
mammals. A typical example is the Algerian political canvassing, financial support, practical
Nuthatch (Sitta ledanti). The discovery in 1975 assistance, access toprivate lands and provision
Ofthis small bird was used topromote asuccess- of specimens. Given that invertebrates will be
ful campaign for the preservation of the oak- receiving greater attention from conser-
cedar-firforestremnantofDjebel Babor,Algeria vationists, three questions arise about publicac-
(Diamond etal., 1989). ceptanceofthis change in focus.
Even though invertebrates are receiving more Firstly, are the public interested in inver-
tebratesandwhataspectsinterestthem?Second-
Attentioninconservation,theirisstillastrongbias
tmoawtatredrs othfeehdiugcheartivoenrt.ebrFaotres.exIanmppaclte,,thimsainsya lsyu,ccwehsasftulstriantemgaierskeatrienglikienlvyerttoebprraotvees?toAnbde
textbooks describe mammals as the dominant finally,isthepopularityofvertebratesaproblem
animalson the earth today(e.g. DeBlase & Mar- forThmearkReetfienrgenincveerCteebnrtartees?of the Queensland
tin, 1974; also see Plowman, 1994). Further, in- Museum has maintained records of enquiries
vertebrates lack the widespread, emotional
from 1986 to the present. These records are
appeal ofvertebrates. Forexample, the shooting examined to seek answers to these questions,
oflarge numbers of migrating birds over Malta
created widespread revulsion and international
THE REFERENCE CENTRE
protest(Fenech, 1992;Taylor, 1992). Incontrast,
the indiscriminate destruction of large numbers
of insects as a consequence ofmosquito control The Queensland Museum Reference Centre
programs in the tropics raises little response. In- acts as an interface hetween the general public
MEMOIRSOFTHEQUEENSLAND MUSUEM
TABLE 1. Reference Centre enquiries: totals forsub- the Reference Centre from October 1986 to 30
jectareas as represented by themuseum's curatorial June 1993. These figures actually under-repre-
sections. sent the numbers ofenquiries receivedbecause,
inpeakperiodswithconstantdemand,theremay
Subject % Totalenquiries be not enough time to do the physical act of
Reptiles 28.7 recording. As an indication ofthe workload, for
Arachnids 15.1 the period August 1992 to June 1993f at the
telephone swithboard alone, 28,849 telephone
Insects IOC enquiries were received. Of these, 17,563
Birds 9.9 (60.9%) were attended to by staffofthe Refer-
Mammals 7 "* ence Centre. In addition, the staffresponded to
General 7 2 enquiriesatthecounter,lettersanddirectcallsto
theirtelephone extensions. These totals also in-
Amphibia f, 6 dicate that the Centre is functioningas an effec-
Pa]contoio£Y/Geo]o£Y 4.0 tive screen and interface betweenthepublic and
History/Teehnolosy 3C other museum staff, dius considerably reducing
Fish 1.7 the latter's workloads and enhancing their
productivity.
Anthropology/Archeology 1.7 Tables 1-6 are summaries of the enquiries in
Molluscs IC terms of Queensland Museum's curatorial sec-
OtherInvertebrates LI tions and by invertebrate groups (Tables 1-6)
Crustacea 1) « DISCUSSION
Preparation 0.7
MaritimeArcheology -1 The first breakdown (Table 1) shows that the
Conservation 0.2 Queensland Museum is actively sought by
public asaninformation resourceforavarietyof
and the museum's curatorial sections. Operation
topics. The greatest demand is in the area of
anddesign philosophy ofthecentreare based on
natural history and enquiries for identification
similar centres operated at the Smithsonian In-
stitution (Madden, 1978), University of Papua of, and information about, animals account for
New Guinea (Lambky & Frodin, 1987) and the 82.5% of the total. Within natural history, ver-
South Australian Museum. The Centre has been %
Subject Totalenquiries
in operation since October 1986 when the
Queensland Museum moved to its presentsite in General 7.4
South Brisbane. Scoullar (1989) has reportedon Araneomorphs 65 6
broad aspects of the Centre's operations while Redbacks 2S.9
Czechura(1987, 1993) and Scouilar(1993)have Huntsmen 16.1
reported information on specificdisplays and in-
formation-gatheringprojects. LargeOrb-weavers 14.8
The prime function ofthe Reference Centre is White-tailedSpider li.7
toscreen incoming enquiries andbethe interface Dome-webSpider 6.4
between the public and therest ofthe institution.
Enquiries can may be made in writing, by WolfSpiders 6.0
telephone or through direct contact. Telephone BlackHouseSpider 3.7
enquires are received via the Centre's Mv.ealomorphs 17.0
switchboard or referred from elsewhere in the Funnel-webs 20.1
Queensland Cultural Centre complex. Two per-
manent members of staff operate the Centre. Tarantulas /.:,:
They are assisted by areceptionistand a varying Whistling Spiders 16.9
numberofcasual staff(Interpretation Officers). Centipedes/Millipedes •3 «
Mites/Ticks 3.0
REFERENCECENTRE ENQUIRIES
Scorpions 3.5
A total of 125,314 face-to-face, telephone and TABLE 2. Arachnid enquiries: totals for dominant
writtenpublicenquiries wererecordedbystaffof taxa. Italics indicatetotals within thesegroups
THEPOPULARITYOFINVERTEBRATES 43
TABLE 3. Insect enquiries: totals for dominant counter with a suspect animal. Enquirers are
taxonomicgroups. usually worried about being bitten, especially
wherechildrenareinvolved.Thespidersrespon-
Subject % Totalenquiries sible forthe anxietyareusuallydescribed bythe
General 20.8 caller as large*, 'hairy', 'aggressive', 'black"
and other masculine metaphors. Not only do
Blatlodea 1.1
obvious physical features attract people's atten-
Colcoptcra 4.7 tion,personal(orshared) interpretationsofcom-
Diptera 5.5 mon names (often wrong) also contribute lo
Hemiptera 6.6 apprehension inanencounter(thishappenswith
Hymenoptera 19.9 snake names, too). For example, fear of white-
tailed spiders {Lampona spp.) results in queries
Esoptera 3.9 about any spider that has white markings on its
Lepidoptera 25.2 abdomen. Overall, thespidersthatarecommon-
Mantodea 1.4 ly responsible for anxious enquirers include: all
mygalomorph spiders, huntsman spiders
TABLE 4. Crustacean enquiries: totals for dominant (Heteropodidae). Garden Orb-weaving Spiders
taxonomicgroups. (Eriophora transmarina), daddy long-legs
(Pholcidae)andall speciesknowntobemedical-
ly significant.
%
Subject Totalenquiries
General 2.3 TABLE 5. Mollusc enquiries: totals for dominant
Amphipods 12.5 ecological and taxonomic groups- Italics indicate
totals within these subjectareas.
Crabs 35.0
%
FreshwaterCrayfish 20.2 Subject Totalenquiries
Isopods 30.0 Terrestrial Molluscs 271
RedTriangleSlug 4.3
tebrates are the most popular group of animals
(54.2% of total) compared lo invertebrates Hedlevellaspp. JS.8
(28.3% oftotal). Nevertheless, two invertebrate MarineMolluscs 39.0
groups, spiders and insects respectively, rate as Cones
the second and third most popular topics.
Cowries
It may also be significant that the top seven
popularanimal groups are terrestrial and charac- OtfwrGastropods '' i
terisedbyhighdiversitiesanddensitiesofspecies Bivalves
insouthernQueensland(Ingram&Raven, 1991), Nudihranchs 4.2
from where most enquiries originate This sug-
Cephatopods 47.8
gestspeopleareinclosecontactwithanimalsand
Blue-ringedOctopus 64.0
are seeking information on those species that
successfully share their increasingly urbanised
environment. TABLE 6. Reference Centre other invertebrate en-
Forinvertebrates,whatmotivatespeople loap- quiries:totalsfordominanttaxonomicgroups.Italics
proach the Queensland Museum for information indicate totalswithin these subjectareas.
about, oridentification of, a specimen in the first
place?Thisquestioncan be answeredbyexamin- Subject % Totalenquiries
ing thedatafrom enquiries forthe twodominant, General 4 5
invertebrate,enquirygroups(Tables2,3):spiders
Annelids i?,2
and insects; and from my personal experience
Cnidaria 34.1
with these enquiries.
Forspiders, thereappearto besixcategoriesof boxjellyfish 40.0
motives (which can overlap) for contacting the Echinoderms 9.1
museum for information. First, there is concern Nematodes 2^ ?
about, which may or may not be justified, the
presence of dangerous or venomous species in gordian warms .
dwellings and workplaces following an en- Platyhclminths r, -;
•M MEMOIRSOFTHEQUEENSLANDMUSUEM
The second and third categories ofmotivation spiders but there aresome cleardifferences. For
forenquiriesalsoresultfrompersonalencounters example, popular myths appear tobe much less
with live spiders but, here, their enquiries are significant. High species diversity and seasonal
motivated by curiosity rather than fear. The patterns ofabundance seemtopreclude any one
second is concerned with large spectacular species from dominating public attention. The
animals,suchasDome-webSpiders(Cyrtophora medically significant category is not as impor-
moluccensis), golden orb-weaving spiders tant in insects simply because there axe no
(Nephila spp.) whistling spiders {Selenocosmia equivalents to funnel-webs or Redbacks, but
spp.) and any Tspider thought to be a 'tarantula'. there is concern about pest species damaging
The third is concerned with animals that can be possessionsand livelihood. Enquiriesinvolving
deemedunusualintheirphysicalappearance(e.g. medicallysignificantinsectsrelatetostingingDC
triangularspiders(ArJty.yspp.),six-spinedspiders biting insectssuch as assassinbugs,bees, wasps
{Gasiemcamha spp.j, various flower spiders and mosquitoes. Common s—ubjects forpests a—re
(Thonusidae) and Two-spined Spiders termites and those bisects or their larvae
(Poectlopachysaustraiasiae). responsible for destroying gardenplants.
The fourth category includes any enquiries Curiosityensuresthatinterestismaintained in
stimulated by reading, discussion and school larger, spectacular species (Giant Wood Moth
projects. Thesearetypicallyspecific and are not Xyleuies cinereus)t unusual and/or bizarre
generated through direct contact with animals species ffi.g, gall-forming eriococcid scale-in-
These sorts of enquiries often arrive at definite sects) and species that have spectacular irrup-
timesoftheyearandinlargenumbers,especially tions ormigrations(e.g.cutwormmothsAgrotis
e•.nhqeurierisecshoaorlesraerpeetiintviovelvaedndTihneclsuudbejecatrsacohfnitdhse sDpaps.y;p'ogdriaannys'psp.c;loaankdmCoatph*erSpWehiirteedonBiutatseprpf.lioesr
Anaphaeis Java) Enquiries about irruptive
such as 'tarantulas', or threatened or dangerous
species can also include concern about the pos-
The fifth category comprises enquiries sibility ihat the [n&Ctearepeststhatcouldcause
damage,
generated by responses to stones in the media.
The species featured are usually known to be Media-generated interest is also a toature of
dangerous, or perceived to be so. because they insect enquiries. Forexample, theincreasing at-
be—d! treated in a sensational mannerby the tention being given to feral europcan wusps
media often under the head-line of 6BACK- (Vespuiaspp.) in southernAustralia ispresently
YARD KILLERS or similar screamers. Most responsible for a heightened awareness of all
species ofwasps.
enquiries ofthistype are superficial and require
Special interest in insect* also exists. But-
counselling skills (caring and understanding for terflies, cicadas,dragonfhesandsomegroupsof
afrightenedfellowhuman)more lhADknowledge
beetles have traditionally attracted amateur
•>fspiders. The spiders involvedare usually Red- naturalists (and continue to do so). Enquiries
backs (Latradectus hasseitii) and tunnel-web
about these four insect groups can be quite
spiders (Hodrmfcht spp.) because they are
similar to those asked about birds; details of
potentially dangerous and excellent fodder for
natural history orclassification areoftensought.
sensationalist media. Like thepreviouscategory, The identifications required are more technical
these enquiries do not necessarily invoke direct andeaninvolvedifficult-to-idenlify.supetficial-
contact with the animals. However, a media ly similar species or new locality sightings.
reeopvoerrtymofasyushpeacvteanmiomtailvsat('eIdsaws(cbaersctho-raynod-ndTisV- TmhoerseetehnaqnuiarpearssscianngbientveerresytkinnotwhleeadngiemaabllsewiUi
and then I found thisspider
The final category involves people Seeking
CONCLUSION
reassurance, either through confirmation or
denial,ofpopularmyths(assuch,theseenquiries
.able the responses arising innri sen&tiogtal A general feature of all Reference Centre
media reports). Myths may be recurrent or naturalhistory enquinesisthatmanyofthemare
idiosyncratic. Anexampleofa recurrent myth is repetitively concerned with a relatively narrow
the widespread beliefthat daddy long-legs pov cureofsubjects. Withinvertebrates, theanimals
an extremely toxic venom that they are un- Utftl form this core can be described as mainly
able to use because theirfangsaretooshort- medicallysignificant,largeorspectacular.Typi-
Interest in insects is broadly similar to that of cal examplesare: Gordian worms (Nematomur-
-
THEPOPULARITY OFINVERTEBRATES 45
pha). Red-triangle Slugs {Trihoniophomsgraej- vertebrates but only seven for invertebrates,
fei), Blue-ringed Octopus (Hapulovhlaena spp), eventhough invertebrates comprise nearly 95%
Redbacks, huntsman spiders and funnel-web of the animal kingdom. Compared to inver-
spiders.However, thereis little public interest in tebrates, the need for taxonomic r—esearch in
invertebratesoutside thiscore. Australianvertebratesisdiminishing insome
What are the implications for biodiversity? groups it is not needed at all. Unfortunately
Firstly, there needs »o be a an intense and wider attempts to restructure reseajtli programs to
commitmenttotheprovisionand managementof recognisethisrealityhaveoften leadtoextra-in-
informationaboutinvertebrates. Popularinterest stitutional resistance andcriticism.
has tobeencouraged and massaged. The present However, the point thai is often missed in the
interest in the core invertebrate groups has to be resultant debates about restructuring is that
transformed into a larger interest; the core's 'public interest in vertebrates' and 'research
popularity has to be made to redound for other commitment to vertebrates' are two different
invertebrates, At present, sucheffort arc dogged issues.Publicdemandforinformationabout,and
by a lack of available information about the identification of. vertebrates is on information
groups (hat are not popular (Shield & Harrison, resource issue. This is the provinceofreference
1994). This has toberemedied. centres not research centres. Where research
Secondly,ithastoberemedied fast. Extinction programs needtobe restructured towards inver-
ratesare apparently much higherininvertebrates tebrates, decision-makers should not—be ap-
(e.g. non-ma/ine molluscs; Ponder, 19W) and prehensive. —They can efficiently and
only popular opinion, which still has to be economically service public interest in ver-
created, will save them There has to be a con- tebrates by partially reallocating resources to
certed commitment to the production of readily reference centres.
availableinformation. In conclusion, and not least, reference centres
The following are five immediate issues that in museums and their information services have
requirecarefulconsiderationindevelopinginver- the potential lu greatly assis—t in popularizing
tebrate marketing strategies Australia'sinvertebratefauna providingthese
servicesareadequatelyresourcedandsupported-
1. Not all taxa will inspire general interest. And how
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
can existing interest in core groups he used to
popularizeotherspecies.
2.Thereisanoverall lackofavailable information. A Many people helped with the collation and
concerted approach is needed using (and in creat- analysis of the enquiry records since October
ipnUgy)s,fieexlhdibgiutiidoenss,anndonm-eLcdcihaniacrtailclerse.feTrheenrceesi,s adl<sso 1986. Special thanks are extended toTim Mui«
a need to target regional or perceptual groups of rell, Elizabeth Drcwc, Sybil Monteith, Vicki
annualsralhcrihanstandardLaxonoinicapproaches, Sands,RoxanneFawceuandRonaGiceson Dis-
e.g. guides to house spiders mther than spiders of cussionsand comments on the manuscript were
Queensland. rOU&l) provtdcJ by Rhonda Scoullar. Slew*
5. The lack ufcommon names needs lobo addressed. Wilson,G)cn Ingram andJeanTilly.
4,Pejorativeimagesofinvertebratesneedtobefought,
e g. not all Diptera arcdiseasevectors. LITERATURECITED
5. \n a Straitened economy, wider cooperation and
sharingofresourceswillhenecessarytomeetaims.
eIxnhtihbiis,tinoontsabboltehsluocccaelslsye(sIhnasevcetsbe—enFarciheinedv&edFwoieth C/TCaHnLi'maRlA*,PpG,.V5.4-S1S9,87ln.CWzeocrhkusrhao,pG:VIde&niSiefoyuilng
Queensland Museum) and nationally CGargan-, Ijr, R. (edi). 'Conference *87; Museum Educa
tmns from the Garden'. Australian Moseul lion AssociationsofAustralia andNewZealand
volvingmany differentcontributors. Biennial Conference 28 Scptembcr-2 October
1987.' (Queensland Museum, Museum Educa-
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used in maintaining curato—rial sections fo—r very, historyandconservation requirements.Pp. 196-
small groups of animals vertebrates be- 208 In Olsen, P (ed.), 'Australian raptor
b of their popularity. For example, in d>e studies. IAustralasian Raptor Association.
Queensland Museum there are five sections for Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union: Mel-
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