European Red List of Grasshoppers, Crickets and Bush-crickets

The European Red List is a review of the conservation
\nstatus of European species according to IUCN regional
\nRed Listing guidelines. It identifies those species that are
\nthreatened with extinction at the regional level, so that
\nappropriate conservation action can be taken to improve
\ntheir status. This Red List publication summarises results
\nfor all hitherto described native European Orthoptera
\nspecies (grasshoppers, crickets and bush-crickets). All Orthoptera species (grasshoppers, crickets and bushcrickets) native to or naturalised in Europe before AD
\n1500 (a total of 1,082 species), have been assessed in
\nthis Red List. The geographical scope is continent-wide,
\nextending from Iceland in the west to the Urals in the
\neast, and from Franz Josef Land in the north to the
\nCanary Islands in the south. The Caucasus region is not
\nincluded. Red List assessments were made at two regional
\nlevels: for geographical Europe, and for the 28 Member
\nStates of the European Union in 2016. The status of all species was assessed using the IUCN
\nRed List Categories and Criteria (IUCN 2012a), which is
\nthe world’s most widely accepted system for measuring
\nextinction risk. All assessments followed the Guidelines
\nfor Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and
\nNational Levels (IUCN 2012b).
\nThe assessments were compiled based on the data and
\nknowledge from a network of leading European experts
\non Orthoptera. The assessments were then completed
\nand reviewed at six workshops held in Italy, Greece,
\nFrance, Bulgaria, Spain and Germany as well as through
\nemail correspondence with relevant experts. More than
\n145 experts participated in the assessment and review
\nprocess for European Orthoptera species. Assessments
\nare available on the European Red List website and
\ndata portal: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/
\nconservation/species/redlist and http://www.iucnredlist.
\norg/initiatives/europe. Overall, 25.7% and 28% of Orthoptera species are
\nassessed as threatened at the European and EU 28 levels,
\nrespectively. However, the exact proportion of threatened
\nspecies is uncertain, as there are 107 (10%) Data Deficient
\n(DD) species in Europe and 84 DD species (8.5%) in the
\nEU 28. Estimating that a similar relative proportion of the
\nDD assessments are likely to be threatened (IUCN 2011),
\nthe best estimate of the threatened share of Orthoptera
\nspecies is thus 28.5% in Europe and 30.6% in the EU 28.
\nFurther research on DD species to clarify their status is
\ntherefore critical. A further 13.9% (149 species) and 13%
\n(128 species) are considered Near Threatened in Europe
\nand in the EU 28, respectively.
\nBy comparison, the best estimate of threatened
\nspecies of those other groups that have been assessed
\ncomprehensively in Europe is 58% of freshwater molluscs,
\n40% of freshwater fishes, 23% of amphibians, 20% of
\nreptiles, 17% of mammals, 16% of dragonflies, 13% of
\nbirds, 9% of butterflies and bees, 8% of aquatic plants and
\nmarine fishes and 2% of medicinal plants (IUCN 2015).
\nAdditional European Red Lists assessing a selection of
\nspecies showed that 22% of terrestrial molluscs, 16% of
\ncrop wild relatives and 15% of saproxylic beetles are also
\nthreatened (IUCN 2015). No other groups have yet been
\nassessed at the European level.
\nLooking at the population trends of European Orthoptera
\nspecies, 30.2% (325 species) have declining populations,
\n7.6% (82 species) are believed to be more or less stable
\nand 3.2% (34 species) are increasing. However, the
\npopulation trends for the majority of species (59%, 634
\nspecies) remain unknown.
\nOut of the 739 species that are endemic to Europe
\n(i.e., they are found nowhere else in the world), 231
\n(31.3%) are threatened, highlighting the responsibility
\nthat European countries have to protect the global
\npopulations of these species.
\nOverall, the European areas with the highest diversity
\nof species are found in southern Europe, especially in
\nthe Mediterranean region and the Balkans. Hotspots
\nof endemic species are found in the Iberian, the Italian and the Balkan Peninsulas, and in some large mountain
\nareas (the Alps, Pyrenees, Carpathians and Appenines).
\nThe greatest concentration of threatened species is found
\nalong some Mediterranean coasts and Mediterranean
\nmountain blocks. Finally, the number of Data Deficient
\nspecies reflects the general distribution of Orthoptera
\nspecies, being highest in the Mediterranean and the
\nLower Volga region in southern European Russia.
\nThe main threat to European Orthoptera is the loss,
\ndegradation and fragmentation of their habitats as a
\nconsequence of agricultural land use intensification. This
\nincludes direct destruction by transformation of permanent
\ngrassland or shrubland habitats into cropland, degradation
\nof habitat quality caused by overgrazing, abandonment, use
\nof fertilisers or heavy machinery and direct mortality from
\nfrequent mowing or the use of pesticides. Other important
\nthreats to Orthoptera are the increasing frequency of
\nwildfires, touristic development and urbanisation, climate
\nchange, afforestation and intensive forest management,
\ndrainage and river regulations, recreational activities,
\ndeforestation, limestone quarrying and sand excavations
\nand invasive species.Orthoptera are a diverse group of insects with more
\nthan 1,000 species known to occur in Europe and play
\nimportant roles in the ecosystem such as being part of
\nthe food chain and prey to many vertebrate species.
\nThey are also good indicators of land use intensity,
\nwhich makes them one of the most important
\ninvertebrate groups for environmental monitoring
\nand assessment.
\nConservation strategies for the European Orthoptera
\nspecies with the highest extinction risk should be
\ndeveloped and implemented.
\nThe European Red List should be used to inform
\nnature and biodiversity policies to improve the status
\nof threatened species.
\nThe Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) should be
\nenhanced by promoting traditional low-intensity
\nagricultural land use systems, particularly pastoralism
\nin Europe, and committing to a long-term reduction
\nin the use of pesticides and fertilisers, encouraging the
\nuptake of alternative pest management.
\nOrthoptera species should be made a standard group
\nfor inclusion in Environmental Impact Assessments to
\navoid negative impacts of new development projects
\non threatened species.Degraded habitats of threatened Orthoptera species
\nthroughout Europe should be restored and guidelines
\nfor the optimal management of Orthoptera habitats
\nshould be developed.
\nThe protection of Orthoptera habitats throughout
\nEurope should be improved, so that each threatened
\nand endemic European species is present in at
\nleast one protected area with an adequate adaptive
\nmanagement scheme and monitoring for threatened
\nOrthoptera species.
\nOrthoptera inventories in protected areas should
\nbe made mandatory to identify priority species for
\nthe respective area and develop strategies for their
\nprotection.
\nA pan-European monitoring programme for
\nOrthoptera species should be developed, by merging
\nall existing recording schemes.
\nSpecific research on those species that have not been
\nrecently recorded in Europe to clarify if they may be
\nExtinct or Regionally Extinct, or have been assessed
\nas Data Deficient should be conducted and funding
\nmechanisms should be put in place to support this
\nresearch.
\nThe effects of the lesser understood threats (e.g.,
\nwildfires, pesticides, climate change) on Orthoptera
\nshould be studied.
\nThe European Red List of Grasshoppers, Crickets and
\nBush-crickets should be revised at regular intervals of
\nten years, and whenever new data becomes available.