IUCN red-listing of subterranean invertebrates: problems, gaps and the future

Red-listing is a widely used approach to globally evaluate the threats that affect species, according set of standardized criteria. The IUCN Red List Threatened Species world's most comprehensive inventory global conservation status species. It an international reference in this field, and powerful tool for endangered sites habitats. A number subterranean organisms various taxonomical groups have been assessed from few decades, are currently being assessed, revealing serious difficulties uncertainties linked special characteristics ecosystems critical problems, distribution, dispersion, life cycle sensitivity disturbance, some ways overcome them, discussed paper. Partly this, redlisting species has so far achieved moderate results with regard diversity vulnerability - well-known exception bats. Data drawn online database redlsted reveals invertebrates hugely under-covered at geographical taxonomic levels. Moreover, among red-listed connected habitats, stygophiles troglophiles, i.e. not obligate cave dwellers. In contrast, very strictly (stygobionts troglobionts) far, spite exceptional proneness endemicity invertebrate groups. On other hand, assessments extremely uneven across countries taxa. Many regions significant fauna do any richest those which highest zoological dominate (beetles, springtails, microcrustacea...) contrasted proportion redlisted species: higher snails, low microcrustaceans, beetles rare local exceptions. Assessment underlined above, coverage available assessments, limited progress face high concerned human resources job led us favour more pragmatic red-listing coming years. Really threatened actually numerous, because habitats protected disturbance devastate many surface aim will be therefore focus on world, particular attention mining, water pollution large scale destruction.