A swift taxonomic assessment of terrestrial invertebrates at Barrington Island, Galápagos, and considerations for their conservation.

Terrestrial invertebrates, including insects, arachnids, snails and annelids, account for 80% of all multicellular species and are essential components of the ecosystem. Taxonomic inventories are crucial for detecting the effects of natural and human-caused environmental changes on species compositions. On islands, these assessments enable the early detection of invasive species. This study presents the findings of a rapid inventory of terrestrial invertebrates carried out on Barrington Island, also known as Santa Fe, a 24-km2 uninhabited island located in the center of the Galapagos archipelago. Six collection techniques were used to obtain a representative sample of terrestrial invertebrate diversity on Barrington. Taxonomic analysis identified 48 morphospecies from the orders Araneae, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, Odonata, Orthoptera, Scorpiones, and Stylommatophora. For the first time, two species of dragonflies from the genus PantalaHagen, 1861 and the scorpion Hadruroides galapagoensisMaury, 1974 were recorded on Barrington Island, along with eight introduced species, two of which are deemed invasive in the Galapagos Islands. These data add to the lists of taxa previously collected and provide for long-term monitoring of endemic and invasive species, which is a fundamental tool to better comprehend environmental and human effects on oceanic islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]