Should invertebrates receive greater inclusion in wildlife research journals?

ABSTRACT Invertebrates are among the most diverse organisms on Earth, significantly contribute to ecosystem function and integrity, and possess high potential as bioindicators. By definition, invertebrates also are wildlife. Yet, inclusion of invertebrates in peer-reviewed wildlife journals has not been investigated. As such, our objective was to assess inclusion of invertebrates in prominent wildlife journals published in the last decade. Based on our review and first-hand experience, we also aimed to provide recommendations for integration of invertebrates into wildlife science, education, and peer-reviewed literature. We performed a systematic literature review by manually searching all issues and articles from 2003-2013 of the following journals: European Journal of Wildlife Research, Journal of Wildlife Management, South African Journal of Wildlife Research, Wildlife Biology, Wildlife Research, and Wildlife Society Bulletin. We analyzed data derived from our review to elucidate trends in the inclusion of invertebrates in these journals. We identified 4,916 articles that involved animal taxa, of which 122 (2.5%) included invertebrates and <1% included invertebrates as focal taxa. Our results indicated invertebrates are included in a minute portion of articles in top wildlife journals. We recommend a paradigm shift to a less taxonomically homogenized and vertebrate-centric approach to wildlife science and education, integrating invertebrates into wildlife studies, and publishing results of those studies in wildlife journals to facilitate effective management of all wildlife species. © 2015 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]