Add to collection
  • + Create new collection
    • Rights: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato and ANZCCART New Zealand
    Published 10 September 2024 Referencing Hub media
    Download

    Most terrestrial1 invertebrates2 are not covered by animal ethics regulations. Dr Leilani Walker (Te Whakatōhea, Thai), a behavioural ecologist3, shares her views about working with invertebrate4 species5.

    Questions for discussion

    • At 00:44, Leilani injects carbon dioxide6 gas into the tube to calm the tiny jumping spider prior to placing it in the plastic7 dish for observation. Why might she want to calm the spider?
    • What are your thoughts about respecting and caring for invertebrates like spiders and insects compared to mammals and birds?

    Transcript

    Dr Leilani Walker

    As someone who works on spiders and insects, the interesting thing for me is that they actually aren’t covered by animal regulations in this country. I am not required to go through any kind of ethics process in order to work with insects either in the environment or in the lab.

    I think why insects have been exempted is in part the assumption that they’re too simple an animal. There’s this sense that oh maybe they don’t feel pain, maybe they don’t experience stress8 in the same way that what we might call a higher animal – like a cow or a pig or a bird – might experience that.

    For me personally, it doesn’t matter that there’s no law saying please don’t unnecessarily harm your spiders or cause undue stress or take too many or things like that. I feel quite comfortably guided by my own principles there.

    I guess that, more broadly, does it mean that as society we don’t adequately care for insects, spiders – whether in terms of conservation9 or what protections we provide them, because I think that they do feel pain and I think they do experience some level of stress. That’s different to other animals but I think that it’s there.

    There’s also just the dignity of the individual species. This thing that we sort of naturally seem to afford to mammals and birds and things like that. Why can’t we also say, well, this is a really important taonga species10 that only lives here. Why is it less important because it has six legs and an exoskeleton11, you know?

    Acknowledgements
    Dr Leilani Walker, Auckland University of Technology
    Advisors: Professor Georgina Tuari Stewart and Dr Sally Birdsall
    Dairy cows, University of Waikato Te Whare o Wānanga o Waikato and DairyNZ
    Kiwi in bush, and Australian huntsman spider (Delena cancerides), DOC. CC BY 3.0
    Takahē, CMKM Stephens. CC BY 3.0

    1. terrestrial: Belonging or from the land. This term is often used to describe plants and animals, meaning they live on the land.
    2. invertebrates: An animal without a backbone, for example butterflies, worms, snails, insects, spiders and aquatic species such as crabs and jellyfish.
    3. ecologist: A scientist who studies ecology – the relationships between living things and their environment.
    4. invertebrates: An animal without a backbone, for example butterflies, worms, snails, insects, spiders and aquatic species such as crabs and jellyfish.
    5. species: (Abbreviation sp. or spp.) A division used in the Linnean system of classification or taxonomy. A group of living organisms that can interbreed to produce viable offspring.
    6. carbon dioxide: CO2 is a colourless, odourless, incombustible gas. It is a product of cellular respiration and combustion and is an essential component in photosynthesis.
    7. plastic: A synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers (such as polyethylene, PVC and nylon) that can be moulded into shape while soft and then set into a rigid or slightly elastic form.
    8. stress: In mechanics, a force applied to a body.
      In ecology and physiology, a response to a stimulus, e.g. an environmental factor, that disturbs or interferes with the normal equilibrium.
    9. conservation: The protection, preservation and careful management of a species, habitat, artifact or taonga.
    10. taonga species: Species or biota that are of value to Māori or hold cultural significance to Māori, which may include introduced species.
    11. exoskeleton: A hard structure that develops on the outside of an invertebrate animal, giving it both protection and support.

    Appears in

    ARTICLE

    Dr Leilani Walker

    Dr Leilani Walker has research interests in animal behaviour and the relationships of New Zealanders with native flora and fauna. This scientist profile is one of six featured in this group of ...

    READ MORE
    MORE
    Add to favourites
    Add to collection
  • + Create new collection
      • Go to full glossary
      Download all

      terrestrial

    1. + Create new collection

      2. Belonging or from the land. This term is often used to describe plants and animals, meaning they live on the land.

      species

    2. + Create new collection

      3. (Abbreviation sp. or spp.) A division used in the Linnean system of classification or taxonomy. A group of living organisms that can interbreed to produce viable offspring.

      stress

    3. + Create new collection

      4. In mechanics, a force applied to a body.
      In ecology and physiology, a response to a stimulus, e.g. an environmental factor, that disturbs or interferes with the normal equilibrium.

      exoskeleton

    4. + Create new collection

      5. A hard structure that develops on the outside of an invertebrate animal, giving it both protection and support.

      invertebrates

    5. + Create new collection

      6. An animal without a backbone, for example butterflies, worms, snails, insects, spiders and aquatic species such as crabs and jellyfish.

      carbon dioxide

    6. + Create new collection

      7. CO2 is a colourless, odourless, incombustible gas. It is a product of cellular respiration and combustion and is an essential component in photosynthesis.

      conservation

    7. + Create new collection

      8. The protection, preservation and careful management of a species, habitat, artifact or taonga.

      ecologist

    8. + Create new collection

      9. A scientist who studies ecology – the relationships between living things and their environment.

      plastic

    9. + Create new collection

      10. A synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers (such as polyethylene, PVC and nylon) that can be moulded into shape while soft and then set into a rigid or slightly elastic form.

      taonga species

    10. + Create new collection

      11. Species or biota that are of value to Māori or hold cultural significance to Māori, which may include introduced species.

      Email Us

      See our newsletters here.