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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
White-tailed eagles are flourishing on the National Forest Estate –
Forestry Commission Scotland
We
are proud that our forest management helps wildlife species to flourish.
One of our biggest success stories is the white-tailed eagle, once
extinct in Scotland but now living here again after successful
re-introduction programmes. The west coast releases and the success of
the birds in places such as Mull, Skye and Argyll has been a fantastic
success story but the East of Scotland project is perhaps a little less
well known. The East Scotland Sea Eagle Project brought chicks over from Norway
to Fife between 2007 and 2012, and we are now seeing the released birds
produce their own chicks. Credit: Graeme Findlay Together with partners like Scottish Natural Heritage and the RSPB
Scotland, we protect forest areas that are part of the eagles'
territories, and make sure their nesting sites aren't disturbed. There are now 100 pairs of white-tailed eagles living across
Scotland. One of the latest eaglets to hatch in a Fife woodland has been
tagged and ringed and is now taking its first flights away from the
nest.
Britain’s leading conservation organisations call on the Government to
grasp a better future for the countryside – The Wildlife Trusts Britain’s largest nature organisations have today (1/10) launched
their joint vision for a post-Brexit environment, farming and rural
policy.
©
Paul Harris/2020VISION WWF-UK, National Trust, The Wildlife Trusts and RSPB are calling for:
The conservation organisations are calling on Government to turn
leaving the European Union into an opportunity to create a countryside
richer in nature, by supporting sustainable farming that not only
produces great food but also rewards farmers for protecting and
restoring the farmed environment. A healthy countryside is vital and necessary for the whole country:
we need good food, healthy and productive soils, clean water, protection
from flooding and an attractive countryside rich in wildlife. This
requires existing levels of environmental protection to be maintained or
bolstered while also thinking very differently about how we support the
land management we want and need in the future.
The resilience of Wales’s natural resources is vital for a better life
– Natural Resources Wales Investing in our natural resources and making our ecosystems more
resilient is vital to provide a better life for people and wildlife,
according to a landmark report published today by Natural Resources
Wales.
Image:
Natural Resources Wales The State of Natural Resources Report (SoNaRR), the first report of
its kind and the first statutory product coming out of the Environment
Act, makes a direct link between the condition of our natural resources
- our air, soil, water and the biodiversity that underpins them - and
the impacts on people’s health, economic prosperity and social
wellbeing. It also looks at the issues facing our natural habitats of important
and iconic wildlife species to better understand the worrying decline in
biodiversity. The report highlights that policy and decision-makers across the
public sector need to start considering the key risks to natural
resources and the benefits that they provide, in all that they do. Emyr Roberts, Chief Executive of Natural Resources Wales, said:
UK first as rare black dormouse is found – Blackdown Hills Natural
Futures
We
are very excited to have discovered a rare black dormouse right here in
the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is the only
black dormouse ever recorded in the UK! Britain has only one native
species of dormouse, the hazel dormouse. Our discovery is a hazel
dormouse, but instead of having the normal golden-brown fur this
individual is black. How fitting that this black-furred little fella is
living in the Blackdown Hills! image: Blackdown Hills Natural Futures The discovery was made when staff, trainees and volunteers from the
Blackdown Hills Natural Futures project were checking dormouse
nest-boxes as part of The National Dormouse Monitoring Programme. This
year, the project provided 300 nest boxes and has involved more than 60
volunteers in installing and regularly checking the boxes.
Trees believed extinct found thriving at royal palace – Royal
Botanic Gardens Edinburgh Tree experts have been excited by the “discovery” of two mature
specimens – until now thought to be extinct in Britain – within Her
Majesty The Queen’s garden at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, a stone’s
throw away from Edinburgh city centre. Now thoughts are turning to
propagation of the rare royal 100ft-tall Wentworth elms (Ulmus
'Wentworthii Pendula). An attractive cultivar with a “weeping” habit of growth and large
glossy leaves, the Wentworth elm was probably introduced to cultivation
in the late 19th century. But it was thought to have been wiped-out in
the devastating Dutch elm disease epidemic that destroyed between 25 and
75 million trees in Britain during the late 20th century. “Such a discovery when the trees in question are just shy of 100 feet
and in plain sight does sound rather odd”, conceded Dr Max Coleman of
the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) who identified the specimens
after they were noted as being unusual during a tree survey.
The Great Repeal Act: One win, five fights Yesterday (2/10), the Government confirmed that “EU law will be
transposed into domestic law” on the day the UK leaves the EU. This huge
legislative graft will be the work of a Great Repeal Act, which will
formally end the primacy of EU law in the UK.
This
is great news for everyone who values our air, water and nature: the
most immediate threat to environment protection will not materialise.
The Nature Directives and the laws that reduce pollution, waste and
over-exploitation will not be thrown out wholesale. But a number of
caveats mean we must all still be on our guard. Here are five threats
that still need to be addressed: Black tailed godwits (WWT) 1. “Wherever practical” 2. Shared treasures 3. Parliamentary scrutiny of Mrs May’s “unpicking” 4. Trajectory and accountability 5. Progress
Views wanted on cross-boundary protection areas for marine birds –
Scottish Natural Heritage Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Joint Nature Conservation
Committee are inviting views on four cross-boundary proposals to protect
important areas for marine birds. A formal public consultation launched today (4/10) by SNH on behalf
of Scottish Government is asking people to comment on four proposed
Special Protection Areas (pSPAs) which cross the 12 nautical mile
territorial waters boundary. The four proposed SPAs are the Pentland Firth, the Seas off Foula,
the Seas off St Kilda, and the Outer Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay
Complex. The sites are part of a suite of pSPAs designed to help a wide range
of marine bird species, by protecting their important areas such as
foraging grounds and places where they roost. Species set to benefit
from the four proposals include puffin, kittiwake, storm-petrel, Manx
shearwater, northern gannet, great skua, Arctic skua, and Arctic tern. Scotland’s 11,800 km of coastline and 800 islands make it an ideal
place for marine birds and it is home to some internationally important
populations. For example, Bass Rock, in the Outer Firth of Forth, and St
Kilda, are home to the world’s two largest colonies of northern gannets If the sites are designated they will form part of Scotland’s network
of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which covers approximately 20% of our
seas. Developing a network of well-managed MPAs is one way the Scottish
Government aims to meet its 2020 Biodiversity Challenge outcome of
‘clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse’ coasts and
seas.
Warming temperatures can reduce marine diversity but increase freshwater
species – University of Bath In contrast to previous research, scientists have found that habitat
warming can reduce the diversity of species in marine environments, but
increase speciation in freshwater habitats. Scientists from the University of Bath’s Milner Centre for
Evolution working with colleagues at the University of York have shown
that for an important group of aquatic crustaceans called the Anomura,
which includes hermit crabs, king crabs and squat lobsters, habitat
warming
decreases
species diversity in marine environments. Intriguingly the researchers
found that diversity of Anomura species in freshwater habitats increased
with warmer temperatures. A hermit crab emerging from its shell. University of Bath The findings suggest there is no universal rule about how species
diversity is affected by warming temperatures and responses to climate
change could be habitat dependent. Previous research involving land-based vertebrate found that
diversity tends to increase with warming and it had been thought this
was a general trend across habitats. Dr Katie Davis, who conducted the research at the University of Bath,
and is now based at University of York, said: “While other research
found that species diversity increased with global warming our findings
suggest that this is not a universal rule. We find that the freshwater
group follow this pattern, but their marine relatives show the opposite
- they speciate with global cooling and diversity decreases with
warming. Access the paper here: Davis, K. E,
Hill, J., Astrop, T. I. & Wills, M. A. (2016)
Global cooling as a
driver of diversification in a major marine clade. Nature
Communications. doi:10.1038/ncomms13003 Searching for Scouse cod and Geordie haddock – NERC Scientists this week launched a new study into the 'soundscape' of
Britain's seas, aiming to better understand the impact of maritime noise
pollution on fish including their ability to communicate. Species such as cod and haddock are known to use vocalisations to
attract mates so researchers will be looking at the possible impacts of
noise on their behaviour. Professor Steve Simpson, associate professor in marine biology &
global change at the University of Exeter, who is leading the research,
said, "Seawater is hundreds of times denser than air, so sounds travel
much faster and further. We have found that fish on coral reefs are
susceptible to noise pollution but we are yet to study the effects in
our own waters, which are some of the busiest in the world. "Cod produce a variety of sounds using their swim bladders, to
establish territories, raise the alarm and attract mates. We may find
that the 'gossip' essential to their society is being drowned out. If we
value our fish stocks - or our Friday night fish supper - we need to
understand this."
One of Scotland’s rarest birds thriving in Dumfries and Galloway -
RSPB The nightjar, one of Scotland’s rarest and most unusual birds,
appears to be thriving in Dumfries and Galloway, after good numbers were
reported from surveys this summer. Due to their largely nocturnal habits, nightjar populations are
estimated by counting the number of males heard singing, or ‘churring’,
after sunset. In 2016 a record number of 40 churring males were counted
in Dumfries and Galloway, the highest number since survey work commenced
there in the 1980s, and double that recorded in 2015. Nightjars are on the northerly edge of their range in Scotland, where
they prefer to breed in re-stocked forestry plantations or clear-felled
sites. Their success has come about following dedicated work by Forest
Enterprise Scotland (FES) to create and maintain suitable habitat in
traditional nightjar areas. RSPB Scotland’s Chris Rollie, said: “Nightjars are really fascinating
birds, yet most people have never seen one, and know very little about
them. The UK population suffered historical declines due to habitat
loss, and nightjars are now amber-listed birds of medium conservation
concern.
Trust moves ahead with big
changes – National Trust for Scotland Trustees of Scotland’s largest conservation
charity, the 350,000-member National Trust for Scotland, have
unanimously agreed to move forward with a transformational programme of
change. The changes will lead to the Trust widening its
appeal, encouraging more people to visit and enjoy the heritage in its
care, increasing membership and generating more income for investment in
conservation. The Trustees’ decision follows a formal 90-day
consultation period through which many submissions were made by staff,
volunteers and the Trust’s recognised trade union, Prospect. The Trust’s Chief Executive, Simon Skinner, said:
“We would like to thank everyone who responded to our proposals and who
made such useful and thoughtful submissions. In particular I welcome the
constructive part that the Prospect union has played throughout the
consultation. It was clear that the need for change was fully endorsed
and, as a result of the information and practical suggestions received,
we have made changes to our proposals that enhance the programme we are
now enacting. The changes allow us to retain a core staff of
specialists, who will support conservation and visitor services at
properties, enable us to bring in new skills and competencies that
ensure we offer world-class experiences and deliver a new regional
structure that puts the places we care for firmly at the centre of
decision-making and planning. More efficient ways of working will
complement other sources of funding so that we can prioritise £17
million of investment to make our properties better. We have
already announced the first tranche of investment in Culzean Castle and
Country Park totalling £2.5 million and there is more to come.” Implementation of the changes is underway and will
be complete by the summer of 2017.
Green space funding – Scottish
Government £8.25 million EU green infrastructure fund
announced. A multi-million pound fund to develop green spaces
in some of Scotland’s most deprived areas has been announced by Cabinet
Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Keith Brown. The money – which comes from EU funding - will
support projects like new nature reserves and parks and green spaces in
urban areas, benefiting communities across Scotland. With match
funding from partners the total overall investment will be up to £20
million. Visiting the project, Mr Brown said: “This £8.25
million represents a unique opportunity to create green infrastructure
on an unprecedented scale and will bring benefits to areas where it is
most needed. Publicly accessible green spaces are hugely important –
especially in our urban areas. This European funding is specifically
targeted at areas with a population of over 10,000 and will be
channelled into some of Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities. I
look forward to seeing applicants take advantage of the significant
opportunity this represents." The Green Infrastructure Fund is looking for
projects, involving communities right from the start, throughout
delivery and into the future. Projects should either benefit nature,
biodiversity and ecosystems, address environmental quality, flooding and
climate change, involve communities and increase participation, increase
place attractiveness and competitiveness or improve health and
wellbeing. Goodbye Mr Toad? Scientists chart a worrying drop in numbers of our most lovable amphibian. - Froglife A new study led by Froglife, together with experts
from Switzerland has shown how the efforts of ordinary members of the
public are identifying big declines in our native amphibians.
©Jules
Howard Every year thousands of volunteers in the UK,
working as part of Froglife’s ‘Toads on Roads’ patrols, help save
amphibians as they migrate to their breeding ponds across busy roads.
Toads are particularly vulnerable and over 800,000 are carried to safety
by volunteers each year in the UK and Switzerland. Froglife’s conservation scientists teamed up with
Swiss counterparts to analyse millions of records of common toads
(scientific name Bufo bufo) collected by these patrols over more than
three decades from the two countries. Unfortunately, despite the effort
of the volunteers, the researchers show that our toads have undergone
huge declines. On average common toads have declined by 68% over
the last 30 years in the UK. In some areas, such as the south east of
England, declines have been even more pronounced. The team’s results, published in the open-access
journal PLOS ONE show that toads have declined rapidly and continuously
since the 1980s in both countries. It is likely that hundreds of
thousands of toads have disappeared from the countryside in the past 30
years. In the UK, south east England suffered the worst
declines while in the west populations also declined but have remained
stable for the past decade. The North, including northern counties and
Scotland, has also seen significant toad declines in the past 20 years. It is not clear what has caused numbers of toads
to drop so dramatically but likely causes are a combination of changes
to farming practices, loss of ponds, an increase in urbanisation and
more deaths on roads as traffic values have increased. Climate change
could also be a factor as research has shown that milder winters are
detrimental for hibernating toads. Access the publication:
Silviu O. Petrovan, Benedikt R. Schmidt.
Volunteer Conservation Action Data Reveals Large-Scale and Long-Term
Negative Population Trends of a Widespread Amphibian, the Common Toad (Bufo
bufo). PLOS ONE DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161943
Canvey Wick Nature Reserve set for exciting expansion - Buglife Canvey Wick Nature Reserve is set to be expanded to around 150
hectares
after Morrisons arranged
to transfer an adjoining parcel of land to national land management
charity, the Land Trust. Image credit: Claudia Watts The retailer’s transfer of 130 hectares of land to the Land Trust –
equivalent to more than 180 football pitches – together with an
endowment to boost the environmental quality of the land and provide for
its long-term management, will have a wide reaching impact. Among the benefits provided by linking the adjoining land include
enhanced habitat restoration and fresh education opportunities. It will
also allow for links to a neighbouring RSPB reserve, connecting to other
habitats in the process.
Scientific papers Rehnus, M. & Bollman, K. (2016)
Non-invasive genetic population density estimation of mountain hares (Lepus
timidus) in the Alps: systematic or opportunistic sampling?
European Journal of Wildlife Research. DOI: 10.1007/s10344-016-1053-6
Weller, T. J., Castle, K. T., Liechti, F., Hein, C. D., Schirmacher,
M. R. & Cryan, P. M. (2016)
First Direct Evidence
of Long-distance Seasonal Movements and Hibernation in a Migratory Bat.
Scientific Reports 6. doi:10.1038/srep34585
Richard M. Francksen, Mark J. Whittingham, Sonja
C. Ludwig, and David Baines
Winter diet of Common Buzzards Buteo buteo on a Scottish grouse
moor. Bird Study DOI: 10.1080/00063657.2016.1238868 Alexandre Roulin
Shrews and moles are less often captured by European Barn Owls Tyto
alba nowadays than 150 years ago. Bird Study DOI:
10.1080/00063657.2016.1240149
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