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Headlines from week beginning 23 January 2017 |
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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
Residents clean up polluted stream –
Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust A local litter eyesore blighted by drug use and
rough sleeping has a new lease of life after 25 local residents turned
out over the weekend to clean it up. More than 40 bags of rubbish were cleared from the
area opposite the Hindu Temple on Keel Drive. Also cleared were several
shopping trolleys, a scooter and a safe. The clean-up was organised by the Wildfowl &
Wetlands Trust (WWT) who, along with Slough Borough Council, Thames
Water and the Environment Agency, are trying to restore the Salthill
Stream catchment by involving the local community, improving water
quality, reducing flooding and bringing back wildlife. As well as cleaning up, the team of volunteers
created piles of logs and other features to encourage wildlife to
flourish. WWT’s Technical Officer, Alice Wickman, said:
“This spot has amazing potential as a place for people to come and
enjoy. It’s right opposite the temple and backs onto the allotments. The
water here is actually spring water. It comes straight out of the ground
so it’s really pure. But it’s been unloved place for a while now and
some people have taken advantage of that and started to use it as a
place to dump litter and household rubbish, blocking the stream and
threatening wildlife. It had become polluted and a really unpleasant
place to be. So, we put out the call for help and there was an amazing
response from local people. Now, there’s hardly any litter, it’s lighter
in the woods and by the stream, and as a result it’s much nicer to walk
through”.
Trail resurfacing set to improve access in the Peak District National
Park More of the High Peak Trail will be widened and
resurfaced this winter, improving safety and enjoyment for visitors to
the Peak District National Park. About 2.3km (1.5 miles) of the trail between
Newhaven Crossing and Minninglow car park is being improved. Work will
begin on Monday (23 January) with repairs scheduled for completion by 17
February 2017. Use of this section of the trail will be restricted
at times but will remain passable. Parts of the trail on that section are just 750mm
wide in places, which is not enough to accommodate walkers, cyclists and
horse riders at busy times. The improvements will mean the trail is
widened to a width of at least 3 metres. Emma Stone, who manages the Peak District National
Park trails, said: "This is a trail with a variety of users and widening
it to a minimum of 3 metres should make the whole experience much safer
and more enjoyable for everyone." The work is part of a rolling programme to improve
safety and accessibility on the traffic-free trails in the UK’s first
and original National Park
New research debunks honey bee pesticide study
– University of St Andrews A study by a global agrochemical company that
concluded there was only a low risk to honey bees from a widely used
agricultural pesticide has been described as “misleading” in new
research published by statisticians at the University of St Andrews. Pesticides called neonicotinoids or neonics may be
implicated in losses of honey bees and other pollinators. The economic
value of honey bees and bumble bees on the pollination of commercially
grown crops has been estimated at over £200 million a year in the UK
alone. A major study conducted by Swiss agrochemical
company Syngenta on the effects of the neonic thiamethoxam on honey bees
in the field concluded that there was only a low risk to honey bees. New research conducted at the Centre for Research
into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM) by Dr Robert Schick,
Professor Jeremy Greenwood and Professor Steve Buckland shows even large
and important effects could have been missed because the Syngenta study
was statistically too small. Their findings are published today in the
international journal Environmental Sciences Europe. Read the paper (open
access) Robert S. Schick, Jeremy J. D. Greenwood and
Stephen T. Buckland.
An experiment on the impact of a neonicotinoid pesticide on honeybees:
the value of a formal analysis of the data. Environmental Sciences
Europe Bridging Science and Regulation at the Regional and European
Level DOI: 10.1186/s12302-016-0103-8
Keepers get i-deer of animal antics after dark
– Zoological Society of London Motion sensitive camera traps have revealed for the first time what
the animals at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo get up to after dark.
Detecting movement within a 30ft range, the cameras recorded the
night-time activity of the herd as they grazed and roamed through their
80-acre paddock, Passage through Asia, which visitors can drive-through
during the day. As the time is logged whenever the cameras are triggered, zookeepers
were able to use the technology to learn more about the deer’s
night-time activity and behaviour. Zookeeper Donovan Glyn said: “These images are not only fascinating
for us to see, but extremely useful as they allow us to observe what the
animals do when we’re not here. “We regularly update and change the way we look after the animals to
ensure we’re always providing the best care and we’ll use the
information gleaned from our night-time observations to devise new
feeding and enrichment programmes for the fallow deer.”
Buglife welcomes new protection for Britain’s oldest inhabitants - blind
shrimps - Buglife Buglife is pleased to welcome the confirmation of Pen Park Hole in
Bristol as a Site of Special Scientific Interest on account of its
invertebrate fauna, particularly the cave shrimps. Pen Park Hole is a large cave system within a buried limestone ridge
in Southmead in the northern outskirts of Bristol. The cave is
approximately 60 metres deep and consists of a large main chamber
containing a deep lake, and several branching passages. The cave is home to a nationally important community of blind
subterranean shrimps, including Koch’s shrimp (Niphargus kochianus) and
the Font shrimp (Niphargus fontanus). These small, white shrimps
live their entire lives underground, growing slowly and living for over
ten years. While most British species were wiped out about 25,000 years ago by
the last glaciation, cave shrimps survived in their deep havens and have
been resident here for at least 19.5 million years. British
populations of these shrimps are considered to be genetically
significant due to their long history and isolation. For instance
our Koch’s shrimp split from its European counterparts some 2.9 million
years ago. Matt Shardlow, Chief Executive of Buglife commented. “A great many
places that are home to rare little animals get no formal protection, so
Buglife is delighted that these cave shrimps, Britain’s oldest
inhabitants, will now be safer from harm.”
Forests ‘held their breath’ during global warming hiatus, research shows
– University of Exeter Global forest ecosystems, widely considered to act as the lungs of
the planet, ‘held their breath’ during the most recent occurrence of a
warming hiatus, new research has shown. The international study examined the full extent to which these vital
ecosystems performed as a carbon sink from 1998-2012 – the most recent
recorded period of global warming slowdown. The researchers, including Professor Pierre Friedlingstein from the
University of Exeter, demonstrated that the global carbon sink – where
carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and stored in the natural
environment – was particularly robust during this 14-year period.
During extended periods of slower warming,
forests ‘breathe in’ carbon dioxide but reduce the rate at which they
release the gas back to the atmosphere (University of Exeter) The team believes the crucial study offers a significant breakthrough
for future climate modelling, which is used to predict just how
different ecosystems will respond to rising global temperatures.
£8 million for peatland restoration projects is a welcome investment
- SNH Biodiversity, water quality and our response to climate change will
all benefit from the Scottish Government’s latest investment in work to
restore our precious peatlands, says Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). SNH welcomes the announcement by Cabinet Secretary for Environment,
Climate Change and Land Reform, Roseanna Cunningham of a further £8
million for the award-winning Peatland Action initiative it has run
since 2012. Peatland Action is one of the key projects helping to
deliver the 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity The investment will allow SNH to continue working with its Peatland
Action partners to restore a further 8,000ha of this vital habitat, to
add to over 10,000ha of peatland already restored under the scheme.
Peatland restoration involves blocking miles and miles of ditches, as
well as other measures, to reduce the rapid runoff of water from the
bare peat surfaces. Andrew McBride, Peatland Action Manager, said: ‘This is excellent
news for our peatlands, wildlife, tourism and rural jobs. The additional
investment next year will allow us to almost double the amount of
peatland restored, and also widen the scope of the project to ensure
people are more aware and involved in the care of this valuable natural
resource.
Why are you still awake? Rise in Hedgehog sightings due to late start to
winter Active Hedgehogs were being seen in gardens well into December,
according to reports from the British Trust for Ornithology’s weekly
Garden BirdWatch (BTO GBW) scheme. Volunteer Garden BirdWatchers
reported more Hedgehogs in November and December than in previous years. Before the onset of winter Hedgehogs are busy foraging for
earthworms and insects to gain plentiful fat reserves. These reserves
are crucial for surviving during their hibernation, which is normally
from November to March. However, timing of hibernation varies between
individuals
Hedgehog by Mike Toms July to September is the peak of Hedgehog activity in gardens when
young hoglets can also be seen, but activity declines steeply with the
arrival of winter. However, this November Garden BirdWatchers recorded
Hedgehogs in 4.1% of gardens, which is nearly double the average (2.4%)
and the sightings remained higher than normal in December. This pattern
is most notable in the southern and eastern areas of the UK where
temperatures were milder than elsewhere in November. The Met Office also
notes that the December mean temperature was 2.1°C above average
(1961-1990), which is likely to explain the increase in Hedgehog
activity this winter.
The future of energy in Scotland – Scottish
Government Draft strategy outlines ambitious vision for a modern, low carbon
Scotland. A new target to deliver the equivalent of 50 per cent of the energy
required for Scotland’s heat, transport and electricity needs from
renewable sources by 2030 was unveiled today, as part of a key
consultation on Scotland’s first energy strategy. The draft Scottish Energy Strategy, published today (Tuesday 24),
sets out a vision for 2050 for Scotland to have a modern, integrated
energy system that delivers reliable, low carbon energy at affordable
prices to consumers in all parts of Scotland. The Strategy will build
upon the existing economic strengths of the energy sector in Scotland,
while protecting energy security and setting out our approach to
tackling fuel poverty. This vision will be supported next month when we will announce
details of up to £50 million in funding to be awarded to 13 projects, at
sites across Scotland, which will demonstrate low carbon or renewable
electricity, heating or storage solutions. Response:
RSPB Scotland responds to publication of Scottish Government’s Energy
Strategy – RSPB RSPB Scotland has responded to the publication of the Scottish Government’s Scottish Energy Strategy today. Senior Policy Officer, Rebecca Bell, said: “We welcome the ambition shown by the Scottish Government in its energy strategy, particularly the target for 50% of our energy demand to be met from renewable sources by 2030, which is something we and other NGOs have been calling for. This transition to a holistic, low-carbon energy system is what we need to meet our international climate commitments, but it needs to be done in a way that does not harm nature.
Scientists discover even wasps make trade deals
– University of Sussex
In the study, the team from the University’s School of Life Sciences
looked at how the economic rule of ‘supply and demand’ applies to
populations of paper wasps - in which ‘helper wasps’ raise the offspring
of dominant breeders in small social groups in return for belonging in
the nest. Wasps have trading partners and compete for the
‘best trade deals’. T.Pennell (University of Sussex) During the study, which was carried out in southern Spain over a
period of three months, the team marked and genotyped 1,500 wasps and
recorded social behaviour within 43 separate nests along a cactus hedge. By increasing the number of nest spots and nesting partners available
around the hedge, the scientists discovered the helper wasps provide
less help to their own ‘bosses’ (the dominant breeders) when alternative
nesting options are available. The dominant wasps then compete to give
the helper wasps the ‘best deal’, by allowing them to work less hard, to
ensure they stay in their particular nest.
New to Britain Grass-carrying wasp discovered at Greenwich Eco Park
- The Land Trust
About 2cm long, it is a striking addition to the UK fauna and gets
its name from its habit of using grass as nest material. Isodontia mexicana wasp (NHM) It likes to visit flowers such as Mint and Gypsy wort, which are
abundant at the Greenwich park, and preys on bush crickets, which are
also common at the site. Researcher David Notton of the Natural History Museum said the wasp
is pretty docile and a solitary species, so does not form large nests.
Outrage at damage to internationally important site
– Northumberland Wildlife Trust Staff and volunteers at Northumberland Wildlife Trust have been left
deeply upset and angered at the damage caused to its Whitelee nature
reserve in North Northumberland.
Upon inspection, it is evident that the bikes entered at Carter Bar
and were driven directly up the hill onto the blanket bog. Such an act is extremely damaging to the bog surface - just one pass
with the bikes and the vegetation could take decades to recover! This is
immensely frustrating as the Trust is trying to repair the blanket bog
in this area at great expense. Whitelee Moor is one of Britain’s most important upland nature
reserves. A large part of its 1,508 hectares is rare blanket bog habitat
which is home to a variety of plants including sphagnum mosses,
cloudberry, bog asphodel and cotton grasses. The site, which is a National Nature Reserve, Site of Specific
Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area for Conservation (SAC) was
bought by Northumberland Wildlife Trust in 1999, following suport from a
public appeal and National Lottery players with a grant from the
Heritage Lottery Fund
Remarkable discovery as Roman houses are identified under city centre
park – Chichester Distrcit Council Foundations of complete Roman town houses have been discovered under
one of Chichester's city centre parks and they are expected to be some
of the most remarkable Roman finds yet.
The scans appear to show two large masonry houses, which would now be
the equivalent to Chichester's grand Pallant House Gallery building, and
would have been owned by someone of great importance. The third building
is of great interest because of its unusual shape. The discovery was made after local geophysics specialist, David Staveley, used ground penetrating radar equipment to scan the parks in Chichester. This was done in agreement with Chichester District Council's archaeologist, James Kenny, who felt that the parks were the most likely place to discover remains that will have survived. Following the results from the scans, James and the local archaeology society carried out a very small dig in the park which confirmed his thoughts.
Hidden value report reveals the importance of green spaces to society
– The Land Trust The Land Trust has released a new report, The
Hidden Value of Our Green Spaces, which highlights the important
functions to society that our sites provide. It shows that our interventions to maintain and
enhance green spaces have clear and considerable benefits, such as
absorbing pollution, mitigating the risk of flooding, and storing
carbon. The report features two case studies – Beam
Parklands in Dagenham and Silverdale Country Park near Stoke on Trent –
to show how sustainable management translates into economic value for
the local area.
Find out more and download the report.
Sounding them out: a unique conservation tool for monitoring
bush-crickets - BTO New research led by British Trust for Ornithology
(BTO) and published today in the international journal Methods in
Ecology and Evolution, shows how existing bat monitoring could improve
our understanding of bush-crickets. Bush-crickets are a little-known group of insects
that inhabit our marshes, grasslands, woods, parks and gardens. Some may
be seen in the summer when they are attracted to artificial lights, but
as most produce noises that are on the edge of human hearing, we know
little about their status. There are suggestions that some bush-crickets
may be benefiting from climate change, while others may be affected by
habitat changes. But how to survey something that is difficult to see
and almost impossible to hear? Advances in autonomous recording devices are
transforming our understanding of bats, but the large-scale deployment
of such devices has the potential to also improve our understanding of
other species groups, which produce loud and characteristic sounds. The original objective of BTO’s bat surveys was to
trial the recording of bat activity using passive real-time detectors,
to gauge the willingness of members of the public to engage in bat
monitoring at a large scale, and to determine the suitability of
automated identification routines for processing large volumes of
citizen-science collected bat recordings. It soon became clear that
bush-crickets were also being recorded in large numbers. Working with the Museum of Natural History in
Paris and Natural England we have developed a computer algorithm to
identify the sounds made by different species of bush-crickets. After
carefully validating these state-of-the-art methods using field
recordings in Norfolk, we can now examine daily activity patterns of
different species of bush-cricket and determine where different species
live. The speckled bush-cricket for example, pictured above, would
normally be easy to overlook because it occurs in vegetation and makes
sound (stridulates) at a frequency too high for humans to hear. With
over 260,000 recordings of this species collected through bat surveys in
Norfolk, we know that this species is common and widespread, with a
distribution that extends into Norwich. At the other extreme, great
green bush-cricket, previously known from only a few locations in
Norfolk, was recorded at two locations, of which one was a new site for
this species. Access the paper:
Newson, S.E., Bas, Y., Murray, A. & Gillings, S. (2017).
Potential for coupling the monitoring of bush-crickets with established
large-scale acoustic monitoring of bats. Methods in Ecology and
Evolution.
Pests and diseases now 'business as usual' - Confor Tree pests and diseases have now become “business
as usual” for forest and woodland owners, the All-Party Parliamentary
Group on Forestry was told. John Wilding, Head of Forestry and Environmental
Economy at Clinton Devon Estates, listed the range of pests and diseases
which had blighted the business over the last decade. He said each one had brought new lessons, with the
arrival of chalara ash dieback in the south-west raising serious
questions about importing pests and diseases through young plants. “Pests and diseases are now very much business as
usual," he said. "One real area of concern is the import of large
containerised plants. Phytophthera ramorum showed that we are moving
ecosystems within a pot. The plant and soil could contain untold numbers
of bugs and beetles.” Mr Wilding, a member of the review group which
reported on the P ramorum outbreak, said one positive to emerge from
that period was much closer working between the private sector and the
Forestry Commission’s plant health team, especially on aerial surveys
which allowed early identification of the disease and a rapid response.
Describing Scotland’s Wild Land Areas
– Scottish Natural Heritage Descriptions of Scotland’s 42 Wild Land Areas have
been published by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). Wild Land Areas across Scotland were identified in
2014 to support Scottish Planning Policy. They are the most extensive
areas where high wildness can be found and include remote mountains and
moorland, isolated sections of coast and uninhabited islands. Based on extensive field study and illustrated
with photographs and maps, the descriptions capture the special
qualities of Scotland’s wilder landscapes in an easy-to-read format. SNH
is also inviting comments on draft guidance it has produced to help
development interests and decision-makers when they are assessing
potential impacts on Wild Land Areas. The proposed guidance will help enable consistent
assessment of the potential effect of any new development on the
qualities of Wild Land Areas. It is technical guidance which complements
established approaches to assessing the landscape and visual impacts of
development. The Wild Land Descriptions provide a helpful reference
against which changes to the Areas’ qualities can be assessed. The consultation runs until 7th April 2017. Access the guidance and take part in the consultation.
Scientific publications Evans, S. R. & Gustafsson, L. (2017)
Climate change
upends selection on ornamentation in a wild bird. Nature Ecology &
Evolution. doi:10.1038/s41559-016-0039
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CJS is not responsible for content of external sites. Details believed correct but given without prejudice. Disclaimer: the views expressed in these news pages do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CJS. |
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Zookeepers
installed the cameras, identical to those used around the world by ZSL’s
field conservation teams, to allow them to remotely observe the Zoo’s
herd of fallow deer.
The
study shows that, during extended periods of slower warming, worldwide
forests ‘breathe in’ carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, but reduced
the rate at which they ‘breathe out’ - or release the gas back to the
atmosphere.
and
depends on weather conditions. This year results from Garden BirdWatch
show that more Hedgehogs were active later in the year than usual,
likely as a result of mild weather.
Wasps
have trading partners and compete for the ‘best trade deals’, according
to scientists from the University of Sussex.
A
new to Britain wasp, Isodontia mexicana (de Saussure), known as
the Grass-carrying wasp, has been discovered at Greenwich Peninsula
Ecology Park.
Bike
tracks next to Carter Bar (image: Geoff Dobbins
Archaeologists
have been stunned to find three almost complete Roman buildings,
footings of which have survived over 1,600 years in the centre of a
thriving city.
