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Headlines from week beginning 2 September 2017 |
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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
Summer holiday washout wipes out bumper season for wildlife
- National Trust The summer holiday washout wiped out a bumper season for wildlife,
National Trust experts said. Family holidays were not the only victims
of recent wet weather, with wildlife suffering from extensive summer
rain. 2017 was on course to being the best summer for wildlife in over a
decade – ending a long run of cool damp summers after mild winters –
until the jet stream jumped south just when the summer holidays began.
The conservation charity is working with its tenants and partners to
reverse the alarming decline in UK wildlife, aiming to restore 25,000
hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2025. The weather, of course,
influences this ambition, both positively and negatively. Click through to see reports on how many other species fared. After this depressing news from the National
Trust this one is even more important:
Can autumn offer a butterfly boost? -
Butterfly Conservation Gardeners are being asked to look out for butterflies this autumn
after species struggled during the cold and wet summer holiday season. Butterfly numbers fell during August but the warm conditions in
spring enabled many species to emerge and breed early this year.
These good spring and early summer conditions enabled more
butterflies to fit in an extra generation, so we may be poised for an
impressive autumnal emergence of species such as Comma, Red Admiral and
Speckled Wood in the coming weeks. A warm spell of weather this
month could provide a timely boost to garden sightings as butterflies
fly in to take advantage of the abundant blooms in garden borders while
most flowers in the countryside have gone over. Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation wants gardeners to keep
butterfly spotting over the autumn and early winter by taking part in
the Garden Butterfly Survey, sponsored by B&Q, to help find out just how
late in the year butterflies can still be regularly seen. Butterfly Conservation Head of Recording Richard Fox said: “Gardens
become increasingly important for butterflies at this time of year.
“Nectar, the flight fuel for most of our butterflies, is in short supply
in the countryside as we move into autumn, yet many of our garden
flowerbeds and borders are still full of colour. For some butterflies it
is a matter of life and death; species such as the Small Tortoiseshell,
Peacock and Comma, which hibernate as adult butterflies, have to feed up
and lay down substantial fat reserves in their bodies in order to
survive the winter. If they can’t find enough nectar they simply won’t
make it through to breed next spring. Others, such as the Painted Lady
and Red Admiral will be taking on fuel reserves that they need to
migrate south to warmer climes around the Mediterranean.” The aim of the Garden Butterfly Survey is to assess the changing
fortunes of butterflies in gardens and, ultimately, to understand how
important gardens are for our butterfly populations and what gardeners
can do to help. Take part in the
Garden Butterfly survey here However, it's not all doom and gloom!
Isle of May breeding success - Centre for
Ecology & Hydrology blog Mark Newell, Isle of May Field Manager, reports on a successful 2017
season for the main study species With the final checks completed by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
(CEH) after the 46th season on the Isle of May we can now reveal the
state of the breeding season. The 2017 season proved to be successful for all the main study
species.
Click through for results in full.
Earlier budburst linked to warmer springs says research
- Woodland Trust budburst is linked to warmer springs according to new research A collaborative study between the Met Office and Woodland Trust has
revealed that the timing of UK budburst for nine out of the eleven tree
species studied is significantly related to average temperature in
March, with considerable variations in the magnitude of the temperature
responses between species and regions. The study found that a 1 °C lower (or higher) temperature during
March was associated with later (or earlier) budburst of between three
days for alder in the south-east and six days for European larch in the
north-east.
These results back up earlier studies revealing an overall long-term
trend of earlier budburst in the UK as average spring temperatures have
warmed. Such observations of the timing of natural events and their
relationship to climate is known as phenology and are recorded on the
Woodland Trust's
Nature's Calendar survey. This phenological study looked at the relationship between various
daily climate observations– temperature, rainfall and sunshine hours –
and the timing of budburst each year between 2000 and 2016. Rachel Abernethy is the lead author on the study from the Met Office.
She said: “Although there is a tendency for budburst to occur earlier,
there was a later than average budburst of most species in 2016
associated with cooler March and April temperatures in the UK.” The 2016 March temperature was 0.3 °C below, and April 1.5 °C below
the average between 2000 and 2016. The March to April temperatures for
the 2000 to 2016 period have been on average 1.1 °C warmer than the 1961
to 1990 climatological average.
Access the State of the UK Climate reports from The Met Office The State of the UK Climate report is an annual publication which
provides an accessible, authoritative and up-to-date assessment of UK
climate trends, variations and extremes based on the latest available
climate quality observational datasets. The 2016 report includes a phenology supplement which presents
observations of the timing of budburst for 11 tree species in the UK,
and explores simple relationships between budburst and climate across
different species and regions. Download the
Phenology supplement Published online 1 September 2017 (PDF)
For more
surveys and sightings requests see the current list here.
Osprey raises hopes of a Brockholes nest -
Lancashire Wildlife Trust One of Britain’s most spectacular birds of prey has been exciting
visitors at our Brockholes nature reserve in Preston.
An osprey is spending a little time at Brockholes, before it starts a
long flight to Africa for winter. It has certainly delighted both
dedicated birders and visitors to The Lancashire Wildlife Trust reserve.
The osprey won’t have been fazed by the attention this week, as ospreys
are often scrutinised by nestcams in Scotland, Wales and at Cumbria
Wildlife Trust’s Foulshaw Moss – all sites where they breed. Brockholes general manager Donalda Williams said: “We built an osprey
platform on an island at the Meadow Lake two years ago to attract
nesting birds. Over the past couple of summers single ospreys have
definitely spent time at the reserve raising our hopes even higher"
Deposit returns to be a reality for Scotland
– Marine Conservation Society System for bottles and drinks cans announced
Image: Marine Conservation Society Catherine Gemmell, Scotland Conservation Officer said: “As a founding
partner in the Have You Got The Bottle campaign, we are absolutely
thrilled with today’s announcement. We are extremely hopeful, having
seen the thorough investigation of options for deposit return systems
done by Scottish Government to date, that we'll hear the First Minister
give a green light for a full working Deposit Return System in Scotland.
We see this as the simplest next step to help turn the tide on plastic,
glass and metal drinks containers on our beaches. We hope that this will
inspire similar systems throughout the UK.”
Anchors Away – Living Coasts Boats dropping anchor in the Bay's protected seagrass beds are
threatening our local seahorse population.
Experts at Living Coasts, Torquay’s coastal zoo, say that anchoring
in the wrong place can damage vital habitat and threaten the seahorses.
The seagrass areas in the Bay are voluntary no anchoring zones. Image: Seahorse (Duane Elliott) Designated in 2013, the Torbay Marine Conservation Zone is an inshore
site running from Oddicombe Beach to Sharkham Point, protecting an area
of approximately 20 square kilometres. Beginning at the shore, the
boundary extends between 1 to 2.5km out to sea and includes Hope’s Nose
and Berry Head. This is the second seahorse to be found in the Torbay MCZ in two
months. Both were found during seagrass surveys by volunteer divers from
the Community Seagrass Initiative, a citizen science project aiming to
raise awareness of seagrass habitats in the South West of England.
Living Coasts is one of the project partners. Seagrass evolved about 100 million years ago and can flower
underwater; seagrass meadows are highly diverse and productive
ecosystems. Some of the Bay’s seagrass seems healthy and full of life,
but some is damaged and needs to be nurtured back to health.
Britons know mythical creatures better than real-life fantastic beasts
- Zoological Society of London ZSL survey highlights lack of public awareness of some of the world’s
most endangered wildlife species
Britons have greater awareness of mythical creatures like mermaids,
Ewoks and the Yeti than some of world’s most unique and irreplaceable
real-life species, according to a new survey commissioned by
international conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London).
The survey of 1,000 people was commissioned by ZSL to mark the
10-year anniversary of its EDGE of Existence programme, which was
established in 2007 to identify and conserve the world’s most
Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species – from
mammals that lay eggs, to frogs that give birth through their skin.
Asked to identify animals they recognised from a list combining both
fantasy creatures from literature and film with real-life EDGE species,
it was found that whilst 78 per cent of respondents had heard of the
Gruffalo – immortalised in the eponymous children’s book – just one per
cent were aware of the hirola (Beatragus hunteri), one of the world’s
rarest and most threatened antelope species. Similarly, the mythical
unicorn scored 88 per cent in terms of awareness, but just three per
cent of respondents were familiar with solenodons – burrowing,
insect-eating animals that live on just two Caribbean islands and hold
the distinction of being one of the world’s only venomous mammals.
Other fantastical beasts scoring high for public awareness are the
Jabberwocky (65%), the Sasquatch (62%), and the Wookiee (58%) – vastly
overshadowing real-life wonders including the axolotl salamander (20%),
shoebill stork (12%) and numbat (8%), an Australian marsupial species. ZSL’s EDGE of Existence programme manager Dr Nisha Owen, said: “This
survey, although light-hearted, perfectly highlights the importance of
the work of the EDGE of Existence programme, as we’re working tirelessly
to save remarkable creatures which, in many cases, the public might not
have even heard of. " To learn more about ZSL’s EDGE of Existence programme, visit
http://www.edgeofexistence.org/
Rothiemurchus harvesting to tackle tree disease and restore natural
habitats - Forestry Commission Scotland Forest Enterprise Scotland (FES) is to start a major felling
programme in a Glenmore forest, near Aviemore, later this month in a bid
to protect the Caledonian pinewood from a damaging tree disease.
The 308ha McAlpine plantation, part of the area bought from
Rothiemurchus Estate in 2013, will be cleared of trees infected with
Dothistroma needle blight (DNB), a widespread disease that has caused
widespread decline in non-native pine varieties. As well as tackling the disease, the operation will kick-start a
substantial native woodland regeneration project that will have the
additional benefit of restoring a range of habitats. Giles Brockman, for the FES team in Inverness, Ross & Skye, said;
“Scots pine has demonstrated some tolerance to the disease but we don’t
want to take any chances with the Caledonian pinewoods. By removing the
more heavily infected non-native pine we hope to reduce the overall
level of infection. The management strategy for the pinewood as a whole
is achieving good results and these works will contribute to the
long-term transition to native habitats. It’s all been very
carefully planned to minimize the risk of the tree disease spreading and
also to minimize disruption for any capercaillie that might be in the
area.” The project area contains Lodgepole pine, non-native conifers that
were planted in the early 1970s, and that are now infected with
Dothistroma needle blight. These trees are being harvested to reduce the
risk levels to the wider Caledonian pinewood. The aim for is that the McAlpine plantation will be free of
non-native conifers by 2021/22. Native woodland will then be established
through a combination of natural regeneration of Scots pine (P.
sylvestris) and planting of native broadleaves (birch, aspen,
alder).
Extinct plant rediscovered in the Peak District National Park
- Peak District National Park and Derbyshire
Wildlife Trust
Two small populations of the leek-coloured hawkweed, 62 plants in
total, have been found flowering on the banks of the Monsal Trail, in
Chee Dale. Leek-coloured hawkweed flowers are yellow, similar to a
dandelion but smaller. The plant gets its name because its leaves are
the same chalky-green as the vegetable, leek. The discovery of
Hieracium subprasinifolium, to give the plant its botanical name,
was made by Dr Tim Rich whilst collecting seeds for Kew’s Millennium
Seed Bank. Leek-coloured hawkweek (image: Peak District NPA) Dr Rich said: “Leek-coloured Hawkweed has not been seen in Derbyshire
for over 60 years and is thought to have died out at its only other
known world site in Staffordshire a few years ago, so I was very, very
pleased to find these two small but healthy populations growing near the
Monsal Trail. Hawkweeds are fascinating and unusual plants, we know of
more than 400 species of hawkweed in Britain. Many are very uncommon or
rare, and include British hawkweed, Dales hawkweed and Derby hawkweed,
which are unique to the Peak District.” But this is the first time leek-coloured hawkweed has been officially
identified and recorded in the area since the 1950s. It is native to
Britain but has only ever been recorded at four sites in the Peak
District. It is not known anywhere else in the world.
Diverse Landscapes Are More Productive and Adapt better to Climate
Change - University of Zurich Ecosystems with high biodiversity are more productive and stable
towards annual fluctuations in environmental conditions than those with
a low diversity of species. They also adapt better to climate-driven
environmental changes. These are the key findings environmental
scientists at the University of Zurich made in a study of about 450
landscapes harbouring 2,200 plants and animal species. The dramatic, worldwide loss of biodiversity is one of today's
greatest environmental problems. The loss of species diversity affects
important ecosystems on which humans depend. Previous research
predominantly addressed short-term effects of biodiversity in small
experimental plots planted with few randomly selected plant species.
These studies have shown that species-poor plant assemblages function
less well and produce less biomass than species rich systems. Access the publication: Jacqueline
Oehri, Bernhard Schmid, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, and Pascal A. Niklaus.
Biodiversity promotes primary productivity and growing season
lengthening at the landscape scale. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1703928114
International protection for UK’s second largest seabird colony
- Natural England A section of Northumberland coastline supporting 200,000 seabirds
gets greater protection.
Atlantic puffin © Natural England
International designation will help ensure any disturbance to the
birds’ essential open water feeding areas is minimised, so the birds
have a safe space to feed in. It builds on the protection already afforded to important breeding
sites via the network of SPAs at Coquet Island, Farne Islands,
Lindisfarne and Northumbria Coast. Today’s designation will help to
protect the full range of habitats needed by the birds. Along with the new Northumberland Marine SPA, Natural England also
announced extensions to Hamford Water SPA in Essex and Morecambe Bay and
Duddon Estuary SPA in Cumbria. These designations add an area of more than 150,000 football pitches
(450 square miles) to the existing Marine Protected Area network. This
gives international protection to feeding habitats for over 425,000
seabirds for the first time.
Latest Update: Proposed Badger Cull in Cheshire
- Cheshire Wildlife Trust 7/9/17: A meeting is being held at Cheshire East Council on
Tuesday (September 12) where it is expected that the motion to prevent
the protected animals from the cull and instead embark and support
vaccination – will be rejected. However, the authority is expected to
continue to oppose any such culling on council owned land. The Animal Plant Health Authority (APHA) has advised that the North
Region (including Cheshire) has 10 applications for culling to consider
and in all likelihood all 10 areas will be granted permission to
proceed.
Glass fronts can be acoustic illusions for bats
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Bats fail to detect smooth, vertical surfaces when they are in a rush Sometimes bats perceive a smooth, vertical surface as an open
pathway. A dangerous error in times of buildings with glass facades,
shown by injured or dead bats next to birds found underneath. The smooth
surface reflects the echolocation calls away from the bat until shortly
before collision and therefore acts like an acoustic mirror. Researchers
of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen studied
echolocation and flight behaviour of three bat species experimentally
and in the wild. They observed them trying to fly through a smooth,
vertical plate. However, bats seemingly also manage to avoid these
collisions. Here, the number of echolocation calls and the time the
animals spent in front of the surface influenced the probability of
collision. Bats mostly rely on their echolocation calls for foraging,
orientation and navigation. In our modern world, however, they encounter
many sensory traps that lead to dangerous errors in interpreting their
environment.
In a former study, the researchers showed, that smooth, horizontal
surfaces are perceived as water by bats. The smooth surface is easy to
recognize by echolocation calls as it acts like a mirror, reflecting
calls away from the bat except for a strong perpendicular echo from
below. In a natural landscape, lakes and rivers are the only spatially
extended, smooth surfaces a bat might encounter. This information for
water seems to be so hardwired that bats in the study did not give up
trying to drink from a metal plate the researchers presented, despite of
several unsuccessful trials. Now, a new study, that smooth surfaces placed in a vertical position
can be perceived as open flyways and not as obstacles when bats approach
them. To this end, the researchers studied greater mouse-eared bats
(Myotis myotis) in a flight room. They put a smooth, 1,2x2m metal plate
against the wall and, with infrared-cameras and microphones in the dark,
observed that 19 out of the 21 studied bats collided at least once with
the plate within the first 15 minutes they spent in the room. None of
the animals tried to drink from it. When the researchers placed the
plate on the ground, however, they did not observe any collision but 13
animals tried to drink from the surface.
Click through for video of the experiments. Access the paper: Stefan Greif, Sándor
Zsebők, Daniela Schmieder, Björn M. Siemers.
Acoustic
mirrors as sensory traps for bats. Science DOI:
10.1126/science.aam7817
Major drive to beat the pine weevil - Natural
Resources Wales Natural Resources Wales has embarked on the largest programme in the
UK to tackle a pest that lives on conifer trees in an environmentally
friendly way. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) will spray microscopic worms known as
Nematodes into and around conifer tree stumps to combat the pine weevil. The work starts in the Tywi Forest, near Llandovery in Powys before
moving northwards to the Hafren Forest, and finishing in Clocaenog
Forest in Denbighshire. The total area covered will be nearly 500 acres
– an area the size of 276 football pitches. The programme is due
to be completed next week. Neil Muir, Forest Manager for NRW said: “Pine weevils can have a
devastating impact on young trees. We are trying to move increasingly
towards using this biological control method to combat them and create
more resilient forests. The nematodes eat the weevil grubs tackling the
problem at source. Reducing the overall population of weevils in the
forest block which will reduce the damage to young trees and create a
more resilient forest. We will monitor the work closely to see if the
method can be applied even wider in future, cutting down further on the
use of chemicals.”
National Parks for National Health - National
Parks England England’s National Parks are vital resources that will sit at the
centre of plans to improve physical and mental wellbeing thanks to a new
partnership between Public Health England and the nation’s ten National
Parks. Free to access and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, these
inspiring protected landscapes are key to improving people’s physical
and mental wellbeing. The partnership – in the form of a Joint Accord – follows recent
research showing that six million people in the country are not even
managing to take a ten-minute brisk walk once a month. It will build on
work already being carried out to encourage more people to experience
the many health benefits of getting out and active in National Parks.
The Joint Accord was launched by Steve Brine MP, Minister for Public
Health in the South Downs National Park on Friday 8 September. Public Health Minister Steve Brine said: “Physical activity helps to prevent and manage over 20 chronic
conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers,
mental health problems and musculoskeletal conditions. So I am delighted
to help launch this Accord, and I cannot think of a better place to get
active than in our National Parks.” National Parks Minister Lord Gardiner said: “England’s National Parks are not only some of our most stunning
landscapes – they connect people across the country with nature and have
a crucial role in improving our physical health and mental wellbeing.
This accord is a great step forward and shows how we can harness our
natural environment to keep our communities well and healthy.” Download the National Parks England and Public Health England Joint Accord
Natural water management scheme could be important new source of profit
for upland farms post-Brexit, and protect vulnerable communities from
flooding - Green Alliance England’s struggling upland livestock farmers could earn over £15,000
profit a year by entering into private water management contracts with
businesses and organisations in areas susceptible to flooding, according
to new analysis by Green Alliance and National Trust.
Scientific Publications Myczkoa, Ł. et al (2017)
Effects of local roads and car traffic on the occurrence pattern and
foraging behaviour of bats. Transportation Research Part D:
Transport and Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2017.08.011
Fourcade, Y., Besnard, A. G. and Secondi, J. (2017),
Evaluating interspecific niche overlaps in environmental and geographic
spaces to assess the value of umbrella species. J Avian Biol.
doi:10.1111/jav.01153 Piotr Tryjanowski, et al,
Bird diversity in urban green space: A large-scale analysis of
differences between parks and cemeteries in Central Europe, Urban
Forestry & Urban Greening, ISSN 1618-8667, doi:
10.1016/j.ufug.2017.08.014.
Virkkala R, Lehikoinen A. Birds on the move in the face of climate change: High species turnover in northern Europe. Ecol Evol. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3328
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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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Red
admiral (image: Butterfly Conservation)
Budburst
in native trees is happening earlier (Photo: WTML/Margaret Barton)
Osprey
(image: © Emma Sharples via Lancashire Wildlife Trust)
The
Marine Conservation Society (MCS) welcomes the commitment to a bottle
deposit return system made by Scottish Government, as reported by the
Daily Mail and Sky News this morning (Monday 4 Sept).
Two
important discoveries made beneath the protected waters of Tor Bay have
brought renewed calls for safe and responsible anchoring by boat owners.
The first find was a pregnant seahorse; the second, close by, was damage
to the seabed caused by the anchors of small boats. Both were inside the
Torbay Marine Conservation Zone.
Axolotl
(image: ©ZSL)
McAlpine
Plantation (image: Forestry Commission)
A
rare plant previously thought to be globally extinct has been
rediscovered in the Peak District National Park.
The
newly designated Northumberland Marine Special Protection Area (SPA)
stretches 12 miles from the coastline into the North Sea, and covers an
area of more than 120,000 football pitches.
The
greater mouse-eared bats and other bats often detect smooth glass
surfaces only at the last moment. This is why there are frequent
collisions with glass façades of buildings. 
