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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
The University of Manchester launches new interactive tree trail
- University of Manchester
The
University of Manchester has launched a new interactive Tree Trail to
encourage people to get outside and discover more about the trees around
them. The University is encouraging staff, students and the local community
to get out and enjoy the physical and mental health benefits associated
with nature and the outdoors and learn something new about the trees
they may see every day.
The new Tree Trail is a
project led by the Environmental Sustainability team which has worked
closely with Urban Green and City
of Trees to develop three distinct trails that highlight 50 of the
1,500 trees across Oxford Road Campus, North Campus and Whitworth Park.
This initiative is part of the University’s Campus Masterplan, a
ten-year project creating world-class facilities for staff, students and
visitors to enjoy.
One of Dorset's rarest plants set to return to Dorset
– Dorset Wildlife Trust Starved Wood-sedge may not be one of the most striking plants to look
at, but it is famed for not only having been one of the UK’s rarest
plants, but also having made one of the most impressive comebacks. This shy plant of woodland glades was actually feared extinct in the
early 1980s, when the entire British population fell to just one plant.
Another
population
reappeared in Surrey shortly after the great storm of 1986, and since
then conservationists have worked tirelessly to get the population back
over 100 plants. © Dominic Price The final piece of this work is set to happen this October, when
plants reared at Kew Gardens are to be re-introduced to their former
site in Dorset. Starved Wood-sedge was last seen in Cranborne Chase in
the 1920s, which only came to light when a specimen collected somewhere
near Damerham was found in a University herbarium. This find became
somewhat of a holy grail to botanists who have combed the area over the
last few decades looking for any live plants, but to no avail. Bringing it back to Dorset is a key step in saving the species
long-term Director at the Species Recovery Trust, Dominic Price, said: “Despite
our success with increasing the numbers of this plant in recent years it
still remains at perilously low levels, and bringing it back to Dorset
represents a key step in saving the species in the long-term. It will
still take a lot or work to ensure this re-introduction works, but we
are getting a lot better at looking after this species and are
optimistic for success”
River transfer project gives local communities more say
– Environment Agency Public drop-ins are launched for river transfer project, which will
bring 'new wave' of responsibility for local communities. A project designed to give local organisations and communities more
say over the management of local watercourses has entered a new phase
with the launch of public drop-ins in four pilot areas throughout
October 2017. The project is exploring the potential to re-designate several
sections of selected ‘Main Rivers’ as ‘Ordinary Watercourses,’ (a
process known as ‘de-maining’) where - in agreement with the Environment
Agency - partners such as Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) or Lead Local
Flood Authorities (LLFAs) are keen to take on the lead role of local
watercourses. The project is piloting these changes in 5 locations. 4 of these
locations are now approaching the consultation stage of the process and
drop-in events will be held in:
The final pilot at Wormbrook and Allensmore Brook in the West
Midlands will be running to a different timeline. The project aims to bring significant benefits to local communities,
allowing those who know the layout of their land to take control of
their local watercourses, and could help pave the way for further
de-maining opportunities throughout England.
40% of rivers in England and Wales polluted by sewage
– WWF River health is one of the UK’s most urgent environmental crises. Britain’s bountiful rivers offer refuges for people as well as a
source of food to countless natural wonders. But far too many of our
rivers are polluted with sewage, and water companies and government are
not doing enough to prevent it. On Monday 16 October we released the results of a nine-month
investigation into the state of rivers in England and Wales. ‘Flushed
Away' provides a river health check and reveals that, shockingly,
55% of our failing rivers are polluted with sewage. That’s about 40% of
all our rivers in England and Wales. Constant discharge from outdated sewage treatment plants is the main
problem. These discharges are legal but the levels of treatment are not
sufficient to protect river health. What’s more, there are over 18,000 sewer overflows across England and
Wales – and about 90% of them discharge raw sewage (mixed with
rainwater) directly into rivers. Overflows are supposed to happen only
during extreme rainfall, to prevent sewage backing up into homes. But we
found 8-14% of overflows are spilling sewage into rivers at least once a
week, and between a third and a half at least once a month. Sewage pollution causes rapid algae growth, starving the river of the
oxygen that wildlife needs to survive. This affects animals like otters
and kingfishers that prey on aquatic life. Regulations are clearly not good enough, and people are flushing
things we shouldn’t down drains and sinks – including wet wipes, kitchen
fats and sanitary products as well. These block sewers, increasing the
frequency of overflows.
Whales and dolphins have rich 'human-like' cultures and societies
- London School of Economics and Political
Science Whales and dolphins (Cetaceans) live in tightly-knit social groups,
have complex relationships, talk to each other and even have regional
dialects – much like human societies. A major new study, published today (Monday 16th October) in Nature
Ecology & Evolution, has linked the complexity of Cetacean culture and
behaviour to the size of their brains. The research was a collaboration between scientists at The University
of Manchester, The University of British Columbia, Canada, The London
School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Stanford University,
United States. The study is first of its kind to create a large dataset of cetacean
brain size and social behaviours. The team compiled information on 90
different species of dolphins, whales, and porpoises. It found
overwhelming evidence that Cetaceans have sophisticated social and
cooperative behaviour traits, similar to many found in human culture.
The study demonstrates that these societal and cultural characteristics
are linked with brain size and brain expansion – also known as
encephalisation.
Gravel bringing salmon back to Devon river –
Westcountry Rivers Trust New spawning habitats are bringing salmon back to a stretch of the
River Avon. In a five-minute spot survey this autumn, the Westcountry
Rivers
Trust
counted 21 juvenile salmon on a stretch of river where no salmon or
trout were counted four years ago. Image: Westcountry Rivers Trust Over the last three years, the Westcountry Rivers Trust has added 700
tonnes of granite gravel to a 2.5 mile section of the River Avon, near
Shipley Bridge on Dartmoor. Like many rivers, the Avon has lost a number
of natural gravel beds because of obstacles, such as weirs or dams,
which prevent stones from travelling down the river. Funded by South West Water, as part of the National Environment
Programme, the project aims to increase the number of salmon and trout
by creating new gravel beds. Adult salmon lay their spawn in freshwater
gravel beds, known as ‘redds’, in the autumn and the eggs hatch in the
winter. Matt Healey, Land and Fisheries Officer for the Westcountry Rivers
Trust said: “We are absolutely delighted to have counted 21 juvenile
salmon in a stretch of river where they were previously completely
absent. These were juvenile fish, which hatched this year, so we know
salmon are now spawning in our new gravel beds. This is an incredibly
positive result.”
Major drive to bring new life to precious habitats
– Natural Resources Wales
A major conservation project to improve some of Wales’ rarest and
most important habitats gets under way this week.
Natural
Resources Wales’ (NRW) £4 million project will bring new life to Welsh
raised bogs - rare habitats created over thousands of years when plants
in the bog turn into peat and build up into a raised dome. The project will improve the condition of seven of the most important
sites in Wales. Image: Natural Resources Wales These have been altered by centuries of peat cutting and drainage. But, in peak condition, they help tackle climate change by storing
vast amounts of carbon that would otherwise be released into the
atmosphere. The drive to repair them will also improve drainage systems, cut
invasive species, remove scrub and introduce light grazing – all in
partnership with local communities, landowners and contractors. NRW manages this site as well as Cors Fochno in north Ceredigion, the
two largest sites in the project. Restoration work will also take place at sites near Trawsfynydd,
Fishguard, Crosshands, Crickhowell and Builth Wells. Funding for the four-year project has come from an EU LIFE programme
grant and NRW, with support from Welsh Government and the Snowdonia
National Park Authority.
We launch a new litter partnership with Coca-Cola
- Keep Britain Tidy We are delighted to work with Coca-Cola to boost litter prevention
and support our country’s #LitterHeroes. Coca-Cola will be a key partner
in next year’s 2018 Great British Spring Clean, helping to support a
network of #litterheroes to get outdoors and active cleaning up the
country. Working together, we want to inspire volunteers to clean up not only
our villages, towns and cities but also our rivers and beaches, creating
a chain of litter picking activity from #Street2Sea. With 80% of marine
litter originating from land, everybody can play their part in
preventing littering not only in their local area but also in our
rivers, beaches and seas. Alongside this, Coca-Cola is also supporting our award-winning
Centre for Social Innovation to research beach litter and littering
behaviour around the country. The research will help develop new
solutions to the problem, which can be scaled up around the country,
changing the behaviour of the small minority who enjoy visiting the
beach but think nothing of leaving their rubbish behind. Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton said: “We are
thrilled that Coca-Cola Great Britain is giving the Great British Spring
Clean a helping hand so that we can realise our ambition to mobilise up
to half a million people next year. Littering blights every corner of
our country and the help of partners is vital if we are to support all
the #LitterHeroes who are willing to get out and clean up after those
who still think it is OK to drop their rubbish on the ground.”
Warwick students help pull three motorbikes, 28 cycles and 40 trolleys
from Leamington canal - University of Warwick
Students from the University of Warwick were among the volunteers
working to clear a stretch of the Grand Union Canal in Leamington Spa at
the weekend In
addition to tyres, fishing line and plastic bags, the team pulled three
motorbikes, 28 bicycles and 40 shopping trolleys from the watery depths,
as well as several pushchairs, a pram, a complete ‘Pay and Display’ sign
on a pole and the street sign for Llewellyn Road. The team were working
with the Inland Waterways Association and the Canal and River Trust to
remove rubbish that has been dumped in the waterway. Volunteers and tyre (image: University of
Warwick) The 16 students are part of Warwick Volunteers, the organisation
which gives students the opportunity to help and become involved with
the local community by putting them in touch with organisations across
the area. They joined two scout troupes and members of the local
community to make an eighty-strong workforce at the weekend. Olivia Hookings, a third year Law and Business student, said: “This
was my third canal clean-up with Warwick Volunteers. It has been a great
opportunity to meet like-minded people and it’s so rewarding to visually
see how much we are helping as we drag motorcycles, bicycles and
trolleys out of the canal. Any excuse to get stuck in and dirty!”
Pannage season extended in the New Forest -
Forestry Commission
The
Forestry Commission’s Deputy Surveyor announced today that the pannage
season will be extended past the usual 60-day period until Sunday 17
December because there are so many acorns (this year pannage started on
11 September and was due to end on 12 November). Pannage is an ancient
custom that is still used today by New Forest Commoners, who turn out
their pigs into the Forest during the season. Pigs in the new Forest (image: Forestry Commission) Pigs do a vital job of eating many of the acorns that fall at this
time of year – acorns are tasty for them, but poisonous for the ponies
and cattle that roam the area freely. This autumn is a bumper year for acorns in the New Forest. Oak trees
have produced more acorns than usual, one of nature’s mysterious events
known as ‘masting’. This is a natural phenomenon where some tree species
produce very large crops of seeds in some years, compared to almost none
in others. It’s not known exactly why mast years occur, however they have been linked to various causes over the years, including weather and climatic.
Bee-friendly in Wild About Gardens Week -
Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust
Can
you imagine a garden without wild bees? The sights and sounds of
bumblebees buzzing among pollen-laden anthers in open roses or sipping
nectar from foxgloves are so evocative of a happy and friendly garden.
Wild About Gardens Week from 23 to 29 October is a perfect time for
people to plant up their gardens to give food sources for wild bees and
bumblebees this winter and into next summer. White-tailed bumblebee. Credit Penny Frith Historically, bumblebees have thrived in the countryside, but the use
of pesticides on crops and the loss of fields, hedgerows and woodlands
to development, means there are fewer flowers for bees and other
pollinating insects to feed from, and fewer places for them to breed and
hibernate. Autumn is the best time to plant shrubs that flower at different
times of the year, giving bees nectar when they need it. These include
winter-flowering honeysuckle, mahonia and pieris for instant scent and
colour in the coming months. Hibernating bumblebees will emerge on warm
and sunny days, when they need a top-up of nectar from these flowers to
give them energy and help them go back into a dormant state. You can also plant bulbs such as daffodils and crocuses that give
bees nectar in springtime, and perennial summer flowers like foxgloves,
lavender and hollyhocks. Plant roses now, especially single-flowered
varieties to attract the buzz-pollinating bumblebees.
Petals produce a 'blue halo' that helps bees find flowers
– University of Cambridge New study finds “messy” microscopic structures on petals of some
flowers manipulate light to produce a blue colour effect that is easily
seen by bee pollinators. Researchers say these petal grooves evolved
independently multiple times across flowering plants, but produce the
same result: a floral halo of blue-to-ultraviolet light.
Latest
research has found that several common flower species have nanoscale
ridges on the surface of their petals that meddle with light when viewed
from certain angles. (image: University of Cambridge) These nanostructures scatter light particles in the blue to
ultraviolet colour spectrum, generating a subtle optical effect that
scientists have christened the ‘blue halo’. By manufacturing artificial surfaces that replicated ‘blue halos’,
scientists were able to test the effect on pollinators, in this case
foraging bumblebees. They found that bees can see the blue halo, and use
it as a signal to locate flowers more efficiently. While the ridges and grooves on a petal surface line up next to each
other “like a packet of dry spaghetti”, when analysing different flower
species the researchers discovered these striations vary greatly in
height, width and spacing – yet all produce a similar ‘blue halo’
effect. In fact, even on a single petal these light-manipulating structures
were found to be surprisingly irregular. This is a phenomenon physicists
describe as ‘disorder’. The researchers conclude that these “messy” petal nanostructures
likely evolved independently many times across flowering plants, but
reached the same luminous outcome that increases visibility to
pollinators – an example of what’s known as ‘convergent evolution’. The study was conducted by a multidisciplinary team of scientists
from the University of Cambridge’s departments of plant sciences,
chemistry and physics along with colleagues from the Royal Botanic
Gardens Kew and the Adolphe Merkele Institute in Switzerland. Acces the paper: Edwige Moyroud, Tobias
Wenzel, Rox Middleton, Paula J. Rudall, Hannah Banks, Alison Reed, Greg
Mellers, Patrick Killoran, M. Murphy Westwood, Ullrich Steiner, Silvia
Vignolini, Beverley J. Glover.
Disorder in convergent
floral nanostructures enhances signalling to bees. Nature, 2017;
DOI: 10.1038/nature24285
Three-quarters of insect population have been lost in nature reserves
over three decades - University of Sussex The loss of bees, butterflies and other flying insects from within
protected nature reserves has been even more severe than previously
feared, a new report has revealed. The total biomass of flying insects in 63 nature reserves has
decreased by more than 75 per cent since 1989 and above 80 per cent in
the height of summer. Researchers believe insect populations are
becoming trapped on nature reserves surrounded by inhospitable farmland.
Ecologists from Radboud University, who worked together with German and
English colleagues including Professor Dave Goulson at the University of
Sussex, said the rate of loss was not sustainable. Hans de Kroon, project leader at the Radboud University in Nijmegen
in The Netherlands, said: “The fact that flying insects are decreasing
at such a high rate in such a large area is an alarming discovery.” Entomologists in Krefeld, Germany, collected data over the past 27
years in 63 different places within nature reserves across Germany.
The researchers discovered an average decline of 76 percent in the total
insect mass while in the middle of summer, when insect numbers peak, the
decline was even more severe at 82 percent. Caspar Hallmann, from the Radboud University who performed the
statistical analyses, said: “All these areas are protected and most of
them are managed nature reserves. Yet, this dramatic decline has
occurred.” The exact causes of the decline are still unclear with changes in the
weather, landscape and plant variety not sufficient to explain the rapid
downward trend. Caspar Hallmann added: “The research areas are mostly small and
enclosed by agricultural areas. These surrounding areas attract flying
insects and they cannot survive there. It is possible that these areas
act as an ‘ecological trap’ and jeopardize the populations in the nature
reserves.” Investigators believe the results are representative for large parts of Europe and other parts of the world where nature reserves are enclosed by a mostly intensively used agricultural landscape. Access the publication:Hallmann CA, Sorg M, Jongejans E, Siepel H, Hofland N, Schwan H, et al. (2017) More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas. PLoS ONE12(10): e0185809. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185809/2656.12770
Life in the city: Living near a forest keeps your amygdala healthier
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development MRI study analyzes stress-processing brain regions in older city
dwellers A study conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development
has investigated the relationship between the availability of nature
near city dwellers’ homes and their brain health. Its findings are
relevant for urban planners among others. Noise, pollution, and many people in a confined space: Life in a city
can cause chronic stress. City dwellers are at a higher risk of
psychiatric illnesses such as depression, anxiety disorders, and
schizophrenia than country dwellers. Comparisons show higher activity
levels in city dwellers’ than in country dwellers’ amygdala — a central
nucleus in the brain that plays an important role in stress processing
and reactions to danger. Which factors can have a protective influence?
A research team led by psychologist Simone Kühn has examined which
effects nature near people’s homes such as forest, urban green, or
wasteland has on stress-processing brain regions such as the amygdala.
The researchers found a relationship between place of residence and
brain health: those city dwellers living close to a forest were more
likely to show indications of a physiologically healthy amygdala
structure und were therefore presumably better able to cope with stress.
This effect remained stable when differences in educational
qualifications and income levels were controlled for. However, it was
not possible to find an association between the examined brain regions
and urban green, water, or wasteland. With these data, it is not
possible to distinguish whether living close to a forest really has
positive effects on the amygdala or whether people with a healthier
amygdala might be more likely to select residential areas close to a
forest. Based on present knowledge, however, the researchers regard the
first explanation as more probable. Further longitudinal studies are
necessary to accumulate evidence. "Our study investigates the connection between urban planning
features and brain health for the first time,“ says co-author Ulman
Lindenberger, Director of the Center for Lifespan Psychology at the Max
Planck Institute for Human Development. By 2050, almost 70 percent of
the world population is expected to be living in cities. These results
could therefore be very important for urban planning. In the near
future, however, the observed association between the brain and
closeness to forests would need to be confirmed in further studies and
other cities", stated Ulman Lindenberger.
Great tits may be adapting their beaks to birdfeeders
- University of East Anglia A British enthusiasm for feeding birds may have caused UK great tits
to have evolved longer beaks than their European counterparts -
according to a new study involving UEA researchers. The findings, published in Science, identify for the first time the
genetic differences between UK and Dutch great tits which researchers
were then able to link to longer beaks in UK birds. Using genetic and historical data, the research team also found that
the differences in beak length had occurred within a relatively short
time frame. This led them to speculate that there may be a link with the
relatively recent practice of putting out food for garden birds.
Great
tit (image: Lewis Spurgin, via UEA) The findings are part of a long term study being carried out on
populations of great tits in Wytham Woods, in the UK, and in Oosterhout
and Veluwe, in the Netherlands. The team screened DNA from more than
3000 birds to search for genetic differences between the British and the
Dutch populations. These differences indicate where natural selection
might be at work. Researchers at Oxford University have been studying the Wytham Woods
great tit population in Oxfordshire for 70 years and so the team had
access to a wealth of historical data which clearly showed that the
British great tits’ beaks were getting longer over time. They were also
able to access data from electronic tags fitted to some of the Wytham
Woods birds, which enabled them to track how much time was spent at
automated bird feeders. “Between the 1970s and the present day, beak length has got longer
among the British birds. That’s a really short time period in which to
see this sort of difference emerging,” says Professor Jon Slate, of the
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield.
“We now know that this increase in beak length, and the difference in
beak length between birds in Britain and mainland Europe, is down to
genes that have evolved by natural selection.” The team also found that birds with genetic variants for longer beaks
were more frequent visitors to the feeders than those birds which did
not have that genetic variation. Dr Lewis Spurgin, from UEA’s School of Biological Sciences, said: “In
the UK we spend around twice as much on birdseed and birdfeeders than
mainland Europe – and, we’ve been doing this for some time. Although we
can’t say definitively that bird feeders are responsible, it seems
reasonable to suggest that the longer beaks amongst British great tits
may have evolved as a response to this supplementary feeding.”
Minister describes concerns over Future Landscapes proposals as
‘mischief -making’ - Snowdonia Society Lesley Griffiths AM is Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for
Environment and Rural Affairs. On 18th October during Assembly
questions she was questioned about National Parks and AONBs. In
her answer she referred to concerns raised recently as ‘a lot of
mischief-making’. This dimissive comment reveals a serious situation.
The concerns which the minister brushed aside as ‘mischief-making’ don’t
come from crackpots. They come from respected organisations
across Wales, and from thoughtful scrutiny of the ‘Future Landscapes
Wales’ proposals and process for which she is responsible. We
provide a few examples of those concerns below. The minister’s flippant comment suggests a lack of interest in the
future of our National Parks and AONBs, unless she believes that she
knows better than the organisations listed below. It is time for
proper oversight and governance of the Future Landscapes process.
The Future Landscapes report is shoddy and ill-conceived. The finest landscapes of Wales are too important to be put at risk by
the inadequate and illegitimate Future Landscapes process and its flawed
report. What the Royal Town Planning Institute Cymru has to say:
One million reasons for action on fly-tipping now
- Keep Britain Tidy As the year's fly-tipping statistics are released today - the fact
this rising problem has topped one million fly-tips in 2016/17 is
shocking but perhaps not surprising. That is why we are calling for more
cash for councils to tackle this national epidemic. Fly tipping this year has topped 1,000,000 incidents across England,
with associated clean up costs of £58 million (up from £50 million last
year). Two-thirds of these incidents comes from household waste, with a
third being a small van-load size of waste dumped.
The continuing cuts to local authority budgets present huge challenge
for councils who are tackling this rising tide of waste at the same time
as trying to provide social care, education and all the other services
that people demand. We believe it is time to give councils the resources they need to
educate the public on their responsibilities, keep household waste
recycling centres open, offer an affordable bulky waste collection
service and investigate and prosecute fly-tippers. Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton said: “Enough
is enough. It is time to give councils the resources they need to tackle
this problem head-on, using some of the proceeds of the landfill tax.
Brown, P. M. J. & Roy, H. E. (2017)
Native ladybird decline caused by the invasive harlequin ladybird Harmonia
axyridis: evidence from a long-term field study. Insect
Conservation & Diversity. DOI: 10.1111/icad.12266 Roy, H. E.et al (2017)
Developing a framework of minimum standards for the risk assessment of
alien species. J Appl Ecol. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.13025
Posledovich, D., Toftegaard, T., Wiklund, C., Ehrlén, J. and
Gotthard, K.,
Phenological synchrony between a butterfly and its host plants:
experimental test of effects of spring temperature. J Anim Ecol.
doi:10.1111/1365-2656.12770
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