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Headlines from week beginning 11 December 2017 |
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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
Volunteers step up battle against balsam with Stitch in Time project
- Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Volunteers have contributed more than 400 hours to battling invasive
non-native species (INNS) in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park since
April this year. In the six months to September 2017 volunteers took part in a series
of ‘balsam bashes’ supported by the Park Authority’s Stitch in Time
project, which is targeting three invasive species in Pembrokeshire’s
Gwaun and Clydach Valleys - Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed and
rhododendron ponticum.
Stitch in Time Project Coordinator Matthew Tebbutt said: “The bad
news is, invasive species such as Himalayan balsam are widespread
throughout Pembrokeshire and have negative impacts on biodiversity.
The good news is, eradication is not impossible and the project has
identified source sites of Himalayan balsam in both catchments, with
management continuing with the help of staff, contractors, volunteers
and landowners. Prevention is better than a cure. Please be ‘plant
wise,’ know what you grow, especially if you live near water. INNS have
a negative impact on ecosystem health and the cost of control can spiral
if they are left unchecked.” One particular site was adopted by the Friends of the Pembrokeshire
Coast National Park in 2015 and has seen a dramatic recovery, with the
group working alongside Park Authority staff and the landowner.
Vicky Pearson of the Friends said: “It’s very satisfying to see what can
be achieved with hard work and commitment and we look forward to working
on two new sites next year and continuing the battle against balsam.
Three members of the work party have recently undertaken a training
course through the Stitch in Time project on the use of brushcutters.
This will allow them to tackle large areas of balsam next spring.”
Gove: tree planting rates have not been good enough
- Woodland Trust Environment Secretary Michael Gove has given a strong indication that
the Government’s 25 year plan for the environment, due in the New Year,
will tackle the issue of woefully low tree planting.
Speaking at the Woodland Trust's Parliamentary launch on Wednesday
(December 6) of
a series of essays outlining its vision for a post Brexit integrated
land use policy, the Secretary of State said: “There is a responsibility
for us to plant for the future. Compare us to the rest of Europe and the
amount of woodland cover we have is pathetically small. The rates of
tree planting in the UK, and England in particular, have not been good
enough. There is a beauty and a poetry to a landscape decorated and
indeed rooted with trees. If we have a care for our environment and if
we have a view of this country that goes beyond the utilitarian and the
practical, and which is viewed in a proper sense of beauty, romance,
history and a desire to ensure future generations can enjoy what past
generations have cherished, then we need to plant more trees. And with
the publication of our 25 Year Plan for the Environment in the New Year,
I hope we can say more on how we intend to meet that ambition. But we
won’t be able to meet that ambition without the continued advocacy that
comes from the Woodland Trust because it’s only by you holding us to the
highest standards that we will make sure that the next generation
inherit the woodlands, forests and trees they deserve.” The speech was met with optimism by the Trust which has been calling
for more action on tree planting rates and ancient woodland protection. Its CEO Beccy Speight said 2017 has been a low point for the UK’s
trees and woods: “In England, new planting rates are at the lowest for a
generation. At the same time, we see continued loss of existing woodland
at an accelerated rate due to weak planning laws. The lack of effort to
quantify these losses means England is surely slipping unnoticed into a
state of deforestation. This is an appalling and dire position for a
developed country to be in.”
Marine organisms can shred a carrier bag into 1.75 million pieces, study
shows - University of Plymouth Researchers believe this is an example of marine wildlife actually contributing to the spread of microplastics within the marine environment. A single plastic carrier bag could be shredded by marine organisms
into around 1.75million microscopic fragments, according to new
research. Marine scientists at the University of Plymouth examined the rate at
which bags were broken down by the amphipod Orchestia gammarellus,
which inhabits coastal areas in northern and western Europe. They discovered the organisms shred the material, with researchers
believing this is an example of marine wildlife actually contributing to
the spread of microplastics within the marine environment, rather than
them simply being emitted from the water supply or forming through the
physical and chemical break down of larger items. The study's main
aim was to discover whether different types of plastic and the presence
of a biofilm – a layer of organic material which accumulates over time –
altered the rate at which such organisms broke down plastic debris. Through monitoring in the laboratory and on the shoreline,
researchers demonstrated the bags were torn and stretched by
Orchestia gammarellus, with microplastics subsequently being found
in and around their faecal matter. The type of plastic (conventional, degradable and biodegradable) had
no effect on the rate of ingestion, however the presence of a biofilm
meant the shredding took place around four times as quickly. This,
the researchers say, is consistent with recent studies into the feeding
behaviour of seabirds and suggests marine life might be increasingly
attracted to marine debris as a source of food regardless of the
potential harm caused. Previous studies led by the University have shown that more than 700
species of marine life have been found to have encountered plastic
debris, with clear evidence that ingestion and entanglement causes
direct harm to many individuals. Access the paper: D.J. Hodgson, A.L.
Bréchon, R.C. Thompson,
Ingestion and fragmentation of plastic carrier bags by the amphipod
Orchestia gammarellus: Effects of plastic type and fouling load,
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 127, February 2018, Pages 154-159,
ISSN 0025-326X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.11.057.
Two success stories from British Divers Marine
Life Rescue
Entangled seal in Outer Hebrides On the evening of Sunday 26th November 2017 BDMLR medics in the Outer
Hebrides received a message from Head Office asking them to be ready at
first light on the Monday morning. Reports had come in to Head
Office from a concerned member of the public detailing a badly entangled
seal, possibly creel lines on the beach at North Tolsta on the Isle of
Lewis. Area Co-ordinator David Yardley and medic Lyndsey Dubberley responded
at first light on the Monday morning making their way to North Tolsta
primarily, in an attempt to locate the reported seal. On arrival
at North Tolsta main beach they came across a seal pup which was not
entangled but was checked and deemed to be a healthy pup. With no
sign of any entangled seal they then made their way to Traigh
Ghioradail, Tolsta, further south along the coastline. At this
point it was still unclear as to whether they were dealing with an adult
seal, a pup or both.
A detailed assessment of the seal pup was carried out whilst David
had it contained. Remarkably it had only sustained one minor
abrasion to its side and was in a healthy state despite its ordeal.
They released the pup and it made its way straight back into the sea
looking rather relieved. Lyndsey returned to the location the following two mornings and saw
the seal pup quite happily feeding in the sea with an adult (possibly
Mum) close by.
Entangled seal pup at Crackington Haven BDMLR received a call on 12-10-17 from the Cornwall 101 police
non-emergency number regards an entangled seal pup in trouble on the
North Coast at Crackington Haven. I was called to the scene immediately once arrived at the beach I was
met with finders Rhiannon, her partner Freddie, and family, who took me
direct to where the seal pup was, on the beach amongst the rocks and
boulders. I was looking at a huge trawler net which also had a dead Sea bird in
the entanglement around the neck, almost like a head dress. After cutting off the net we were pretty shocked to discover that the
netting hadn’t cut or damaged the skin. It just left a fine indent on
the fur around the neck. The pup was brought onto the beach where we
could assess her health in more detail and safely, she was a good
weight, good temperature and had good feistiness, We needed confirmation from our BDMLR vet Darryl Thorpe that he
agreed pup was fit for release. Thankfully it was all agreed, but he
suggested a tube feed of Life Aid to help her on way, of which I
administered with assistance from Sharon who also disposed of the filthy
trawler net. I rang Dan Jarvis, Field support officer, and BDMLR
medic, that he was happy with the location & conditions on beach to
release. Pleased to say that he confirmed it was all was good to go. This was a very rewarding day to witness, as this doesn’t happen often!!
Radar tracking reveals how bees develop a route between flowers
– Queen Mary University London As bees gain foraging experience they continually refine both the
order in which they visit flowers and the flight paths they take between
flowers to generate better and better routes, according to researchers
at Queen Mary University of London. Despite this, bees can be tricked into taking tempting shortcuts
between flowers even at the cost of increasing the overall distance they
have
A bumblebee eats a food reward presented on an artificial flower.
Five such feeders each contain 1/5 of the amount required to fill her up
and the bee must learn a route to take her to all five. Visible in the
background are a Landrover from which researchers monitor the harmonic
radar and a shed which contains the bee’s nest. Copyright: Joseph
Woodgate Animals that travel between multiple destinations and return to a
home base – like bees, birds, primates and humans - face a predicament
known to mathematicians as the Travelling Salesman Problem. The challenge is to find a route that visits each destination while
travelling the shortest possible distance. Previous research, looking
only at the order in which animals arrive at each destination, has shown
that animals often find a good, or even optimal, solution but little is
known about how they find that solution. Lead author Joseph Woodgate, from Queen Mary’s School of Biological
and Chemical Sciences, said: “Animals cannot simply inspect a map to
find out where the best food sources are or plan how to get between
them.”
Red List 2017: seabirds starving, songbirds trapped, hope for pelican
and kiwis – Birdlife International Overfishing and climate change are pushing seabirds such as
Black-legged Kittiwake and Cape Gannet closer to extinction, according
to the latest update on the conservation status of the world’s birds by
BirdLife International for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. On land, the Snowy Owl is also struggling to find food in the North
American Arctic. The once super-abundant Yellow-breasted Bunting could
soon go extinct if illegal trapping (for food) in China is not halted.
And the Kea is threatened by predation from introduced mammals, with
tourists in New Zealand feeding junk food to these inquisitive parrots
being a factor preventing successful conservation. However, there is also hope, with Dalmatian Pelicans in Europe
recovering thanks to artificial nesting rafts and disturbance
prevention; and in New Zealand, where two species of kiwi are now less
threatened thanks to dedicated control of introduced predators,
egg-rearing and community work. In the UK RSPB reports on the fall of the
kittiwake
Kittiwake joins the red list of UK birds facing risk of global
extinction - RSPB The latest annual revision of birds on the IUCN Red List, which has
been announced by BirdLife International on behalf of the IUCN, brings
the total number of UK bird species considered to be facing the risk of
extinction to nine.
Image: RSPB Alarming trends have been recorded in the UK’s kittiwake numbers,
particularly in Orkney and Shetland where breeding birds have declined
by 87% since 2000, and on St Kilda in the Western Isles where as much as
96% of the breeding population has been lost. Laura Bambini, the RSPB Scotland’s seabird recovery officer
said: “Some efforts are underway to protect important seabird foraging
areas in international waters, but there is much more we could do around
the UK to protect
Council brownfield registers miss land that could provide an extra
200,000 homes – CPRE CPRE finds current process isn’t spotting enough small brownfield
sites
Brownfield Land Registers are failing to record the small brownfield
plots that could provide space for an extra 188,734 homes across
England, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has found. A more
proactive process and access to Land Registry data could help build
homes without wasting precious countryside. Every local planning authority is due to publish an accurate and
up-to-date register of brownfield sites that are available and suitable
for development by 31 December 2017, which will be used by developers
and community groups looking to find land on which to build homes. In
his autumn budget, Chancellor Philip Hammond set out a proposal that 20%
of new homes be built on small sites so ‘that brownfield and urban land
be used as efficiently as possible for housing development’. But CPRE says the Government needs to amend brownfield policy and
guidance to encourage the identification of the full range of
appropriate brownfield sites for housing if that aim is to be met. An initial audit of already submitted brownfield land registers by
CPRE shows that less than 4% of current registered brownfield land is on
small sites of up to 10 homes. If councils are to meet the Chancellor’s
20% small site target on brownfield, an additional 188,734 homes across
England could be unlocked.
Seabed landscape crucial for fish conservation –
University of Glasgow Conservation and fisheries management strategies should take into
account seabed landscape in order to maintain fish conservation.
A new study led by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with
the University of Strathclyde and Marine Scotland Science and that is
published in PLOS ONE, demonstrates the importance of protecting
different seabed landscapes in order to maintain a healthy and diverse
stock of fish, including cod, haddock and whiting. Currently nature conservation and fisheries management often focus on
protecting a single seabed type that is considered to be important to a
commercial species, but do not routinely consider the importance of a
mixture of seabed types on the marine ecosystem. In particular, the authors highlighted the importance of a diverse
and varied seabed landscape for the health and protection of Atlantic
cod. Researchers used predictive mapping and examined a 250 square
kilometre area south of Arran in the Firth of Clyde from June to
September in 2013 and 2014. Lead author of the study Sophie Elliott, from the University of
Glasgow, said: "The interaction of species within their landscape is
rarely taken into consideration. This investigation highlights the
importance of looking at landscape measures in the conservation and
management of mobile demersal fish. Our work has shown that the mixture
of seabed features matters to juvenile fish of commercial importance and
understanding this could improve our ability to protect marine
ecosystems and support fisheries.” At present our marine conservation policies focus on protecting
particular features such as seagrass and coralline algae beds. These
policies do not consider the mixture of different features and how they
could be of benefit to the wider ecosystem.
Major new project will collaborate to help the Marsh Fritillary cross
borders – Butterfly Conservation Work is underway in the border counties of Ireland to improve Marsh
Fritillary habitats in as part of a ground-breaking conservation
initiative spanning three countries.
Image: Butterfly Conservation The £4.9m initiative is supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA
Programme and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
CABB will be delivered through a unique partnership between RSPB NI,
RSPB Scotland, BirdWatch Ireland, Butterfly Conservation, Northern
Ireland Water and Moors for the Future. Butterfly Conservation’s role in the project is to develop
partnerships with landowners and volunteers to improve the habitat and
breeding conditions for the Marsh Fritillary across the north counties
of the island of Ireland. CABB operates on both the north and
south of the Irish border, and this presents a unique opportunity for
cross border collaboration and action. Head of Conservation for Butterfly Conservation in Northern Ireland,
Catherine Bertrand explains, “CABB presents our first practical project
to actively conserve the Marsh Fritillary on the island of Ireland.
The butterfly doesn’t know about borders, and many of the networks of
sites where this species are found have land in the jurisdictions of
both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. As the
butterfly must have a well-connected network of sites in good habitat
condition in order to survive, it’s always been important to look at the
landmass as a single entity rather than only working on one side or the
other. We will only save this species for the future if we work
together.”
Nine year olds’ knowledge of trees betters twenty somethings
- Woodland Trust Nine-year-olds are more likely to identify Britain’s most iconic
trees such as the oak and holly than people in their twenties, a survey
shows. When asked to identify leaves from the oak, 59 per cent of nine year
olds correctly identified the tree, as opposed to just 47 per cent of 18
to 24 year olds and 42 per cent of 25 to 34 year olds. Late teens
and twenty somethings fared little better when identifying leaves from
the holly tree, with 94 per cent of nine year olds correct, as opposed
to 84 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds and 83 per cent of 25 to 34 year
olds. The results come from a survey commissioned by the Woodland Trust and
carried out by You Gov testing people’s knowledge of trees, as the
charity celebrates a ten year partnership with Pearson – the world’s
leading learning company. Over the course of a decade Pearson has funded the planting of tens
of thousands of trees to mitigate carbon through the charity’s Woodland
Carbon scheme which will benefit young people for years to come. It has also contributed to boosting youngsters’ knowledge of trees by
providing curriculum materials to schools and tree seeds to 4,000
primary schools. The Trust’s Director of Fundraising Karl Mitchell said: “Pearson’s commitment to our Woodland Carbon scheme has helped plant thousands of trees, bringing wide reaching benefits to the environment – and of course to people and wildlife for years to come. The survey clearly alludes to the fact that children’s knowledge of trees is on the increase and Pearson’s additional funding for tree seeds to primary schools and curriculum materials – which backs up all the work we do with schools across the UK - must play a part in this.”
Play Wild project helps parents be more confident outdoors
- Derbyshire Wildlife Trust A project designed to help disadvantaged families from deprived areas
feel confident playing in wild spaces has had a significant positive
effect, a report by the University of Derby reveals. The Play Wild project was designed to help families from deprived
areas learn how use the outdoors for play after research showed that
many parents, especially in towns and cities, don’t take their children
to wild places; often because they didn’t know about them, or because
they weren’t confident about knowing what they could do there. The University of Derby monitored the participants to evaluate the
project’s outcomes and impact; their report states the project had a
statistically significant effect on parent’s confidence in their ability
to take their children outdoors to play, as well as more confident in
knowing where to go, knowing what to do and in their level of nature
connection. Several parents have stated their intention to get outdoors with
their children more often since taking part in the project. “We love
being outdoors, this has been great, and we will be visiting Carsington
again over the holidays and weekends” said one participant, while
another said they had “been given lots of ideas that we can do outside
and looking forward to getting out more”. The results from the project show that just one session in nature can
help families to improve their skills, information and knowledge about
playing outdoors with their families. Spending time outdoors has been
shown to increase people’s sense of connection to nature and is
beneficial for health and wellbeing in both adults and children.
Projects like Play Wild demonstrate that nature-based interventions
could help to improve the health and wellbeing of families from deprived
areas.
Golf course plans threaten bird haven - RSPB RSPB Scotland and local wildlife groups add their voices to save Coul Links RSPB Scotland has today submitted its objection to proposals to build
a golf course on globally important wildlife site at Coul Links in East
Sutherland. Local wildlife groups have also expressed their desire to
see the site saved from the plans put forward by developers American
multi-millionaires Mike Keiser and Todd Warnock. Throughout the year Coul Links is home to many species of birds –
right now the flooded dunes provide a refuge for wigeon and teal which
have come to seek shelter over the colder months. In spring the call of
curlew, drumming snipe and the song of skylarks can be heard over dunes
and a wide range of red and amber listed species of conservation concern
nest amongst the dunes including grasshopper warbler, whinchat and reed
bunting. Yet, all this would be destroyed should the proposals be given the go
ahead. The birdlife would suffer as important wetland habitat would be
effectively drained and replaced by golf greens. RSPB Scotland’s
objection highlights that plans to translocate or move dune habitat
would not be successful as the habitat that has taken thousands of years
to form cannot be artificially recreated. Alison Searl, conservation officer at RSPB Scotland said: “There’s a
reason why Coul Links is so heavily protected through national and
European designations – it’s an outstanding place for nature and an
incredibly rare habitat. It cannot be moved or replicated elsewhere;
should these proposals be given the go ahead the amazing place would be
lost forever and the impact on the birds currently found here throughout
the year would be serious.”
Mining company refuses to take National Parks seriously
– Campaign for National Parks Campaign for National Parks and the North Yorkshire Moors Association
believe the changes proposed by Sirius Minerals PLC for the development
of the Woodsmith Mine take insufficient regard of the special status of
the North York Moors National Park. Revised proposals for the site undermine previous efforts to minimise
the impact on the North York Moors, by including:
We are also concerned over the lack of information about other
changes to the development, particularly as this could lead to an
increase in the size of spoil heaps. Development at the mine showing the visual
intrusion into the landscape* Photo credit: Tom Chadwick Ruth Bradshaw, Policy and Research Manager at Campaign for National
Parks said: “We have raised concerns over the Woodsmith potash mine
since the idea was first proposed in 2013. It’s really disappointing
that the latest plans undermine the company’s previous work to reduce
the impact of the development on the North York Moors. Once again Sirius have failed to take account of the extra care that
must be taken in this sensitive location and therefore continue to put
at risk our treasured National Park.” Tom Chadwick of the North Yorkshire Moors Association, said:
“Building a mine of this scale in a National Park is simply at odds with
the whole purpose of National Parks. The changes that are now being
proposed will degrade the special qualities of the National Park still
further and we are beginning to see the impact of the development at the
mine head site at what was Doves Nest Farm.”
New report estimates the cost of creating a wildlife-rich countryside
for future generations – The Wildlife Trusts New report shows how much Government might need to pay farmers and
land managers for their role in looking after our natural heritage A new report “Assessing the costs of environmental land management in
the UK” commissioned by The Wildlife Trusts, RSPB and the National
Trust, shows how much Government might need to pay farmers and land
managers for their role in looking after our natural heritage. The Wildlife Trusts advise thousands of farmers each year about
managing land for wildlife, and between us, the RSPB and the National
Trust, we own or manage thousands of hectares of land directly. There is
a risk that the £3 billion currently spent per year by the Government
through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) could be lost after Brexit.
We believe it must be redeployed. Ellie Brodie, Senior Policy Manager, of The Wildlife Trusts says:
“Farmers can sell the food they grow through the market. But they can’t
sell a whole range of services that society needs them to provide,
whether it’s reducing the risk of floods downstream, creating habitat
for bees or improving the health of our soils. The Wildlife Trusts
believe that farmers should be paid for this as it benefits us all. A
healthy, wildlife-rich natural world is valuable in its own right and is
also at the core of people’s wellbeing and prosperity. We must be
prepared to pay for these benefits.” The report estimates that meeting existing government commitments to
improving natural assets such as water quality, soil health and
biodiversity will cost £2.3 billion per year. But meeting existing
commitments will not be sufficient to halt the decline of the UK’s
wildlife and reverse this trend. Ellie Brodie continues: “We propose that future farming and land
management budgets need more than the £2.3 billion for environmental
land management alone. If we invest now, we’ll see a return of species
that were once common but are now rare, the return of hedgerows for
wildlife, rich soils for capturing carbon, and woodland that is not only
beautiful, but can help to reduce flood risk.”
London Wildlife Trust awarded £1million to transform the wild heart of
King’s Cross - London Wildlife Trust Heritage Lottery Fund backs plan for ‘ecological knowledge hub’ at
Camley Street Natural Park, with further support pledged by the Stavros
Niarchos Foundation, Thames Water, Garfield Weston Foundation and the
Taurus Foundation. A new visitor and learning centre will be created at Camley Street
Natural Park in King’s Cross after London Wildlife Trust was awarded
£1,098,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). Made possible by National Lottery players, the fully accessible
building will include an education studio with multi-functional learning
space, a café and facilities for volunteers. Exterior features will
include wildlife-friendly spaces for nesting swifts and bats, and there
will be new views across the nature reserve and the Regent’s Canal. The development of this project has also been supported by a
contribution of around £400,000 in Section 106 funds from the King’s
Cross Central development. For more than 30 years, Camley Street Natural Park has been an
inspirational place to learn about wildlife, less than ten minutes’ walk
from King’s Cross and St. Pancras stations. More than 20,000 people
visit the park every year, where they can see species that are rare for
central London – including birds such as Cetti’s warbler and kingfisher;
and amazing insects such as willow emerald dragonfly. Each year, an estimated 40,000 visitors will explore the reserve and
have the opportunity to learn about nature and wildlife conservation.
Although surrounded by the city, the nature reserve, which is about the
size of a football pitch, boasts a mosaic of thriving habitats including
wetland, woodland, meadow and invertebrate ‘zones’.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs single departmental
plan - Defra Corporate report Published 14 December 2017 Our single departmental plan sets out our objectives and how we will
achieve them. The environment is fundamental to all that we do, and we must protect
and enhance it. The job of Defra group is to make our country a great
place for living. We do this by supporting our superb food, farming and
fisheries industries, enhancing our beautiful rural environment, and
better protecting against flooding, disease and other natural threats.
1. A smooth and orderly exit from the EU
2. A cleaner, healthier environment, benefiting people and the economy
3. A world leading food and farming industry
4. A rural economy that works for everyone, contributing to
productivity, prosperity and wellbeing
Industry calls for ‘Gove guarantee’ on agri-environment schemes -
Wildlife Trusts, on behalf of coalition of
organisations* Farming and green organisations have come together to seek a
guarantee from Michael Gove that farmers and land managers who sign up
to agri-environment schemes before the UK leaves the EU are not
penalised post-Brexit. The CLA, NFU, TFA, CAAV, FWAG, GWCT, the Wildlife Trusts, RSPB and
the National Trust have jointly written to the Environment Secretary
calling for a commitment to ensure those in England with a Countryside
Stewardship agreement are not at a disadvantage when the Government
launches a new and improved system of environmental land management
payments after EU exit. Defra Ministers have suggested that post-Brexit, there will still be
support for achieving environmental outcomes which will be simpler and
more effective. Due to this expectation, the organisations argue that
some farmers and land managers do not want to limit their ability to
access improved schemes in the future by committing to five-year
agreements under the current Countryside Stewardship. The organisations ask for a guarantee from Mr Gove to provide
confidence to the sector and to ensure farmers and land managers
continue to engage in schemes which deliver positive environmental
results. Read the
letter to Michael Gove in full. *The organisations supporting this call are the Country Land and
Business Association (CLA), National Farmers Union (NFU), Tenant Farmers
Association (TFA), RSPB England, The Wildlife Trusts, Central
Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV), Game & Wildlife Conservation
Trust (GWCT), National Trust and Farm Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG).
Making sense of clicks and squeaks: Mammal Society launches Ecobat
- Mammal Society Bats make high pitched calls inaudible to the human ear. These secret
sounds can be recorded using specialised equipment, and the approach is
frequently used to help determine whether bats are likely to be
adversely affected by proposed developments such as new housing or
roads. However, there are currently no standardised techniques
interpreting these data. This makes it difficult to assess the likely
impacts of developments, or to choose between two alternative locations
for a development.
The Mammal Society is launching a new Web-based tool, Ecobat, which
addresses the need for a more robust way of interpreting the results
from acoustic surveys for ecological assessments. Ecobat offers users an easy, standardised, and objective method for
analysing bat activity data. It allows ecologists to compare data across
sites on both a regional and national basis, generating a numerical
indicator of how important surveying results, such as a bat activity are
for that site. It can therefore enable better decision to be made about
the development potential or conservation value of the location. A key aspect of Ecobat is that it has been made available free and
open-source and as the underlying algorithms are already developed it
could be easily expanded to new geographic regions and species groups.
Prof Fiona Mathews, Chair of the Mammal Society says “A big incentive to
use Ecobat is that it gives ecologists — for free — ready to use graphs
that help them assess how likely it is that a roost is close by. The
system is built on the data submitted by the ecological community, so
the more Ecobat is used, the better the outputs become”. Ecobat can be accessed at
www.ecobat.org.uk Read the research paper (open access)
New raptor persecution maps to help tackle wildlife crime
- defra New technology will help crack down on crimes against raptors in
England and Wales.
Raptor persecution maps for England and Wales have been published to
enable the police to clearly see where the highest incidents are taking
place and focus enforcement efforts in the areas that need it most. The maps present the number of shootings, trappings, poisonings and
nest destructions that took place across England & Wales between 2011
and 2015 and will be updated annually, providing an invaluable
intelligence tool to help fight crimes again birds of prey. North Yorkshire will be a priority area as the most incidents
occurred there (39), followed by Norfolk (17), Cumbria (11), Derbyshire
(11), Lincolnshire (10), Suffolk (8) and Northumberland (8). Wildlife Minister Thérèse Coffey said: "Birds of prey are a vital
part of our animal landscape, icons of our cultural heritage and key to
boosting local economies by attracting visitors to England and Wales.
These maps highlight hotspots across the country for crimes against
these precious birds, enabling the police to crack down with increased
enforcement in areas where it’s needed most – building on the valuable
work land management, conservation and shooting organisations are
already doing to help protect iconic birds of prey." These maps build on this valuable work and will help boost the fight
against those who continue to commit crimes against raptors. In the five
year measurable period there have been 262 incidents in England and
Wales: 146 of these caused by shooting and 66 by poisoning. The majority of incidents took place against buzzards (108), followed
by owls (40), red kites (39) and peregrine [falcons] (34). Response:
New maps a ‘valuable tool in fight against raptor crime’, says BASC
- British Association for Shooting and
Conservation BASC believes the publication of the first comprehensive raptor
persecution map for England and Wales will allow enforcement to be
effectively targeted. While a previous map showed only incidents involving the poisoning of
protected raptors, the new interactive map also now includes for the
first time incidents of shootings, trappings and nest destruction. Christopher Graffius, BASC’s acting chief executive, said: “For the
fight against raptor persecution to be successful, it is essential that
credible intelligence is available to enable enforcement to be focused
in the most effective manner. This map should serve as a wake-up call
for those who are doing a disservice to the entire shooting community by
committing crimes against birds of prey. The message should now be heard
loud and clear that illegality has to stop. BASC fully supports the
publication of this map and hopes it will prove to be a valuable tool in
the fight against raptor crime.” BASC, as members of the RPPDG, has worked with other rural
organisations, the RSPB, the police and government agencies to publish
the information. Ian Grindy, chair of BASC’s game and gamekeeping committee, said:
“For too many years, the extent of persecution has been hidden. BASC
hopes that by pulling together all the available data in this
interactive map, organisations are in a better position to put an end to
this illegal activity once for all. A clear step has been taken towards
driving these criminals into full view.”
Scientific Publications McDonald, J. A., Helmstedt, K., Bode, M., Coutts, S.,
McDonald-Madden, E. and Possingham, H. P., Improving
private land conservation with outcome-based biodiversity payments.
J Appl Ecol. Accepted Author Manuscript. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.13071 Anna María Pálsdóttir, Ulrika K. Stigsdotter, Dennis Perqsson, Petra
Thorpert, Patrik Grahn,
The qualities of natural environments that support the rehabilitation
process of individuals with stress-related mental disorder in
nature-based rehabilitation, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, ISSN
1618-8667, doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2017.11.016.
Wood, K. A., Nuijten, R. J. M., Newth, J. L., Haitjema, T.,
Vangeluwe, D., Ioannidis, P., Harrison, A. L., Mackenzie, C., Hilton, G.
M., Nolet, B. A. and Rees, E. C. (2017),
Apparent survival of an Arctic-breeding migratory bird over 44 years of
fluctuating population size. Ibis. doi:10.1111/ibi.12521f Lead author, Kevin Wood of Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, wrote about the
finding on the British Ornithologist Union's blog: .
The
changing survival of Bewick’s Swans, A long-term mark-resight study
gives insight into falling swan numbers
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Volunteers
balsam bashing (image: Pembrokeshire Coast National Park)
Walking
the beach at Traigh Ghioradail they came across what looked like a large
pile of green netting until it began to attempt to move! A young
Grey seal pup! The Grey seal pup was completely entangled in the
netting and although tired and exhausted still feisty, a good sign!
It was mid tide so the pair had time on their hands. David managed
to contain the feisty seal pup whilst Lyndsey took her knife and began
to cut through the huge amount of netting wrapped around the pup.
The netting was completely wrapped around the seal pup, in particular
around its neck. It took Lyndsey more than 15 minutes working
constantly to cut the netting free.
to
fly.
Globally,
the species is thought to have declined by around 40% since the 1970s,
justifying its uplisting from Least Concern to Vulnerable. Climate
change and fishing that sets aside too little for the birds are pushing
the kittiwake closer to extinction. 
Local
authorities routinely disregard small brownfield sites, despite the fact
that these usually have existing infrastructure (CPRE)
Image:
University of Glasgow
The
five-year, European funded ‘Co-operation Across Borders for
Biodiversity’ (CABB) project spans Northern Ireland, the Republic of
Ireland and Scotland and will work to improve habitats for birds,
butterflies and other species.
A
significant increase in the size of a shaft building leading to a
more pronounced industrial impact on the National Park landscape.
Pipistrelle
bat by James Miller
A
buzzard in flight (image: defra)
