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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
Spring is in the air, and so are Dartmoor’s cuckoos! – Dartmoor
National Park Authority
Image:
Dartmoor NPA The Dartmoor cuckoo project, which began with the tagging of seven
Dartmoor birds in 2013 and 2014, is waiting and hoping that the two
birds – called Whortle and Emsworthy, who survived the arduous migration
to Africa will make it back to our shores this spring. Dartmoor National Park (DNP), in partnership with Devon Birds, is
taking part in the ground-breaking national satellite tagging project
run by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) to learn about the
migration of Dartmoor’s cuckoos and start to understand the reasons for
their alarming decline. In May 2013, satellite tags were put onto four Dartmoor cuckoos, with
a further three birds tagged in May 2014. Sadly, the fate of five of
these seven birds mirrors the national picture of decline, with a 70%
decrease in the population witnessed in the last 20 years: Only two of
the seven birds were still sending signals from their wintering grounds
in Africa earlier this year, and it is feared that one of these two
birds might have perished now as well, leaving us with just one active
tagged cuckoo. We hope both cuckoos still survive and will arrive back
on our shores in late April. You can follow their routes by following
the links on
www.dartmoor.gov.uk/cuckoo In a further effort to understand what is causing these drastic
declines, Devon Birds have created a live web map that allows members of
the public to enter their cuckoo sightings. This interactive map was
launched last year with a plea for records from the public – and we
received an amazing 700 records!
Warming seas pose habitat risk for fishy favourites – University of
Exeter Popular North Sea fish such as haddock, plaice and lemon sole could
become less common on our menus because they will be constrained to
preferred habitat as seas warm, according to a study published today in
Nature Climate Change. Fish distributions are limited by water temperature and some species
can only thrive in certain habitats and depths. In the last 40 years the
North Sea has warmed four times faster than the global average and
further warming is predicted over the coming century, leading fisheries
scientists to study how this will impact on commercial species. The researchers developed a model that combined long-term fisheries
datasets and climate model projections from the Met Office to predict
the abundance and distribution of the UK’s favourite fish over the next
50 years. The team including researchers from Exeter and Bristol found that, as
the North Sea warms, species will have little capacity to move
northwards to avoid warming temperatures, since habitat of a suitable
depth is not available. Due to higher temperatures, many of the species
studied are predicted to reduce in relative abundance. Louise Rutterford, postgraduate researcher in Biosciences at the
University of Exeter, said: “Our study suggests that we will see
proportionally less of some of the species we eat most of as they
struggle to cope with warming conditions in the North Sea. We provide
new insight into how important local depths and associated habitats are
to these commercial species. It’s something that is not always captured
in existing models that predict future fish distributions.”
Scottish wildlife organisations call to ban mountain hare cull –
Scottish Wildlife Trust The Trust and a group of nine other high profile wildlife and
conservation organisations are calling on the Scottish Government to
impose a three year ban on all mountain hare culling on grouse moors
until safeguards are in place to inform sustainable management, and to
meet our international conservation obligations. The mountain hare is Britain’s only native hare and plays a vital
part of the complex ecosystem of Scotland’s uplands and moorlands,
including acting as an important source of prey for golden eagles, one
of Scotland’s most famous birds. Mountain hares are often found in good numbers on grouse moors with
their large expanses of heather and are protected against indiscriminate
methods of killing under the European Union’s Habitats Directive. The
Scottish Government has a legal duty to maintain their population in a
state of good health. However, mountain hares are now routinely culled
on a large scale on many grouse moors in Scotland. This practice has
developed relatively recently in the belief that it protects red grouse
against the tick-borne louping ill virus, despite the lack of scientific
evidence to support this claim. Director of Conservation for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Simon
Jones, said: “Mountain hares are important to Scotland both culturally
and from a conservation perspective. We, along with the other
organisations are calling for a three year ban, to allow time for all
those involved to take stock of the longer term impacts of large scale
culling. Once the results of the study have been published we will then
be able to identify the best ways to monitor mountain hare populations
and measure the impact that management is having on their conservation
status. We believe that grouse moor managers have a duty of care to
these important mountain hare populations. The unregulated and seemingly
unsustainable culling that is endemic on many grouse moors is a threat
to these important populations.”
Race to save Ratty as UK water voles face uncertain future: Launch of
first National Water Vole Monitoring Programme – The Wildlife Trusts
Water vole cpt Margaret Holland Once a familiar sight along our waterways, water voles have rapidly
disappeared from much of the landscape, experiencing the most serious
decline of any wild mammal over the last century. The shocking drop in numbers is due to the release and spread of
non-native mink across the countryside, and also the loss and
degradation of much of our waterways. To ensure that we have a better
picture of what is happening to the species nationally and that we are
in a position to act quickly when needed, People’s Trust for Endangered
Species (PTES) is launching the first ongoing National Water Vole
Monitoring Programme across England, Scotland and Wales, working in
collaboration with The Wildlife Trusts, Natural Resources Wales,
Scottish Natural Heritage, Environment Agency, Natural England and RSPB. Through the National Water Vole Monitoring Programme, PTES aims to
bring together all the valuable work that is being carried out across
the country, as well as monitor selected historical sites, to establish
any changes in the population and to help guide future conservation
efforts. The Vincent Wildlife Trust conducted two national surveys between
1989-90 and 1996-98 that first demonstrated the dramatic decline of
water voles across Britain. The sites that were visited during these
two surveys will form the basis of the National Water Vole Monitoring
Programme. By regularly resurveying these sites, PTES will be able to
identify any changes that have happened since the late 1990s, as well as
detect any emerging national trends.
Bee Wall – protecting our pollinators - Buglife Living Wall provider Scotscape are teaming up with conservation
charity Buglife to test out the best planting schemes to create living
walls with a pollinator plus effect. Throughout the 2015 growing season a test wall at Scotscapes’s Surrey
headquarters will be trialling a selection of plants recommended as good
for pollinators alongside a range of Buglife approved bug homes. It is hoped that after analysing the results, these trials will
provide knowledge as to the best plants and homes for bugs to grow in
these vertical gardens. Leading to a best practice for nature guide to
living walls and an off the shelf living wall for biodiversity for
future installations.
Doubling of common dolphin encounters in the Hebrides - Hebridean
Whale and Dolphin Trust A substantial increase in common dolphin encounters off western
Scotland is to be studied by Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust in a new
season of marine research expeditions beginning next month. HWDT’s encounter rate with common dolphins has more than doubled over
the past 12 years. The findings – recently presented to the European
Cetacean Society – have emerged from the charity’s unique long-term
monitoring of whales, dolphins and porpoises in the Hebrides. The causes – and broader effects on the marine environment and other
species – are still unclear. HWDT is now recruiting volunteers to work
alongside marine scientists in its annual summer surveys, which it hopes
will shed further light on the dramatic changes. “An increase in common
dolphins means that those wishing to encounter dolphins in the wild are
in luck – but further research is needed to explain why this is
happening, the extent to which this has been caused by human activity,
and the implications for other cetacean species,” said Dr Conor Ryan,
Sightings Officer at HWDT. Common dolphins come to the Hebrides each spring to take advantage of
seasonal food stocks. They are gregarious, often approaching boats to
bow-ride and play in the wake, and are smaller than the region’s
resident bottlenose dolphins. The species also travels in large groups –
sometimes forming super-pods of thousands of individuals. Despite their name, common dolphins – known in Gaelic as leumadair or
‘jumper’ – were once only occasionally seen in the Hebrides, preferring
more southern waters generally warmer than 10°C. With climate change
causing sea surface temperatures in the Hebrides to rise at a rate of
0.5°C per decade, it appears that such warmer water species are starting
to colonise new areas in the north or closer to shore.
UK National Parks urge visitors to capture 'Landscapes of Plenty' in
photo competition – National Parks Join the UK's National Parks family in celebrating Britain's
Landscapes of Plenty and you could earn a new pair of boots from outdoor
specialist Merrell. The annual UK National Parks photography competition launches today
(14 April) and runs until 31 May 2015. Photographers of all ages and
skill level are encouraged to get snapping in any one of the UK's 15
National Parks, capturing some of the diverse landscapes and communities
that make Britain's breathing spaces so special. The theme for this year's competition is "Landscapes of Plenty," a
celebration of the productive landscapes of the UK's National Parks.
More than just places to play and be inspired, the National Parks are
also home to some of the best produce, products, food and drink in the
UK. D
Britain's tallest native tree – National Trust A beech tree in Newtimber Woods on the Devil’s Dyke estate in West
Sussex has been declared the tallest native tree in Britain. Measuring a
staggering 44m tall (144ft), the champion tree is thought to be almost
200 years old. The discovery was made by Dr Owen Johnson, Registrar for the Tree
Register, a unique record of ancient and notable trees in Britain and
Ireland. He was alerted to the possible record breaker by dendrologist
Peter Bourne. ‘I didn't quite believe Peter when he said the tallest
tree in the woods could be 44 metres tall as I know the South Downs
well,’ said Dr Johnson. ‘But I found my scepticism entirely unjustified!
It's amazing how you can go on discovering marvellous trees, almost on
your doorstep, It's also strange and fascinating that this one beech,
which must have very good genes, has managed to grow so much taller than
all of its rivals in the same conditions.’ Set within a valley, the Newtimber Woods beech is one of a clump of
trees planted together. Its great height is a result of continued
competition to reach the light and the fact it has been allowed to grow
without any management for at least the last 90 years. ‘This breathtaking woodland has been coppiced for a thousand years or
more and it’s wonderful to think that it’s now home to the tallest wild
tree in Britain,’ said Charlie Cain, ranger for the Devil’s Dyke estate.
‘Spring is the perfect time to come and see this champion as the trees
come into leaf and carpets of woodland flowers arrive.’ The new record holder eclipses the previous champion native tree from
Gloucestershire, also a beech, which is a metre shorter. At nearly two
centuries old the Newtimber Woods beech is reaching the upper limit of a
beech tree’s life expectancy.
Litter: can we stop the rot? – Country Life Beautiful Britain? Not really. The UK is one of the filthiest
countries in Europe for rubbish. Country Life’s campaign aims to change
attitudes to desecrating the landscape, as we reveal the shocking
statistics. Britain’s collective rubbish dump is at an all-time high. We live in
a flyblown nation that has lost its self-respect. Each year, we spend
almost £1 billion cleaning up streets, parks and countryside, which
represents too much money spent on an avoidable issue, but not enough
time spent to make a difference. How did this sloppy selfishness overtake the whole country? Everyone
knows that spreading litter is wrong, yet it has become an acceptable
shame for some people and it’s getting worse. Ever-increasing amounts of
packaging, plastic bags and fast-food outlets provide the ammunition,
but ammunition is nothing without a hand to hurl it. Fortunately, admirable bodies such as Keep Britain tidy, the Marine
Conservation society and the CPRE encourage armies of litter heroes who
tidy up parishes, parks and beaches. it follows that, if there’s less
litter in the first place, less will be dropped, but it’s still a case
of the few taking on the many, with, on average, 2.25 million pieces of
rubbish dropped every day—the drifts of debris on roadsides seem to act
as a magnet for litterbugs. Country Life’s five-point National Litter Strategy:
Scientists from Rothamsted Research, who are strategically funded by
the BBSRC, have discovered a mechanism that allows plant cells to
regulate the rate at which they produce membranes. The work is published
in the journal The Plant Cell. Membranes are the building blocks of cells, which in turn are the
building blocks of life. For cells to function the quantity and
composition of their membranes must be tightly regulated. Quite how
plant cells achieve this feat is poorly understood. The study, using the
model plant Arabidopsis, shows that plant cells control membrane
production by changing the chemical composition of their membranes. This
change in composition is then sensed by the plant as it seeks to
maintain a condition of balance within its internal environment (called
a ‘homeostatic’ mechanism) and it responds by altering the rate at which
membrane is produced. Dr Peter Eastmond who led the research said: “It’s extremely
important for plants to maintain and adapt their cellular membrane
systems in response to developmental and environmental cues. Our
discovery that plant cells induce changes in the lipid composition of
their membranes to control the rate at which they produce more membranes
is an important step in helping us unravel how membrane production is
coordinated with basic processes that demand new membrane such as cell
division and expansion”.
New female osprey at Loch of the Lowes lays first egg – Scottish
Wildlife Trust The Trust can confirm the new female osprey at the Loch of the Lowes
Wildlife Reserve, near Dunkeld has laid her first egg of the season. Wildlife enthusiasts from around the world have had an agonising wait
for this osprey to lay an egg after days of being unsettled on the nest.
Ospreys can lay up to four eggs, usually around 48 hours apart. This
raises hope that there will be chicks on the nest this year. The new osprey’s predecessor, affectionately known by many as ‘Lady’,
did not produce any chicks in what may have been her final year at the
Scottish Wildlife Trust Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve. The Scottish Wildlife Trust Perthshire Ranger, Charlotte Fleming, said: “At around 9.00pm last night, the new female osprey laid her first egg and this has caused plenty of excitement for the staff and volunteers at the Scottish Wildlife Trust Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre and Reserve. Now there is an egg on the nest, the Osprey Protection Programme will begin in earnest. Thanks to our supporters, including players of People’s Postcode Lottery, the Trust operates a 24-hour watch on the nest site to ensure the safety of the birds and the egg.”
Is climate change affecting our acorns? – Woodland Trust
New
research analysing data recorded by members of the public on Nature’s
Calendar suggests that climate change may be affecting the quality of
acorn crops produced by oak trees across the UK. The research published
in the new issue of British Wildlife suggests that warmer years lead to
less synchronised flowering in oak trees and lower quality acorn crops. New data has shown that acorns could be affected by climate change (Photo: Carole Sutton/WTML) Professor Tim Sparks from Coventry University analysed over 160,000
pieces of data and found that for every four days increased variation in
first flowering date, the mean fruiting score for the acorn crop
produced that year fell by 20%. Eight of the 10 warmest years on record
have occurred since 2002, suggesting the trend is likely to continue in
coming years. Professor Sparks said: “This is a preliminary result which requires
further study but there is a significant correlation for both species of
native oak. Synchronised years tend to be those with a later mean first
flowering date, suggesting warmer years are associated with smaller
acorn crops.” Dr Kate Lewthwaite, Woodland Trust Citizen Science Manager, added:
“Information added to Nature’s Calendar by the public is hugely
important in helping us make sense of changes in the natural
environment. Identifying trends like these can also help us better plan
for the future, building the resilience and diversity of our precious
native woodland.” Acorns are a primary food source for a number of species including
jays, pigeons, deer and squirrels; some of these species help to
disperse seeds but synchronised flowering enables oak trees to pollinate
through wind dispersal much more effectively. Nature’s Calendar is the longest written biological record of its
kind, with information dating back to 1736 and is a powerful tool in
assessing the impact of climate change.
Call for step change in energy efficiency to avoid disastrous impacts on
countryside - CPRE
A
new report published today by the Campaign to Protect Rural England
(CPRE) shows that England needs a huge investment in energy efficiency
if we are to even approach our 2050 carbon reduction target and avoid
inflicting widespread damage on the countryside. The Warm and Green report asserts that energy efficiency has been
grossly underplayed in discussions and policy on England’s future energy
supply, and that it must become increasingly important in rural areas.
The report highlights the potentially huge impact of infrastructure on
the countryside if old and new homes remain energy inefficient, and
illustrates the dearth of funding for improvements in rural areas.
Based on research conducted by Cambridge Architectural Research and
Anglia Ruskin University for CPRE, Warm and Green finds that we can cut
carbon emissions from homes by 44 per cent through an ambitious
retrofitting programme. Yet the research shows that even if we make such
upgrades, we would still be considerably short of meeting energy demand
while cutting carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. One possible
scenario to meet the demand is to plant half of England with biomass
crops, build 3,500 new wind turbines, and install 8,000 hectares of new
solar panels. Seeking solutions to the huge challenges we face, the research looks
at case studies from across the country to explore motivations for and
barriers to making energy improvements in rural homes and community
buildings. It finds that cost, the difficulty of finding skilled
installers and payback time are barriers that are too high for many
people to overcome. Download the Warm and Green report here.
Flourishing faster: how to make trees grow bigger and quicker –
University of Manchester Scientists at The University of Manchester have discovered a way to
make trees grow bigger and faster, which could increase supplies of
renewable resources and help trees cope with the effects of climate
change.
Hand
section from Poplar tree (image via University of Manchester) In the study, published in Current Biology, the team successfully
manipulated two genes in poplar trees in order to make them grow larger
and more quickly than usual. Professor Simon Turner from the Faculty of Life Sciences led the
research: “The rate at which trees grow is determined by the rate of
cell division in the stem. We have identified two genes that are able to
drive cell division in the stem and so override the normal growth
pattern. Although, this needs be tested in the field, this discovery
paves the way for generating trees that grow more quickly and so will
contribute to meeting the needs for increased plant biomass as a
renewable source of biofuels, chemicals and materials while minimising
further CO2 release into the atmosphere.” The genes, called PXY and CLE, control the growth of a tree trunk.
When overexpressed, making them more active than in their normal state,
the trees grew twice as fast as normal and were taller, wider and had
more leaves. As well as the potential to increase biomass supplies for the growing
biofuel and industrial biotechnology sectors, the discovery could help
plants deal with the environmental consequences of climate change. Professor Turner adds: “Our work offers the possibility we may be
able to maintain a fast growth rate even in the face of adverse and
changeable environmental conditions that all plants are likely to be
faced with. Most plants, including crops, respond to adverse
environmental conditions with lower growth rates that result in
correspondingly lower yields. Understanding how the plants respond to
environmental signals and to what extent we are able to manipulate them
to override these signals is likely to be very important for continued
improvements to crop performance. In future it may be possible that
manipulating the expression of the PXY and CLE genes can override
environmental signals that normally alter plant growth. “This is
something that needs to be tested in the field, but offers a potential
way forward for what is one of the most pressing challenges of the day.” The paper "Wood formation in trees is increased by manipulating
PXY-regulated cell division" will be published in the hard copy of the
journal Current Biology on Monday 20 April 2015.
Record count of snake’s-head fritillaries for second year running at
Iffley Meadows - BBOWT For the second year in a row, careful management of Oxford’s Iffley
Meadows nature reserve has ensured a record count of snake’s-head
fritillaries – an impressive 89,830 individual plants, an increase of
more than 5,000 on last year. The floodplain meadows, abutting the city’s southern bypass and the
River Thames, are home to one of the largest concentrations of
Oxfordshire’s county flower, whose chequered, purple, pink and
occasional white nodding flowers wow visitors each April. This year’s count took place on 15 April, as Britain’s only native
fritillary plant, and listed as a vulnerable species by the IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species, reached its climax. Spend an hour or two on a guided walk of the meadows this Sunday, led
by Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers who look after this very special
nature reserve just a mile from Oxford City centre. Under the Trust’s careful management, numbers of the snake’s-head
fritillary plants have increased from just 500 when it took over
management of the Oxford City Council nature reserve in 1983. Recent
years had seen numbers stabilise at 40-60,000, though summer flooding in
2007 led to a low of 32,000 by 2012. The last three years have seen consistently higher counts at Iffley
Meadows, thanks to a combination of fine summer weather and the Trust’s
management regime of a July hay cut followed by cattle grazing in autumn
and early winter. The hay cut removes excess nutrients, while grazing
keeps competitive sedges and rushes in check. Wildlife Trust reserves ecologist Colin Williams isn’t complacent:
“The upwards trend is certainly encouraging, but there are parts of the
meadow where numbers are still to recover. Our challenge is to apply
what’s worked successfully in some areas of the meadows to other areas
so that more plants will flourish in future. In addition to the hay cut
and grazing, our ongoing Iffley Meadows Biodiversity Improvement Project
work of pollarding willows and digging out ditches to improve drainage
should help to further improve conditions for these and other wild
flowers that bloom here during the spring and summer.”
Unusual ‘blue bird’ spotted at Amwell – Herts & Middlesex Wildlife
Trust For only the seventh time in Hertfordshire’s history a white-spotted
bluethroat has been seen in the county, at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife
Trust’s Amwell Nature Reserve. The stunning bird was spotted by Ian Rose and Amwell’s Volunteer
Warden, Darren Bast, in front of the main viewpoint at the reserve.
Darren said: “Ian set eyes on it first. We were walking back to the main
viewpoint - I was looking for swallows arriving and Ian was looking for
sedge warblers. Initially we thought it was a bearded tit, which would
have been a fairly unusual sight in itself. Then we thought perhaps a
dunnock, as it had its back to us. When it turned round we were both
amazed and delighted to see it was a bluethroat! What a stunning sight.” Jenny Sherwen, Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust’s Reserve Officer
at Amwell Nature Reserve, said: “Bluethroats breed mainly in northern
and central Europe and are migrating in spring and autumn. It looks like
this individual decided to take a pitstop from its journey at Amwell.
There is always the potential to see something unusual at the reserve
when birds are migrating. What a fantastic sight!” There was a bluethroat recorded at Cornmill Meadows in the Lea Valley
in 1996 and before that, one was ringed at Rye Meads in 1983.
Warm spell offers best chance to see toads in a decade – Canal &
River Trust The sudden changes in weather this spring could give us the best
chance to see and track the country’s declining toad populations in a
decade.
A
toad Celebrated in ‘Wind in the Willows’, toads were once a common sight
on the waterways, but numbers have declined in recent years due to a
combination of causes including loss of habitat and increased road
traffic. Experts say that the colder temperatures during March followed by the
sudden rise in temperature through April means that the toads are now
likely to have migrated en masse, and should benefit from breeding in
larger groups. The last decade of milder springs has seen a steady migration over a
longer period, often starting in early March and continuing until May.
This has made it more difficult to track the animals, and identify their
breeding grounds. Paul Wilkinson, ecologist at the Canal & River Trust, said: “Toads
are one of the real characters of British wildlife, and often choose to
breed on our waterways. The weather this year gives us the best chance
in years to see them and find out which areas on our waterways are
important for them to breed, which means we’ll be able to protect those
areas in the future. Also, as they’re more likely to breed in groups,
they’ll have strength in numbers and tadpoles will be more likely to
survive into toads.Canals provide a perfect place for toads to spawn, as
the fish in them deter frogs from also trying to lay their eggs in the
same spots. We’re asking people to keep an eye out for toads or their
toadspawn - which looks like long strings of frogspawn - on their local
canals. People can also keep a look out later for black tadpoles in
swarms, these are different to the brown frog tadpoles that try to hide
away due to the fact that they are much tastier to predators.”
General Election 2015 - we bring you a summary of main party manifestos
– Countryside Alliance The main political parties have now published their manifestos ahead of the General Election on 7th May. We have been through each manifesto in order to bring you each party's rural commitments according to our own campaigning priorities, as set out in our own manifesto.
Scientific papers Boyle, P., Hayes, M., Gormally, M., Sullivan, C. & Moran, J. (2015)
Development of a nature value index for pastoral farmland—A rapid
farm-level assessment. Ecological Indicators.
doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.03.011
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