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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
MBA sent what is probably oldest message in a bottle ever found! A postcard returned to the Marine Biological Association in April may
be the oldest message in a bottle ever found. The bottle was released into the North Sea between 1904 and 1906 as
part of research carried out by George Parker Bidder. G P Bidder was
MBA
President from 1939-1945 and was remembered for his scientific research
and also the large financial contributions he made to the Association.
G P Bidder contributed to knowledge on the hydraulics of sponges, and
was the inventor of the bottom-trailer. Bidder’s ‘bottom bottles’ (as he
calls them in his notes) were a powerful tool for the study of bottom
water movement. A bottom-trailer is a bottle adjusted to trail a wire so
as to float with the current two feet above the sea bed, and to be
caught in trawl nets. Bidder released a total of 1020 bottles between
1904 and 1906 and he reported that his bottles were trawled up by the
fishermen at the rate of 55% per annum. Some bottles were never
returned, assumed to be lost in the open ocean forever. However, over
100 years on, Marianne Winkler found a bottle washed up on the shore at
Amrun island, Germany, and returned the enclosed postcard to the MBA. Bidder’s postcards offered one shilling as a reward for returning the
postcard. The MBA will be sure to write to Marianne Winkler to send her
reward!
The search is on for the nations’ top Meadow Makers
- Plantlife Award for landowners, smallholders and farmers, who have successfully
juggled the challenges of running farm businesses, while conserving
meadows & grasslands
Lugg
Meadow, Herefordshire © Chris Harris/Plantlife The search has begun for the nations’ most successful ‘Meadow Makers’
across Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales. We are looking for
landowners, smallholders and farmers, who have successfully juggled the
challenges of running farm businesses, while conserving wildflower
meadows and grasslands. As part of
Save Our
Magnificent Meadows, the UK’s largest partnership project
transforming the fortunes of vanishing wildflower meadows, grasslands
and wildlife, this Award will acknowledge their efforts. Led by
Plantlife, the partnership of 11 organisations is working to restore
6,000 hectares of wildflower meadows and grasslands, primarily funded by
the Heritage Lottery Fund. These people are the unsung heroes of the conservation world, setting
a fantastic example of how to protect our meadow heritage, and inspiring
others to follow suit. Recognising their achievements with this national
Award is our opportunity to appreciate and celebrate their commitment to
the conservation of the UK’s last surviving meadows. Perhaps they have
taken challenging steps to adopt wildlife-friendly management of
grassland, or restored wild flowers to a neglected site or protected a
threatened meadow. We want to share their stories. Entries for ‘Meadow Makers’ are welcome from now to 31 July with the
winners for each nation (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
announced in September 2015. For more information and details on how to
enter www.magnificentmeadows.org.uk.
Moorland Butterfly Project Receives Funding Boost – Butterfly
Conservation A project to protect the south west’s threatened moorland butterflies
has received support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), Butterfly
Conservation (BC) has revealed. The All the Moor Butterflies scheme will operate across the region’s
three major moorland landscapes – Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor and Exmoor. Much of the UK’s most important moorland mosaics occur in South West
England and it is here that many threatened butterflies and moths have
suffered the most severe declines, brought about by habitat loss due to
changes in land management practices, inappropriate grazing or neglect.
The three-year scheme aims to reverse the declines of our rarest
fritillaries and encourage local communities to get closer to
butterflies and appreciate the area’s amazing natural heritage. Alongside conservation work, training and specialist advice will be
provided to land management professionals, advisers and site managers to
promote best practice in conserving moorland for butterflies and moths.
Searching for hedgehogs with BBC Springwatch - Royal Parks
Foundation
Hedgehogs
are one of the nation’s favourite species, yet there’s been a worrying
nationwide decline in hedgehog numbers in the last 25 years and The
Regent’s Park is now the only central London Royal Park with a breeding
population.
With the help of top wildlife scientists and over 100 volunteers, we
discovered a small population of around 40-50 animals living and
breeding in the Park in 2014. Our hedgehog team returned to The Regent’s
Park in May this year to see how the population has fared over the
winter and find out more about their nocturnal activities. You can read
all about the research and our findings
here.
Riverwatch scheme set to launch – Scottish Natural Heritage A Riverwatch scheme is set to launch in Ardnamurchan this week (w/c 1
June). It will provide additional surveillance and protection to the
populations of pearl mussels in the burns of the Ardnumurchan peninsula.
The populations of mussels are important as they lie in the extreme west
of the population range on the mainland. The Riverwatch initiative is part of the Pearls in Peril project
which aims to safeguard freshwater pearl mussels, a critically
endangered species threatened by illegal fishing across Scotland. Freshwater pearl mussels have historically been fished for the pearls
they can produce, which are similar to an oyster. However only rarely do
they contain pearls. They are protected by law - it is a crime to kill,
injure, take or disturb freshwater pearl mussels. And over the past two
years there has been evidence of suspected illegal pearl fishing taking
place across northern Scotland. Natalie Young of the Riverwatcher project, said: "The species is now
in such decline that from 1970 to 1998 pearl mussels became extinct from
an average of two rivers every year in Scotland.
Murky past of Britain’s rarest duck revealed by Big Ben
The
downfall of Britain’s rarest duck, the common scoter, could be written
in the murky sediment at the bottom of lochs in the Flow Country, the
UK’s largest expanse of wetland. To find out, scientists from WWT and UCL have been driving a giant
sediment corer known as Big Ben into the bottom of the lochs. Big Ben
removes cores made up of the layers that have built up over 30 to 50
years. Like an archaeologist digging down through time, but in miniature,
WWT’s Hannah Robson painstakingly sliced the cores and is now analysing
each layer for microscopic fossils. By looking at what food was
available and other factors, she can reconstruct the ecological history
of the lochs and compare those where scoters still nest with those that
have been abandoned.
Over the same period, the number of common scoters breeding in the UK
has fallen steeply and is down to just 40 pairs confined to remote parts
of Scotland. The core taken by ‘Big Ben’ represents 30 to 50 years of history that
has built up in the sediment Hannah Robson said: “The wetlands of the Flow Country are an
incredible place. More than double the amount of carbon is stored here
than in all the UK’s forests combined. And many of the UK’s most at-risk
birds breed here. But the one that brings me here is the biggest concern
of all: the inappropriately named common scoter.
Wildlife-rich areas must not suffer at the expense of land development
- Buglife Following the Government’s recent proposal to introduce a statutory
register for brownfield land, environmental charities call on the
Government to honour its original commitment to ‘protect previously
developed or brownfield land that is of high environmental value for
wildlife’. To help Government fulfil this commitment - originally set out in the
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) - Wildlife and Countryside
Link (Link) has today (Tuesday 2 June) published guidelines to determine
‘high environmental value’. The definition will make it easier for local
authorities and developers to appropriately prioritise brownfield sites
for development while honouring the Government’s commitment to protect
wildlife. Chair of Link’s Land Use Planning Working Group Victoria Bankes Price
said: Read the guidelines here
Male hen harrier disappears from Cumbrian nest - RSPB The RSPB and Cumbria Police have launched an appeal for information
about the unexplained disappearance of a nesting male hen harrier in the
North Pennines. The bird, which was nesting at the RSPB’s Geltsdale reserve, was last
seen at the upland site on Saturday 23 May. He set off hunting at around
7.15am and was last observed by RSPB nest protection staff at around
1pm. Without the male returning to provide her with food, the female was
forced to abandon her clutch of five eggs, resulting in the failure of
the nest. Unfortunately, incubating the eggs from the nest was not an
option. By the time RSPB staff were sure that the female had abandoned
her nest, and that it was safe to approach it, her eggs had already gone
cold and were no longer viable. A 2008 government commissioned report found that it was rare in most places for male hen harriers to abandon an active nest. Hen harriers are England’s most threatened breeding bird of prey with only four successful nests in the whole country last year. Police are also calling for information after three male nesting hen harriers disappeared earlier in the season without explanation in Bowland, Lancashire. A male hen harrier hunting over open moorland -
four males have disappeared this summer in England Image: Chris Gomersall Steve Garnett, upland warden at RSPB Geltsdale, said: “All of the
staff and volunteers who were watching the nest around the clock over
the past few weeks are absolutely gutted about the disappearance of the
male and the failure of the eggs.” Cumbria Police Wildlife Crime Officer Sarah Rolland said: “There is
no criminal investigation surrounding the disappearance of the male bird
at the current time. However, we appeal to anyone with information to
come forward by calling Police on 101, as we are keen to trace the
whereabouts of the bird.” Anyone with information about either of the missing birds should contact the police on 101 or, alternatively, call the RSPB’s confidential hotline on 0845 466 3636.
Missing Geltsdale hen harrier – statement from Natural England
One fifth of Europe's birds are facing the threat of extinction -
RSPB
A
new assessment of European birds has revealed that nearly one fifth (18
per cent) are considered to be at risk of extinction across the European
Union with habitat loss, climate change and increasingly intensive
farming being key causes of threat. This list of threatened species
includes 37 birds, including lapwing, puffin and curlew, which occur
regularly in the UK. The eider duck is one 37 familiar UK birds which are facing an
uncertain future in Europe Image: Isle of Man birding Martin Harper is the RSPB’s Conservation Director. Commenting on the
publication of the new European bird assessments, he said: “These red
list assessments provide another red warning that nature across Europe
is in trouble. It would have been unthinkable 20 years ago that birds
like lapwing and curlew would be threatened species in Europe – the
status of many species is deteriorating across Europe. However,
conservation action across Europe, guided by the Birds Directive is
helping species like the stone-curlew, Dalmatian pelican, avocet and
crane.” Key findings:
Download the European Red List of Birds report from the Birdlife International website (pdf)
Road Verge Campaign launches for 2015 - Plantlife One of the most important & frequently viewed habitats in the country
is still being destroyed. But there's hope...
A
new Plantlife study shows that Britain’s road verges are home to 703
species of wild plants, more than in any other part of our landscape,
and 87 of them are either threatened with extinction or heading that
way. In addition, 88% of these wild plants provide nectar and pollen for
bees and other insects, making road verges essential refuges for insect
life. But in much of Britain road verges are still being needlessly cut down in full flower threatening the wildflowers and the wildlife that depend on them. Many councils have already started cutting verges - much too early in the year for flowers to be able set seed, and greatly reducing one of the most important food banks for our ailing bees and other pollinators. Under threat. Vistas like these are important for
butterflies and bees. Dr Trevor Dines, Plantlife’s Botanical Specialist, explains, “Over
97% of meadows have been destroyed in England since the 1930s. In many
areas, rural road verges are the last remaining stretches of natural
habitat for our wildlife. Road safety is the absolute priority, but we
know that verges can be managed better for wildlife whilst remaining
safe for motorists. This means adopting some simple changes to
management – like a delay in cutting to allow seed to be set - so that
wildflowers can thrive”. 21 of the 25 Nation's Favourite Wildflowers grow on road verges. From
cowslips and bluebells in spring to swathes of cow parsley and ox-eye
daisies in early summer, our verges are home to most of the 25 favourite
wild flowers as voted for by the public. And with 30 million drivers in
the UK, they’re the most frequently viewed habitat too, providing many
people with their only regular daily contact with nature. Bird’s-foot
trefoil alone is a food plant for 132 species of insect. Plantlife has produced new management guidelines and is urging the public to sign a petition asking local councils to adopt them. Some councils are leading the way. Trials in Dorset, for example, are investigating how to combat the over-vigorous growth of grass on fertile verges (which is both detrimental to wildflowers and obscures driver sight-lines), by stripping turf, using semi-parasitic yellow rattle to stunt grass growth and even grazing verges with sheep. Plantlife is helping to showcase the work of councils like Dorset to show others that it can be done. Our guidelines are being currently being applied to 11,700 km of verge covering 2,300 hectares of verges – that’s equivalent to 2.5 times the area of remaining upland hay meadow in the UK - and with the public’s support we can do even more.
Great Stag Hunt Survey- Precious Time is Running Out for Britain’s
Largest Beetle - People’s Trust for Endangered Species
One
of Britain’s most recognisable and unique species, the stag beetle
(Lucanus cervus) is unfortunately becoming increasingly rare to find.
For fifteen years, People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) has been
actively working to halt the decline of this iconic insect. PTES is
asking volunteers to join their annual Great Stag Hunt Survey and record
any sightings of stag beetles. The survey, which can be found on their
website, www.ptes.org, is easy to use and with your input, PTES can
better understand how stag beetles numbers are faring in the UK. By the
end of May this year, only 384 stag beetles have been recorded, so all
contributions are vital to this survey.
For much of their life cycle, stag beetles stay underground as
larvae, feeding on rotten wood for up to seven years before building
large ovoid cocoons and eventually metamorphosing into their more
recognisable form. Given that they take so much time to develop, it is a
shame that fully formed stag beetles can only be expected to survive
around three months above ground. Threatened by significant loss of
habitat and human interactions, adult stag beetles are also at risk from
cats and magpies. If they manage to avoid an early departure, then the
winter months will finish the job. Unfortunately, the stag beetle’s tough exterior and formidable
looking mandibles encourages some people to kill them without realising
they are not harmful to humans. Others, who believe the larvae can
destroy living wood or timber are also misinformed, as larvae only feed
on decaying wood underground. Added to which, their attraction to the
warmth of tarmac and being hunted by natural predators, stag beetles
don’t currently stand much of a chance at finding a mate and reproducing
before the summer ends.
Forests as places of mental well-being for people with dementia –
Forestry Commission This Research Note is based on a PhD research study ‘Forests as
places of mental well-being: the meaning and use of urban forests by
people with early-stage dementia’. The study examines and develops ways
for people with dementia (especially those in the early stages) to
engage with nature, and with other people, in the context of trees,
woodlands and forests. Initial results from the study found that a pilot
programme of activities, led by Forestry Commission Scotland rangers in
an urban woodland setting, provided an overwhelmingly positive
experience for people with early-stage dementia, by offering meaningful
experiences that contributed to well-being and feelings of self-worth.
The woodland environment also provided a ‘library’ of resources and
stimulation. The programme helped people with early-stage dementia
remain active and connected within the community, enabling them to
maintain their independence for as long as possible, and provided
support for carers. Such programmes can be seen as a new and innovative
way of engaging with people with early-stage dementia, which could
complement traditional therapeutic interventions. As the Note stresses,
an ‘end of the road’ approach to people with dementia is no longer
acceptable. We need to explore more ways of providing care with an
emphasis on empowerment and maintaining the best possible quality of
life. It is hoped that this Note will provide a valuable resource, not
only for people who manage woodlands and other green spaces, but also
for health-care professionals. Download the Research Note here (pdf)
Novel research will unravel Europe-wide patterns
of bird migration and distribution -
BTO The EuroBirdPortal (EBP) project and its demo viewer (www.eurobirdportal.org)
will be launched tomorrow (Friday 5 June) in Brussels as part of Green
Week 2015, the annual conference on European environment policy
organised by the European Commission. The EBP project is a new initiative of the European Bird Census
Council (EBCC) through which European on-line bird recording schemes
will collaborate to research European-wide seasonal distributional
changes, migratory patterns, and migration timing of birds and to
understand how these patterns are changing over time. EBP data for
Britain and Ireland come from the BirdTrack project (www.birdtrack.net)
which allows birdwatchers to record their observations online and to
contribute to conservation science. Gabriel Gargallo, EBP Project Coordinator, commented, "The EBP
project will allow a better knowledge of the patterns of bird
distribution in space and time across Europe and, thus, help to properly
address several issues of high concern in relation to bird conservation
and management." Unlike more traditional monitoring projects, which focus on
structured data collection, online bird recording portals aim to obtain
year-round data from the relatively unstructured but intensive and
widespread activities of birdwatchers. However, the vast amount of data
contained in these portals and the sheer scale of coverage offer great
possibilities for research on the temporal and spatial distribution of
birds across large geographical areas. To deliver the full potential of
these possibilities, the EBP objective is to create a common data
repository and to promote protocols and mechanisms for data sharing and
analyses at a European scale. To help attain these goals the EBP project already includes 29 partners running online bird recording schemes in 21 European countries. The partnership involves biodiversity data centres and key ornithological institutions in their respective countries, enabling the collection of high quality monitoring data from tens of thousands of volunteer birdwatchers and turning this information in sound science.
Frogs face virus risk in garden ponds – University of Exeter Pond owners are being urged not to use garden chemicals, or to
release goldfish into ponds, because of the risk they could pose to wild
frogs. Researchers from the University of Exeter found that the severity of
ranavirosis, a devastating disease that kills thousands of frogs each
year, increases in the presence of exotic fish. The use of garden
chemicals was also associated with increased severity of the disease. The study, which is published in the journal PLOS ONE, highlights the
risks of releasing fish into garden ponds. Fish may amplify viral
levels in the environment or cause stress hormone production that
reduces immune function in wild frogs. Lead author Alexandra North from the Environment and Sustainability
Institute at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall said:
“Our results show that we can all help limit the impact of this
devastating disease. It is important to reduce the use of garden
chemicals like slug pellets and weed killers, which weaken the immune
systems of frogs, and to stop stocking ponds with non-native species
like goldfish. Crucially, people should not move fish, frog spawn, pond
weeds or ornaments from one pond to another as this could spread the
disease.” The researchers analysed a long term dataset of mortalities in the
common frog from across Britain to identify which characteristics were
associated withranavirosis. Since 1992, UK pond owners have reported
common frog mass mortality events to the charity Froglife which
administers the dataset. Ranavirus causes systemic haemorrhaging and severe skin ulcers in
amphibians which can result in a loss of limbs, and often death. It is
thought to have entered the UK via the pet trade and has contributed to
the global decline in amphibians. Anthropogenic and Ecological Drivers of Amphibian Disease (Ranavirosis) by AC North, DJ Hodgson, SJ Price and AGF Griffiths is published in PLOS ONE.
Best year
yet for British bustards – Great Bustard Group 2015 marks the 12th year of the trial reintroduction of the Great
Bustard to Britain, and the 11th annual release of birds. The project
has given the Great Bustard Group a steep and steady learning curve with
improvements being made each year. The biggest breakthrough came in 2013 with the first release of Great
Bustards reared from Spanish eggs. Prior to this the GBG had operated an
egg rescue programme in Saratov in the Russian Federation, but a genetic
study undertaken by Dr. Paul O’Donoghue at the University of Chester
showed that the Spanish birds were closest to the original UK
population. Eggs, collected under licence in Castilla La Mancha, have been
transported to the UK for the last two years with collection undertaken
early in the season to encourage the females to lay a second clutch. The
eggs are transported to Madrid Zoo where incubation is continued until
they are moved to Birdworld, a specialist bird park in Farnham, Surrey.
Here the team continue the incubation and oversee the hatching of the
eggs. The day old chicks are then taken to the GBG Project Site in
Wiltshire and reared by the Great Bustard Group. The chicks need to be
bill fed with a puppet and exercised as they grow so the rearing team
wear dehumanisation suits to stop the chicks becoming attached to
humans. Last year, the first using Spanish Great Bustards, saw 33 birds
released and a spring census showed a survival rate of over 50% through
the first winter. This percentage is much better than was achieved when
using chicks imported from Russia, and is significantly better than the
22% which may be expected in a natural wild population. 2015 promises to an excellent year for the wild UK Great Bustard
population, with at least four nests discovered in Wiltshire and healthy
chicks already seen.
Resumption of aerial application of fungicide trial in Millbuie Forest,
Black Isle – Forestry Commission Scotland Forestry Commission Scotland is to resume its assessment trials of an
aerial application technique to help reduce the impacts of a serious
fungal disease of pine woodlands. A 14 hectare area on the national forest estate within the 2,500
hectare Millbuie Forest on the Black Isle will be treated with a
fungicide that has had a long history of use in agriculture to see if
the technique could potentially mitigate the impact of
Dothistroma needle blight. Weather conditions permitting, the trial is expected to take place
over one hour, on one day, between 11 June and 5 July, with initial
monitoring work by Forest Research being completed the same day. It follows from a similar test in 2013 on a 5 hectare Scots pine site
in Monaughty forest near Elgin. The planned 2014 trial was postponed due
mainly to unsuitable weather conditions during the application ‘window’. Hugh Clayden, Forestry Commission Scotland’s Tree Health Policy
Adviser, said: “Scotland’s forests, including our precious Caledonian
pinewoods, are an intrinsic, vitally important economic and
environmental asset. Limiting significant damage to them from tree pests
and diseases is a continuing challenge and we need to consider all
options when looking at the most effective way of managing these
threats. One disease in particular - Dothistroma needle blight – is
already widespread and could pose an increasing threat to these
woodlands. These trials will help us determine whether this aerial
application technique has a place in future disease management
strategies. "We will assess whether there is any significant impact on
non-target species - such as fungi, lichens, insects and plants - and we
are also looking to see if there are other, more effective fungicide
products that could be considered for aerial application.” The copper fungicide being applied in the tests poses no risk to
human or animal health and has long been used on cereal and potato
crops. It has also been used successfully in forest applications in New
Zealand over several decades.
Stoats present real and long-term challenge on Orkney - SNH Stoats on Orkney are likely to cause long-term damage to native
species – in particular to the native Orkney vole population – and
should be managed, a new report commissioned by Scottish Natural
Heritage (SNH) has recommended. The unwelcome predator has been introduced over the past five years.
There is some evidence its presence could lead to significant dips in
populations of Orkney voles and hen harriers. There is also concern that
stoat numbers, if unchecked, could affect the wildlife tourism industry
by depriving it of species of interest for visitors to watch. For instance the value to Scotland’s economy of nature based tourism
is £1.4 billion a year and 39,000 jobs (full-time equivalent) are
reliant on Scotland’s nature-based tourism. Figures for Orkney from 2011
show sustainable tourism ‘gross value added’ £14.2 million. Stoats, the report states, are likely to be present in sufficient
numbers to cause a population dip in the numbers of Orkney voles. There
are 380 ‘reliable’ sightings of stoats since 2010, with detections going
up since initial records in that year. The new report involves wildlife management experts at the University
of Aberdeen. They have advised on the impact the stoats could have on
the ecology of the Orkney islands and provide advice on potential
solutions. And the stoats could
also have a negative impact on already scarce populations of hen
harriers and short eared owls by depriving them of prey. The report concludes that management of the stoats is required to
reduce or remove the population. To meet this challenge SNH has
established a technical advisory group made up of experienced staff from
SNH; renowned academics and representatives of partners like RSPB with
the aim of bringing a management project forward, securing funding, and
establishing a plan of action. SNH believes this must be delivered with the support of the community
and land management sectors, and is keen to work with them and welcome
their interest as the project is developed. Click Here to download the report
£3.2m National Lottery grant to help tackle serious path erosion on
iconic Scottish peaks - Heritage Lottery Fund A project which brings together Scotland’s two National Park
Authorities to address the serious threat of man-made erosion to paths
across areas of outstanding natural beauty has been given a major boost
with the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) today (5/6/15) announcing a grant
of £3.26million.
Vital
works undertaken on Ben Lomond (image: Mick McGurk, from HLF)
The project will give 48 young people the opportunity to learn
essential countryside skills while gaining SVQ accreditation to help
them into employment. Additionally, a volunteer programme will recruit,
train and support volunteers in carrying out basic construction work,
maintenance and habitat management, while visitors will be given
information to ensure that they don’t damage the special environment
that they have come to enjoy through talks, events and social media. In total, a distance of 124.5km of eroded upland paths will be
restored and upgraded. They will then be monitored through an
Adopt-a-Path programme through which regular users of the paths will
provide feedback on their condition, enabling problems to be tackled
before they become a major issue. Colin McLean, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland, said:
“Scotland’s National Parks encompass some of the country’s most iconic
landscapes and are vital for their contribution to tourism as well as
for the health and social benefits of the millions of people that enjoy
them. Thanks to National Lottery players, we are delighted to be able to
support a project which encourages people to take ownership of this rich
heritage. Their newly-learned skills will not only make a positive
difference to their own lives but will play an important part in looking
after the future of Scotland’s magnificent landscapes.” Dougie Baird, Chief Executive of the Cairngorms Outdoor Access Trust
(COAT), added: “The Mountains and The People is a project designed to
bring the people of Scotland together to help look after some of
Scotland’s most precious national assets – the mountains of our National
Parks. Mountains in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs and the Cairngorms are
so important for nature and as places people can escape the hustle and
bustle of modern life. The HLF funding means we can now get started and
with all partners help protect the Scottish landscape for millions of
people to enjoy.” More details from
Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park -
£6.1M boost for Scottish National Park Mountains ‘Scotland’s National Parks - The Mountains and The People’ is a
five-year project that aims to engage people in protecting and
maintaining cherished Scottish peaks and create training opportunities
for 48 young people A partnership led by the Cairngorms Outdoor Access Trust (COAT) has
today welcomed the award of £3.28m by the Heritage Lottery Fund to
‘Scotland’s National Parks - The Mountains and The People’ project,
which will protect the mountains of Scotland’s National Parks and engage
the people of Scotland in caring for upland landscapes. The project represents the coming together of Scotland’s two National
Parks – Cairngorms National Park and Loch Lomond & The Trossachs
National Park – to work on a scale never previously attempted and in
conjunction with COAT, Scottish Natural Heritage and Forestry Commission
Scotland over a five-year period. Scotland’s National Parks - The Mountains and The People’ project
comprises six different elements.
Aluminium: A new factor in the decline of bee populations?
- Keele University A new scientific study has found very high amounts of aluminium
contamination in bees, raising the question of whether aluminium-induced
cognitive dysfunction is playing a role in the decline of bumblebee
populations. Aluminium is the Earth’s most ubiquitous ecotoxicant and is already
known to be responsible for the death of fish in acid lakes, forest
decline in acidified and nutrient impoverished catchments, and low crop
productivity on acid sulphate soils. Now, a collaboration between
Professors Chris Exley (Keele University) and Dave Goulson (University
of Sussex) raises questions on the role of aluminium in the decline of
the bumblebee. Previous research had suggested that when bees forage for nectar they
do not actively avoid nectar which contains aluminium. This prompted the
suggestion by Exley and Goulson that bees may be accumulating aluminium
within their life cycle. Researchers at University of Sussex collected
pupae from colonies of naturally foraging bumblebees and sent them to
Keele University where their aluminium content was determined. The pupae were found to be heavily contaminated with aluminium, with
individual contents ranging from between and 13 and nearly 200 ppm.
Smaller pupae had significantly higher contents of aluminium. To put these aluminium contents in some context, a value of 3 ppm
would be considered as potentially pathological in human brain tissue.
While preliminary, these data have shown the significant accumulation of
aluminium in at least one stage of the bumblebee life cycle and suggest
the possibility of another stressor contributing to the decline in its
numbers. Professor Exley, a leading authority on human exposure to aluminium,
from Keele University said: "It is widely accepted that a number of
interacting factors are likely to be involved in the decline of bees and
other pollinators – lack of flowers, attacks by parasites, and exposure
to pesticide cocktails, for example. Aluminium is a known neurotoxin
affecting behaviour in animal models of aluminium intoxication. Bees, of
course, rely heavily on cognitive function in their everyday behaviour
and these data raise the intriguing spectre that aluminium-induced
cognitive dysfunction may play a role in their population decline – are
we looking at bees with Alzheimer’s disease?” Read the paper: Exley C, Rotheray E, Goulson D (2015) Bumblebee Pupae Contain High Levels of Aluminium. PLoS ONE 10(6): e0127665. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0127665
Ana Rita Domingues, Sara Moreno Pires, Sandra Caeiro, Tomás B. Ramos,
Defining criteria and indicators for a sustainability label of local
public services, Ecological Indicators, Volume 57, October 2015,
Pages 452-464, ISSN 1470-160X, DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.05.016.
Tian Gao, Anders Busse Nielsen, Marcus Hedblom, Reviewing the strength of evidence of biodiversity indicators for forest ecosystems in Europe, Ecological Indicators, Volume 57, October 2015, Pages 420-434, ISSN 1470-160X, DOI: /10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.05.028.
Will B. Kirby , Paul E. Bellamy , Andrew J. Stanbury , Andrew J.
Bladon , Phil V. Grice , Simon Gillings
Breeding season habitat associations and population declines of British
Hawfinches Coccothraustes coccothraustes Bird Study DOI:
10.1080/00063657.2015.1046368 Eri Ohgushi, Chihiro Mori and Kazuhiro Wada
Diurnal oscillation of vocal development associated with clustered
singing by juvenile songbirds. Journal of Experimental Biology
DOI: 10.1242/jeb.115105 Hatch, Joshua M., Wiley, David, Murray, Kimberly T., Welch, Linda
Integrating satellite-tagged seabird and fishery-dependent data: a case
study of Great Shearwaters (Puffinus gravis) and the U.S. New England
sink gillnet fishery.
Conservation Letters DOI: 10.1111/conl.12178 Marco, Moreno Di, Butchart, Stuart H. M., Visconti, Piero, Buchanan,
Graeme M., Ficetola, Gentile F., Rondinini, Carlo
Synergies and trade-offs in achieving global biodiversity targets.
Conservation Biology Nel, Jeanne L., Roux, Dirk J., Driver, Amanda, Hill, Liesl, Maherry,
Ashton, Snaddon, Kate, Petersen, Chantel, Smith-Adao, Lindie B., Van
Deventer, Heidi, Reyers, Belinda.
Knowledge co-production and boundary work to promote implementation of
conservation plans.
Conservation Biology DOI:
10.1111/cobi.12560 Abrams, R. W. (2015),
Why
we should help people understand our scientific literature.
Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12543
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