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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.

 

Kennet & Avon Canal's water vole havens get national commendation - Canal & Water Trust

A unique solution to fixing 200 year old canal banks on the Kennet & Avon Canal has been commended by top ecologists for its innovative water vole-friendly approach.

We've been commended by the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIWEM) for our work to balance the needs of our historic canal, boats, visitors and those of the UK’s fastest declining mammal.

We have pioneered a technique to repair deteriorating canal banks using a fabric called Nicospan, which is installed on posts below the waterline to rebuild and protect the bank, leaving water voles and other wildlife with access to their natural habitats. 

So far sites along a nine mile stretch of canal bank have been fixed in this way, recycling dredged material to rebuild the canal banks, at a total cost of £1.7 million. 

 

Defra's data reserves to be released – National Biodiversity Network

Defra's data reserves will be released to create opportunities for people in the UK making their living from food, farming and the environment.
Vast data reserves from Defra are set to transform the world of food and farming in the single biggest government data giveaway the UK has ever seen, Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss announced last month.
Outlining her vision for the future of British food, farming and the natural environment, the Environment Secretary said that over the next year, virtually all the data Defra holds—at least 8,000 sets—will be made freely available to the public, putting Britain at the forefront of the data revolution.
Harnessing this open data will help food and farming achieve its full potential and enable the UK to become a one-nation economy, where the productivity of the countryside will be brought up to the level of our towns and cities.
Speaking to an audience of tech experts, entrepreneurs and investors in Tech City, the Environment Secretary said: “Defra is the most data-rich department in Whitehall, though much of it—millions and millions of files—is hidden away. It is worth billions of pounds to British people, businesses and our rural economy, and it can be used to improve the quality of our natural environment. It’s time to realise that value and tap into the aspiration at the heart of our rural communities to drive up productivity and deliver the true one nation economy this country deserves.”

 

Salmon make welcome return to the Calder – Heritage Lottery Fund

Ribble Rivers Trust and the Environment Agency are celebrating the exciting discovery that salmon fry are present in new locations in the Calder river system for the first time in decades.

The news follows five years of the charity working in the Calder Catchment to remove barriers to fish migration, enabling salmon and sea trout to migrate from the sea to their preferred spawning grounds high up in the river system.

The Trust undertakes fish surveys in the Ribble Catchment every summer and this is the first time their fisheries scientists have found salmon upstream of Padiham.  The new locations so far include Colne town centre and Towneley Park in Burnley.

After years of work by the Environment Agency to improve the Calder’s water quality, work began in 2010 on Padiham Weir with funding from the Environment Agency and others to make it passable to all fish species in all flow conditions.  Subsequently, Ribble Trust worked on more barriers on Pendle Water and Colne Water using Defra’s Catchment Restoration Fund.

           

Record-breaking bird settles into new home at RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh - RSPB

Arctic tern Image: Graham CatleyArctic tern Image: Graham Catley

It’s smiles all round for staff and volunteers at RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh after efforts to create a safe home for a record-breaking bird have proven to be successful.
Both Arctic and common terns are now nesting safely at the reserve after the team placed two brand new purpose-built rafts out on site, thanks to funding of £43,026 from The Veolia Environmental Trust, which was awarded through the Landfill Communities Fund. Covered in cockle shells to replicate the shingle beaches where they would normally nest, the tern rafts help to protect the eggs and chicks of these delightful birds from predators.

 

Study shows grey squirrels are quick learners – University of Exeter

They may be viewed by some as an invasive species or a commonplace pest of public parks, but a new study from the University of Exeter has shown that grey squirrels are actually quick learners capable of adapting tactics to improve efficiency and reap the best rewards.

To test the animals’ intelligence and mental flexibility researchers invented a task involving a box with 12 sunken wells, four of which were hollow. Of the four, two contained hidden hazelnuts.

The five squirrels observed in the study (named Simon, Arnold, Sarah, Leonard and Suzy) were all given training prior to the task so they were proficient at using their paws or teeth to peel back the layer of paper hiding a nut inside the wells.

The hazelnuts were placed in the wells diagonally across from each other, meaning that the least efficient way for the squirrels to locate the food was to check each well in a clockwise or counter-clockwise sequence, and the most effective was an ‘integrative’ approach where squirrels checked only the two diagonal wells that contained food, ignoring the two empty wells.

In the study, published today (6 July) in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition, all of the squirrels showed clear improvement over successive attempts with the box, becoming more efficient in adjusting their behaviour to adapt to the task.

Lead author of the study, Pizza Ka Yee Chow of the Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour at the University of Exeter, explained: “This was only a small study but the results are quite remarkable – the squirrels learned to pick the diagonally opposite well if the first one they picked contained a nut. They made a decreased number of errors as they learned and progressively changed their tactic to increase efficiency and obtain the hidden rewards.”

‘Serial Reversal Learning in Grey Squirrels: Learning Efficiency as a Function of Learning and Change of Tactics’ by Pizza K. Y. Chow, Lisa A. Leaver, Ming Wang and Stephen E. G. Lea is published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition.

 

New nature skills hub for UK’s largest wildlife volunteer project – The Wildlife Trusts

The Wild Skill Group outside the new Volunteer Training Centre credit Becky Corby

The Wild Skill Group outside the new Volunteer Training Centre credit Becky Corby

Sir David Attenborough pays tribute to The Wildlife Trusts’ 40,000 nature volunteers at exemplar centre.

Sir David Attenborough will officially open the UK’s largest wildlife Volunteer Training Centre today (7 July), celebrating the thousands of nature enthusiasts in the UK who give their free time to help protect and care for the natural world.

The new hub will be a boon for the 400 volunteers who give 35,000 hours each year to Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust’s Rutland Water nature reserve, the largest wildlife volunteer project in the country.  In the past 25 years volunteers have dedicated 691,512 hours or 86,439 days or 237 years to Rutland Water nature reserve.

From osprey guarding and surveillance, bird-ringing to dry stone-walling and hedge-laying to wildlife-recording, the new Volunteer Training Centre, at Rutland Water Nature Reserve, will provide an extraordinary range of opportunities for people to gain new skills and enjoy time outdoors.  It will offer training and support for volunteers in nature conservation, countryside and heritage skills.

Active contact with nature can help prevent and cure health problems. People who live near and experience green spaces have a 50% chance of being more healthy, both physically and mentally, and are 40% less likely to become overweight or obese.  The Wildlife Trusts’ volunteers are getting back in touch with the natural environment, helping it to recover. This contact with nature also makes a big difference to many people’s lives.

 

Sick squirrel sparks pox fear – Lancashire Wildlife Trust

Image: Red squirrel severely affected by the pox (Lancashire Wildlife Trust)Image: Red squirrel severely affected by the pox (Lancashire Wildlife Trust)

Experts are calling on the public to become “squirrel aware” to prevent the spread of a devastating disease among local red squirrels.

Concerns have been raised after a red squirrel was found suffering from the pox that almost wiped out the population in Merseyside and West Lancashire in 2008.

The squirrel was taken to a local vet with an advanced case of the pox and had to be euthanized. It was the second case of the pox in Blundellsdands this year.
The Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Red Squirrel Project Officer Rachel Miller said: “The pox virus is carried by grey squirrels but they do not suffer from any symptoms of the disease.

“When it is passed to a red squirrel, it is fatal and the squirrel usually dies within two weeks. The disease can look like myxomatosis in rabbits, with lesions developing around the eyes, mouth and paws.

“The squirrels find it difficult to eat and drink and therefore become very dehydrated and lethargic. It is a terrible disease.” 

The last outbreak of squirrel pox in 2008 resulted in the red squirrel population plummeting by 80per cent. 

 

Too many businesses unaware of impact of declining natural capital – The James Hutton Institute

Corporate awareness around the value of Natural Capital is growing, but not as fast as the risks. All too often, natural capital is still invisible in business decision making

The Natural Capital Initiative, a partnership between the Society of Biology, British Ecological Society, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the James Hutton Institute, has launched the ‘Valuing our Life Support Systems’ report at a summit which saw researchers, business leaders and policy makers come together to discuss the valuation and stewardship of our natural capital.

Natural Capital is a term used to describe the parts of the natural environment that produce value to people; it is our ‘stock’ of waters, land, air, species, minerals and oceans. This stock underpins our economy by producing value for people, both directly and indirectly.

NCI partnered with the Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology (POST) to launch the report; a synthesis of key messages from the natural capital summit in November 2014.

The report sets out how the valuation of natural capital is gaining traction with UK business and is being incorporated into policies and strategies. It highlights the need for natural capital concepts to be coherent and based on evidence, and developed within a robust ethical framework.

 

Climate Change Minister Signs International Agreement – Keep Scotland Beautiful

Scotland has signed up to an international partnership of Governments committed to ambitious action to tackle climate change, Climate Change Minister Aileen McLeod announced on 1st July 2015.

Dr McLeod, who attended the World Summit: Climate and Territories event in Lyon, signed the Under 2 MoU, which brings together state, regional and devolved governments willing to commit to either reducing their greenhouse gas emissions 80-95 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050 or achieving a per capita emissions target of less than 2 metric tons by 2050.

This agreement means Scotland joins an ambitious group spanning four continents and eight countries with a total population of approximately 109 million residents and a collective GDP over $4.5 trillion.

 

England Coast Path from Lyme Regis to Rufus Castle: comment on proposals – Natural England

On 8 July 2015, Natural England submitted a report to the Secretary of State for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) setting out our proposals for improved access to the Dorset coast between Lyme Regis and Rufus Castle, Portland.

All representations and objections will be considered before the Secretary of State makes a final decision about the report.

Click Here to read the Lyme Regis to Rufus Castle overview (PDF, 789KB, 40 pages)

 

New research sheds light on future seasonal extremes – Met Office

A more detailed view of how England and Wales climate is expected to change out to 2100 has been revealed in new research from the Met Office.

Published in Nature Climate Change, the research paper adds new insights to the UKCP09 climate projections - which provided information on how the UK climate might change in future based on 30-year averages. Headline conclusions from UKCP09 were that in future we would expect a general trend towards milder, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers.

The newly published paper goes further by providing detail on how this trend interacts with the year-to-year variability in our climate system to affect individual seasons. Results reveal that the chances of, for example, very cold winters or very wet summers reduce as the world warms under climate change - but they would still be possible in individual years.

David Sexton, lead author of the new research, said: "The original headline UKCP09 trends tell us how typical seasons might change, but our new research provides a more detailed picture of the range of seasonal temperatures and rainfall we could see in a given year. The future climate can now be described in terms of the extreme hot, cold, wet or dry seasons which could associate with floods, droughts, heatwaves and cold spells that impact society."

The paper suggests revised headlines for UKCP09 would be that we can expect an increasing chance of warmer winters, with fewer colder ones and we can also expect an increasing chance of dry summers, but only a modest reduction in the chances of very wet summers.

 

DWT adds Dartmoor 'jewel' reserve – Devon Wildlife Trust

70 hectares of wildlife-rich land close to one of Dartmoor’s most popular recreation sites is set to become a brand new nature reserve thanks to a partnership between Devon Wildlife Trust and the Forestry Commission.
The nature reserve, which is to be called Bellever Moor and Meadow, is owned by the Forestry Commission and is close to the moorland village of Postbridge and the well-known Bellever Forest picnic site. The land, which is made up of a patchwork of traditional hay-meadows, wet grassland and moorland, is set to become the latest of nearly 50 nature reserves cared for by local charity, the Devon Wildlife Trust. 

Bellever Moor and Meadow has been leased to Devon Wildlife Trust by the Forestry Commission under a 25 year management agreement. The Forestry Commission identified the opportunity for the land to be managed more effectively for wildlife and approached Devon Wildlife Trust to propose the partnership agreement.  It will be open to the public to explore and enjoy for free, 365 days a year. And like all of Devon Wildlife Trust’s nature reserves, it will be managed as a haven for local wildlife.
Devon Wildlife Trust’s Nature Reserves Manager, Matt Boydell, was part of the team that worked with the Forestry Commission to agree the lease. He said: “Bellever Moor and Meadow is a stunning site and provides a wonderful opportunity for Devon Wildlife Trust to become more actively involved in the very heart of Dartmoor. The nature reserve also gives us a chance to put the skills we’ve gained over the last 20 years in restoring and re-creating grassland to use on Dartmoor in the restoration of nationally rare upland hay meadows.”
It will be the job of Devon Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve officer Ian Chadwick to look after the new site day-to-day. Ian has more than ten years of experience managing wildlife reserves in the South West. Ian said: “This really is exciting!  It’s a jewel of a place. Over the next few months we will ensure we get out on to the nature reserve as much as is possible and to start to develop an understanding of the plant and other species currently found there. It will also be an opportunity to speak with local people and find out more about the history and potential of this stunning location.”

 

The first GM oilseed crop to produce omega-3 fish oils in the field - Rothamsted Research

Scientists at Rothamsted Research announce the first year results of the field-scale trial of Camelina oilseed plants genetically engineered to make omega-3 fish oils in their seeds. In a landmark paper published today in the journal Metabolic Engineering Communications, scientists at Rothamsted Research have announced the first year results of the field-scale trial of Camelina oilseed plants genetically engineered to make omega-3 fish oils in their seeds.

Omega-3 fish oils specifically long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 LC-PUFA) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are acknowledged by the medical community to be beneficial components of the human diet. The primary dietary sources of EPA & DHA are marine fish, either wild or farmed (aquaculture). Although some types of omega-3 fats are available from other sources in the human diet (such as flax seeds), the nutritionally-beneficial omega- 3 LC- PUFA EPA & DHA are only available from marine sources. Fish, like humans, accumulate the omega-3 fish oils by feeding on other organisms in the marine food chain or, in the case of farmed fish, through fishmeal and fish oil in feed.

Farmed fish is a rapidly growing sector, and today over half of the fish consumed worldwide comes from aquaculture. As the production of fish through aquaculture increases so does the need to find alternative sources of omega-3 fish oils. Rothamsted's new data - which demonstrate an important proof of concept that a crop plant can be engineered to synthesise these beneficial fatty acids in seeds - provide hope for sustainable land-based sources of omega-3 fish oils, thereby releasing pressure from the oceans.

Dr Olga Sayanova, the senior Rothamsted Researcher who developed the GM Camelina plants, commented: “We are delighted with the results of our first year field trial. Finding a land-based source of feedstocks containing omega-3 fish oils has long been an urgent priority for truly sustainable aquaculture. Our results give hope that oilseed crops grown on land can contribute to improving the sustainability of the fish farming industry and the marine environment in the future."

 

Reactions to today's Budget from the Chancellor of Exchequer

Budget 2015 – transport – CPRE

Budget: Chancellor’s Budget a major blow to rural family businesses – CLA

Budget snub to climate change action, as Chancellor adds more fossil fuel to the fire – Friends of the Earth

 

Defra Minister declares Broads National Park branding “common sense” – Broads Authority

Minister Rory Stewart today [8 July] said that Government officials were “more than comfortable” with the move to call the Broads a National Park. The Defra Minister in charge of National Parks added that the title was a “common sense term” which allowed the public to understand the protected status and special qualities of the Broads.

Mr Stewart was responding to questions raised by Broadland MP Keith Simpson who tabled a half hour debate at Westminster Hall focusing on the branding and direct elections of Broads Authority members.

Mr Simpson questioned the Minister about whether the bill announced in the last Queen’s speech concerning direct elections was to be taken forward, arguing for more accountability among members of National Park Authorities and the Broads Authority. He also asked the Minister what the legal status of the Broads was in the light of the recent branding initiative which applied to the area only, pressing the Minister for a clear statement on these two issues.

Mr Stewart said that “Defra does not wish for the Broads Authority to be controlled by National Park legislation” because of the Authority’s additional navigation responsibility and the fact that the Broads is not subject to the Sandford Principle like other members of the National Parks family.

The Authority has already made it clear that it will not be adopting the Sandford Principle, which requires greater weight to be given to conservation rather than recreation if there is an irreconcilable conflict between the two. Instead its three purposes, including navigation, will continue to carry equal weight.

“We do recognise the power of the national and international National Park brand and the value that using it for the Broads can bring but this should not detract from navigation responsibilities,” said Mr Stewart. “We are very comfortable with the Broads calling itself a National Park, it is a common sense term for the public to understand that the Broads is a protected area with the qualities of a National Park, and we are proud of the Broads Authority which is not a second class authority.”

Mr Stewart also praised the work of the Authority in balancing its environmental, tourism and navigation interests and quoted Ted Ellis in calling it a breathing space for the cure of souls. He confirmed that the Government does not intend to bring forward any legislation on the matter of direct elections and praised the existing accountability that Broads Authority members already have through locally elected councillors and toll payers.

 

Bird scientists go batty in Norfolk - BTO

New research from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) just published in the international journal Biological Conservation, shows how data collected by an army of volunteer citizen scientists have been used to map bats in unprecedented detail. The 'Norfolk Bat Survey' began in 2013, and has since been extended to some neighbouring parts of East Anglia by popular demand.

The Survey’s organisers have taken advantage of advances in technology to map bat distributions, and activity on a scale never before seen. Bat monitoring has traditionally been challenging, because most species are nocturnal, wide-ranging and difficult to identify. Developments in passive bat detectors, which automatically trigger and record passing bats, along with software for semi-automating the analysis of resulting sound files, have allowed BTO scientists to overcome these obstacles.

The Norfolk Bat Survey relies on a network of ‘Bat Monitoring Centres’ from which members of the public borrow passive bat detectors. With 786 1-km squares (about 15% of Norfolk) covered over two years, the Survey has generated over 600,000 bat recordings, making it one of the most extensive high-quality datasets for bats from anywhere in the world after only two seasons.

The project has improved our understanding of spatial patterns of bat distribution and activity of all species, from the near-ubiquitous Common Pipistrelle to the locally scarce Leisler’s Bat for which the number of records has increased from 10 to almost 300. The study also reveals how bat activity varies through the year. For example, the project shows how several species disperse after breeding into areas that they are not reported from earlier in the season.

Dr Stuart Newson, BTO Senior Research Ecologist commented “It has been really exciting to have an opportunity to work in partnership with local bat groups, local and national organisations and local libraries to develop this project and improve our understanding of bats. Stuart added “This project was initially set up because of a personal interest in bats, but as a result there is tremendous scope now for extending a survey of this design to other parts of the country and abroad, where there are many observers and a freely available reference library of bat calls for training identification software.” 

 

Mar’s millennia of mountaineers – National Trust for Scotland

Archaeologists working on the National Trust for Scotland’s Mar Lodge Estate in Aberdeenshire have uncovered evidence that people were active in this mountainous landscape thousands of years earlier than previously thought. Excavations at sites deep in the Cairngorm glens have produced radiocarbon dates which demonstrate a human presence as far back as 8,100 BC, with some places being revisited over many thousands of years.
The first evidence that hunter-gatherer groups were living in the Cairngorms was discovered on the Mar Lodge Estate in 2003, when a major footpath repair programme turned up prehistoric worked stone artefacts. Without radiocarbon dates only an approximate date for the artefacts was possible at the time, with initial estimates of around 5,000 BC.
A partnership among the National Trust for Scotland and archaeologists and environmental scientists from Aberdeen University, University College Dublin and Stirling University established the Upper Dee Tributaries Project in 2013 to develop our understanding of the Estate’s prehistory. Now entering its third season, the project is casting fascinating light on how early people used these upland landscapes after the retreat of the last glaciers – something about which very little is known in Scotland.
Radiocarbon dates of 6,200 - 6,100 BC from a site in Glen Geldie are remarkable because they coincide with the most dramatic climatic deterioration seen since the last ice age, in which permanent snow fields would have been a feature of the Cairngorms, and glaciers may have started reforming. The site is being excavated by a team from University College Dublin.
Trust Archaeologist Dr Shannon Fraser said: “It is incredible to think that what we have discovered at this one spot in a vast landscape may represent a small group of people stopping for only a night or two, repairing their hunting equipment and then moving on. Glen Geldie is a very chilly place today, even with all our modern outdoor clothing – it is hard to imagine what it must have been like in the much harsher climate 8,000 years ago.”

 

Wildlife organisations call to arms to help Devons bees  - Buglife

Buglife and other organisations involved in Devon Local Nature Partnership are appealing to Devon’s residents to do one simple thing to help bees and other pollinating insects this National Pollinator Week.

Wild bees and other insect pollinators are faced with a perfect storm of pressures which have all led to their decline, these include: a loss of wildflower-rich habitats through the intensification of farming, urban development, and the increased use of pesticides.  As a result half of the UK’s 27 bumblebee species, two-thirds of our moths and over 70% of our butterflies are in long-term decline.

Andrew Whitehouse, South West Manager at Buglife said “The South West remains a stronghold for some of the UK’s most threatened bee species.  But, over the past 50 years we have seen the local extinction of many of Devon’s special bees including the Large garden bumblebee (Bombus ruderatus). Some are precariously holding on, such as the Six-banded nomad bee (Nomada sexfasciata) which has all but disappeared from the UK, except for a last remaining site in South Devon”.

Andrew said “We need to take urgent action to reverse the declines in our bees, butterflies, hoverflies and moths.  By making space for wildlife in our gardens we can give Devon’s pollinators a helping hand.”

 

Brightly coloured day moth seen on Tiree: First record of a six-spot burnet on the island - RSPB

Six-spot Burnet Moth credit John BowlerA brightly coloured moth has been recorded for the first time on Tiree by RSPB Scotland. Although six-spot burnet moths are common across much of England, Wales and Ireland they more thinly distributed across Scotland. 

The six-spot burnet moth seen on Tiree. Image: John Bowler via RSPB

A team from RSPB Scotland carrying out insect survey work on the island came across the moth.  Six-spot burnets are often mistaken for butterflies due to their colouring and because they are active during the day. The moths are a dark blue black colour with a metallic sheen. They have six bright red spots on each of their forewings, and their hind wings are completely red.

James Silvey, Nature Recovery Officer at RSPB Scotland said: “The moth was on the ground basking in the sunshine as we walked past so it was easy to see all six of the spots on each wing. Six-spot burnets are found in the Outer Hebrides and in some coastal areas of Scotland so it’s exciting that we’ve seen one on Tiree.  They’re about during the summer between June and August and are attracted to a range of flowers including thistles.”

 

Jonathan Dimbleby steps out to open new route on Coast Path – National Trails

Jonathan Dimbleby has marked a significant milestone in the history of the South West Coast Path today, by officially opening a new stretch between Strete and Strete Gate in South Devon. The event follows years of local residents and groups campaigning to take the route off a busy road.

Thanks to Natural England and Devon County Council for providing the majority of funding and a contribution from Strete Parish Council, along with the collaboration of local landowners and the South West Coast Path Association, this hotly anticipated project is finally complete and a route that has never before seen views of some of Devon’s finest coastline, can now be accessed by the public.

Broadcaster and local resident, Jonathan Dimbleby, is passionate about the coast close to his home in Moreleigh, South Devon, and is a keen supporter of campaigns to protect public access to beautiful places. He said:“I was very pleased to accept the invitation from the South West Coast Path Association to open this new and important section of the Coast Path. As a local resident I enjoy regular walks on the South Devon coastline which has everything, from sandy beaches and secluded coves to rockpools and dramatic cliffs. Walking the South West Coast Path is the best way to experience this natural beauty and it’s vitally important that this access is maintained. This new section at Strete represents the fantastic work of the South West Coast Path National Trail Partnership to secure the best possible route as part of its 630-mile National Trail.”

The opening event, organised by the South West Coast Path Association to thank the core funders of the project, was also a celebration, as the Charity unveiled its new website and a new fundraising event, the South West Coast Path Challenge taking place throughout October.

This project represents one of the charity’s original aims to campaign for the best possible route for walkers, close to the coast and off road. Strete has long been considered the most hazardous road sections on the entire 630 mile route, and there are no comparable road sections remaining.

 

Scientific papers

Felda, C. K. et al (2015) Disentangling the effects of land use and geo-climatic factors on diversity in European freshwater ecosystems. Ecological Indicators. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.06.024

 

Mammides, C., Chen, J., Manage Goodale, U., Wimalabandara Kotagama, S., Sidhu, S. & Goodale, E. (2015)  Does mixed-species flocking influence how birds respond to a gradient of land-use intensity? Royal Society Proceedings B. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.1118

 

Vilmia, A., Karjalainen, A. M., Nokelac, T., Tolonena, K. & Heinoa, J. (2015) Unravelling the drivers of aquatic communities using disparate organismal groups and different taxonomic levels. Ecological Indicators. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.06.023

 

Patricelli, D. et al. (2015) Plant defences against ants provide a pathway to social parasitism in butterflies. Royal Society Proceedings B. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.1111

 

Furnessa, R. W. (2015) Density dependence in seabirds: Great Skuas Stercorarius skua start to breed at a younger age when conditions are better. Ringing & Migration DOI: 10.1080/03078698.2015.1059631

 

Krosby M. et al. (2015) Climate-induced range overlap among closely related species. Nature Climate Change. doi:10.1038/nclimate2699

 

Sexton, D. M. H. & Harris, G. R. (2015) The importance of including variability in climate change projections used for adaptation. Nature Climate Change. doi:10.1038/nclimate2705

 

McCollin, D., Hodgson, J. & Crockett, R. (2015) Do British birds conform to Bergmann's and Allen's rules? An analysis of body size variation with latitude for four species. Bird Study. DOI: 10.1080/00063657.2015.1061476

 

Dicks, L. V. et al (2015) How much flower-rich habitat is enough for wild pollinators? Answering a key policy question with incomplete knowledge. Ecological Entomology. DOI: 10.1111/een.12226

 

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