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Headlines from week beginning 17 April 2017 |
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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
New review charts evolution of climate change guidance for fluvial flood
risk management in England – Centre for
Ecology & Hydrology Scientists at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) have
undertaken a new review which charts the past, present and future of
climate
The review was conducted in collaboration with the Environment Agency
(EA) and documents how advances in the science of climate change and
hydrology over the past 25 years have helped to manage flood risk. The
principles can also be applied to drought management. Image: Centre for Ecology & Hydrology The paper, published in the journal Progress in Physical Geography,
calls for further research on the potential impacts of climate change on
floods including incorporating changes to more short-duration, extreme
events. Lead author Dr Nick Reynard, Science Area Lead for Natural Hazards at
CEH, said, “This paper illustrates a good example of how science can
provide the evidence for the development of environmental policy. CEH
has provided data and tools to support climate change policy and
decision-making for flood management, complementing the work we do for
flood risk estimation through the Flood Estimation Handbook.” Read the paper: Nicholas S Reynard,
Alison L Kay, Molly Anderson, Bill Donovan and Caroline Duckworth, ‘The
evolution of climate change guidance for fluvial flood risk management
in England,’ Progress in Physical Geography, published 13 April
2017. Doi: 10.1177/0309133317702566
Can barnacle geese predict the climate? -
Netherlands Institute of Ecology The breeding grounds of Arctic migratory birds such as the barnacle
goose are changing rapidly due to accelerated warming in the polar
regions. They won't be able to keep up with the changes unless they can
somehow anticipate them. A team of researchers from the Netherlands
Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) employed models to assess the future
prospects of the geese and their young. Results are being published
online today by the scientific journal Global Change Biology.
It's the time of year when barnacle geese and many other migratory
birds prepare to depart for their breeding grounds above the Arctic
Circle. From their wintering grounds in the Netherlands, the geese go
all the way up to the Barentsz Sea in northern Russia, where they should
arrive just as the snow has melted. But in the polar regions, the
climate is warming much more rapidly than here - a phenomenon known as
'Arctic amplification'. It's hard enough for humans to get to grips with the accelerated
warming, let alone for barnacle geese, as an earlier NIOO-led study
showed. After all, how can they tell from their wintering grounds if the
snow has begun to melt thousands of kilometres away? So is it possible
for the barnacle geese to advance their spring migration nonetheless,
and predict climate change? Ecologist Thomas Lameris from NIOO says: "Our results are probably
valid for many more species of Arctic-breeding migratory birds, and
certainly for other geese such as the white-fronted and the brent goose.
On the whole, geese are clever birds. Goslings learn the migration route
from their parents, including the best places to stop over and build up
reserves. "So if they do change the timing of their arrival, it would be
easy to pass that on to the next generation", Lameris argues hopefully.
"The main question is whether geese and other migratory birds can adapt
as fast as the climate changes, to keep up with the changes." Access the publication Potential
for an Arctic-breeding migratory bird to adjust spring migration
phenology to Arctic amplification. Thomas K. Lameris, Ilse Scholten,
Silke Bauer, Marleen M.P. Cobben, Bruno J. Ens, Bart A. Nolet, 2017.
Global Change Biology, DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13684 (advanced online edition).
Fire threatens return of extinct butterfly -
Lancashire Wildlife Trust Arsonists are believed to be behind the devastation of one of the
last few areas of lowland raised bog in Lancashire and put in jeopardy a
project to restore a butterfly to the mossland where it has been extinct
for more than 50 years.
Three years ago the Large Heath butterfly was reintroduced to Heysham
Moss as part of a joint project with Chester Zoo. The recent fire has
swept across the Moss destroying much of the habitat that is currently
supporting the establishing Large Heath colony. While many of the plants will recover slowly over the next few years
it is a serious blow to the ongoing restoration of this special place
that is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Critically, the fire has also almost certainly wiped out any chance of
survival of the Large Heath. The reserve is owned by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust and LWT Reserve
Officer Reuben Neville said: “The fire has probably destroyed the
caterpillars which are active among the vegetation at this time of the
year and any that have survived will struggle to find any remaining food
plants." Sarah Bird at Chester Zoo commented. “We are all devastated after all
the work that’s been done restoring the site and raising and releasing
the butterflies. It is particularly sad for the children that were so
excited to help us with the butterfly releases in the last few years.”
Birds vs. bees: Study helps explain how flowers evolved to get
pollinators to specialize - Worcester
Polytechnic Institute Work by Robert J. Gegear at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
shows that flowers that were thought to have evolved to lure
hummingbirds, actually have combinations of traits that discourage
wasteful visits by bumblebees.
Bird vs. Bee (image: Worcester Polytechnic
Institute)
Most hummingbird-pollinated flowers evolved from bee-pollinated
ancestors, according to lead author Robert J. Gegear, assistant
professor of biology and biotechnology at Worcester Polytechnic
Institute (WPI). While the “bee” floral variants tend to be upright and
have blue or purple coloration, the “bird” variants have a horizontal
orientation and red or orange coloration. Also, bee flowers typically
contain small amounts of concentrated nectar, while bird flowers have
larger amounts of dilute nectar. While it has long been thought that the characteristics of bird
flowers operate independently to make it difficult for bees to access
their nectar (or in the case of the red coloration, to even see the
flowers), Gegear’s research shows that, in fact, the traits interact
synergistically to encourage bees to look elsewhere for nectar rewards. Suffolk residents called to survey precious wood pasture & parkland sites across the county - People’s Trust for Endangered Species Wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is
launching a new conservation project this April to help protect
Britain’s precious wood pasture and parkland habitats, which are home to
several endangered species such as the lesser-spotted woodpecker, violet
click beetle and the pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly. The first
phase of this new project will be piloted in Suffolk, a county which is
home to 1,250 of these ecologically important and iconic habitats. PTES
is calling for local volunteers to help by trialling a simple survey
that has been devised to assess the condition of these important
habitats.
Megan Gimber, Key Habitats Officer at PTES said: “Despite the value
of wood pasture and parkland, it is a habitat that is little understood
and has historically been overlooked – often being mistaken for other
habitats such as degraded woodland or grassland containing trees. Here
at PTES we are excited to launch the first phase of this new project.
This pilot in Suffolk is the first step towards preserving this key
habitat. We believe Suffolk may have a plethora of remaining wood
pasture fragments, so we hope that local residents will help us by
surveying these sites.”
Lead fragments from shot wildlife threat to
Golden Eagles
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Golden Eagles face a known yet underestimated threat. Fragments from
lead-based ammunition in carcasses and gut piles of shot wildlife eaten
by Golden Eagles poison the eagles and deteriorate their flight
performance. A ban of lead-based ammunition is vital, if we are to
remove this threat to their survival. The researchers took blood samples from free-ranging Golden Eagles in
Sweden and equipped the eagles with transmitters. Lead
concentrations in blood of the eagles increased with the progression of
the moose hunting season, a period when many Golden Eagles are
scavenging and feed on lead-contaminated carcasses and offal of shot
wildlife. Thanks to the transmitter data, the researchers show
that eagles with elevated lead concentrations moved less and flew at
lower height than the eagles with lower lead concentrations. This
behavioural effect was even evident at lead concentrations that so far
have been considered as baseline levels. The researchers also analysed the lead concentrations in the liver of
dead eagles stored at the museum and the veterinary institute whose
cause of death was identified. Their results indicate that even at low
concentrations of lead, the risk of death due to e.g. starvation and
collision with traffic was high. The identified lead problem is most likely not restricted to Sweden
but occurs globally wherever lead-based ammunition is used, and possibly
also threatens other scavengers. Access the paper: Frauke Ecke et al.
Sub-lethal
lead exposure alters movement behavior in free-ranging Golden Eagles
Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b06024 Scientific Publication Pulsford, S. A., Driscoll, D. A., Barton, P. S. and Lindenmayer, D.
B. ,
Remnant vegetation, plantings, and fences are beneficial for reptiles in
agricultural landscapes. J Appl Ecol. Accepted Author Manuscript.
doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12923
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CJS is not responsible for content of external sites. Details believed correct but given without prejudice. Disclaimer: the views expressed in these news pages do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CJS. |
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change
guidance for fluvial flood risk management in England.
CJS
in-depth features:
Flying
barnacle geese (©Jasper Koster)
Heysham
Moss after the fire (image: Lancashire Wildlife Trust)
Ecologists
who study flowering plants have long believed that flowers evolved with
particular sets of characteristics - unique combinations of colors,
shapes, and orientations, for example - as a means of attracting
specific pollinators. But a recent paper in the journal Ecology suggests
that flowers that are visited almost exclusively by hummingbirds are
actually designed not to lure birds, but to deter bumblebees and their
wasteful visits.
Fallen dead tree decaying (image: PTES)
