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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
Invasive species the biggest pressure on nature sites
- Scottish Natural Heritage The majority of Scotland’s natural features are doing well but some
face significant challenges from invasive species and other threats, new
figures suggest. The figure represents a slight drop of 0.8 percentage points since
last year but is up 2.9 percentage points from 2007.
Only
around two-thirds (65.5%) of features were found to have reached
favourable condition, reflecting the many challenges nature still faces
in Scotland. However a further 13.4% have been assessed as on the road
to recovery. Over the year, the condition of 47 natural features improved to
favourable or recovering condition, while 76 deteriorated to
unfavourable condition.
Many of those in unfavourable condition have no on-site remedy as
they are influenced by wider factors, for example declining seabird
populations which are thought to be related to changes in prey
distribution. Climate change is also believed to be a factor in the
decline of a number of sites and poses a long-term threat to Scotland’s
nature. The report, which coincides with Invasive Species Week, shows that
invasive species remain the single biggest reason for features being in
unfavourable condition, representing 21% of all negative pressures,
followed by overgrazing (17.6%).
The full statistical publication can be accessed here.
A UK first for ground-breaking Shropshire curlew project
- Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust A curlew that has been incubated as an egg and reared in its local
landscape – a process known as headstarting - has successfully returned
home for the first time ever. The bird is one of six chicks reared as part of the UK Lowland Curlew
Recovery Project, better known as Curlew Country, in 2017 – another UK
first – and is already displaying breeding behaviour. The Curlew Country project, hosted by leading conservation charity
the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, hopes that this historic
occasion is the first of many. Project manager Amanda Perkins said: “Seeing the result of all our
hard work – not just the project team, but farmers, landowners,
fundraisers and the local community – is a proud moment, but we must
make sure it isn’t wasted. Now we have shown that this process can work,
we need a policy that allows those managing the land to give all curlew
a fighting chance.” This situation for curlew is critical, with a 46% decline across the
UK from 1994 to 2010. Curlew was added to the UK red list in in December
2015, and it is argued to be the bird of greatest conservation concern
within the UK. More information about the project can be found on
www.curlewcountry.org, along
with updates throughout the season.
Scientists use historical data for assessment of human impacts on
biodiversity - University of Plymouth Researchers will work with colleagues at Historic England and the
University of Birmingham on a new project funded by the Leverhulme Trust The way humans use land across the British Isles has changed beyond
recognition during the past 8,000 years. But what impact has that
had on biodiversity and are there lessons from the past that could
enhance conservation practices now and in the future? Those are among the key questions being posed through new research
led by the University of Plymouth, in conjunction with Historic England
and the University of Birmingham. Funded by the Leverhulme Trust, it
hopes to compile the first ever comprehensive database of both land use
change and its impact on plant and insect life. The three-year project
will involve collating existing archaeobotanical datasets, which will be
used to generate a detailed picture of how land use has changed at
regional levels. Historical pollen and insect data will then be used to
demonstrate what impact those changes had on crops, and many of the
creatures that came to rely on them. The ultimate aim of the research is
to place current trends in their long-term context, examining whether
changes in land use can predict patterns of biodiversity across
different spatial scales. This information will then be presented to
conservation agencies, giving them a holistic picture of biodiversity in
the British Isles over the past eight millennia which can be factored
into future policy. Professor Ralph Fyfe, Principal Investigator on the project, said: “A
lot of modern thinking on biodiversity is based on datasets collected by
ecologists over the past 50 years, based on what people have observed
and might remember from these earlier times before later agricultural
intensification occurred. There is a danger that the middle of the 20th
century is thus seen as some kind of hotspot. But while change has
certainly happened, archaeological studies enable us to assess this in
the light of much longer time frames and provide people with a bigger
picture. Through that, we can show more precisely how our landscapes
have been shaped and this can be factored into future debates on
conservation and biodiversity management.”
What happens when pollinators lose their flowers? UON research suggests
answers - University of Northampton
Pollinators such as bees and butterflies are highly dependent on
flowers to provide nectar as food; at the same time, those plants are
reliant on the pollinators for reproduction. Over the past few decades,
declines in both flower and pollinator diversity and abundance have
prompted University of Northampton ecologists to wonder about the
consequences of flower loss for pollinator communities and for plant
pollination.
In a ground breaking new study, a team from institutions in the Czech
Republic and the University of Northampton in the UK have published the
results of experiments that seek to answer these questions. The results
are published today in the journal Scientific Reports and provide the
first demonstration of the ways in which pollinators flexibly adjust
their behaviour when faced with a loss of resources. This flexibility is
constrained by the type of flowers they visit, however:
pollinators will tend to switch to flowers of a similar shape to the
ones that have been lost. From the plant’s perspective, things are
less clear: the patterns of pollination for the remaining species were
idiosyncratic and not as predictable. Some plants received more
pollination during the experiment than before, others less. One of the study’s authors, Prof. Jeff Ollerton, Professor of
Biodiversity at the University of Northampton, said of the research:
“For the first time we are seeing the consequences of sudden loss of
flowers for both the pollinators and the plants in a habitat. That
the pollinators can respond flexibly to this loss is a welcome
indication that these insects might be more resilient to sudden changes
than we had thought. However, the erratic pollination of the
flowers shows that there is a great deal of random chance within these
ecological systems that is not easily predictable. Biella P., Akter A., Ollerton J., Tarrant S., Janeček Š., Jersáková
J. & Klecka J. (2019) Experimental loss of generalist plants reveals
alterations in plant-pollinator interactions and a constrained
flexibility of foraging.
More
information is available on the Nature website. (open access)
New initiative launched to connect 20,000 young people with nature in
our National Parks - National Parks The UK’s National Parks and Forest Holidays have announced the launch
of ‘National Parks Futures’. The new 5-year initiative will connect
20,000 young people with nature and deliver at least 15 flagship
education projects across the UK. In the 70th anniversary year of the UK’s National Parks, ‘National
Park Futures’ will help to tackle one of the major barriers for young
people to experience outdoor learning – the cost of travel.
Over the next 5 years ‘National Parks Futures’, a joint initiative
between the UK National Parks and Forest Holidays will deliver at least
15 flagship education projects reaching 5,000 young people as well as
covering the travel costs of an estimated 15,000 National Park visits
for young people. A successful pilot year in 2018 funded the involvement of 5,000 young
people in activities run by their local National Park and included many
from disadvantaged backgrounds. One pilot year location was the Brecon
Beacons National Park. Simon Hosking, a teacher at Ysgol Y Cribarth
Primary School says “By receiving the travel grant our pupils have been
able to access a learning opportunity in the great outdoors. We have
loved learning more about the Brecon Beacons National Park and what
makes our local area so special.”
Help our puffins; join the Puffarazzi - RSPB RSPB’s innovative citizen science photography project returns The RSPB’s ground-breaking project Puffarazzi is back and once again
needs the public’s help to find out more about one of our best loved
seabirds. As in 2017, visitors to puffin colonies around the UK and
Ireland in spring and summer 2019 and 2020 are asked to join the
Puffarazzi by photographing these colourful seabirds with fish in their
bills. The project is now also asking for historical photos to be
submitted as well to aid conservation efforts. All these images will
help scientists learn more about what puffins are feeding their chicks,
known as pufflings. With their colourful bills, distinctive eye markings and somewhat
comical walk, puffins are a firm favourite for many people. Yet, these
birds are in serious trouble with their numbers plummeting in former
strongholds in the UK and Europe and the species is now classed as
vulnerable to extinction. This project aims to find out the causes of
these UK declines which are likely to be related to a reduction in food
availability caused by climate change. Scotland is one of the most
important places for puffins, with 80 percent of the UK and Ireland
population breeding here. The public response in 2017 was incredible; 602 people joined the
Puffarazzi and sent in 1,402 photos, with 517 of these taken at Scottish
sites. Pictures came from almost 40 colonies around the UK, including
many in Scotland such as the Isle of May, Fair Isle, Lunga, and Noss
National Nature Reserve. The photos have helped scientists identify
areas where puffins are struggling to find the large, nutritious fish
needed to support their pufflings. They revealed variations around the
UK with some areas having far smaller fish for the puffins to feed on.
150th osprey chick hatches at Rutland Water Nature Reserve
- The Wildlife Trusts
Historic
moment for Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust’s pioneering project
bringing extinct species back to England 150 years after it was wiped
out Late last night - at 22.58 - the Rutland Osprey Project celebrated a
major milestone and welcomed its 150th chick into the world. The Rutland Osprey Project has pioneered the reintroduction
of ospreys, a magnificent bird of prey, back into England where they had
been extinct for over 150 years. The partnership between Leicestershire
and Rutland Wildlife Trust and Anglian Water has successfully restored a
population to the skies of central England. Maya and her 150th osprey chick (image: The
Wildlife Trusts) Ospreys were wiped out in England by persecution – through
egg-collection and taxidermy – and by habitat loss. They ceased to be a
breeding species in England in the 1840s even though they had once been
widely distributed across areas such as the Fens which had good breeding
and feeding habitat for these spectacular fish-eating birds. Between 1996 and 2001, 64 six-week-old Scottish ospreys were released
at Rutland Water reservoir in England’s smallest county. The first
translocated osprey returned to breed at its adopted home in 2001 and
the number of breeding pairs has gradually increased since then. There
are now 25 ospreys in total in the area and eight breeding pairs among
them.
The Riverfly Census: Full Report - Salmon &
Trout Conservation “The Riverfly Census Report has been central to S&TC’s work for the
past three years and coincides with the United Nations’ recent statement
on the catastrophic state of the global environment. The results should
worry everyone. Our message is simple; unless there is radical change
our rivers will soon become lifeless. With ever increasing
mainstream public interest in environmental health and a desire for real
change, government must use this opportunity to incentivise businesses
to place the protection of our rivers, wild fish and all other
water-dependent life at the very centre of what they do.” Paul Knight,
Chief Executive, Salmon & Trout Conservation Milestone Salmon & Trout Conservation study reveals that sediment,
sewage and commercial salad washing, are causing dramatic declines of
keystone aquatic invertebrate life throughout England’s lifeblood
rivers. Salmon & Trout Conservation (S&TC) initiated The Riverfly Census to
collect high-resolution, scientifically robust data about the state of
our rivers and the pressures facing them. The Riverfly Census highlights worrying declines of aquatic insects
in English rivers as a direct consequence of industrial, agricultural
and domestic pollution. Aquatic insects are the equivalent of “the
canary in the coal mine” when ascertaining the health of individual
rivers. Declines of up to 58% in some species have been observed in the
last thirty years, with no sign of the trend reversing. Three-year high-resolution study, The Riverfly Census, employed
standardised monitoring of aquatic invertebrate life in key English
rivers to reveal dramatic changes in water quality and ecosystems. The Riverfly Census data provides an overview of how pollution
affects a particular river. The aquatic insect community is shaped by
the quality of the water at each sample point and scientists are then
able to decode this bug-based information. Armed with these biological
snapshots, we are able to zoom in on particular problems and if
necessary, carry out further invertebrate or chemical sampling. To download the full report: Click
Here
First review of 25 Year Environment Plan published The first progress report of the landmark 25 Year Environment Plan is
published during the Year of Green Action. The government has today published the first
progress report of its landmark
25 Year Environment Plan indicating that, in the first year alone,
90% of the plan’s actions have been delivered or are being progressed. Launched in January 2018, the 25 Year Environment Plan sets out how
we will improve the environment over a generation by creating richer
habitats for wildlife, improving air and water quality and curbing the
scourge of plastic in the world’s oceans. Over the last 12 months, the government has:
Response:
Government 25 Year Environment Plan progress report published today
- The Wildlife Trusts Joan Edwards, Director of Public Affairs at The Wildlife Trusts,
comments on the 25 Year Environment Plan progress report Today the Government published its 25 Year Environment Plan progress
report. Joan Edwards, Director of Public Affairs at The Wildlife Trusts,
comments:
Stanford researches map symbiotic relationships between trees and
microbes worldwide
Data
collected from over 1 million forest plots reveal patterns of where
plant roots form symbiotic relationships with fungi and bacteria In and around the tangled roots of the forest floor, fungi and
bacteria grow with trees, exchanging nutrients for carbon in a vast,
global marketplace. A new effort to map the most abundant of these
symbiotic relationships – involving more than 1.1 million forest sites
and 28,000 tree species – has revealed factors that determine where
different types of symbionts will flourish. Forests and microbes are symbiotically connected
globally. (Image credit: Sora Hasler) The work could help scientists understand how symbiotic partnerships
structure the world’s forests and how they could be affected by a
warming climate. Stanford University researchers worked alongside a team of over 200
scientists to generate these maps, published May 15 in Nature. From the
work, they revealed a new biological rule, which the team named Read’s
Rule after pioneer in symbiosis research Sir David Read. In one example of how they could apply this research, the group used
their map to predict how symbioses might change by 2070 if carbon
emissions continue unabated. This scenario resulted in a 10 percent
reduction in the biomass of tree species that associate with a type of
fungi found primarily in cooler regions. The researchers cautioned that
such a loss could lead to more carbon in the atmosphere because these
fungi tend to increase the amount of carbon stored in soil. Access the paper
here
The government's response to the Natural Capital Committee's sixth
annual report - defra Policy paper The government is grateful for the expert advice the Natural Capital
Committee (NCC) has provided in its sixth annual report. The NCC is a
world first and its expertise has placed us at the leading edge of
natural capital thinking. As a result of the NCC’s work, we:
We agree with the Committee that in order to achieve the goals set
out in the plan and meet the objective set in 2011 to be the first
generation to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited
it, substantive action is essential.
Major EU funded project helps protect UK seabird islands
- National Trust (with RSPB) A project to help protect the UK’s internationally important seabird
islands is going public on Friday 17th May 2019 with the launch of its
new campaign Save Our Seabirds from Invasive Predators. The Biosecurity for LIFE project, which was awarded £700,000 of
funding from EU LIFE last year is a partnership between the Royal
Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the National Trust and the
National Trust for Scotland.
Puffins
have returned late to the Farne Islands this year. (Image: Paul Kingston
and NNP) This campaign aims to raise awareness of the risk to seabirds such as
puffins, Manx shearwater and European storm-petrel from predators such
as rats, stoats and mink – and the measures people can take to avoid
accidentally transferring them to important seabird colonies on islands. Measures include encouraging boat owners to check their boats, cargo
and baggage, and for day trippers to check their bags and keep any
foodstuffs in animal proof containers. Many of our most important seabird breeding colonies are on islands
that are naturally free of predators. Around the world predation of
seabird eggs and young by invasive, non-native predators is one of the
leading causes of their decline. Over the last few centuries, many
seabird colonies in the UK have suffered from falls in population or
been lost completely in this way. Tom Churchyard, Biosecurity for LIFE Project Manager said: “Putting
good biosecurity measures in place for seabird islands will reduce the
risk of new predators arriving and having a negative impact on breeding
birds. Good biosecurity entails prevention and early detection of new
invasive species, and being able to respond rapidly to incursions if
they do occur.
NWCU launch ‘Undisturbed’ – a social media initiative to raise awareness
for wildlife photographers and drone users of their responsibilities to
wildlife - UK National Wildlife Crime Unit The affordability of modern digital camera technology has produced an
ever-growing interest in capturing photographs of wildlife. A number of
leading UK wildlife photographers and charitable organisations have now
expressed concern at the amount of wildlife disturbance being caused by
prospective photographers seeking natural history subjects. Unlicensed
disturbance of mammals and birds may result in a conviction under
wildlife or marine legislation attracting sentences up to £5,000 fine or
6 month’s imprisonment. Leading photographer Laurie Campbell has over 40 years’ experience in
photographing wildlife and has seen a gradual increase in the number of
wildlife disturbance incidents by members of the public with cameras.
Click through for Laurie's advice. Further information on how to photograph wildlife safely can be found
at:
British Birds – bird photography code of practice
Royal Photographic Society – the Nature Photographers’ Code of Practice Scientific Publications Mario A. Giraldo, Shawna Dark, Patricia Pendleton, Eric D. Stein,
Raphael Mazor, Josh Andreas,
Environmental predictors of stream flow in semi-arid watersheds for
biological assessments ,Ecological Indicators, Volume 104, 2019,
Pages 429-438, ISSN 1470-160X, doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.05.019.
Chan, WY, Hoffmann, AA, Oppen, MJH.
Hybridization as a conservation management tool. Conservation
Letters. 2019;e12652. doi: 10.1111/conl.12652 (open access)
Tonn, B. , Densing, E. M., Gabler, J. and Isselstein, J. (2019),
Grazing-induced patchiness, not grazing intensity, drives plant
diversity in European low-input pastures. J Appl Ecol. Accepted
Author Manuscript. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.13416
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