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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
Eggs rescued from RAF airbases as ‘pilot project’ to save endangered
curlew takes flight – WWT Under normal circumstances, the eggs from nests near military runways
have to be destroyed under an individual licence to protect flight
safety. Instead, these eggs were transported to WWT Slimbridge in
Gloucestershire to be hand-reared and released into the Severn Vale.
It’s hoped the new curlews will help to recover the fragile population
in the area. Curlew numbers in the UK have declined by 60% over the past 30 years.
While numbers are slightly healthier in the uplands of northern England
and Scotland, in southern England, Wales and Ireland, only hundreds of
pairs remain. Nigel Jarrett, Head of Conservation Breeding at WWT, says: “It’s an
exciting opportunity for everyone involved. On one hand, curlews at East
Anglian air bases pose a potential risk to aviation but on the other
hand they have the potential to help their struggling cousins in the
South West. Unfortunately time is not on our side but by babysitting
these chicks until they can fly, we can help encourage a new generation
of British curlews in the lowlands.” If a success, the new curlew trial could provide a major boost to the
conservation of curlews in southern England and East Anglia while still
minimising the risks of serious air safety incidents.
New research shows how habitat loss can destabilise ecosystems
– Swansea University An international study has revealed new evidence to help understand
the consequences of habitat loss on natural communities. The research, co-authored by Swansea University’s Dr Miguel Lurgi,
shows the specific ways in which human activities destroy habitat is a
key factor to understanding the effects of such destruction on the
stability and functioning of biological communities. The paper, published in scientific journal Nature Communications,
asks whether putting the focus solely on species diversity may overlook
other facets of the way biological communities respond to habitat
destruction. Daniel Montoya, researcher at the Theoretical and Experimental
Ecology Station in Moulis, France, also a co-author, said: “Ecologists
and practitioners tend to assess the impact of human activities on
biodiversity by measuring the extinction rates of species. However,
biodiversity comprises elements other than single species, such as the
interactions between species and their stability over time and space.
These additional, and sometimes overlooked, properties are key to the
functioning of ecosystems. They are the missed component of biodiversity
loss that accompanies or precede species extinctions.” This study found that the specific ways in which habitat is lost is
important to the response of biodiversity. Dr Montoya added: “Natural habitats can be destroyed randomly or in a
clustered way – for example, by the construction of a road or the
creation of new urban areas, respectively. The spatial configuration of
this loss differentially constrains the mobility of individual animals,
which further impacts biodiversity and the stability of populations in
the remaining fragments of intact habitat.” The researchers say a logical question now emerges - how is habitat
destroyed in real landscapes around the world?
Not all weeds are equal – Rothamsted Research New research shows wildlife refuges on farms need careful placement
if they aren't to be overrun with the wrong type of weeds Wildlife friendly refuges around the edges of farmers’ crops have
been credited with slowing biodiversity declines, however, new research
shows their success ultimately depends on what’s growing next to the
field. Recent reported increases in some crop pollinating insects suggested
the upturn was due to more UK farms creating these pesticide-free areas. However, this new study by Rothamsted shows conservation areas sited
directly adjacent to areas of grassland, or even other conservation
measures such as grass margins, end up with a predominance of the wrong
type of weeds that, rather than enhance biodiversity, could smother
beneficial arable plants. The authors say their results show that such conservation measures
need very careful placement if they are to be successful and not
over-run by less beneficial plants, such as grasses. Dr Helen Metcalfe, who led this new study, said: “The location of
these wildlife refuges is key in determining how successful they are in
supporting important plant species, which provide food for farmland
birds and habitats for pest-eating insects. By creating unsprayed strips
of land away from sources of problematic weeds, we not only provide a
refuge for the beneficial plants we want to protect, but we also reduce
the risk of the wrong type of weeds invading the field and becoming a
problem for crop production.”
Fear of ‘killer shrimps’ could pose major threat to European rivers
– Plymouth University The voracious predator has been linked to ecosystem changes and even
local extinctions
Dikerogammarus
villosus (Credit Michal Grabowski, University of Lodz) The fear of invasive ‘killer shrimps’ can intimidate native organisms
to such a degree that they are incapable of performing their vital role
in river systems, a new study suggests. Writing in the journal Acta Oecologica, scientists focus on the
invasive Dikerogammarus villosus which has been steadily replacing
resident Gammarus species in rivers across Europe over the past three
decades. This is having major localised effects since the voracious predator
consumes a vast range of species, with its behaviour subsequently being
linked to ecosystem changes and even local extinctions. The new study shows for the first time that the mere presence of the
predator – a so-called non-consumptive effect (NCE) – can reduce the
normal effectiveness of its prey. It leads to them expending more energy in simply avoiding the
predator in a bid for self-preservation, rather than focussing on core
ecosystem tasks such as shredding fallen leaf litter into smaller
particles to be consumed by other species. Dr MacNeil, who has spent more than 20 years studying the species in
this study, said: “This study demonstrates an unappreciated and indirect
impact of a biological invasion by a voracious predator. It shows that
the mere presence of an invader can influence resident prey behaviour,
in this case the feeding efficiency of naïve residents. The Gammarus in
our experiment had no prior exposure to its predatory rival, and would
not have known to respond to specific alarm cues. However, none of our
samples showed any evidence of habituation during the course of the
experiment – in fact quite the opposite.” The full study – MacNeil and Briffa:
Fear alone reduces
energy processing by resident ‘keystone’ prey threatened by an invader;
a non-consumptive effect of ‘killer shrimp’ invasion of freshwater
ecosystems is revealed – is published in Acta Oecologica,
doi: 10.1016/j.actao.2019.05.001.
Rare bird breeding first at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands
– RSPB Following recent excitement over the arrival of rare herons to the
site*, RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands is now celebrating further, with
confirmed breeding of rare bearded tits for the first time ever at the
nature reserve near Neston.
Male
Bearded Tit at Burton Mere Wetlands (Credit Carole Killikelly)
Bearded tits are strikingly beautiful and rather comically named
birds that rely on reedbeds to make their home. Once much more common
throughout the UK, reedbeds are sadly now one of country’s rarest
habitats as many have been drained for development or agriculture. In
the North West, the only place where they have traditionally bred is at
the RSPB’s Leighton Moss reserve in North Lancashire, but following the
arrival of six birds to Burton Mere Wetlands last autumn, at least two
pairs are now known to have bred for the first time on the Dee Estuary. Graham Jones, Site Manager at Burton Mere Wetlands said: ‘In 2007 we
were able to purchase land adjacent to our reserve from the Welsh
Assembly. A three-year work programme began almost immediately to create
a reedbed, into which volunteers’ hand-planted over 10,000 reed
seedlings. To have bearded tits now breeding in the very same
reedbed this summer has been a wonderfully fitting culmination of all
that hard work, and a fantastic way celebrate our 40th anniversary”
Pollution control of rivers can reduce impact of climate warming
– Cardiff University Improvements in water quality could reduce the ecological impact of
climate change on rivers, finds a new study by Cardiff University’s
Water Research Institute and the University of Vermont.
Protecting the best places for nature will fight the climate crisis
– RSPB
For the first time everyone can see the best places for nature are
also the best places to tackle climate change in the UK. Marking World Environment Day the RSPB has released a new set of maps
that reveal there is are gigatons of carbon stored in the most important
places for our plants and animals. These nature rich landscapes play a vital role in supporting the UK’s
plants and animals and storing carbon. However, scientists at the
country’s largest conservation charity are concerned that two thirds of
this carbon is in locations that are unprotected. And we should all be concerned that the poor condition of many of
these places - even in protected areas – means that they are
haemorrhaging carbon into the atmosphere, instead of storing it safely
in the ground. In England alone, it’s estimated that damaged upland
peatlands release the same amount of CO2 into the atmosphere as 140,000
cars annually, instead of continuing to gradually increase their stores
of carbon. The RSPB is urging for the protection and restoration of all these
areas, to make an important step forward to address the current crises
for both nature and climate. The charity is calling on Governments of
the UK to put in place the protections needed to ensure these important
spaces are not abused, exploited or damaged, but rather protected,
nurtured and restored.
Take action and join our Plastic Challenge - Canal & River Trust Help us tackle plastic in our canals and rivers and stop it from
travelling into in the world’s oceans.
Moorhen
nesting in plastic litter, credit Mark C Baker
We're urging communities to take action on their doorstep to make
their local neighbourhood beautiful and help tackle the global plastics
crisis – don’t drop it, pick it up and recycle it to help make the
nation’s canals and rivers plastics free. Working with Coventry University, we've published a detailed
analysis of the plastics and other litter found in our waterways.
The research, which reviewed data from 25 locations, found that plastics
now account for 59%of waste found along our canals. We estimate
that 570,000 items of plastic reach the world’s oceans each year via our
waterways. With the help of local communities this figure could be
drastically cut. Peter Birch, national environmental policy advisor at Canal & River
Trust, says: “We are on a mission to eradicate plastics from our vast
network of canals and rivers – helping us all to live in better, more
beautiful neighbourhoods, whilst tackling a global issue, and making
life better by water.”
100 miles of new paths celebrated across Scotland
- Scottish Natural Heritage
More
than 100 miles of new and improved paths will be created across Scotland
as part of a scheme to boost outdoor access. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is celebrating the construction of
hundreds of routes through Improving Public Access (IPA), part of the
Agri-Environment Climate Scheme. By the end of this year, an equivalent distance to the whole of the
West Highland Way from Milngavie to Fort William will have been funded
by the scheme. New path funded by Improving Public Access Scheme. Francesca Osowska SNH Chief Exec, Cab Sec, Dave Alston dogwalker and Robin Niven
Landowner. ©SNH The paths will make it easier for people to enjoy our fantastic
countryside with opportunities for all including walkers, wheelchair
users, cyclists, horse riders and buggy users. The new and improved paths will connect towns and villages and
provide a great variety of ways to explore the outdoors in coastal
areas, along riverbanks, to viewpoints and around farmland. Some of the paths will also form part of longer distance routes such
as the John Muir Way. SNH has been working with the Scottish Government Rural Payments and
Inspections Division (RPID) to deliver the scheme, with a total of £8.5
million committed. Since opening in 2015 to farmers, local authorities, charities and
community groups a wide range of projects have benefitted with funding
to improve existing paths or create new ones.
Are we driving hedgehogs to extinction? – The
Mammal Society
A
squashed hedgehog on the side of the road used to be such a common sight
that a road safety campaign was launched on the back of it. Who over the
age of about thirty doesn’t remember 1997’s King of the Road hedgehogs?
Twenty years later it is rare to see a dead hedgehog, let alone a live
one. Photo by Zoe Shreeve The Mammal Society estimated last year that Britain’s hedgehog
population may have decreased by as much as 73% in the last twenty
years. This means that any hedgehog sighting, whether the mammal is
alive or dead, takes on a sobering significance. Together with People’s Trust for Endangered Species and British
Hedgehog Preservation Society the Mammal Society is looking at how we
might reduce the number of deaths on roads for this already very
vulnerable species. Professor Fiona Mathews, the Mammal Society Chair, explains “We know
that vehicles are still one of the main threats to hedgehog
conservation. The most recent estimate of hedgehog road casualties,
published in our journal Mammal Communications, is that between 167,000
and 335,000 hedgehogs are killed annually. So, we are trying to work out
where and when casualties occur, in order that we can then take steps to
prevent them. For example, we want to assess whether casualties
are more common at the edges of towns and cities, or where there are
features like walls or hedgerows leading up to roads that might
encourage animals to try to cross.” Honey
bee colonies down by 16% - University of
Strathclyde The number of honey bee colonies fell by 16% in the winter of
2017-18, according to an international study led by the University of
Strathclyde. The survey of 25,363 beekeepers in 36 countries found that, out of
544,879 colonies being managed at the start of winter, 89124 were lost,
through a combination of circumstances including various effects of
weather conditions, unsolvable problems with a colony’s queen, and
natural disaster. Portugal, Northern Ireland, Italy and England experienced losses
above 25%, while Belarus, Israel and Serbia were among those with loss
rates below 10%. There were also significant regional variations within
some countries, including Germany, Sweden and Greece. The total loss rate was down from 20.9% in 2016-17 but was still higher than the 2015-16 figure of 12.0%. The total loss rate for Scotland increased over these three years, from 18.0% to 20.4% to 23.7%.
Future looks rosy for rare moth in mid Wales
- Natural Resources Wales One of the UK’s rarest moths once thought to be extinct appears to be
making a remarkable recovery at a mid-Wales nature reserve.
This
year’s annual caterpillar survey by Natural Resources Wales (NRW)
recorded the second highest count of the rosy marsh moth caterpillar
since monitoring began in 1988.
The count at Cors Fochno near Aberystwyth recorded 123 caterpillars,
the record was 155 in 2009. But the annual survey only covers a very small part of the site which
means there is potential for more to be found. The survey takes place at night as the caterpillars are nocturnal and
spend the day underground. Once it’s dark they climb the stem of their foodplant and come out to
feed. They do this at night when there is less risk that birds will eat
them. After last being seen in Cambridgeshire in the 1850s the species was not seen until a single moth was spotted in Penrhyndeudraeth in 1965. Two years later a colony was found at Cors Fochno. Work undertaken by the New LIFE for Welsh Raised Bogs project will
help make Cors Fochno a better habitat for the moth.
National Trust awarded Independent Research Organisation status enabling
it to explore new conservation techniques and enrich visitor experiences
- National Trust The National Trust has been awarded Independent Research Organisation
(IRO) status enabling it to collaborate further with researchers across
culture, history and the natural environment. The conservation charity has a long tradition of supporting and
engaging with researchers. Recent projects range from protecting the
wildlife in our lakes to the history of sleep in Tudor England. This new IRO status, awarded by the Arts and Humanities Research
Council (AHRC) on behalf of UK Research and Innovation, is a step
towards the Trust’s ambition to embed research excellence at the heart
of all its activities. The Trust can now apply directly to the UK Research Councils for
funding enabling it to increase its research capability. It joins other
research-led organisations with IRO status including the V & A, Historic
England and the RSPB.
Hunt launched across northwest Scotland to help save one of UK’s rarest
bumblebees - Bumblebee Conservation Trust
People
taking their holidays in northwest Scotland this summer are being asked
to help identify some of the last locations of one of the UK’s rarest
bumblebees, in a new bid by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to pull the
insect back from the brink of extinction. ©Izzy-Bunting The conservation charity wants people to hunt for the rare Great
Yellow bumblebee in 28 specific grid references – each measuring 10×10
km – between June and September, at sites ranging from Tiree, the Uists,
Harris and Lewis, across Sutherland and Caithness on the mainland, to
Orkney and Shetland. The Great Yellow bumblebee (Bombus distinguendus) was found
across the UK until the 1960s, but after suffering a massive decline is
now only found in a few places in Scotland’s remote northwest, in
machair grasslands and other flower-rich areas on the north coast and
some of the islands.
Trial to help hen harriers gets ready for action
Latest step by Natural England to support rare and endangered bird
species Natural England has today (Thursday, 6 June) confirmed that stringent
conditions attached to the licence permitting a trial of brood
management for hen harriers have been met. The licence permits the removal of hen harrier eggs and/or chicks to
a dedicated hatching and rearing facility, where they will be
hand-reared in captivity, before being transferred to
specially-constructed pens in hen harrier breeding habitat, from which
they are then re-introduced into the wild in the uplands of northern
England. There are active hen harrier nests this year that meet the
intervention density for trial brood management and willing landowners
who want to be part of the trial. The licensee is working on the final
information and consents required before action may be taken in 2019. This is the latest in a series of steps taken by Natural England to
support rare and endangered bird species in the UK, which includes
licensing the reintroduction of white-tailed eagles and issuing a
licence for the collection of curlew eggs from RAF airbases.
Disease-tolerant trees to be planted in UK’s 'ash tree archive'
- Defra Biosecurity Minister launches Government's new Ash Research Strategy
Ash
trees demonstrating tolerance to the highly destructive tree disease ash
dieback will be planted in the UK’s first ‘ash tree archive’. Credit: Future Trees Trust This was announced by Biosecurity Minister Lord Gardiner at Royal
Botanic Gardens Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank today (Thursday 6 June) as he
launched
the Government’s new Ash Research Strategy. This strategy consolidates all the evidence on ash trees and their
threats to identify future research needs to protect the species and
restore it to our landscape. These threats include the tree disease ash
dieback, which has the potential to cause significant damage to the UK’s
ash trees population, and the pest emerald ash borer. Defra has jointly funded a number of successful research projects
that have identified trees which appear to be showing signs of tolerance
to ash dieback. These trees are the next important step in developing a
future breeding programme of disease-resistant ash trees.
Commercial fishers are acutely aware of the potential for marine litter
to cause lasting damage to their catches and the wider industry, a new
study suggests. They also appreciate they can be part of the solution, but believe
others – including the shipping and offshore industries – could be doing
more to support their efforts to prevent items of marine litter ending
up in our oceans. The research, published in Marine Pollution Bulletin and funded by
the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, assessed fishers’
perceptions of Fishing for
Litter (FFL) – an initiative that has been operating around the
British coastline since 2005.
With hubs in Scotland and the South West of England, its aim is to
reduce the amount of marine litter in our seas by physically removing
it, while also highlighting the importance of good waste management
among the fleet. Researchers at the University of Plymouth and the University of
Surrey spoke to around 120 fishers and other stakeholders, including
boat owners and crew both signed up and not registered with the FFL
initiative. Overall, fishers said they often found marine litter in their hauls,
adding it was extremely important to manage waste responsibly at sea and
on the coast, and that keeping the sea and coasts clean was important to
them. They also believed similar attitudes were held throughout the fishing
industry, adding that most fishers assumed responsibility for their own
waste and for disposing of it in a responsible manner. Those surveyed were also broadly supportive of the FFL programme,
with scheme members reporting less environmentally harmful waste
management behaviours at sea and in other contexts than their non-FFL
counterparts. The full study – Wyles et al: An
evaluation of the Fishing For Litter (FFL) scheme in the UK in terms of
attitudes, behavior, barriers and opportunities – is published in Marine
Pollution Bulletin, DOI:
10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.04.035.
Unique online tool launched to help save bumblebees and other
pollinating insects - Bumblebee Conservation
Trust With global crashes in insect numbers causing alarm, a unique free
online gardening resource to get people growing more flowers for
bumblebees and other pollinating insects has been launched at the RHS
Chatsworth Flower Show in the Peak District this week by the Bumblebee
Conservation Trust, with support from the National Lottery Heritage
Fund. The conservation charity’s upgraded, interactive ‘Bee kind’ web tool
helps people across the UK choose the best plants for pollinators in
their gardens, window boxes or community spaces – including native ‘bee
super plants’ such as apple trees, bugle, foxglove, lavender, and red
clover. Users can find out and score how bee-friendly their patch already is,
and how to improve it for pollinators, with advice based on conditions
in their own gardens. They can also discover how to ensure bumblebees
have a lifeline of food even in months when nectar-rich plants are in
short supply.
Gill Perkins, Bumblebee Conservation Trust CEO, said: “Bee kind
provides people with vital information to make bee-friendly choices in
their gardens and green spaces. With so much worry about insect
declines, it’s useful to know there are simple, positive actions we can
all take. If everyone planted just one bee-friendly plant we could make
a huge difference to bumblebees and other insect pollinators.” Bee kind is available at beekind.bumblebeeconservation.org and
can be used by schools, businesses, councils and the public. It can also
help local authorities deliver national and local pollinator strategies.
Fifth release of water voles a great success
- Northumberland Wildlife Trust This week, a further 240 water voles have been released into streams
flowing into the east end of Kielder Reservoir (to link with water voles
released last year), by the ‘Restoring Ratty’ water vole reintroduction
project. This release takes the total number released to 1205
since June 2017. The released voles have been bred in captivity from individuals
captured in the Pennines and North Yorkshire and over the border in
Scotland.
Now
in its fourth year, ‘Restoring Ratty’ is a five-year partnership project
between Kielder Water & Forest Park, Northumberland Wildlife Trust,
Forestry England and Tyne Rivers Trust.
The project is aimed at the reintroduction of water voles to the
Kielder Water and Forest Park area of Northumberland and has all been
made possible by National Lottery players through a grant of £421,000
from The National Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). Water vole release (image: Joel Ireland) This release, the fifth since the project started, included the
release of the 1000th water vole and by the end of the year,
approximately 1400 water voles will have been released.
‘Jam and eggs’ lure rare pine marten to National Trust woodland
- National Trust New trials to encourage pine marten to National Trust woodlands in
Wales have been successful, thanks to a unique diet of jam and eggs. Despite being carnivores, the sweet and savoury combination was
discovered as a temptation by staff from Vincent Wildlife Trust’s Pine
Marten Recovery Project (PRMP), which carried out the first
translocation from Scotland to Wales in 2015. PRMP have since been
assisting rangers in Ceredigion and Snowdonia with their attempts to woo
the pine marten onto Trust land.
Pine martens are the rarest carnivores in Wales and have been on the
brink of extinction in England and Wales for many years. The sightings are the first-ever recorded in woodland near Bryn Bras
in Ceredigion and the first for over a century in the Celtic rainforests
of Dolmelynllyn in Snowdonia, which are cared for by the conservation
charity. Corrinne Benbow, Ecologist for the National Trust said: “We carefully
chose the woodlands because they sit on the fringe of current pine
marten territory. We encouraged the pine martens to explore the new
locations by smearing strawberry jam and raw chicken eggs, two of their
favourite delicacies onto trees and researchers often also use
‘jigglers’ suspended from a tree. This was the first time we’ve ever
tried this ‘jam and eggs’ technique so we were thrilled to spot a pine
marten tucking in!” The successful sightings are a credit to the woodland management and
improvement work of National Trust rangers and the ongoing Pine Marten
Recovery Project. Following the success of confirmed sightings in both of these
woodlands, another pilot has recently been established in
Carmarthenshire. For more information please visit
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/nature or
www.pine-marten-recovery-project.org.uk
Hope for whales, dolphins and basking sharks in Scottish seas
- Scottish Environment LINK Conservation group Scottish Environment LINK has welcomed the launch
of a public consultation detailing proposals to designate more marine
protected areas (MPAs) in Scottish seas. Four new MPAs, one of which spans the Sea of the Hebrides, will add
to a developing network of protected areas across Scotland’s seas. Once
in place, with appropriate management of marine activities, these new
MPAs would safeguard some of Scotland’s most iconic species, including
the basking shark, the world’s second largest fish, minke whales and the
little-known Risso’s dolphin.
Basking sharks migrate to Scottish seas through the summer to feed
and breed, but their numbers have declined historically due to
commercial hunting. These species make popular viewing for Scotland’s
growing wildlife-watching industry, in which whale-watching on the west
coast alone is worth over £2 million. The proposed MPA for the Sea of
the Hebrides would be among the first protected areas for basking sharks
in the world. The proposed MPAs would also protect important seabed habitats, such
as sea-fan and sponge communities and burrowed mud, which provide a home
to many other marine species, and sandeels which are vital in the marine
food web. However, these proposals would protect the sites in name only;
a further process will be required to implement management measures to
reduce the impact of human activities on the protected species and
habitats. Responding to the launch of the consultation, Calum Duncan, Head of
Conservation Scotland for Marine Conservation Society and Convenor of
Scottish Environment LINK’s Marine Group said: “Scotland's seas are
globally important for a range of species and habitats, including the
mighty basking shark, but they face increasing pressure from climate
change and human activity. We know that Scotland's wildlife and
environmental quality are of immense value, both intrinsically and to
our global reputation, and so are pleased these new sites are being
proposed. It is vital such special places are properly protected from
damaging activities to support wider marine ecosystem health and ensure
Scotland is a beacon of ocean recovery worldwide.” Scientific Publication Sasha J. Tetzlaff, Jinelle H. Sperry, Brett A. DeGregorio,
Effects of antipredator training, environmental enrichment, and soft
release on wildlife translocations: A review and meta-analysis,
Biological Conservation, Volume 236, 2019, Pages 324-331, ISSN
0006-3207, doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2019.05.054.
Luis Mata et al,
Punching above their
weight: the ecological and social benefits of pop-up parks, Frontiers
in Ecology and the Environment (2019). DOI: 10.1002/fee.2060
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