Record-breaking species monitoring at St Abb’s Head NNR - National Trust for Scotland
Our team at St Abb’s Head are celebrating a record-breaking number of different species recorded at the National Nature Reserve. This will help them build an accurate account of the biodiversity at this special coastal landscape.
The BioBlitz events in August were delivered by our team of rangers at the nature reserve near Eyemouth, in the Scottish Borders, in partnership with the Berwickshire Marine Reserve. The team were assisted by 53 members of the public to carry out species monitoring and land-based surveys. They helped to record more varieties of flora and fauna than ever before, with 326 species documented in one day (2 August) – an improvement on the previous record of 298 species in 2018.
A dive to explore the coastal marine environment near St Abbs harbour at two sites – Anemone Gullies and Peanut Wreck Boilers – was rescheduled to 23 August due to bad weather conditions on the day of the BioBlitz event. Data gathered during these dives by Trust rangers, staff from the Berwickshire Marine Reserve and a visiting scientist from the Traversing European Coastlines (TREC) project complemented the land-based surveys, helping to boost the total number of species recorded to 349.
The members of the public recorded their findings by using a specialist app to photograph the species of plants, insects, mammals and seabirds that they encountered. The event was designed to get people excited about their local wildlife and the important work of both charities.
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Posted On: 27/09/2023