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16BRISC Recorder News No 102
Notes
The Atlas of Living Scotland has been madepossible by the partnership formed by Scot-tish Natural Heritage (SNH), Scotland’sEnvironment Web (SEWeb), the Atlas ofLiving Australia and the CommonwealthScientific and Industrial Research Organisa-tion of Australia (CSIRO), Scottish Environ-ment Protection Agency (SEPA), theNational Biodiversity Network (NBN) Trust,RSPB and the Scottish Biodiversity Informa-tion Forum (SBIF), with funding from theSEWeb LIFE+ project and SNH.
It was created by the Atlas of Living Austral-ia team at CSIRO using the open sourcecode and biodiversity data infrastructurethat they developed over the last five years.The user interface was created by a team inScotland in conjunction with a user group ofpeople across the country.
LinksAtlas of Living Scotland: www.als.scot
Send user feedback and comments to:[email protected]
Scotland’s Environment Web:
http://www.environment.scotland.gov.uk/
BRISC Contacts:
Chairman – Temporary chair -Jonathan Wlllet
Secretary – Louisa Maddison,South Lanarkshire Council,Calderglen Country Park, EastKilbride, G75 0QZ, Email:[email protected]
Treasurer (TEMPORARY) DuncanDavidson, 140 Pitcorthie Drive,Dunfermline KY11 8BJ. Email:[email protected]
Editor - Sarah Eno, Edenhope,Yarrowford, Selkirk TD7 5JY. tel01750 76398. Email:[email protected]
Membership Secretary /Website Manager - Andy Wakelin,32 Tailyour Cresc., Montrose, Angus,DD10 9BL
Email: [email protected]
ALERT
NOMINATIONS FOR NBNAWARDS
DEADLINE 31st JULY
See page 13 for details
COPY DEADLINE for the October2016 issue is September 20th
All articles preferably in electronicformat. Illustrations welcomedpreferably as separate jpegs.
Please send to the BRISC editor.
1BRISC Recorder News No 102
CONTENTS
Surveying Reptiles at LochLomond……….…………..……..……….pg 1Acting chair’s page…………………….pg 3Editorial………….……………..…………pg 4Tigers and Elephants – the magicof moths………………….……………...pg 6Bursary reports…….…….…….………pg 8Book review…………….……………….pg 11NBN June News report…………..….pg 13
www.brisc.org.uk
www.facebook.com/BriscScotland
Recorder News
Issue No 102 - July 2016
ISSN 0966-1964
THE CLOSER YOU LOOK, THE MOREYOU SEE: SURVEYING REPTILES ATLOCH LOMOND
I have been monitoring reptilenumbers at a site on the shores ofLoch Lomond to understand theirnumbers, distribution and biology. Thishas revealed higher densities than waspreviously known, and demonstratesthe importance of Loch Lomond inScotland for reptiles; this will, I hope,inform approaches for protecting themin the National Park. The survey workalso formed the basis of a conservation
of a hydroelectric scheme. Thus thismonitoring, on multiple levels, is anexample of the usefulness of biologicalrecording, as promoted and supportedby BRISC.
I have had a long-term interest in allforms of natural history, though largelyfocused on birds, mammals and plants.Being lucky enough to live near LochLomond and visiting it regularly I hadheard anecdotal reports that threespecies of reptiles, European adders
, slow-worms and common lizards
were occasionally seen atvarious sites.
I decided to monitor their presencemore systematically, usingstandardised published methods(Sewell 2013). This involvedchoosing a Loch Lomond site wherereptiles had been reported, and placingartificial cover objects (ACOs), made ofroof felting about 50 x 50 cm in size, atsuitable locations. The mats weredistributed in March 2012, and within aweek located reptiles. The first matrevealed a male adult slow-worm anda juvenile adder (Fig. 1), with a number
2BRISC Recorder News No 102
of other reptiles seen on the same day,located above ground while basking inthe early spring sun.
This initial success encouraged me andI learnt to visit the site when most likelyto find reptiles, typically 7-10am onsunny days. The site was monitoredabout once a week, until late October,when no reptiles were seen, as animalshad entered hibernation. In total Imade 36 visits in 2012, with the resultsdescribed in McInerny (2014a).
The survey work continued insubsequent years with the sitemonitored 47 times in 2013, 58 times in2014, 45 times in 2015 and, so far, 24times in 2016. This intensive andsystematic surveying revealed manyreptiles of all three species.
[
].
Increasing numbers of adders werecounted during the study period, froma minimum 40 individuals in 2012, toa maximum 148 in 2015 (Figs. 2,3).This included a record day count of 26.In total over 200 different adders wererecognised by their head patterns,which are unique to each individual,during 2012 to 2015. Large numbersof slow-worms were also counted,with a minimum 77 day counts in 2015to a maximum 149 in 2013; andsmaller numbers of common lizards,
Fig. 1 Adult male slow-worm and juvenileadder, revealed under an artificial cover object
(ACO), March 2012, Loch Lomond.
Fig. 2 Adult male adder, February, LochLomond
Fig. 3 Adult female adder July, Loch Lomond
15BRISC Recorder News No 102
the funding opportunities that made itpossible for the Scottish Atlas to bedeveloped as the first in the UK.
Dave Martin, from the CommonwealthScientific and Industrial ResearchOrganisation (CSIRO), and the developerof the Atlas of Living Scotland,demonstrated some of the functions ofthe Atlas. He outlined the overview,image gallery, records listing and mapsthat result from a search by species andexpertly demonstrated the statistics thatcan be extracted from the records. Davethen showed how it is possible to exploreby area, map by different filters, mapusing grid squares rather than points, andmap species lists in combination withspatial layers.
Ella Vogel, NBN Projects DevelopmentOfficer, expanded on data sources andcapabilities of the Atlas, focussing inparticular on the spatial layers and waysof mapping the data. Ella gave a step-by-step demonstration of how to mapgreenshank against blanket peat soils,followed by the mapping of great spottedwoodpecker against ancient woodland.The Atlas will make available data onprotected areas, habitats, soils, climate,landscape and geology for analysisagainst species records.
Gill Dowse, Knowledge and EvidenceManager at the Scottish Wildlife Trust(SWT), provided a user’s perspective onthe new opportunities for data deliveryand analysis offered by the Atlas. For anorganisation such as SWT the servicing ofdata requests to staff and volunteers canbe very time consuming. The potentialfor simplification of the data flow by usingthe Atlas was ably demonstrated, and anadditional bonus with this approach isthat all available NBN data will be utilisedin the request, not just SWT data.
In the final talk, Jo Muse, Principal PolicyOfficer, SEPA, looked at the next stepsfor Scotland’s Environment Web(SEWeb). The development of SEWebhas brought together environmental andstatistical data from different sources foranalysis and use in decision-making.SEWeb has facilitated the developmentof a family of data sites includingScotland’s Soils and Scotland’sAquaculture.
The creation of the Atlas of LivingScotland as part of that family has madepossible the analysis of species recordsagainst environmental layers, and offersmore opportunities for furtherdevelopment.
The event concluded with a short paneldiscussion involving all the speakers.Questioners asked the panel to considerthe role of the Atlas in Natural Capitaldiscussions. They also suggestedadditional uses for the data including theidentification of under-recorded gridsquares, and also the monitoring ofchange over time. We were encouragedto extend our connections to datapartners such as land managers, and theacronym “TCNCS” was coined (to meanTaxonomically Complex Non-CharismaticSpecies, such as spiders, harvestmen andpseudo-scorpions); it was suggested thatmore of these groups be included. Wewere also reminded of the importanceand value of developing links from theAtlas website to museum and herbariumcollections.
The day provided a suitable launch forthe Atlas and it is hoped that the audi-ence went away inspired to explore theinterface themselves and to continue tosend their comments and feedback. Youcan also send feedback to [email protected]
14BRISC Recorder News No 102
Please send your completed nominationform to: [email protected]
Nominations close on 31st July 2016.
Successful nominees will be notified by theend of October and invited to attend theawards ceremony.
Awards presentation
The awards will be presented at a specialceremony on the evening of 17 November2016 as part of the two-day NBNConference in Edinburgh on 17 – 18November 2016.
We are delighted that these awards willonce again be sponsored by SwarovskiOptik UK.
NBN Conference
We are excited to announce that this year’sNBN Conference will be held in Edinburghon the 17th and 18th November 2016.
The theme of the conference is ‘Going withthe flow: Supporting the NBN Data FlowPathway’ – focusing on the stages of thedata flow pathway throughout the two days.
More details on the Conferenceprogramme, tickets and booking will bereleased at the end of July but, in themeantime, please make sure you save thedate!
Launch of the Atlas of LivingScotland – May 2016
The Atlas of Living Scotland, a new onlinebiodiversity database built to educate, toinform and to promote Scotland’sremarkable natural world, has officiallybeen launched.
The Atlas will become the country’s largestcollection of biodiversity information,bringing together species records withother environmental data such as soils,
climate and habitats, allowing onlineanalysis and interrogation. Data are heldunder Creative Commons licences toencourage innovation and collaboration.
Forty-five people attended the launch ofthe Atlas at the Royal Botanic Gardens,Edinburgh (RBGE), on the afternoon ofFriday 27th May 2016. This milestoneevent was attended by people from avariety of backgrounds, and many hadtravelled from across Scotland to celebratethe creation of this innovative website.
The event was introduced by ElspethHaston, Deputy Herbarium Curator at theRBGE, with the welcome address beinggiven by Ed Mackey, (Head of KnowledgeManagement, Scottish Natural Heritage(SNH)). Ed paid tribute to the late JohnSawyer, and his vision to develop the Atlasas the National Biodiversity Network (NBN)platform.
Following the welcome address, sixspeakers, representing the projectpartners and the Atlas of Living Scotlanduser group, presented talks on differentaspects of the Atlas. The Keynote Addresswas given by Dr Jo Judge, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, NBN Trust. Jo positioned the Atlasat the heart of the NBN’s Strategy andAction Plan 2016-2020, and emphasisedthe importance of the NBN partnership fordata sharing. The biodiversity datainfrastructure of the Atlas of LivingScotland is a major step forwards towardsimplementing that strategy in Scotland andis also a pilot for similar initiatives todevelop the same data infrastructure forthe entire United Kingdom.
Roddy Fairley, NBN’s Trustee in Scotland,and Strategy Manager for SNH, describedthe development of the Atlas in Scotland,from the first meetings with the developersof the Atlas of Living Australia, through thecreation of the Scottish partnership and
3BRISC Recorder News No 102
Acting Chair-man's Column
It is June so Imust be returningfrom guiding onShetland. Thewildlife on Shet-land was great asalways, withsome interesting
records. Seeing a dark Honeybee was one.There are a few hives in Lerwick and itcertainly looked like one of the northernHoneybees some of you may have readabout. The Shetland frog was another newone for me, alas not a new species but aCommon Frog on Shetland. Introduced inthe late 1800's and now widespread. Ialways have to remind guests that theShetland archipelago is far from other landand some species just didn't get there.
Up on Unst we visited Halligarth House andWoods. A partially consumed Starling wasfound and soon after a Sparrowhawk sight-ed. The house was the home of theEdmondston and Saxby families. The NTSowns the site and is undertaking some workon the grounds and hopefully the house.The collection of the Edmondston andSaxby families will be housed there in thefuture. Dr Henry Saxby (1836-1873) was afamous ornithologist and added 60 speciesto the Shetland bird list, he marriedThomas Edmondston's sister Jessie.Thomas Edmondston was a famous bota-nist who unfortunately died aged 20. Bythat time he had discovered the endemic(to Unst) Edmondston's Chickweed (aged12!), aged 20 he was appointed Professorof Botany at Anderson's University in Glas-gow (now University of Strathclyde) andbefore the age of 21 he died on the voyageof HMS Herald retracing the voyage of theHMS Beagle. Before the voyage he was in
correspondence with Charles Darwin. Hepacked quite a lot into a short life.
Back to mainland Scotland and the BRISCCommittee have found a Chairman toreplace me. I will be formally standingdown at the August meeting though stay-ing involved with BRISC as the the repre-sentative on SBIF. My spare time seems tohave dwindled and is now dominated bywork so I don't seem to generate as manyrecords as I used to. But I am running myfirst British Dragonfly Society field trip infive years, this July. A start...
I have been very proud to be the Chairmanof BRSIC and to work with the committeeand other organisations. I am so pleasedthat SBIF has continued to progress,maybe not at the speed that everyonewanted it to, but it is moving forward andthe links with the NBN and the SBIF Coor-dinator post morphing into an NBN Scot-land Officer was a great move. There is agreat deal going on at the grass roots asever and by creating regional structuresthat support volunteers and data manage-ment and mobilisation we can encouragemore people to get involved. These twoobjectives are the major tasks ahead ofBRISC and all the other SBIF partners.
As ever BRISC has punched above itsweight and delivered several key outputsover the years. Hopefully we can get somemore funding to expand the successfulbursary scheme we and the Glasgow Natu-ral History Society have run over the pastfew years. BRISC has made a differenceand I am sure under the new Chairman itwill continue to do so. Best wishes to youall and have a great summer of biologicalrecording.
4BRISC Recorder News No 102
EditorialFirstly, there will be anew Chair by the nextissue. Secondly, thoseof you receiving hardcopies will see a blackand white version. Thecosts of colour printing
are getting too high to sustain but you canget one in colour! Just print off your ownfrom the link you are sent. And thirdly,starting from 2017 we are proposing a trialyear, during which there will be threeinstead of four issues of the Newsletter.This means they will probably be publishedfor the beginning of February, June and inOctober in time for the annual conference.Please feel free to make comments on allthese changes!
The BRISC committee, is getting theautumn Conference organised. It will takeplace in central Scotland, possibly Falkirk orStirling and the subject is around BiologicalRecorders and Local Sites. Full details andwill come in the October issue.
There are three good bursary reports inthis issue, the last for this year’s intake. Ithink the diversity of experience gainedand the attitude of the students is mostentertaining and encouraging! The NBNNews report is a bit longer than usual,there being a lot to report, not least thelaunch of the Atlas of Living Scotland inEdinburgh in May. Note that we no longerhave a SBIF column as Christine hasbecome the NBN Scottish Liaison Officerand she continues to work on behalf of allof SBIF’s supporters. The move hasclarified the roles and tasks being done andhas been a successful transfer. More onthe background to this can be found athttps://nbn.org.uk/news/aligning-work-sbif-brisc-nbn/
Meanwhile I have am working on aButterfly Conservation Trust project in theYarrow valley (Scottish Borders) to getNorthern Brown Argus (NBA) breeding sitesappropriately managed under an agri-envi-ronment scheme from 2017. This year itmeans checking the food plant (Rock Rose
condition;counting the adults and then a bit later, theeggs. Luckily this species lays a singleshining white egg on the upper surface of aleaf and once you get your eye in its quiteeasy to spot. Once we have good data wecan proceed with the convoluted Schemeapplications if land managers are willing.
Another lepidoptera job I took on is the BCTnational Butterfly Transect on the WhitlawMosses SSSI as there are no longer SNHfunds to support a 24 week survey. Itstarted in 1989 so there is a good run ofdata which would be a shame to stop.Seven volunteers use a 'Cloud' based Excelspreadsheet which is accessed over theinternet by any of the team. It is used tobook the week for which they will beresponsible and everyone can see this. Thesystem works well and avoids any oneperson having to spend time organising theothers. We have set it up for the NBAproject as well – with a lot more information– as there are about a dozen volunteersspread out over SE Scotland!
Essentially the spreadsheet is a synchroni-sation tool for multi-users. See MicrosoftOnedrive “Store, sync, and share work filesin the cloud using Microsoft OneDrive forBusiness, which comes with SharePointOnline ....” It appears to be included inMicrosoft Office 2013 but we go through alocal college portal to access theprogramme.
I hope you enjoy this issue. All the best forthe rest of the summer.
13BRISC Recorder News No 102
NBN News: June 2016New look newsletter launched
At the start of May we launched a new lookelectronic newsletter, Network News.Previously called NBN eNews, we havegiven it a fresh new look, in keeping withthe new NBN website. It still carries theNetwork’s news stories and updates andinformation on upcoming events, it justlooks better – we think so, anyway!
We’d love you to send us your own newsitems for inclusion, just make sure wereceive them by the end of each month inorder to make the publication date, which isthe first week of the month.
If you don’t already receive Network News,you can sign up here: nbn.org.uk/news-events-publications/latest-stories-from-our-network/enews-sign-up/
UK Awards for biological recordingand information sharing – who willyou nominate?
The National Biodiversity Network (NBN) isnow accepting nominations for the 2016 UKawards to celebrate biological recording andinformation sharing.
These awards have been developed by theNBN, the National Forum for BiologicalRecording and the Biological RecordsCentre.
Following the success of last year’s awards,when we received 53 nominations overall,we are excited by the prospect of even morenominations for amazing people in 2016!
Award categories
We have made one change to the awards,by adding in a separate group award, sothere are now five categories:
· Gilbert White youth award for terres-trial and freshwater wildlife
· Gilbert White adult award for terres-trial and freshwater wildlife
· David Robertson youth award formarine and coastal wildlife
· David Robertson adult award formarine and coastal wildlife
· Lynne Farrell group award
NominationsIf you, or your organisation, know of anyindividuals or any groups of people thathave made an outstanding contribution,make sure you nominate them for therelevant award.
The awards committee will consider thesignificance of the contribution (voluntaryor otherwise) made to biological recordingand/or improving our understanding ofthe UK’s biodiversity. This could includefilling geographic or taxonomic gaps inour knowledge, encouraging andfacilitating participation, verifying records,teaching or mentoring recorders, orcreating and sharing tools and resourcesto support biological recording andincreasing participation.
Please include as much relevantinformation as possible, on how yournominee is making a difference and theimpact of their involvement in biologicalrecording, to a maximum of 500 words.
You can nominate one person for differentcategories using the same form. If youwish to nominate more than one personor group please use a separate form foreach nominee. Unfortunately, you can’tnominate yourself!
Nomination forms can be downloadedfrom: nbn.org.uk/news/uk-awards-nominations-open/
12BRISC Recorder News No 102
Over 100 species are described in thespecies accounts, with grasses taking upover 50% of this section, but a selection ofsedges and rushes are covered. The authorhelpfully includes pointers on recognisingthe different grass genera as well as theindividual species. Recognition of charac-ters of different grass genera should makeidentifying species not covered by the booka bit easier. Flicking through the pages of abook of this size to find the desired speciesdoes not take long, but an index wouldhave been beneficial.
The selection of species covered by thebook is generally good; it must be hard todecide what to keep in or leave out andspecies with limited distribution are gener-ally described as such. However, I was notconvinced by the choice of Bent grasses( spp.) in particular. Bristle Bent( ) was described and illus-trated in full, with the account stating“especially in west”, but the BSBI Distribu-tion Database shows that this species isonly found in south-west and southernEngland and in south Wales, so is not reallyrelevant to Scotland or indeed large partsof England. Velvet Bent ( ),which is frequent to common throughoutthe UK, is listed under ‘other [ ]species’ and not illustrated, where as BrownBent ( ) – until recentlyregarded as a subspecies or variant of
– is illustrated. The possible confu-sion between and isnot mentioned.
The book includes some memorabledescriptions, including ones I had not comeacross before. For example CarnationSedge ( ) is delightfullydescribed as having “a few chocolate-limeswollen fruits” and Common Bent (
) is referred to as “Tickle grass”due to its fine feathery panicles. The photo-graphs are generally excellent and often
show the plant in situ as well as focusing onparticular parts of the plant that are diag-nostic. One error I did spot was the photo-graphs of Tall Fescue (
) and Meadow Fescue () appear to be the wrong way
round!
If I was nitpicking (which I am), I wouldsay that there are a few typos, which oughtto have been picked up during proofing, buthopefully these minor points will beaddressed in any subsequent reprint. Theycertainly do not take anything away fromthe enjoyment of using the book. If the aimof the book is to demystify identification ofthis group of plants, it certainly achieves itsgoal. Overall, I would recommend purchas-ing the book, but in addition to, not insteadof, a more comprehensive field guide.
References:Hubbard, C.E., 1992.
. 3rd Ed.London: Penguin Books.Stace, C., 2010.
. 3rd ed. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland(BSBI), no date.
[online]. Available from:http://bsbidb.org.uk/. [Accessed27/06/2016].Biological Records Centre, no date.
[online].Available from:http://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/index.php?q=title_page.[Accessed 27/06/2016].
5BRISC Recorder News No 102
(Fig.4) with a minimum 23 day countsin 2013 to a maximum 39 in 2014.
The survey work at the site andelsewhere around Loch Lomond alsogave information on reptile distributionand habitat preferences in the NationalPark (McInerny. 2014a; McInerny,2014b; McInerny, 2016b). All threereptiles were found at highest densitiesat lowland sites, sometimes in closeproximity to human habitation, butalways in areas associated with standsof bracken spp., gorsespp. or bramble agg.,with scattered small trees and bushes.
The surveys also allowed many obser-vations concerning reptile life cycles(McInerny, 2014a; McInerny, 2016b).Reptiles were active from mid-Februaryto late October, with mating in lateApril and May, and young appearing inAugust and September.
As well as giving information onnumbers, distribution and biology, therecording also resulted in theimplementation of a conservationproject (McInerny, 2016a). Bycoincidence, a hydroelectric scheme
was proposed at the survey site, withthe development passing through thearea with highest reptile densities.However, knowledge of the presenceof the reptiles resulted in changes tothe development to minimise negativeimpacts, and the instigation of amanagement plan to protect them.The hydroelectric scheme wascompleted in 2014, and surveying ofreptiles during and afterwardssuggests that the conservation projecthas been successful, as reptilenumbers have persisted at the site(McInerny 2016a).
In conclusion reptile surveying at LochLomond has resulted in a number ofpositive outcomes. First, it hasrevealed high densities of threespecies at, which appear to be ofnational importance (McInerny andMinting, 2016). The knowledge will Ihope encourage the Loch LomondNational Park to value and protect thisnative fauna. Second, it has providedmuch new Scottish specific informationabout the biology and life cycles ofthese animals, again important forconservation. Third, it has providedevidence to modify a hydroelectric
Fig.4 Adult male common lizard, March 2015, Loch Lomond.
Continued from pg 2
6BRISC Recorder News No 102
development to minimise itsenvironmental impact. All of thesepositive outcomes confirm thesignificance and relevance ofbiological recording, and the role thatBRISC plays in this process.
References
McInerny, C.J. (2014a). Observationson a population of adders, slow-wormsand common lizards on Loch Lomondside,Scotland. The Glasgow Naturalist 26(1),63-68.
McInerny, C.J. (2014b). Habitatpreferences of European adders at LochLomond, Scotland.26(1), 69-74.
McInerny, C.J. (2016a). Reptilepopulations persist following theinstallation of a hydroelectric scheme atLoch Lomond, Scotland.
135, 11-14.
McInerny, C.J. (2016b). Observationson co-existing populations of adders, slow-worms and common lizards at LochLomond, Scotland: implications forconservation. . InPress.
McInerny, C.J. and Minting, P.(2016).
The Glasgow Natural HistorySociety, Glasgow. In Press.
Sewell, D., Griffiths, R.A., Beebee,T.J.C., Foster, J. and Wilkinson, J.W.(2013).
Amphibian and ReptileConservation, Bournemouth.
Tigers and Elephants – the magic ofmoths
I’m a newcomer to the post of Biodi-versity Officer for City of EdinburghCouncil, although not a stranger toEdinburgh’s biodiversity, havingworked for nearly 20 years as a coun-tryside ranger in the Pentland Hills andacross natural heritage sites in the city.As a ranger my specialism was being ageneralist. I was expected to know alittle about a lot and in some cases, alot about a lot! I’ve always had apassion for wildlife and the countrysideand started out as a birder then grad-ually branched out to learning moreabout fungi, reptiles and amphibians,dragonflies, bats and butterflies. Mothswere not an interest; to me they werebrown, drab and boring. However myinterest was piqued by a HummingbirdHawkmoth nectaring on lavender inmy garden and I was hooked.Acquiring a moth trap was the nextstep and the first moth in the trap wasa Swallow-tailed Moth (the flying ‘post-it’ note) – further proof to dispel themyths of drab, brown and boring. (Seehttp://www.mothscount.org)I’ve continued to put a moth trap in mygarden and never ceased to beamazed. With around 900 macromoths and 1600 micros in the UK thereis a lifetime’s world of discovery. Everytime the trap goes out there is a keensense of anticipation.Enthusing and engaging with others isa key part of my work as a BiodiversityOfficer. An assortment of charactersfrom Quakers and Carpets, Pugs and
11BRISC Recorder News No 102
Book Review
A Field Guideto Grasses,Sedges andRushes byDominic Price.
Dominic Price’snew book (publ.April 2016) wasSummerfieldBooks’ June“Book of the
month”. At 72 pages long, ring-bound,with colour photographs throughout, it isan easily portable and attractively present-ed book. The cost (£9.99 on NHBS) seemsabout right, with all proceeds going to TheSpecies Recovery Trust’s conservationprogramme.
The publication is aimed at the beginner orintermediate botanist. It will not enableyou to identify every grass, sedge or rushyou encounter in the UK. It will howevermake these groups more accessible, byproviding “a way in” to studying this fasci-nating group of plants, and will helpincrease your familiarity with over 100regularly encountered species.
Species by habitat: This section of thebook provides lists of the most commonlyencountered species in seven native habi-tat types (neutral grassland, calcareousgrassland, heath/acid grassland, wet heath& mire, woodland and wetland). By listingspecies by habitat type and focusing on themost common ones the number of differ-ent species the botanist need consider isreduced, so the list becomes moremanageable. I am not certain whether abeginner would always be able to identifythe habitat they were in (especially somegrassland types) and therefore which pageto look at in the first place, but reading the
habitat descriptions should help. It mighthave been clearer if the lists were organ-ised by group, with grasses, sedges andrushes listed separately, rather than usinga single alphabetical list, but lack of spacemay have prevented this. I think it wouldalso be good to highlight in some waywhich species are habitat indicators e.g.calcicoles (lime-loving) or calcifuges (lime-hating) to distinguish them from speciesthat have broader habitat tolerances.
Alongside the species lists are flowchartsdesigned to aid identification. The flow-charts are not intended as proper keys,rather short cuts to identification – withconspicuous or distinctive charactersfocused upon that can be readily observedin the field. Happily, the author recognisesthe value of vegetative as well as floweringcharacters for identification and uses bothin the flowcharts. Some of the memorablecharacteristics described include the “stripypyjamas” of Yorkshire Fog ( )and the “hairy knees” of Creeping Soft-grass ( ). There are occasionalinconsistencies, with species included inthe flowchart but not in the species list forthe same habitat type and vice versa e.g.Annual Meadow-grass ( ) andCommon Bent ( ) areincluded in the flowchart but not thespecies list for neutral grassland, whilst thereverse is true for Tall Fescue (
).
The section on grasses grouped byinflorescence type is very useful for thebeginner and divides inflorescences intothree simple categories: drooping, open(panicles) and pointed (spike-like) inflores-cences. My main criticism is the lack ofscale bars with photographs, which mightcause confusion when looking at specimensin the field. Also, beginners might preferthe use of common names as well as scien-tific ones beneath photos.
10BRISC Recorder News No 102
plant communities where other vegetationseems to be practically impossible.
Thanks to the bursary provided by BRISC, Iwas able to take part on a weekend longcourse provided by FSC in Kindrogan, whichhas given me the essential skills needed foridentifying a variety of different bryophytes.
It has been a very enjoyable experienceworking with experts within the field, whohave shown a real passion for discoveringbryophytes of various different habitats.Additionally, the opportunity to work in thelaboratory was extremely valuable to me,as it has provided an important insight intothe practice of recording. After completionof this course, I purchased my own copy ofMosses and Liverworts in Britain andIreland: a field guide and I have beensuccessfully able to identify some of thebryophyte flora surrounding me.
I would like to share the skills I havegained, with conservation organisations,such as the National Trust for Scotland,where it would prove valuable to have morepeople able to identify bryophyte species inorder to conserve declining species andprotect Scotland’s expansive peat-bogs,which are extremely important for lockingup carbon, thus countering climate change.I would also like to assist students andencourage them to include bryophyteswhen conducting experiments related toplant ecology and assist projectsresearching bryology.
lecturer, Ian Cheeseborough, I waslearning from my mistakes and my successrate was steadily rising. I thoroughlyenjoyed the course and, gifted with a copyof the key, I am excited about developingmy skills further and feeding records backto my local biological records centre.
This year I will be assisting with the deliveryof a community wildflower nursery at PollokCountry Park (a partnership betweenGlasgow City Council, TCV and Grow Wild)and I look forward to sharing my newly-acquired knowledge with numerousvolunteers; working to improving nestingand foraging opportunities for solitary beesthroughout Glasgow.
Introduction to Mosses and Liverworts
As part of my BSc Environmental Sciencedegree, I have recently completed myHonour’s project investigating the effects ofgrazing on upland flush communities in BenLawers. This involved identifyinggraminoids, forbs as well as bryophytes.However, because it was difficult to identifymosses and liverworts in the field, Icollected samples and sought someone tohelp with identification. It was then, Irealised there are not many professionalsspecialising in the bryophyte flora, eventhough they play a crucial role inecosystems.
Expertise is needed for the conservation ofbryophytes. The bryophyte flora is not onlyfascinating and essential to biodiversity, butbryophytes act as pioneers to establish
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Kittens to Daggers and Darts – meansthere is fantastically rich seam ofnames to mine. Scientific names canput some people off discovering moreabout wildlife but if the name canprovide an with an inter-esting story attached, then this can bea great help. I like the fact that thehawkmoth family is refer-ring to the sphinx-like position thatsome of the caterpillars adopt whenalarmed as the head rears up.In my new role I’ve some ideas aboutintroducing biodiversity to a wideraudience and bringing nature into theoffice, literally. I recently brought in amoth trap, leaflets and literature aswell as the stars of the show, moths,into the Council’s headquarters atWaverley Court. There was a goodlevel of interest and some puzzledexpressions, as well as the inevitablequestions about clothes moths.However, most people were genuinelysurprised at the beauty of the ElephantHawkmoth, Clouded Border and SmallAngle Shades on show and to hearabout the part moths play in theecosystem as food for birds and batsas well as pollinators. The moth profilewas boosted by a feature on theprevious night’s BBC Springwatchprogramme.Recently, I ventured north in search ofglory – Kentish Glory. The weatherhowever was not conducive to mothwatching, more suitable for Arcticconditions as a blizzard swept in.However, our searching was rewardedby finding Rannoch Brindled Beautyand Rannoch Sprawler (see photo)
Alongside this, encouraging membersof the public to record what wildlife
they see around them is another vitalarea of the Biodiversity job. New tech-nology has made recording muchsimpler and streamlined, index cardsout and apps in.The next phase of the Edinburgh Biodi-versity Action Plan has just beenlaunched and continues apace (seewww.edinburgh.gov.uk/biodiversity)Surveying, monitoring and recordingremain at the heart of the Plan and thesterling work of the TWIC team (seehttp://www.wildlifeinformation.co.uk/)make a real difference to the deliveryof improvements to Edinburgh’s biodi-versity through projects such as evalu-ating Local Biodiversity Sites, providinginformation about European ProtectedSpecies and local rarities, species iden-tification and supporting data collectionand analysis.So I’ll continue to put the trap out andlearn more about these fascinatinginsects every time.
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magnification hand lens transformedthe world to a vastly different place.We gathered samples and headedback to the lab where I learned how toprepare bark samples in a damp petri-dish to encourage the fruiting bodiesto grow. It was inspiring to see aprofessor with 50 years’ experience ofmicrofungi getting excited about theday’s findings under the microscope.
The course was unusual in comparisonto other introductory courses takingplace that weekend, as it required adegree of prerequisite knowledge oflab procedures and the biology offungi. I was initially intimidated but Idecided to speak up and ask for helpon the basic levels such preparing themicroscope slides. I then proceededto feel slightly stumped about whereour guides to basic microfungi identifi-cation were. There weren’t any ofcourse; the world of microfungi ismuch too much rich to have suchtools. Even the amount of diversityfound within a few metres from thefield centre was immense.
BURSARY REPORTS
Microfungi Course
After completing a Master’s in EcologyI was feeling optimistic about my newemployability skills. This diminishedquickly; graduate Ecologist jobs arerare. My studies had focussed uponbroad-scale environments such asbiomes of arctic tundra, so it wasalarming to see the small-scale preci-sion required of professional ecologists.The few jobs demanded specialistknowledge of at least one taxon.
I decided the best course of action wasto take advantage of local trainingopportunities, volunteer and getinvolved in recording. I soon cameacross the bursary offer from BRISC.It was ideal solution to the Catch 22whereby courses by renowned organi-sations are only affordable to existingprofessionals. It was advised thatbursary applications to study unattrac-tive taxa would have a higher likeli-hood of success. I opted therefore, forthe Spring Microfungi course with theField Studies Council (FSC).
The focus was the Myxomycetes, a.k.a.slime moulds; a specialist area of thecourse leader. We began the weekendwith an introductory evening sessionwhere I learned that slime mouldswere neither moulds nor slimy. Theyweren’t unattractive either. The firstfield trip was an awakening. We neverventured more than a couple ofminutes’ walk from the field centre andfound a whole range of microfungiwithout effort. A frequently used x30
or Dog Vomit slime mould.Photo courtesy of wikipedia
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As a group we found samples of speciesthat had rarely been recorded in the UK, butthose records will be left to the expert. Formyself, I’m investigating the genus
which are not one of theMyxomycetes, but are an Ascomyceteswhich I found repeatedly on my final fieldtrip into damp environments. My main portof call in future will be iSpot as confidencein identifying microfungi could takedecades. I expect I may join the other FSCaddicts who return to the same course yearupon year and gain new insight each time.Until then, I’ll be getting better acquaintedwith the wonders of fungi and the worldunder a microscope. I have a lot ofhomework to do before going back on thecourse.
Editorial note - includes thefungus causing ash-die-back, which most of uswill know as 'Chalara'.
An Introduction to Solitary Bee ID
Since the Second World War, throughincreased development and agriculturalintensification, Britain has lost around 97%of its wildflower habitat; with recent studiesshowing a strong relationship with thedecline of wild bees. As the mainreproductive mechanism in 78% of ourflowering plants, pollination by insects isessential to maintaining genetic diversity;but when most of us think of pollinators,solitary bees are often over-looked (andsomewhat neglected) in favour of theirlarger, fluffier, relatives. Of the 267 beespecies found in the UK, only 25 are of thesocial genus , while the other,mostly solitary species, remain widelyunder-recorded.
With financial support from BRISC andGNHS, I was able to attend a Solitary BeeIdentification course at the FSC centre inShrewsbury, Shropshire. Unfortunately, thegood weather took a turn for the worse,and a weekend of heavy rain meant someunsuccessful field visits. However, thisallowed for some precious time on themicroscopes which, to differentiatebetween the 230 species of solitary bee, isabsolutely essential. Using the recentlypublished (and highly recommended)“Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britainand Ireland” by Steven Falk, we learnedhow to key out individual specimens downto genera, then species level. The numberof segments in the antenna can separatemales from females, hairs along the eyemargins might help to define genera, whilethe number of sub-marginal cells andvenation arrangements in the wing mighthelp to distinguish some species fromothers. When the individual is only 5mm insize, you can see why a microscope wouldcome in handy! With no previous
experience, it was difficult to identify anumber of these key features, and I had asmany failed attempts as I did successes.
However, as the weekend progressed, withsupport from class mates and our amazing
A tiny male; only recentlyrecorded in Glasgow.
