Natives, Aliens and Reintroductions Conference
June 22nd & 23rd 2013
Morning programme:
- 10:00 Welcome: Vice-President of GNHS & Keynote Statement: Julie Hodgkinson (BES)
- 10:15 Chris Smout: What's natural? A species history of Scotland in the last 10,000 years?
- 11:00 Stan Whitaker (SNH): Moving species around − risks and benefits
- 11:40 Colin Adams et al.(SCENE): Introductions as a conservation tool; case studies from rare freshwater fishes in Scotland
- 12:05 Jim Dickson: What We Should Do About Japanese Knotweed?
12:40 Lunch (poster−viewing; teas coffees etc available)
View poster contributions
Afternoon Programme:
- 13:40 Toby Wilson (RSPB): The Clyde Valley Wader Initiative – how applied ecology is informing the conservation of farmland waders in S Lanarkshire
- 14:00 Ellen Rotheray: Restoring endangered hoverflies: the pine Blera fallax and aspen Hammerschmidtia ferruginea hoverflies in Scotland
- 14:20 Lorna Cole et al.: Wild pollinators: Safeguarding populations in intensive agricultural landscapes
- 14:40 Robert Coleman (RSPB): Giant Docks and Tiny Dinosaurs
- 15:00 Roisin Campbell-Palmer (RZSS): Bringing Beavers Back
- 15:20 Break
- 15:40 Andy Riches (Scottish Badgers): The Badger, Vermin or Victim?
- 16:00 Richard Sutcliffe (Butterfly Conservation): Conserving the Chequered Skipper
- 16:20 Stephen Woodward (University of Aberdeen): Alien invasive pests and pathogens: threats to our native forest ecosystems
- 16:40 Stuart Brabbs (Ayrshire Rivers Trust): Invasive weed control in the Riparian Environment
- 17:00 Zara Gladman (Clyde River Foundation): A tale of two crayfish in Scotland
- 17:20 Summing-up: Roger Downie (GNHS), and Civic Reception in the Zoology Museum
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Abstracts
- Chris Smout: What's natural? A species history of Scotland in the last 10,000 years?
- Stan Whitaker (SNH): Moving species around − risks and benefits
- Colin Adams (SCENE) et al.: Introductions as a conservation tool; case studies from rare freshwater fishes in Scotland
- Jim Dickson: What We Should Do About Japanese Knotweed?
- Toby Wilson (RSPB): The Clyde Valley Wader Initiative − how applied ecology is informing the conservation of farmland waders in S Lanarkshire
- Ellen Rotheray: Restoring endangered hoverflies: the pine Blera fallax and aspen Hammerschmidtia ferruginea hoverflies in Scotland
- Lorna Cole et al.: Wild pollinators: Safeguarding populations in intensive agricultural landscapes
- Robert Coleman (RSPB): Giant Docks and Tiny Dinosaurs
- Roisin Campbell-Palmer (RZSS): Bringing Beavers Back
- Andy Riches (Scottish Badgers): The Badger, Vermin or Victim?
- Richard Sutcliffe (Butterfly Conservation): Conserving the Chequered Skipper
- Stephen Woodward (University of Aberdeen): Alien invasive pests and pathogens: threats to our native forest ecosystems
- Stuart Brabbs (Ayrshire Rivers Trust): Invasive weed control in the Riparian Environment
- Zara Gladman (Clyde River Foundation): A tale of two crayfish in Scotland
The concept of natural is a matter of shifting definition, and what is considered native or alien also depends on definition, history and conjecture. Some groups of species are more likely than others to have a large percentage of aliens. Dealing with them demands not dogma but a sense of proportion.
The law in Scotland prevents the release and spread of all non-native species. However, only a proportion of non-native species become invasive and many contribute positively to our lives. We may also wish to re−introduce former natives. Which species do we let in and which to we want to keep out?
With a wealth of supporting exemplars from around the world, it is almost self−evident that the introduction of a species into a habitat that is outside its normal range is likely to be, at least negative, but very frequently disastrous for the receiving ecosystem. Recently however, introductions of some species to new habitats have been used as a conservation management tool. In this talk, the authors explore how translocations are being used in conservation “Ark” sites and the potential benefits they might bring, using case studies from rare freshwater fish species in Scotland.
The demonization of Japanese Knotweed has produced inappropriate control measures which stem more from a combination of emotion, scare−mongering journalism and vested interests than they do from good science. What is needed is a change of attitudes and a new pragmatism with rigorously applied, well thought out and narrow aims to replace the waging of spendthrift wars of attrition. Such wars are ultimately futile in that most or all of the invasive non−native plants are here to stay.
The Upper Clyde Valley (including the Duneaton, Medwin and Elvan Waters) continues to hold regionally important populations of farmland waders such as lapwing and redshank. The talk will focus on how the Clyde Valley Wader Initiative seeks to maintain and increase these populations through targeting funding to landowners to undertake ‘wader−friendly’ farming practices, which are informed by the latest research into wader ecology.
Conserving these endangered, saproxylic hoverflies requires a detailed understanding of their requirements, ecology and behaviour. Only based on such data can techniques to halt decline and instigate recovery be identified and promoted to landowners and managers. Detailed investigation into adult and larval requirements has uncovered critical new data for developing management protocols for these flagship species, which are among the first hoverflies anywhere to be the target of tailored conservation action. These discoveries and prospects for their successful conservation will be discussed.
Lorna J. Cole, Duncan Robertson, Billy Harrison and Davy McCracken: There is mounting evidence that wild pollinators are in decline worldwide. With their decline threatening the stability of pollination in both commercial crops and wild plants, this decline has implications to global food security and biodiversity. SRUC are evaluating the importance of a range of farmland habitats for pollinators to identify how populations can be promoted in intensive agricultural landscapes.
RSPB Loch Lomond is set within the Loch Lomond NNR. This is a site with an amazing variety of wildlife, sitting on the edge of the Highlands. How do we manage for this variety and what challenges will there be along the way?
Reintroducing beavers to Britain is not a new concept. Although most progress has occurred in Scotland, the decision to fully restore this species has still been deferred. With the official scientific trial reintroduction entering its final year and a large, unlicensed population established, the future of beavers in Scotland will ultimately be a political decision and undoubtedly influence their restoration to Britain.
The Eurasian Badger (Meles meles) is a native species currently facing a number of threats. In England there are Government plans to allow a cull in an attempt to reduce the spread of Bovine tuberculosis, while the problem of criminal persecution remains a U.K. wide police priority. This presentation will provide an ecological perspective on the situation.
Since its extinction in England in 1976, the Chequered Skipper butterfly now only occurs in the UK in western Scotland. Recent records are restricted to within a 30 mile radius of Fort William. However, recent research predicts that the current distribution of the butterfly may be underestimated by around 20% at a 10km square resolution and possibly by as much as 400% at a 1km scale. Surveys carried out in 2012 revealed previously unknown colonies in some of the top 100 1km squares predicted by the research. Further targeted surveys will help to establish the true distribution of this species, which is a Conservation Priority Species. Similar research in the future could be applied to other species, such as the Pearl-bordered Fritillary.
UK forests face unprecedented challenges from the influx of alien invasive pests and pathogens resulting from increased global trade. The threat posed by these organisms to individual tree species, to forest biodiversity and to human requirements of forests will be illustrated using examples from Europe and elsewhere in the world.
Invasive non-native plant species in the riparian environment reduce water quality through erosion, restrict access, threaten native biodiversity and can pose significant health risks to human beings. Effective control and eradication relies on a strategic and sustained approach using best practice and the latest technologies available. Whilst not universally popular, the use of herbicide may be seen as an essential component of effective control, although alternatives are available for some species.
There are two non−native crayfish species in Scotland: the white−clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes), which is endangered in its native European range; and the North American signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus), which is considered a serious threat to native biodiversity. Recent research has investigated the status and impact of these species in Scotland and will be presented here.
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