A review of the population and conservation status of British mammals

This report presents the first comprehensive review of the status of British mammal populations for over 20 years. The population size, range size, temporal trends and future prospects of Britain’s 58 terrestrial mammals are assessed. The review presents the most up-to-date assessment of population size and status for the 58 terrestrial mammals in Britain. The report highlights an urgent requirement for more research to assess population densities in key habitats, and to assess the percentage of potentially suitable habitat where a given species actually occurs: at present, uncertainty levels are unacceptably high

Diagnosing problems of fine sediment delivery and transfer in a lowland catchment

This paper is a product of research conducted within the REFORM collaborative project funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement 282656

A review of assessment methods for river hydromorphology

The work leading to this paper has received funding for the EU’s FP7 under Grant Agreement No. 282656 (REFORM

Evaluating the function of wildcat faecal marks in relation to the defence of favourable hunting areas

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Ethology Ecology and Evolution on 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/03949370.2014.905499To date, there have been no studies of carnivores that have been specifically designed to examine the function of scent marks in trophic resource defence, although several chemical communication studies have discussed other functions of these marks. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that faecal marks deposited by wildcats (Felis silvestris) serve to defend their primary trophic resource, small mammals. Field data were collected over a 2-year period in a protected area in northwestern Spain. To determine the small mammal abundance in different habitat types, a seasonal live trapping campaign was undertaken in deciduous forests, mature pine forests and scrublands. In each habitat, we trapped in three widely separated Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) cells. At the same time that the trapping was being performed, transects were conducted on foot along forest roads in each trapping cell and in one adjacent cell to detect fresh wildcat scats that did or did not have a scent-marking function. A scat was considered to have a presumed marking function when it was located on a conspicuous substrate, above ground level, at a crossroad or in a latrine. The number of faecal marks and the small mammal abundance varied by habitat type but not by seasons. The results of the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) indicated that small mammal abundance and habitat type were the factors that explained the largest degrees of variation in the faecal marking index (number of faecal marks in each cell/number of kilometres surveyed in each cell). This result suggests that wildcats defended favourable hunting areas. They mark most often where their main prey lives and so where they spend the most time hunting (in areas where their main prey is more abundant). This practice would allow wildcats to protect their main trophic resource and would reduce intraspecific trophic competitio

Classification of river morphology and hydrology to support management and restoration

The work leading to this paper has received funding from the European Union’s FP7 programme under Grant Agreement No. 282656 (REFORM

Squirrelpox virus: assessing prevalence, transmission and environmental degradation

Red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) declined in Great Britain and Ireland during the last century, due to habitat loss and the introduction of grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), which competitively exclude the red squirrel and act as a reservoir for squirrelpox virus (SQPV). The disease is generally fatal to red squirrels and their ecological replacement by grey squirrels is up to 25 times faster where the virus is present. We aimed to determine: (1) the seropositivity and prevalence of SQPV DNA in the invasive and native species at a regional scale; (2) possible SQPV transmission routes; and, (3) virus degradation rates under differing environmental conditions. Grey (n = 208) and red (n = 40) squirrel blood and tissues were sampled. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) techniques established seropositivity and viral DNA presence, respectively. Overall 8% of squirrels sampled (both species combined) had evidence of SQPV DNA in their tissues and 22% were in possession of antibodies. SQPV prevalence in sampled red squirrels was 2.5%. Viral loads were typically low in grey squirrels by comparison to red squirrels. There was a trend for a greater number of positive samples in spring and summer than in winter. Possible transmission routes were identified through the presence of viral DNA in faeces (red squirrels only), urine and ectoparasites (both species). Virus degradation analyses suggested that, after 30 days of exposure to six combinations of environments, there were more intact virus particles in scabs kept in warm (25°C) and dry conditions than in cooler (5 and 15°C) or wet conditions. We conclude that SQPV is present at low prevalence in invasive grey squirrel populations with a lower prevalence in native red squirrels. Virus transmission could occur through urine especially during warm dry summer conditions but, more notably, via ectoparasites, which are shared by both species

Indicators of river system hydromorphological character and dynamics: understanding current conditions and guiding sustainable river management

The work leading to this paper received funding from the EU’s FP7 programme under Grant Agreement No. 282656 (REFORM). The Indicators were developed within the context of REFORM deliverable D2.1, therefore all partners involved in this deliverable contributed to some extent to their discussion and development

An example application of the CEN Water quality — Guidance standard for assessing the hydromorphological features of rivers to the River Frome, Dorset, Southern England

This report documents a comprehensive application of the framework proposed in CEN Standard CEN/ TC 230/ WG 25/ EN14614 to the River Frome, Dorset, Southern England. Therefore, this report needs to be read with reference to that Standard. The framework was first developed in REFORM, a European Union Framework 7 project (Grant Agreement 282656), established to improve the success of hydromorphological restoration. The Standard determines the natural hydromorphological condition of rivers for many applications. It is appropriate for long-term, catchment-scale management, e.g. river basin planning and implementation. It is also able to support assessments for site-scale, project delivery, e.g. flood management schemes, channel maintenance and channel restoration. The hierarchical and multiscale nature of the analysis illustrated in this report provides causative links between catchment processes and local scale hydromorphological conditions; for example, how catchment scale issues influence fine sediment erosion, transfer and deposition. In this way it can facilitate the application of a DPSIR (Drivers, Pressures, State, Impact, Response) model of management intervention, illustrate causes and consequences, and help target sustainable management solutions