The lesser mottled grasshopper, Stenobothrus stigmaticus: lessons from habitat management at its only site in the British Isles

The lesser mottled grasshopper, Stenobothrus stigmaticus, occurs at a single site in the British Isles. This paper describes the history of site protection and management over 30 years including the introduction of conservation grazing management. Successes have been limited, but this has been due largely to issues around recreational access and stakeholder engagement rather than lack of ecological understanding. Despite severe challenges, sufficient experience has been gained to be confident that grazing by sheep can assist in re-establishing the grasshopper over areas of a protected site from which it is now absent or present in only scattered colonies. The grasshopper requires a short, open grassland and pockets of such vegetation occur naturally because of rabbit-grazing and thin, nutrient poor, free-draining soils around rocky outcrops. These small areas have proved to be critical to the species persistence and provide a nucleus from which spread can occur. Grazing management has involved complex negotiations with multiple stakeholders, including landowners, their agents, the landowners’ tenants, and the tenants’ graziers. Public access, cases of dogs worrying grazing livestock, and objections over the introduction of fencing in a once open landscape have made negotiations more difficult. Future success requires that these issues be addressed. Observations on a golf course within the site, with a remnant population of the grasshopper, suggest that winter-cutting of grassland may be a useful supplement to grazing management while such difficulties remain

Lower pollen nutritional quality delays nest building and egg laying in Bombus terrestris audax micro-colonies leading to reduced biomass gain

This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13592-021-00885-3The performance of Bombus terrestris micro-colonies fed five diets differing in pollen species composition and level of nine essential amino acids (EAA; leucine, lysine, valine, arginine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, threonine, histidine, methionine) was assessed for 37 days by recording total biomass gain, nest building initiation, brood production (eggs, small and large larvae, pupae, drones), nectar, and pollen collection. Stronger colony performance was linked to higher amino acid levels but no consistent differences in biomass gain were recorded between mono- and poly-species diets. Poorest performance occurred in micro-colonies offered pure oilseed rape (OSR) pollen which contained the lowest EAA levels. Reduced micro-colony development (delayed nest initiation and lower brood production) was related to OSR proportion in the diet and lower EAA levels. Results are discussed in relation to selection of plant species in the design of habitats to promote bee populations

Development and optimisation of a sex pheromone lure for monitoring populations of saddle gall midge, Haplodiplosis marginata

Saddle gall midge, Haplodiplosis marginata (von Roser) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is a sporadic pest of cereals in Northern and Central Europe and is of increasing importance in the UK. Recently the major component of the sex pheromone produced by adult female H. marginata was reported to be 2-nonyl butyrate. The importance of absolute configuration on attractiveness, the effects on trap catches of the addition of minor pheromone components, dispenser type, and pheromone loading are described in the development of an optimised pheromone lure with which to trap H. marginata males. In analyses of volatiles collected from virgin female H. marginata by gas chromatography (GC) coupled to electroantennographic recording (EAG) from the antenna of a male H. marginata, two EAG responses were observed. Analyses by coupled GC-mass spectrometry (MS) indicated these were due to 2-nonyl butyrate and a trace amount (1%) of 2-heptyl butyrate. A similar trace amount of 2-nonanol was detected in GC-MS analyses but this compound did not elicit an EAG response when the synthetic compound was tested, whereas while the other two compounds did. These three compounds were not observed in collections of volatiles made from male H. marginata. The 2-nonyl butyrate was shown to be the (R)-enantiomer, and i. In field trapping tests (R)-2-nonyl butyrate was at least ten times10× more attractive to male H. marginata than the racemic compound, and while the (S)-enantiomer was unattractive. Addition of the potential minor components individually or together at the naturally -occurring ratios did not increase or reduce the attractiveness of the lure. Polyethylene vials and rubber septa were equally effective as pheromone dispensers, lasting for at least five 5 weeks in the field in the UK, although laboratory tests indicated release from the former was more uniform and more likely to last longer in the field. Increasing loading of pheromone in the dispenser increased attractiveness. Traps baited with polyethylene vials containing 0.5 mg of (R)-2-nonyl butyrate are recommended for monitoring H. marginata and these are far more sensitive than water or sticky traps currently used for monitoring this pest

Lower pollen nutritional quality delays nest building and egg laying in Bombus terrestris audax micro-colonies leading to reduced biomass gain

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2021-02-23, rev-recd 2021-07-16, accepted 2021-07-21, registration 2021-07-22, pub-electronic 2021-09-27, online 2021-09-27, pub-print 2021-12Publication status: PublishedFunder: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000268; Grant(s): BB/M503447/1Abstract: The performance of Bombus terrestris micro-colonies fed five diets differing in pollen species composition and level of nine essential amino acids (EAA; leucine, lysine, valine, arginine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, threonine, histidine, methionine) was assessed for 37 days by recording total biomass gain, nest building initiation, brood production (eggs, small and large larvae, pupae, drones), nectar, and pollen collection. Stronger colony performance was linked to higher amino acid levels but no consistent differences in biomass gain were recorded between mono- and poly-species diets. Poorest performance occurred in micro-colonies offered pure oilseed rape (OSR) pollen which contained the lowest EAA levels. Reduced micro-colony development (delayed nest initiation and lower brood production) was related to OSR proportion in the diet and lower EAA levels. Results are discussed in relation to selection of plant species in the design of habitats to promote bee populations

Inter-observer variation in habitat survey data: investigating the consequences for professional practice

Knowledge of the extent and distribution of vegetation types is essential to underpin conservation assessments, land-use planning and management of wildlife populations (Hill et al. 2005; IEEM 2006; Morris and Thrivel 2009). Despite improvements in remote sensing of land cover, field survey remains an essential method for collection of data on the distribution of habitats and their floristic composition (IEEM 2006). Surveying of vegetation is recognised as a key skill required by ecologists and environmental managers (IEEM 2007, 2011), but studies of variability between surveyors have often revealed significant levels of disagreement in terms of the plant species and habitats recorded (e.g. Scott and Hallam 2002; Milberg et al. 2008; Stevens et al. 2004; Hearn et al. 2011). For example, a study using the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) in the UK found that pairwise spatial agreement between seven surveyors mapping vegetation at the same site averaged only 34% at the community level (Hearn et al. 2011). Comparisons between plant species lists drawn up by different surveyors working in the same plots typically show agreement in the range of 50%–70% for a variety of habitats (Scott and Hallam 2002). Professionals working in the environmental and conservation sectors are therefore aware of the potential for inter-observer variation and its impact on data quality, but there is a dearth of information on the extent to which it is perceived to be an impediment to good decision-making in practice (Cherrill 2013a). If inter-observer variation causes few problems, then the issue may be largely irrelevant in day-to-day practice. However, if inter-observer variation in interpretation of habitat types is a cause of disagreement and poor decision-making there may be a mandate to change training and/or survey methods.\ud The focus of the present study is inter-observer variation in habitat mapping using two of the standard classifications in the United Kingdom, namely the Phase 1 habitat classification (JNCC 1993) and the NVC (Rodwell 2006). Studies focussing on these methods have revealed spatial agreement between surveyors using the same method at the same site in the range of 25%–70% (Cherrill 2013a). These studies, however, were conducted either as bespoke academic research projects designed to directly assess observer variation (Cherrill and McClean 1995, 1999a, 1999b, 2000, 2001; Hearn et al. 2011) or as part of Quality Assurance procedures within a large-scale national monitoring programme designed to detect landscape change (Stevens et al. 2004). The extent to which these results are representative of inter-observer variation in professional practice involving environmental assessment and site management planning is therefore unknown (Cherrill 2013a). None the less, it can be hypothesised that errors made in identifying vegetation types in these spheres of activity may be frequent and that there may be consequences for conservation assessments, site management and planning decisions.\ud The present paper uses a questionnaire survey of members of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) in the United Kingdom to address two main questions. First, how frequently are errors in data detected in reports describing the results of vegetation surveys? Second, what are the practical consequences of these errors? CIEEM has approximately five thousand members in the UK. They are ideally placed to respond to these questions being employed primarily in environmental consultancy, planning authorities, governmental environmental agencies, and non-governmental conservation organisations. The Phase 1 and NVC survey methods are used only in the UK, but similar approaches are used elsewhere (Alexander and Millington 2000). The wider applicability of the study is, therefore, to illustrate the need to extend academic studies of inter-observer variation to investigate their relevance to the day-to-day experiences of environmental professionals. The implications for further research and development of professional practice are discussed

The current status of the lesser mottled grasshopper, Stenobothrus stigmaticus (Rambur) on the Isle of Man

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Omission and commission errors in the field mapping of linear boundary features: implications for the interpretation of maps and organsiation of surveys

Phase 1 mapping has been used widely in the UK as a method of resource inventory, and as an aid to conservation management and planning. Phase 1 maps may also provide baseline information for studies of land use change by future generations of landscape ecologists and historians. Contemporary assessments of their accuracy are essential to allow their value to be judged both now and decades hence. The accuracy of Phase 1 mapping of man-made linear boundary features was quantified by comparing maps drawn by six experienced field surveyors with a ground-truth version correctly showing all features. Overall errors within maps varied from 11.2% to 96.9% between surveys. Most of the error was caused by the omission of boundaries, rather than the misclassification of boundaries whose presence was recorded (i.e. errors of commission). The likelihood of a boundary being mapped was positively related to its length, and walls were more likely to be mapped than fences. Linear features can be mapped accurately, but reliance on the discretion of the surveyors, and their interpretation of the survey manual, resulted in variable practice and incomplete data in all cases. If data on linear features are not required, the time saved could be used to improve the accuracy of mapping other habitats (a concern identified in other studies). In addition to the provision of more explicit guidance to surveyors, the reporting of estimates of mapping accuracy and precision are identified as important aspects of the survey technique which require greater attention than is currently the case.