Luanne Wilkes – Page 3 – Hoopoe

This week in biodiversity news – 1st January 2024

Policy

A final vote on the Nature Restoration Law (NRL) will be taking place in the European Parliament early this year. This regulation aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in Europe by implementing restoration measures on a minimum of 20% of land and marine areas by 2030. Specific targets to rewet peatlands and increase pollinator populations are also included in the law. Financial support for the NRL will come from funds provided by the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.

Svalbard Reindeer herd by Smudge 9000 via Flickr.

Research

New research conducted at the Quinney College of Natural Resources has shown that Barnacle Geese have a bigger impact on Svalbard’s ecosystem than Reindeer, and that their impact is increasing over time. Since the Arctic climate is shifting faster than other places under global climate change, and Svalbard is one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth, understanding the effects of these herbivore populations on ecosystem functioning is important and will allow scientists to predict how this region is likely to be affected in the future.

It is no secret that pesticides are harmful to honey bees. However, new research from the University of Illinois has provided more information on how such pesticides impact the sense of smell in bees with consequences for social signalling such as the detection of colony pheromones. This research has also shown how fungicides, previously thought to be harmless to bees, can be toxic, especially when used in combination with insecticides and adjuvants (chemicals that help the insecticide to stick to the target plant).

Flesh-footed Shearwater by patrickkavanagh via Flickr.

A researcher at the Natural History Museum, London, is using machine learning to find out more about the types of plastic that seabirds are feeding to their young. Birds such as the Flesh-footed Shearwater often mistake small pieces of plastic for food, but it isn’t currently known whether they target certain types of plastic based on appearance. This information would help in identifying the types of plastic that need to be removed from the ocean most urgently.

Conservation

Since 2009, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative has conducted a horizon scan each year which aims to predict which threats, changes and technologies will be most significant over the next twelve months. This year, the final list included fifteen topics including several relating to sustainable energy, declining invertebrate populations and changing marine ecosystems. The list of issues, as in many of the recent years, reflects both anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity alongside the technological advances designed to deal with those impacts.

Climate

Following a year of unprecedented global temperatures, scientists are now trying to understand what this can tell us about climate change and the rate at which it is accelerating. Although one exceptional year would not be enough to suggest the inaccuracy of current climate prediction models, researchers are now trying to find out whether something unexpected may be occurring due to the interactions between two or more climate influences.

A recent audit by the National Trust has found that the weather is “causing chaos for UK flora and fauna”. A lack of reliable seasonal patterns, accompanied by extreme weather events, droughts and floods are putting a huge amount of stress on plants and animals. The National Trust say that more action is urgently required from politicians to ensure that tackling the associated biodiversity and climate crises is a priority, particularly as we enter an election year.

Our year in books

As 2023 draws to a close, what could be more pleasant than a look back at some of the books that we have read, enjoyed and recommended to our friends, family and customers over the past twelve months.

January

At the very beginning of the year, Richard Lewington treated us to a beautiful new Pocket Guide to the Bumblebees of Great Britain and Ireland. Lewington’s illustrations never disappoint and this guide was a fantastic addition to our field guide bookshelves. We were also inspired by Britain’s Living Seas. Written in collaboration with The Wildlife Trusts, this user-friendly book provides a guide to the coasts around the British Isles, as well as ideas for the alternative and sustainable management of our seas.

February

February saw the publication of Darren Naish’s Ancient Sea Reptiles in which he introduces us to these strange, sometimes monstrous, marine beasts. Edited by cave scientist and conservation ecologist Dr J. Judson Wynne, Cave Biodiversity provided us with a fascinating look at both the evolution and the conservation of subterrestrial-dwelling fauna, while Planktonium, from Dutch photographer Jan van IJken, offered us a glimpse into the unseen world of microscopic plankton via his stunningly beautiful images.

March

March offered us some truly inspiring reads, including James T. Costa’s Radical by Nature which chronicles the life, adventures and achievements of Alfred Russell Wallace, including his role in the formation of the theory of natural selection. James Nardi guided us through the innermost unseen world that trees share with a range of creatures in The Hidden Company That Trees Keep and we discovered more about the wild spaces of Britain and Ireland in Patrick Barkham and Alastair Fothergill’s Wild Isles, which accompanies the popular BBC series.

April/May

In April we were treated to more marine photography with Lisa-ann Gershwin’s Shapeshifters, which is a visually breathtaking look at 100 species of jellyfish. May saw the publication of the practical and inspiring The Book of Wilding which offers rewilding advice on a range of scales. (Read our Q&A with Isabella here). In the wake of Covid-19, we also delved into Fatal Jump from Leslie Reperant, which looks at the origins of global pandemics.

June/July

June provided us with another wonderful marine title from physicist Helen Czerski. In Blue Machine she offers a timely and elegant explanation of the ocean engine and the extent to which it impacts life on our planet. It would be remiss of us to pass by July without mentioning the publication of All the Mammals of the World. This popular and sizeable volume, as the title suggests, covers all of the mammals of the world and has something to appeal to everyone, from wildlife enthusiasts to researchers and conservationists. Following on from her critically acclaimed The Genius of Birds, July also saw the arrival of Jennifer Ackerman’s What an Owl Knows which brings to life the natural history of these incredible birds. (You can read our Q&A with Jennifer here).

August

In August we delighted in Amy-Jane Beer’s The Flow, an immersive and moving memoir which went on to win the James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing in September. We enjoyed Chris Manias’ The Age of Mammals which examines how 19^th-Century palaeontology revolved largely around mammals rather than dinosaurs. We were also fans of Brian Johnson’s Honey Bee Biology which provides an incredibly comprehensive and up-to-date reference guide to these fascinating and essential pollinators.

September

The beginning of autumn brought with it the publication of Peter Eeles’ British & Irish Butterfly Rarities. Immensely popular among our Lepidopterist customers, this valuable book is the first to focus entirely on the species of butterfly regarded as extinct, rare migrant or introduced. Other highlights for us from September included Guillaume Pitron’s The Dark Cloud, a sobering investigation into the impacts of digital technology on the environment, and Michael Bright’s Masterpieces of the Earth, a dazzling photographic compendium of natural wonders around the world.

October

October provided us with a couple of titles of huge interest to ecologists, particularly those involved in bat surveys. The 4th edition of Bat Surveys for Professional Ecologists from the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) provided updated and new content, including important information on the use of night vision equipment. (An interview about the book with Jan Collins from the BCT can be found here). Further practical advice on night vision survey was also found in Kayleigh Fawcett Williams’ excellent Thermal Imaging for Wildlife Applications. (Read our Q&A with Kayleigh here). Other highlights from October included Ben Goldfarb’s Crossings, which investigates the kinds of ecological devastation that roads and highways are inflicting upon our planet, as well as the photographic delights of Michelle Sole and Tom Hart’s Antarctica.

November

In November we received the first copies of Seabirds Count which provides an incredibly important insight into the seabird populations across Britain and Ireland. We also loved Neil Middleton and Stuart Newson’s Sound Identification of Terrestrial Mammals of Britain & Ireland which provides comprehensive coverage of a topic previously unexplored within the literature. (Enjoy our Q&A with the authors here). Other notable mentions this month include Andrew Simms and Leo Murray’s Badvertising, which examines the role of marketing on both the health of humans and that of the planet, plus Vincent Munier: The Monograph, which compiles 35 years of his stunning photography and expresses his unwavering admiration of the wild world.

December

We finish our yearly round-up with two fantastic books from December: the incredible second edition of the Field Guide to the Micro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland which is instrumental in making these fascinating group of moths accessible to the general naturalist. (Read our conversation with authors Phil Sterling and Mark Parsons here). Also in its second edition was Ian Newton’s The Migration Ecology of Birds, which covers all aspects of this fascinating subject in a clear and readable style.

All that remains is to wish everyone a wonderful end to the year. We look forward to sharing plenty more great reads with you in 2024.

Author interview with Phil Sterling and Mark Parsons: Field Guide to the Micro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland

Part of the popular Bloomsbury Wildlife Guides series, the first edition of the Field Guide to the Micro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland is credited with helping to demystify the formerly obscure and specialist world of micro-moths. Among a number of pioneering features, the book boasted artwork by acclaimed illustrator Richard Lewington showing the moths in their natural resting positions, rather than as pinned specimens, capturing the essence of each species and presenting them as they would appear in life when encountered in the field or settled within a moth trap. Coupled with accessible species accounts and the latest distribution maps, the guide helped to showcase the beauty and diversity of these miniature lepidopterans and provide a gentle introduction to their identification and habits for the general naturalist.

Eleven years on, the team behind the original guide have produced an extensively revised second edition, due to be published in December. Here the authors, Phil Sterling and Mark Parsons, kindly took the time to answer some of our questions about what we can expect from the new guide, and about micro-moth recording more generally.

Authors Mark Parsons (left) and Phil Sterling (right)

To begin with, could you give us a brief overview of what’s changed in the second edition?

There are three stand-out changes for recorders browsing this second edition. Firstly, we have included many more species, nearly 300 of them; the field guide now covers over 80% of native, naturalised or immigrant species recorded in Great Britain and Ireland. That’s 1,286 from a total of 1,576 species, and the book features over 1,000 of Richard Lewington’s illustrations.

This time we have included a full set of common (or vernacular) names for the micros which appear alongside the scientific names. We reviewed existing common names being used, made changes where we felt these were appropriate and helpful, and have done this for all 1,576 species.

The order in which the species are presented is now in line with the Agassiz, Beavan & Heckford (ABH) Checklist of the Lepidoptera of the British Isles. The ABH checklist was published in 2013, a year after our first edition, and it set out a radically different order based on our current understanding of the taxonomic relationship between species, genera and families. This should make it much easier for recorders to relate the order in the field guide to established recording systems and websites.

You mention that the species coverage has been greatly expanded since the first edition. Where have these ‘new’ species come from?

There are a variety of reasons why we include more species. Most obvious are those we see today but did not 11 or more years ago. In 2007 when we started writing the first edition, Box-tree Moth hadn’t been recorded in Britain, yet it is now an abundant species across much of southern England and set to spread fast. Our warming climate is also leading to rapid increases in micro-moth species establishing and spreading, and we have included several scarcer immigrant species which do seem to becoming more regularly recorded.

We will never be up-to-date though. No sooner had the second edition gone to print than Echium Stilt Dialectica scalariella made a spectacular appearance in Britain in autumn 2023. It now appears to be resident at various sites from Kent to Devon, and possibly Suffolk, and has been found in huge numbers as a leaf-miner on Viper’s-bugloss, disfiguring the leaves. This species is listed in the field guide as British but not covered in detail.

We have taken a more systematic approach to inclusion of those that can be identified to species from their early stages, in particular leaf-miners in the Nepticulidae and Gracillariidae, and cases of the Coleophoridae. We have chosen a wide selection of these, illustrated by good quality photographs, enabling identification to species based on the early stage.

We have responded to helpful criticism that we should have been more comprehensive in our coverage of some of the more difficult families, including Gelechiidae and Depressariidae. There is better knowledge ‘out there’ today of how to separate species in the field, and we have been able include this information for some of the more challenging species within these groups.

There will be recorders who would have wished we included yet more species, maybe even all of them? But we have kept faithful to the objective of this being a field guide, for recorders to take it whenever they are out, by day and night. Most of the remaining 20% of micros require detailed examination under a microscope, extended time to rear the species from larva to adult to confirm identity, or are very rarely encountered species.

The bottom line is that we requested to Bloomsbury and they allowed us to write a bigger book than the first edition. We have packed it to our limit with more species and more information.

Mine of the Echium Stilt on Viper’s Bugloss by Mark Parsons.

For me (and I suspect many other people), the first edition of this guide was the catalyst to start paying more attention to micro-moths, having previously written them off as ‘too difficult’. How do you feel interest in micro-moths has changed in the 11 years since the original was published?

The first edition certainly achieved its aim of bringing micro-moths within comfortable reach of many recorders who had perhaps previously not considered them. Many species are actually straightforward to identify, but we think recorders were put off by the need to acquire several expensive texts to gain comprehensive coverage.

Moth recording generally continues to grow and it has wide public appeal. The National Moth Recording Scheme (NMRS), run by Butterfly Conservation, collates moth records across the four countries in Britain and Ireland and does not separate macro- and micro-moth species. We feel the distinction is fading, with recorders deciding which micro-moth families they’ll tackle in the coming year, rather than considering the prospect too daunting.

Leaf-mine of the Sorrel Dot Enteucha acetosae on Sheep’s Sorrel by Ben Smart.

Has that growth in interest in micro-moths helped you in your revisions to this guide, e.g. by helping to fill gaps in distribution maps and so on?

The first edition was primarily aimed at moth trappers, and we included lots of photographs of leaf-mines and larval cases to add interest. In the second edition we have deliberately chosen photographs of the early stages where identification to species level is possible based on a photograph and careful observation. We want to extend recorders’ interests beyond their moth traps to include searching for leaf-mines, cases and other signs in the field. Daytime pursuit of micro-moths can happen 365 days of the year, and there are plenty of species detectable in the middle of winter. The second edition benefits especially in this respect from photographs by Ben Smart, who has already published two small volumes on Micro-moth Field Tips, both giving month-by-month hints on how to find the early stages. Having said that, the second edition remains very much a book for moth trappers, and we have added illustrations of many more adult moths from a range of families.

Black-barred Fungus Moth Nemapogon clematella by Phil Sterling.

Could you tell us a little bit about the motivation and process behind your efforts to create the standardised list of common names in this guide?

Common names of micro-moths have never been adopted widely by recorders in Britain and Ireland. There is a long history to them, with a list first appearing in the early 17th century, and the most recent compilation was collated by Jim Wheeler in 2017. Despite the efforts, it is a ‘Marmite’ subject, with common names being used by some recorders yet remaining deeply unpopular with others. Much of the angst seems to centre on the inappropriateness of some names. All members of the Tineidae have been called ‘clothes moths’ yet this wonderfully diverse group contains only a very few species that will eat clothes, the majority are in fact detritivores and herbivores, with a range of specialists on fungi. Labelling them all as if they are clothes-munchers is just plain wrong at best, and gives moths a bad name at worst. Each fungal specialist is, not surprisingly, called a type of ‘fungus moth’, a simple revision based on its life history. There are other names that today appear to be meaningless, such as ‘tubic’, which gives recorders little to grasp when trying to remember them.

The introduction of a revised set of common names, in tandem with the increasing interest and our continued desire to promote micro-moth recording to all, seemed timely with the advent of the second edition. Very many common names remain as they are in the Wheeler list, or are slightly modified, and we have tried to make revisions that add relevance to the species, such as what it looks like, or where and how it lives. We hope that the names will make micros even more accessible by removing the perception that they somehow require more specialist knowledge to tackle.

Most recorders now use social media to communicate their finds, and it is undoubtedly easier to write an English common name than the scientific equivalent, and we have tried to keep the names as short as possible with this in mind. In summary, we hope that the revised list will be adopted in time and will encourage an inclusivity for new recorders put off by scientific names, and we trust we are putting micro-moths alongside almost all groups of British wildlife that now have common names.

Phil Sterling searching for larvae on Alderney by Peter Costen.

For any enthusiasts who have not yet looked beyond the more familiar macro-moths, what can you say about the rewards of taking the plunge into the world of micros?

Macro-moth recorders are delighted when they find something of great interest in their garden moth trap, it’s exciting, and it can happen to new and seasoned recorders. Imagine increasing your chances of this happening threefold! There are roughly twice as many micro-moth species as macros, plus their distribution is generally less well known, so the chances of finding ‘goodies’ is much enhanced. The advent of pocket-sized cameras and mobile phones with decent macro-photographic capability means that it is easier to share photos of micro-moths with others than it has ever been. Add to that the opportunity to record so many species from their early stages, and at any time of year, what are people waiting for?

Records of micro-moths are collated by the NMRS. By encouraging recording the amount of data collected will increase, along with our understanding of distributions and phenology. It won’t be long, we hope, until we can see national distribution maps for micros just like the macros.

Finally, are there any other projects you’re working on that you’d like to tell us about?

For us there is the continued quest to resolve undescribed life histories of micro-moths. Even some species seen regularly as an adult are not known as a larva, such as Dingy Knot-horn Hypochalcia ahenella. It probably feeds on herbs within its favoured habitats, sparsely vegetated stony or sandy ground. For what must be quite a large larva it is certainly secretive and has eluded us to date.

One mystery partly revealed in 2023 was the finding of a larva by Phil of Black-spotted Nest Moth Tenaga nigripunctella. The life history of this very rare tineid moth was completely unknown anywhere in the world and it was assumed that the larva might feed underground in rats’ nests. The adults have been appearing more regularly in west Dorset in the last few years, and a few were observed in a hole in a stone wall at Abbotsbury in 2023. In the wall was a dead Garden Snail Cornu aspersum, and guess what; deep within the shell a fully-fed larva of the moth that appeared to have been eating the blackened dead flesh of the snail. As far as we are aware this is the first example of a moth in western Europe found to be eating dead snails. There is so much to learn about the intriguing life histories of our more obscure micro-moths!

Field Guide to the Micro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland (Second Edition) is due to be published by Bloomsbury in December 2023 and is available from nhbs.com.

Author Q&A with Kayleigh Fawcett Williams: Thermal Imaging for Wildlife Applications

Thermal Imaging for Wildlife Applications offers readers an invaluable and practical guide to this exciting technology. Covering a wealth of basics, including the history of thermal imaging and its advantages and challenges, the book also provides readers with all the information they need to begin choosing and using the right equipment. A chapter on wildlife applications covers all of the main animal groups for which the technology is of use, and a final chapter discusses the future possibilities of thermal imaging.

Kayleigh Fawcett Williams is a Wildlife Technology Trainer and Consultant and has been using technology for wildlife applications for the past sixteen years. As the founder of Wildlifetek and KFW Scientific & Creative she helps wildlife students, professionals and enthusiasts use technology to improve their wildlife work via her online training and support services. Kayleigh is also the author of the Thermal Imaging Bat Survey Guidelines which were published in 2019 in association with the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT).

During your PhD, you spent some time training to be a thermographer. What did this training involve, and how valuable do you consider this type of ‘formal’ training to be for anyone wanting to use thermal imaging equipment for their work or studies?

My thermography journey really began when I took my Level 1 Thermography Certification. This was an in-depth technical training with the Infrared Training Centre (ITC) at FLIR’s UK Headquarters in West Malling. It was a fantastic grounding in thermal science and kick-started my use of this technology. I always recommend this training to students and researchers who need to know how to carry out temperature measurement. This is usually only for very specialist research applications where the body temperature of the animal that they are working with is needed.

However, it’s definitely not for everyone. In fact, very few wildlife applications require temperature measurement, but all of them require an understanding of how the technology works, its limitations and, of course, its benefits. That’s why I have since developed wildlife-specific training for those that want to use this technology effectively but don’t need temperature measurements.

Thermal imaging equipment has been around in one form or another since the 1960s/70s. Why do you think it has taken so long for it to become more widely adopted?

It’s a long story, which I cover in much more detail in the book, but I think there are two key elements that have affected our adoption of this technology for wildlife.

Firstly, a key factor is the nature of the equipment itself. Early thermal imaging devices were expensive and cumbersome, making them largely inaccessible and impractical for most wildlife professionals. Over the decades, we have seen huge improvements in both the affordability and practicality of models available on the market. This has accelerated in recent years, where we’ve seen a massive shift towards the use of thermal imaging by both professional wildlife ecologists and amateur recorders alike.

Secondly, another major influence is the expertise of those using the equipment. Without an appropriate understanding of the technology, many have failed in their attempts to use it effectively. Unfortunately, in some cases this has led to misuse and the spread of misinformation about the technology. This has undoubtedly slowed our adoption of this technology for wildlife purposes.

Among the 300+ documents I reviewed as part of the research for the book, I noticed time and time again that these factors, equipment and expertise, determine the success or failure of thermal imaging for a wide range of wildlife species.

What do you consider to be the main challenges in working with this type of equipment?

Again, it is usually those same two factors we just discussed: equipment and expertise.

The number one question I am asked by ecologists, researchers and amateur recorders is: “What thermal imaging equipment should I buy?”. With an ever increasing list of thermal imaging devices available for us to buy, we can experience a paradox of choice where we can become confused by the array of different options on offer. So choosing the appropriate equipment for a specific wildlife application can be challenging, yet it is absolutely vital to get this bit right.

Once we have chosen our kit, the next challenge is being able to use it effectively. This requires an appropriate level of knowledge and experience, but acquiring this kind of expertise can be difficult, as I found out when I first began my work in this area thirteen years ago. Back then there were very few training opportunities and hardly anyone was using the technique outside of academia. Thankfully, things have changed a lot since then and wildlife-specific training is now available, making it much less of a challenge to access the knowledge and develop the skills that are needed.

The recently published 4th edition of Bat Surveys for Professional Ecologists includes, for the first time, new content on night-vision aids. How much of an impact do you think these recommendations will have on routine bat surveys and their results?

I think the widespread use of night-vision aids for bat surveys will be transformative for the ecology sector. Personally, I have been using thermal imaging technology for this kind of survey for many years so I am well aware of what we can achieve using night-vision aids compared to traditional methods. As a trainer, I am lucky that I also get to see lots of my students experience this for themselves. Many ecologists have told me what a game-changer it has been for them and what a difference it can make to their survey results.

So what have they been missing? Well, in the past, without using night-vision aids, surveyors often battled with the painful but common uncertainty that can lead to writing the words “possible bat emergence” on a survey form. The knock-on effects of these three words can spiral out of control, leading to a raft of unnecessary effort and costs associated with a bat that may or may not have emerged from a tree, building or other man-made structure. On the other hand, we can also easily miss bats using traditional methods. This can of course be costly financially but, more importantly, can lead to harm to the bats themselves.

So it is undoubtedly going to have some massive benefits, but it is also important to consider that, to achieve them, many ecologists out there are now having to get to grips with some new technologies. Some have found this easy and have embraced this change with enthusiasm, while others have a steep learning curve to contend with. Either way, I think it is going to be worth it.

When considering the use of thermal imaging equipment, a lot of attention is given to choosing the right product and designing a suitable survey protocol. However, do you think that the post-processing stage is equally important? And are there widely available software packages that can help with data processing and analysis?

Post-processing and analysis can be just as important, depending on the target species. When used for bat surveys, for example, post-processing and analysis using specialist software packages can make a big difference to the level of accuracy we can achieve using thermal imaging technology. To get those levels of accuracy, however, requires another level of cost in terms of effort, time and investment in software packages. Some software packages for these tasks can be quite expensive, but there are open source options as well. Thankfully, advances in automation procedures are also paving the way to streamlining this process in the future.

Finally, what’s keeping you busy this winter? Do you have plans to write further books?

I do have plans for another book, but right now I am taking a break from writing to focus on something a little bit different. I am currently filming some exciting footage for an upcoming video series called “Wildlife Detectives” on my new YouTube Channel. As part of this I will be using some really cool technologies, including thermal imaging, to find some fascinating wildlife species out in the field. Keep an eye out for it in the New Year!

Thermal Imaging for Wildlife Applications by Kayleigh Fawcett Williams was published in October 2023 by Pelagic Publishing and is available from nhbs.com.

NHBS staff picks 2023

Every year at NHBS we see a huge range of books and equipment travel through our offices and warehouse, via desks and bookshelves, finally leaving us in packages on their way to our valued customers. Invariably, we end up purchasing a number of these for ourselves, and others become gifts for our friends and families. This year, for our staff picks roundup, we have chosen the books and equipment items that we’re hoping to gift to our loved ones this Christmas.

Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes Our World

An engrossing odyssey into oceanography that reveals a fascinating planetary engine. Equal parts physical oceanography, marine biology, and science history, topped off with human-interest stories, Czerski has written a captivating book that oozes lyricism in places.
– Leon Vlieger, Catalogue Editor

NHBS Kent Bat Box

New for 2023, the NHBS Kent Bat box is based on the proven and popular design from the Kent Bat Group. Made from untreated rough-sawn Douglas Fir, the box is self-cleaning, easy to install and reasonably priced, making it an ideal gift for the bat enthusiast in your life.
– Johnny Mitchell, Senior Wildlife Equipment Specialist

The Book of Wilding: A Practical Guide to Rewilding Big and Small

An attractive, practical and inspiring guide that not only illuminates the greater need for wilding in the larger landscape, but also some really thoughtful ways people can engage on smaller scales. It’s hopeful too, which makes a good gift I always think!
– Oli Haines, Graphic Designer

Echo Meter Touch 2

A fantastic gift for someone with an interest in bats. To set it up, simply plug it into your phone and start recording. It converts the ultrasonic sounds from the bats into audible noises and auto-identifies the species you are listening to.
– Samuel Brook, Technical Advisor

Antarctica: A Birds-eye View

A beautiful coffee table book which I would like for myself or my photographer friends. A book that gives you an insight into a threatened world from a view you wouldn’t normally see. Both beautiful and barren, the images create a feeling of being there with the nature and environment that is threatened and disappearing fast.
– Simon Palmer, Technical Advisor

Dinosaur Monopoly

I bought this for my son as a present last year as he is obsessed with Monopoly and dinosaurs. It was such a hit, my youngest son asked for it this year. It is a great alternative to traditional Monopoly and we loved the dinosaur pieces .
– Mark Fisher, Product and Purchasing Manager

The Observant Walker: Wild Food, Nature and Hidden Treasures on the Pathways of Britain

It is always a pleasure to gift someone a book that you have previously delighted in reading yourself. The Observant Walker for me is one such book. Written in John Wright’s wonderfully conversational style, the book is both informative and witty; the perfect choice for anyone who loves nature and discovering its edible bounties.
– Luanne Wilkes, Senior Editor

Digi-Scope Smartphone Adapter

Really useful for anyone who wants to try taking pictures while they’re out exploring nature with their binoculars and want to quickly be able to take pictures of what they’re seeing through the binoculars. I use mine regularly and it’s helped me get some great images. It’s also really easy to use and a great addition to any hiking kit!
– Adam Hampton, Technical Advisor

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds (The Illustrated Edition)

This book includes an absolutely stunning collection of photographs that show the incredible detail, vibrant colours and sometimes strange features of many different types of fungi. I really love how the photographs zoom in on this often overlooked lifeform that is so difficult to appreciate fully with the naked eye.
– Jo Graeser, Marketing Assistant

Browning Recon Force Elite HP5

I installed the Browning Recon Force Elite HP5 wildlife camera on a tree in our orchard AND WE LOVE IT! It shoots both stills and video, but my absolute favourite setting is the moving image function, especially paired with the no-glow night vision LED light during the night.
– Sabine Lang, Customer Services Advisor

Biodiversity Net Gain: Key guidance and secondary legislation published

2024 is set to bring big changes to development law with Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) measures becoming mandatory for most developments in England from 1st January. Small sites will not be subject to BNG laws until April 2024, while laws pertaining to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) are expected to come into force in November 2025.

East Devon View by Alison Day via Flickr.

The Biodiversity Net Gain timeline to date

Following the Environment Act 2021 receiving royal assent in November 2021, provision was made for BNG to be introduced in England commencing in 2023. It was set out that gains could be delivered onsite, offsite or through the purchase of biodiversity credits.

In February 2023, Defra published its consultation response which provided more details on how BNG would be implemented, and suggested that the law would come into effect in November 2023. This has now been revised to January 2024.

At the end of September 2023, Defra and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) published a timetable for the introduction of BNG. They also confirmed that it would only apply to new planning permission applications and not applied retrospectively to applications submitted prior to 1^st January 2024.

This week, on 29^th November, key guidance documents and secondary legislation were published by the Government.

Guidance documents

Step-by-step guidance has been provided for developers, land managers and local authorities which lead users through the BNG process.

Guidance for developers includes information on measuring the impact of a specific development on biodiversity, deciding how to achieve BNG, and ensuring that the 10% gain is maintained for at least 30 years.

Guidance for land managers looks at the options available for their land type and quantity, preparation and selling of biodiversity units, registering and recording the sale of the units to a developer, and the subsequent long-term management of the habitat.

Guidance for local authorities includes information on setting local policies to support biodiversity net gain, approving planning applications and biodiversity gain plans, reviewing the biodiversity gain plan, checking metric calculations and habitat surveys, checking developers selling excess on-site gains, checking the biodiversity gain sites register for off-site gains, monitoring BNG, and working with developers who wish to buy statutory biodiversity credits.

New housing estate in Stowmarket by Andrew Hill via Flickr.

Secondary legislation

Secondary legislation are laws that add more detail to primary legislation, allowing them to be enacted and enforced. In the case of BNG, these laws will provide the practical details required for measures to be implemented under the primary legislation of the Environment Act 2021.

Statutory instruments (SIs) are the documents created that must be laid in Parliament before the law can be changed. There are six BNG statutory instruments that will need to be approved by Parliament before they can be brought into effect on 1^st January. These include:

The Biodiversity Gain (Town and Country Planning) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2023 – These regulations make amendments to the existing primary legislation on planning so that the BNG framework can be included.

The Biodiversity Gain Site Register (Financial Penalties and Fees) Regulations 2023 – This allows for fees to be incurred when registering land in the biodiversity gain register and financial penalties to be charged where incorrect information is provided.

The Biodiversity Gain Site Register Regulations 2023 – This sets out the details and eligibility criteria for the creation of a publicly available “biodiversity gain site register”. The register will be established and maintained by Natural England.

The Biodiversity Gain Requirements (Exemptions) Regulations 2023 – This sets out the categories of development that are exempt from creating biodiversity net gain.

The Biodiversity Gain Requirements (Irreplaceable Habitat) Regulations 2023 – This lists the habitats that are considered irreplaceable and for which the standard 10% requirement will not be applied.

The Biodiversity Gain (Town and Country Planning) (Modifications and Amendments) (England) Regulations 2024 – These regulations details how the BNG process will work within the existing planning application procedure. It also includes details of how appeals should be made.

The first two SIs were laid in Parliament on 30^th November and will shortly be published on the Government’s legislation website. The remaining four still require approval by Parliament, although draft versions can be viewed using the links above.

Wild flower meadow by gailhampshire via Flickr.

Next steps

In January 2024 BNG will become mandatory for new applications for planning permission, with the exclusion of small sites* where BNG will not need to be delivered until April 2024, and NSIPs which will be covered from November 2025.

Having lost nearly half of our biodiversity since the 1970s, the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries; we are ranked in the worst 10% globally for biodiversity intactness. Overall, 41% of species in the UK have declined in the last 50 years, with 26% of mammals at risk of extinction. We’ve lost 97% of our meadows, 90% of our wetlands and 80% of lowland heathland.

A scheme where development will no longer lead to biodiversity loss, but instead to net gain, is a step in the right direction to preventing further loss and helping to begin repairing our degraded environment.

* (Small sites are defined as (i) For residential: where the number of dwellings to be provided is between one and nine inclusive on a site having an area of less than one hectare, or where the number of dwellings to be provided is not known, a site area of less than 0.5 hectares. (ii) For non-residential: where the floor space to be created is less than 1,000 square metres OR where the site area is less than one hectare.).

Why a trail camera makes the perfect gift this Christmas

Badger image taken with the Browning Spec Ops Elite HP5

Choosing the right gift for friends and loved ones can be a tricky affair, but for any keen wildlife watcher, and particularly one with a fondness for photography, a trail camera could be the perfect option. Here’s just a few reasons why we’re fans:

1. Catch a glimpse of wildlife that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to see
An obvious one perhaps, but trail cameras give you a wonderful opportunity to see and capture footage of all sorts of wildlife, particularly species that are easily startled or those that are active at times when we’d prefer not to be out and about (such as in the middle of the night) – a trail camera will allow you to observe the hidden lives all around you. The video below, recorded with the Browning Recon Force Elite HP5, is a wonderful example of what you can achieve right outside your back door.

2. See what animals are up to at times when you wouldn’t usually be watching
A perfect example of this is observing nocturnal animals. While the hardiest wildlife watcher might not be averse to wandering the fields and woods in the middle of the night equipped with the latest night vision gear, most of us would prefer to be tucked up in our beds. Trail cameras, with their night vision technology, can take images and videos of all the action so you can view it later at a time that’s more convenient. The video below shows a young fox passing through at night, recorded using a Browning Recon Force Elite HP5 by Two J’s Wildlife Camera Set in Cornwall.

3. View behaviours and interactions that are usually unseen
While nothing beats an in-person encounter with a wild animal, such experiences are often brief and offer us limited insight into their life. Trail cameras, particularly those equipped with no-glow night vision technology (which means there is no tell-tale red flash when they take a photograph), are inconspicuous and will record footage for as long as there is movement within their capture range. This means that they are great for letting us experience a much broader range of behaviours and interactions. The video of the squabbling squirrels below was recorded by Two J’s Wildlife Camera Set in Cornwall.

4. Create stunning time-lapse videos
Almost all trail cameras can be programmed to capture images at a time interval of your choice, regardless of whether there is any movement detected. Using this function makes it possible to capture the subtle and gradual changes in the environment that would be difficult to observe in real time. Similarly, they can also be used to record behaviours that take place over longer periods, allowing you to view them at an accelerated speed.

A wren sitting on a branch in scrub. — A Wren photographed using the Browning Strike Force Pro X 1080

5. Share your findings with others
Whether you’re conducting research or simply want to know what’s happening in your back garden, the images and videos from a trail camera are perfect for sharing your findings with friends, family and colleagues. The quality of the photos/videos can be impressive, particularly when using models with high resolution lenses.

Browse the full range of cameras available from NHBS at nhbs.com.

For more advice about choosing a camera to suit your needs and budget, why not take a look at our Trail Camera Buyer’s Guide or contact us to chat with one of our experienced Wildlife Equipment Specialists.

Author interview with Neil Middleton and Stuart Newson: Sound Identification of Terrestrial Mammals of Britain and Ireland

This groundbreaking book provides the reader with a unique and practical guide to collecting and using acoustic survey data to identify terrestrial mammals. Covering 42 species that can be found in Britain and Ireland, the text includes guidance on survey methods, analysis of sound recordings and details of appropriate software. As well as containing specific spectrogram examples for each species, the book allows the reader access to a downloadable sound library containing more than 250 recordings.

Neil Middleton is a licensed bat worker and trainer and is the owner of BatAbility Courses & Tuition, an organisation that delivers ecology-related skills development to customers throughout the UK and beyond. He has studied bats for over 25 years, with a particular focus on their acoustic behaviour (echolocation and social calls) and is the author of Social Calls of the Bats of Britain and Ireland, Is That a Bat?, and The Effective Ecologist.

Stuart Newson is a Senior Research Ecologist at the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), where he is involved in survey design and data analysis from national citizen-science surveys. Stuart’s work on bioacoustics has included creating tools to identify European bats, bush-crickets and small mammal species from their ‘calls’. This resulted in the BTO Acoustic Pipeline, which integrates online tools for coordinating fieldworkers, processing recordings, and returning feedback.

Neil and Stuart recently took some time out of their busy schedules to answer some of our questions about their most recent book. In this Q&A we discuss the challenges involved in acoustic monitoring of mammals, the author’s hopes for the future of this area of study, and much more.

You each have a passion for acoustic monitoring – how did you come to be working together on this project?

Before we first met, Stuart was becoming interested in what else is recorded as ‘by-catch’ when you leave out a static bat detector to record bats. He had previously become interested in the sound identification of bush-crickets which are commonly recorded during bat surveys in southern Britain, and thanks to work that Neil was involved with (e.g. the first edition of the book The Social Calls of the Bats of Britain & Ireland), Stuart was becoming increasingly interested in bat social calls. At this time, he realised that small mammals are also quite commonly recorded as ‘by-catch’ during bat surveys, and was starting to appreciate that unless you had a good understanding of bat echolocation and social calls, there was scope for mis-identifying small mammals calls as being produced by bats.

When Neil started working on the book, Is That a Bat? A Guide to Non-Bat Sounds Encountered During Bat Surveys (ITAB), Stuart had already made available some online resources to help bat workers identify bush-crickets, which were able to feed into Neil’s book, and he also had some first recordings of some small mammal recordings that he was able to contribute to ITAB, which were very useful additions to the recordings that Neil had been gathering independently.

At about the same time, Stuart had met Huma Pearce, the third author on this book, and had started to work with her on an ‘edge-of-desk’ project to try and collect sound recordings for every species of small mammal in the UK. The aim was to try and collect many hundreds (ideally thousands) of sound recordings of every small mammal species in Britain and Ireland, which we wanted to build into bat classifiers to be able to assist with automatically identifying small mammals (as well as bush-crickets), when these are recorded as by-catch during bat surveys.

Working with Huma, and then Neil, to collect recordings for small mammals to feed into ITAB, and for Stuart to feed into his classifiers, we were now collecting a lot of recordings of small mammal species. After the publication of ITAB, we had learnt a lot more between us, so we wrote a more detailed guide to the sound identification of small mammals in Britain and Ireland, which was published in British Wildlife. After being approached by Pelagic Publishing, Neil was asked if he could author a book covering all terrestrial mammals in our part of the world. This was a much wider group than the one we had worked on up until that point. Neil agreed to the book idea, but only on the basis that Stuart and Huma would be involved as well. Thankfully both Stuart and Huma were ‘up for it’ and between us we managed to produce the book. I think we would all agree that if any one of us had not been involved, the job would’ve been considerably harder and taken much longer.

There currently exists a huge sound library of vocalisations of bats and cetaceans and their use in monitoring these species is now mainstream. Why do you think that this approach has not, so far, been used for other mammals such as those covered in your book?

We think that the main reason that so little has been done on the sound identification of terrestrial mammals (other than bats), is that for small mammals the call rate is quite low compared with other groups such as bats, and because the vocalisations can look like bat calls. I think until our various pieces of work, they have been largely overlooked. Until relatively recently, bat social calls had also been largely ignored by many bat workers, so there were few possibilities for noticing or identifying small mammal calls via that group. For audible mammal species, such as deer, there are alternative survey methods, such as visual surveys, and combined with this the call rate is again quite low, so without tools to help find these calls within large acoustic datasets it has been challenging to find and identify vocalisations by these species. In addition, before this book there was no resource or reference that people could use to help support the sound identification of audible mammals across the full range of species.

Added to this, we feel that the subject is difficult for many people in the non-bat mammal world to engage with and/or know where to start. Hopefully this book will open people’s eyes (and ears!) to the subject, thus meaning that more people will pay more attention to acoustic identification of these species, which will also mean that, overall, our rate of learning as a community will increase substantially as we begin to find out even more about the subject, including of course things that we didn’t appreciate at time of writing.

As well as providing the information and data required for species identification, do you think that acoustic data have the potential to tell us more about species behaviour, social interactions and population dynamics?

We think that there is huge potential for acoustic data to tell us much more about species behaviour, social interactions and population dynamics. As explored in the book, for some species we are able to relate particular call types to behaviour or status, but we still have a lot to learn for many of the species that are included in the book, in order to be able to understand in what situations particular calls are produced. By writing this book, we hope that this will inspire others to build on our work, and to accelerate an improvement in knowledge.

Which of the British terrestrial mammal species have you found the most challenging to study and why?

It is difficult to give a single answer to this one, but despite each of us having separate thoughts we would all agree on the following.

It was extremely difficult to collect or find existing sound recordings of rabbits and hares, because the call rate is extremely low. Huma (assisted by others) put lots of effort into rabbits, but sadly the results were zero. Separately Stuart tried to collect recordings of moles, by sinking microphones into the ground along mole tunnels, but he had no luck despite several weeks of effort.

Stuart would like to do more work on the sound identification of mustelids, which we feel we do not understand as much as we would like. We would all like to continue with more work on the small mammals, although we would each have different priorities in that respect. Shrews are of particular interest to us all, and Stuart in particular would definitely like to try and collect more sound recordings of Water Shrews.

Researchers have previously observed regional differences in the vocalisations of small birds recorded in various locations around Britain. Did you notice any geographic variations in the sounds produced by the mammal species you studied?

Personally, we haven’t seen much, if any, evidence of geographic variation in the recordings that we have looked at, but there could very well be regional differences. For some species it can be shown that differences occur at the individual level. This being the case, you could perhaps expect to see differences between social groups and, as such, regional and national differences too. At this point in time the amount of data we have is too small and hasn’t been collected with this in mind, and therefore we haven’t gone looking for an answer to this question ourselves.

There are currently several citizen science projects around the UK that the public can submit sightings to (such as those organised by the Mammal Society or apps such as iRecord). Is there currently anywhere that people can submit records resulting from acoustic data? Or somewhere they can submit their recordings in the hopes of building a library of sound files for each species as there is for bats?

Not that we are aware of, in the style that you have suggested by your question. However, if someone has heard (not seen) a species and they are happy that it is a diagnostic record for that species in a particular area, we would see no reason why a citizen science project would not accept the ‘sound’ as a valid record of the species being present at that location at that point in time. The key to this, however, is being confident that what was heard couldn’t be a similar noise made by something completely different – so we urge caution. It should also be remembered that in some cases sound identification may actually be more reliable than a visual record of a distant mammal, or a small mammal irrespective of how close it may be to the observer.

In a slightly different direction to your question, Stuart is best placed to talk about the use of such calls in building classifiers. His main interest in mammals has been to build a large sound library of known species recordings that can be used to build classifiers that can help identify the calls of different species automatically within recordings, with the book being secondary or a by-product of this. He believes that having such tools is essential for helping to find the calls of terrestrial mammals in large acoustic datasets, particularly for species where the call rate is low. The sound identification of all species of small mammals included in the book has been built into the ‘bat’ classifiers that comprise the BTO Acoustic Pipeline. The Acoustic Pipeline also includes specific classifiers for some audible species, including the Edible Dormouse. To the best of Stuart’s knowledge this is the first attempt from anywhere in the world to build classifiers for the sound identification of a complete assemblage of small mammals.

What are the next steps required to progress this research and what are your hopes for the future of this field of study?

There is still a lot to learn about the sound identification of mammals in Britain and Ireland, but there are some species groups on which we know we have done much less work and have less understanding than others. In particular, we think that acoustics could be useful for detecting the presence of mustelids (as we have already demonstrated for mice, rats, voles, shrews and dormice), but we would need to try and collect many hundreds (ideally thousands) of known species recordings, to be able to understand the full range of calls that a species can produce. This information could then also be used to create automated classifiers, thus enabling the possibility of efficient detection of species in this group from within large datasets.

As a longer-term ambition, Stuart is keen to work further on the wider sound identification of European mammals, and to extend the geographic and taxonomic scope of the BTO Acoustic Pipeline. Currently, he is able to identify small mammals in bat recordings from elsewhere in Europe at least to genus, by including similar closely related species from the UK in regional classifiers for other parts of Europe. However, he needs more targeted recording of known species to be carried out in order to be able to assign these identifications to species, and to be able to build classifiers that support the sound identification of mammals more widely across Europe.

Our hopes are that this book inspires others in Europe (and further afield) to work on the sound identification of mammals, and more widely to see the opportunities that understanding acoustics can offer.

Sound Identification of Terrestrial Mammals of Britain & Ireland is published by Pelagic Publishing and is available at nhbs.com.

Interview with Stephen Moss, author of The Owl: A Biography

The fifth and latest book in Stephen Moss’s captivating Bird Biographies series takes us on a nocturnal journal into the mysterious world of owls. Covering the seven species that can be found in the UK: the Tawny, Little, Barn, Long-eared, Short-eared, Snowy and Eagle Owl, this beautifully written and wide-ranging book effortlessly interweaves facts about their biology and ecology with snippets of folklore and tales from the author’s own experiences around the world.

Stephen Moss is a naturalist, author and broadcaster well known for his work with the BBC Natural History Unit working on landmark programmes such as Springwatch and The Nature of Britain. He currently holds the position of Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University and is also President of the Somerset Wildlife Trust.

Stephen recently took time out of his busy schedule to answer some of our questions about the book. We also chatted about the precarious status of the Eagle Owl in Britain, the likely impacts of the climate crisis on owls and his plans for continuing the Bird Biographies series.

A huge amount of research must go into writing a monograph such as this one. Did you learn or discover anything particularly surprising about owls during the process?

I always learn a huge amount about the subjects of these bird biographies! No matter how much you think you know about a bird’s lifecycle and cultural and social history, they always surprise you. Even really common species such as the Robin and Wren lead lives that we don’t totally understand. Because this book is the first in the series to include more than one main species (plus some material about other owls around the world) I learned something about every species – from the exact details of how Little Owls were introduced into the UK, to the many folk names of the Barn Owl, to how Tawny Owls dominate popular culture about owls. All absolutely fascinating, and will hopefully delight the reader!

What do you think are the most commonly held misconceptions about owls?

I think the main misconception about owls is that they are very rare – in fact there are about 50,000 breeding pairs of Tawny Owls in the UK, which is far more than Kestrels! Of course the reason we assume they are rare is that we hardly ever see them, because they are so nocturnal. I have seen Tawnies during the day, but only a handful of times in my entire lifetime. Other owls, of course, are far more diurnal (Little and Short-eared) or what birders call ‘crepuscular’, which means they are usually seen at dawn or dusk (Barn Owl). Only the Long-eared is as nocturnal as the Tawny – perhaps even more so, which is why we hardly ever see them! We also think of owls as friendly – or at least friendlier than hawks and eagles, which always look so fierce – perhaps because their eyes face forward, just like ours. And yet owls are lethal predators as well.

The final chapter in the book looks at the future of owls. How much do we know about the likely impacts of the climate crisis on owl populations in Britain?

Like any birds, owls are especially vulnerable to the climate crisis, and especially the unpredictable weather patterns, extremes of temperature, rainfall and drought, and the effects these will have on habitats and food supply – especially at a time when all bird species are facing issues such as persecution, pollution and habitat loss – and in the case of owls, also light pollution. And of course the Snowy Owl, which once bred in the northern extremities of the UK (on Fetlar in Shetland, where I saw one more than forty years ago) has now disappeared as a British breeding bird, and is very unlikely ever to return, as I explain in the book. Snowy Owls globally are also uniquely vulnerable to climate change, as they are the most northerly of all the world’s owl species.

I found the chapter on the Eagle Owl to be particularly captivating. However, opinions on its right to reside in the UK appear to be divided, even amongst conservationists. Leaving aside the argument about whether the species can be considered native or not, do you think concerns about its impact on other wildlife are justified?

This is a tricky one; and I do outline the arguments for and against Eagle Owls in Britain in the book. In some ways their impact on other wildlife is a red herring: as a top predator, their numbers are unlikely to ever rise so high that they cause major impacts on native species; indeed, if we want to save Hen Harriers (the occasional prey of the Eagle Owl) we would be better off dealing with their illegal persecution, rather than blaming the Eagle Owl.

Is there a species of owl you would still love to see in your lifetime?

Of all the world’s owls, I would love to see the largest – Blakiston’s Fish Owl of eastern Asia – and of course the smallest, the Elf Owl of North America. My son James lives in Japan, so perhaps I can look for the Blakiston’s Fish Owl when I visit him next year. But I’ve still only seen about 40 species of owl – about one in six of the world’s species, so there are plenty more to go!

Finally – what is occupying your time at the moment? And do you have plans to continue this series of bird biographies?

I’m just coming to the end of my dream job – teaching the MA in Nature and Travel Writing at Bath Spa University. I’ve led the course for eight years now, and loved working with such talented students and colleagues, but now it’s time to hand over to someone else, and spend more time exploring other projects. And yes, I’m working on a new bird biography – of one of my favourite birds, yet one that many people dislike – I’ll leave people to try and guess what that might be! I’ve got several ideas for future volumes and other ideas for books for the future. But I also want to spend more time with my grandson Sammy, who has just turned one, and get him into birding – and also travel, to see birds of course, in the UK and around the world.

The Owl: A Biography was published by Square Peg in October 2023 and is available from nhbs.com

UK Fungus Day 2023

What is UK Fungus Day?

UK Fungus Day takes place on Saturday 7th October and is organised by the British Mycological Society. This annual celebration of fungi is an open invitation to everyone in the UK to experience and appreciate the wonder of fungi and to find out more about these fascinating organisms. There really is something for everyone: as well as traditional fungal forays where you can join an experienced mycologist to find and identify fungi in the wild, there are also open days at UK university laboratories, special museum exhibits, talks, films, craft activities and quizzes.

Why are fungi important?

Often described as the 5th kingdom, fungi are neither plant nor animal, and our knowledge of their biology and ecology is increasing all the time. They are incredibly important to the functioning of almost all ecosystems on earth (and have even been found in space!).

One of their key roles is as a decomposer. Fungi convert organic matter from dead organisms into a form that other plants or animals can more easily utilise, making them a vital part of the food chain. They also form essential symbiotic relationships with plant roots, providing nutrients to the plant and protecting them from parasites and infection, while they themselves feed on the plant.

Although we usually think of fungi as the mushrooms that are visible above ground, they also create huge networks of strands, known as hyphae, which stretch out beneath the soil. These hyphae contribute to the structure of the soil, holding particles together and helping the soil to retain moisture where it would otherwise rapidly drain away. This underground network is considered to be so important that a project is underway to map the “circulatory system of the planet” in an attempt to protect it from damage and improve its ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide.

As well as these key ecosystem functions, we also value fungi for their role in our own diets. Whether that is by eating them directly, or utilising their ability to ferment foods such as bread or beer, they have been an important gastronomic ingredient for thousands of years. They also contribute to human health in other ways. In the 1920s penicillin was discovered, an antibiotic produced by the mould Penicillium which has since saved countless numbers of lives and changed the entire face of modern medicine.

Fungi may even have a role to play in remediating polluted environments. Current research is looking into whether they could be used to break down petroleum products, heavy metals and plastics, and even absorb radiation following nuclear disasters.

How do I get involved in UK Fungus Day?

To find out what events are on near you on UK Fungus Day, head over to the Fungus Day website where you can find a list of all the activities planned for 7th October. On their website you will also find information on how to enter this year’s photo competition, as well as quizzes, and a host of other activity ideas for you to celebrate UK Fungus Day in your own home.

Author: Luanne Wilkes