INSIDE Michael Woods Remembered How Do Edible Dormice Know When to Breed? New Paper out Can Nest Tubes Always Detect Dormice? a Study in Devon Spring 2010 Spring 2010
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spring 2010 thedormouse monitorthe newsletter of the national dormouse monitoring programme people’s trust for endangered species | INSIDE Michael Woods remembered How do edible dormice know when to breed? new paper out Can nest tubes always detect dormice? a study in Devon spring 2010 spring 2010 Welcome Contents Forest dormice in the Russian foothills The forest dormouse’s countries, with populations Forest dormice in the Russian foothills 3 range is the largest in the being fragmented. Dr KO. dormouse family. The species Magomedov asked PTES for EN OV Tributes to Michael Woods 4 lives in deciduous and mixed a grant to help him get more R forests with shrubby cover. information about the status Request for wild dormouse bodies 6 It is found across central and of the species in Daghestan, YA Y. & OV southern Europe, Asia Minor particularly in light of the MED Loddiswell lodges for dormice 7 and the Iranian Plateau in fact that their preferred O G A central Asia over to the Altai habitat – scrub cover – has M . Seaside dormice at Slapton Ley NNR 8 Mountains. In Russia the been reduced by human M Earlier in the year we sent species is found right up to activities. out the 2010 recording How do edible dormice know when to breed? 9 the Ural Mountains and the Dr Magomedov and his forms and guidelines, if you Caucasus. team hoped to study the didn’t receive these please Real estate for dormice in Wiltshire 10 Historical references to population structure and contact [email protected] or the forest dormouse can be dynamics of the forest call 020 7498 4533. Dormouse nests in strange places 11 found in Aristotle - where the dormice in the area and find on 20th September. The carried out, is being done The 2009 data is currently scientist characterised the out more about the threats highest numbers of animals so illegally. So now the being entered onto the New dormice for Warwickshire 12 species’ hibernation process they faced and how to look were caught in areas furthest team plan to focus on NDMP database, if you – and in ancient Roman after them in future. They from towns and human mitigating these factors haven’t as yet sent in your Can nest tubes always detect dormice? 14 naturalist’s texts too. also wanted to get local activity and with the greatest in co-operation with the 2009 records please do so Little is known about forest people actively involved in amount of shrubby cover. Ministry of Environment and now. We will bring you a Training courses and news 16 dormice in their native range monitoring the animals and More work is needed to get Protection of Daghestan report on the data in the in Daghestan, Russia. Work helping to conserve them further information about (MEPD). Their priorities will next issue of The Dormouse in neighbouring Georgia too. The zone they were the species in the area. be to recommend that local Monitor. A preliminary look and Azerbaijan has shown working in was the foothills However, Dr Magomedov administrations prevent at the data shows that that their numbers are of Daghestan, about 20% of and his team concluded further habitat loss within 2009 proved to be a good low and unstable in these the whole area covering over that many human activities the vicinity of settlements, dormouse year with many 10,000km2. It’s a temperate are impacting on the area, that they also carry out monitoring sites having region with temperatures and therefore the species, in a proactive planting higher than usual dormouse KO. dropping to about 1°С in particular forestry and fires. programme and that they numbers. And there was EN OV winter and reaching on There is also a high level ensure that environmental People's Trust for Endangered Species R encouraging news from 15 Cloisters House average 21°С in the summer. of construction in the area education and training is Adrian Hutchings at Crab 8 Battersea Park Road Over 100 trap nights, 52 consisting mostly of private widely available, especially Wood in Hampshire, with London YA Y. & OV forest dormice were caught. dwellings. Unfortunately for young people. dormice being found in the SW8 4BG MED The earliest one was picked much of the logging and We will keep you updated boxes again after a five to six O G up in mid April, the latest clearance that is being with the project in the future. www.ptes.org A year absence. Many thanks M . to Adrian and his team for Tel: 020 7498 4533 M persevering with the nest [email protected] The forest dormice box checks. Registered charity number 274206 (below) were found nesting in various We are hoping that the The National Dormouse Monitoring Programme is funded by PTES and Natural England. trees and shrubs, long cold winter will have including hollows benefitted the dormice and The scientific work is based at Royal Holloway, University of London. in hornbeams (left) that 2010 will bring even and shrubby cover (above.) higher numbers, so we look The Dormouse Monitor is compiled by Nida Al Fulaij & Susan Sharafi. forward to receiving your box check forms later this Cover image kindly provided by Paul Manchester. Printed by 4 Print on environmentally friendly paper. year - please don’t forget to use our online system The opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the People’s Trust for Endangered Species. if you haven’t tried it yet - just visit www.ptes.org/ dormousemonitoring. Best regards Nida Al Fulaij & Susan Sharafi ANU evi S 2 the dormouse monitor the dormouse monitor 3 ANA i L e spring 2010 spring 2010 Tributes to Michael Woods Michael worked hard to Sadly Michael Woods, years later that we started to finding dormice on the very clear grasp of what in encouraging the was always going to be a meetings in London development of local groups struggle as too few ‘youths’ last year, despite his ensure that mitigation a dedicated dormouse collaborate, trying to unravel beach! Well, almost. Michael science is for and how was carried out where conservationist, died some of the mysteries of this found that they were living systematic study can reveal to foster the involvement could be assembled in one increasing frailty. possible, and was earlier this year. Two fellow fascinating little animal. in low growing scrub on important information. He of the substantial number place at the same time from Clearly he was not instrumental in trialling dormouse bridges. dormouse enthusiasts pay As ecological consultants, the shingle ridge at Slapton managed to obtain grants of non-professional a nationally distributed giving up and was still tribute to him and his work. we were particularly Ley (see page 8). Separated to buy 1,600 of the recently members who wanted to organisation. Nevertheless, watching badgers on He will be greatly missed. concerned about the from more conventional devised dormouse nest make a contribution to the he managed it well and there CCTV in his garden relationships between woodland habitat by several tubes, he inspired a team understanding of mammals are quite a few ex- ‘youths’ just before he died in Ecologist, friend and dormice and developers. It hectares of water and from of volunteers to take part, and their conservation. who owe a lot to this early January. colleague. I first met Michael was our job to advise when, the sea by a road and 50m of helped devise the survey In the dormouse world, he support and stimulus. His father, Doug more than thirty years where and how dormouse shingle, the dormice found protocol, made sure that the made a considerable number Michael was a Mammal Woods, had been ago, doing otter surveys surveys should be carried themselves right under the whole show kept on the road of friends amongst those Society council member for one of the key in County Durham, and out and we began to realise path of a proposed road and played an important involved in conservation in over 20 years and stood for pioneers of dormouse encountered him regularly that it was more often than diversion. part in writing up the results. the UK and internationally election as chairman when conservation and at Mammal Society meetings we had thought. A spur to The project revealed In recent years we have as well, culminating in him my term ended. This was research, based over subsequent years where the Southwest Dormouse many of Michael’s best regularly exchanged news, running the 7th International probably the first contested in Somerset. he became a good friend Project, which we planned characteristics. Not a trained views, information and ideas Dormouse Conference in election we ever had as Following Doug’s and colleague. It was several and oversaw together, was scientist himself he had a about dormice as well as the Mendips, which many opinions were deeply and lead, Michael also other mammals. Subscribers readers will remember with equally divided over the contributed strongly to the NDMP discussion affection. The organiser of principle of appointing to the promotion forum will know that he the 8th conference, Sven an ‘amateur’ (i.e. non- of dormouse was always willing to share Buchner, recently wrote to professional) as chairman conservation by information and he made me saying “We lose, with instead of an academic operating one of the Michael, a wonderful friend. or full-time professional captive breeding frequent contributions R He had tremendous personal mammalogist. Discussions centres that supplied e ST - pertinent, informative e and based on a wealth of magnetism and sense of dragged on and Mike put the animals for humour.