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BRC 50Th Anniversary Publication Celebrating years of the Biological Records Centre Edited by D.B. Roy, P. T. Harding, C.D. Preston & H.E. Roy (2014) BIOLOGICAL RECORDS CENTRE 000000 max 3 words : Shutterstock. 19 PhD Students000000 max 3 wordssince 2000 Chorthippus parallelus 153 Vice- Counties Infographic based on information from BRC and the wider recording community. Photo of community. BRC and the wider recording Infographic based on information from FOREWORD The UK is extremely fortunate in its rich history of naturalists – such as Gilbert White with his 1789 classic Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne or the army of Victorian enthusiasts (often vicars) who pressed flowers, collected butterflies and documented their parishes. These enthusiasts required structures, which led to an array of societies, such as Botanical Society of London formed in 1836, who became the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Ambitious atlas projects generate a mass of important data of obvious value in the future so the Biological Record Centre (BRC) was born fifty years ago as a repository and to provide support. The BRC has been central to much of UK conservation practice and research. The work on climate change impacts on distribution patterns is especially well known. The detailed Sutherland Photo: Courtesy of Tessa distribution information means the BRC is central to much Bill Sutherland of the routine conservation practice in determining priorities Miriam Rothschild Professor of Conservation Biology, and assessing possible threats. The BRC has also been University of Cambridge fundamental to the National Biodiversity Network Gateway, an ambitious plan to bring together the main sources of UK identification, documenting, feedback, or uses of the data. biodiversity information. Thankfully I am sure that the real heroes of this story, the We live in exciting times for monitoring, as seen by the BRC army of naturalists following in Gilbert White’s footsteps, will becoming increasingly more sophisticated in dealing with relish these challenges. data. A range of novel techniques provide new opportunities for the application of natural history skills, such as the crowd sourced communities emerging to identify photographs or the apps that encourage field identification of neglected groups. We can be sure that everything will change: be it William J. Sutherland CONTENTS CITATION The BRC 5 Roy, D.B., Harding, P.T., Preston, C.D. & Roy, H.E. (eds.) (2014). Celebrating 50 years of the Biological Records A time before BRC 6 Centre. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Developing BRC 8 ISBN: 978-1-906698-52-2 Atlases and datasets 10 Red listing and indicators 12 Climate change ecology 14 Invasion biology 16 Changing habitats 18 Air pollution 20 Insect-plant interactions 22 Technology 24 Citizen science 26 BRC wider partnerships 28 The Biological Records Centre (BRC) is within the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and jointly funded by NERC References 30 and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The BRC, established in 1964, is a national focus in the UK Recording schemes and societies 34 for terrestrial and freshwater species recording. BRC works closely with the voluntary recording community, principally by supporting national recording schemes and societies. THE TitleBRC in - here,WHO not ARE too WE,long... WHAT WE DO, WHY WE DO IT WHO WE ARE WHAT WE DO WHY WE DO IT The Biological Records Centre (BRC), • Together with more than 80 • The historical legacy of biological part of the Centre for Ecology & recording schemes and societies, recording in the United Kingdom is Hydrology (CEH), provides a focus BRC supports biological recording unique and inspiring. for the collation, management, for a wide range of plant and • Many naturalists are committed to dissemination and interpretation of animal groups. studying our flora and fauna, and species observations (biological records). • BRC helps the recording community BRC’s work helps to ensure that we BRC is based in Wallingford, near to publish atlases, data and other make the most of their observations. Oxford, having formerly been at Monks online resources and thus to provide Wood near Huntingdon. Most records • The vast datasets built up through essential information which informs are collected by volunteer recording the expertise and commitment of research, policy and the conservation schemes and societies, which are the volunteer recording community of our heritage of wildlife. integral to the work of BRC. We benefit enable a range of ecological from a long-term funding partnership • Innovative use of technology questions to be addressed. helps to harness the enthusiasm between NERC and the Joint Nature • Distribution trends derived from and knowledge of naturalists and to Conservation Committee (JNCC). the large-scale and long-term enable them to collate and analyse datasets provide evidence for many their records. purposes, particularly in relation to understanding environmental change. This booklet describes key themes from the history of the Biological Records Centre, from its formation in 1964 to its 50th anniversary in 2014. : Courtesy of Ed Phillips Nigma walckenaeri Photo of 5 A TIME BEFORE BRC A AD 70s 10th/11th century 1670 1753 1836 1852 1876 Pliny the Elder Manuscripts Leechbook Publication Publication of Botanical Publication of The Naturalis of Bald and Lacnunga of John Ray’s Carl Linnaeus’ Society of H.C. Watson’s Conchological Historia Catalogus Species London Cybele Society of plantarum Plantarum formed Britannica Great Britain Angliae Vol 3 and Ireland formed NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES The father of recording – John Ray Natural history societies began to form as early as the mid 18th and throughout Although our ancient and the 19th century. Initially, memberships mainly comprised well educated men, medieval ancestors would but by the mid 19th century women were increasingly involved. Some societies, have recognised plant and particularly in cities, were associated with movements for the education of animal species of practical adults from less privileged backgrounds. The identification of species and relevance to them, the documenting their distribution became important to many societies, often recording of plants, birds using the Watsonian vice-counties for such records. By the early 20th century and fishes out of intrinsic most local and national societies had a healthy mix of both self-educated and interest had become well academically qualified members, which continues to the present day. established by the 17th century, mainly among SLOW PROGRESS TOWARDS DEVELOPING A NATIONAL SYSTEM educated and influential The Central Committee, formed in 1904 could have led to some coordination men. The Essex of biological recording, at least for plants. This was not followed up, in part due naturalist John Ray to World War I. Subsequent proposals for a national atlas, which would have drew on their interest included species distributions, later succumbed to World War II. Although a in plants for the Catalogus, effectively conference of the British Association in 1947 considered a proposal to produce forming a recording community with his friends. As “basic maps for the plotting, classification and correlation of natural history the Linnean system of species nomenclature became records”, no action was taken. rapidly adopted internationally and, with advances in A key member of this group of academics, Sir Arthur Tansley, recognised the printing technology, the study and sharing of species potential role of amateurs, and stated that their “acquaintance with their local information became possible for many people. floras is absolutely unequalled”. Photo: By permission of the Linnean Society London 6 1904 1940 1949 1950 1954 1962 1964 Central Committee Plans for a national Nature BSBI Conference BSBI’s Atlas of the Atlas of the Biological for the Study of plant atlas published Conservancy “Aims and methods British Flora project British Flora Records Centre British Vegetation founded in the study of launched at a published formed at formed the distribution of ‘special conference’ Monks Wood British plants” People and factors leading to the BSBI Atlas project BOTANISTS TAKE THE LEAD Sir Arthur Tansley The resolution at the BSBI conference in 1950 Influential plant ecologist to map the British (and Irish) flora resulted from Advocate of amateur recording specialists (1904) a happy convergence of several inter-related First Nature Conservancy Chairman (1949) factors [See right]. With funding from the Nuffield Foundation, and later from the Nature Cyril Diver Conservancy, the Atlas of the British Flora Pioneering field ecologist project was launched in April 1954. Building Advocate of species distribution maps (1938) on ideas and methods proposed and tested First Nature Conservancy Director-General (1949) in the UK and in Europe over the previous 50 Professor Roy Clapham years the atlas aimed to record, and map, each Leading botanist species of vascular plant in the 10km squares Secretary of the BSBI Maps Committee (1950) of the Ordnance Survey National Grid. Perhaps Co-author of Flora of the British Isles (1952) the most critical aspect of the project was the adoption of data processing equipment using Ordnance Survey punched cards. This enabled 1.5 million records National Grid used on all OS maps after World War II to be sorted and mapped mechanically and the Early British dot-maps use of information technology became integral Good (1936) Lizard Orchid distribution using dots to indicate locations, without
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