sheep, which might weigh as much as ten pounds less when the time for slaughter arrived’. A similar account of the benefits to sheep of nutrients deposited by great skuas onto Faroese islands is presented in a Faroese school text book on biology published in the

1950s. There is a lot to be said for paying attention to ‘old wisdom’. SNH Science Newsletter Issue 10, December 2014 ______Hot Topics Welcome from the Chair Bob Furness Seabird Indices Simon Foster One of my PhD students, Adam Cross, has just submitted his thesis. A cause for Latest indicator for ’s celebration. Part of his thesis involves seabirds published nice work on nutrient input from seabirds (puffins and great skuas) onto coastal Scotland’s breeding seabirds are of grassland on Scottish islands (mainly international importance. They are useful Mingulay and St Kilda). His work and important indicators for assessing the sampled vegetation, and hair from sheep state of our marine environment. The and rabbits, in areas with and without indicator looks at the breeding numbers and succes of seabirds in Scotland. nesting seabirds. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios show that a major The indicator uses data collected by part of the nutrients in vegetation around volunteers and professionals through the seabird colonies is derived from seabird Seabird Monitoring Programme. guano. Furthermore, sheep and rabbits selectively graze vegetation that has The numbers and breeding success of been fertilized by seabirds because it has seabirds in Scotland, 1986-2013 a higher protein content and is more digestible. Bioenergetics models and empirical data show that seabirds can deposit nutrients onto islands at a rate similar to that recommended for artificial fertilizer applications in agricultural land. So here is one small example of ‘ecosystem services’ provided by seabirds subsidising terrestrial habitat with marine resources. A novel bit of scientific research. However, we scientists need to be modest about our findings. This research, at non-trivial cost (Adam was funded by a UK Research Council and NTS), has shown something that was already long known by the sheep farmers of the Faroe Islands. To quote one account: ‘No one knew if the sandeels would be scarce this year and the puffin numbers would suffer. It had been noticed that when they had a bad breeding year the lack of guano fertilising the hillsides had a knock-on effect on the

Year NOTE: The axis are not scaled to zero

The results show that the seabird numbers extent present in 1983 was lost by 2011. The have declined by around 42% and the losses were mainly from NVC communities breeding success also shows a declining MG5 (flower-rich neutral grasslands), U4 trend. (short, usually sheep-grazed pastures) and Of the 12 species for which we can calculate M25 (fen meadows dominated by purple trends in their breeding numbers, 10 have moor-grass and rich in bryophytes). shown sustained declines mostly from around A second finding is that only 41% of non- 2000 onwards. The largest declines have designated species-rich grasslands are been for Arctic skua, declining by 82% from currently in good condition. Both loss and 1986 levels, black-legged kittiwake (77%) poor condition are caused by the same two and Sandwich tern (60%). Black guillemot contrasting factors: under-management remained stable and common gulls increased leading to the development of rank, species- by 9%. poor swards, and agricultural intensification.

Breeding success varied amongst the 13 The total area of unimproved lowland species assessed. Five have declined: Arctic grassland in the 1980s was estimated to be skua; Atlantic puffin; black-legged kittiwake; in the order of 30,000 ha so the 16% loss common guillemot; and great skua. Seven leaves around 25,000 ha, just 2% of all have remained stable: Arctic tern; common Scottish farmland grassland. The challenge tern; herring gull; lesser black-backed gull; for SNH now is to find ways of securing the little tern; northern fulmar; and Sandwich tern. future of the remaining species-rich grassland One species, the northern gannet, has habitat and increasing biodiversity in the increased. species-poor 98%. Another recent grassland publication is the Full details can be found online revised Chapter 3 Lowland Grasslands of the http://www.snh.gov.uk/docs/B424907.pdf Guidelines for Selection of Biological SSSIs, For more information contact - Simon Foster which was published on the JNCC website in [email protected] November. The revised Guidelines place ______more emphasis on a minimum or critical standards approach, with the presumption SSSI Guidelines on Grasslands that all examples of rare grassland Jane Mackintosh communities of at least 0.5 ha in size should be selected for notification. Loss and condition in Scotland’s species-rich lowland grasslands Information: [email protected]

Lowland grasslands are one of the most Scotland’s People and Nature threatened of semi-natural habitats because Survey – Understanding how they can so easily be converted to arable or people in Scotland use, value and grass ley. They are also one of the hardest to enjoy the natural environment monitor because of the difficulty of separating Aileen Armstrong grasslands that are unimproved and species- rich from those that are semi-improved and species-poor - remote sensing still cannot Scotland’s People and Nature Survey reliably distinguish these types. SNH set out to gather information on the current state of The findings from the first year of Scotland’s lowland grasslands by re-visiting a sample of People and Nature Survey (SPANS) will be grasslands surveyed in the 1980s and 1990s. published in December 2014, providing SNH We excluded SSSIs, which are already and other partners working in the natural monitored under the SCM programme. We environment sector with access to a single, visited 227 sites, 30% of those originally comprehensive set of data on how people recorded. The results of this study were living in Scotland use, value and enjoy the published recently as SNH Commissioned outdoors. Report 571: The extent and condition of non- designated species-rich lowland grasslands SPANS was commissioned by SNH in 2013 in Scotland. with support from Forestry Commission Scotland, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs Our main finding is that species-rich National Park Authority, Cairngorms National grasslands have continued to decline in the Park Authority and Greenspace Scotland. era of agri-environment schemes: 16% of the SPANS replaced two earlier surveys (the

Scottish Recreation Survey and the The SPANS end-year report will be available Greenspace Use and Attitudes survey), on the SNH website before the end of the absorbed questions from a number of other year and will be accompanied by standard surveys and is designed to complement data tables and a series of short special outputs from Scottish Government surveys interest reports; the raw survey data will be such as the Scottish Household Survey and available on request, enabling interested the Scottish Health Survey. parties to conduct their own detailed analyses of the findings. SPANS will run once every three years for a period of ten years, enabling us to monitor Information: [email protected] people’s behaviour and attitudes over the longer term; the next wave of annual Commissioned Report progress fieldwork is planned for 2016. Kamila Fraser A large-scale quantitative survey Reports published recently Fieldwork for the first year of the SPANS was conducted between March 2013 and The following SNH Commissioned Research February 2014 and involved in-home Reports have been published in the last few interviews with a representative sample of months. All are on the SNH website and more than 12,000 adults aged 16 and over searchable at: living in Scotland. Survey respondents http://www.snh.gov.uk/publications-data-and- answered questions on a range of subjects, research/publications/search-the- including visits to the outdoors, the provision catalogue/?q=commissioned%20report of woods and forests for recreation, rating of local greenspace, wider types of engagement CR452 Simulation model for the with the natural environment, perceptions of management of American mink, Neovison national and local landscapes and attitudes to vison, on Harris and Lewis environmental issues. CR541 Water vole survey of Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve Detailed analysis CR627 A modelling assessment of control strategies to prevent/reduce Squirrelpox spread As the survey also collected a range of other CR688 The Scottish Beaver Trial: information about respondents, the findings Monitoring of aquatic vegetation and can be analysed by standard demographics associated features of the Knapdale lochs such as age, gender, working status and 2008-2013 final report social grade, as well as other variables such CR756 Status and population viability of as ethnicity, self-reported health and Svalbard barnacle geese in Scotland disability. Use of the Scottish Government’s CR768 Survey and scoping of wildcat Urban/Rural classification and the Scottish priority areas Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) also CR783 Understanding the potential effects enables us to consider the impact of of wave energy devices on kelp biotopes residency and affluence on people’s attitudes CR788 The Scottish Beaver Trial: and behaviours. Woodland monitoring 2009-2013 final report How partners will use SPANS data CR794 Evaluation of trap-nests for monitoring Osmia uncinata bees SPANS data will be used by SNH and its CR797 Site Condition Monitoring of partners to monitor trends, guide the bottlenose dolphins within the Moray Firth development and implementation of Special Area of Conservation: 2011-2013 programmes of work and to track progress CR799 The Scottish Beaver Trial: Socio- toward objectives. It will help us contribute economic monitoring final report to the achievement of a number of the Scottish Government’s National Outcomes, Reports reviewed recently particularly National Outcome 12, ‘We value and enjoy our built and natural environment and protect it and enhance it for future CR795 A review of approaches to adaptive generations’. management

CR796 Developing Scottish bat population organisations. A hot topic could be an issue trends through the National Bat Monitoring (e.g. neonicotinoids) where there’s a need to Programme synthesise available evidence and have a CAMERAS view on what that evidence is Information: [email protected] telling us; it may be a new scientific methodology whose potential application we’d like to explore; it may be opportunities News that arise from better use of data integration or knowledge exchange platforms. Hot topics CAMERAS Board update will be novel, contentious and require an Louise Heathwaite immediate short term response. The process will be informed by Horizon Scanning activity SG Chief Scientific Adviser, Rural Affairs which is currently being reviewed by SEPA and Environment; Chair of CAMERAS and SNH.

The latest CAMERAS Board meeting took The Board agreed that the application of place on 30th October. The board develops Epigenetics as a scientific methodology ways to brigade scientific activity so that we should be developed as our first hot topic. make best use of our collective resource to Kevin O’Donnell (SASA) will develop a support Scottish Government policy scoping study proposal with other CAMERAS development and delivery in the rural, partners (notably SEPA and MS who already environmental and marine areas. use the technique and SNH and FCS who indicated that there may be scope to use it) The partnership has been running since 2009 through the SG RESAS Contract Research and is implementing four strategies that are Fund (CRF) which has now been opened up shaping the way we procure the evidence to CAMERAS partners to apply to directly. that informs policy decisions: • Evidence Strategy for Rural Affairs Colin Moffat (Marine Scotland Science) and the Terrestrial Environment (2014-2019) presented a paper on Open Access Data • Marine Science Strategy (2010-15) setting out challenges in the compatibility of • Focus on Freshwater Science technology, the quantity and quality of data • Environmental Monitoring Strategy and data integration. Most CAMERAS We agreed that there’s a lot of good work partners, under SG’s Data Vision for Scotland being taken forward in these areas and that and Digital Strategy, already have processes we need to get better at communicating the in place to address issues of data storage, outputs and outcomes from these. So, over managing data as part of an information life the coming months we will be drawing out cycle, applying basic data standards and case-studies from the work, which will help persistent identifiers. There is an opportunity demonstrate the benefits of our partnership to bring the main science and technical working. These exemplars will be made contacts together to review progress and to available on our CAMERAS website tease out specific issues. Colin will take this http://www.camerasscotland.org/ forward for the CAMERAS partnership and will draw in other core data holders, such as The Board agreed to the principle of re- our Main Research Providers to the establishing a CAMERAS Secretariat for a 3- conversations. year period using a partnership funding model. The Secretariat will support the All the papers from the meeting will be on the Partnership Board meetings and the website http://www.camerasscotland.org/. In direction-setting and management of the the meantime I hope that this quick summary commissioned work programmes, will help of our discussions give you at least a little identify sources of funding for CAMERAS insight into the issues the CAMERAS Board projects and develop our knowledge is covering. exchange (of which the website is a component). We’ll be looking for a really dynamic individual who likes challenge to Scottish Consortium for Rural take this forward. Research Update Ian Bainbridge We agreed a process for identifying Hot Topics that we can address more effectively Prof Steve Yearley has now returned from his as a partnership than as individual year’s sabbatical, and has reoccupied the

role as Chair of the Scottish Consortium for and supporting transformation towards global Rural Research (SCRR) Executive sustainability in the coming decades. Committee; Ian Bainbridge has resumed as a committee member. Further information: http://perth.uhi.ac.uk/specialistcentres/cms/C The next SCRR Newsletter will be published onferences/Perth2015/Pages/default.aspx before Christmas: look in www.scrr.ac.uk for it. Herpetofauna Workers Meeting

2015 Professor Tim Benton, UK Champion for th th Global Food Security and Professor of 7 & 8 February 2015, The Vermont Population Ecology, University of Leeds will Hotel, Castle Garth, Newcastle upon deliver the SCRR Peter Wilson Lecture 2015 Tyne th on Monday 9 February at The Royal Society Further information: of , 22-26 George Street, http://www.arc-trust.org/about-us/What- Edinburgh, EH2 2PQ, at 6pm we-do/annual- conferences/HWM/HWM2015 There is much discussion of the world’s demand for food being set to double in the next decades. Climate change's impacts on Staff Publications farming are also increasingly being felt. Farming is competing for access to land and Everything in Moderation: water, and its impacts on the natural environment (whether through habitat loss, Principles of Parasite Control for impact on biodiversity, impact on water Wildlife Conservation bodies or carbon emissions) are often Andrew Stringer & Wayne Linklater highlighted from local to global levels. Is it possible to grow more food, sustainably, or Parasites can reduce host body condition, do we need to change our expectations of impair reproduction, and cause mortality. what can be made available? However, parasites are a major source of biodiversity, are a fundamental component of Information and tickets from a healthy ecosystem, and could be the group https://online.royalsoced.org.uk/membersare most affected by the modern-day biodiversity a/multievents/displayEvent.asp?Type=Full&C crisis. Parasite control may cause ode=090215 immunological naivety, unbalance parasite- mediated apparent competition between SCRR aims to host a second metagenomics hosts, and destabilize the host–parasite arms Workshop in Spring 2015; check the SCRR race. Here, we rank parasite control website for details. strategies according to their potential impact on ecosystems. We argue that, as the threat Conferences and meetings that a parasite poses to host survival increases, the need for parasite control

increases, and, therefore, control measures Mountains of our Future Earth that have a greater impact on ecosystems Conference can be justified. However, because host- 4-8 October 2015 specific parasites may be more endangered than their hosts, there is often the need for The Centre for Mountain Studies, in active parasite conservation strategies such collaboration with the Mountain Research as establishing parasite refugia. Although the Initiative (MRI) and the Global Mountain principles proposed here are predominantly Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA), is intuitive, there are numerous examples in organising a third conference – Perth III – on which they have not been applied. ‘Mountains of Our Future Earth’. This is a contribution to the global Future Earth BioScience October 2014 / Vol. 64 No. 10. programme, a 10-year international research 932–937. initiative that will develop the knowledge for Information: [email protected] responding effectively to the risks and opportunities of global environmental change

Appointments Deputy Director, SG Rural and Environment Science and SNH Chief Executive Secondment Analytical Services Division. to European Commission, Dr Linda Pooley has taken up the post of

Brussels Deputy Director of RESAS, with the return of Susan Davies to her post of Director of Policy The Board of SNH have agreed to the and Advice in SNH. secondment of our Chief Executive, Ian Jardine, to the European Commission in Linda joined the Scottish Government in Brussels. The secondment will be for an 2003, working as a scientific adviser in initial period of one year but may be RERAD before moving into policy work. Linda subject to extension. has worked on climate change and water industry. Latterly Linda has been head of two Ian will be working in The Environment Energy Division teams: offshore renewables Directorate of the Commission, where his and International, low carbon and duties will include support for the REFIT constitution. She has also been the Scottish Government’s policy lead for the new Green review of the two Natura Directives. Investment Bank.

The SNH Board will appoint an acting Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Chief Executive for the period of Ian’s secondment. Science Advisory Board Dr Ian Bainbridge, SNH Head of Science has been invited to join the new Royal New Scientific Director at Our Botanic Garden Edinburgh Science Advisory Dynamic Earth Board, whose remit will be to advise on the science programmes, direction and quality for Dr Hermione Cockburn joined Our Dynamic RBGE. Earth in Edinburgh in September. She will bring a wealth of experience in science PhD Update communication as well as academic expertise in Earth and Environmental Science The latest round of SNH PhD studentships to her new role as Scientific Director at Our Dynamic Earth. for projects due to start in Autumn 2015 has recently closed. Overall 32 applications were Prof. Jonathan Silvertown moves received from a number of institutions from Scotland and . The PhD committee to will be meeting shortly when the first decision will be made to select the top 10 pre- Prof. Jonathan Silvertown joined the applications where the applicants will then be Institute of Evolutionary Biology in the School invited to submit a full proposal early in the of Biological Sciences at the University of New Year. Edinburgh in October 2014, from the . His research specialism is plant population biology, and he is one of the team which developed the iSpot biological recording website.

Honorary Chair at the University of Glasgow Dr Colin Bean, SNH’s freshwater fish specialist has been awarded an honorary Chair at the University of Glasgow in the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine.

SNH Staff Profile professorship within the Institute of Prof. Colin Bean Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine in October 2014. Colin is delighted to be appointed to this role and is determined to maintain, and increase, his involvement within the Institute, and particularly the University’s Scottish Centre for Ecology and the Natural Environment.

SNH Staff Profile Iain Sime

Professor Colin Bean is a fisheries biologist with over 25 years of research experience with the Universities of Ulster, Stirling and Glasgow. He has also held post-doctoral research fellowship positions at two internationally renowned institutions: the Freshwater Biological Association at Windermere and the Institute of Aquaculture at Stirling University. He is currently working as a senior science and policy adviser within the Ecosystems & Biodiversity Unit of Scottish Natural Heritage. Colin didn’t leave Iain Sime heads our team of freshwater and academia behind when he joined SNH in wetland advisors. Iain specialised in 1999 and has maintained formal links with freshwater ecology while studying for a PhD the University of Glasgow since that date. at the Natural History Museum. There he This has involved the delivery of lectures, researched changes in diatom ecology, field courses and research student supervision at both MSc and PhD level. based in the museum’s amazing diatom herbarium, the largest in the world. After Colin has a particular interest in evolutionary graduation, Iain worked in various places processes within rare fish populations and including Chile, at Edinburgh’s Botanic the development of conservation strategies Garden, and in consultancy. Since joining for rare and endangered fish species SNH in 2000 he has been based in the (including conservation genetics). He is also freshwater and wetland group. involved in research programmes related to the control of invasive non-native species and While working in SNH Iain has helped the impact of freshwater and marine develop monitoring methods for various renewable technologies on fish. His expertise riverine species, managed a wide variety of in these areas is well recognised and he has research and monitoring contracts as well as carried out scientific peer-review tasks for a provided training on freshwater ecology and range of bodies, including NERC, Defra and freshwater pearl mussels. Iain has done a lot Marine Scotland Science, as well as a wide of work on freshwater pearl mussel, including range of international journals. He also has leading the development of the ongoing extensive experience of working overseas £3.5m Pearls in Peril LIFE project. With and is an active member of the IUCN nearly 2 years of the project left to go, the Freshwater Fish Specialist Group formerly project team have already achieved a lot. But held a British Council-funded visiting some of the most dramatic actions are due to Professorship to the Universidad Austral in take place in 2015. These include the Chile. removal of large croys (groynes) and other structures from various rivers, which will In recognition of his long-standing academic dramatically improve habitat and benefit relationship with the University of Glasgow several species. Colin was awarded an honorary

Aside from the PIP project, Iain also chairs seeks to understand how predation, herbivory the UK group tackling wildlife crime that and parasitism together with animal continues to blight pearl mussels. More movement shape the dynamics of animal widely Iain is involved in trying to establish a populations. He uses field experiments and landscape-scale project to tackle invasive large surveys with mammal, often but not species, working with SEPA to improve always voles, birds of prey and a range of management of designated sites and other species. Xavier maintains a long term, particularly keen to better understand and large scale study of cyclic field voles, birds of communicate how climate change will affect prey, vegetation and parasites dynamics in our freshwaters. This includes helping to commercial forests in the Scottish borders oversee two SNH studentships looking at and northern England that was started by how vulnerable our lochs are to climate collaborators from the Forestry Commission change and how we might help them adapt. in 1983. This project provides a valuable long term perspective on how man-made ecosystems change under the influence of Expert Panel Member Profile climate change and the process of rewilding, Xavier Lambin including the recovery of buzzards, goshawk, and soon pine martens.

Xavier and his team have been studying naturally fragmented populations of water voles since 1998, in lowland Aberdeenshire and the Cairngorms where they were in decline under the influence of American mink as well as in Assynt NW Scotland, north of the invasion front of this non-native invasive predator. The work uncovered the profound influence of water voles on upland riparian ecosystems through their engineering and above and below-ground herbivory. Witnessing the decline of many water vole colonies led Xavier to instigate, in 2006, what

is now known as the Scottish Mink Initiative Xavier Lambin is an ecologist with a deep http://www.scottishmink.org.uk/ in partnership interest for population dynamics and with RAFTS and SNH and has become the conservation. He left Belgium in 1986 after a world largest non-native species control effort degree in Zoology at the University of that involves many hundreds of volunteers Louvain and many years of involvement with from across communities and now spans natural history . After one year at 2 29,000 km . The project embraces the the University of Oslo, he moved to Adaptive Management approach, whereby Vancouver in Canada in 1988 where he did understanding of the system under active his PhD on the role of kinship amongst management is constantly updated and this females on cooperation and the dynamics of understanding fed back into ever improving Townsend’s vole populations. He then moved management practice. PhD students involved to Scotland in 1993, based the Institute of in this project seek to further optimise mink Terrestrial Ecology to investigate whether control through understanding of habitat similar processes of cooperation amongst selection by mink attempting to re-invade; related male red grouse contribute to cyclical research the drivers of citizen fluctuations of this species. 21 years later, he conservationist; and test the scope to still enjoys researching and applying ecology accelerate ecosystem restoration and the in Scotland. He is now professor of Ecology recovery of water voles where mink are at the University of Aberdeen effectively controlled through translocations. www.abdn.ac.uk/biologicalsci/staff/details/x.la The adaptive management approach also mbin underpins a related PhD project seeking to overcome the barriers to early action to halt Xavier conducts research on both the incipient invasion of northern Scotland by fundamental and highly applied issues in invasive American signal crayfish, again population dynamics. With his team, he blending population ecology, participation of

citizen conservationists and local rivers trusts. Another project relevant to Scotland’s natural heritage and in collaboration with the Forestry Commission Scotland explores the likely impact of the recovery of pine martens in Scotland on the interactions between the native red and introduced grey squirrel.

Xavier is a committed educator and communicator to a wide range of audiences. As an SNH Expert Panel member, he hopes to promote the adoption of the adaptive management approach, blending action and learning using rigorous designs, analytical methods and where possible public participation.

SNH Science newsletter

Editor: Lynne Clark, [email protected]