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Science Newsletter Issue 22 – December 2017 ______ Scottish Natural Heritage Science Newsletter Issue 22 – December 2017 _______________________________________________________ __ In this issue: Page Welcome from the SNH Chairman 2 Circulation of SNH Science newsletter 2 Causes of decline of common scoter in North Scotland 3 Seed collecting in Scotland 2017 4 Coring for Carbon: The buried benefit of Saltmarsh restoration 5 The ecology of black guillemots in relation to marine renewable energy developments 6 A ditch in time… 8 SNH Blogs 10 Conferences and meetings 10 SNH Staff profile 12 SAC Expert Panel member profile 12 1 Welcome from the SNH Chairman Mike Cantlay SNH has a long-standing, excellent reputation for careful and thorough use of evidence and science to support its policy and advice. As the new Chairman of SNH, I want to build on that reputation to strengthen SNH’s science capability and to ensure that future advice we give is securely founded on the best available evidence. To ensure this, we need to continue to build scientific capability within SNH and also to strengthen our relationships and collaborations with external scientific bodies, including universities, research institutes, and the scientific staff of other agencies and NGOs. There are many ways to achieve this. SNH holds large quantities of environmental data, often in the form of long-term monitoring, and we are keen to share this resource with researchers. We have a very productive PhD studentship programme with SNH staff co-supervising postgraduates based in many universities, frequently carrying out research that helps us understand the many new challenges facing us all. Sound science and clear evidence underpin our key role in protecting Scotland’s nature while supporting sustainable development, and making Scotland a better place for everyone privileged to be in Scotland. And remember, science is great glue for joining nature and people. Circulation of SNH Science newsletter Lynne Clark As we approach the end of the year and due to recent changes in data protection, we’re requesting that all recipients of the SNH Science newsletter, who would like to continue to receive future issues, should please send a short email to [email protected] to confirm they are willing to continue to receive this publication. If I do not here back from you, your name will be removed from the distribution list at the end of the year. The Newsletter is made available on our website, so there is no need for us to send you a copy, but it may help if we notify you of its publication. Causes of decline of Common scoter (Melanitta nigra) in North Scotland: Evidence from Palaeolimnology Andy Douse The common scoter is rare breeding bird of nutrient poor lochs throughout Scotland. Once widespread it has declined markedly in recent years and now only occurs in significant numbers in two areas: the Caithness Flows and West Inverness Lochs (especially Loch Garry and Loch 2 Loyne). The driving factors behind this decline are unknown and probably vary across different parts of Scotland. In order to understand changes in the Caithness Flows population, a PhD project was established to look at the environmental history of the Caithness Flow lochs used by scoters (past and present) by investigating the palaeolimnology of these lochs. Funded and supervised by University College London, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and the Natural History Museum, with a financial contribution from SNH, the student (Hannah Robson) has just successfully completed her PhD. Eighteen lochs were initially studied, with four lochs selected for more research. Changes in scoter numbers were compared with environmental changes shown by loch cores. All lochs varied considerably across time, with marked changes in water chemistry and invertebrate community composition. No clear causal factor was found that was associated with scoter decline but two hypotheses were developed to explain the decline. Competition with fish populations through reduced invertebrate abundance has been highlighted as one potential driver of change, but no evidence was found to support this hypothesis. In contrast, evidence was found that marked nutrient enrichment and changes in the invertebrate community have occurred in tandem with increasing afforestation of the Caithness Flows. Palaeolimnological evidence strongly supports the theory that forestry has affected the lochs of the Flow Country. The lochs appear to be becoming less oligotrophic, particularly since the 1980s. The associated shifts in invetebrate community composition could make the lochs less profitable or suitable for common scoter, a species that typically chooses low nutrient, oligotrophic sites. Information : [email protected] Seed Collecting in Scotland 2017 Stephanie Miles, Kew Gardens and Richard Lansdown The UK Flora Project is part of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Millennium Seed Bank’s (MSB) activities in the UK. The MSB cold rooms currently hold seeds of 96% of the bankable native flora and this resource is made available for research, education and conservation programmes. The aim of the project is to make collections from the species that are missing from our conservation collections, together with a focus on sampling from multiple populations of the UK’s most threatened flora. The project is working with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland specialist botanists. This is the penultimate collecting season for this project and the remainder of the missing species are either difficult to find, shy flowering or have peculiar reproductive strategies meaning that seed are either challenging to collect or have not been found in sufficient quantity to justify a collection. Ecologist Richard Lansdown from Ardeola Environmetal has been pursuing some of these species in Scotland over the last two years. His fieldwork experiences from a few days in August 2017 are described below, providing an overview of the challenges and rewards of carrying out fieldwork. The trip started in Loch Lomond where RSPB showed an extensive but sadly non-flowering populations of tufted loosestrife (Lysimachia thyrsiflora). Next it was on to Perthshire making collections from species such as few-flowered sedge (Carex pauciflora), few-flowered spike- rush (Eleocharis quinqueflora), both living up to their names but happily occurring as very large populations enabling good seed collection. 3 Fruiting heads of Carex pauciflora, Rannoch Moor Moving on to Insh Marshes where local information enabled successful location of strong populations of string sedge (Carex chordorrhiza) and narrow small-reed (Calamagrostis stricta). String sedge is an intriguing species, it has only ever been found at a total of two sites in the UK, both in Scotland, however it appears to be increasing in its stronghold at Insh. Up to Wick and Durness before heading back south to Glen Clova, collecting Blysmus rufus, Calamagrostis scotica, Eleocharis uniglumis and another endemic subspecies of lesser spearwort (Ranunculus flammula subsp. minimus) on the way. At Glen Clova I spent a day in Corrie Sharroch and Corrie Fee, where, thanks to detailed and informative help from SNH staff, small collections of intermediate water-starwort (Callitriche brutia var. hamulata), black alpine sedge (Carex atrata), close-headed alpine sedge (C. norvegica), three-flowered rush (Juncus triglumis) and alpine meadow-rue (Thalictrum alpinum), were made, as well as a large collection of stiff sedge (Carex bigelowii). Finally heading back south wandering through Perthshire, collecting autumnal water-starwort (Callitriche hermaphroditica), lesser tussock-sedge (Carex diandra), eight-stamened waterwort (Elatine hydropiper) and perfoliate pondweed (Potamogeton perfoliatus) The trip ended on a high with a fortuitous collection of narrow-fruited water-starwort (Callitriche palustris) which appears to represent the first record of this species from West Perthshire. For our work in Scotland, we are very grateful to SNH staff for help with contact details for access to various sites, as well as to the owners and managers. In particular, we would like to thank RSPB for access to many of their sites. Information: Stephane Miles ([email protected]) and Richard Lansdown ([email protected]) 4 Coring for Carbon: The Buried Benefit of Saltmarsh Restoration Ben Taylor, Clare Maynard and David Paterson, Sediment Ecology Research Group, University of St Andrews A PhD project supported by Scottish Natural Heritage and MASTS (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland) is assessing the carbon capture rates of the fringe saltmarshes in the Eden Estuary, near St Andrews in Scotland. The ability of saltmarshes to store carbon is well-known, but understanding how much carbon capture is increased after restoration will help to determine the effectiveness of saltmarsh restoration as a carbon store and ‘natural capital asset’. Scottish saltmarshes account for an estimated 15% of the UK’s total extent and are present on 3% of Scotland’s coast. These ecosystems biodiversity value, and are important for, nutrient provision and carbon sequestration. These valuable areas are experiencing losses in extent; estimated to be 2% per year. Therefore, the need to understand, conserve and restore saltmarshes is of increasing importance. The Eden Estuary, Fife has been a site of such long- term conservation efforts for over 15 years. Restoration has taken the form of transplantation of Bolboschoenus maritimus (Figure 1) from donor marshes
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