volumevolume 1 1 2014 2014 thedormouse monitor the newsletter of the national dormouse monitoring programme people’s trust for endangered species | INSIDE Using science to steer practical conservation A closer look at how our dormice fared in 2013 How we can better manage woodlands for dormice volume 1 2014 Welcome Contents Using science to steer practical conservation 3 How can we better manage a variety of woodlands for dormice 4 A closer look at how our dormice fared in 2013 6 Is the national population of dormice still declining? 10 Volunteering for the weekend at Briddlesford Woods, Isle of Wight 12 We had a very damp wet winter but it was also very Boxing clever: home improvements of old birds’ nests 14 mild, so it will be interesting to see how well our dormice An ever-changing climate: potential infl uences on torpor in hazel dormice 16 survived hibernation. However, now we are in the Learning more about our woodlands 18 midst of spring as the blues paint our woods a glorious Danish dormouse conference, September 19 hue, and we can start to think of a new dormouse Training courses & other news 20 season. Much has happened over the last year. There was the Dormouse Monitoring conference in November which covered various topics, including how to set up local and county dormice groups and how to undertake and promote suitable woodland management for dormice. Many counties and regions now have dormouse groups including Devon, Kent, Southend, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire, Lincolnshire and the North West Dormouse Partnership. People's Trust for Endangered Species If you would like help or 15 Cloisters House advice in setting up yours 8 Battersea Park Road London please don’t hesitate to get SW8 4BG in touch. Ian has also been busy www.ptes.org developing the training Tel: 020 7498 4533 resources on the PTES [email protected] website - please check out Registered charity number 274206 the short training videos on various aspects of the NDMP, The National Dormouse Monitoring Programme is funded by PTES and Natural England. including box checking, The Dormouse Monitor is compiled by Nida Al-Fulaij & Susan Sharafi . Cover image kindly provided by Jamie Edmonds. Printed by 4-print on environmentally friendly paper. handling and sexing. The opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the People’s Trust for In the meantime - happy Endangered Species. dormousing - we look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes Nida Al-Fulaij & Susan Sharafi 2 the dormouse monitor 2 the dormouse monitor volume 1 2014 Using science to steer practical conservation The very fact that I’m writing useful scientifi c research by author and title, on our found over 1,000 dormice this for a publication entitled into the species, in particular current website. in torpor during that time, The Dormouse Monitor shows how dormice interact with Rimvydas had a huge body of just how much enthusiasm their environment, which Eff ects of weather and data to analyse. Interestingly and passion there is for would be very useful for season... he discovered that torpor these species. Not only those of us involved in land ...was the title of research was more common in males do we have a dedicated management. We decided carried out by Paul Bright (75%) than in females (45%), monitoring programme we needed to make that in the 1990s. He studied with the lowest number of for hazel dormice here in information accessible a population of dormice any dormice being found in the UK and a bi-annual to everyone, not just the in Somerset over the torpor during the months of publication, but enthusiasm scientifi c community. So we summer months to see if August and September. across the world means commissioned Rowenna their activity patterns are that this year the ninth (!) Baker, a passionate ecology strongly infl uenced by Each review has a short international dormouse student, to make a precis summer weather conditions. background to the study, conference will be held in of 100 scientifi c dormouse Interestingly higher ambient a clear description of the Denmark, in September. papers that relate specifi cally temperatures during methodology used and There has been a huge to practical conservation May-June and September- succinct key results. There is body of research carried for the species here in the November did increase the then a list of key messages out over several decades on UK. The aim to is to put amount of time that dormice for landowners or managers all the dormouse species. these short documents in were active for. But the same to take away from the And there are at least three a searchable format on the was not true during July and work which will help them very comprehensive and PTES website so that when August. As we might suspect, to implement practical interesting books about you would like to look up rainfall impacted on the measures on the ground. dormice by Pat Morris, Sven what research, say, has amount of time the animals We really hope that you fi nd Bucnher and Rimvydas been carried out on how spend foraging too. these documents useful and Juškaitis. dormice use hedgerows, informative. Here at PTES, we also then you can easily access Variation in daily torpor in realised that there has it. The PTES websitwebsite is dormice... Nida Al-Fulaij been much being redesigned but ...was studied by Rimvydas [email protected] in the meantime you Juškaitis in Lithuania over the www.ptes.org/ can access the papers,p course of eight years. Having dormousepublications CLARE PENGELLY CLARE Susan Sharafi the dormouse monitor 3 volume 1 2014 How can we better manage a variety of wood The management of forests rich woodland. This was in Penryn, Cornwall to debate at the moment. It is and woodland in England informed in a large part begin to look into this unclear how common they and Wales is performed by work pioneered by Pat question. This work will are in more heavily managed for a variety of reasons, Morris and Paul Bright in focus on the responses of woodlands and forests, with from commercial forestry the nineties. It is important, dormouse individuals and the numbers of records through to conservation however, to recognise that populations to woodland of dormice in intensively and recreation. Woodland this habitat is not frozen and forestry practices. The managed conifer plantations management practices in time, but is instead a research is being carried seemingly on the rise. More can range from large- continuously changing out in conjunction with research is needed, however, scale clearfelling of trees environment requiring the Forestry Commission into whether there are and commercial thinning, repeated maintenance, for to translate it into enough dormice in these down to coppicing and the example to prevent the further guidance on the habitats to form stable creation of woodland glades. canopy from closing and management of woods, and populations, and how much A key question in hazel shading out the understory. the mitigation of the impact these might contribute to dormouse conservation is In order to achieve this, these of forestry operations on national abundance. how and to what extent the woodland and forest areas dormice. As the hazel dormouse is a management of woodland must be actively managed. Beyond coppice woodland European Protected Species habitat aff ects dormouse The eff ects of the frequency, and other habitats they are safeguarded by populations. The key habitat distribution and timing of traditionally seen as being legislation making it an features that dormice diff erent types of woodland benefi cial for dormice, off ense to harm or disturb prefer are reasonably well management on the the number of woodland them from their resting and understood. These are long-term fate of dormice or forest types in which breeding places. Therefore generally recognised to populations are poorly dormice can be found it is important to investigate be: a diverse understory; understood. is uncertain. Moreover, the short-term eff ects of a relatively open but I have recently begun a many previously held timber removal, so that well-connected canopy; PhD at the University of assumptions about the the impact of operations coppice coupes; and early Exeter’s Environment and habitat preferences of on individual dormice is CLARE PENGELLY CLARE successional species- Sustainability Institute dormice seem to be up for reduced and consideration 4 the dormouse monitor volume 1 2014 odlands for dormice? is taken over the health of the remaining population. Questions can be asked over the precise planning of operations, such as: CLARE PENGELLY CLARE Is there enough refuge habitat provided? Does an adequate amount of breeding and feeding resources remain? And has connectivity been retained on site? This is especially true of larger-scale, more commercial operations. There are questions over the eff ects of operations on the displacement of dormice, and the consequences of this displacement on breeding and survival rates. There are ways in which protecting individual dormice can have population level conservation benefi ts, such as in preventing the One of the aims of the a rare opportunity to gain some of these questions complete removal of suitable study, therefore, is to insight into the dynamics of around management of habitat. On the other hand approach this issue from population change. sites for and with dormice, it presents an interesting both sides in assessing Before looking at how and be able to provide paradox, in that the the immediate eff ects of forest management might more eff ective guidance individual-level protection forestry operations on the be aff ecting dormice, it is for woodland owners and for dormice could constrain fate of individual dormice, important to fi rst assess the forestry managers who wish or even prevent habitat and the long-term eff ects changes that have occurred to improve the dormouse management that would of management plans and in the national population.