Simms, M.J. 2008A. Licheneering Around Ireland

Simms, M.J. 2008A. Licheneering Around Ireland

ISSN 2009-0900 Bulletin of the National Biodiversity Data Centre Issue 2 – Autumn 2008 In this issue: AlgaeBase – Listing the World’s algae. P2 Invasive Species Ireland – Tackling a growing threat to Ireland’s biodiversity. P4 The Flora of Co. Waterford. P6 Biodiversity tales. P8 Annual Recorders’ Event 2008. P12 Celebrating Irish entomologists. P13 Biodiversity beginners. P14 Book reviews. P16 Letter to editor. P17 Biodiversity connections. P18 Biodiversity Ireland Issue 2 2008 Biodiversity Ireland is published by the National Biodiversity Data Centre. Enquiries should be sent to the editor, Editorial Eugenie Regan, [email protected] elcome to the second issue of Biodiversity Ireland. Through the work at the National Biodiversity Data Centre, Wthe enormity of the task at hand is beginning to dawn on me. With over 12,000 species of insects alone in Ireland, we have thousands of species from lichens to butterflies to whales that need recording and monitoring. In this issue, there are a number of articles on very successful endeavours to do just that – record and monitor our species – and in one instance an Irish project is recording all of the World’s species! AlgaeBase databases the World’s algae facilitating The National Biodiversity Data Centre, on-line access to information on algae from around the World and Prof. Mike Guiry describes the workings of this fantastic on-line Beechfield House, WIT West Campus, resource. Dr. Cathy Maguire highlights the importance of partnership Carriganore, Waterford. at a national level in her article on Invasive Species Ireland while Dr. Tel: +353 (0)51 306240 Úna Fitzpatrick illustrates how partnership at a local level can bring Email: [email protected] huge added-value to datasets in the Flora of Waterford. Web: www.biodiversityireland.ie Again in this issue, we’ve got ‘Biodiversity Tales’ giving news of Management Board recording initiatives across Ireland. The Data Centre is delighted to Prof. Liam Downey Chairman be able to facilitate the sharing of information between naturalists, Mr. Michael Starrett Chief Executive - The Heritage Council ecologists, conservationists, etc. and hope that this role of the Centre Dr. Ciaran O’Keeffe Director – National Parks and will grow. Wildlife Service Dr. Venie Martin Head of Development - Waterford These themes of partnership, dissemination of information, and Institute of Technology active discussion between organisations was highlighted by a number of speakers at the Data Centre’s Annual Recorder’s Event Mr. Nigel Monaghan Keeper – National Museum of Ireland – which took place this August. The National Biodiversity Data Centre Natural History Division is a hub that can be used for biodiversity data exchange between Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson Director – National Botanic Gardens groups in Ireland. The Centre is also a facility that can be used to Mr. Larry Stapleton Director – Environmental support recording initiatives and can provide advice to data providers Protection Agency on the appropriate use of the dataset. The ultimate aim is the Dr. Simon Berrow Co-ordinator - Irish Whale enhancement of conservation, planning, amateur recording, policy and Dolphin Group making, resource management, habitat restoration, and many Prof. Howard Platt Assistant Director of Conservation other areas. Science, Environment & Heritage Services, N. Ireland An example of biological data being used directly for informing policy is the recent publication by NPWS The Status of EU Protected Staff Habitats and Species in Ireland and is reviewed in this issue by Dr. Liam Lysaght. Dr. Liam Lysaght Centre Director Dr. Úna Fitzpatrick Ecologist Finally, if anybody is interested in starting to record (and eat!) Dr. Eugenie Regan Ecologist fungi, Andrew Malcolm gives an introduction to collecting edible Andrew Byrne Research Officer mushrooms. As a further resource for interested naturalists, Stefanie Fleischer Research Officer Biodiversity Connections on the last page highlights some of the Colette O’Flynn Research Officer main recording activities going on at the moment. Melinda Swann Research Officer Barry O’Neill Data Manager Thank you for all your feedback on the first issue. I hope that this Maria Walsh Office Manager issue is even better. Again we would like to hear your views so that we can keep improving the format. Also, contributions on related The National Biodiversity Data Centre is an initiative of topics are welcome. the Heritage Council and is operated under a service level agreement by Compass Informatics. The Centre is funded by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Eugenie Regan - Editor Design: David Manser. www.mansergraphics.com Cover: Ascophyllum nododum, Trá na Reilge, Carraroe, Co. Galway – Mike Guiry Director’s Comment Development 2008 is proving to be a rather The next significant milestone for 2008 is the production of the significant year in terms of 2nd National Biodiversity Plan. The hope is that this will build on of a national biodiversity. Earlier this year the first National Biodiversity Plan and act on the lessons learned framework for the NPWS published The Status from the first plan. The Department of Environment, Heritage & conservation of of EU Protected Habitats and Local Government held a very useful consultation exercise on the Species in Ireland the first development of the plan, and key submissions have highlighted Ireland’s biological systematic assessment of proposals for strategic actions to form part of the plan. The National diversity. the conservation status of Biodiversity Data Centre in its submission, for example, identified threatened habitats and species the need to produce a national baseline of the biodiversity resource in Ireland, an assessment that should serve as a watershed in Irish on the wider countryside, similar to the Countryside Survey in nature conservation. 2008 also marks the end of the term of the the UK. It also stressed the need for a National Habitat Map, a first National Biodiversity Plan and the promise of a new National suite of survey and monitoring programmes and a Professional Biodiversity Plan before the end of year. When the history of nature Development Biodiversity Training Programme to maintain and raise conservation in Ireland is written, the significance of both these professional standards. events will surely be acknowledged, as they mark a departure from the traditional piecemeal approach to conservation. The challenges facing the conservation of Ireland’s biological diversity are great, and joined up strategic action is the only way Another new departure this summer was the launch of the forward, not least because of the new threats posed by the impact National Biodiversity Data Centre’s website and mapping system of climate change and invasive species. The production of the 2nd [www.biodiversityireland.ie]. With the development of the National Biodiversity Plan is the opportunity to put in place the web mapping system, a national data management system national strategic framework of action; it is my hope and I think is now in place that can store and display biological data, but the hope of everyone involved in conservation that this opportunity more importantly it provides a tool to facilitate manipulation and is taken. interpretation of biological datasets. Its development means that a system now exists for good quality biological data to be freely The challenges available for use in conservation management, research and informing decision-making. facing the conservation of The Flora of County Waterford website Ireland’s biological [http://floraofcountywaterford.biodiversityireland.ie] demonstrates the value of this system. Not only does the site diversity are present the data in a dynamic and easily updated fashion, it has great, and joined facilitated the analysis of the data to identify Important Plant Areas up strategic action for the county and to establish a County Rare Plant Register. Both these methodologies provide the framework to identify priorities is the only way for direct conservation action and demonstrate that there are uses forward to which distributional datasets can be put to beyond the traditional detection of biogeographic patterns. Dr. Liam Lysaght – Centre Director BI issue 1 | Page 1 AlgaeBase: listing the World’s algae Professor Michael Guiry AlgaeBase (www.algaebase.org) is the only major database of Molecular studies have established firmly that algae occur in at biological organisms with World coverage that operates out of least 4 of the 5 kingdoms of organisms: many of them display Ireland. AlgaeBase was set up in 1996, initially as an attempt to “animal” characteristics of being mobile most of their lives and list all of the marine algae reported from Ireland and Britain, but some have lost the ability to photosynthesise completely. Indeed, has grown into an official Global Species Database (GSD) within most zoologists and protistologists teach as animals two of the All images © Professor M.D. Guiry M.D. All © Professor images Species 2000 and is one of only 52 in the World. major algal phyla, the dinoflagellates and the euglenophytes, even though a majority of these organisms have photosynthesis as the The database also includes pictures, common names, life- predominant means of making food. history information, uses and potential uses, methods of cultivation and harvesting, a bibliography of AlgaeBase on 12 July 2008 included 122,745 names, 6,460 images, 40,198 bibliographic relevant legislation,

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