SPECIES OVERVIEWIt is believed that this butterfly was one of the first to re-colonise the British Isles after the last ice age and is known to have declined at several low altitude sites, possibly as a result of global warming, and is therefore a priority species for conservation efforts. With increasing temperatures colonies became isolated as they moved to higher ground. There are two main areas of distribution; the first is in the Lake District, the second in the Grampians of central Scotland.

The Mountain Ringlet is only found in discrete colonies in remote locations. It is our only true montane species and is found on mountains above 350m.

This butterfly prefers moist or boggy ground in sheltered depressions where the foodplant, Mat-grass, is found, resulting in colonies that are highly localised and concentrated.

Mountain Ringlet

• The map shows the distribution of the Mountain Ringlet.• The distribution data (1995-2004) has been made available through Butterfly Conservation.

• A recent survey of 31 1km squares occupied during the two recording periods indicate a 69% decline in distribution in 25 years and a 31% decline in 8 years

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=epiphronhttp://www.cumbria-wildlife.org.uk/mringlet.html

The mountain ringlet is scarce in the UK and is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside act preventing its sale.

Further research:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Mountain_Ringlet

Actions• Ensure habitats are available for the species to move into

• Species-specific research - current and future habitat needs for this species is little understood

• Further survey and development of future monitoring is required

Threats and actions

Photo credit: Stan Campbell

SPECIES OVERVIEW

The Norfolk Hawker is currently restricted to the fens and grazing marshes that are relatively isolated from polluted water in the Broadlands of Norfolk and Northeast Suffolk. This is a red data book species protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. It occurs in three national nature reserves, on two RSPB reserves and in several of the reserves of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust and Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

The optimum conditions for breeding appear to be unspoilt grazing marsh dyke systems with clean, non-saline water, rushy margins, preferably with an abundance of water soldier as well as other aquatic plants.

This species is vulnerable and its future uncertain due to climate change.

The Norfolk hawker cannot tolerate brackish or saline water,which could be a serious threat to its habitat in the future should sea levels continue to rise.

• The map shows the distribution of the Norfolk Hawker.• Since the 1980s the Norfolk hawker has started to recolonise areas encouraged byactively managing grazing marshes and broadland habitats.• A recent survey of 31 1km squares occupied during the two recording periods indicate a 69% decline in distribution in 25 years and a 31% decline in 8 years

Further research:

Actions• Maintain the current UK range by preventing loss of freshwater sites in Norfolk and Suffolk. • Ensure all populations are in Favourable Condition and increase populations within the current UK range by improving site management and creating new habitat.• Increase the current UK range by up to three locations by 2020 using re-establishment at former sites and/or by 'conservation introductions'.

Norfolk Hawker

There are likely to be serious implications for the conservation of this species as a result of climate change and increasing sea levels. Norfolk Hawker populations will be decimated, because sea water kills both the dragonfly larvae and Water Soldier plants.

Threats and actions

http://www.british-dragonflies.org.uk/species/norfolk-hawkerhttp://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/Wildlife-in-Norfolk/Species/Freshwater-Invertebrates/Norfolk-Hawker.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeshna_isoceleshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Norfolk_Hawker

Chris Shields (rspb-images.com)

SPECIES OVERVIEWThe ring ouzel is primarily a bird of the uplands, where it breeds mainly in steep sided valleys, crags and gullies, from near sea level in the far north of Scotland up to 1,200m in the Cairngorms.

It is found only in Britain, Ireland and Scandinavi.

Specifically they can be found in upland areas of Scotland, northern England, north west Wales and Dartmoor.

Ring ouzels arrive in March and April and leave again in September. They generally nest in trees on the continent, whereas they generally don’t in Britain, preferring to nest under heather or bracken instead.

Although earthworms usually make up the bulk of their diet in spring and summer, they feed largely on juniper berries in winter.

Ring ouzels are now extinct as a breeding species in Galloway (south-west Scotland), whereas that region was a stronghold for them up until the late 1980s.

• The map shows the distribution of the Ring Ouzel• Ring Ouzels are globally threatened.• Historical population decline in UK during 1800–1995• Severe (at least 50%) decline in UK breeding population over last 25 years, or longer-term period• Severe (at least 50%) contraction of UK breeding range over last 25 years, or the longer-term period

Further research:

Actions• Restore changes in agricultural practices that have affected breeding habitat condition, as ring ouzels have very specific requirements. • In particular, gorse and bracken growth may be reducing foraging areas near nest sites. • Moorland burning could be highly detrimental at or near breeding sites, especially if carried out during the early part of the breeding season, i.e. late March and early April. • Management of nesting and feeding habitat is crucial

Ring Ouzel

Threats and actions

http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/ringouzel_england_tcm9-207592.pdfhttp://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob11860.htmhttp://www.ringouzel.info/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_Ouzel

Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

SPECIES OVERVIEWThe word ‘plankton’ derives from the Greek ‘planktos’ meaning to ‘drift’ or ‘wander’ and is used to describe passively drifting small plants (phytoplankton) and animals (zooplankton) in aquatic systems.

Despite their tiny size, plant plankton found in the world's oceans are crucial to much of life on Earth. They are the foundation of the marine food web, produce half the world's oxygen and suck up harmful carbon dioxide. And they are declining sharply.

They play a fundamental role in marine food-webs. Therefore, any change in the plankton will have consequences on the marine food-web and on other trophic levels (e.g. fish, seabirds) through bottom-up control.

Warmer sea temperatures around the UK have caused plankton communities to move some 1,000km northwards over the last 50 years. They’re also emerging between four and six weeks earlier in the year than they used to.

They are responsible for about half of all photosynthesis on Earth — and plankton could be drastically affected by climate change.

• Worldwide phytoplankton levels are down 40 percent since the 1950s. The likely cause is global warming, which makes it hard for the plant plankton to get vital nutrients, researchers say.• The biggest changes are in the Arctic, southern and equatorial Atlantic and equatorial Pacific oceans. Only the Indian Ocean is not showing a decline. The study's authors said it's too early to say that plant plankton is on the verge of vanishing.• When plant plankton plummet sea birds and marine mammals starve and die in huge numbers, experts said.

Further research:

Actions• Help protect plankton by decreasing pollution and using less energy, • Urge individuals and companies to stop destroying habitat on land and in the ocean• Encourage others to stop overharvesting ocean wildlife. • An important part of saving the ocean is working together and educating others about why it is important

Plankton

Threats and actions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planktonhttp://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep6d.htmhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/29/climate-change-plankton-i_n_663488.html

Robin Carter (rspb-images.com)

SPECIES OVERVIEW

Common beech (Fagus sylvatica) is a large deciduous tree growing to over 40m and flowering April to May.Beech can live for many hundreds of years; coppiced stands have been recorded at over 1000 years

Common beech is native to southern England and South Wales and throughout central and western Europe, and it has been introduced widely elsewhere in the UK.

With their smooth trunks and pleated lime-green leaves in spring, common beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) are a familiar and beautiful feature of woodlands in southern Britain. They may though be one of the first of our native trees to suffer the effects of climate change.

The beech tree's natural range is controlled both by temperature and water availability. They are common throughout most of Europe but are currently rare in northern parts of Britain.

• As the climate changes our winters are predicted to become warmer and wetter. This will help beech trees to spread further north, so they could become common in Scotland. Further south though, the trees may not fare so well and as Beech forests represent a large resource for timber production in Europe beech may no longer be suitable as a timber crop.• Beech trees have shallow roots, so are very susceptible to drought. If our summers become drier as predicted, trees in southern Britain may suffer. Those growing in deep loams or where underlying chalk rock acts as a water-supplying sponge will probably thrive. Those on drier, shallower soils however are unlikely to survive a series of hot summers. There is already a noticeable decline in the health of many beech trees in south-eastern England.

Further research:

Actions• help protect plankton by decreasing pollution and using less energy, • urge individuals and companies to stop destroying habitat on land and in the ocean• encourage others to stop overharvesting ocean wildlife. • An important part of saving the ocean is working together and educating others about why it is important

Threats and actions

Beech Tree

http://apps.kew.org/trees/?page_id=235http://www.forestry.gov.uk/fr/infd-5zyhmchttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2493606/Traditional-forests-endangered-by-climate-change-and-disease.htmlhttp://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/about_bes/press/press_releases/beech.php

Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)