General

An unprecedented stocktake of UK wildlife has revealed that most species are struggling and that one in three have halved in number in the past half century. The State of Nature report was compiled by 25 conservation groups including the Wildlife Trusts, the Mammal Society, Buglife and the Marine Conservation Society. The unique report, based on scientific analysis of tens of millions of observations from volunteers, shows that from woodland to farmland and from freshwater streams to the sea, many animals, birds, insects, fish and plants are in trouble. The key findings are presented here, and the full report is online: www.rspb.org.uk/stateofnature. Of more than 6,000 species that have been assessed using modern Red List criteria, more than one in 10 are thought to be under threat of extinction in the UK. The UK’s Overseas Territories hold a wealth of wildlife of huge international importance and over 90 of these species are at high risk of global extinction. Half of the species assessed have shown strong changes in their numbers or range, indicating that recent environmental changes are having a dramatic impact on nature in the UK. The report makes especially sobering reading with regard to invertebrates. The small things that run the world are suffering the greatest declines, especially moths, butterflies, ladybirds and ground beetles, these groups of insects have all declined between 65-70%! Many invertebrates are highly threatened, such as the Freshwater pearl mussel at risk of global extinction, and dozens of species have become extinct nationally such as the Short-haired bumblebee and Large copper butterfly. The intensification of farming has had far-reaching and ongoing impacts on wildlife. The loss of meadows, hedgerows and ponds, the increased use of pesticides, the abandonment of mixed farming, changes in cropping and the intensification of pastoral farming have all had a significant impact. Watch Sir David Attenborough launching the report at the Natural History museum, with the Minister for Biodiversity and State of Nature partners: http://vimeo.com/66800298#at=22 and listen to this amazing speech about the state of nature in Wales from Iolo Williams, a Welsh nature observer and television presenter, best known for his BBC and S4C nature shows: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnJQjtvngqA

Surface runoff is an important process that affects the local water balance and causes soil erosion and rapid solute transport towards ditches, streams, and rivers. Surface runoff is the fastest route from field to stream and the main transport route for sediment and adsorbed contaminants, such as pesticides. It is the main contributor of pesticides to surface water bodies. The agricultural areas in The Netherlands most vulnerable to surface runoff are peat grasslands, where groundwater levels are kept close to the surface (less than 60 cm below soil surface), riverine heavy clay grasslands with low permeability and drainage by superficial trenches (less than 40 cm below soil surface), and sandy or clay soils with topsoil or subsoil compaction caused by treading, overstress due to large wheel loads of agricultural machinery, and tillage.

Insgesamt 275 Vereinsmitglieder und Gäste (neuer Rekord seit Altenburg 2007!) fanden sich am vergangenen Wochenende (22-24. März 2013) zur 51. Jahresversammlung und Sächsischen Ornithologentagung des Vereins Sächsischer Ornithologen in der westsächsischen Kleinstadt Hohenstein-Ernstthal ein, wo das „Schützenhaus“ beste Tagungsbedingungen bot. Höhepunkt im wissenschaftlichen Vortragsprogramm am Sonnabend war mit Sicherheit der Vortrag des niederländischen Toxikologen und Krebsforschers Dr. Henk Tennekes, der über neuartige Pestizide in der Landwirtschaft und deren katastrophalen Folgen auf die Nahrungskette in der Natur sprach. Viele Zuhörer zeigten sich nach diesen Ausführungen betroffen, ja geschockt und forderten eine Reaktion vom Verein. Wie daher zur Mitgliederversammlung beschlossen, wird der VSO eine entsprechende Petition an die Bundesregierung und die EU richten.

In the past decade, many studies have implicated a class of pesticides known as “neonicotinoids” in the declines of pollinator populations, including bumble bees and honey bees. The toxic impact that these chemicals may be having on bees and other insects has brought them the most attention recently, and rightly so; one-third of the U.S. diet depends on pollinator services and they contribute over $15 billion to the U.S. agricultural economy. Pollinator losses represent a serious threat to the agricultural industry and our nation’s food security. First introduced in the 1990s in response to widespread pest resistance as well as public health objections to older pesticides, the neonicotinoid class of insecticides are now the most widely used insecticides in the world; it is difficult to find pest control commodities that do not contain one or several of these chemicals. The environmental persistence of neonicotinoids, their propensity for runoff and for groundwater infiltration, and their cumulative effects on invertebrates raise environmental concerns that go well beyond bees. A new American Bird Conservancy commissioned report by toxicologist Pierre Mineau reviews the effects on avian species and on the aquatic systems on which they depend. Larger ecosystem impacts and the relationship between neonicotinoids and alarming declines of birds, bees, and other organisms will be addressed.

New Jersey’s two venomous snakes, the timber rattlesnake and northern copperhead, have been persecuted by four centuries of human habitation. Now a spreading fungal infection poses a new threat. Chrysosporium, a common fungus, was initially reported some 15 years ago in reptiles in Canada. It has now reached New Jersey. This fungus was initially thought to target only rattlesnakes, but it was confirmed during the winter of 2010-11 in our state’s rare northern copperhead. Since 2011, a state biologist and volunteers have observed multiple timber rattlesnakes, black rat snakes, black racers and eastern garter snakes with symptoms representative of the Chrysosporium fungal dermatitis. Preliminary tests on a black rat snake and a black racer showed the same fungus. Symptoms include deformed, misshapen or damaged facial pit organs in rattlesnakes and copperheads, and necrotic facial tissue, facial lesions, and deformed or damaged eyes, nostrils and mouths in all snake species. The infection eventually leads to emaciation and death. The fungal spores are transferable within snake populations when snakes interact during mating, fighting, or when they congregate to sun or den. In addition, it’s present in the air and soil. People can transmit the fungal spores on their boots, pants and day packs.

A study recently published in the journal ‘Biological Conservation’ has highlighted the perilous state many reptiles are in. The study was the result of collaboration between scientists at the Zoological Society of London and experts from the IUCN Species Survival Commission. Over 200 experts assessed a random selection of 1,500 species (out of a total of 9,084 known species), representing each group of global reptilian diversity. In total, 19% of all reptile species are threatened with extinction. Of this total, 12% are Critically Endangered, 41% are Endangered, and 47% are Vulnerable (in order of magnitude of danger, as categorised by the IUCN). Also, 7% of reptiles are in the Near Threatened category, meaning that they are likely to become threatened in the near future. Reptiles play vital roles in the functioning of ecosystems: as predators they control their prey populations, and as prey themselves they provide a vital food source for birds and mammals. They serve as useful biological indicators for the health of their environment.

A recent far-reaching study of the world’s amphibians and reptiles finds that Florida is hotspot for environmental threats, with one of the highest concentrations of threatened reptiles in the world. More than 200 experts from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission collaborated to study a random sample of 1,500 of the world’s reptile species. Globally, one in five reptiles is facing extinction. The study also flagged the rapidly deteriorating plight of freshwater turtles, estimating that 50 percent of these animals are at risk of extinction. “People tend to assume that, since reptiles have thick, scaly skins, they’re pretty tough creatures that will do fine as the world changes. But in fact reptiles are quite sensitive to environmental change” said Adkins Giese, reptile-and-amphibian specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This new study confirms that reptiles are facing a global extinction crisis.” The Center is working to gain Endangered Species Act protection for more than a dozen imperiled reptiles found in Florida. In 2011 the group filed the largest-ever Endangered Species Act petition focused solely on protecting U.S. amphibians and reptiles. It also filed a 2010 petition seeking protection for hundreds of aquatic species in the Southeast, including many rare reptile species. These rare Florida reptiles include the Barbour’s map turtle (Graptemys barbouri), eastern ribbon snake (Micrurus lemniscatus), Florida Keys mole skink (Eumeces egregius egregius), Key ringneck snake (Diadophis punctatus acricus) and alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii).

Reptilien existieren seit mehr als 300 Millionen Jahren. Sie haben in dieser Zeit fast alle Lebensräume unseres Planeten erobert, vom Ozean über Seen und Flüsse bis hin zu Regenwäldern und Wüsten. Jetzt allerdings müssen sie immer häufiger um ihr Überleben kämpfen: Jedes fünfte Reptil auf der Erde ist inzwischen vom Aussterben bedroht, das zeigt eine erste umfassende Analyse ihres Bedrohungsstatus durch mehr als 200 Forscher im Auftrag der International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Am stärksten betroffen sind dabei Wasserschildkröten und andere im Ozean oder Süßwasser lebende Reptilienarten.