Participate in BTO Bird Map Efforts

Tomorrow, 1 November 2008, marks the beginning of the second British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) winter assessment of bird population distributions.

Climate change is causing species' distributions to shift in a northward direction, however information is lacking or incomplete for many shy and illusive species, that could potentially be affected by climate change.

To gain a better picture of how climate change is affecting bird distributions, the BTO invite members of the public to participate in their efforts to map the current distribution of British bird species.

To take part and to see which areas are lacking adequate data, visit: http://www.bto.org/birdatlas/

Insect Seed Predators as Important as Pollinators

Recent research published in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology suggests greater attention ought to be paid to seed predators, especially in the context of natural and agro-ecosystems.

Whilst a great deal of work and policy has focused on the functional importance of pollinators in the agricultural landscape, scant attention has duly been paid to insect seed predators.

A body of work has shown that the experimental removal of insect seed predators can have positive effects on annual plant populations. Insect predators play an important role in competition, specifically apparent competition. Apparent competition is where for example, two tree species appear to compete for similar resources, yet are in fact limited by a shared natural enemy that in turn responds to changes in abundance or distribution of either species.

Although apparent competition is thought to be widespread, so far few studies have so far been able to quantify this effect in long-lived species. Food webs, that describe the abundance and interaction of different species within a community can reveal the importance of this effect. Research in Sarawak tropical forests has shown that the diet of insect predators depends heavily on the abundance of their favoured prey type.

Humans can also directly and indirectly mediate the impact of insect seed predation. Given how sensitive insects are to light and humidity, even if a logged area of rainforest retains an insect's main food source, the change in local conditions could have seriously detrimental affects on the insect population. The resulting change in abundance and distribution of insect species could thus have serious consequences for local plant community dynamics.

Many scientists consider tropical forests to be more resilient to climate change than other ecosystems. Changes in the phenology of plants (timing of flowering), could result in asynchrony with insect predators. If plant species begin to bare fruit more regularly this could result in elevated insect predator populations. It is thought that increased predator numbers could thus reduce the rate of forest regeneration.

Thought should be given to the impacts of plant or seed predators introduced to combat invasive species, especially in the context of changes that could occur in the wider food web. The authors recommend that insect predators should be given equivalent consideration to functionally important groups such as pollinators, in the wider research agenda.


Source: Lewis, O.T. & Gripenberg, S. (2008) Insect seed predators and environmental change, Journal of Applied Ecology, DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01575.

RAMSAR Convention: Wetlands Key in Fight Against Climate Change

Speaking to the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General introduced proceedings highlighting the important role wetlands have in the fight against climate change.

The Secretary General recognised how wetlands contribute to livelihoods and human well-being. Wetlands also provide ecosystem services, and are an important sink for carbon, hence play a key role in the fight against climate change.

The conservation of wetlands will play an important role in reaching the Millennium Development Goals too, he said.

Ban Ki-Moon spoke of the unsustainable way we are currently using water, and how this use is set to increase in the near future:

"Our unsustainable use of water coupled with growing demand is making it worse... ...that is why the Ramsar Convention has never been more important. It enjoys global consensus. It provides technical know-how. It gives rise to guidance and support networks."

WWF Report: Ecological Credit Crunch Officially Worse than Financial Credit Crunch

An international study by the WWF, ZSL and partners - the Living Planet Report - reveals that we will need 'two planets' by 2030 in order to sustain current rates of consumption. Three quarters of the world's population are consuming more than can be replaced each year.

The study examined the 'ecological footprint' of countries across the world, and the rate at which we are degrading all the necessary life support systems of the planet. Rainforests provide clear air and carbon sequestration, fresh water supplies are being spoilt and marine fisheries are being consistently over harvested.

The reports authors estimate that the financial equivalent of this degradation, dwarfs the losses of the present financial crisis - the ecological debt reaching at least £2.5 trillion every year.

Sir David King, the British government's former chief scientific adviser, added:

"We all need to agree that there's a crisis of understanding, that we're removing the planet's biodiverse resources at a rate which is as fast if not faster than the world's last great extinction."

Read the full report here: http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Environment/documents/2008/10/28/LPR_2008.pdf

UK Science Advisory Council Meeting October 08

Yesterday, the BES policy team attended the Science Advisory Council Meeting at Westminster, London. The day provided an opportunity to meet with members of Defra, the media, other NGOs, listen to talks from senior scientists and learn about Defra's present and future plans.

The keynote speech was presented by the Chief Scientific Advisor, Prof. John Beddington. The scope of the speech was global, emphasising the need for a systems approach to tackling all of the biggest challenges mankind faces: an expected surge in demand for water, food, energy and an increasingly erratic climate.

Professor Beddington spoke of the need to be mindful of an increasing world population, coupled with a rise in economic prosperity in India and China in the context of meat demand and climate change, and a rise in demand for fundamental resources.

Climate change featured very highly on the agenda, with particular attention brought to ocean acidification and coastal vulnerability. Professor Beddington noted the startling prediction concerning the world's major ports; of the 135 major ports around the world, there is a 75% chance that at least one of these will be inundated by the sea over the next five years.

Continuing on the water theme, concerns were raised over the implications of water shortages, brought about by a combination of increased demand, and reduced supply because of climate change. For example, the political tension between India and Pakistan could be exacerbated as these vital resources become more scarce.

Professor Beddington cited South East Asia's achievement in increasing productivity since 1961 without a concurrent increase in land use, (although he failed to mention any implications for biodiversity). Given SE Asia's successes, he called for greater ingenuity in feeding a growing world population - a key challenge for the future. Selective plant genomics, (i.e. preferential propagation of plants with favourable traits), will enhance agricultural practices around the world, so long as we can improve our understanding of the plant genome.

Other news:

Tom Meagher gave a brief update on bluetongue disease, which affects ruminants such as cattle, but also affects deer, camels and goats. Its thought to have been spreading North from North Africa by wind-borne Cullicoides flies since the late 90s. There are 25 known serotypes, and in spring this year a vaccine rollout programme began. Currently vaccinations are optional, but not against all serotypes, however this is under review.

Based on the best available scientific evidence and after stakeholder engagement, Hilary Benn has no plans to cull badgers to prevent TB outbreaks in cattle. Plans to vaccinate badgers against TB have been put forward, but the practical and economic implications make this an unfeasible proposal.

Summary

Overall, Defra will seek to forge greater cross-sectoral links within government and urges research councils to facilitate multidisciplinary research. This will enable better evaluation of ecosystem services, and the broader implications of climate change. Greater links with the social sciences must also be sought to better evaluate the non-economic aspects of ecosystem services, for example historically significant sites and their place within the broader landscape.

The broad issues of food security, water, energy and climate change are all interlinked, and therefore should be considered holistically. Efforts to share information and expertise between government departments and research groups in order to face the challenges ahead is essential.

Blog readers are invited to comment

Aviation and Shipping to be Included in Climate Change Bill

After years of hard campaigning by many environmental organisations, the public and non-government organisations, the government has pledged to include shipping and aviation in the forthcoming Climate Change Bill. The bill aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to 80% of 1990s levels by 2050.

The next step for Britain will be to somehow calculate which shipping lanes, and flights Britain will be held accountable for in terms of emissions.

The announcement coincides with plans by the Transport Minister, Geoff Hoon, for much greater investment in green transport for local councils. He will also unveil plans to kit out Britain with charging points for electric cars, in anticipation of growth in this sector in the near future.

Translating Science to Policy Effectively: Looking to the Amazon

A high citation index is an interpretation of the effectiveness of science communication between scientists, not to mention the importance and relevance of the research, within that particular field. But is a highly cited paper an indication of effective communication to the public and policy makers?

Writing in NERC's Planet Earth publication, Alan Grainger recalled that research by Oliver Phillips in the late nineties illustrated just how tropical forests, not only store, but sequester carbon, set about a chain of events that resulted in the creation of RAINFOR, a multinational scientific network.

RAINFOR has published and continues to publish an extensive body of research in highly ranked journals. The research has reached policy makers in two distinct ways; indirectly through the IPCC and directly through a report by the British Government that used a synthesis of RAINFOR research at a UN convention on climate change.

Because the results of RAINFOR's work has been effectively communicated to policy-makers, initiatives such as carbon-offset schemes that involve planting forests have been operationalised. However international policy has yet to fully take on board the full implications of their research, such as conserving existing natural forests. If effectively valued and incorporated into the carbon offset markets, forests are worth orders of magnitude more standing then cleared.

Publishing in leading journals such as Science and Nature often results in a level of exposure to the media that would not otherwise be received in the 'smaller' journals. The BES journals (Journal of Ecology, Functional Ecology, Journal of Animal Ecology and Journal of Applied Ecology) are ranked some of the highest within ecology; all but one ranked inside the top twenty ecology journals. Concurrently, extensive media coverage highlights scientific developments to policy-makers. This can be particularly effective when the paper clearly has policy relevance, such as Professor Bill Sutherland's paper in the Journal of Applied Ecology in 2006: The identification of 100 questions of high policy-relevance in the UK.

When Alan Grainier reported that UN estimates of forest loss could be overinflated due to their statistical modeling techniques, and possibly underestimating the influence of natural forest regrowth, he stressed the importance of errors when making forest estimates. So that the message wasn't misinterpreted in his research, he emphasised the need for a better monitoring system. After exposure from the BBC, and subsequently across the globe, it is hoped that carbon credits trading under REDD, (Reducing GHG Emissions through Deforestation and forest Degradation), will consider Alan's idea of creating a World Forest Observatory.

Finally, interacting directly with ministers is an effective means of translating science into policy. Meetings and conferences attended by ministers, are a great opportunity for scientists to interact with politicians and present their ideas and findings.

Scientists must always be mindful that, in order to get the message across, they should be clear, non-technical and succinct, so as not to alienate their subject.