Investigating the relationships between the distribution of British ground beetle species (Coleoptera, Carabidae) and temperature, precipitation and altitude

Aims We examine the relationships between the distribution of British ground beetle species and climatic and altitude variables with a view to developing models for evaluating the impact of climate change. Location Data from 1684 10‐km squares in Britain were used to model species–climate/altitude relationships. A validation data set was composed of data from 326 British 10‐km squares not used in the model data set. Methods The relationships between incidence and climate and altitude variables for 137 ground beetle species were investigated using logistic regression. The models produced were subjected to a validation exercise using the Kappa statistic with a second data set of 30 species. Distribution patterns for four species were predicted for Britain using the regression equations generated. Results As many as 136 ground beetle species showed significant relationships with one or more of the altitude and climatic variables but the amount of variation explained by the models was generally poor. Models explaining 20% or more of the variation in species incidence were generated for only 10 species. Mean summer temperature and mean annual temperature were the best predictors for eight and six of these 10 species respectively. Few models based on altitude, annual precipitation and mean winter temperature were good predictors of ground beetle species distribution. The results of the validation exercise were mixed, with models for four species showing good or moderate fits whilst the remainder were poor. Main conclusions Whilst there were many significant relationships between British ground beetle species distributions and altitude and climatic variables, these variables did not appear to be good predictors of ground beetle species distribution. The poor model performance appears to be related to the coarse nature of the response and predictor data sets and the absence of key predictors from the models.     

Interspecific abundance-range size relationships: range position and phylogeny

A number of mechanisms have been proposed to explain the widely observed positive interspecific relationship between local abundance and extent of geographic distribution in animals Here, we use data on British birds to assess two of these hypotheses that the relationship results from the relative position of a study area with respect to the geographic ranges of the species which occur there, and that the relationship results from a simple difference between taxonomic groups, rather than any general tendency for more abundant species to have larger range sizes We find support for neither hypothesis Phylogenetically controlled comparative analyses reveal that the positive abundance-range size relationship is consistently found within taxa, even when abundance and range size are calculated at a variety of spatial and temporal scales Analyses both across species and within taxa show that bird species for which Britain is near to the centre of their distribution in Europe tend to have larger British range sizes and higher abundances than do species where Britain is close to the edge of their range in Europe However, these relationships do not cause that between abundance and range size, because this latter relationship persists within different range position categories Whether a species is near the centre or edge of its geographic range in Britain may affect its position on the abundance-range size relationship, but does not produce the relationship Range position in Britain does, however, seem to be related to the magnitude of temporal changes in the range sizes of British birds There is some evidence to suggest that species for which Britain is nearer to their European range centre have shown smaller changes in distribution over the period 1970–1990 than have species for which Britain is close to their European range edge     

Macroecological patterns in British breeding birds: covariation of species'geographical range sizes at differing spatial scales

The availability of high quality data on the distribution and abundance of British birds at the national scale means that this fauna is the basis for a growing body of macroecological study. Nevertheless. questions remain about how representative of wider patterns the distributions and abundances of birds in Britain may be. Here, we use data on the British. European and global breeding distributions of British birds to show that species that are widespread in Britain also tend to be widespread across larger regions. These results hold for both residents and migrants separately, and when controlling for the phylogenetic related ness of species. Species with wide latitudinal spans in Europe also tend to have large British ranges, with the largest British ranges exhibited by species inhabiting mid-latitudes in Europe. These results demonstrate that the distributions of birds within Britain are not simply idiosyacratic. but do reflect aspects of their broader distributions.     

ABNORMAL MIGRATION AND HYBRIDIZATION OF LARUS ARGENTATUS AND L. FUSCUS AFTER INTERSPECIES FOSTERING EXPERIMENTS

Between 1962 and 1966 eggs of Larus argentatus and L. fuscus were interchanged andalmost 900 young were reared by the wrong species. Many of these cross-fostered young were later recovered or retrapped on and away from the colonies.
The British population of argentatus is sedentary and ringed birds are not recovered outside Britain, whereas fuscus normally migrates. Many cross-fostered argentatus migrated to France, Spain and Portugal, areas where fuscus is common, but they did not migrate as far as the control fuscus . It is possible that these cross-fostered argentatus had followed their foster parents when these migrated, but this is unlikely as the cross-fostered fuscus also migrated although their foster parents would have remained in Britain.
Despite wide ecological and behavioural overlaps, interbreeding between L. argentatus and L.fuscus is exceedingly rare. However, as a result of cross-fostering experiments, 31 and 40 mixed pairs were found on Skokholm in 1968 and 1969 respectively. Although some of the birds involved were unringed it is probable that all the adults in mixed pairs had been cross-fostered. Other cross-fostered birds were found mated with their own species and it appears that the sex of the imprinted birds was important. Female gulls will usually only mate with males of their own species, or in the case of the cross-fostered birds, with males of their foster species. Males will mate with either species.
Evidence is given that suggests that the colour of the mantle and wings is important in species recognition at long range, and the colour of eye-ring and join of the mandibles for recognition at short range. The role of voice is uncertain but general behaviour is probably unimportant.     

Host plant associations, diversity and species—area relationships of mesophyll-feeding leafhoppers of trees and shrubs in Britain

Abstract. 1. Sixty-two British species of Typhlocybine leafhoppers are known to feed on the leaf-mesophyll tissue of trees and shrubs. British host records for fifty-five of these are given.
2. The leafhopper faunas of thirty-six species of native and introduced trees and shrubs are described.
3. The Shannon-Wiener equation was used to calculate species diversity for adult samples collected from twenty different species at sixteen different localities in Wales, southern England and northern Scotland.
4. Sørensen's coefficients were calculated for rearing data from Britain generally, and subjected to cluster analysis. Most trees have low similarities with respect to leafhopper faunas and are quite distinct. Taxonomic relationships of trees appear to be relatively unimportant in determining the similarities of their leaf-hopper faunas.
5. Using the same data, species—area relationships were calculated for thirty-four different tree and shrub species and their associated leaf-hoppers. A significant regression was obtained, but it explained only 16% of the variation. It is thus suggested that host plant range is relatively unimportant in determining the numbers of these species associated with different trees in Britain.
6. Some introduced species of trees, particularly the recently planted Nothofagus , have acquired large leafhopper faunas.     

Testing island biogeography theory with visitation rates of birds to British islands

Aim We consider three hypotheses – MacArthur and Wilson’s island biogeography theory (IBT), Lack’s habitat diversity idea and the ‘target effect’– that explain the pattern of decreased species richness on small and distant islands. Location We evaluate these hypotheses using a detailed dataset on the occurrence and abundance of terrestrial birds on nine islands off the coast of Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Methods  Unlike previous studies, we compile data on species that visit the islands, rather than just those that breed on them. We divided the species into five mutually exclusive categories based upon their migratory status and where they regularly breed: British residents, summer visitors to Britain, winter visitors to Britain, and vagrants from Europe or beyond Europe. For each species group on each island we calculated the average number of species visiting each year. We then regressed the average number of species against island area and distance to the mainland (all variables were log‐transformed). We also compared the average number of species visiting each island with the average number of species breeding on each island. Results  Average number of visiting British residents decreased significantly with increasing island distance, but showed no relationship with island area. There was no significant relationship between island area or island distance and average number of summer or winter visitors. European and non‐European vagrants likewise showed no relationship between numbers of species visiting and island distance. However, the relationship between island area and number of visiting species was significant for both these categories; as island area increases so too does the number of visiting species. Main conclusions  As predicted by IBT, there were fewer visiting species on more distant islands. There were substantially more visitors to each island than breeding species, supporting Lack’s argument that lower bird richness is not a result of varying immigration rates (as predicted by IBT) but rather a result of some other island property, e.g. fewer resources. Birds make a decision to either leave an island or stay and breed. The target effect was also clearly demonstrated by the increase in European and non‐European breeders with increasing island size.     

The Boxgrove,England, middle Pleistocene herpetofauna: Paleogeographic,evolutionary, stratigraphic,and paleoecological relationships

Triturus vulgaris (smooth newt), Triturus helveticus or T. vulgaris (palmate or smooth newt), Triturus sp. (newt), Pelobates fuscus (common spadefoot), Bufo bufo (common toad), Bufo calamita (natterjack toad), Bufo sp. (toad), Rana arvalis (moor frog), Rana temporaria (common frog), Rana sp. (frog), Anguis fragilis (slow worm), Lacerta cf. L. vivipara (common lizard), Natrix natrix (grass snake), and Natrix sp. (grass, viperine, or dice snake) were identified at the Middle Pleistocene Boxgrove Site, West Sussex, England. This is the first British fossil record of Pelobates fuscus and the earliest fossil record in Britain for the endangered species Bufo calamita. All of these herpetological species are extant and all of them occur in Britain today with the exception of Pelobates fuscus and Rana arvalis that presently live on the European continent.

The Boxgrove, Westbury, and West Runton British pre‐Anglian Middle Pleistocene herpetofaunas show no apparent differences among themselves in patterns of species composition, diversity, or number of exotics. But these three herpetofaunas together have [1] less species diversity and [2] fewer exotic continental species than in the Cudmore Grove British post‐Anglian Middle Pleistocene herpetofauna.

Only the Terrestral Sequence Unit at Boxgrove yielded enough herpetological species for paleoecological interpretation. These taxa indicate a quiet pool surrounded by a somewhat humid vegetated area that gave way to a more xerophytic sandy area, and a paleoclimate at least as warm and perhaps somewhat warmer than occurs in the area today.     

Abundance,biomass and energy use of native and alien breeding birds in Britain

We quantify the contribution of alien species to the total breeding population numbers, biomass and energy use of an entire taxonomic assemblage at a large spatial scale, using data on British birds from 1997 and 2013. A total of 216 native and 16 alien bird species were recorded as breeding in Great Britain across the two census years. Only 2.8–3.7% of British breeding bird individuals were alien, but alien species co-opted 11.9–13.8% of the energy used by the assemblage, and contributed 19.1–21.1% of assemblage biomass. Neither the population sizes nor biomasses of native and alien species differed, on average, in either census, but alien species biomass is higher than native species biomass for a given population size. Species richness underestimates the potential effects of alien bird species in Britain, which have disproportionately high overall biomass and population energy use. The main driver of these effects is the ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), which comprised 74–81% of alien biomass, yet the breeding population of this species is still only a small fraction of the estimated 35 million birds released in the UK in autumn. The biomass of this release exceeds that of the entire breeding avifauna, and suggests that the pheasant should have an important role in structuring the communities in which it is embedded.     

OBSERVATIONS ON THE GENUS PSAMMINA,INCLUDING THE DESCRIPTION OF TWO NEW ALGICOLOUS AND LICHENICOLOUS SPECIES

Psammina inflata Earland-Bennett & D. Hawksw. and P. simplex Earland-Bennett & D. Hawksw. are described as new species from coccoid green algae and crustose or leprose lichens in lowland Britain. Additional records and hosts for P. stipitata are reported, and a key to the four species now known in the British Isles is presented. Psammina simplex is the more strongly pathogenic of the species, eventually destroying its hosts. The discovery of these new species adds weight to the view that the genus is more appropriately regarded as a hyphomycete rather than an acervular coelomycete. The size, shape and septation dimensions of the conidial arms were found to be the most reliable characters for species separations in the genus. Pycnopsammina lobariae Diederich & Etayo is also cited from the British Isles for the first time.     

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in Ireland, AFLP-fingerprinting and boat traffic both indicate an origin from Britain

1. The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) is an aquatic nuisance species that invaded Ireland around 1994. We studied the invasion of the zebra mussel combining field surveys and genetic studies, to determine the origin of invasion and the vector of introduction. 2. Field surveys showed that live zebra mussels, attached to the hulls of pleasure boats, were transported from Britain to Ireland. These boats were lifted from British waters onto trailers, transported to Ireland by ferry and lifted into Irish waters within a day. Length‐frequency distributions of dead and living mussels on one vessel imported 3 months earlier revealed a traumatic occurrence caused by the overland, air‐exposed transportation. Results show that a large number of individuals survived after re‐immersion in Irish waters and continued to grow. 3. Zebra mussels from populations in Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, France and North America, were analysed using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP)‐fingerprinting to determine the origin of the Irish invasion. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Irish and British mussels clustered closely together, suggesting an introduction from Britain. 4. Ireland remained un‐invaded by the zebra mussel for more than 150 year. The introduction of the zebra mussel to Ireland occurred following the abolition of value added tax in January 1993 on imported second‐hand boats from the European Union (UK and continental Europe). This, together with a favourable monetary exchange rate at that time, may have increased the risk of invasion of the zebra mussel.     

European Vegetation Survey: Current state of some national programmes

Abstract. Vegetation survey programmes in Austria, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Germany are described. The aims of these programmes are discussed and their origin and motivation elucidated against the historical background of the development of phytosociology (as part of vegetation science) in particular countries. The Austrian, British and Dutch national vegetation surveys have been logistically supported by either basic-research (Austria) or nature-conservation (Great Britain and the Netherlands) funding organisations. They are either being published (British Plant Communities) or heading for publication of their first volumes within the next two years. The German vegetation survey is a voluntarily-based enterprise expected to complete its work by the end of this century. The experience gained by the management of these national surveys is of fundamental importance in launching the European Vegetation Survey (a project under preparation).     

Earliest Holocene vegetation history and island biogeography of the Isle of Man, British Isles

Aim To present radiocarbon dated early Holocene pollen analytical data from two sites on the northern plain of the Isle of Man and to discuss the implications of the vegetation history in relation to severance of the island from the British Isles and to identify further evidence for divergent biogeographical development previously exemplified by the survival and apparent dwarfism of late glacial Megaloceros giganteus (Giant Deer). Location The Isle of Man, British Isles. Methods Pollen analysis and AMS radiocarbon dating of late glacial to early Holocene lake sequences at Pollies and Curragh‐y‐Cowle on the northern plain of the Isle of Man. Results The pollen data indicate a prolonged period of pre‐woodland vegetation after the late Glacial/Holocene transition, which lasted for most of the first post‐glacial millennium. This persistence of pre‐forest environments meant that the expansion of Betula woodland occurred later in this part of the Isle of Man than in adjacent areas of Britain and Ireland. Conclusions The Isle of Man, in the northern Irish Sea, was isolated from Britain during the late Glacial period perhaps explaining the delayed arrival of tree species. Delayed rise of the Holocene forest compared with surrounding regions probably reflects severance of the land‐bridge with Cumbria, but also could be a function of climate changes during the early Holocene and local environmental conditions. Late survival and the dwarfism of the Megaloceros giganteus (Giant Deer) fauna is another example of biogeographical divergence during the early Holocene/late Glacial of the Isle of Man. The delayed afforestation and absence of human hunters in the Manx early Holocene offers a permissive environmental context for the as yet unproven survival of Megaloceros into the early Holocene.     

Population trends of breeding birds in British woodlands over a 32-year period: relationships with food, habitat use and migratory behaviour

This paper outlines population trends (with confidence intervals) for 49 species in woodland habitats in Britain as monitored by the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) Common Bird Census (CBC) between 1967 and 1999. Additionally, the possible causes of these population trends are investigated by relating the ecological characteristics of species to the degree of population change they have undergone over different time periods. Over the whole period, 17 species showed significant decreases in abundance and 12 species showed significant increases. Whilst population trajectories were diverse, long-distance migrants showed more negative trends than other species and the timing of the changes in their populations was related to their wintering latitude, suggesting that these species may be suffering from environmental changes in the non-breeding season. There was also support for habitat specializations being related to population changes, with species classified as scrub and understorey specialists declining on average, but this was only evident across the entire study period. Additionally, species eating seeds in summer declined and those eating vegetation and making use of the agricultural landscape matrix increased. Therefore wide-scale factors such as landscape-scale processes or processes operating outside of Britain appear to be important in addition to local habitat change, especially for long-distance migrants.     

The relationship between British ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) and land cover

Aims and methods Ground beetle and satellite‐derived land cover data from 1687 United Kingdom 10 km national grid squares were used to assess the relationship between species pool and cover data in Great Britain using fuzzy classification and constrained ordination. Results Ground beetle species pools classified into nine groups which were related to land cover variables using constrained ordination. There was a strong relationship between upland land cover and three ground beetle groups. Deciduous woodland, coastal and tilled land were associated with three other groups. Three further groups did not appear to be strongly associated with any particular cover, but differed in geographical position. Conclusion The distribution of species pools derived from the British national recording scheme at the 10 km scale was strongly related to satellite‐derived land cover data. There appears to be considerable potential for the use of a synthesis of land cover and ground beetle data in the monitoring of environmental change over a large, countrywide, area.     

An analysis of sightings of Cetacea in British waters

An analysis is carried out of all documented sightings of cetaceans in British waters between 1950–1975, received by the Cetacean Group. Two major problems which must be taken into account in such an analysis are difficulties of specific identification and bias from uneven coverage.
The results show that porpoises are present in coastal waters for much of the year. The pattern of movements for this species is rather confused. Most dolphin species show peak numbers in summer, earliest in the north of Britain and later further south. Risso's dolphins may enter British waters rather earlier in spring than other species. Killer whales occur off the west coast of Britain and Ireland mainly between June-September. Pilot whales are seen in North Britain at most times of the year but otherwise enter British waters along the west coast in spring. Bottle-nosed whales and the larger whale species, including the Rorquals, are found only on the north and west coasts in summer and early autumn. For all species, herd size increases at the same time as increase in the numbers of sightings reported. Different species have different herd sizes with the largest occurring amongst porpoise and all dolphin species except Risso's dolphin, and the smallest amongst the large whale species. Herds may be accompanied by young individuals in spring-late summer, depending on the species.     

A phylogenetic analysis of the British flora sheds light on the evolutionary and ecological factors driving plant invasions

Darwin's naturalization hypothesis predicts that invasive species should perform better in their novel range in the absence of close relatives in the native flora due to reduced competition. Evidence from recent taxonomic and phylogenetic‐based studies, however, is equivocal. We test Darwin's naturalization hypothesis at two different spatial scales using a fossil‐dated molecular phylogenetic tree of the British native and alien flora (ca. 1600 species) and extensive, fine‐scale survey data from the 1998 Countryside Survey. At both landscape and local scales, invasive species were neither significantly more nor less related to the native flora than their non‐invasive alien counterparts. Species invasiveness was instead correlated with higher nitrogen and moisture preference, but not other life history traits such as life‐form and height. We argue that invasive species spread in Britain is hence more likely determined by changes in land use and other anthropogenic factors, rather than evolutionary history. Synthesis. The transition from non‐invasive to invasive is not related to phylogenetic distinctiveness to the native community, but instead to their environmental preferences. Therefore, combating biological invasions in the Britain and other industrialized countries need entirely different strategies than in more natural environments.     

Using biological traits to explain ladybird distribution patterns

Aim  Determining to what extent differing distribution patterns are governed by species’ life‐history and resource‐use traits may lead to an improved understanding of the impacts of environmental change on biodiversity. We investigated the extent to which traits can explain distribution patterns in the ladybird fauna (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of Great Britain. Location  The British mainland and inshore islands (Anglesey, the Isle of Wight and the Inner Hebrides). Methods  The distributions of 26 ladybird species resident in Britain were characterized in terms of their range size (from 2661 10‐km grid squares across Britain) and proportional range fill (at 10‐ and 50‐km scales). These were assessed relative to five traits (body length, elytral colour pattern polymorphism, voltinism, habitat specificity and diet breadth). The role of phylogenetic autocorrelation was examined by comparing the results of phylogenetic and generalized least‐squares regressions. Results  Diet breadth was the only trait correlated with range size: species with broad diets had larger range sizes than dietary specialists. Range fill was sensitive to recording intensity (a per‐species measure of the mean number of records across occupied squares); models including both recording intensity and range size provided more explanatory power than models incorporating ecological traits alone. Main conclusions  Habitat specificity is often invoked to explain the distribution patterns of species, but here we found diet breadth to be the only ecological correlate of both range fill and range size. This highlights the importance of understanding predator–prey interactions when attempting to explain the distribution patterns of predatory species. Our results suggest that the diet breadth of predatory species is a better correlate of range size and fill than other measures, such as habitat specificity.     

The Slugs of Britain and Ireland: Undetected and Undescribed Species Increase a Well-Studied,Economically Important Fauna by More Than 20%

The slugs of Britain and Ireland form a well-studied fauna of economic importance. They include many widespread European species that are introduced elsewhere (at least half of the 36 currently recorded British species are established in North America, for example). To test the contention that the British and Irish fauna consists of 36 species, and to verify the identity of each, a species delimitation study was conducted based on a geographically wide survey. Comparisons between mitochondrial DNA (COI, 16S), nuclear DNA (ITS-1) and morphology were investigated with reference to interspecific hybridisation. Species delimitation of the fauna produced a primary species hypothesis of 47 putative species. This was refined to a secondary species hypothesis of 44 species by integration with morphological and other data. Thirty six of these correspond to the known fauna (two species in Arion subgenus Carinarion were scarcely distinct and Arion (Mesarion) subfuscus consisted of two near-cryptic species). However, by the same criteria a further eight previously undetected species (22% of the fauna) are established in Britain and/or Ireland. Although overlooked, none are strictly morphologically cryptic, and some appear previously undescribed. Most of the additional species are probably accidentally introduced, and several are already widespread in Britain and Ireland (and thus perhaps elsewhere). At least three may be plant pests. Some evidence was found for interspecific hybridisation among the large Arion species (although not involving A. flagellus) and more unexpectedly in species pairs in Deroceras (Agriolimacidae) and Limacus (Limacidae). In the latter groups, introgression appears to have occurred in one direction only, with recently-invading lineages becoming common at the expense of long-established or native ones. The results show how even a well-studied, macroscopic fauna can be vulnerable to cryptic and undetected invasions and changes.