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| Viewing Page 1 of 1 (Total Posts: 6) |
| Author | Comment |
Ivan
 Nov 16, 07 - 11:33 AM |
Small mammals survey
Dear All I thought I would let you know of the details of the survey for small mammals project I would like to do on the reserve for my part-time Wildlife Biology university course. I contacted Rob a few weeks ago and he invited me to the meeting on the 2nd October where I was pleased to be able to meet some of you and also found that although surveys of invertebrates, nesting birds and fungi have been done, non have been done on small mammals. Since the meeting I have contacted Sally Oldfield at Bristol City Council and she is very happy to allow me permission to do so. I did the same for the course director at the University and he is also happy with my plan. I am now just awaiting formal approval. The course guideline is to obtain data anytime between December 2007 and the end of May 2008. My intention would be to lay a number of Longworth live traps borrowed from the University in the evenings over a weekend, collecting them up early the next morning. It is possible that the species I am most likely to find are wood mice, bank voles, pygmy shrews, and possibly Yellow necked mice. Because of this I have obtained a licence from English Nature (needed to trap shrews). This will hopefully give a broad range of quality data in different habitats across the reserve and allow me to compare and contrast the species/population size, etc which will hopefully provide information on how the management of the vegetation on the reserve can affect/benefit the existing and future population. There are a number of other factors for me to consider and possibly the most important is the welfare of the subjects trapped. I have to consider that the animals will be in the traps overnight so will ensure that I lay the traps when the weather is mild, and that the traps are stable & sloped so that rain water does not collect in them, and that all traps will contain sufficient food and bedding (shrews have to eat every 3-4 hours). I will lay them one evening then return early the next morning to collect them up and examine the contents. My reasons for this is: 1. they will only be down overnight 2. anything trapped will only be captive for a few hours 3. they wouldn't be left in a public place in daylight 4. I also have some camouflage netting that I could use to hide them. This I will to on 2-3 consecutive nights. |
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Ian
Nov 29th, 2007 - 7:13 AM |
Re: Small mammals survey
Ivan - I would do this study quickly as habitat for these creatures is fast disappearing. A few weeks ago I spotted two dead pygmy shrews in the area where there has been a lot of "conservation". I also reported hedgehogs in that area but I guess they have gone the sameway as the shrews - but don't worry there will some heather growing there eventually!!! |
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Susan
Dec 4th, 2007 - 10:53 PM |
Re: Small mammals survey
I asked Ivan if he would like any volunteers to help with his survey. He would - so if anyone is interested in help please get in touch. Thanks, Susan |
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Ivan
Jul 30th, 2008 - 2:24 PM |
Re: Small mammals survey
I am pleased to say that I have finally completed the write-up of the survey that I did in January this year and a copy of the report will be posted on the website soon. In summary 3 species were found; Wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), Pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus) and Bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus). My findings were that although the numbers caught during the study were relatively low, mainly due to the poor weather and it being before the start of the breeding season (when it could increase five-fold), there were twice as many animals in the woods as there were on the heath. This shows a preference for the woodland habitat and the associated shelter, nesting and food opportunities it provides. I hope that the report helps in the future management of the reserve. |
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Rob
Aug 1st, 2008 - 3:55 PM |
Re: Small mammals survey
Ivan's survey report can now be downloaded from our Information page. |
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Jules
Aug 2nd, 2008 - 11:19 AM |
Re: Small mammals survey
Thanks for this report. It confirms my thoughts about future works for this winter. 4.5... it would be great if another survey could be done and if I can assist in any way please let me know. FoTH can supply contact details. |
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