Science Matters
BASC monitors scientific journals, environmental, policy and political alerts for the results of studies of relevance to shooting and conservation. Below are links to a selection of papers published in June 2020.
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Birds
- Fluctuations in field vole abundance indirectly influence red grouse productivity via a shared predator guild
- Long-term changes in the abundance and breeding success of raptors and ravens in periods of varying management of a Scottish grouse moor
- Declining peatland bird numbers are not consistent with the increasing Common Crane population.
- Differential responses of heather and red grouse to long-term spatio-temporal variation in sheep grazing
- Livestock grazing impacts components of the breeding productivity of a common upland insectivorous passerine: Results from a long-term experiment.
- Sleeping Eurasian oystercatchers adjust their vigilance in response to the behaviour of neighbours, human disturbance and environmental conditions
- The effect of sex on the quality of meat from farmed pheasants (Phasianus colchicus)
Mammals
- Ammunition Type and Shot Placement Determine Lead Fragmentation in Deer
- Badger vaccination in England: Progress, operational effectiveness and participant motivations
- “Modelling Eurasian beaver foraging habitat and dam suitability, for predicting the location and number of dams throughout catchments in Great Britain
- Stay home, stay safe – Site familiarity reduces predation risk in a large herbivore in two contrasting study sites
- Distribution of mountain hares Lepus timidus in Scotland in 2016/2017 and changes relative to earlier surveys in 1995/1996 and 2006/2007
- Postrelease movement and habitat selection of translocated pine martens Martes martes
- Declining invasive grey squirrel populations may persist in refugia as native predator recovery reverses squirrel species replacement.
- Territory acquisition mediates the influence of predators and climate on juvenile red squirrel survival
Dogs
Land Management
- Vehicular tracks and the influence of land use and habitat protection in the British uplands
- The value of habitats of conservation importance to climate change mitigation in the UK
- Guild-level responses by mammalian predators to afforestation and subsequent restoration in a formerly treeless peatland landscape
- Impacts of River Engineering on River Channel Behaviour: Implications for Managing Downstream Flood Risk
- The relative importance of green infrastructure as refuge habitat for pollinators increases with local land-use intensity
- Integrating functional connectivity and fire management for better conservation outcomes
- Disadvantage and economic viability: characterising vulnerabilities and resilience in upland farming systems
- Hedgerow management experiment relevant to agri-environment schemes: cutting regime impacts species richness of basal flora and Ellenberg indicator profiles
- Agri-environment conservation set-asides have co-benefits for connectivity
- Nature based measures increase freshwater biodiversity in agricultural catchments
- Temperate agroforestry systems provide greater pollination service than monoculture
Other topics
- Setting maximum levels for lead in game meat in EC regulations: An adjunct to replacement of lead ammunition
- The role of ecosystems in mitigation and management of Covid-19 and other zoonoses
- Understanding public and stakeholder attitudes in pollinator conservation policy development
- The impact of pastoral activities on animal biodiversity in Europe: A systematic review and meta-analysis
- Animal invaders threaten protected areas worldwide
- Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction
- Economic benefit of wildlife reintroduction: A case of elk hunting in Tennessee, USA