DERC Newsletter
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No. 62 Autumn / Winter 2009
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In this issue:
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This is an important time of year for DERC as all the species records accumulated
over the spring and summer months start to come into the Records Centre. This year
there have been some significant highlights.
Dusky Scalloped Oak
Photo: Dave Foot
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A Dusky Scalloped Oak was found in a moth trap at West Bexington by Dave Foot and
Phil Sterling on the night of 22nd August 2009. This is only the 2nd UK mainland
record; the previous one was from Devon in Sept 2006. This species is resident locally
on UK Channel Islands, but otherwise is a southern European species with larvae found
on gorse and broom. These first few UK records may be a sign it is spreading northwards.
We have also had a report from one of our trustees, John Newbould, of a new gall.
The villagers of Sutton Poyntz have a regular Monday morning walk and on one of these
walks in late June, John noticed a potential plant gall on Hedge Bindweed
(Calystegia sepium). As he couldn’t find the gall in his FSC/Aidgap guide a
sample was sent to Tom Higginbottom (Chairman of the British Plant Gall Society).
The sample has now been determined by Dr Brian Spooner at Kew as
Puccinia convolvuli - new to Britain. If you are interested in finding out
more about galls visit
www.british-galls.org.uk
or see the Plant Gall Report, 2008 in
Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 130, 260-3.
I was delighted in June this year when I finally saw my first glow-worm. It was a
warm June evening and on a family trip to Badbury Rings we waited for dusk before
beginning the search. I wasn’t entirely sure what to look for or the best place to
find them, but we were lucky and found a female hanging in the undergrowth near the
centre of the rings, a small but persistent glow lighting her abdomen. This find led
me to contact Barbara Smith who has been collating records for glow worms in Dorset
and is working with the UK Glow Worm Survey. Barbara has kindly provided an article
on her work so far.
If you are sending in your records this year, please remember the 4 key facts – Who
you are; What you have seen; When you saw it and Where you saw it. Any additional
information on how many, adult or juveniles, flowering or feeding is also useful. We
now have downloadable forms on our web-site or you can contact DERC to provide printed
forms. Many of you will be signed up with recording schemes in Dorset and some of these
have their own recording forms (including Barbara’s Dorset glow worm form). DERC does
work with most of the recording groups in the county to pass on or exchange information.
So, please, either send your data to the recording group, or if you have a mixture of
records send them into DERC and we will pass them on. This will avoid too much record
duplication. It is important data is held locally by DERC, where it can be used for
conservation projects, planning checks, research projects and so on as well as by the
recording schemes and societies.
Deadline for 2009 data is end of January 2010. I look forward to hearing
from many of you over the next few months.
Carolyn Steele (Record Centre Manager)
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Glow Worms In Dorset
The UK glow worm survey was established in 1990 by Robin Scagell who has been
assiduously collecting records in order to understand the distribution of this
enchanting beetle
(www.galaxypix.com/glowworms/).
Although many people seem surprised that glow worms still exist in the UK, if you are
inclined to take walks after dark there are many places where their cool LED-like
light can be observed. If you are lucky, you may even find them in the garden. Before
the survey started, it was said that there were fewer than 100 sites in Britain where
glow worms could be found but records sent in by the general public have revealed
that are many hundreds of sites.
This year I took on the task of collating records from Dorset and hope that in the
next few years we can get a detailed picture of the distribution and status of glow
worms in the county. Peak glowing season is June and July and suitable habitat is
varied although you are very likely to see glow worms in rough grassy areas, alongside
paths, rides and old railway embankments. The larval food is comprised mostly of slugs
and snails, so where there are snails there may be also be glow worms; activity is
largely nocturnal. Although it is the adult female which produces the characteristic
steady glow, larvae (both male and female) are also capable of emitting a faint light.
This can be as a response to disturbance (e.g. if they are handled) but they may also
emit an intermittent glow that has a ‘lighthouse’ effect. This is often observed in
latter part of August and September, as the nights draw in. There have been nearly
20 Dorset records this year and these have been from both domestic gardens and from
well known beauty spots such as Badbury Rings, Knowlton Rings, Corfe Castle, Puddletown
Forest and Portland Bill. Badbury Rings appears to be a particular hotspot and in
Puddletown Forest there were glows along many of the paths at the eastern end. We
hope that next year we can up the number of records significantly. If you would like
to take part, recording forms can be obtained from
dorsetglowworm@yahoo.co.uk or there
is an online form on the UK glow worm site.
Barbara Smith
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Dorset Marine Biodiversity Database
Peacock’s Tail (Padina pavonica)
Photo: Kathryn Dawson
The biodiversity action plan
(BAP) species Peacock’s Tail (Padina pavonica),
recorded from Osmington Mills during the intertidal survey. This brown algae
forms a fan like shape and can be found in shallow rock pools in the intertidal
zone. As a BAP species, we are a very keen to learn more about its distribution.
If you have seen any Peacock’s Tail, please let us know.
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Earlier this year I began working as a marine data officer. I am a member of staff
from Dorset Wildlife Trust and am working one day a week in DERC to update the marine
biodiversity database, respond to data requests and to facilitate exchange of data
between DERC, DWT and other partners, including C-SCOPE – a project working to provide
a comprehensive planning and information resource which will underpin sustainable
coastal management in Dorset. It is hoped that we can promote the value of the marine
database once again to students, researchers and professionals but also the general
public. With the information already on the database DERC are able to respond to queries
from the public regarding their sightings of marine wildlife. We are also very keen to
remind people to send DERC their observations from the shore, from boat trips, SCUBA
diving or snorkelling. All records are very important in maintaining an up-to-date
catalogue of Dorset’s marine biodiversity.
One study that will contribute a vast amount of new data to the marine database
is the intertidal survey, currently being conducted by Dorset Wildlife Trust as part
of the Dorset Integrated Seabed Study (DORIS). The work aims to provide a continuous
map of the intertidal zone from Swanage to Portland Bill, detailing the habitats,
biological communities and highlighting any sensitivities and important habitats
and species. Along with students and volunteers, staff from DWT have so far mapped
a large part of the accessible coast, with some of the more difficult areas around
Worbarrow surveyed by boat and snorkelling. The results of the study will added to
the database and will ultimately contribute to further conservation and planning
projects in Dorset.
Records from this year have included the ongoing surveys, especially Seasearch (a
volunteer dive recording scheme) and the intertidal survey, records from the general
public and from the Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve (PMWR) at Kimmeridge. Species
seen include basking sharks off Portland Bill, lampreys from Weymouth Harbour, several
Portuguese Man O’ War from around Worbarrow Bay and of course the very well reported
and crowd pleasing pod of bottlenose dolphins in and around Poole and Bournemouth in
June. If you have marine records that you would like to send to DERC, please
download and fill in our recording
form. Details of how to send it to us are contained on the form.
Kathryn Dawson
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Dorset Environmental Records Centre
