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TOP: Treble-bar moth c. K. Flood BELOW: Autumn Deer by James Grand eld

e Irish Wildlife Trust was founded in 1979 and aims to conserve wildlife and the habitats it depends on throughout Ireland, while encouraging a greater understanding and appreciation of the natural world.

e IWT is dedicated to creating a better future for Ireland’s wildlife through: Motivating and supporting people to take action for wildlife. Education and raising awareness of all aspects of Irish wildlife and conservation issues. Research of the natural environment. Acquiring and managing nature reserves to safeguard species and habitats. Lobbying decision-makers at all levels to promote policy in Ireland that provides a sustainable future for wildlife and people. Working in partnership with other organisations to achieve results that matter for conservation.

Irish Wildlife is published quarterly by the IWT. e IWT encourages action at a local level and has a number of branches around the country:

Dublin: dublinbranch@iwt.ie facebook.com/DublinBranchIrishWildlife

Trust, dubliniwt.blogspot.ie

Waterford: Denis Cullen, iwtwaterfordbranch@gmail.com, deniscullen@eircom.net, irishwildlifetrust. blogspot.ie

Kerry: Ger, iwtkerry@gmail.com, www.facebook.com/KerryIWT

Limerick: limerickbranch@iwt.ie / https://www.facebook.com /

IWTLimerickBranch

Galway: Dan, iwtgalway@gmail.com, www.facebook.com/IWTgalwaybranch

Laois/O aly: Ricky, iwtlaoiso aly@gmail.com, www.facebook.com/IWTlaoiso alybranch

Monaghan: monaghanbranch@iwt.ie

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Editor: Pádraic Fogarty

Magazine queries email: editor@iwt.ie

Information on campaigning and policies email: irishwildlife@iwt.ie

Snail mail: The Irish Wildlife Trust, 8 CABRA ROAD, DUBLIN 7, D07 T1W2

Web: www.iwt.ie

Social media: facebook.com/IrishWildlifeTrust twitter.com/Irishwildlife instagram.com/irishwildlifetrust/

Registered Charity Number: 20010966

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

You, our members, make the IWT what it is. rough your subscriptions and support we can undertake the projects that are bene ting Ireland’s wildlife. If you would like to help more, here’s what you can do: • Make a one-o donation to the IWT. • Give IWT membership as a gi . • Volunteer – we are always looking for people to help out. ere are lots of ways to get involved, from helping with important admin work in our o ce to helping us increase membership by volunteering at public events. See our website www.iwt.ie for details or contact the o ce directly. • Do you have land that you would like used for conservation? We are always on the lookout to establish new sites to enhance wildlife or provide education opportunities. • Remember us in your will. Why not leave a lasting legacy towards conserving

Ireland’s natural heritage? e IWT uses all funds towards our campaigns, managing reserves and our education programmes. Please visit www.mylegacy.ie. • Set up a branch. Are you passionate about wildlife and are in a county that does not have an IWT branch? Contact the o ce and we can give you the support you need to get up and running.

CONSERVATION

NEWS The latest national and international news from the conservation world, compiled by Tim Clabon. INTERNATIONAL NEWS Are we at the beginning or in the middle

of the sixth mass extinction event?

With many species going extinct each year (23 species have been declared extinct in 2021, and that is only the number we know of), we are in situation that can be described as a biodiversity emergency.

In a paper published this year, a research team at the University of Hawaii in the US and headed by Robert Cowie presents data that leads us to believe there is indeed a mass extinction event occurring.

So far, the planet we inhabit has had five mass extinction events. Mass extinction events are defined as those where 75% or more of species vanish over a short period of geological time. In some ways this has led to the introduction of new species, and without these extinction events life on Earth would look very different. The table on the right shows the five extinction events.

What makes this sixth event unique is that it is being caused by human activity, a fact that has been acknowledged for the past thirty years, if not longer.

There is currently debate as to whether a sixth mass extinction event is occurring. Scientists are debating whether we are at the start, in the middle of the sixth mass extinction, or if there even is a mass extinction event occurring at all. One thing that is well understood, is that we

The five mass extinction events

Time Period Notes

Ordovician-Silurian Extinction: 440 million years ago

Devonian Extinction: 365 million years ago 86% of species lost. Believed to be caused by two major events: glaciation and falling sea levels. One theory also suggests too much CO2 was removed by plants, causing a fall in temperature. 75% of species lost. Theories suggest large land plants released nutrients into the oceans. This caused algal blooms, depleting the ocean’s of oxygen. Volcanic ash is also believed to have resulted in global cooling, wiping out many land dwelling species.

Permian-Triassic Extinction: 250 million years ago

Triassic-Jurassic Extinction: 210 million years ago 96% of species lost. Thought to be the worst mass extinction event so far. Caused by an enormous volcanic eruption filling the air with CO2 which fed different kinds of bacteria that began emitting large amounts of methane. The Earth warmed, and the oceans became acidic. Subsequently, ocean life developed a complexity not seen before and snails, urchins, and crabs emerged as new species.

80% of species lost. Theories suggest an asteroid impact, or massive volcanic eruption released CO2 into the atmosphere (as well as dust and other gases), causing global warming. The extinction of other vertebrate species such as mammals on land allowed dinosaurs to flourish.

are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis with the number of extinct species increasing each year.

Robert Cowie, who is research professor at the University of Hawaii’s Paci c Biosciences Research Center, presents data in his paper ' e Sixth Mass Extinction: fact, ction or speculation?’ (published in Biological Reviews, Jan 2022), showing it is likely that the sixth mass extinction has begun on land and in freshwater. Rather than concentrating on species such as birds or mammals, the researchers based their ndings on studying extinction rates of molluscs, a large group that includes snails, clams, and slugs. While data collected by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on birds and mammals is quite accurate, there is insu cient data on invertebrate species.

Some argue that there is no extinction event occurring, with claims that extinction levels have been overestimated and are not signi cantly higher than background levels. Some even claim that as humans are a part of the natural world, human-caused extinctions are part of the evolutionary cycle. e researchers counter these arguments by showing that extinction rates are indeed higher than the natural background level, particularly in the case of invertebrates. e IUCN Red List data used to determine extinction rates may also underestimate extinction rates with the exception of birds, mammals and maybe amphibians. By reviewing their own studies of extinction in molluscs and by extrapolation they conclude that since the 1500s between 7.5-13% (150,000260,000) of the 2 million known species may have been lost, con icting with the 0.04% (882) noted as extinct by the IUCN Red List.

Reading the paper gives a sense of despair, with the authors acknowledging that conservation e orts for many species would be futile. ey suggest that e orts should be made to record species and collect museum specimens for future generations to realise what has been lost. Species of molluscs have the advantage of leaving their shells behind a er death. But many species of invertebrate vanish without a trace, and without collecting specimens for future posterity would otherwise never be known.

Ultimately the researchers argue for the need for more urgent measures to address the loss of species.

IRISH NEWS By Tim Clabon

PHOTOGRAPH: DERICK HUDSON

Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss

e long awaited citizens' assembly to address the threats to biodiversity will nally be brought to cabinet by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and could even be initiated as early as April 2022. Calls from environmental groups such as the Irish Wildlife Trust to establish a citizens' assembly on the biodiversity crisis date back to May 2019. Fianna Fáil motioned an amendment declaring a climate and a biodiversity emergency strengthening a Fine Gael motion ‘noting’ the report on Climate Action of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action.

In the Dáil in February, the Taoiseach said “I think it’s absolutely critical that we move on this and with speed and conviction and I intend to do that.”

Biodiversity is part of our life support system and humans are part of it. Ecosystems have been destroyed globally as well as in Ireland, which is also tied in with climate change. One of the main issues is that the destruction of our ecosystems has been going on for a long time, and in many cases unnoticed, either by the trickle e ect where species have slowly slipped away unnoticed, or simply not seen as many people don’t get to see what remains of our natural environment. A strong ecosystem with high biodiversity will also make our environment resilient to change brought about by factors such as climate change or new diseases. e citizens' assembly will give us a chance to take an overview of our natural environment and look at ways we can conserve and maybe repair ecosystems such as by putting the right to a natural healthy environment into the constitution and strengthening and implementing existing environmental laws.

Ireland has a good record for citizen assemblies and has always included a cross section of gender, age, class and regions. In particular we need to hear from the young, as they will inherit what we leave behind, and so they should have a voice in how we approach the protection of biodiversity in the future.

How the citizens' assembly to tackle biodiversity will work remains to be seen. Will there be a public consultation, who will nominate expert advisors and who limits what can be addressed? Given the close relationship between climate change and the biodiversity emergency will the assembly follow the approach taken by the assembly on climate change? Time will tell.