Research projects by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust in 2020 UPLANDS RESEARCH IN 2020 Project title
Description
Grouse Count Scheme (see p16)
Annual grouse and parasitic worm counts in relation David Baines, David Newborn, Mike to moorland management indices and biodiversity Richardson, Kathy Fletcher, Sonja Ludwig
Staff
Core funds, Gunnerside Estate 1980- ongoing
Long-term monitoring of breeding ecology of waders in the Pennine uplands
Annual measures of wader density, lapwing productivity, recruitment and survival
David Baines
Core funds
1985- ongoing
Black grouse monitoring (see p22)
Annual lek counts and brood counts
Philip Warren, David Baines, David Newborn, Kathy Fletcher
Core funds
1989- ongoing
Capercaillie brood surveys
Surveys of capercaillie and their broods in Scottish forests
Kathy Fletcher, Sonja Ludwig, David Baines, Phil Warren
Cairngorms National Park Authority, Seafield Estates
1991- ongoing
Impacts of ticks on red grouse chick survival
Use of acaricide-treated sheep to suppress ticks in a multi-host system
Kathy Fletcher, David Baines
The Samuels Trust
1995- ongoing
Grey partridge (see p26)
Using call-back surveys to estimate spring densities David Baines, Madeleine Benton
Core funds
2018- ongoing
Post-burning vegetation recovery Using aerial images and field surveys to assess chrono- Sian Whitehead, Hannah Weald on blanket peat at Langholm sequences of vegetation responses to heather burning
Core funds
2019-2020
Measuring rises in strongyle worms
David Newborn
Core funds
2019-2020
Repeat moorland bird surveys Repeat of bird and vegetation surveys conducted on circa 90 UK moors 2007-2012
David Baines, David Newborn, Mike Richardson, Madeleine Benton, Kathy Fletcher, Sonja Ludwig
Core funds
2019-2021
Development of Black Grouse Co-ordinating volunteer inputs into annual lek Study Groups in Scotland monitoring across several regions of Scotland
Philip Warren
Heritage Lottery Fund
2019-2021
Development of long-term heather burning experiments on blanket peat (see p24)
Are burning and cutting useful management tools for blanket bog restoration? Does the structure and composition of pre-burn vegetation influence post-burn vegetation recovery?
Sian Whitehead, Madeleine Benton
Core funds
2019-2028
Rush management for breeding waders
Experimental rush cutting to improve habitat for breeding lapwing
David Baines, Madeleine Benton, Sian Whitehead
Philip Wayre Uplands Trust
2020-2021
Mammalian predator indices in Strathspey
Measuring marten and fox indices using trail cameras in forests used by breeding capercaillie
Kathy Fletcher
Cairngorms National Park Authority
2020-2021
Funding source
Date
Fortnightly grouse faecal egg counts Dec’-May in relation to weather and medication
Funding source
Date
FARMLAND RESEARCH IN 2020 Project title
Description
Chick-food and farming systems
A comparison of grey partridge chick-food in conven- John Holland, Steve Moreby, Niamh Private funds tional and organically farmed crops and habitats McHugh, Ellie Ness, Inca Johnson, Ben Prego
2015- ongoing
Long-term monitoring
Monitoring of wildlife on BASF demonstration farms
John Holland, Lucy Capstick, Jade Hemsley, BASF Jayna Connelly, Ellie Jackson-Smith, Ben Prego, Inca Johnson
2017- ongoing
Chick-food invertebrate levels
Chick-food invertebrate levels in crops and non-crop habitats on three estates
John Holland, Steve Moreby, Jayna Connelly, Private funds, Ellie Jackson-Smith, Inca Johnson, The Millichope Foundation Ben Prego, Adam McVeigh
2017- ongoing
Evaluation of cultivated margin Evaluation of invertebrate and botanical option effectiveness & exploration composition of annually cultivated and floristicallyof their natural capital (see p30) enhanced margins
John Holland, Niamh McHugh
NE
2018-2020
Acoustic detectors for monitoring woodcock
Niamh McHugh, Chris Heward, Andrew Hoodless, Thomas Bristow
Core funds
2018- ongoing
Invertebrate sampling methods Comparison of Dvac, sweep net and vortis suction sampling techniques
Steve Moreby
Core funds
2018- ongoing
BEESPOKE (see p28)
Increasing the area of pollinator habitat and pollination
John Holland, Niamh McHugh, Jade Hemsley, Jayna Connelly, Ellie Jackson-Smith, Lucy Capstick
EU Interreg North Sea Region 2019-2023
Bat monitoring in Devon
Identification of bat species on a Devon demonstration farm
Niamh McHugh, Chris Heward
Private funds
2020
The Owl Box Initiative
Barn Owl conservation, research and engagement project
Niamh McHugh, Chris Heward, Ellie Ness
Green Recovery Challenge Fund
2020-2021
FRAMEwork
Evaluation and development of Farmer Cluster approach across Europe
John Holland, Niamh McHugh, Ellie Ness
EU Horizon 2020
2020-2025
Farmland birds and farming systems
Comparison of farmland bird abundance relative to conventional and organically farmed crops and agri-environment habitats
Niamh McHugh
Private funds
2020- ongoing
PhD: Solitary bees
Seed mixes for solitary bees
Rachel Nichols. Supervisors: John Holland, NERC/GWCT Prof Dave Goulson (University of Sussex)
2018- ongoing
PhD: Biodiversity footprint of foods
Creating an index of crop-farming traits to assess the biodiversity footprint of foods
Helen Waters. Supervisors: John Holland, NERC/GWCT Alfred Gathorne-Hardy (University of Edinburgh), Barbara Smith (Coventry University)
2019- ongoing
Evaluation of acoustic detectors for monitoring woodcock
82 | GAME & WILDLIFE REVIEW 2020
Staff
www.gwct.org.uk
