Page 11 - Conservation Impact Report 2016
P. 11
Conservation Impact Water vole
■■ Local Key Areas for water voles (Arvicola
amphibious) increased by 10% between 2012 and
2015, extending from 506 to 560 km2 (see Figure 4
below).
■■ In 2010, following ditch management and mink
(Neovison vison) control water voles colonised a
wetland nature reserve.
■■ Pochard (Aythya farina) populations on BBOWT
reserves has mirrored the national population
decline. Across 6 open water sites there has been a
drop in mean maximum count from 42 individuals
in 2005 to 4 individuals in 2015. Other species
such as tufted duck have remained relatively stable
(across 6 sites, mean individual max count in 2005
was 57, in 2015 it was 44).
Figure 4. Extent of water vole local key areas in Berks, Bucks and Oxon
21 J. Lawton, Making Space for Nature: A review of England’s Wildlife Sites and Ecological Network, 2010
22 The State of England’s Chalk Streams, WWF-UK, 2014
23 D.B. Hayhow et al., State of Nature 2016, The State of Nature Partnership, 2016
24 Fifth Otter Survey of England 2009 – 2010, Technical Report, Environment Agency, 2010.
25 M Eaton et al., Birds of Conservation Concern 4: The Population Status of Birds in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, British Birds 108, December
2015, p. 708–746
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