January — March 1989 rT^t Number 988 A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND The spider-hunting wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata, Pompilidae) of Watsonian Yorkshire — Michael E. Archer Aspects of the breeding biology of the Buzzard Buteo buteo in North Wales — P. J. Dare Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union Editor M. R. D. Seaward, MSc, PhD, DSc, FLS, The University, Bradford BD7 1DP Photographic Plates Readers of The Naturalist will have noticed that the number of photographic illustrations has increased in recent years. Good clear photographs, suitably captioned, to accompany articles or as independent features, such as the bird portraits by Arthur Gilpin in the last three issues, are always welcome. 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Bramley c/o Doncaster Museum Chequer Road Doncaster DN1 2AE A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND Editor M. R. D. Seaward, MSc, PhD, DSc, FLS, The University, Bradford Volume 114 1989 Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union # 3 THE SPIDER-HUNTING WASPS (HYMENOPTERA: ACULEATA, POMPILIDAE) OF WATSONIAN YORKSHIRE MICHAEL E. ARCHER 17 Elmfield Terrace, Malton Road, York, Y03 OEH The spider-hunting wasps are long-legged black or black-and-red insects which character- istically are found flying, usually at speed, close to a sandy surface or low vegetation so making them difficult to net. A few species have pale yellow or whitish markings. The Dipogon species can be found flying over dead wood surfaces in sunny situations while Priocnemis species and Episyron rufipes are to be found on flowers, particularly the Umbelliferae. For recognition of the group, books by Yeo and Corbet (1983), Willmer (1985) and Betts (1986) will be found useful, but identification to species level is dependent on the German text by Wolf (1972). Shortly, however, an English text by M. C. Day will be published in the Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects series. The adult wasps usually appear in early summer towards the end of June, the males appearing a little earlier than the females. Mating then takes place and the females start hunting for spiders, which they paralyse. In a few species, e.g. Anoplius viaticus, the adults mate in the late summer or early autumn, after which the males die and the females dig deep burrows in which to over-winter, emerging during early April if the weather is suitable to start hunting. The nesting arrangements made by the females are rather variable: Arachnospila spissa uses the burrow of its spider-prey; A. spissa may also use ready-made crevices as do the black-coloured Anoplius species; Dipogon species use ready-made cavities in old walls or old beetle burrows in wood; other species dig a burrow in the ground. Usually a short burrow leads to a single terminal cell but some species, e.g. Priocnemis exaltatus, Anoplius viaticus, A. concinnus, build two or more cells connected by a gallery burrow. When a cell is ready, the paralysed prey is brought in by the female, an egg laid and the burrow closed with the tip of her gaster being used as a tool to pound the soil-plug of the burrow. While the digging proceeds the paralysed spider may be left in the open, e.g. Anoplius viaticus, or hidden or even buried, e.g. Pompilus cinereus. Often, however, the spider is left on a tuft of vegetation, e.g. Episyron rufipes, Anoplius infuscatus, A. viaticus. The prey is frequently visited while the digging is in progress. The prey, because of its large size relative to the wasp, is usually dragged backwards to the burrow entrance where it is dropped. The cell is then inspected and the spider dragged in. Dipogon species, however, walk sideways while transporting their prey, Pompilus cinereus and Calliadurgus fasciatellus straddle their prey and walk forward while Episyron rufipes, with a relatively slightly smaller prey, is usually able, in a forward movement, to make a short hopping flight. The large prey hunted results in only a single spider being placed in each cell. Many species hunt spiders of widely differing families but sometimes there is a tendency either to take web-spinners, e.g. E. rufipes or running spiders, e.g. A. viaticus. Dipogon species specialize in certain species of spiders. Each female wasp digs several burrows which are usually widely separated from each other although sometimes they may be closer together, e.g. E. rufipes, or several females may nest close together, e.g. P. cinereus. A larva hatches from the egg, eats the spider, and then over-winters either as a larva or a pupa. Stealing of the paralysed prey temporarily stored while the digging proceeds is widespread in many species, e.g. D. variegata, P. cinereus, A. viaticus, A. infuscatus, E. rufipes. The females of Evagetes crassicornis and D. variegata will dig down to the buried paralysed prey, destroy the egg already present and lay their own egg, thus Naturalist 114 (1989) 4 Spider-hunting wasps of Yorkshire behaving as cleptoparasites. The female of the cleptoparasitic species of Ceropales each lays its egg in the lung-book of a paralysed spider during the time it is left at the entrance of the burrow. The egg of Ceropales hatches before that of its host and the host’s egg is eaten. Ceropales species are cleptoparasites on other species of spider- hunting wasps. I am indebted to the following authors, Richards and Hamm (1939), Bristowe (1948), Evans (1953), Malyshev (1968), Andrewes (1969), Evans and West Eberhard (1970) and Field (1986) for the above natural history observations. Work on the Yorkshire spider-hunting wasps started with Smith (1852, 1858) who discovered six species: Dipogon variegatus, Priocnemis exaltata, Arachnospila anceps, A. spissa, Anoplius viaticus, Ceropales maculata. Six species are present in Smith’s collection, held at Oxford University Museum, but only the five specimens D. variegatus carry labels relating to Yorkshire, which actually includes Priocnemis fennica - an additional species can therefore be attributed to Smith. Roebuck (1907) added two species: Pompilus cinereus, Priocnemis schi0dtei (referred to incorrectly as P. pusillus) although specimens relating to these records have not been found. Butterfield and Fordham (1930) added a further eight species: Priocnemis parvula, P. perburbator , Arachnospila trivalis, Evagetes crassicornis , Anoplius concinnus, A. nigerrimus, A. infuscatus , Episyron rufipes. Specimens matching these records have only been found for P. parvula while that of A. infuscatus was probably misidentified (Archer, 1987). A further species, Arachnospila consobrina was also listed by Butterfield and Fordham (1930) but doubted by Perkins; since Fordham was unable to find the specimen, this species has been removed from the Yorkshire list (Fordham card index, 1932). TABLE 1 Records and distributional units of the 20 species of the Pompilidae found in Watsonian Yorkshire to July 1987 No. records No. localities No. 10 km squares No. vice- counties Dipogon subintermedius 12 5 5 3 D. variegatus 11 11 9 3 Calliadurgus fasciatellus 2 1 1 1 Priocnemis exaltata 32 12 10 3 P. fennica 6 5 5 3 P. gracilis 6 3 3 2 P. parvula 34 20 18 5 P. schi0edtei 52 22 17 4 P. perturbator 17 12 11 4 Pompilus cinereus 38 10 7 3 Arachnospila anceps 58 27 22 5 A. trivalis 12 7 5 3 A. spissa 30 16 14 4 Evagetes crassicornis 42 15 13 4 Anoplius concinnus 12 9 8 3 A. nigerrimus 33 15 14 4 A. infuscatus 4 1 1 1 A. viaticus 33 6 6 3 Episyron rufipes 22 4 4 2 Ceropales maculata 7 2 2 2 Total 463 203 175 62 Actual 463 89 58 5 Spider-hunting wasps of Yorkshire 5 Two further species, Prionemis agilis (Flint 1967) and Arachnospila minutula (Flint 1973) are now known to have been misidentifications for P. schi0dtei and A. anceps. This paper re-introduces A. infuscatus and adds the following three species: Dipogon subintermedius , Calliadurgus fasciatellus and Priocnemis gracilis to give a Yorkshire list of 20 species out of a British list of 40 species. The 20 species are represented by 463 records from 89 localities in 58 10-km squares (Table 1). A record is a specimen whose label data varies in one of the following: name, sex, locality and day-date of capture. The sources of the records are derived from the literature, museum and personal collections. Specimens from the following museums have O o O o o o in V— CN OO Vf NV \ NZ rv / b. =3? o ¥ r • o \ s • o • •i p o d" • 0. X SD x O o o • r TA r a o m \ r ■'v— i \ ■0, • • o Q • \ r • • 0, ■Q • • • N ( • 0 \ “V • o ' N )• X ,r • • # • / SE - O BEFORE 19! - #1950 ONWAf 1 1 1 50 - \ • • ¥ 3D ¥ SK 1 30 20 10 500 KM 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 I10 400 KM 90 80 70 Map 1 - Records received of spider-hunting wasps to July 1987. been examined: Doncaster, Keighley, Leeds, London, Manchester, Oxford, Rotherham, Scarborough, Sheffield and York. I have been able to confirm the following 24 collectors: D. W. Bevan, A. Brackenbury, A. E. Bradley, J. T. Burn, R. Butterfield, H. Britten, I. H. Burkill, J. D. Coldwell, H. H. Corbett, J. H. Elliott, W. A. Ely, J. H. Flint, W. J. Fordham, C. F. George, W. D. Hincks, P. Kendall, E. Saunders, S. Shaw, T. Stainforth, P. Skidmore, A. Smith, D. H. Smith, F. Smith, J. Wood. The following were particularly important sources of records: J. T. Burn, R. Butterfield, J. H. Flint, W. J. Fordham, W. D. Hincks and J. Wood. My contribution is 163 records. I acknowledge many thanks to the past and present collectors and to the museum authorities for the wealth of records. The situation map (Map 1) shows a relative absence of records from the north of the county, the Wolds and parts of western Yorkshire. Mid-west Yorkshire (VC 64) shows up as being important for the early records, which have not been confirmed more recently. NO. RECORDS 6 Spider-hunting wasps of Yorkshire The records-locality plot (Figure 1) can be vertically divided into the four distributional statuses of common, frequent, occasional and rare species. Four species can be considered above the diagonal line and hence to be locally frequent or common. Further information on the four distributional statuses are given in Table 2. FIGURE 1 The records-localities plot of the Pompilidae found in Watsonian Yorkshire to July 1987. Status No. Localities No. species No. 10 km squares No. records Common 20-27 3 17-22 34-58 Frequent 10-16 7 7-14 11-42 Occasional 4-9 6 4-8 6-38 Rare 1-3 4 1-3 2-7 TABLE 2 Distributional status of the species of the Pompilidae in Watsonian Yorkshire based primarily on the number of localities in which each species has been found (see Figure 1, Table 1) In the following species accounts information is first given relating to Watsonian Yorkshire records and then to the English distributional status and months of adult activity. I am grateful to M. C. Day for much of the English data. In general in Yorkshire species first appear rather later than in the south of England. Dipogon subintermedius (Magretti, 1886) (= nitidus). Occasional (SE55, SE60, SE66, SE68, SE73), July to August but mainly during July. Aerial nests in walls, bramble stems and old insect borings in dead wood in sunny sheltered situations. Locally common throughout England from June to September. D. variegatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Map 2). Frequent, June to August but mainly during July and August. Aerial nests in almost any kind of cavity. Adults associated with upstanding dead wood in sunny sheltered situations. Not common in England but widely distributed, from June to September. 7 Spider-hunting wasps of Yorkshire Calliadurgus fasciatellus (Spinola, 1808). Rare, females taken in August and September and only known from Strensall Common (SE66). Dry sandy places. Known from southern England, where it is uncommon, so the Yorkshire record is an unusually northern record, July to early September. Priocnemis exaltata (Fabricius, 1775) (Map 3). Frequent, July to September but mainly during August, with females much more numerous than males. Dry sandy places. Common throughout England, May to September. P. fennica Haupt, 1927. Occasional (SE31, SE40, SE63, SE71, TA08), July to September. Sandy and clay soils but also in woodland sites. Recently recognised and has been found to be widely distributed throughout England, June to September. P. gracilis Haupt, 1929. Rare, in eastern Yorkshire (Fylingdales Moor, SE99; Kelsey, TA22; Spurn, TA41), June to September but mainly during July. Clay soils in woodlands and also more open ground, particularly at coastal sites. Infrequent in England, from Dorset to Kent and north to Yorkshire. P. parvula Dahlbom, 1845 (Map 4). Common, June to September with one record 4 October. Peak numbers during August, with females much more numerous than males. Usually on sandy soil but also on coastal clay soils. Frequent to common throughout England. P. schi0edtei Haupt, 1927 (Map 5). Common, June to September with females mainly during July and August and males during July, when males more numerous than females. Mainly on sandy soils but also on clay soils and in woodlands. Widely distributed throughout England but often infrequent or uncommon. P. perturbator (Harris, 1780) (Map 6). Frequent, May to July but mainly during May when both females and males are more likely to be found. An early species. No evidence of adult activity in the late summer or early autumn. Frequent throughout England but not particularly common, from April to July. Map 2 - Dipogon variegatus (Linnaeus). Spider-hunting wasps of Yorkshire 2 1 ° o ^ OO OOOOoOO OO OOOO O o ° oo° in cd r'cocnvj-^.fsjro co vr ^ q 20 10 500 KM 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 400 KM 90 80 70 Map 3 - Priocnemis exaltata (Fabricius). NV x NZ Tr\ X N x X J_ 5 vw c • V 5 \\ □ s X X SD • 4 TA ; ¥ J C_ ; ./ • y } y □ 'r 1 ill x % y i \ o r X X • _ T ~r~' • □ J se] L (X RFFPlDC : lot 30 - □ - #1950 0NWAF ID i- L r y SK _ N __ Map 4 - Priocnemis parvula Dahlbom. Spider-hunting wasps of Yorkshire 9 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO lo u2 c^oocnst^.cMro vfmujc^ooaiin^-t^i '■f 3 Q 20 10 500 KM 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 400 KM 90 80 70 Map 5 - Priocnemis schi0edtei Haupt. NV N x NZ lr X A 37 r • \ s • • p X SD 1 • ( TA * r \ \ r Q... • • \ Y S'" 0 \ ( • \ > r y X T 1 — - • j SE P _ r Irpi -DDC r 1 qc 30 \ • - 01950 ON WAf — ^ J SK Map 6 - Priocnemis perturbator (Harris). 10 Spider-hunting wasps of Yorkshire Map 7 - Pompilus cinereus (Fabricius). Map 8 - Arachnospila anceps (Wesmael). Spider-hunting wasps of Yorkshire 11 OO OOOOoOO oo oooo oo° O ° o t/i id r^oocnvf^-csico -4-mtDC^ooa)mr-cN oo 'f 2 0 20 10 500 KM 90 80 70 60 50 A0 30 20 10 A00KM 90 80 70 Map 9 - Arachnospila spissa (Schiddte). NV 4 x NZ /z lr x _S X _ ( 5 r \ • s 7_ a X X. SD 4 0; O • 4 TA r □ ~c. x % . • • v t m A 5^ r X X t □ j ■SE S -c -i ) BEF >195 r0RE 0 Ob : 19* JWAF 50 _ ¥ □ L / pK~ - Map 10 - Evagetes crassicornis (Shuckard). 12 Spider-hunting wasps of Yorkshire I I ° o _ OOOOOOoOOOO ooooooooog U) (fl C^oOCDvJ-^-csirO vfLT) CD t>- cQ CD LO ■ — <*> '■f 3 q 20 10 500 KM 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 400 KM 90 80 70 Map 11 - Anoplius concinnus (Dahlbom). NY S NZ lr X 'l 71 N » __ \ r \ s \ >7 d X SD / f TA S; r \ \ r \ O J \ 9 \ ( • \ r y T ■ • • ) SE - O BEFORE 195 - #1950 0NWAF 50 - \ • • RD / SK Map 12 - Anoplius nigerrimus (Scopoli). 13 Spider-hunting wasps of Yorkshire Pompilus cinereus (Fabricius, 1775) (Map 7). Frequent but locally common in southern Yorkshire, June to September but mainly during June and July. Open sandy places, particularly on the coast but also inland in sandpits and open sands of heathlands. Frequent to common throughout England, from May to September. Arachnospila anceps (Wesmael, 1851) (Map 8). The commonest spider-hunting wasp of Yorkshire, June to September with a male record for 30 May. Females equally frequent from June to September but males mainly during June and July. Sandy soils. Frequent to common throughout England, May to September. A. spissa (Schipdte, 1837) (Map 9). Frequent, June to August with females mainly during June and July and males during June. Associated with various soils including heavier soils but also in wooded situations. Frequent to fairly common throughout England, May to August. A. trivalis (Dahlbom, 1843). Occasional in central and southern Yorkshire (SK69, SE33, SE34, SE60, SE74), June to September with females much more numerous than males. Sandy soils. Infrequent and locally common throughout England, north to Lancashire and Yorkshire. Evagetes crassicornis (Shuckard, 1845) (Map 10). Frequent but locally common, June to September but mainly during July and August with females more numerous than males. Sandy places. Frequent throughout England but rarely common, May to September. Anoplius concinnus (Dahlbom, 1845) (Map 11). Occasional in central and southern Yorkshire, June to September but mainly during July. Not especially associated with sandy places but on stony or gravelly places at coast or riverside. Throughout England but infrequent. A. infuscatus (Vander Linden, 1827). Rare in southern Yorkshire (Crow Wood, near Finningley, SK69), June to August. Moist sandy places. Frequent to common in England extending north to Lancashire and Yorkshire. A. nigerrimus (Scopoli, 1763) (Map 12) Frequent, June to September with a female record for 26 May, females mostly encountered during August and males during June. Sandy places. Common throughout England. A. viaticus (Linnaeus, 1758). Occasional but locally frequent (SE31, SE60, SE65, SE66, SE74, SK69), April to September, with females most frequent from May to June and again from August to September with males mainly during August. An early species with a record of a female on 6 April. Sandy places. Infrequent but locally common in England going north to Yorkshire. Episyron rufipes (Linnaeus, 1758). Occasional but locally frequent in south-eastern Yorkshire (Blaxton Common, SE60; Allerthorpe Common, SE74; Rossington Bridge, SK69; Spurn, TA41), June to August with males mainly during June. Sandy places particularly at the coast. Locally common in England as far north as Lancashire and Yorkshire. Ceropales maculata (Fabricius, 1775). Rare (Woolley Edge, SE31; Allerthorpe Common, SE74), June to August and not recorded since 1950. Inland sandy places. Found throughout England but rarely locally common. References Andrewes, Sir C. (1969) The Lives of Wasps and Bees. Chatto & Windus, London. Archer, M. E. (1987) Recorder’s second report on the Aculeate Hymenoptera in Yorkshire. Naturalist 112: 109-112. Betts, C., ed. (1986) The Hymenopterist’s Handbook. The Amateur Entomologists’ Society, London. Bristowe, W. S. (1948) Notes on the habits and prey of twenty species of British hunting wasps. Proc. Linn. Soc. 160: 12-37. Butterfield, R. and Fordham, W. J. (1930) Aculeate Hymenoptera of Yorkshire. Naturalist 55: 367-369. Evans, H. E. (1953) Comparative ethology and the systematics of spider wasps. Syst. Zool. 1953: 155-172. 14 Book Review Evans, H. E. and West Eberhard, M. J. (1970) The Wasps. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor. Field, J. D. (1986) Aspects of the ecology of solitary bees and wasps, in The Hymenopter- ist’s Handbook (ed. C. Betts): 38-55. London Flint, J. H. (1967) Annual Report for 1966. Hymenoptera Aculeata. Naturalist 92: 18. Flint, J. H. (1973) Annual Report for 1973. Hymenoptera Aculeata. Naturalist 98: 21. Malyshev, S. I. (1966) Genesis of the Hymenoptera and the Phases of their Evolution. Methuen, London. Richards, O. W. and Hamm, A. H. (1939) The biology of the British Pompilidae (Hymenoptera). Trans. Soc. Brit. Ent. 6: 51-114. Roebuck, W. D. (1907) Hymenoptera, in Victoria County History of Yorkshire. 1: 210-219. Smith, F. (1852) Captures of Hymenoptera in Yorkshire. Zoologist 10: 3625-3626. Smith, F. (1858) Catalogue of British Fossorial Hymenoptera, Formicidae, and Vespidae, in the collection of the British Museum. British Museum, London. Willmer, P. (1985) Bees, Ants and Wasps. A key to genera of the British Aculeata. Field Studies Council. Wolf, H. (1972) Insecta Helvetica. 5. Hymenoptera. Pompilidae. Druck, Zurich. Yeo, P. F. and Corbet, S. A. (1983) Solitary Wasps. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. BOOK REVIEW Turtles and Tortoises of the World by D. Alderton, with photographs by Tony Tilford. Pp. 191. 98 plates, 61 of them in colour, 6 figs, 12 distribution maps. Blandford. 1988. £11.95. This is a very good introduction to its subject, and benefits considerably from an excellent range of good colour photographs. Three introductory chapters, covering relationships with man, form and function, and reproduction are followed by a brief discussion of the evolution of Chelonia and then by the main strength of the book, a systematic account, family by family, of all the extant forms. I got the impression that the author is least happy with the anatomical side of his subject, and I would argue with some of the details (e.g. the precoracoid of Fig. 5 is the ventral prong of the scapula). His Fig. 1 is going to baffle totally anyone who doesn’t already know the make-up of a turtle carapace. The discussion of the fossil history, particularly of Eunotosaurus and Proganochelys , is also a bit suspect, and really needed some diagrams. None of this matters very much in what is only marginal to the main interest and value of the book, i.e. the systematic account in Chapter 5. In 67 pages, this provides a distribution map for each family, and a good general discussion of the appearance, biology and interests of the included species. A very useful appendix lists all the species and subspecies of living Chelonia. A short glossary and index complete the book. It is a pity that the maps and captions for the side-necked turtles got totally confused (Map 10, labelled Platysternidae, belongs to the Chelidae; Map 11, labelled Chelidae, belongs to the Pelomedusidae; and Map 12, labelled Pelomedusidae, belongs to the Platysternidae), but anyone reading the text will soon realize this. Perhaps the most surprising feature of this book is that it is not dominated by the seven marine turtles on which so much research and conservation effort has been expended. This is particularly true of the photographs, which seem to have been carefully selected to illustrate the full range of chelonians. This is why I recommend this book as an introduction to the group. DWY 15 CURRENT DISTRIBUTION OF COROPHIUM CURVISPINUM SARS. VAR. DEVIUM WUNDSCH (CRUSTACEA: AMPHIPODA) IN BRITAIN WITH NOTES ON ITS ECOLOGY IN THE SHROPSHIRE UNION CANAL J. R. PYGOTT AND S. DOUGLAS Department of Botany, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX Department of Zoology, University of Liverpool Distribution Corophium curvispinum Sars. var. devium Wundsch is a tubicolous (tube-dwelling) amphipod crustacean native to the lower and middle courses of the rivers Volga, Danube, Dneiper, Don, Niemen and Elbe and to two lakes in the Caucasus. A second species C. spongicollum Velitchkovsky is also freshwater, but other members of the genus are marine and estuarine. Ratcliffe’s (1977) listing of C. curvispinum var. devium as a common brackish water crustacean is incorrect. C. spongicollum has not been recorded in Britain, but C. curvispinum var. devium was first recorded from the River Avon in the vicinity of Tewkesbury (Crawford, 1935) although the exact location is not clear. Repeat collections around Tewkesbury have failed to locate it (Moon 1979). Since 1935, a number of workers have recorded C. curvispinum var. devium at other locations in Britain, principally navigable rivers and canals, but these records have never been collated. Figure 1 summarises the current known distribution from all available published and unpublished records. A number of records from other sites, where the locations were not clearly specified, are also listed. Autecology The habitat preferences and role in fish diet of this amphipod were investigated at sites on the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal in Cheshire (SJ 662 585) and on the mainline of the same canal in Shropshire (SJ 713 288). The canal carries heavy summer pleasure boat traffic. The channel is 12-14m wide, with a 1.25-1. 5m deep central section. Vegetation is sparse, with isolated patches of Potamogeton pectinatus L.,Glyceria maxima (Hartm.) Holmberg, Phalaris arundinacea L., and Rumex hydrolapathum Huds. In many places the banks consist of concrete retaining walls. During September 1986, a length of the Middlewich Branch was drained for engineering work and this permitted an examination of the channel to be made. Many thousands of individuals of C. curvispinum var. devium were present on horizontal parts of the concrete walls. The vertical parts of the walls and a number of large stones and bricks in the channel also supported large numbers, but markedly less than the horizontal surfaces. Small numbers of the animal were also found attached to the stems and leaves of Potamogeton pectinatus. C. curvispinum var. devium was the most numerous macroinvertebrate in the canal although several species of bivalve molluscs, particularly species of Anodonta and Pisidium had larger standing crops. A small sample of fish from the second site was obtained for diet analysis. Ten stomachs from the following species were examined; Roach (Rutilus rutilus (L.)), Gudgeon Gobio gobio (L.)), Ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus (L.)) and Perch (Perea fluviatilis (L.)). In addition five stomachs from introduced Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio (L.)) were examined. C. curvispinum var. devium was an abundant food item in three of the five species with the exception of Roach, which had eaten mainly detritus and plant material and Common Carp, which had eaten a variety of detritus and large bivalve molluscs. Naturalist 114 (1989) 16 Current distribution of Corophium curvispinum FIGURE 1 Distribution of Corophium curvispinum var. devium Exact locations not specified: 1. South Oxford Canal (northern section) 2. Worcester and Birmingham Canal 3. Shropshire Union Canal, Cheshire 4. River Avon, Tewkesbury Discussion C. curvispinum var. devium has been recorded from a number of navigable rivers and canals in Britain and a single record from the unnavigated River Swale in North Yorkshire. (Figure 1). This suggests that its spread may have been aided by boats. In a heavily navigated canal, this amphipod was one of the few invertebrates able to 1984 1982 1976 1935 17 Recent occurrences of Harp seal, Plagophilus groenlandicus tolerate the disturbed conditions produced by frequent boat movements. However it was reliant on stable, solid surfaces in order to exist in large numbers. Several of the fish species present in the canal utilised it as a food item. Considering the relative paucity of other invertebrates in this canal, it is suggested that C. curvispinum var. devium may form an important component of the food web and may have a vital role in maintaining the fish stocks in the canal. Acknowledgements The help of the following is gratefully acknowledged: Mr T. R. Williams (Department of Zoology, University of Liverpool), Dr J. H. Mathias (Leicestershire Museums Service, Natural History Records Section), Mr P. T. Harding (Biological Records Centre, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology), and Dr P. D. Armitage (Freshwater Biological Association River Laboratory). Sources Of Distribution Records And Literature Cited Bratton, J. H. (1982) Corophium curvispinum Sars. (Crustacea: Amphipoda) recorded in the London area. London Nat. 63: 63. Crawford, G. H. (1935) Corophium curvispinum G. O. Sars. var. devium Wundsch in England. Nature 136: 685-686. Gledhill, T., Sutcliffe, D. W. and Williams W. D. (1976) A Revised Key to the British species of Crustacea : Malacostraca occuring in Freshwater. Freshwater Biological Association Scientific Publication no. 32. Goddard, D. (1980) Ashby Canal - Report of Survey of Aquatic and Riparian Inverte- brates. Leicester Museum, Art Galleries and Records Service and N.C.C. (East Midlands Region). Holland, D. W. (1976) The distribution of the freshwater Malacostraca in the area of the Mersey and Weaver River Authority. Freshw. Biol. 6: 265-277 . Moon, H. P. (1970). Corophium curvispinum (Amphipoda) recorded again in the British Isles. Nature 226: 976. Moon, H. P. (1976). Corophium curvispinum Sars. (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Corophi- dae). Leics. Lit. Phil. Soc (Nat. Hist. Section) Newsletter 28: 8-10. Morton, J. A. (1974) Canal invertebrates at Foxton. Leics. Lit. Phil. Soc. (Nat. Hist. Section) Newsletter 19: 3-8. Nau, B. S. (1976) Some Amphipod records from Bedfordshire and neighbouring counties. Bedfordshire Nat. 30: 63. Ratcliffe, D. (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. Volume 1. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. RECENT OCCURRENCES OF HARP SEAL, PLAGOPHILUS GROENLANDICUS (ERXLEBEN), IN THE NORTH SEA C. A. HOWES Museum and Art Gallery, Chequer Road, Doncaster DN1 2AE Introduction The Harp or Greenland seal is a highly migratory arctic and sub-arctic circumpolar species. It seldom ventures south of 60 degrees N and consequently has only rarely been recorded in British waters (Hewer 1974). Its three major breeding populations are situated in areas of pack ice in northeast Newfoundland and the Gulf of St Lawrence, around Jan Mayen Island and at the mouth of the White Sea (Hewer 1974, Bonner 1977). It is likely that stragglers from this latter group accounted for the 1-2 records per decade during the 19th century and fewer since, occurring off the northern isles of the Naturalist 114 (1989) 18 Recent occurrences of Harp seal, Plagophilus groenlandicus Orkneys and the Shetlands (Hewer 1974). Other occurrences in Scottish waters include one in the Hebrides pre-1870, one seen off West Loch Tarbert, Kintyre, three in Loch Scridian, Mull and one in the Firth of Forth, all pre-1896 (Lydekker 1896). Off the Irish west coast Lydekker (1896) notes the occurrence of one off Galway. From around the coastline and estuaries of England are records of two killed in the Severn in 1836 (Lydekker 1896, Bonner 1977), an adult (preserved in the British Museum Nat. Hist.) caught in the North Sea (Gray 1866), a sub-adult caught in the Thames at Isleworth on 25 March 1885 (Gray 1866, Lydekker 1896), an immature specimen caught in Morecambe Bay in January 1868 (the skull was presented to Kendall Museum) (Lydekker 1896) and a specimen in the Teign (King 1964). Diet in summer consists of pelagic Crustacea such as Thysanoessa and Themisto , amphipods and mollusca. During autumn and winter, diet switches to fish, notably capelin ( Mallotus villosus ) and arctic cod ( Boreogadus saida ) the seal’s distribution at this time closely reflecting that of its prey. Feeding is minimal during the breeding and moulting seasons from February to May (Bonner 1977, Ronald et al. 1982). Harp seals have had a long history of ethnic and commercial exploitation, though a significant decline during the second half of this century, particularly in its eastern populations, was attributed to intensification of annual culls, notably of white-coated unweaned pups, to supply the increased demands of the fur trade (Ronald et al. 1982). Protection since 1983, when the importation of pelts into Europe was banned (a ban in force until 1989), has enabled the species to increase, though at a time when food sources are much depleted. Altered feeding migrations of the Jan Mayen population, apparently caused by a collapse of fish stocks (particularly capelin and arctic cod) have resulted in large numbers of one and two-year-old animals moving into the fishing grounds off the Norwegian Coast and into the northern North Sea. Specimens which drowned in the Norwegian fishing nets during February 1987 showed evidence of emaciation, with blubber reserves estimated to be only 16 per cent of the norm for the time of year (Dines 1987). These abnormal winter feeding movements are likely to be responsible for Yorkshire and Humberside’s first harp seal records. Field Notes On 5 April 1987, a 1.5 - 2 m specimen was hauled out on the mud near the jetty at North Killingholme Haven on the south bank of the Humber (Grid ref. T A/167203). It was observed from a range of 3 - 4 m and due to its contrasting cream and black markings was judged to be a male (M. Fisher, pers. comm.). Although the situation was apparently not as acute during the winter of 1987/8, feeding movements again resulted in harp seals entering the North Sea. On 23 February 1988 a specimen was found dead in the Wash near Boston Lincolnshire and on 24 February a sick specimen was reported off the Kent coast (S. Anderson, pers. comm.). On 12 March a harp seal, judged to be the size of a female grey seal ( Halichoerus gryphus), was observed at 3.35 pm, 80-100 yards off Flamborough Head. It was watched for over 25 minutes swimming on the surface, rolling and diving, giving good views of its striking black to dark brown facial, shoulder, flank and abdominal markings which contrasted with its generally white to cream pelage, before slowly moving off to the north (A. Allport, pers. comm.). Since exaggerated winter feeding movements may continue to result in vagrant harp seals seasonally occurring in the North Sea, the Sea Mammal Research Unit, c/o British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OET, would be interested to receive any further records. Acknowledgements I would like to thank Mik Fisher of Cleethorpes, Anne Frankish of Scunthorpe Museum, 19 Badger cub mortality in Doncaster area and Andrew Allport of the Flamborough Ornithological Group for detailed field notes and sketches, and Sheila Anderson of the (NERC) Sea Mammals Research Unit for records and valuable background information. References Bonner, W. N. (1977) Pinnipedia, in Corbet, G. B. and Southern, H. N. (eds) The Handbook of British Mammals. Blackwell, Oxford. Dines, S. (1987) The irony of the harp seal’s fate. Mam. Soc. Youth Newsletter , Autumn 1987. Gray, J. E. (1866) Catalogue of Seals and Whales in the British Museum. British Museum (Nat. Hist. ), London. Hewer, H. R. (1974) British Seals. Collins, London. King, J. E. (1964) Seals of the World. British Museum (Nat. Hist.), London. Lydekker, R. (1896) A Handbook of the British Mammalia. Edward Lloyd, London. Ronald, K., Healey, P. J. and Fisher, H. D. (1982) The Harp Seal, in F. A. O. Fisheries Series No. 5. Mammals in the Seas Vol. 4: 267-293 United Nations, Rome. NOTE ON HIGH BADGER CUB MORTALITY AT A SETT IN THE DONCASTER AREA BETWEEN 1984 AND 1988 P. N. JOHNSON During a long term study of social interactions and reproductive success of a small clan of Badgers Meles meles, in the Doncaster area, a high level of aggression-related mortality was noted in the cubs of the year. This social group was previously subjected to a high level of persecution by Badger diggers, with up to five separate instances of dogs being placed underground and digging into the sett occurring annually. Despite this the sett has remained occupied continuously for the past 30 years. At present the adult social group consists of four resident adult animals, one boar and three sows, one dominant and two yearlings. Elsewhere in the Doncaster area, the actions of the diggers have artificially reduced the number of natural setts occupied by Badgers by 80 per cent (Johnson and Paget 1984) and has possibly interfered with the normal behaviour of this remaining population. However, since 1984, no known instances of interference have occurred at the sett monitored in this study. This reduction in persecution has provided an opportunity to study the re-establishment of a normal population density for the area, the redefinition of territorial ranges, and the monitoring of the rate of recolonization into previously occupied areas. The yearly levels of success of the reproductive effort were monitored at the sett. In 1984, two cubs were reared successfully to independence. In 1985 two cubs were born, though on 11 September one, a boar cub, was found dead outside the sett, in a shallow depression two metres away from an entrance hole to the sett. This depression had not been previously noted and appeared to have been recently excavated; it may have been a shallow grave excavated by the Badgers themselves, as several Badger prints were noticed in the soft soil beneath the dead cub. Badgers have been recorded previously transporting and burying their dead (Paget and Middleton 1974). Severe bite marks were found around the neck and hind quarters of the dead cub, with areas of fur removed around the point of injury. Ageing by analysis of the skull formation, according to Neal (1986), showed this cub was approximately 36 weeks old. Naturalist 114 (1989) 20 Badger cub mortality in Doncaster area In 1986, two cubs of the year were observed at the sett in April. On 18 July one of these cubs was recovered dead just inside one of the sett entrance holes. Analysis of this cub revealed it to have been a boar. Though badly decomposed indicating death had occurred at least a week before recovery, the cub had sustained severe injuries to the hind quarters and throat; the pattern of these bite injuries was similar to the tooth arrangement pattern of a large carnivore. The cub was aged from its skull formation which showed it was approximately 28 weeks old at the time of death. In 1987, breeding was delayed, with two cubs approximately 24 weeks old recorded on 2 September. No mortality was recorded this year. In 1988, on 2 March, a newly- born sow cub, still attached to a length of umbilical cord, was recovered just outside the sett. The cub had bite marks around the hind quarters and had been bleeding before death. During the past four years, three of the eight cubs raised in this small social group died from physical injuries before attaining maturity. The actions of aggression were not observed in any of these instances and the circumstances surrounding each case may only be speculated upon. However aggression by dominant sows towards the cubs of other sows has been observed both in the field and within an enclosed study group of Badgers by Hans Kruuk {pers comm.). Both boar cubs found in 1985 and 1986 would have been capable of a certain level of mobility about the sett and capable of a level of self defence from other predatory mammals entering the sett. Foxes Vulpus vulpes have been recorded killing young badger cubs (Neal 1986) and are present in the area around the sett complex. However, in view of the substantial injuries both cubs had received to the body, the aggressor must have been a large carnivore, capable of biting through the thick fatty skin of a Badger. Though no evidence of interference was recorded at the sett, it is possible that the cubs suffered their injuries away from it, possibly via an encounter with a large domestic dog. Abandoned and neglected dogs are known to roam in the farming areas around the sett. Badgers have been known to return to the sett area after suffering injury and to die in the entrance holes (Neal pers comm.). However, the discovery of the two dead male cubs coincided with a higher level of observed above-ground interactions between the dominant boar and sow. Prior to the time of each death, the sow and cubs had been using a separate section of the sett complex and entrance holes from that used by the boar and no above-ground interactions between the two sexes had been observed. This may possibly indicate a reduction in the level of protection of the cubs by the sow, exposing the male cubs to the aggressive actions of another animal or animals. Aggression by dominant male social mammals against non-related male offspring has been recorded in the Lion. If the cubs found dead at the sett were not related to the dominant boar, they may have been killed by it to remove any potential future competition and ensure that his genes, rather than those of his predecessors, were passed on to the next generation. (Neal pers comm.). Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr E. Neal and Dr H. Kruuk for commenting upon earlier drafts of this note and on the possible causes of the observed cub mortality. References Johnson, P. N. and Paget, R. J. (1984) Badger losses from South Yorkshire, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Report to House of Commons Environment Committee Review of the Wildlife and Countryside Act: Appendix 5. Neal, E. (1986) The Natural History of Badgers. Croom Helm, London. Paget, R. J. and Middleton, A. L. V. (1974) The Badgers of Yorkshire and Humberside, Sessions, York. 21 FURTHER NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF BOTANICAL INVESTIGATION ON THORNE MOORS MARTIN LIMBERT Museum and Art Gallery, Doncaster In a recent paper (Limbert 1987), an outline history of botanical investigation on Thorne Moors was presented. In concluding a more general research programme on the history of naturalists on the Doncaster mires, several further significant botanical references have been located, and are worth noting here. Thomas Knowlton (1691-1781) was a professional gardener and horticulturist, employed for many years by the Earl of Burlington at Londesborough, north of Market Weighton. Much of his surviving correspondence has been published (Henrey 1986), including a letter to the botanist and collector Samuel Brewer, in which Knowlton listed ‘such plants I have observed to grow wild that are not very common’. This was contained in a postscript note dated 29 August 1729, five days after the letter had been commenced. The contents include records from moorland ‘at Old Goole’, as elucidated by Henrey. Knowlton wrote: Ledum palustre nostras arbuti flore [Andromeda polifolia ] grows at ye moses [mosses] att yould [Old Goole] in marshland plenty & in yorkshire Empetrum montanum [Empetrum nigrum] in many places in yorkshire phalangium anglicum palustry [Narthecium ossifragum] att yould mosses oxycocus sive vaccine palustre [Vaccinium oxycoccos] att yould mosses . . . In 1772 the Doncaster botanist and civil engineer Thomas Tofield, who lived at Wilsic, undertook ‘a View’ of the intended course of a canal envisaged to link the Don and Trent rivers, at Stainforth and Althorpe respectively. The projected course included a length ‘through some low Grounds, called Common-Hills and Thorne-Peat Moors’ (Tofield 1772). It therefore appears that Tofield visited Thorne Moors. However, amongst his extant botanical records (Skidmore et al. 1981), there are none from any Thorne site. Samuel Appleby, another leading Doncaster botanist, who died in 1868 (Anon. 1868, 1868a, Skidmore 1972), spoke to the Doncaster Philosophical Society on 15 May 1865 on ‘the botanical features of the neighbourhood of Doncaster’ (Appleby 1865). In this he remarked that: Doncaster and its neighbourhood is a favourable province for one who has an inclination to pursue botanical researches . . . He further noted that ‘within an easy day’s ramble lie thousands of acres of moorland, abounding with numbers of primitive wild plants’. He stated that he had botanised widely in the Doncaster district, including fieldwork ‘in the direction of . . . Thorne’. It is not known if he successfully located the Scheuchzeria. The first known visit to Thorne Moors by an organization based beyond the Thorne region occurred in 1865, when on 21 June, the Sheffield Field Naturalists’ Society (see Ward 1958) visited the moorland. This was at the invitation of Makin Durham, a local landowner, civil engineer and entrepreneur, who owned large parts of Thorne Moors. Accounts of the visit appeared in three newspapers (Anon. 1865, 1865a, 1865b). The party was accompanied on the moors by William Casson, and their collecting encompassed a wide range of organisms. The accounts of the day included, inter alia, a short list of the most noteworthy plants: Amongst others, the following plants were observed: the sweet gale ( myrica gale) . . . two species of sundew, the delicate and comparatively rare andromeda, the cranberry - in blossom and fruit, the wood groundsel, the marsh potentilla . . . Naturalist 114 (1989) 22 Book Review Acknowledgements I am grateful to Peter Tuffrey for directing my attention to the references in the Doncaster, Nottingham and Lincoln Gazette. References Anon. (1865) Thorne Moors. Doncaster, Nottingham and Lincoln Gazette, 23 June. Anon. (1865a) Excursion of the Sheffield Field Naturalists’ Society to Thorne Moor. Sheffield and Rotherham Independent, 24 June. Anon. (1865b) Excursion of the Sheffield Field Naturalists’ Society to Thorne Moor. Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 24 June. Anon. (1868) Death of Mr Samuel Appleby. Doncaster, Nottingham and Lincoln Gazette, 26 June. Anon. (1868a) Death of Mr Samuel Appleby. Doncaster Chronicle, 26 June. Appleby, S. (1865) Botanical Reminiscences. Doncaster, Nottingham and Lincoln Gazette, 19 May. Henrey, B. (1986) No ordinary gardener: Thomas Knowlton, 1691-1781. London. Limbert, M. (1987) Materials for a History of Botanical Investigation on Thorne Moors. Naturalist 112: 117-24. Skidmore, P. (1972) Samuel Appleby, Doncaster Botanist. Naturalist 97: 55-7. Skidmore, P., M. J. Dolby and M. D. Hooper (1981) Thomas Tofield of Wilsic. Doncaster. Tofield, T. (1772) A report on the practicability of making a navigable canal, from the River Don at Stainf orth-Cut, to the River Trent at Althorpe. Doncaster. Ward, A. (1958) The History of the Sorby Society. Sorby Rec. 1: 1-20. BOOK REVIEW Science for Survival: Plants and Rainforests in the Classroom by Adam Cade. Pp. 244. Richmond Publishing. 1988. £9.95. This book is concerned with the rainforests, one of today’s most threatened ecosystems. Arising out of his own experiences in Malaysia, the author establishes a link between the survival of plant species and the conservation of rainforests, with the aim of stimulating a sense of environmental awareness amongst pupils in the classroom. The book is particularly suitable for use by 11- to 16-year-olds, especially in the context of such subjects as Biology, Geography and Environmental Sciences, although it could also be adapted for use in other disciplines. It provides a choice of 74 suggested activities, covering 14 main topics which vary from ‘plants and relationships’ to ‘forests for people’. One of the book’s objectives is the positive stimulation amongst pupils of a sense of environmental awareness and commitment to conservation. Teachers who use the book will appreciate the information provided, through which pupils will gain an overall insight into the dynamics and structure of rainforests, besides a historical view of the problem of deforestation and its effects on environmental balance as a whole. The exercises, which are designed in order to reproduce many of the phenomena which take place in a rainforest, are accompanied by detailed notes for teachers, as well as guidelines to be followed by their students. In addition, the book provides an appendix which gives complementary data on rainforests and a select list of representatives of the plant communities to be found in such ecosystems. Finally, the book suggests further avenues for continuing work developed in the classroom, providing a reference and resource list including named organizations which can be contacted for further information on different aspects of the rainforests, as well as a list of organizations concerned with conserving them. WLF 23 ASPECTS OF THE BREEDING BIOLOGY OF THE BUZZARD BUTEO BUTEO IN NORTH WALES P. J. DARE Glebe House, Toad Row, Henstead, Beccles, Suffolk NR34 7LG The Buzzard Buteo buteo is the commonest raptor in the uplands of north Wales and is thus an important member of the resident avifauna. This species is even more numerous in mid-Wales, where its ecology and breeding biology have been studied recently in relation to land use (Newton, Davis and Davis 1982). In north Wales, from 1977 to 1985, a complete census was made of Buzzards breeding in the mountains of Snowdonia and in the contiguous and contrasting region to the east; the density, dispersion and productivity of this population will be described in publications elsewhere. This paper presents information on other aspects of breeding - nest sites, breeding season and the prey brought to Buzzard broods. Study Area and Buzzard Population The area covers 1366 km2 and comprises two contrasting geological and agricultural regions: (A) Snowdonia - 926 km2 of rugged mountainous terrain west of the river Conwy and north of the Vale of Ffestiniog between 15-1085 m elevation; (B) Migneint- Hiraethog - 440 km2 of gently undulating moorland and enclosed hill farms extending east from the upper reaches of the river Conwy between 150-688 m a.s.l. Full details are given elsewhere (Dare 1986). During 1977-85, Snowdonia supported ninety-six breeding territories at a mean density of 9.7 km2 per pair of Buzzards and with a mean nearest-neighbour distance between nests of 1.95 km. In Migneint-Hiraethog, the corresponding values were sixty-two territories, 7.1 km2 per pair, and 1.53 km. Annual breeding success was higher than that of the denser Buzzard population in mid-Wales, averaging 0.74 and 0.95 fledglings per pair of population in Snowdonia and Migneint-Hiraethog respectively. Methods Nests were located mainly by observing Buzzards and by systematic searches of the many likely tree and rock sites in each territory, usually from January until August each year. For each nest, the following details were noted: grid reference, altitude (from 1:25000 scale maps), type of site (tree species, quarry or natural crag) and height of nest above ground. Buzzard nests were often inaccessible but the nest contents of many could be viewed from nearby vantage points with the aid of binoculars (x 10) or telescope (x 20). The large size of study area, and nest site difficulties, precluded a thorough study of breeding biology. Instead, annual samples of nests were examined occasionally on an opportunistic basis, their number and location varying according to chance and the census priorities each spring. Few precise measurements of laying interval, incubation and nestling periods have been published, and all show considerable variation. In this study, laying, hatching and fledging dates could be determined accurately for only a few nests. At some others, however, observations were sufficiently close to these critical events to estimate dates to within 1-2 days, using the following procedures. First-egg dates were estimated from (a) completed clutches first found when incomplete, (b) back calculations for clutches observed during the hatch, or (c) very small chicks (< 3-5 days old), by using a mean incubation period of 35 days per egg and an interval between eggs at laying of 2 days (personal observations, and P. E. Davis in litt.). Hatching dates were estimated from direct observations, as above, or more usually from the sizes and plumage of chicks less than 10 days old, using experience from another study (Dare 1961). Likewise, fledging dates were either witnessed or, more typically, could be estimated from the behaviour Naturalist 114 (1989) 24 Aspects of the breeding biology of Buzzards of fully-feathered young in the nest or scarcely out of the nest. The volume of data increased as the breeding season progressed because more nests were found after than before hatching, while every attempt was made to reduce disturbance to birds during the vulnerable incubation phase. The diet of Buzzard broods was assessed from prey remains found on or below occupied nests, supplemented by direct observations from hides at three nests. Pellets were not analyzed because very few were found. TABLE 1 Nest site features of Buzzards in the study area, 1977-85 Snowdonia Migneint-Hiraethog Nest Altitude (m): mean (range) tree sites 170 ( 10-330) 275 (120-410) crag sites 328 (135-575) 330 (310-320) quarry sites 260 ( 90-330) - all sites 220 ( 10-575) 285 (120-410) Nest Sites: territory frequency trees 56 (60%) 59 (95%) rock - crags 30 (32%) - rock - quarries 5 ( 5%) - trees/rocks 2 ( 2%) 3 ( 5%) 93 62 Tree Species: no. of nests oak 49*(15) 25 (7) birch 6 17 sycamore 6 (3) 14t(3) beech 3 7 ash 2 (2) 2 (1) alder 1 (1) 4 rowan 0 3 holly 1* 1 Prunus 1 0 Scots pine 7 17t larch 3 13 spruce/fir 9 8 88 (21) 111 (13) Rock Sites: no. of nests crag 30tt 0 quarry (disused) 7 0 rock inside wood 6$ 1 river gorge/gully 0 3 steep bank (moorland) 1 0 44 4 Notes Nests in ivy-covered trees are given in parentheses. * a single tree growing out of a cliff face, t old nest of Raven. $ includes three nests on ledges under tree roots. In 1972, one pair bred successfully in a hawthorn tree in Migneint-Hiraethog region. Aspects of the breeding biology of Buzzards 25 Nest Sites The Buzzards were adaptable and used a wide variety of sites, with a marked difference between the two regions (Table 1) reflecting in part the relative availability of rock and tree sites. In the 93 Snowdonia territories where nests were found, 37 per cent of pairs used only rock sites, including disused quarries, and 60 per cent used trees, whereas in Migneint-Hiraethog, where suitable crags were very scarce, no pairs used rocks exclus- ively and 95 per cent were tree-nesters. In a few territories in each region, both tree and rock sites were used. Most Snowdonia Buzzards nested on the lower and intermediate hill-sides between the 90 m and 230 m contours, the mean altitude for all 107 sites being 220 m (range: 10-575 m). Not surprisingly, tree-nesting pairs bred at lower altitudes (mean = 170 m, range: 10-330 m) than rock-nesters (mean = 328 m, range: 135-575 m). In Migneint- Hiraethog, the mean nest altitude for 80 sites was 285 m (range: 120-410 m). Rock-nesting Buzzards in Snowdonia used mainly vegetated ledges on small, sheltered crags on the lower valley slopes and often amongst woodland. Several pairs selected small (10 m high) rocks on steep slopes and hidden within mature conifer forest, the nest being located 4-4.5 m up and either on a ledge or beneath the protruding roots of an overhanging oak tree. Such pairs were perhaps maintaining a ‘traditional’ trait pre- dating the planting of these forests in the period 1920 to 1970. At the other extreme, some Buzzards nested on high and exposed crags in treeless, montane territories. In Migneint-Hiraethog, two pairs used three sites on ledges in narrow river gorges or gullies on the moorland fringe. Active nests were found in 13 species of tree, again with regional differences (Table 1). In Snowdonia, 78 per cent of nests were in deciduous trees, and predominantly sessile oak (55 per cent), whereas in Migneint-Hiraethog fewer (66 per cent) were in deciduous and only 23 per cent in oak. Buzzards in Snowdonia also seemed to use heavily ivy-covered deciduous species more (31 per cent) than they did in Migneint- Hiraethog (15 per cent). These differences did not obviously reflect relative tree abundance per se because large conifer forests now occur in Snowdonia, as noted above. However, Buzzards there seldom used conifers, seeming instead to prefer indigenous oak woods which are a feature of this region. Tree sites were usually located within secluded woods or shelterbelts but some were in hedgerow or roadside trees, isolated moorland trees (1), or in small trees growing out of rock faces (2). Buzzards were so tolerant of routine farming and other rural activities that several successful nests were within 250 m of occupied farmsteads or cottages; there was only one known case of deliberate nest interference in 309 recorded breeding attempts during this study. The average estimated height above ground level of 198 active tree nests was 12.2 m in Snowdonia and 11.9 m in Migneint-Hiraethog (Table 2). Maximum heights were 23 m, in oak and beech, with minima of 3. 0-3. 5 m, TABLE 2 Estimated heights above ground of Buzzard nests in trees Height (m) Snowdonia Migneint-Hiraethog Both Areas 3-5 6 7 13 6.6% 6-8 16 19 35 17.6% 9-11 27 43 70 35.2% 12-14 16 20 36 18.1% 15-17 17 11 28 14.1% 18-20 5 10 15 7.5% 21-24 1 1 1 1.0% 88 111 199 Means (m): 12.2 11.9 12.1 26 Aspects of the breeding biology of Buzzards in oak, birch and rowan. Many nests were placed in small trees overhanging steep slopes or streams. The occurrence of alternative nests in a Buzzard territory is well documented (Dare 1961, for example). In this study, most pairs possessed two or three old nests and a few had up to five possible sites. These were clustered usually within a 250 m radius though exceptionally some nests were 1.0-1. 5 km apart in the mountains. Nest size and duration of useful life varied greatly depending upon age, tree or rock site characteristics, and whether it was built entirely by Buzzards or was an adopted nest of Carrion Crow Corvus corone. Very small nests in hedgerows tended to be used once only and then disintegrated after one or two years. Large and sheltered structures lasted at least eight to ten years and could be refurbished and enlarged at intervals for use, or be used successfully for up to six consecutive years. By contrast, another equally successful pair changed its nest annually for ten years. Some Buzzards shared nest cliffs with Ravens C. corax and (or) Peregrines Falco peregrinus. In three localities, all three species bred successfully within a 400 m sector for several years. Four Buzzard pairs took over old Raven nests, on crags in Snowdonia (2) and in trees in Migneint-Hiraethog (2). Conversely, Ravens usurped, or perhaps reclaimed, one tree nest and forced the Buzzards to move 1.7 km to a new site. Kestrels F. tinnunculus took over single old nests of Buzzards on crag and quarry faces. Nest building or repairs began in mid-winter; the earliest dates for observed structural rebuilding were 10 January (1981, with snow on the ground) and 13 January (1980). Very often, pairs would add sticks or green foliage (sprays of ivy, pine or spruce typically) to several potential nests during late winter and early spring. By late March or early April, most territories contained a fully built and part-lined nest. Breeding Season Chronology The Buzzards produced clutches of one to three eggs, mean 2.23, with no repeats in the event of loss during incubation. The estimated patterns of laying, hatching and fledging during 1977-82 are shown by five-day periods in Figure 1. Data for Snowdonia and Migneint-Hiraethog have been pooled because preliminary comparisons indicated no significant regional differences. For most pairs the breeding season lasted from mid- April into early July, with laying, hatching and fledging each being concentrated into 15-day periods - respectively, mid-April, late May and early July. Small annual and altitudinal variations, of up to about one week, in mean laying dates were suspected, especially after the severe winters and springs of 1978/79 and 1981/82, but sample sizes were too small for confirmation. The median first-egg date for 40 clutches was 18 April, the peak starting period being 15-20 April (Fig. 1). Best estimates of extreme dates for this sample were ca. 1 April and 26 April. However, back calculations from fledging dates for two other nests indicated exceptionally early and late dates in Snowdonia in 1980 of around 27 March and 8 May. The former date was deduced from observation of a nearly fully-feathered chick on 6 June, in a nest at 275 m altitude, the latter from recorded fledging on 27 July. Variations between pairs in laying dates in any season may reflect differences in the food resources of territories, and hence the time needed by individual female Buzzards to acquire the energy reserves for egg production. For inexperienced pairs, the demands of nest repairs or new nest construction might also have affected their breeding dates. The incubation periods of first-eggs were determined in three clutches as: 34-35, 35-36 and 35-36 days, giving a mean of 35 days. Hatching dates were spread over more than one month, from 3 May (chick seen) until 10 June, with a median date of 23 May (n = 61). The peak hatching period was 20-25 May. For the above two exceptional 1980 broods, extreme hatching dates of around 30 April and 11 June are indicated. Judged by hatching dates, some pairs bred at virtually the same date each year, though others were variable. One quarry-nesting pair was observed to hatch its single egg clutches on 30 20 . Aspects of the breeding biology of Buzzards 27 C/D C/D z 0) x B 3 z 10 . 0 APRIL A. Laying (1st egg) n = 40 B. Hatching n = 61 FIGURE 1 Seasonal distribution of dates for (A) egg-laying, (B) hatching and (C) fledging of Buzzards breeding in Snowdonia and Migneint-Hiraethog, north Wales, during 1977-82. Arrows denote median dates. 18 May (1979), 17 May (1980) and 17 May (1982). Fledging dates were difficult to determine precisely because of the risk of youngsters being frightened into premature departures. Most left the nest during 1-10 July, median date of 7 July and extremes of 27 June and 27 July (n = 113). In the exceptionally early nest noted above, the youngster fledged on or about 12 June. For six broods, the observed mean nestling period was 46 days (range: 43-49 days). After fledging, the juvenile Buzzards stayed in the parental territories through the summer before dispersing. The latest dates on which families were noted as being still together were in early September. The breeding season chronology of north Wales Buzzards was similar to that of Dartmoor birds (Dare 1961) and of those in mid-Wales (P. E. Davis, in litt.). On Dartmoor, where half of the clutches were started during 16-25 April, the breeding season was so timed that broods were being reared when prey (young rabbits, small mammals and birds) were both numerous and available. Brown (1976), reviewing all British information, concluded that the main laying period was about 10-25 April, with a spread in any one area of more than a month, and less variation than might be expected in relation to latitude, temperature and foliage cover. u cn o 2 © a. £ < o pq 0 ^2 ^ P3 ° 2 6 £ g > H o O O o *> | o VO • • R I yO I o ■*t in r- | -H (N o 00 Tf | '-H ^f- O (N vq rq (N ri 6 rn o\ 00 VO Tj- On l"- ri WWWK c« a s 2 TD i/o t« £ B £££ B £ =5 Z3 X> cSSwl t-h in © © M m io ooh © cd in © g C C C £ iS .2 "n^ ^t— I *— I »_ c — o O fill The numbers of territories with nest prey records are given in parentheses for each habitat type and prey species. Data refer to kills and remains at or below nests; pellets were not analyzed. Small mammals were voles, shrews and moles; other mammals were weasels, grey squirrels and hedgehog (possibly carrion). Aspects of the breeding biology of Buzzards 29 Prey at Nests A systematic study of nestling diet was not attempted because interpretation based only on prey found at nests during casual inspections is usually biassed (Dare 1961, Tubbs 1974). Prey species differ in the quantity of traces left, and in the length of time that these remain at nests. Such records exaggerate the importance of large species (such as rabbits, large birds and sheep carrion) and under-emphasise the contributions from small mammals, birds and amphibians. This source of bias was confirmed at three study area nests by comparing the casual prey records with direct observations from hides of kills brought to these broods. During 54.5 hours observations, 27 small preys (such as voles, birds and frogs) and no large kills were recorded, whereas 20 of 40 kills noted at 31 inspections were large species (mainly rabbits, sheep carrion and corvids). Prey remains were generally scarce at nests, only 370 kills being noted during 290 nest inspections made in 93 territories, or 1.2 kills per inspection. All such prey records are listed in Appendix I and analysed in Table 3 according to habitat groupings. Relative frequencies of prey occurrence can be compared for different habitats, whereas bias prevents accurate description of the diets. Buzzards brought a wide range of vertebrates for their broods, notably rabbits, sheep carrion, six species of small mammals and at least 13 species of small and large birds. Some habitat-related differences are apparent. Not surprisingly, sheep carrion occurred most frequently at nests in montane and open moorland territories, least regularly on well-tended hill farms or in conifer forests. Rabbits and small mammals were recorded mainly in conifers and moorland territories, least in montane and sub-montane areas. Birds were taken widely but most often in moorland and coniferous territories; the most prominent and widespread species were corvids and particularly fledglings of Magpie Pica pica (35 territories) and Carrion Crow (> 16 territories). The vertebrate preys found at study area nests were broadly similar to those taken by other upland Buzzard populations in mid-Wales and on Dartmoor (Newton et al. 1982, Dare 1961). No single prey species appeared to be of outstanding significance in north Wales, although carrion sheep was clearly important for pairs in the higher and more desolate territories where other foods are likely to be less varied and plentiful than at lower altitudes. Rabbits were a major prey of Buzzards in many parts of Britain before the advent of myxomatosis in the 1950s; subsequently, surviving rabbits were shown to be crucial for Buzzards to breed successfully on Dartmoor (Dare 1957, 1961). In north Wales, rabbits were generally scarce, localized, and subject to recurring outbreaks of disease. Consequently, they were found at relatively few Buzzard nests. Summary Buzzards breeding in the mountains of Snowdonia nest both in trees and on rocks (natural crags and quarries) whereas those in an adjoining region of moors and more intensive farming nest almost exclusively in trees. The Buzzard’s non-specific nest requirements enable it to breed in all habitats up to intermediate levels on the mountain slopes. The breeding season extends typically from mid- April until early July, with most pairs laying, hatching and fledging young within 15-day periods. There is, however, a wide spread of laying dates, spanning about a month, which may reflect mainly territorial differences in food resources. Buzzard broods were reared upon a varied diet of vertebrate preys, chiefly small mammals and birds, with sheep carrion and rabbits locally important. Acknowledgements I am particularly grateful to the following observers who found some nests for me and provided other information: B. Boothroyd, J. Driver, R. H. Fisher, G. Jones-Ellis, G. Parry, N. Pierce and M. Potts. I thank also P. E. Davis for his liaison with the mid- Wales study. Finally, but not least, many farmers allowed me unlimited access to their land. 30 Aspects of the breeding biology of Buzzards APPENDIX I Prey species found at Buzzard nests in the study area, 1975-84 Snowdonia kills territories Migneint-Hiraethog kills territories Mammals Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus 23 14 40 17 Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus 0 0 1 1 Mole Talpa europaea 13 2 24 9 Common Shrew Sorex araneus 3 1 7 6 Short-tailed Vole Microtus agrestis 9 4 6 2 Bank Vole Clethrionomys glareolus 2 2 0 0 Water Vole Arvicola amphibius 0 0 3 1 Vole sp. Microtus/ Clethrionomys 1 1 2 2 Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis 1 1 1 1 Weasel Mustela nivalis 0 0 5 3 Sheep Ovis aries (carrion) 35 26 15 9 Goat Capra hircus (carrion) 1 88 1 0 105 0 Birds Carrion Crow Corvus corone 11 7 9 7 Jackdaw C. monedula 0 0 1 1 Corvidae Corvus sp. 15 11 14 12 Magpie Pica pica 26 16 21 18 Jay Garrulus glandarius 3 2 1 1 Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus 1 1 2 2 Feral pigeon C. livia 3 2 5 5 Pheasant Phasianus colchicus 0 0 1 1 Herring Gull Larus argentatus * 0 0 2 2 Kestrel Falco tinnunculus * 1 1 0 0 Starling Sturnus vulgaris * 1 1 10 4 Blackbird Turdus merula 1 1 0 0 Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis t 0 0 4 1 Passerine spp. (small) 12 9 21 7 Unidentified birds (medium/large) 1 75 1 4 95 4 Amphibia Common Frog Rana temporaria 2 2 2 2 Common Toad Bufo bufo Grand Totals: 3 5 168 2 0 2 202 0 Notes Sheep carrion included adult and lamb remains - bones (34 items) and wool only (16 records). Goat carrion was from a kid - bones and wool (1 item). Feral Pigeons may have included scavenged remains from Peregrine kills. * immatures only, t pulli taken from two nests. Hedgehog may have been carrion from nearby road. Yorkshire Lichen Flora 31 References Brown, L. H. (1976) British Birds of Prey. Collins, London. Dare, P. J. (1957) The post-myxomatosis diet of the Buzzard. Devon Birds 10: 2-6. Dare, P. J. (1961) Ecological observations on a breeding population of the Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo, with particular reference to the diet and feeding habits. PhD thesis, University of Exeter. Dare, P. J. (1986) Aspects of the breeding biology of Ravens in two upland regions of north Wales. Naturalist 111: 129-137. Tubbs, C. R. (1974) The Buzzard. David & Charles, Newton Abbot and London. Newton, I., Davis, P. E. and Davis, J. E. (1982) Ravens and Buzzards in relation to sheep-farming and forestry in Wales. J. Appl. Ecol. 19: 681-706. PROGRESS IN THE STUDY OF THE YORKSHIRE LICHEN FLORA M. R. D. SEAWARD It is pleasing to report that the publication of maps showing the past and present status of lichen recording for Yorkshire in Seaward (1987) has had the desired effect of stimulating not only considerable field activity but also a re-evaluation of earlier records in the literature and of herbarium material, particularly those relating to the work of Walter Watson (1872-1960); the latter appraisal has been prompted by the recent accession of a considerable amount of Watson’s material to the British Museum (Natural History) lichen herbarium, some of which relates to his paper on The Lichens of Yorkshire’ (Watson 1946). All this work is especially valuable at this time since three major projects are in progress: (1) Lichen Flora of Britain and Ireland , to be published in 1990, (2) the British Lichen Society’s Distribution Maps Scheme, the second volume of its Atlas being in an advanced stage of preparation, and (3) a Red Data Book for endangered cryptogamic plants, for which comprehensive data on the distribution and status of rare species, some of which occur in Yorkshire, are essential for the lichen section. As well as the individual efforts of local lichenologists, an informal group of Yorkshire lichenologists (often joined by enthusiasts from outside the county) meets at least once a year, and the British Lichen Society held a weekend field meeting based at Sedbergh in October 1988 led by Dr O. L. Gilbert. At local level, Mr A. Fryday, Dr O. L. Gilbert, Mr A. Henderson and Mr D. Smith have been particularly active in the Cleveland, Sheffield, Leeds and Kirkbymoorside areas respectively, with Dr M. R. D. Seaward concentrating on underworked areas, particularly in the east of the county. Additional records have been provided by workers outside the county, especially Mr P. M. Earland-Bennett and Dr C. J. B. Hitch, and Yorkshire records have been included in recent monographic treatments of lichen taxa both in Britain and abroad. I have also had the opportunity to make further studies in several herbaria, particularly that of the British Museum (Natural History); there is always the chance of coming across Yorkshire material collected by William Mudd (1830-1879), author of A Manual of British Lichens , since he distributed very large numbers of his specimens to many lichenologists both at home and abroad. Further records have been furnished from time to time by Dr B. J. Coppins, based on his examination of the herbarium at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh; he has also kindly acted as referee for the confirmation/determination of critical Yorkshire material. Figures la and lb, prepared in November 1988, show past and present recording of lichens in Yorkshire on a 10 km x 10 km grid square basis. Direct comparisons of these 32 Yorkshire Lichen Flora § ggg^2Sg?S§Sgiw=gg§§ i '366 ^88 2® M 134 12 \ 138 108 iS® ■108 28 '7' & t 41 284 185 167 W -\ / '180 140 112 100 36 14 56 201 252 174 171 \ r- 200 u ~22S 181 101 170 89 35 30 57 89 117 169 166 200 \ 92 \ 102 121 178 147 177 52 67 53 152 122 183 129 166 V 7 6> 52 t 268 245 14® 125 135 118 69 50 53 66 84 60 92 74 \u 211 300 218 172 110 216 79 45 6 62 69 92 25 61 40' L 24 * 112 ✓ 61 83 1 18 219 105 79 62 45 23 28 9 43 54 16 14l 88 \ 126 -ZX- 120 120 127 95 101 35 27 33 51 46 15 81 U3 lit 152 74 80 38 51 53 54 24 55 67 78 67 s 34 ”s 130 139 59 44 29 20 24 62 49 JI7y — r* '49- -25^ 3o \s 14 \ 28 \ “V > 60 67 51 28 49 83 18 34" j -4s V 40 10 N J°" 58 ■ 54 9 12 49 33 <2 / N V V 85 1 76 34 37 97 All Records \ 1.5 _L_ 44 77 138 28 X 37 104 O O O O 0^,0 000 000 0 0 ^0 o ooo ”2 65 \ ‘197 N 28 r J- ■126 1 1 135 108 153 "8 7“ 28 /3 87 13® 161 W / '17 1 139 10® 102 35 14 47 71 183 162 157 \ a\ r — 185 K 212 122 158 178 87 34 29 57 77 93 165 146 144 ^5 1 \ 150 63 140 136 172 41 67 25 136 112 165 102 139 .V 51 t 207 184 1 1 1 120 133 1 1 1 57 50 51 60 78 60 92 73 t 18_ 1® 144 V 140 230 156 180 104 16® 76 44 5 61 65 92 25 60 39' 24 1; Gl 50 80 92 163 100 75 55 45 23 26 5 43 54 1 6 ,3\ 102, / 71 39 90 106 1 16 93 88 29 27 20 51 46 15 70 \35 1 13 l 105 57 75 38 45 51 50 24 51 66 77 67 46 \ 34 23/ \ 97 122 57 44 28 17 22 60 45 17^1 -4 7_ ,2 4" 39 ^\\ 14 \i \ > 55 37 51 28 45 76 18 2 8" J -2 2 V 25 { 10 43 49 - 32 9 12 47 32 N 66 26 37 73 Post-1960 records t89 108 x 44 / 57 ) 127 *** 27 s 37 85 FIGURE 1 Number of lichen taxa recorded from each Yorkshire 10 km x 10 km grid square (November 1988): (a) all records, (b) post-1960 records only. (NB. Border squares may contain records pertaining to the neighbouring county.) Book Reviews 33 data can be made with Figures 6a and 6b in Seaward (1987), prepared in November 1986, to show the improvement in lichen recording: over the past two years there has been a 9 per cent increase in records, the average number of taxa per grid square for the post-1960 maps increasing from c.70 to c.77 (which are similar to national figures (c. 76 in February 1987 - see Seaward 1988, figure 5). A new lichen flora for the county is in active preparation, the first stage of which will be the publication of provisional maps for all taxa. By November 1988, the Yorkshire lichen flora could be summarized as follows: 770 taxa (747 species, 7 subspecies, 12 varieties and 4 forms) have been recorded from the county over the past 300 years, of which 226 are based on old records, the great majority presumed extinct since they have not been seen for a century or more; of the 544 extant taxa, approximately 160 have been discovered during the past 32 years. I am grateful to Mr S. Davidson for his help in the preparation of the maps. References Seaward, M. R. D. (1987) 300 years of Yorkshire lichenology. Naturalist 112: 37-52. Seaward, M. R. D. (1988) Progress in the study of the lichen flora of the British Isles. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 96: 81-95. Watson, W. (1946) The lichens of Yorkshire. Trans. Yorks. Nat. Un. 37: 1-64. BOOK REVIEWS How to Identify Mushrooms to Genus VI: Modern Genera by D. L. Largent and T. J. Baroni. Pp. 277. Mad River Press, Eureka, California. 1988. $22.95. After a short introduction on how to use the book, the authors provide a key to the families they cover, including the Cantharellaceae, now thought to be more closely related to the club-fungi and Schizophyllaceae, certainly polyporoid-related; 14 other families are considered. Next follow keys to the genera within these families; generic descriptions form the major part of the book. The keys are clear and easy to use if only non-tropical taxa are considered, and under each generic entry references are given to selected keys to temperate taxa so that the interested can go to species level. Part 2 contains descriptions for each genus, these being arranged in alphabetical order; macroscopic and microscopic characteristics are given, with some habitat data, and useful comments after each genus. This part ends with a synopsis of the families and genera, enabling the amateur to come to grips with the many taxonomic changes which have occurred over the last few years. The delimitation of genera is a personal thing and although some will disagree, the authors have tried to effect a compromise between opposing viewpoints. Part 3 contains keys and charts emphasizing macroscopic features which although they will work for the commoner taxa, might raise problems with some collections. Nevertheless, the keen amateur will find the tables using stature types of fruiting bodies and spore-colour very welcome, although the generic identification key using stature would have been better placed next to the appropriate table. The authors have fused the information from these macroscopic features and produced a key which will no doubt be one of the most used by readers; it will appeal to the mushroom picker and to the teacher who wants at least to demonstrate the diversity of north temperate mushrooms. Part 4 gives a comprehensive glossary of terms used in the book and will be a source of information to many. Part 5 is referred to in the introduction as an appendix: it offers several dichotomous keys to the genera in a particular habitat type or substrate, e.g. sand-dunes, Sphagnum bogs. In this reviewer’s opinion, this part is a major contribution, not simply an appendix. 34 Book Reviews A useful feature of the book is the cross-reference to earlier parts of the series so that diagrams, photographs or other information can be obtained with ease. The authors hope that the student or reader is offered as much freedom of choice as possible. Although clearly printed, I found it difficult to find my way around all the useful keys because of the lack of sufficiently distinct cut-off points between separate blocks of information; perhaps the use of different fonts or the inclusion of a few diagrams would have helped. (However, there is nothing that a coloured marker cannot quickly put right.) A worthy follower of the series which will encourage the amateur to look at microscopic features whilst still being able to fall back on field characters for confidence. This is a welcome addition to the series and complements and expands Part 4 which covered keys to families and genera (based on D. E. Stuntz’s notes with editorial changes from D. L. Largent and R. Watling and the addition by the last author of family descriptions). RW Gasteromycetes: Morphological and Development Features with Keys to the Orders, Families and Genera by O. K. Miller and H. Hope. Pp. 157. Mad River Press, Eureka, California. 1988. £24.95. A short introduction outlines the book’s objectives and defines the subject, the parameters of which are explained in the next 26 pages with the help of clear, beautifully executed line-drawings and photomicrographs; two pages are set aside for chemical reagents and their formulation. This account of the general morphology allows the reader to tackle with confidence the major part of the book viz. an account of the orders and families of the Gasteromycetes, and within each family all or the major genera. A key is given to the orders to be dealt with and keys are found where necessary under each family heading. Any confusion is brushed aside by the accompanying illustrations. The format is the same for each order, viz. firstly a general account, secondarily a key to families and then a discussion of the genera within those families. It would have been useful had specific examples been provided for all the genera covered. It is good to see at long last the bringing together of the more important secotiaceous genera under one cover and although the astrogastraceous members were intentionally omitted, a reference is given to them and other unfamiliar genera related to members of the Agaricales. The book ends with an excellent glossary of terms (11 pp.), bibliography (10 pp.) and a clearly set out index. This is an excellent publication, invaluable not only to those working in the field but in addition to those with a casual interest in stomach fungi or a teaching commitment. The photomicrographs and most informative illustrations enhance the clear text; Cynthia Clem must be congratulated on her contribution to the publication. A commendable publication which brings together for the first time all the most recent work on this bizarre yet interesting group of fungi. RW Grasshoppers and Bush-Crickets by Andrew Mahon. Shire Publications, Aylesbury. Pp. 24, with 23 figures. 1988. £1.25. Another title in the Shire Natural History series, a further example of the excellent value for money which we have come to expect from this source. 21 species of these large and highly interesting insects are succinctly described in terms of morphology, distinguishing features, metamorphoses, habits and ecology. A simplified key to 11 native grasshoppers is included, whilst identification of the bush-crickets is greatly assisted by colour photographs of most of the British species. This modestly priced book should enable anyone with a general interest in wildlife to gain a valuable insight into this fascinating group of insects. PS 35 Photo: A. GILPIN THE GANNET The first recorded attempt by Gannets to breed on any of Britain’s mainland cliffs occurred on the Yorkshire coast in 1937. In that year W. J. Clarke of Scarborough saw a nest containing one of their eggs on Bempton cliffs. That may not have been the first to be laid there, as there are many possible sites that cannot be seen from the cliff-top, and the ‘dimmers’ who were still active then may have taken earlier eggs. At first the colony developed slowly and it was not until 1948 that two pairs succeeded in rearing young. However, thirty-five years later there were over five hundred pairs of Gannets at Bempton. Although compared with the thousands of birds at our island Gannetries that number is small, the presence of these magnificent birds has added to the uniqueness of what is probably England’s finest seabird breeding colony. Naturalist 114 (1989) 36 BOOK REVIEWS Birds in the Doncaster District by R. J. Rhodes. Pp. vi + 269. 16 colour plates, 9 monochrome plates and 14 figs. Doncaster and District Ornithological Society, Don- caster. 1988. £11.50 hardback, £6.50 softback, prices including postage from: Mr A. G. Mitchell, 79 Jossey Lane, Scawthorpe, Doncaster DN5 9DL. Regional ornithological books have a well-established pattern: an introduction covering the history of bird-watching in the area, a discussion of local habitats with an emphasis on the good bird sites, and a systematic list of the species. This is no exception. It benefits from the attractive section of colour plates of some of the prime sites. The systematic list covers all records up to 1984, though a brief appendix adds some significant records from 1985 as well. The historical coverage is very thorough, and there is a commendable effort to try to give breeding population estimates, either for the whole area (with rarer species) or for particular sites; this is much more valuable, for present readers but more especially for readers in 20 or 200 years time, than vague comments like ‘scarce’, ‘sparse’, ‘common’ and ‘abundant’. A very worthwhile summary of the avifauna of the 10 mile radius around the Doncaster Museum, and of interest therefore to students of birds in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire as well as S. Yorkshire. DWY The Pheasant by R. A. Robertson; The Dipper by Stephanie J. Tyler and Stephen J. Ormerod; The Redshank by W. G. Hale. All three 24 pp, Shire Publications, Princes Risborough. 1988. £1.25 each. With these three booklets, nos 29, 31 and 33, Shire Publications continue their excellent series of mini-monographs. Each follows the now familiar format: an informative text, written by subject experts, good photographs, many in colour, averaging nearly one per page, useful drawings, and concise suggestions for further reading. The strengths of this series are the excellent colour photographs and the first-hand involvement in their subjects of the authors. Thus, not surprisingly, Peter Robertson draws attention to the remarkable harem system of the Pheasant, and to the importance of sporting interests in managing it and its habitat; The Dipper book covers particularly dispersion, diet, and doesn’t overlook the impact of ‘acid rain’; while Professor Hale pays due attention to his favourite topic of subspecies and their origin. None of these particular interests is allowed to overbalance the text, however, and their assessment as mini-monographs stands as a fair judgement. I suspect that the booklets in this series are destined to become collectors items rather like (but much cheaper than) New Naturalists. If you haven’t started your collection yet, you could usefully start with these three. DWY Biology of the Land Crabs edited by W. W. Burggren and B. R. McMahon. Pp. 479. Cambridge University Press. 1988. £40. Land crabs are mainly tropical and sub-tropical in distribution and range in size from small fiddler crabs of muddy creeks ( Uca spp) to the huge hermit crab, Birgus latro, the largest terrestrial arthropod at 3 kg body weight. Land crabs show many fascinating adaptations to life on land, evolved as most of them are from immediately comparable marine forms. A few land crabs are clearly evolved from fresh water crabs. The necessary adaptations in comparison with marine crabs largely form the subject of this book. None of the land crabs are completely terrestrial in that even the most terrestrial return to water to breed and have planktonic young. However, some spend their entire adult life away from water, while others may make only short excursions out of water. The authors point out that the term ‘land crab’ is doubly difficult to define since the degree of terrestrial activity varies considerably, and that members of several different crustacean Book Reviews 37 groups may be regarded as crabs. Nevertheless, a precise definition is avoided since a range of crabs is covered, principally some hermit crabs (Anomura) and true crabs of several families (Brachyura). The criterion used to decide which are terrestrial is to include all those that show some degree of activity in air, as distinct from mere survival. Individual chapters deal with problems associated with respiration, desiccation, excretion, growth, locomotion and support, as well as taxonomy and ecology. This multi- author book attempts at, and succeeds admirably in, summarizing most of what is known about land crabs, and just as importantly, what is not known. It is a balanced account, generally well illustrated and excellently cross-referenced so that there is little difficulty in finding source material. Some degree of repetition between chapters is inevitable in books of this kind, but the authors and editors have succeeded in minimizing unnecessary duplication. Although the subject is rather specialized, workers in many other fields would find it well worth reading, and should make the effort to do so, despite the price. HDJ The Dragonflies of Europe by R. R. Askew. Pp. 222, with 502 line drawings, 114 maps and 29 colour plates. Harley Books. 1988. £49.95. Dragonflies have become an increasingly popular field for study as, paradoxically, their numbers in Britain have declined as a result of habitat destruction. Splendid creatures, often brightly coloured, alert and active in warm sunshine, the larger ones are strong and agile on the wing. Wary of approach, they are a challenge to the photographer’s camera or the entomologist’s net. In recent years, holiday-makers seeking the sunshine have been travelling in growing numbers to almost all parts of Europe and naturalists and entomologists have followed this trend. A new world of flowers, birds and insects has opened up to them, followed by a desire to have literature enabling them to identify their discoveries. The British student of dragonflies has been catered for by an adequate (more recently excellent) descriptive literature, and if a specimen has been secured there has been no difficulty in applying the proper name to it. Abroad the position was most unsatisfactory until the publication in 1986 of the first comprehensive work in English, Collins’ Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain, , Europe and North Africa by J. d’Aguilar, J.-L. Dommanget and R. Prechac (reviewed 1987, Naturalist 112: 7). Now comes this magnificent A4 size volume which covers the same field and complements and sup- plements the earlier work. Brief introductory sections on the evolution of dragonflies, life history, adult life and behaviour, distribution and morphology are followed by the main body of the work dealing with the identification of the adults and, so far as is possible, the final instar larvae and the exuviae. Dr. Askew’s main aim is to simplify the identification of the European dragonflies and most handsomely does he achieve this. Detailed keys are provided to families, genera and species, illustrated by black and white figures of critical features which are models of accuracy and clarity, drawn and reproduced to a most generous scale. The keys are followed by detailed descriptions of each European species and short accounts of biology, flight period and distribution. In passing we may note that the map of Orthetrum coerulescens is sufficiently detailed to indicate the approximate position of the isolated North Yorkshire colony. North African dragonflies are included in the keys but those that do not occur in Europe receive only very brief descriptive treatment. To most of us the glory of the book is the set of 29 superb colour plates prepared from water-colour paintings by the author; every European dragonfly is depicted. These are remarkable both for accuracy of form and colour. It is interesting to read that accuracy of form was achieved by projecting onto a screen and tracing an enlarged image of each specimen used. Some specimens or photographs will be reliably named by comparison with the plates alone but many will inevitably require resort to the keys and descriptions; with this book the task should be straightforward. 38 Book Reviews The book has been almost a decade in preparation and all the author’s family have helped in the work. All concerned with the making of this magnificent book (I have run out of superlatives), author, printers and publisher are to be heartily congratulated. The book will last into the twenty-second century; dare we hope that all the species depicted will last as long? JHF Keys to the British Mosquitoes (Culicidae) by P. S. Cranston, C. D. Ramsdale, K. R. Snow and G. B. White. Pp. 152, with 138 figures. Scientific Publication No. 48 of the Freshwater Biological Association, The Ferry House, Ambleside, Cumbria. £9.00. 1987. Mosquitoes are such irritating beasts. They start off by making life easy for the general entomologist because, instead of secreting themselves away and requiring careful, time- consuming fieldcraft to locate them, they come to find you. As you sit by the side of a woodland track with a net in one hand and a pooler already seething with an assorted collection of beetles, bugs, flies and sawflies in the other, these delicate, long-legged beauties come and settle on you. The easiest thing in the world is to take a quick suck on the pooter and in they go. Unfortunately, the pattern of light and dark scales covering the head, body, legs, wings and proboscis, which makes these insects so attractive; this information is essential in their identification, since the pattern gets stripped off if a mosquito is introduced to the rough-house of an already-full pooter. Instead, you have to lay down either the net or the pooter and fumble for a tube to place over it, taking care not to startle the highly-strung little beast or it will be off. Oh, and if you dither for too long the little b . . . . r will bite you. This scenario, of course, only applies to those species which bite man. The males of these species and both sexes of the ones which feed on birds or frogs need to be hunted down like any other insects. Freshwater biologists have long realized that the presence of adult insects at a site does not necessarily imply that a breeding population occurs there, and they take far more interest in the study and identification of the immature stages than do most terrestrial biologists (with due apologies to lepidopterists). This key allows the identification of most mosquitoes in the larval, pupal and adult stages (a few species-groups cannot be identified while immature, and members of the Anopheles maculipennis complex, represented in this country by two species, can only be identified by their eggs, unless you have access to a biochemical laboratory). There are separate keys to the adult females and males, using the pattern of scales on various parts of the body, and an extra key to males based on genitalia. The keys are followed by descriptions of each species in which the biology, behaviour and distribution are described. These accounts are often amazingly detailed and include the precise positions in which the eggs are laid. This publication continues the FBA tradition of well-produced, copiously illustrated keys which are a pleasure to use, backed up with information on the ecology and behaviour of the species concerned. This is in marked contrast to the recent trend in keys from the Royal Entomological Society of London, where limitations of space sometimes do scant justice to the quality of the work they contain. WAE Companion Animals in Society: Report of a Working Party of the Council for Science and Society edited by E. J. Lawson Soulsby and James Serpell. Pp. xv + 78. Oxford University Press. 1988. £6.50 paperback. At one time regarded as quirky and eccentric, the study of urban wildlife, and particularly the ecology and behaviour of domestic pets and their feral descendants in urban and suburban habitats, has in recent years gained in momentum and respectability. Recent studies have contributed significantly to the medical, veterinary, social and environmental sciences. Roughly half of all households in Britain keep one or more companion animals (pets), a practice which brings considerable pleasure to many people, but generates problems Book Reviews 39 for owners, the animals themselves, and society as a whole. It also unleashes a range of ecological repercussions, fascinating to the urban naturalist but as yet little studied. This report, compiled by a working party of eminent experts in the fields of veterinary science, animal behaviour, animal welfare and social sciences, provides a clear analysis of the role of companion animals in Britain today. In addition to exploring the history of companion animals, giving information on their numbers, legal status, welfare, impact on the economy and value as social partners, the report raises moral, medical and conservation issues and forms an invaluable source book for urban ecologists, particularly those investigating the ‘wildlife’ of domestic animals. The Hedgehog by P. A. Morris. Pp. 24, 16 colour plates and 6 text figures. Shire Publications, Princes Risborough. 1988. £1.25. This is volume 32 in the Shire Natural History series, and follows the now familiar pattern - an authoritative text by an expert in the subject and excellent colour photographs, with some line diagrams and hints on further reading. Pat Morris and his students have contributed more new information on hedgehog ecology over the past twenty-five years than all the other hedgehog workers put together, so it is entirely fitting that he should write this account. As a pioneer of radio-tracking of mammals in this country, it is not surprising that he gives a fair coverage to hedgehog movements, including the route map of the male that travelled over 3 km in one night (so did the students tracking it, but they were being paid to do so!). However, this is a well- balanced introduction to the hedgehog, covering all aspects. If you’ve never seen an albino hedgehog, or one that’s lost all of its spines, you’ll have to buy this booklet for its photographs. DWY Orang-Utan by Barbara Harrisson Pp. xx + 217. Oxford University Press. 1987. £9.95. Paperback. A reissue with an updated introduction of the 1962 hardback: a very readable account of the author’s experiences with these fascinating primates, whose future remains insecure and uncertain with the continued exploitation of tropical forest in south east Asia. Ecology by Richard Spurgeon. Pp. 48. Usborne Publishing, London. 1988. £5.50 hard- back, £3.50 paperback. This is an elementary ecology book, covering general ecological concepts and termin- ology, using examples from the different ecological areas of the world. The comprehensive series of topics covered range from the basic concepts of environ- ment and ecosystems, to more complex ideas such as ‘natural relationships’, ‘population and conservation’ and ‘energy and the environment’, combinations which make the book of use to primary and secondary students. The book has two main strengths: firstly, its lavish illustrations not only make the book more attractive to readers, but also facilitate comprehension of the topics covered, with practical examples to help pupils assimilate theory with practical reality; secondly, besides its theoretical approach, it includes many suggestions for practical activities which can be developed either within or outside the classroom, emphasizing different environmental topics, including aspects of conservation and ecosystems management. This combination should enable teachers to prepare a wide range of fieldwork, providing pupils with first-hand experience of the ecological issues taught in the classroom. Other helpful features of the book include a glossary explaining the main ecological terms used and an address list of organizations which students can contact if they are keen to find out more about the subject. An excellent publication and at this modest price, good value for money. WLF 40 Book Reviews The Cambridge Illustrated Dictionary of Natural History by R. J. Lincoln and G. A. Boxshall. Pp. 413. Cambridge University Press. 1987. £15.00. I have found the Cambridge Illustrated Dictionary of Natural History a valuable addition to my bookshelf and am certain that it will appeal to anyone involved with or interested in natural history. It is very comprehensive, clearly written and appears to be free from mistakes. The text is complemented by about 700 line drawings by Roberta Smith which are perhaps a mixed blessing. Whereas many are very good, others appear to have been drawn directly from photographs with little thought having been given to the attitude of the subject. This is especially so with the jacana, bee eater and tinamou, the latter being tailless in the illustration; the ostrich looks emaciated and the badger strangely long-legged. I am also unhappy with the choice of some of the species illustrated: the sparrow does not resemble any of the 20 species in the genus Passer and I would have expected a cormorant from the Western Palaearctic to be depicted rather than the specimen chosen. These minor criticisms apart, the book should prove to be of great value to many readers JEK Guns and Goshawks by Richard Brigham. Pp. 138, illustrated with sketches by Alan Langford. Blandford. 1988. £10.95. The author tells us that his interest in guns began at the age of six, when he had a popgun shooting corks with which he tormented the domestic animals on the farm where he lived. Later he was given an air rifle which he used to shoot sparrows and other small creatures, and on one occasion a pheasant roosting in a tree at night. He also engaged in fishing, and had no qualms about impaling live small fish on his hook in order to catch larger ones. He became interested in falconry, and took two fledgeling kestrels from the nest and kept them in a cage. When he attempted to train the female bird she flew away after a few trials but the male bird survived in captivity for seven years. Later in life he acquired a goshawk, already trained. By then he had become obsessed with shotguns; he even went out shooting geese on his wedding night. These reminiscences are intended to be humorous, and one can only hope that the brutality in them is exaggerated. FHB 100 Families of Flowering Plants by M. Hickey and C. J. King. Pp. xvi + 620, with 198 full page illustrations, 79 figures and 9 tables. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press. 1988. £65 hardback, £25 paperback. The second edition of this book, the first of which was reviewed in the Naturalist 106: 66, has been substantially overhauled. It now appears in a change of format to a larger page size with many illustrations redrawn and many more added, often with second representatives to enlarge the coverage of certain families. There has been considerable alteration to the lay-out of the text, extensive revision of the introduction, an increase in the number of tables, and the addition of a useful Table of Family Characters. It would not be easy to suggest any improvement within the limits available in the information supplied about each family and for each species selected as its representative, whilst the clarity and detail provided by the copius illustrations admirably support the text. For the serious student of systematic botany and the professional botanist too this should prove a very useful source of information and reference. It is to be hoped that this book will have the success which its merits deserve, but the combination of high price and the fact that few academic institutions any longer teach systematic botany to this level will not be in its favour. WAS ‘The Naturalist’ is available in microform UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS INTERNATIONAL 300 North Zeeb Road Dept PR Ann Arbor, Mi 48106 USA White Swan House Godstone Surrey RH9 8LW England The Lepidoptera of Yorkshire Separates of the collected instalments which appeared serially in The Naturalist (1967-70) are available from Dr W. A. Sledge, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds 2. Price £1 plus 20p postage. The Irish Naturalists’ Journal A quarterly journal of Irish natural history Edited by Elizabeth Platts Assistant Editor - Robin Govier Annual subscription £10.00, IR£12.00 ($20.00) Further information from the Honorary Secretary, INJ Department of Biology, Queen’s University of Belfast Belfast BT7 INN, Northern Ireland Periodicals - Back Numbers DARLINGTON and TEESDALE NATURALISTS FIELD CLUB has for disposal back numbers of the following publications: BSBI Proceedings and Watsonia, 1967-84 Naturalist , 1968-79. Bulletin of Amateur Entomologists’ Society, 1977-81. Proceeds to club library. List, on request with SAE, from DTNFC, 127 Bates Avenue, DARLINGTON, DL3 0UE. An important new biographical study THE LIFE AND DEATH OF CHARLES DARWIN by L. R . Croft , University of Salford ISBN 0-946019-04-5 1989, 138 pages, case bound Price: £7.95 Available (post free) from: Elmwood Publications, 3, Elmwood, Chorley, PR7 1UU. Printed by the Leeds University Printing Service ISSN 0028-0771 05=7tf1k- H . APril June 1989 The Number 989 1 xic • Voiu,”cy4 N atur alist A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND QH 1 N2853 NH Association between carabid beetle distribution and vegetation on the North York Moors — Mark Fishpool and Michael B. Usher Three pollen diagrams from the eastern North York Moors — M. A. Atherden A comparison of the age and palaeoecology of some sub- Shirdley Hill Sand peat deposits from Merseyside and south- west Lancashire — J. B . Innes , M. J. Tooley and P. R. Tomlinson Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union Editor M. R. D. Seaward, MSc, PhD, DSc, FLS, The University, Bradford BD7 1DP Photographic Plates Readers of The Naturalist will have noticed that the number of photographic illustrations has increased in recent years. Good clear photographs, suitably captioned, to accompany articles or as independent features, such as the bird portraits by Arthur Gilpin in recent issues, are always welcome. To encourage this development, a long-standing member of the YNU, who wishes to remain anonymous, has most generously offered to make a donation, the income from which would finance the publication of a plate or equivalent illustration in future issues whenever possible. The editor, on behalf of the YNU, wishes to record his deep appreciation of this imaginative gesture. Notice to Contributors to ‘The Naturalist’ Manuscripts (two copies if possible), typed double-spaced on one side of the paper only with margins at top and left-hand at least 2.5 cm wide, should be submitted. Latin names of genera and species, but nothing else, should be underlined. S.I. Units should be used wherever possible. Authors must ensure that their references are accurately cited, and that the titles of the journals are correctly abbreviated. Volumes of The Naturalist for the years 1886 to 1975 have been retrospectively numbered 11 to 100 to accord with numbering before and after this period (see YNU Bulletin no. 3, pp. 21-22, 1985); please cite these volume numbers in all references. Tables and text-figures should be prepared on separate sheets of paper. Drawings and graphs, drawn about twice the linear size they are to appear, should be in jet-black Indian ink, and legends should not be written on the figures. Appointment of Membership Secretary In order to ease the workload on the Administrative Officer (Mr Don Bramley), all matters other than subscriptions should now be addressed to: Mr John A. Newbould, Rother Pharmacies Ltd, 72-78 York Road, ROTHERHAM S65 1PW. Items which should be sent to the above include: all membership applications, changes of address, resignations and problems concerning non-receipt of any of the YNU’s publications. Subscriptions (unless covered by Banker’s Order) should continue to be sent to Mr Bramley (see below) or to the Treasurer. Subscription rates: Issued free to individual members of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union and to Affiliated Societies. Institutions and Subscribers £12.00. All subscriptions should be forwarded to: Mr D. Bramley do Doncaster Museum Chequer Road Doncaster DN1 2AE 41 ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CARABID BEETLE DISTRIBUTION AND VEGETATION ON THE NORTH YORK MOORS MARK FISHPOOL and MICHAEL B. USHER Department of Biology, University of York, York YOl 5DD Introduction The upland areas of the North York Moors have traditionally been maintained as a Calluna vulgaris dominated community for grazing by sheep and grouse. Without management, the Calluna plant undergoes an ageing process which can be separated into four stages: pioneer, building, mature and degenerate (Miller 1964; Gimingham 1972; Webb 1986). Calluna in the pioneer and building stages of development is more nutritious to grouse and sheep than older plants, and after fire it regenerates more rapidly, reducing the risk of erosion and producing a further crop sooner. Old stands are also a fire risk in dry seasons as the plants have a high proprotion of dry, woody tissue. Consequently the aim of moorland management is usually to maintain Calluna in the pioneer and building stages by burning every 12 to 15 years, well before the degenerate stage is reached (Gimingham 1972). Management for sheep can involve burning large areas in any one year, whereas management for grouse involves burning many small areas each year, producing a mosaic of shorter and taller stands. Thus, much of a grouse moor consists of a virtual monoculture of Calluna, with patches of different ages, together with small areas dominated by Pteridium aquilinum and, in wetter areas, with a more diverse flora. Previous work on upland carabids has included that of Butterfield and Coulson (1983), who classified the vegetation and carabid community composition of moors throughout the north of England, and Greenslade (1968), who studied faunal changes with altitude on a Scottish mountain. Gardner and Usher (1989) studied the carabid fauna of areas that had been burnt and cut, together with adjacent mature Calluna stands, on Danby Low Moor, North Yorkshire. Their aim was to determine the recolonization processes of areas recently subject to such management practices. Working on the same moorland area, the aim of the present study was to investigate the carabid species composition in patches of different vegetational types. The diversity of these communities could have implications for management, especially for the conservation of economically and conservationally important predators of carabid beetles. Methods Field Location Most of Danby Low Moor, North Yorkshire (national grid reference NZ725105) is at an elevation of 260 m, and consists of managed Calluna vulgaris of different ages from recent burns with little regeneration to mature Calluna. Other species associated with Calluna stands include Erica cinerea, Vaccinium myrtillus, mosses and Cladonia lichens. Some areas are dominated by Pteridium aquilinum and wetter ground tends to support a more diverse flora including J uncus spp., Care x spp., Nardus stricta, Erica tetralix and Sphagnum spp. A species list is given in Table 1. Sample Site Selection For the study, sites of different vegetational composition were chosen, with a total of 25 sites being selected. Sample sites numbered 1 to 15 were situated on an area of moorland to the south west of the road linking Danby Beacon to Danby Lane. This area had a southwesterly aspect, sloping gently down into a valley. The sample sites were situated at approximately 10 to 15 m intervals along a transect running from the road, down into a freshwater flush. The principal features of the sites (with site numbers in brackets) were 14- to 16-year old Calluna with Pteridium (site 1), 14- to 16-year old Calluna with Pteridium and Vaccinium (2), Pteridium and Vaccinium (3), a burnt area Naturalist 114 (1989) 42 Carabid beetles on the North York Moors TABLE 1 Plant species recorded, during sampling of 50 1 m square quadrats, at 25 sites on Danby Low Moor. Maximum number of occurrences is 25 Species Number of occurrences Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull 23 Campylopus introflexus Brid. 7 C. paradoxus Wils. 1 Care: c binervis Sm. 4 C. nigra (L.) Reichard 1 C. pilulifera L. 1 Cephaloziella sp. 1 Cladonia spp. 8 Deschampsia flexuosa (L.) Trin. 1 Dicranum scoparium Hedw. 9 Erica cinerea L. 5 E, tetralix L. 9 Eriophorum angustifolium Honckeny 9 E. vaginatum L. 1 Festuca ovina L. 1 Hypnum jutlandicum Holman and Warncke 3 Juncus bulbosus agg. L. 1 J. conglomeratus L. 2 J. effusus L. 1 J. squarrosus L. 8 Leucobryum glaucum Schp. 8 Nardus stricta L. 9 Polytrichum commune L. 1 Potentilla erecta (L.) Rauschel 1 Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn 3 Rumex acetosella L. 1 Sphagnum spp. 5 Vaccinium myrtillus L. 3 with little regeneration of Calluna (4), Calluna aged 3 to 4 years (5), a small vegetated area in a burn with J uncus spp. (6), burnt areas with little regeneration but a number of moss species (7 and 8), a freshwater flush with relatively high plant diversity and with Eriophorum angustifolium abundant (9 to 14), and the margin of the flush adjacent to a Calluna stand (15). Sites numbered 16 to 25 were situated to the northeast of the road, on a relatively flat plateau. They consisted of mature Calluna 17 to 19 years old (16 and 17), building phase Calluna about 8 years old (18 and 19), building phase Calluna 4 to 6 years old (20 and 21), recently cut Calluna (22 and 23) and recently burnt Calluna (24 and 25). Determination of Vegetation Composition The vegetational composition was assessed quantitatively; at each site, two 1 m x 1 m quadrats, each composed of twenty-five 20 cm x 20 cm subquadrats, were recorded and the frequency of occurrence of each species in the 50 subquadrats was enumerated. The data in Table 1 gives an indication of the frequency of occurrence of the plant species at the sample sites; Fishpool (1988) gives full data on the frequency of plants at each site. The maximum Calluna age was estimated at each site by counting the annual rings in stems of greatest diameter. TABLE 2 TWINSPAN output for the plant data analysis using 14 abundant species and Calluna split into groups as described in the text, x indicates presence, - absence. The species groups are indicated by Roman letters, the site groups by Roman numbers o ? Dark Ages ? Roman EHS3 \ ? Iron Age ? Bronze Age EHS2 ?NeoI ithic EHS1 \ FI II been identified and there are suggestions of a systematic division of the land in the Snilesworth area (Spratt, 1982). Settled agriculture is implied, concentrated on the Tabular Hills and in the dales, with grazing of stock in the woodlands or on the areas of heather moorland which were appearing on higher ground. All this activity seems to have resulted in the opening up of small gaps in the woodland canopy, giving an opportunity for herbaceous vegetation to spread. However, the picture is still an essentially forested one. In HDB 4 a slight regeneration of hazel scrub over moorland is indicated and a diminution in agricultural activity, corresponding with the early Iron Age. However, in HDB 5 a much more pronounced change in vegetation is indicated, seen also in EHS 3 and the top part of FS 3. This is the first impact which can be described as a major clearance and the date of c. 240 be places it firmly within the later Iron Age period. Although grasses and sedges expand initially, the Ericaceae curve increases to dominate the NAP, suggesting the establishment of large areas of heather moorland by the end of the zone. There are more numerous records for weed species and cereals than for the Bronze Age, suggesting either a higher population or agricultural activity closer to the sites. Archaeological evidence suggests that Iron Age settlement was concentrated on the better soils on the margins of the Moors. Large settlement complexes have been excavated on Levisham Moor and at Roxby and there is a small Iron Age enclosure at Snainton. It is believed that the Tabular Hills were quite intensively farmed at this period (Spratt, 1982). In the eastern part of the Moors, it was probably the coastal area around Robin Hood’s Bay, with its boulder-clay soils, which would have attracted Iron Age settlers, and it is here that beehive querns have been found, demonstrating that arable agriculture was practised. However, another important activity was iron smelting, which led to the exploitation of many woodlands in the area (Atherden, 1976b) and was probably responsible for the major decrease in AP seen on the pollen diagrams. 63 Three pollen diagrams from the eastern North York Moors This pattern of limited impact in the Neolithic period, greater impact in the Bronze Age and major clearance in the Iron Age is similar to that described in the area around Goathland (Atherden, 1976a, 1979). At Fen Bogs, radiocarbon dates show the first major clearance began at 2280 ± 120 bp (= c. 330 be) and lasted until 1530 ± 130 bp (= c. 420 ad), i.e. spanning the Iron Age and Romano-British periods. A regeneration of trees and shrubs followed in the Dark Ages, ending at c. 950 AD with a second major clearance in the Viking-Medieval periods. This lasted until c. 1470 AD, when it was succeeded by another regeneration phase, followed by the final (modern) clearance phase. This pattern may be repeated at Foul Sike, where a regeneration follows the Iron Age clearance and a long further clearance episode is seen in FS 5, with some suggestion of a slight regeneration within it. At Evan Howe Slack, the Iron Age clearance is followed by a regeneration phase and a second clearance, which may be Medieval. However, without radiocarbon dates it is impossible to be sure of the correlations of the top parts of these diagrams. Conclusions The three pollen diagrams presented here add to our knowledge of the vegetation history of the eastern North York Moors, especially for the pre-Medieval period. In general, the picture accords well with that seen further west, in the Goathland region, and confirms the importance of the Iron Age as the first major impact on the woodlands. From then on the forest never re-established itself over the higher ground and the open heathland communities gradually spread to dominate the uplands and produce the characteristic scenery of the North York Moors today. Acknowledgements I should like to thank Simon Smithson, Claire Pinder and David Lewis for carrying out the pollen analyses. The North York Moors National Park and Bradford University jointly funded the radiocarbon dates for Harwood Dale Bog, for which I am most grateful. Bibliography Atherden, M. A. (1976a) The impact of late prehistoric cultures on the vegetation of the North York Moors. Trans. Inst. Brit. Geogr. NS 1: 284-300. Atherden, M. A. (1976b) Late Quaterpary vegetational history of the North York Moors III. Fen Bogs. J. Biogeogr. 3: 115-124. Atherden, M. A. (1979) Late Quaternary vegetational history of the North York Moors VII. Pollen diagrams from the eastern-central area. J. Biogeogr. 6: 63-83. Elgee, F. (1912) The Moorlands of North-East Yorkshire. Faegri, K. and Iversen, J. (1975) Textbook of Pollen Analysis. Lewis, D. J. (1979) A Pollen Diagram from Foul Sike, North York Moors. Undergraduate dissertation, University of Bradford. Pinder, C. (1981) A Pollen Diagram from Evan Howe Slack. Undergraduate dissertation, University of Bradford. Simmons, I. G. and Innes, J. B. (1988) Late Quaternary vegetational history of the North York Moors X. Investigations on East Bilsdale Moor. J. Biogeogr. 15: 299-324. Smithson, S. (1981) A Pollen Diagram from Harwood Dale Moor, North York Moors. Undergraduate dissertation, University of Bradford. Spratt, D. A. (1982) Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology of North-East Yorkshire. British Archaeological Report 104. 64 BOOK REVIEWS Provisional Atlases of Centipedes by A. D. Barber and A. N. Keay. Pp. 127. £7.00. Ticks ( Ixodoidea ) by K. P. Martyn. Pp. 62. £4.00. Click Beetles ( Coleoptera : Elateroidea ) by Howard Mendel. Pp. 89. £5.50. Sepsidae ( Diptera ) by Adrian Pont. Pp. 27. £3.00. Harvest Spiders ( Arachnida : Opiliones) by J. H. P. Sankey. Pp. 42. £3.00. All published in 1988 (except Sepsidae in 1986) by Biological Records Centre, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Huntingdon. Each of these sets of maps cover small assemblages varying from 23 to 82 species; they range from a single family (Sepsidae) to a whole Class (Centipedes). Each species is plotted on a grid of 10 km squares to give an accurate statement of what is currently known of their geographic distribution in Great Britain and Ireland. This accounts for a minimum of one page per species, but for Harvesters there are nearly twice as many pages as species because of the inclusion of much interesting material on coverage, check-list of species and an index. The Atlases for Ticks and Centipedes contain more than twice as many pages as species; that for Ticks includes a list of the hosts used by each species and the frequency of occurrence on them. This is the first time such an analysis has been attempted and should greatly add to the usefulness of the Atlas. The Centipede Atlas includes an illuminating and detailed analysis of the habitats of each species and the frequency of each species within given habitats. One encouraging feature apparent from these atlases is the growth of panels of experts (amateur and professional) which have come together for the preliminary surveys and the eventual mapping of distribution. These groups are likely to remain long after they have produced the definitive maps in the near future. The labour forces for Ticks (23) and for Sepsidae (27) are modest, but their data sets have relied heavily on museum staffs, collections and collectors. The same is true for click beetles although they have also attracted over 80 recorders. In a different league are the Harvesters and the Centipedes, each with over 200 recorders and consequently less dependence on museum collections. The attitude of the authors to records from the literature varies; these older records are deemed ‘unreliable’ or the time necessary for their validation too great by the authors of the Sepidae and the Ticks. Fortunately, the data derived from museum collections will allow the inclusion of older, dated records and in the Atlas of Click Beetles there is a list of time-specific records according to Vice-County as well as the usual 10 km maps. In the Atlases for Harvesters and for Centipedes, records from different periods are distinguished on the maps by the use of different symbols (for the Centipede Atlas be sure to get your errata slip which explains the symbols). The appearance of geographic patterns depends on coverage. Where this is included in the Atlas there are distinct biases, e.g. towards the south-east in Sepsidae and ticks; the Harvesters and the Centipedes get more even coverage (thanks to a greater number of recorders). The extensive analysis of habitats in the Centipede Atlas owes much to the co-operation between the recorders of other groups (Millipedes and Woodlice - the definitive Atlas of the latter having benefited from 436 recorders ), and the joint decision to use cards with habitat data from the outset. The input from the staff of BRS is very much in evidence - collaborating with chief recorders in checking and analysis of data. BRS can be proud of these attractive and important publications, not least for providing the raison d’etre and encouragement to each of the growing groups of specialists. That the various groups have already developed the taxonomic expertise and field skills necessary for these ambitious ventures is already evident. We can be assured that any shortcomings in coverage and analysis must even now be the subjects of vigorous activity as the final definitive Atlases take shape. JGB 65 A COMPARISON OF THE AGE AND PALAEOECOLOGY OF SOME SUB- SHIRDLEY HILL SAND PEAT DEPOSITS FROM MERSEYSIDE AND SOUTH-WEST LANCASHIRE J. B. INNES Institute of Prehistoric Sciences and Archaeology, University of Liverpool M. J. TOOLEY Department of Geography, University of Durham and P R. TOMLINSON Environmental Archaeology Unit, University of York Introduction In 1979 the stripping of the superficial deposits from the north-western part of Holiday Moss, 1 km NE of Rainford, Merseyside, prior to the use of the site for the disposal of domestic refuse, exposed a section through five metres of Flandrian reedswamp, fen and raised-bog peats and a similar depth of the underlying Shirdley Hill Sand Formation. A thin peat layer was seen at depth within the Sand itself and a sample was retrieved for analysis from a point (SD494018) where it achieved its maximum thickness of 6 cm, being covered by c.2 m of Shirdley Hill Sand. Examination of this peat in the laboratory showed it to be composed of the poorly humified stems and leaves of the bryophyte Drepanocladus aduncus (Hedw.) Warnst. A sample was radiocarbon dated at the Scottish Research and Reactor Centre, East Kilbride and yielded a date of 9120±60bp (SRR- 2701). Pollen analysis of the peat showed it to be poor in pollen, although those pollen and spores which were present were well preserved, and only a limited total microfossil count could be obtained. The results are shown in Table 1. Background The Shirdley Hill Sand of Merseyside and south-west Lancashire has been shown to be a coversand derived largely from fluvioglacial material laid down during the Late Devensian Age and subsequently redistributed at intervals by aeolian action (Kear 1977, Tooley and Kear 1977, Wilson et al 1981, Kear and Wilson 1986). Surface sandy facies believed to be waterlain have also been described from south-west Lancashire, such as the Mere Sands (Wilson 1985), but these are of very limited extent. Organic deposits formed beneath and within the Shirdley Hill Sand have been instrumental in revealing its complex depositional history and its associated palaeoenvironments (Innes 1986) through their contained pollen, spore and macrofossil assemblages. Godwin (1959) recognised the Sand formation at Moss Lake, Liverpool, where it overlay organic muds shown by pollen analysis to be of Allerod (cf. LDe II: Windermere Interstadial) age, and was subjacent to muds and peats of Flandrian la and later age. The Sand itself contained a cold climate herbaceous pollen flora dominated by grasses, sedges, Artemesia, Rumex and Ranunculus, with Empetrum and Betula. Bio- and lithostratigraphic analysis thus assigned the Shirdley Hill Sand a Late Devensian Stadial (LDe III) age. This age was later broadly confirmed by a radiocarbon date of 10,455 ±110bp (Hv4710) from Clieves Hills, near Ormskirk, on a peat lens with a rich Late Devensian arctic herb flora, lying conformably beneath Shirdley Hill Sand (Tooley 1978). The pollen count from Clieves Hills is shown in Table 2, together with a pollen count from an analogous, though undated, site from nearby Spa Lane (SD463083). The pollen spectra are similar, except that one is dominated by grass pollen and one by sedge pollen, in recording an open habitat herbaceous vegetation cover. At Mere Sands Wood (Tooley and Kear 1977) gyttja deposits with pollen assemblages similar to Clieves Hills and Spa Lane were found stratified between two Shirdley Hill Sand horizons, showing that redistribution of the sand, at least locally, was taking place even in pre-Flandrian times. Recent work has also confirmed that the initial deposition and drifting of the Sand was Naturalist 114 (1989) 66 Comparison of some sub-Shirdley Hill Sand peat deposits TABLE 1 Pollen analysis of peat within Shirdley Hill Sand at Holiday Moss. (Pollen and spore counts expressed as percentages of the total land pollen sum.) Betula 11 Botrychium 27 Pinus < 1 Lycopodium <1 Juniperus 2 Selaginella <1 Salix 1 Equisetum <1 Gramineae 21 Cyperaceae 16 Ranunculus 4 Thalictrum 4 Caltha <1 Leguminosae 7 Saxifraga stellaris 6 Rosaceae 3 Artemisia 14 Cruciferae 4 Silene- type 4 Stellaria- type 1 Rumex 1 Koenigia <1 Labiatae <1 Plantago major-media <1 Total land pollen sum 177 TABLE 2 Pollen analysis of sub-Shirdley Hill Sand peat from Clieves Hills and Spa Lane. (Pollen and spore counts expressed as percentages of the total land pollen sum.) Clieves Hills Spa Lane Betula 17 4 Pinus 1 1 Coryloid 5 1 Salix 1 10 Hippophae 2 Artemisia + Gramineae 50 7 Cyperaceae 9 74 Caryophyllaceae 1 1 Compositae 6 Plantaginaceae + Filipendula 4 1 Myriophyllum + Valeriana + Pteridium 1 Sphagnum + 1 Lycopodium 2 1 Selaginella 1 Filicales + Total Count 340 413 67 Comparison of some sub-Shirdley Hill Sand peat deposits a pre-Flandrian event. At Simonswood Moss and Knowsley Moss in Merseyside, Innes (unpublished) has recorded the Sand as lying below the Devensian-Flandrian biostratigraphic boundary, while Baxter (1983) has shown basal peats lying below Shirdley Hill Sand at a number of sites in this region to be Late Devensian by pollen and radiocarbon analysis. Peat layers with carbon datings and pollen assemblages comparable with those of the Merseyside and south-west Lancashire examples have been recorded from within and below coversand deposits analogous to the Shirdley Hill Sand elsewhere in northern England (Catt 1977). Jones and Gaunt (1976) recorded a Late Devensian organic deposit from Cawood, Yorkshire, where a gyttja and peat bed twenty centimetres thick intercalated the coversand. A date of 10,469±60bp (SRR 870) was obtained from the peat, which had a Late Glacial cold environment pollen flora with Artemisia , Salix, Juniperus, Betula and much Cyperaceae pollen. Matthews (1970) reported a compact woody peat near East Moor, York which was dominated by grass and sedge pollen, with Betula , Selaginella and open ground herbs, dated to 10,700±190bp (N488). Here the coversand was sealed by a gyttja dated to 9950±180bp (N820), just after the end of the Devensian. At Messingham (Buckland 1977) a sub-coversand peat bed yielded a carbon date of 10,280±120bp (Birm-349), a herb pollen flora with Artemisia and Thalictrum, and an insect fauna indicating arctic environments. A further organic horizon within the coversand was dated to 10,550±250bp (Birm-707). The evidence from different areas of northern England therefore strongly suggests a late Devensian Stadial (LDe III) age for initial coversand redistribution, associated with a cold, severe climate, disturbed soil conditions, bare ground and pioneer vegetation communities. Discussion The stratigraphic position and pollen assemblage of the Holiday Moss peat band suggests that it constitutes another example which may be added to the list of Late Devensian Age organic horizons associated with the initial coversand instability phase. The pollen flora is typical of unstable soil conditions such as were common in the late Glacial, dominated by grasses, sedges and open ground herbs like Artemisia , Cruciferae, Thalic- trum, Ranunculus, Saxifraga stellaris, Rumex, and Silene- type. Koenigia islandica in particular is an indicator of such environments as are Botrychium, which is abundant, Selaginella and Lycopodium. Some birch, willow and juniper scrub also existed, presum- ably in more stable, sheltered locations. The identification of Drepanocladus aduncus as the peat-forming vegetation does not contradict this environmental interpretation, for Dickson (1973) notes that its ‘presence in the last glaciation is well established by three Late Devensian and one Middle Devensian record’. In the Merseyside region itself, the moss has been recorded (as Hypnum aduncum) with Shirdley Hill Sand near Aintree (Travis 1909) and in similar deposits at Wallasey, on Wirral (Travis 1922). A Late Devensian interpretation for the Holiday Moss peat is, however, contradicted by its radiocarbon date of 9120±60bp, which places it near the end of chronozone Flandrian lb on the regional standard, radiocarbon dated pollen diagram from nearby Red Moss (Hibbert et al 1971), more than a millennium after the Devensian-Flandrian transition. At that date at Red Moss the vegetation was of a closed birch-pine woodland which included some hazel and a little oak and elm, very different from the tundra-type flora recorded at Holiday Moss, although the sites are only about sixteen kilometres apart. Although the Drepanocladus remains which form the sample are assumed to be in situ, they could perhaps be older, redeposited, detrital material, in which case they could only have the effect of increasing the radiocarbon age of the sample. There is no reason to suppose that the radiocarbon date for Holiday Moss is in error, but if it is, then it is much more likely to be too old than too young. It would seem that widely divergent vegetation communities existed in the region in the early Flandrian. This is likely to have been caused by the continued local instability of the Shirdley Hill Sand after the close of the Devensian, with little chance for soil 68 Comparison of some sub-Shirdley Hill Sand peat deposits development to take place, thus permitting the maintenance of unstable soil or bare ground plant communities upon the Sand areas. In contrast, Red Moss is in a glacial till area and soil development and the establishment of Flandrian woodland vegetation evidently progressed much more quickly upon the more stable clay deposits. Conclusion The evidence from Holiday Moss suggests that, while many of the basal organic horizons with open habitat herbaceous floras associated with the Shirdley Hill Sand and other coversand deposits are of Late Devensian age like Clieves Hills, some at least date from well into the Flandrian and reflect the continued instability of the coversand formations and delayed vegetation successions in these areas. It may not always be possible, therefore, to attribute a secure date to such deposits as that at Spa Lane by pollen analysis without the support of radiocarbon dating, since the comparable pollen spectra from Clieves Hills and Holiday Moss differ in age by almost one and a half millennia. It also suggests that vegetation patterns on sand and till in this region were very different in the early Flandrian, and that the coversands provided important areas of vegetation diversity. This dichotomy seems to have persisted into the mid and later Flandrian, particularly where human clearance activity brought renewed instability to the Sand formations (Tooley 1978). Acknowledgements We are grateful to Dr D. Harkness of the NERC Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, East Kilbride for the radiocarbon date, to Dr A. R. Hall of the Environmental Archaeology Unit, University of York for bryophyte identification and for commenting upon the text, and to Vicki Innes and Angela Holifield for production of the typescript. Mr Kincla of the White Moss Peat Company kindly allowed our access to the site. The research was carried out while two of us (JBI, PRT) were with the Archaeological Survey of Merseyside, Merseyside County Museum, Liverpool. References Baxter, J. (1983) Vegetation History of the Shirdley Hill Sands in South-west Lancashire. Unpub. PhD thesis. UCW, Aberystwyth. Buckland, P. C. (1977) Messingham. In J. A. Catt (Ed) Yorkshire and Lincolnshire X. INQUA Congress Excursion Guide. Geo Abstracts, Norwich, p. 14. Catt, J. (1977) Loess and coversands. In F. W. Shotton (Ed) British Quaternary Studies: Recent Advances. Oxford University Press, pp. 221-229. Dickson, J. H. (1973) Bryophytes of the Pleistocene. Cambridge University Press. Godwin, H. (1959) Studies of the postglacial history of British vegetation XIV. Late- Glacial deposits at Moss Lake, Liverpool. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 242: 127-149. Hibbert, F. A., Switsur, V. R. and West, R. G. (1971) Radiocarbon dating of Flandrian pollen zones at Red Moss, Lancashire. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 111: 161-176. Innes, J. B. (1986) The history of the Shirdley Hill Sand revealed by examination of associated organic deposits. North of England Soils Discussion Group Proceedings 21: 31-42. Jones, R. L. and Gaunt, G. D. (1976) A dated Late Devensian organic deposit at Cawood, near Selby. Naturalist 101: 121-123. Kear, B. S. (1977) Shirdley Hill Sand Formation. In The Isle of Man, Lancashire Coast and Lake District. X INQUA Congress Excursion Guide. Geo. Abstracts, Norwich, pp. 11-12. Kear, B. S. and Wilson, P. (1986) The Shirdley Hill Sand of South-west Lancashire. North of England Soils Discussion Group Proceedings 21: 21-30. Matthews, B. (1970) Age and origin of aeolian sand in the Vale of York. Nature 221: 1234-1236. Trichop ter a Report 1987 and 1988 69 Tooley, M. J. (1978) Sea-level Changes in North-west England during the Flandrian Stage. Oxford Clarendon Press. Tooley, M. J. and Kear, B. S. (1977) Mere Sands Wood (Shirdley Hill Sand). In The Isle of Man, Lancashire Coast and Lake District. X INQUA Congress Excursion Guide. Geo Abstracts, Norwich, pp. 9-10. Travis, W. G. (1909) Plant remains in the peat of the Shirdley Hill Sands at Aintree, South Lancashire. Transactions of the Liverpool Botanical Society 1: 47-52. Travis, W. G. (1922) On peaty bands in the Wallasey sandhills. Proceedings of the Liverpool Geologists’ Society 13: 207-214. Wilson, P. (1985) The Mere Sands of Lancashire - a forgotten Flandrian deposit. Quaternary Newsletter 45: 23-26. Wilson, P., Bateman, R. M. and Catt, J. A. (1981) Petrography, origin and environment of deposition of the Shirdley Hill Sand of South-west Lancashire. Proceedings of the Geologists Association 92: 211-229. TRICHOPTERA REPORT 1987 AND 1988 About 60 species of Trichoptera have been reported for Yorkshire for 1987 and 1988, many of them captured at light traps. In vice-county 61, Mr Ezard took a female of the very local species, Apatania muliebris at his trap at Rudston, near Bridlington; this caddis-fly was identified by Mr Payne and confirmed by Dr Wallace. In June 1987, Mr Ezard obtained a specimen of Hydatophylas infumatus at Fylingdales; though widespread, this species is never abundant. The identity of H. infumatus, was confirmed by Dr Hiley. In vice-county 62, Potamophylax rotundipennis was captured in 1976 by Mr King at his trap near Pickering. This is the first YNU record of P. rotundipennis since it was recorded by McLachlan in the nineteenth century. This record was unconfirmed. In vice-county 63, Mr Maude has carried out trapping in Pennine valleys near Huddersfield. He has provided records of the rare Rhadycoleptus alpestris, which breeds in small temporary pools above 400m in altitude, on windswept moors. These records are from Hall Dyke Valley (1984), Bottoms Mills Wood and Netherton (1985) and Drop Clough, Marsden (1986). In vice-county 64, in the Ilkley area, trapping has been carried on by several Lepidopterists, under the leadership of Mrs F. Draper. At the same time, caddis flies have been collected at the traps, yielding 21 species of Trichoptera; all are common species, the most numerous being Agapetus ochripes, Lepidostoma hirtum and Psychomyia pusilla. A large swarm of Brachycentrus subnubilus was seen by Mrs Draper at Ben Rhydding. Though the species is widespread and common, it has never before been reported on the river Wharfe between the two known sites, one at Burnsall and the other below Pool-in- Wharfedale. The specimen captured was confirmed by Dr Hiley. A specimen of Mesophylax impunctatus was captured by Mr King at Malham Tarn in 1984. This is a very rare local species, of which the only Yorkshire records are from Malham. In May 1987, I visited Thorne Waste, and collected six species of Trichopteran larvae. One was Holocentropus picicornis , which has a caseless larva, and has not been recorded there before. In the spring of 1987, I obtained 10 species of caddis larvae at Askham Bog. As much of the area visited dries up in summer, some of the species breed in temporary pools. Trichostegia minor was the most interesting specimen taken here. For the purpose of collecting caddis larvae, visits were made during 1988 to Skipwith Common and Castle Howard. At Skipwith Common, specimens of T. minor were taken, and also Triaenodes bicolor, which, although not uncommon, has not been found there before. Castle Howard was very disappointing; only two species were obtained, both common. Naturalist 114 (1989) 70 Trichop ter a Report 1987 and 1988 In the spring of 1988, visits were also made to Bramhope Ponds, and to Ellington Pits, an army nature reserve near Ripon. At both places, Oligotrichia striata larvae were obtained. This caddis fly has been recorded only three times before this century, at Bubwith, Bramhope and Malham. During 1988, I received a list of records from Mr Don Smith, which included one of Plectrocnemia brevis, captured at a light at Bridestones in VC 62 in August 1984. This caddis fly is extremely rare, has never before been recorded for Yorkshire, and very few British records exist at all. This specimen should have been sent for confirmation, as it is a very interesting record. During the 1980s, we have received records of 101 Yorkshire caddis flies, but there is also a list of 30 Yorkshire caddis flies which have not been recorded during this period. During the last 30 years, very little interest has been shown in the Trichoptera of Yorkshire, and it is therefore not known whether species that have not been recorded for many years still exist here but are unrecorded (as is the case for O. striata ), or whether they are extinct in Yorkshire. A provisional list of Trichoptera believed to be extinct or endangered in the countries of the EC has appeared in the 1988 Trichoptera Newsletter (15: 11-13). The following Yorkshire caddis flies are included in the list: Apatania muliebris Wormaldia subnigra Agrypnia crassicornis A. obsoleta Limnephilus coenosus L. elegans L. nigriceps L. incisus W. subnigra was recorded by the YNU at Malham in 1949, and again in 1984 by Mr King. A. crassicornis has been found only at Malham, where it was recorded by Kimmins in 1950. A. obsoleta was taken by Mr D. Maude at Upper Windleton Reservoir in 1985, and by Mrs F. Draper at Thruscross in the Washburn Valley in 1988. L. coenosus was recorded at Ilkley and Grassington on the moors in 1982 and 1984, and in Upper Nidderdale in 1988 by Miss M. Andrews. L. elegans was most recently recorded in 1972 by Mr K. Payne at Skip with, though there are old records from Malham, Austwick and Harrogate. L. nigriceps was recorded for Thorpe Marsh by Mr P. Skidmore in 1979, whilst L. incisus was recorded at Treeton Dyke Marsh in 1980 by Mr W. Ely, and by Mr D. Smith at Helmsley in 1987. This seems scanty information on which to base a conclusion regarding the present status of Yorkshire caddis flies held to be endangered or even extinct, especially considering there are over twenty more species that have not been recorded for at least ten years. I would therefore urge any of you who have the slightest interest in the Trichoptera to work towards bringing records up to date. Please send in your records at the end of each season, and if you have a rarity, send it in for confirmation either to Dr Wallace at Liverpool Museum, or to me. New FBA Keys to the Adults of the British Trichoptera and Cased Caddis Larvae are expected in autumn 1989 and spring 1990 respectively. MARJORIE ANDREWS 26 Margerison Road, Ilkley, West Yorks, LS29 8QU OBITUARIES REV. THOMAS BASIL KITCHEN (1905 - 1987) 71 The Reverend Thomas Basil Kitchen, Honorary Canon of the Cathedral Church in Gibraltar and President of the Yorkshire Naturalists Union in 1953, died in Scarborough Hospital on 8 June 1987, after a period of steadily failing health and eyesight; his passing severs the last link with the Yorkshire entomologists of the early years of the century. Basil was born in Sheffield on 11 December 1905, the only son of Tom and Nellie Marion Kitchen. At the age of seven his family moved to Leeds; Basil was educated at the Leeds Boys Modern School and throughout his life remained attached to the county of his birth and to its institutions. After leaving school he was articled to a Leeds firm of chartered surveyors and spent several years with local authorities in Leeds, Stafford- shire and London until 1929 when he was accepted as a candidate for ordination and went to St Augustine’s College, Canterbury, for four years. After ordination came a curacy at St Peter’s, Bethnal Green, marriage to his wife Joyce and five years chaplaincy in Southern Rhodesia. After the outbreak of war he returned to Yorkshire for six years as Vicar of Brayton, Selby, followed by two years as Railway Chaplain in Bengal. Again he returned to Yorkshire, this time as Vicar and Rural Dean of Howden, where he stayed for nine years. From Howden he moved to Devon for four years as Rector of Drewsteignton and Rural Dean of Okehampton followed by two years as Vicar of St John’s, Torquay. Retirement took him to Budleigh Salterton, but for Basil retirement meant a continuing succession of temporary chaplaincies in the vast Diocese of Gibraltar. Basil and Joyce were ready to step in, sometimes at only a few hours’ notice (‘ready’ meant that Joyce became skilled at packing the necessities for periods of six to eighteen months away from England) and go to Madrid, Oporto, Malaga, Cannes, Tangier, Tenerife, Las Palmas, Madeira, Malta, Norway, Switzerland and many other places, a phase which lasted for twenty years, almost to the end of his life. For the last nine years Basil and Joyce resided at Scalby near Scarboroqgh - when they were not away on chaplaincy! A long, eventful life of a hard-working, caring clergyman. But there was another part of Basil’s life and over our many years of friendship I only once saw Basil wear his clerical collar. At school his interest in beetles was awakened and stimulated by that inspiring biology master J. Digby Firth and he began his life-long task of gathering his collection of British beetles. Here too he formed a close friendship with W. Douglas Hincks that endured until Douglas’s early death in 1961. In 1919 he joined the Leeds Naturalists’ Club and Scientific Association of which he later became a life member and so, as a member of an Affiliated Society, made contact with the Yorkshire Naturalists Union. In the Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine for 1921 we read that Masters Hincks and Kitchen exhibited beetles at the Entomological Section’s meeting in 1920. In 1924 at what seems an incredibly early age Kitchen and Hincks were elected joint secretaries of the Section. Hincks’s active membership, as Secretary and later Chairman, lasted all the rest of his life; Kitchen’s active membership became spasmodic with his long absences from the county but he maintained his interest and allegiance, becoming President of the Union in 1953. Basil was essentially a collector, vigorously plying sweep net or pond net in the field. He delighted to go out collecting in a morning and towards midday would conveniently ‘know a pub that will just suit us’ and there relax and talk about the affairs of societies and pass on and receive news of old friends. He was interested in people and made friends wherever he went and these friendships he kept and valued. He liked to visit and be visited and Joyce was always the most welcoming and hospitable of hostesses. His generosity and concern for tradition were shown by his gift of a splendid leather- bound minutes book for meetings of the Y.N.U. Executive. 72 Obituaries His entomological memorial is his collection and this has been deposited with the Leeds City Museum. It comprises seven Hill cabinets (71 drawers) and the accession details (LEEDM-C-18-1988) show that it contains 13,497 specimens of 2,782 species. He leaves his wife, Joyce, and three sisters who have our sincere sympathy in their loss. J. H. Flint ARTHUR GILPIN, Hon.M.Sc., FRPS (1908-1988) The sudden death of Arthur Gilpin on 27 November 1988 was a sad loss to all who appreciate bird and wildlife photography, not only in Yorkshire but throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Born in Leeds, he spent his apprentice days experimenting with various photographic techniques and subjects. He began to specialise in the photography of birds, their nests and eggs in the early 1920s, to which he eventually devoted most of his spare time. A real perfectionist, he was meticulous in his efforts to achieve the very highest standards of bird photography. Moreover, he was a dedicated ornithologist, maintaining detailed records of the birds he studied which he forwarded to the county bird recorder long before birdwatching became as popular as it is today. Arthur Gilpin’s careful and detailed work led to an invitation in 1934 to join the Zoological Photographic Club, and in the same year, he also became a member of the Nature Photographic Society. In 1935, he submitted a few photographs to The Royal Photographic Society’s annual exhibition for the first time, two of which were hung, with one being reproduced in ‘The Year’s Photography’. The Royal Photographic Society awarded him its medal for his natural history work. After becoming an Associate and later a Fellow of the Society, he served on the Committee of the Nature Section and ultimately became Chairman of the Society. Latterly, he was Honorary Secretary of the Association of Natural History Photographic Societies. During the 1939-45 war, he served in the Royal Navy as Photographic Officer, still managing to take some wildlife photographs in his off-duty hours. Arthur Gilpin lectured on ornithology at the Swarthmore Education Centre in Leeds for a number of years, and also gave many outstanding lectures to the Leeds Birdwatchers’ Club (of which he was a founder member) and to numerous other natural history societies throughout the north of England and Scotland. He was a dedicated nature conservationist, and served as a Council member of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ (now ‘Wildlife’) Trust and of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; he also served as Chairman of the Ornithological Section of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union from 1973 to 1975. A builder by trade, Arthur Gilpin worked at the University of Leeds as Assistant Surveyor of the Fabric. In 1973, the University conferred an honorary Master of Science degree on him in recognition of his outstanding work in natural history photography. His photographs have been exhibited in many countries, some being in permanent collections, while others were used as illustrations in books and periodicals; over recent years, his superb bird studies were a regular feature in The Naturalist ( vide p. 76 of this issue). His book, ‘Nature Photography’ (1978) drew together his immense photographic knowledge, experience and skill, and provides detailed and comprehensive guidance for everyone with an interest in wildlife photography. The energy and dedication Arthur lavished on his craft ensured that his work rarely fell below the very highest standards of photography. A man of warm and kindly nature, he will be greatly missed, not only by those who knew him well, but also by the countless numbers of people who attended the lectures he gave for over fifty years. Our deepest sympathies are extended to his wife, Anne, and his daughter, Wendie. C. G. Varty 73 SHELDUCK USING CYLINDRICAL BALES FOR NEST SITE P. N. JOHNSON During May of 1988, to the NE of Doncaster, a pair of Shelduck, Tadorna tadorna, utilized the triangular tunnel, formed at ground level between a double row of cylindrical straw bales, as a nesting site. The bales had been stored overwinter in a grass field and were aligned in two parallel rows of eight bales along a hedge side. Unfortunately the nest site was only noticed when the farmer was removing the bales and despite their speedy replacement, the disturbance was sufficient to cause the adult ducks to desert the clutch of eight eggs. After monitoring the site for several hours, with no further sightings of the adult birds, the eggs were removed and placed under a broody Bantam hen, which hatched four of the eight eggs, the other four eggs being addled. The surrounding area of the nest site was low-lying wet grassland, with few embankments or large undisturbed dykes. The configuration of the straw bales provided a long, ready-made dry tunnel at ground level, not likely to become waterlogged. Though Shelduck are noted for their use of a wide range of nesting sites, this is the first recorded instance of them using this more recent type of straw stacking method for breeding purposes. YORKSHIRE NATURALISTS’ UNION EXCURSIONS IN 1987 (Continued from The Naturalist 113: 163) BRIDESTONES (VC 62), 23 August 1987 (M. A. Atherden) A damp grey morning gave way to hazy sunshine as some 40 members gathered at the High Staindale car park in Dalby Forest. Free access to the forest drive was kindly allowed by the Forestry Commission on this occasion. The party was welcomed by Dr S. R. Eyre, chairman of the joint Yorkshire Wildlife Trust/National Trust Management Committee for this National Trust property. He outlined the main animal and plant communities of the reserve and the various management strategies which were being employed. The latter included heather cutting, bracken control and the removal of some sapling trees from the heath areas. He was supported by the vice-chairman of the Management Committee, Mr D. H. Smith, the National Trust Warden, Mr R. Dicker, and by several other members of the committee. Bridestones is best known for its tors of Passage Beds sandstone, which form prominent features in the sides of Bridestones and Dovedale Griffs. The plateau surface is formed of these and other siliceous rocks of the Upper Jurassic, while the streams occupy valleys deeply incised into older rocks, including some good shale exposures. The valley bottoms have alluvial deposits. Bridestones offers ample variety for naturalists and all the major habitats were studied during the day. The botanists were led by the Warden and concentrated on the outlying Staindale oak wood and the steep ravine of Egg Griff. Ornithologists, entomologists and others ranged over woodland, dry heath, bracken and streamside habitats. The expedition ended with the meeting and tea in Dalby Village Hall. Ornithology (A. J. Wallis) As was to be expected, the range of bird species seen within the boundary of this reserve in late August was somewhat limited, particularly as all the summer visitors had left the area. 74 Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union excursions in 1987 Proof of breeding was, however, confirmed for four species. Several Meadow Pipits were present on the moor and one was carrying food and behaving in a manner typical of this species with young. A female Pheasant was flushed from the heather, and, although not seen, a brood of chicks was heard calling as they spread out in search of a hiding place. A family party of Red Grouse was disturbed on the edge of the moorland area, and a covey of seventeen Grey Partridge was also seen. Only one other record was of any particular note: the sighting of a party of twelve Brambling by W. F. Curtis. As this species usually arrives along the Yorkshire coast in October, earlier sightings are infrequent and this would appear to be the earliest date for an autumn arrival. Mollusca (A. Norris) Egg Griff, and the springs and marshes of lower Dovedale Griff were examined by the conchologists and produced 28 species; this brings the reserve total to 40 species. Several of the more interesting and local species on the reserve list were refound, notably Limax cinereoniger Wolf 1803, Vertigo substriata (Jeffreys 1833) and Zonitoides excavatus (Alder 1830). The best find of the day was the discovery in Egg Griff of three specimens of the slug Malacolimax tenellus Muller 1774, this being a new vice-county record. M. tenellus is known from only a few localities in Yorkshire, and its habitat is considered to be confined to ‘old’ broad-leaved or coniferous woodland. The increased interest in these small areas of relict woodland such as Egg Griff has produced several Yorkshire records in recent years, and it is possible that further localities will be found. Other Arthropods (D. T. Richardson) Records for the 10 km square 44(SE)89 within which the reserve lies were practically non-existent, so the opportunity to rectify this deficit in the Union’s records was avidly seized upon. To this end Dovedale Wood and Griff Woodland were investigated. The acid nature of the terrain limited the variety of species which were found - all were very common and in some cases ubiquitous. All four centipedes and three harvest spiders, and six of the millipedes were additions to the above-mentioned square. Entomology (D. H. Smith) Although it was late in the year and the day was somewhat overcast and cool, the entomologists produced some very useful lists for the reserve. Mr R. Crossley recorded over 40 species of Diptera including the hoverflies Xylota coeruleiventris , recently discovered in Yorkshire, and the tiny Sphegina clunipes. He also recorded the empids Rhamphomyia erythrophthalma (a local species), Empis scotica (with a few scattered records) and Clinocera wesmaelii (new to VC 62). Mr W. A. Ely turned up some good records in the ichneumons with Tryphon auricularis (the first VC 62 record of this lepidopteran parasite) and Epistathus crassicornis (the second Yorkshire record of this parasite of beetles). There was a further first VC 62 record, in the cynipid Callaspidea defonscolombei, a hoverfly parasite. He also found the nationally scarce empid Empis praevia and the notable Rhamphomyia hybotina. Mr J. H. Flint recorded a strong colony of the tiger beetle Cicindela campestris on the steep slope of Needlepoint. He also noted the sawflies Priophorus brullei and Croesus septentrionalis (larvae), and Bombus monticola, a local bee typical of this upland area. Mrs J. H. Payne was pleased to note the Ringlet butterfly so deep into a North Yorkshire Moors valley, together with a large colony of Chimney Sweeper. Fox, Poplar and Peppered Moth larvae were also noted. Both she and Mr Flint confirmed the continued presence of the brilliant weevil Rhynchites cupreus on Rowan. The writer observed that the huge tachinid fly Tachina grossa was still about on the heathland and after a spirited chase in Dovedale was able to record the tipulid Crunobia littoralis. The two ichneumons Limerodops elongatus and Erigorgus cerinops were also seen. Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union excursions in 1987 75 Flowering Plants and Ferns (N. Sykes) An attempt was made to obtain a full list of flowering plants for the Management Committee of the nature reserve. Low Staindale Wood yielded Quercus and Betula spp., Rubus fruticosus agg., Crataegus monogyna, Sorbus aucuparia, Corylus avellana and Fraxinus excelsior. Pteridium dominated the field layer. In the lower part of Dovedale, wetland species included Caltha palustris, Cardamine pratensis, Lotus uliginosus, Filipen- dula ulmaria, Epilobium palustre, Mentha spp., Galium palustre, G. uliginosum, Achillea ptarmica and J uncus acutiflorus, with Succisa pratensis, Galium verum and Stachys officinalis in the drier parts. Both Egg Griff and Bridestones Griff were searched in the hope of confirming previous records of some less common ferns. Only Phyllitis scolopendrium and Polystichum aculeatum were located, the latter in abundance. Mycelis muralis and Chrysosplenium oppositifolium were frequent in the griffs. On the northerly Bridestones the ferns Asplenium adiantumnigrum, A. ruta-muraria and A. trichomanes were found, with Trientalis europaea and Vaccinium vitis-idaea on the surrounding moor. A slightly basic area on the central moor revealed Centaurea nigra, Knautia arvensis and Sanguisorba minor in an area otherwise dominated by Calluna interspersed with Empetrum nigrum, Erica cinerea, E. tetralix and Vaccinium myrtillus. Lichenology (M. R. D. Seaward) Sixty-five years have elapsed since the lichens of the Bridestones and adjacent habitats were last studied {Naturalist 1922: 293): although a few of W. E. L. Wattam’s records are questionable, nevertheless his list provides a useful insight into the nature of the lichen flora at that time. Our recent visit has revealed a marked decline in the terricolous and saxicolous floras, particularly of the Bridestones themselves, due in no small measure to abrasion of rock surfaces and trampling by visitors in addition to increased levels of air pollution. Noticeable absentees on this re-survey were Parmelia omphalodes, Pseudevernia furfuracea, Pycnothelia papillaria, Sphaerophorus globosus and Umbilicaria polyphylla. However, we recorded at least 62 species on the Reserve as a whole, of which 10 were new to grid square 44/89 and a further 7 had not been recorded for the square since Wattam’s visit; of particular interest were 11 species of Cladonia, Graphis elegans (on Sorbus ), Lepraria neglecta, Opegrapha cf. chevallieri, Parmeliopsis ambigua, Peltigera praetextata and Usnea subfloridana. Mycology (C. S. V. Yeates) Various habitats in the area were investigated and a total of 63 species was recorded. Close to the car park, in a marshy area, Puccinia calthicola was found on Caltha palustris. On the reserve itself, dead Pteridium produced the discomycetes Microscypha grisella and Mollisia pteridina. Scutellinia asperior was found on mossy soil by a stream. Rusts of note included Puccinia cnici-oleracei, found by Dr Lloyd-Evans on Achillea millefolium-, this species has very rarely been recorded in Yorkshire and has not been recorded on Achillea in the county before. The conspicuous gall-forming Exobasidium vaccinii was abundant on Vaccinium vitis- idaea. The taxonomy of this genus has been somewhat confused in the past but it is now considered to be comprised of a group of host-specific species. This would certainly explain its absence on nearby V. myrtillus. Unfortunately, not all the previous records of this genus have included notes on hosts, so comments on the relative frequency and distribution of the different species are not possible; that said, this species has been reported on this host from the Bridestones area in the past. The parasitic hyphomycete Ramularia sphaeroidea was observed on its host Lotus uliginosus both within and outside the reserve. These are the first Yorkshire records, though it has been seen in other locations since. Both in the field and under the 76 Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union excursions in 1987 microscope it has a superficial resemblance to a downy mildew, the spherical conidia being atypical of the form-genus Ramularia. Plant Galls (Dr L. Lloyd-Evans) Twenty-eight kinds of gall were found, adding considerably to previous records for the site. Of these, seven were caused by mites, two by aphids, thirteen by flies, three by wasps and three by fungi. Most interesting was the gall on Vaccinium vitis-idaea caused by the fungus Exobasidium vaccinii which thickens and distorts the leaves which become frosted by the white spores (see also above under Mycology). LONG-TAILED TIT Black and white in colour, apart from small pinkish areas that vary from bird to bird, and with long, narrow tails, Long-tailed Tits are very handsome small birds. Each year, before the blackthorn is in bloom, they commence building their upright, oval-shaped nests, which have an entrance hole high on one side. Each tiny piece of moss, each beakful of spider webs to bind the moss together, and each feather for the lining (sometimes there are more than a thousand) means a journey for one of the pair. It is therefore not surprising that the nest is not ready to receive the first egg before mid- April. As the average clutch size is eight eggs, there is little spare room in the nest by the time the young are ready to leave. When they do so, they remain with their parents until the following spring. Sometimes two or more families unite, and watching a seemingly endless procession of these charming birds filtering along a hedge in winter can make one’s day. 77 BOOK REVIEWS Pseudoscorpions by Gerald Legg, with species illustrations by Richard E. Jones. Pp. 159. Synopsis of the British Fauna (New Series) No. 40. Linnean Society of London and Estuarine and Brackish Waters Science Association. E. J. Brill, Leiden. $36.00, paper- back. Nearly one third of the page space of this attractive new synopsis of false scorpions is devoted to illustrations. The general chapters contain sufficient line drawings to illustrate the text, including a nice diarama of habitats. There are sections on both external and internal anatomy, behaviour and sensory physiology. Perhaps this last section, and those on reproductive biology, growth, development and life history are the more exciting parts since these have been the fields of research of the author, the dedicatee and his students. This preliminary material occupies two-fifths of the text; it is clearly and concisely written and is backed-up by a long list of references to the original sources. Each of the descriptions of the twenty-five British species covers three pages; one of these provides clear, finely detailed line drawings of features of taxonomic importance. For every species there are ventral views of the complex male and female genital apparatus and a map showing the known occurrence of the species in 10 km squares. Other key characteristics, e.g. the cephalothorax and its setation (in Chthoniinea and Neobisiinea), the chelicera, pedipalpal chela, some parts of the walking legs, enlarged views of setae and cuticle surface structure, are included according to need. Another two-thirds of a page is occupied by a superb drawing of the whole animal showing its general appearance; these last are the work of R. E. Jones. There are few typographic errors, e.g. Lucetanian (p. 80) and one worrying flaw in communication: I wished to know which species used venom. On page 6 I learn they are included within the Diplosphyronida and the Monosphyronida; but which species did these groups include? The names do not appear in the check list, nor in the section on classification. A little research revealed the phantom groups in the first two bifurcations of the key. It is the lot of most naturalists to encounter false scorpions rather infrequently (how could we miss them at densities of several hundreds per square metre?), and so most of us have had little experience in naming them. This synopsis is textually and visually so appealing that the rate of discovery of these animals is bound to increase. JGB A Key to the Adults of British Water Beetles by Laurie E. Friday. Pp. 152, 10 figures, numerous text figures, 3 tables. AIDGAP, Field Studies Council, The Leonard Wills Field Centre, Nettlecombe Court, Williton, Taunton TA4 4HT. 1988. £12.50 hardback, £7.50 paperback (including postage and packing). This latest excellent work in the AIDGAP series will be invaluable to both specialist and beginner alike. The format is entirely practical and remarkably easy to follow, despite the fact that specific identification in certain genera has always been a matter for the specialist. Although species descriptions are generally limited, valuable cross- checking is accomplished by means of the well-plotted tabular keys based on colour patterns, sizes and other gross external characters which supplement the traditional keys. By following a specimen through both keying systems and arriving at the same taxon, confidence is rapidly built up. The figures in general are quite superb, showing admirably the features alluded to in the text. The treatment of the most difficult genera (i.e. Haliplus, Gyrinus, Hydroporus and Helophorus ), where genitalic characters are also amalgamated into this tabular key system, provides accurate identification quite unpre- cedented in all previous treatments of these genera in the British literature. Throughout 78 Book Reviews the work, inspired editorial policy ensures that the figures are closely adjacent to the references in the text. This eliminates the necessity for the physically impossible multi- dexterity which identification manuals too often place upon the frustrated user as he attempts to manipulate specimen, microscope and text simultaneously. The reviewer has been unable to locate any shortcomings in this admirable work but was mildly amused by the sudden outbreak of seemingly uncharacteristic diffidence in the author’s strong reluctance to tackle the genus Dry ops. Of this admittedly ‘knotty’ little genus he merely states that since the identification depends upon male genitalic characters only, it is beyond the intended scope of the work. After Laurie Friday’s quite masterly treatment of the other genera alluded to above we can only say that he is too modest! The purist may criticize the Check List at the end of the work, but it very cleverly combines this function with a codified ecological and distributional account and an index, the latter requiring an alphabetical tabulation according to generic names. However, it only includes those genera which are covered to species level in the text and omits other taxa such as Dryops and the various Chrysomelid and Curculionid genera for which the reader is referred to other literature. This splendid book demands a place on the working desk of all those who are involved in the study of wetland invertebrate faunas. The excuse advanced traditionally that the study of water beetles was solely for the highest entomological elite, because of the innumerable problems of identification, is no longer tenable. The author and his team of advisers, the Field Studies Council, and especially their AIDGAP editor are to be complimented on a superb achievement. PS Check List of Fish and Invertebrates listed in the CITES Appendices by Patricia C. Almada-Villela. Nature Conservancy Council. 1988. Unpriced. Lists of species and subspecies of fish and invertebrates, mainly corals, shells (gastropod and bivalve) and butterflies which are included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) are given. Each species is given its Red Data Book category and details of the manner of its exploitation (for building material (corals), use as food, pets, zoos, medical research, pearls, decoration etc). Full lists of references are given. The handbook is published by NCC in its capacity as UK CITES scientific authority for animals. JGB Sea Life of Britain and Ireland edited by Elizabeth Wood. Immel Publishing, for the Marine Conservation Society. Pp. 240. £14.95. This is a high quality book. It is worth buying for the colour photographs alone, which are quite superb and beautifully reproduced. The photographs are by a number of underwater photographers, all of whom are members of the Marine Conservation Society, as are the authors. The book is organised into chapters on various shore and underwater habitats, each abundantly illustrated with the aforementioned photographs, and line drawings. Some of the latter are, however, a little disappointing. For example, I’m sure the Mersey pilots are unaware of the two islands in Liverpool Bay (map, p. 11). Though the book is a multi-author work, the editor has succeeded in producing a unified and cohesive whole, and one is hardly aware of the several authors until reading the credits. There is, of course, a chapter on conservation issues; however, this is not written as if preaching as is so often the case, but is powerful, readable and gentle persuasion. As David Bellamy (who else?) says in the foreword, ‘the authors are all divers and do not shirk their responsibilities of conservation, drawing attention to pollution, overfishing and marinarification.’ (Is that last word in the new edition OED?) Since the editor, authors and photographers are all experts and enthusiasts (not always the same thing) in their field, the text is informative, authoritative and at the same time very readable. HDJ Book Reviews 79 The Wildlife Photographer - A Complete Guide by Bob Gibbons and Peter Wilson. Pp. 160, with colour and b/w photographs and line drawings. Blandford Press. 1986. £10.95. At last, here is a book for the average, amateur photographer with a modest income who wishes to achieve good results without undue expense. The layout of the first section, on equipment, is logical and easy to read. Format, camera, lenses, meters, priority and accessories have a number of pages devoted in great detail to each topic. Many problems, some of which the reviewer has only surmounted after a number of years of trials and disappointments, are answered here in depth. The only omission, surprisingly, is a discussion of film types, makes and speeds; a passing, brief reference about eight times throughout the book is rather unhelpful in that each topic had different requirements. The average photographer is unlikely to be able to carry two or more camera bodies into the field. One film make is notorious for making blue skies purple and others cannot cope adequately with greens. The remaining six sections deal exhaustively with all the problems of photographing different groups of organisms - plants, birds, invertebrates, animals and creatures of the seashore. Each group requires a different approach and the various techniques, equipment and the problems that need solving are discussed at length. Even the method, used by the reviewer, of holding flash in one hand and camera in the other finds a place in the text. The authors are not only experienced professionals but also have the gift of being able to communicate both lucidly and comprehensively. Altogether, this is an extremely readable book and capable of solving most of the problems encountered in wildlife photography. The coloured photographs are, naturally, superb and not only present a tantalising challenge to all natural history photographers but also illustrate how the correct technique can enhance an already attractive subject. DHS Vegetation of the Soviet Polar Deserts by V. D. Aleksandrova, translated by D. Love. Pp. xii + 228, 22 tables, 53 figures. Reindeer on South Georgia by N. Leader- Williams. Pp. xiv + 319, numerous figures, tables and plates. Biology of Polar Bryophytes and Lichens by R. E. Longton. Pp. viii + 391, numerous figures and tables. Studies in Polar Research, Cambridge University Press. 1988. £30.00, £20.00 and £55.00 respectively. We are indebted to Cambridge University Press for commissioning this excellent series. Remote though they are, it is becoming increasingly obvious that even the polar regions are not immune from the influence of man. The growth of polar research activity has mushroomed over recent years; the resultant output of scientific papers has been phenomenal, but the number of works collating and synthesizing such data has been far from numerous. This series therefore fills a much-needed gap, and the titles listed above maintain the high standard set by earlier volumes. Although there are slight differences in style and approach, each volume provides a valuable survey of the present state of knowledge in reasonably well-defined subject areas, not only through scholarly texts but also through illustrative material and very comprehensive bibliographies. Of the three titles under review, that by Aleksandrova is naturally based essentially on Russian research and publications which, since they are not easily accessible, makes this volume particularly valuable and interesting; Leader- Williams critically examines the effects of an introduced species on the native ecology, while Longton draws our attention to two most important groups of plants which dominate large areas of this otherwise inhospitable terrestrial environment; it is noticeable that the latter author, a well-known bryologist, is less happy dealing with lichens, as can be judged by the large number of misspelt Latin names, outdated nomenclature, and overlooked synonyms in text and index! Ecologists and environmentalists throughout the world will undoubtedly look forward to further titles in this challenging and informative series. MRDS 80 Book Reviews Flora of the British Isles by A. R. Clapham, T. G. Tutin and D.M. Moore. Pp. xxx + 688, including 82 line drawings. Cambridge University Press. 1987. £65.00. As well as providing a revised and completely updated text, this third edition differs from its predecessors in two important respects: its authorship and its format. For thirty- five years our standard British flora has been affectionately known as ‘CTW’, but in future we must remember to refer to it as ‘CTM’; the death of E. F. Warburg in 1966 was a sad loss to British botany, but D. M. Moore has most ably taken his place as the third author of this monumental and quite indispensable work. As regards the second change, it is no longer feasible to accommodate the increased knowledge of our flora in a small compass. As a young man, the first edition of ‘CTW’ was a faithful companion, accompanying me in my knapsack (it never fitted into a pocket!) on many a botanical excursion. The second edition, a weightier tome, although it had to remain in the car, was at least consulted in the field. The present edition, for reasons not only of weight and size (18 x 25 x 4 cm) but now alas also of cost, will no doubt have to remain safely left behind, unexposed to the elements, its role now confined to that of desk-top and laboratory bench reference source. The new format, set in double columns, is easy on the eye, making comparisons of taxonomic descriptions and entries in keys easier. The nomenclature has been extensively updated, due in large measure to the appearance of the five volumes of Flora Europaea between 1964 and 1980. Botanists owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to the authors, other specialists called upon, and the publishers for providing us with a more than worthy successor to our old friend ‘CTW’. MRDS The Weather Companion by Gary Lockhart. 230 pages, with numerous sketches and line drawings. John Wiley. 1988. £8.50. This volume provides a pot pourri of snippets of weather-related information and the book’s subtitle ‘An album of meteorological history, science, legend and folklore’ aptly describes its contents. Diverse types of weather-related ideas are loosely packaged under seven general headings: weather past; weather tools; weather phenomena; storm warnings; weather and wildlife; botanical weather; and the weather, you, and me. Some of the snippets of information are derived from sources unlikely to be read by most meteorologists and as such are likely to stimulate thought. All too often though the explanations are somewhat dubious and arguments not coherently presented. On page 45, for example, it is stated that ‘it is a well-known fact that sound travels great distances ... (in the Arctic). Animals in these areas have small ears for they can hear a barking dog up to 15 miles away’. Might not these observations of small ears have less to do with the claims about air density and sound transmission than with the risk of frostbite? Again, the author gives a general description (pp. 63-66) of ‘a miraculous cross in the sky’ seen in October AD312 before the battle of Milvan Bridge, but offers no coherent analysis to explain the phenomenon. Overall, the book presents an uncritical assemblage of bits of information. Sometimes its novelty will entertain and stimulate people who already possess a knowledge of basic meteorology, but it should not be recommended to those seeking a sound source of information which will help them understand the weather. DEC ‘The Naturalist’ is available in microform UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS INTERNATIONAL 300 North Zeeb Road Dept PR Ann Arbor, Mi 48106 USA White Swan House Godstone Surrey RH9 8LW England The Lepidoptera of Yorkshire Separates of the collected instalments which appeared serially in The Naturalist (1967-70) are available from Dr W. A. Sledge, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds 2. Price £1 plus 20p postage. Binding Why not have your copies of The Naturalist bound into volumes? One year’s issues per volume, or alternatively two years in one volume at less cost than binding as two separate volumes. We are also experienced and expert in the re-binding and repairing of all books. Spink & Thackray Broomfield Bindery Back Broomfield Crescent LEEDS LS6 3BP Telephone 0532 780353 The Irish Naturalists’ Journal A quarterly journal of Irish natural history Edited by Elizabeth Platts Assistant Editor - Robin Govier Annual subscription £10.00, IR£12.00 ($20.00) Further information from the Honorary Secretary, INJ Department of Biology, Queen’s University of Belfast Belfast BT7 INN, Northern Ireland HMSO publishes^pr the Institute of Terrestri Ecology JUST PUBLISHED A Field Key for Classifying British Woodland Vegetation Partn R BUNCE Each of 103 British woodlands was sampled by random plots, and Part I of the key provided the classification of vegetation within them. This booklet integrates the plot data into woodland types based on the canopy and ground vegetation. As well as providing the first formal system to enable whole woodland sites to be classified, it will provide useful background information for those interested in the wider ecology of British woodlands. Maps and colour photographs ISBN 0 11 701417 6 Paperback £7.95 net Forthcoming Climatic Change, Rising Sea Level and the British Coast The Distribution and Status of Heather in England and Wales Cumbria Woodlands - Past, Present and Future HMSO is also selling a substantial backlist of ITE titles. A leaflet listing these and forthcoming books is available from; HMSO Books, P9(D), FREEPOST, Norwich NR3 1BR (no stamp needed.) BOOKS Printed, by the Leeds University Printing Service ISSN 0028-0771 A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND QH l N2853 NH A decrease in Carrion Crow Corvus corone numbers following sheep removal and afforestation — S. J. Petty and D. I. K. Anderson Oribatid mites ( Acari : Cryptostigmata) from Orkney — Malcolm Luxton First recorders of the Goole Scientific Society, with particular reference to Thomas Bunker — Martin Limbert Annual avian and mammalian traffic mortality along a South Yorkshire road — P. N. Johnson Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union Editor M. R. D. Seaward, MSc, PhD, DSc, FLS, The University, Bradford BD7 1DP Photographic Plates Readers of The Naturalist will have noticed that the number of photographic illustrations has increased in recent years. Good clear photographs, suitably captioned, to accompany articles or as independent features, such as the bird portraits by Arthur Gilpin in recent issues, are always welcome. To encourage this development, a long-standing member of the YNU, who wishes to remain anonymous, has most generously offered to make a donation, the income from which would finance the publication of a plate or equivalent illustration in future issues whenever possible. The editor, on behalf of the YNU, wishes to record his deep appreciation of this imaginative gesture. Notice to Contributors to ‘The Naturalist’ Manuscripts (two copies if possible), typed double-spaced on one side of the paper only with margins at top and left-hand at least 2.5 cm wide, should be submitted. Latin names of genera and species, but nothing else, should be underlined. S.I. Units should be used wherever possible. Authors must ensure that their references are accurately cited, and that the titles of the journals are correctly abbreviated. Volumes of The Naturalist for the years 1886 to 1975 have been retrospectively numbered 11 to 100 to accord with numbering before and after this period (see YNU Bulletin no. 3, pp. 21-22, 1985); please cite these volume numbers in all references. Tables and text-figures should be prepared on separate sheets of paper. Drawings and graphs, drawn about twice the linear size they are to appear, should be in jet-black Indian ink, and legends should not be written on the figures. Appointment of Membership Secretary In order to ease the workload on the Administrative Officer (Mr Don Bramley), all matters other than subscriptions should now be addressed to: Mr John A. Newbould, Rother Pharmacies Ltd, 72-78 York Road, ROTHERHAM S65 1PW. Items which should be sent to the above include: all membership applications, changes of address, resignations and problems concerning non-receipt of any of the YNU’s publications. Subscriptions (unless covered by Banker’s Order) should continue to be sent to Mr Bramley (see below) or to the Treasurer. Subscription rates: Issued free to individual members of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union and to Affiliated Societies. Institutions and Subscribers £12.00. All subscriptions should be forwarded to: Mr D. Bramley c/o Doncaster Museum Chequer Road Doncaster DN1 2AE 81 A DECREASE IN CARRION CROW CORVUS CORONE NUMBERS FOLLOWING SHEEP REMOVAL AND AFFORESTATION S. J. PETTY and D. I. K. ANDERSON Forestry Commission, Wildlife and Conservation Research Branch, Ardentinny, Dunoon, Argyll, PA23 8TS In Britain the Carrion and Hooded Crow Corvus corone commonly occur on upland sheep farms. Houston (1977) in Argyll, found that during the winter Hooded Crows fed primarily on domestic animal food and carrion. In the summer, insects were their main food; these were presumably relatively easy to find in a short, heavily grazed vegetation sward. Crows may also eat the eggs and small chicks of a wide range of ground-nesting birds. The planting of conifer forests in the uplands is often assumed to result in an increase in the density of crows (and Foxes Vulpes vulpes) and in their predation on the nests of moorland birds (Stroud and Reed 1986, Bainbridge 1986, Nature Conservancy Council 1986, Stroud et al. 1987). However, Andren et al. (1985) showed the opposite in a range of Swedish forests; as the proportion of agricultural land increased so did the abundance of corvids and their predation on ground nesting birds. In this paper we present data which show that the breeding density of Carrion Crows decreased following the removal of sheep and the partial afforestation of a previously grazed area. Study Area The study area consists of two adjacent upland valleys in Northumberland. Both are at the headwaters of the North Tyne (Figure 1). Prior to 1968, these valleys formed part of one sheep farm. Sheep were removed from the lower part of the Scaup Burn in September 1967 and the upper part in September 1972. Part of the lower ground was planted between spring 1969-78, mainly with Sitka Spruce Picea sitchensis. In 1972, a fence was erected along the watershed between Scaup Burn and White Kielder Burn to prevent sheep straying over from the latter area. Sheep remained in the White Kielder, apart from on a small area which was fenced and planted with Sitka Spruce in 1978. The geology and vegetation of the two valleys were similar. Blanket bog covered most of the hill tops and upper slopes. Peaty gleys and surface water gleys occurred on the lower slopes and valley bottoms. In both areas the vegetation comprised largely of Calluna vulgaris, although a grassy vegetation occurred on the heavily grazed and flushed lower slopes. Single and small groups of mature Betula pubescens, Sorbus aucuparia and Alnus glutinosa and occasional Pinus sylvestris, occurred along the lower burns. Methods Crows usually nest in trees, and where these are plentiful they usually build a new nest each year. When nest trees are scarce they may re-use old nests (Hewson and Leitch 1982). In the study area, Carrion Crows nested in the scattered mature trees along the larger burns. Prior to 1967 and until 1972, the knowledge of local shepherds and bird watchers was used to identify groups of nests which formed the nesting territories of individual pairs of crows (Figure 1). The spatial arrangement of the 14 nesting territories was assessed by measuring the distance from the centre of each nest group to its nearest neighbour. Annually from 1972 until 1986, all the crow nests were checked at least three times from April to July to locate nesting raptors. It was unlikely that nests were missed, as they were easily seen before the leaves opened on the trees. During these visits we recorded whether a crow’s nesting territory was occupied or not. A territory was counted occupied once eggs were laid, either in a new nest or an old one which was refurbished. Naturalist 114 (1989) 82 A decrease in Carrion Crow numbers 0 1 2 km 1 » — — 1 — — Closed canopy forest planted prior to 1957 lllll Young forest planted 1969-1979 FIGURE 1 The location of 14 Carrion Crow nesting territories. The crosses mark the positions of nests. Crosses enclosed by a solid line are nesting territories that were still occupied in 1986. Those enclosed by a broken line were deserted between 1971 and 1983 in the sequence A, B, C, D and E. The white areas within the watershed are unplanted, in the Scaup catchment sheep were excluded in 1972 and the White Kielder catchment has been grazed throughout this study. Results Local knowledge suggested the population of crows in both valley systems was remarkably stable prior to 1967 and until 1970, with territorial pairs regularly spaced at 764 ± 28 m (mean ± S.E.). After the removal of sheep and afforestation of the low ground in the Scaup Burn, the breeding density of Carrion Crows dropped from 7 to 2 pairs (Figure 2). The first nesting territories to be deserted were high up the burns and the furthest from sheep walks. Much ungrazed moorland remained in this area and the desertion of territories occurred well before canopy closure of the conifer crop. In contrast, the seven pairs of crows along the White Kielder Burn showed no change throughout the entire period 1967-1986. None of the crows nested in young spruce trees, the oldest of which were 17 years old in 1986, although three pairs regularly nested along the edge of the older forest planted prior to 1957 (Figure 1). We had no evidence of crows ever nesting on the ground. A decrease in Carrion Crow numbers 83 Discussion The results show that afforestation of areas that were formerly grazed by domestic stock can lead to a decline in the breeding density of crows. High crow densities on grazed areas are probably maintained there by the abundance of animal feed, sheep carrion and invertebrates which may be easily found in the short vegetation. The carrying capacity for crows might therefore be expected to decline following afforestation as these food resources declined and/or became harder to find. Domestic stock are fenced off from planted areas, thus removing both the source of animal feed and sheep carrion. The luxuriant growth of ground vegetation during the establishment phase of plantation (Hill 1979) may make it progressively more difficult for crows to find invertebrates. Number of breeding pairs of crows White Kielder Burn -O--O--O- - O — O — O — o--o 6 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - Year 0 1 1 1 1 1 67 70 75 80 85 86 FIGURE 2 The population of Carrion Crows in the two valleys of the study area, 1967-86. Canopy closure of the tree crop occurs from about 15 years of age and will completely prevent crows foraging over an area. The reduction in these food resources is unlikely to be compensated by an increase in other foods. A small increase in deer carrion may occur, and Field Voles Microtus agrestis frequently increase during the establishment phase (Charles 1981), but both of these food resources will disappear or become unavailable to crows after canopy closure. Therefore the status of crows along the forest/moorland interface may depend on how the moorland is managed, with crows possibly increasing with the intensity of grazing. It is possible that some other cause, unrelated to land use change, might have caused the decline in the crow population along the Scaup Burn. Potential crow predators such as Peregrines Falco peregrinus increased in the area during the course of this study. However, if raptors or some other factor were responsible for this decline, we would have expected it to have occurred in both valley systems rather than just in one. The results of this study show that the decline of the crow population in the Scaup area commenced soon after planting even though much ungrazed moorland remained alongside these young plantations. However, it was not possible to determine precisely whether the removal of sheep or afforestation led to the decline of crows in the Scaup area. Therefore we suggest that research should be undertaken to determine how crows react to sheep removal independently of afforestation. 84 A decrease in Carrion Crow numbers Summary The breeding density of crows is often assumed to increase following the afforestation of previously grazed areas. This paper describes the change in a population of Carrion Crows in upland Northumberland from 1967 to 1986. At the start of the study, the area formed part of one sheep farm and consisted of two adjacent valleys. Between 1967 and 1972 the sheep were removed from the whole of one valley and part of the area was planted. Prior to the removal of sheep this area constantly had 7 breeding pairs of crows. Between 1971 and 1984 the population dropped to two pairs and remained at this level until 1986. Sheep remained in the adjacent valley, and here the breeding density of crows remained at 7 pairs throughout the study. Acknowledgements We thank Drs M. Marquiss, M. I. Avery, P. R. Ratcliffe, A. Watson and R. Parr for their constructive comments on an earlier draft of this paper, John Williams for drawing the figures, and Lena Birchall and Diane Chadwick for the typing. References Andren, H., Anglestam, P., Lindstrdm, E. and Widen, P. (1985) Differences in predation pressure in relation to habitat fragmentation: an experiment. Oikos 45: 273-277. Bainbridge, I. (1986) What future for the flows? Scottish Bird News 3: 8-9. Charles, W. N. (1981) Abundance of the Field Vole Microtus agrestis in conifer plantations. In: Forest and Woodland Ecology (Ed. F. T. Last), pp. 135-137. ITE, Cambridge. Hewson, R. and Leitch, A. F. (1982) The spacing and density of Hooded Crows in Argyll (Strathclyde). Bird Study 29: 235-238. Hill, M. O. (1979) The development of flora in even-aged plantations. In: The Ecology of Even-aged Forest Plantations. (Eds. E. D. Ford and J. Atterson), pp. 175-192. ITE, Cambridge. Houston, D. (1977) The effects of Hooded Crows on hill sheep farming in Argyll, Scotland: The food supply of Hooded Crows. J. appl. Ecol. 14: 1-15. Nature Conservancy Council (1986) Nature Conservation and Afforestation in Britain. NCC, Peterborough. Stroud, D. A. and Reed, T. M. (1986) The effect of plantation proximity on moorland breeding waders. Wader Study Group Bulletin 46: 25-28. Stroud, D. A., Reed, T. M., Pienkowski, M. W. and Lindsay, R. A. (1987) Birds, Bogs and Forestry: the Peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland. NCC, Peterborough. 85 ORIBATID MITES ( ACARI : CRYPTOSTIGMATA) FROM ORKNEY MALCOLM LUXTON Department of Biology, Liverpool Polytechnic, Liverpool L3 3AF Abstract Thirty-six species of oribatid mites are recorded for Orkney, 34 of which are new records for the islands. 10 species are newly recorded for Scotland. Ophidiotrichus tecta is redescribed from a declared lectotype, a key provided for the British species of Scheloribates , and a figure for S. pallidulus. Introduction There are 133 genera and 295 species of oribatid mites ( Acari : Cryptostigmata) recorded from the British Isles. Of these, 79 genera (59 per cent) and 129 species (44 per cent) are represented in Scotland. This relatively small proportion of the total may, in part, reflect the patchy collecting of this somewhat neglected animal group (Table 1). Until now, Orkney could boast only two records, Ameronothrus lineatus from Eynhal- low (Duffey 1955) and Liochthonius lapponicus from Mainland (Moritz 1976). This note brings the number of species to 36, most of which are ubiquitous and abundant elsewhere in the British Isles. Nonetheless, ten new records for Scotland are included which suggests that more widespread collecting would add more species to the Scottish list. TABLE 1 Numbers of species of oribatids recorded from the administrative regions of Scotland Borders 1 Lothian 3 Central 1 Orkney 36 Dumfries and Galloway 4 Shetland 0 Fife 1 Strathclyde 43 Grampian 2 Tayside 20 Highland 36 Western Isles 42 Collecting Locations A. Dry moss and debris accumulated on sheltered rock cliff, South Ronaldsay (ND 463 836). 8.8. 1987 (number of individuals in sample = 15) B. Wet moss on heather moor, Rousay (HY 404 288). 9.8. 1987 (n=652) C. Moderately dry moss on heather moor, Rousay (HY 403 288). 9.8 1987 (n=83) D. Dry moss on heather moor, Rousay (HY 403 287). 9.8. 1987 (n=153) E. Turf from machair-type vegetation, Mainland Skaith (HY 377 065). 10.8. 1987 (n=98) F. Turf at top of salt-marsh, Mainland Skaith (HY 377 065). 10.8. 1987 (n=97) G. Calluna moor on hill slope. Hoy (HY 225 024). 12.8. 1987 (n=95) Population Abundances Total oribatid numbers per sample are given above after the locality data, but in the list below, the mite species populations are also given an arbitrary relative abundance index as in Luxton (1987a): thus 1 = <1 per cent of total oribatids in sample; 2 = 1-5 per cent; 3 = 6-10 per cent; 4 = 11-15 per cent; 5 = 16-20 per cent; 6 = >20 per cent. Species List * = new record for Scotland Family Phthiracaridae * Phthiracarus affinis (Hull, 1914) C2 G4 Widely distributed in the British Isles. Naturalist 114 (1989) 86 Oribatid mites (Acari: Cryptostigmata) from Orkney Phthiracarus montanus Perez-Inigo, 1969 G2 Widely distributed in the British Isles (not Ireland). Recorded elsewhere by its synonyms Phthiracarus murphyi and P. rectisetosus. Family Brachychthoniidae (Liochthonius lapponicus (Tragardh, 1910), collected at Stromness, Mainland (Moritz 1976)) Liochthonius sellnicki (Thor, 1930) G2 Widely distributed in the British Isles (not Wales). * Neobrachychthonius magnus Moritz, 1976 C2 Distribution limited (Greater London; North Yorkshire). Not abundant; this record is only the third for the British Isles. Family Hermanniidae *Hermannia pulchella Willmann, 1952 F2 Found throughout the British Isles; confined to salt-marsh soils and tidal debris. Family Nanhermanniidae Nanhermannia coronata Berlese, 1913 B1 D1 Widespread and common in the British Isles, especially in wet locations. Family Camisiidae Platynothrus peltifer (C. L. Koch, 1839) A3 D1 E2 F6 Widespread and common in the British Isles. Family Nothridae Nothrus palustris C. L. Koch, 1839 E2 Widespread and common in the British Isles. Family Ameronothridae Ameronothrus lineatus (Thorell, 1871) A6 (also collected on the west coast of Eynhallow (Duffey 1955)). Common in maritime localities throughout the British Isles. Family Carabodidae Carabodes marginatus (Michael, 1884) B2 D3 Widespread in the British Isles (not Ireland). Carabodes willmanni Bernini, 1975 B6 C6 D6 Widespread and common in the British Isles. Family Tectocepheidae Tectocepheus velatus (Michael, 1880) A4 B1 C2 D1 Among the commonest of oribatid mites in the British Isles. Family Ceratoppiidae Ceratoppia bipilis (Hermann, 1804) B1 G2 Among the commonest of oribatid mites in the British Isles. Family Liacaridae Adoristes poppei (Oudemans, 1906) G2 Widespread in the British Isles. Oribatid mites (Acari: Cryptostigmata) from Orkney 87 Family Oppiidae Dissorhina ornata (Oudemans, 1900) C2 D3 E4 F2 G6 Among the commonest of oribatid mites in the British Isles. *Medioppia obsoleta (Paoli, 1908) C3 E2 G3 Widespread in the British Isles (not Wales). Family Suctobelbidae * Suctobelbella sarekensis (Forsslund, 1941) C2 E2 Widespread in the British Isles. Suctobelbella subcornigera (Forsslund, 1941) B1 C2 Widespread in the British Isles (not Wales). Family Thyrisomidae Banksinoma lanceolata (Michael, 1885) B1 C2 D2 G2 Widespread and common in the British Isles. Family Ceratozetidae Ceratozetes gracilis (Michael, 1884) G2 Widespread and common in the British Isles. * Melanozetes stagnatilis (Hull, 1914) B1 D2 The first new record of this species since 1916 (see redescription in Luxton 1987b). It may be a northern species, having been recorded from Cos. Mayo and Leitrim in the Republic of Ireland; North Wales; Northumberland; and Cumbria. On the other hand, it may have been confused in previous publications with the common Melanozetes mollicomus from which it may be distinguished by (among other things) its larger size (720-750|xm as opposed to 470-590 |xm). Family Chamobatidae * Chamobates borealis (Tragardh, 1902) B2 D2 Widespread in the British Isles (not Wales). Chamobates cuspidatus (Michael, 1884) G3 Among the commonest of oribatid mites in the British Isles. Family Euzetidae Euzetes globulus (Nicolet, 1855) E2 Among the commonest of oribatid mites in the British Isles. Family Mycobatidae Minunthozetes semirufus (C. L. Koch, 1840) F2 Among the commonest of oribatid mites in the British Isles. Family Achipteriidae Parachipteria punctata (Nicolet, 1855) B2 C2 Among the commonest of oribatid mites in the British Isles. * Parachipteria willmanni van der Hammen, 1952 C3 Widespread in the British Isles (not Wales). Family Oribatellidae Ophidiotrichus tecta (Michael, 1884) G3 (Fig 1A, B) Oribata tecta: Michael (1884) Notaspis connexus var. borussicus: Sellnick (1909) Achipteria tecta: Hull (1916) Joelia connexa var. borussica: Evans (1952), Turk (1953) Tectoribates tecta: Turk (1953), Delany (1956), Evans et al (1961) 88 Oribatid mites (Acari: Cryptostigmata) from Orkney Note: Grandjean (1932) and Evans (1954) have pointed out that Michael’s original description and figure of this species contained several inaccuracies. Indeed, Grandjean (1953) perpetuated an error in continuing to assume that O. tecta was tridactylous. Evans (1954) compared Michael’s specimens with the description of Notaspis connexus var. borussicus Sellnick, 1909 and pronounced the species synonymous, although no redescription was made. Michael’s slide preparations at the British Museum (Natural History) have been re-examined and that labelled 1930.8.25.241 selected as lectotype. Only the dorsal surfaces of Michael’s specimens can be observed so the description of the venter which follows has been made from the Orkney material. Dimensions: Length 270 |xm; width 180 |xm (Michael (1884) gives length as 210 pm and width as 110 |xm). Mean length of Orkney specimens 258 |xm (range 250-270) (n= 5); mean width 168 pm (range 150-180)(n=5). Prodorsum: Rostrum with three blunt projections; rostral setae not observed. Lamellae broad, fused medially for about one third their length, expanding slightly at the level of the bothridia, sparsely punctate in anterior two thirds and lightly striate in the posterior third; cusps each with two sharp teeth. Lamellar setae robust, inserted medially on cusps and somewhat papillate; a channel runs through the lamellae posteriorly from the base of each of these setae. Interlamellar setae arise from close to the dorsosejugal suture, are fine and smooth, and extend to the posterior point of fusion of the lamellae. Bothridia cylindrical, rifled internally and projecting only slightly above the dorsosejugal suture. Sensilli directed inwards, narrow and expanding only very slightly before terminating in a point; portion out of bothridia scattered with papillae. Notogaster: Sparsely punctate and bearing 10 pairs of fine, smooth notochaetae and 4 pairs of areae porosae. Pteromorphae ventrally declined with an undulating leading edge. Venter (description from the Orkney specimens): Overall punctate, including genital and anal plates; lateral fields of epimera faintly striate. Apodemata 2 not joined medially, apodemata 3 and 4 fused together medially to form a broad band just anterior of genital plates. Epimeral setal formula 2-1-2-1; all ventral setae small or inconspicuous. Six pairs of genital setae arranged around the periphery of the plates; 1 pair of aggenital setae; 2 pairs of anal setae; 3 pairs of adanal setae. Legs: Genua I and II each with a tooth-like projection bearing a seta. Monodactylous. Remarks: Both Michael’s specimens and those from Orkney had been feeding on ascospores. Records: Distribution is patchy (Surrey; Bedfordshire; Devon; ‘Forth area of Scotland’). This record is only the fifth for the British Isles. Family Oribatulidae Liebstadia similis (Michael, 1888) A5 D4 E6 F6 Among the commonest of oribatid mites in the British Isles. Phauloppia lucorum (C.L. Koch, 1841) A5 Among the commonest of oribatid mites in the British Isles. This species was probably the first oribatid mite to be illustrated (in Hooke’s ‘Micrographia’ of 1665) and has been found in a number of unlikely habitats (eg. in dust from seats of electric trains in Glasgow (Colloff 1987)). Family Scheloribatidae Scheloribates laevigatus (C.L. Koch, 1836) F5 Among the commonest of oribatid mites in the British Isles. * Scheloribates pallidulus (C.L. Koch, 1840) A3 (Fig 2) Neither abundant nor widespread (Northamptonshire; Cambridgeshire; Dyfed). 89 FIGURE 1 Ophidiotrichus tecta : A. dorsal view; B. ventral view (Scale bar = 100 ^m) Oribatid mites (Acari: Cryptostigmata) from Orkney This record is only the fourth for the British Isles. Since this might be the result of some confusion between the identity of the various species a Figure is provided and a key to the British species of the genus follows: Sensilli terminating in a point Sensilli blunt . . . . laevigatus . . 2 Width: length ratio of body 1:1.5; pteromorphae with a concave anterior border when viewed from above .... latipes Width: length ratio of body 1:1.75 or 2; anterior border of pteromorphae not concave when viewed from above .... pallidulus FIGURE 2 Scheloribates pallidulus , dorsal view (Scale bar = 100 |xm) Oribatid mites (Acari: Cryptostigmata) from Orkney 91 Family Scutoverticidae Scutovertex sculp tus Michael, 1879 E2 Widespread in the British Isles, especially in dry habitats Family Phenopelopidae *Eupelops nepotulus (Berlese, 1917) E3 Neither abundant nor widespread. The only other record for the British Isles is from C. Wexford. Eupelops plicatus (C. L. Koch, 1836) E2 F2 Widespread in the British Isles. Acknowledgements I am most grateful to Dr Ian Hodkinson for collecting the samples on which this paper is based, and to Dr Matt Colloff for his advice on the identities of the achipteriid species. References Colloff, M. J. (1987) Mite fauna of dust from passenger trains in Glasgow. Epidem. Inf. 98: 127-130. Delany, M. J. (1956) The animal communities of three areas of pioneer heath in south- west England. J. anim. Ecol. 25: 112-126. Duffey, E. (1955) Notes on the natural history of Eynhallow, Orkney. The Scottish Naturalist 67: 40-51. Evans, G. O. (1952) Terrestrial Acari new to Britain. I. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 5: 33-41. Evans, G. O. (1954) Some new and rare species of Acarina. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 123: 793-811. Evans, G. O., Sheals, J. G. and Macfarlane, D. (1961) The Terrestrial Acari of the British Isles. Vol I. British Museum (Natural History). 219pp. Grandjean, F. (1932) Observations sur les Oribates (3e serie). Bull. Mus. Hist. nat. Paris 4: 292-306. Grandjean, F. (1953) Observations sur les Oribates (27e serie). Bull. Mus. Hist. nat. Paris 25: 469-476. Hull, J. E. (1916) Terrestrial Acari of the Tyne Province. Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Northumb. 4: 381-423. Luxton, M. (1987a) Oribatid mites from the Isle of Man. Naturalist 112: 61-11 . Luxton, M. (1987b) The oribatid mites of J. E. Hull. J. nat. Hist. 21: 1273-1291. Michael, A. D. (1884) British Oribatidae. Vol. I. Ray Society, London: 1-336. Moritz, M. (1976) Revision der Europaischen Gattungen und Arten der Familie Bra- chychthoniidae Teil 1. Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin 52: 27-136. Sellnick, M. (1909) Die Tardigraden und Oribatiden der ostpreussischen Moosrasen. Schr. phys.-dkon. Ges. Konigsberg 49: 317-350. Turk, F. A. (1953) A synonymic catalogue of British Acari: Part II. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 6: 81-99. 92 FIELD NOTE Note on a Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus , with an abnormal clutch On 12 April 1989, I erected a portable hide in a wet area of Osmotherly Moor for observation purposes. About 15 m from the hide, on a dry part of burnt moor, I found the nest of a lapwing containing 3 eggs. On returning to the hide on 15 April, I noticed that the nest now contained 5 eggs and that the eggs were cold, although there was a pair of lapwings in the area. On 17 April the nest contained 6 eggs which were being incubated. On this part of the moor the density of breeding lapwings is <1 pair/ha although in the fields adjacent to the moor the density rises to >6/ha. According to Cramp (1983), a clutch is normally 4 eggs, sometimes 3, rarely 2 or 5, and more than 5 by two females and Harrison (1975) provides similar figures; however Hosking and Newberry (1944) illustrate a nest similar to that described above, stating it to be the first recorded instance. In the light of this, there can be recorded instances of clutches with 6 eggs. The colour and type of markings on all the eggs in this nest appeared to be almost identical. Examination of clutches elsewhere on the moor and in the adjacent fields showed that each clutch exhibited colours and markings consistent within the clutch, but varying between clutches. This consistency of egg markings, and the fact that only two birds were ever seen in the nest vicinity, suggests that all 6 eggs were laid by the same bird. One egg hatched on 17 May, the chick remaining with one parent whilst the other bird incubated the remaining eggs. References Cramp, S., Ed. (1983) Birds of the Western Palearctic , Oxford. Harrison, C. (1975) Field guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of British and European Birds. London. Hosking, E. and Newberry, C. (1944) Birds of the Day. London. John E. Knight 93 FIRST RECORDERS OF THE GOOLE SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THOMAS BUNKER MARTIN LIMBERT Museum and Art Gallery, Doncaster The First Recorders The formation of the Goole Scientific Society in 1875 brought together and encouraged a number of able naturalists to both work their rather undervalued region at the head of the Humber estuary, and to promote its documentation. The Society’s minute books and copies of its publications still survive at Goole Library and, with references from the local newspapers of the time, they depict the fortunes of the Society until its demise in 1886. A list of the Society’s publications is given in T. Sheppard’s Yorkshire’s Contribution to Science (London, 1916), and an interesting retrospective account of its activities by Thomas Birks (q.v.) is also available ( Goole Times, 27 October 1905). The Society’s first recorders were announced in 1877 {Ann. Rep. Cttee Goole Sci. Soc. 1876-77 : 3-7). They comprised Dr H. F. Parsons (Geology and Cryptogamic Botany), Thomas Birks (Botany), Revd R. D. Maxwell (Conchology) and Thomas Bunker (Vertebrate Zoology). With the exception of Maxwell, all were also involved with the work of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union. Of these four recorders, by far the most significant is Dr Parsons. He was the Medical Officer of Health in Goole from 1874-79, and was the Scientific Society’s leading spirit (and Secretary) until his departure from the town in the latter year. This was perhaps the greatest single blow to the vitality and organization of the Society, which probably never really overcame so serious a loss. Almost certainly, it is significant that the Society’s printed Annual Report for 1878-79 was its last {Naturalist 112: 117-24). F. A. Lees’ memorable comment in his obituary of Parsons {Naturalist 39: 8-9) that only Charles Darwin had impressed him with a ‘mental magic’ comparable to Parsons’, has ensured the latter’s continuing interest to botanical historians. He was elected the first Honorary Life Member of the Y.N.U., and was clearly a botanist and administrator of lasting renown (e.g. Naturalist 86: 41-43, 53-66, 145-50, 163-68; 89: 71; 107: 121-29; Bull. Brit, bryol. Soc. 38: 38-48; R. Desmond, Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturists (London, 1977); D. L. Hawksworth and M. R. D. Seaward, Lichen- ology in the British Isles 1568-1975 (Richmond, 1977)). A comprehensive study of his life and work - in and beyond Goole - would constitute a particularly worthwhile study. Thomas Birks was another competent botanist of wide interests, and deserves a place in future editions of Desmond’s Dictionary. He was a native of Goole, but left the town in 1885. His biography has been outlined recently {Lapwing 19: 42-47), although at that time it had not been ascertained that he was a Foundation Member of the British Mycological Society, which was established at a Y.N.U. fungus foray at Selby in 1896 {Naturalist 86: 53-66; 107: 121-29; Trans Brit, mycol. Soc. 2: 1; 30: 1-16). Birks, like Parsons, contributed to the Goole Society’s herbarium, now regrettably substantially destroyed {Lapwing 19: 42-47). The Revd R. D. Maxwell, a native of Beverley, was Goole’s Congregationalist minister from 1868 or 1869 to 1878 {Goole and Marshland Weekly Times, 13 September 1878; H. Garside, Congregationalism in Goole 1828-1951, Goole, 1951). In 1878, he retired to Teignmouth, due to ill-health {Goole Telegraph, 10 September 1878, Goole and Marshland Weekly Times, 13 September 1878). As a ‘constant supporter of sanitary and educational progress’, he was one of the first to suggest the desirability of forming a scientific society in Goole, as a successor to the extinct Goole Literary and Scientific Society, which had begun life in 1841, and failed at some unknown subsequent date. Maxwell became the only conchological recorder of the Goole Scientific Society, although accounts of the early history of Yorkshire conchology (e.g. J. Conch. 28: 265-93; 32: 1-8; Naturalist 107: 131-34) make no reference to him. His main significance seems to rest on the records derived from his collection and unpublished list of Goole district Naturalist 114 (1989) 94 First recorders of the Goole Scientific Society mollusca (e.g. J. Conch. 3: 241-56; Trans Y.N.U. Ser. C: Annotated List of the Land and Freshwater Mollusca known to inhabit Yorkshire). The Scientific Society’s Annual Report for 1878-79 records that on his departure from Goole, Maxwell presented his collection of local mollusca (‘52 kinds’) to the Society’s museum, and sent his list of the mollusca of the neighbourhood (20 miles radius of Goole), ‘with localities arranged according to the “vice-counties”. It contained seventy species and seven varieties.’ These have probably suffered the same fate as the Society’s herbarium, although over half of the taxa from the list can be gleaned from the Scientific Society’s early minutes and from the Yorkshire list in the Y.N.U. Transactions. Finally, of the original recorders, there is Thomas Bunker, the only one who retained his position (and, indeed, his residence in Goole) until the Society expired. The notes which follow augment a ‘thumbnail’ biography of him ( Lapwing 16: 56-60). Of all the Scientific Society’s members, Bunker took the deepest interest in their district’s most notable site, Thorne Moors, a part of which extends into Goole parish as Goole Moor. He was apparently introduced to the site c.1876 by Thomas Birks ( Lapwing 14: 18-26). Although Bunker was primarily interested in vertebrate zoology, he nevertheless had relatively wide interests, and became an acknowledged authority on the natural history of the region, especially the peat moors. His work is still full of interest, and is essential material for local researchers. As records providing a context for modern studies, or as a glimpse into nineteenth century Goole, Bunker’s writing remains both instructional and enjoyable to read. He produced the first lists of Goole birds ( Goole and Marshland Times , 22 March 1878) and fishes ( Goole Weekly Times , 3 March 1882), and provided an early account of Thorne Moors ( Trans Hull Sci. Fid Nat. Cl. 1: 1-9). His manuscript narrative of the visit to Thorne Moors with Birks, c.1876, also of some lasting interest (Lapwing 14: 18-26), usefully extends our insight into this threatened moorland. Biographical Details of Thomas Bunker The following information is derived (unless stated otherwise) from Bunker’s obituary in the Goole Times of 16 April 1915. He was born on 2 February 1830 at Toddington, Bedfordshire. He trained for the teaching profession at St Mark’s College, Chelsea, and shortly afterwards, allegedly in 1846 (although 1851 seems more likely), he took up a post as a schoolmaster at the National Schools in Goole, where he lived for the rest of his life. In 1857, he opened a private day school in a room belonging to the Scientific Hall ( Goole and Marshland Times , 1 June 1857). From 1855, he was appointed the Collector of Rates for Goole township by the Guardians of the Goole Union ( Goole and Marshland Gazette , 1 September 1855). He subsequently became a tax collector for the Goole Union Rural Sanitary Authority, probably from 1872 (Public Health Act 1872) until his retirement c.1890. He also acted as manager of a savings bank in Goole for many years, and was a staunch supporter of the Established Church. Thomas Bunker’s Natural History Interests However, it is as a naturalist that Bunker is particularly recalled here, although little is known about this aspect of his life before 1875. There is, nevertheless, some indication of earlier interest. For example, he was involved in the slaughter of 23 Northern Bottlenose Whales Hyperoodon ampullatus Forst. in the Humber in the 1860s (Y.N.U. Bull. 4: 18-19), and on the foray to Thorne Moors, c.1876, he clearly had prior acquaintance with some of the organisms encountered (Lapwing 14: 18-26). However, it is odd that Thorne Moors should apparently be new to him on that occasion: ‘I was anxious to learn something of the moor itself and what plants and animals were to [be] met with’ (Lapwing 14: 22). From 1875, details of Thomas Bunker as a naturalist appear in much sharper focus. He held office in the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, of which he was a long-standing member. He served terms as Secretary and President of the Vertebrate Zoology Section, and was a member of the Wild Birds and Eggs Protection Committee. In addition, he 95 First recorders of the Goole Scientific Society was the Local Secretary for Goole, a permanent member of the Union’s General Committee, and eventually an Honorary Life Member, ‘In recognition of his services to natural history’ {Naturalist 40: 117). He joined the Goole Scientific Society on 19 June 1875, soon after its founding, and remained a loyal member throughout its existence. During this time he was Recorder for Vertebrate Zoology, and he served at various times as delegate to the Y.N.U., Assistant Secretary, Vice-President and - from 1882 to 1884 - as President. Additionally, he was a corresponding member of the Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists’ Club {Trans Hull Sci. Fid Nat. Cl. 1: iii). Bunker was remembered as ‘a general all round naturalist’ {Naturalist 41: 32), though, as noted, vertebrate zoology was his preferred subject, especially fish, birds and cetaceans. This was probably encouraged, or reinforced, both by the geography of the Goole district, and by his apparent enthusiasm for shooting {Trans Hull Sci. Fid Nat. Cl. 1: 7) and fishing {Goole Weekly Times , 3 March 1882). In his manuscript account of the visit to Thorne Moors c.1876 {Lapwing 14: 18-26), many observations on vertebrates and botany are noted, and emphasising his wide interests, he wrote: I had filled my vasculum with many interesting plants, had caught several larvae and placed them in chip boxes. I had no net with me and had only taken one moth which we knocked down with our hats - it was the Emperor Moth; from the ditches I had filled tubes with water containing algae, and hoped to find many hours employment for my microscope the next few evenings. The Goole Times of 14 August 1896 adds to this view: Any information respecting discoveries of bones, &c., in the peat [of Thorne Moors], or pieces of metal or stone in the sand, will be received with thanks by Mr T. Bunker, 9 East Parade, who is anxious to place on record any fact connected with the history of the moors. Bunker’s obituary in The Naturalist (40: 176-77) describes him as ‘equally interested in bird, plant or insect’, though he himself wrote in his paper on Thorne Moors: ‘Not being an entomologist I can only name a few species’ {Trans. Hull Sci. Fid Nat. Cl. 1: 6-7). He also claimed no knowledge of fungi {Goole Weekly Times , 28 March 1881). Bunker freely contributed manuscripts lists, records, observations and specimens, as for example a perusal of Clarke and Roebuck’s A Handbook of the Vertebrate Fauna of Yorkshire (London, 1881), Nelson’s The Birds of Yorkshire (London, 1907), or the pages of The Naturalist show. He was himself not a prolific writer, at least so far as published work is concerned. A list of his output is appended. At the first public meeting of the Goole Scientific and Field Naturalists’ Society, on 24 October 1905, Thomas Birks, as a member of the former Goole Scientific Society, travelled back to town for the launch: ‘to help give the little boat a good shove off. Birks had been a regular field companion of Bunker, the latter having proposed him as a member of the Scientific Society in 1875. Birks spoke on the work and members of the extinct Society {Goole Times, 27 October 1905), including Bunker, who was seemingly not at the meeting: Mr Bunker, who joined the society at its second meeting, has always been an active and enthusiastic member, being seldom absent from any meeting, and always doing good work, whether the society was in active existence or not, much of its work, especially in the zoological section, was carried out single-handed by Mr Bunker. His services have ever been at the call of any fellow naturalist, and few people whose business was in any way connected with natural science have visited Goole during the last thirty years without being in some way indebted to Mr Bunker. I trust that he will do equally good service to the new society. However, although noted as a ‘prospective member’ {Goole Times, 25 August 1905), there is no evidence to suggest that Bunker became a member of, or lectured to, the new organisation. Nevertheless, the second list of Goole birds, in the Society’s only 96 First recorders of the Goole Scientific Society (1908-09) volume of Transactions (1: 17-19) contains many records contributed by Bunker. The list was compiled by the Society’s ornithological recorder, T. G. Kirby, and was apparently based on his lecture to the Society on 20 November 1906. Although described as ‘of a retiring disposition’ {Naturalist 40: 177), Bunker appears to have been well regarded. He often attended Y.N.U. field excursions, possibly his last being that to Askern on 11 July 1912, when he was 82. In the account of the visit {Naturalist 37: 253-58), it was noted that: The President, Mr J. W. Taylor . . . expressed the pleasure of the members in being favoured by the presence of Mr T. Bunker, of Goole, who for so many years had been a steady supporter of the Union, and one of its oldest members. Early in 1915, however, Bunker fell ill; he died at his home in East Parade ten weeks later, on 10 April, having reached the age of 85. In his Naturalist obituary, Bunker was described as ‘one of the naturalists of the old type’, and it was recalled that: Many Yorkshire naturalists today will remember with pleasure the interest shewn in their work and the encouragement given by Mr Bunker. In a wider sphere, his appreciation in the Goole Times described him as a ‘highly esteemed and respected resident.’ Edward Lamplough was moved to write a sonnet in his memory, and this was published in the Transactions of the Hull Club for 1919 (4: 298): In quiet moments I have thought of you, Turning from Madam’s Wood in sun and shade. From wide ‘Thorne Waste’, before rude Mammon’s raid, Whose tracks my boyhood’s feet did oft pursue; Whose dear ‘wild things’ you better loved and knew; Now am I far removed, and slow and staid. By gentle thoughts are the old days repaid - Pictured ’mid fern and moss and fair sundew, Bold with the spirit of the open moor, And that deep praise of God in nature born; All reverent souls in nature’s fields adore! You will be remembered for the love and lore That binds you to the strength of stream and shore, So shall our laughing thoughts go with you through the corn! Appendix: Thomas Bunker s Written Work Bunker probably wrote a number of papers for lectures to societies, although only four manuscripts are known to have survived. He delivered papers under the title ‘The Migration of Birds’ to the Goole Scientific Society on 20 November 1882 (a detailed synopsis subsequently appearing in the Goole Weekly Times of 24 November) and to the Doncaster Microscopical and General Scientific Society on 13 February 1889 {Doncaster Chronicle, 15 February 1889, D.M.G.S.S. Summary of Reports for the Sessions 1886-87, 1887-88, 1888-89, 1889-90 : 26-27). A manuscript by Bunker bearing the same title is held at Doncaster Museum; it contains dated references extending to 15 February 1890, clearly inferring that he delivered a paper under this title on at least a third occasion, though it is not known to whom, when or where, but probably in Goole as he referred to Goole Moor as ‘Our moors’. A manuscript held at Goole Library entitled ‘A Visit to Goole Moors’, which can be dated to c.1876, was obviously intended for publication (‘my object in writing this paper is not to give your readers . . .’), though I have been unable to locate a published version. An incomplete, but apparently later draft is held at Doncaster Museum. The ‘Goole’ copy has been published in the Lapwing (14: 18-26), with additional notes on the ‘Doncaster’ draft. 97 First recorders of the Goole Scientific Society Another manuscript held at Doncaster Museum, unfortunately also incomplete, is an account of Thorne Moors, apparently read as a paper (? to whom) in March 1894 (‘a leading article of the Daily News of Saturday last 3/3/94’). Bunker had already spoken on the same subject to the Hull Field Naturalists’ Society on 7 January 1892 ( Goole Weekly Times , 15 January 1892), and did so again to the Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists’ Club on 2 March 1898; this latter paper was the first to be published in the Hull Club’s Transactions (1: 1-9). The published version is simply the 1894 manuscript with additions and amendments, some of them editorial. Thomas Bunker’s son George (see Lapwing 14: 19 and Y.N.U. Bull. 11: 9-11), who inherited at least some of his father’s interest in natural history, delivered a paper to the Grimsby and District Naturalists’ Society, of which he was a member, on 9 November 1904, entitled ‘Goole and Thorne Moors’. It was subsequently published in Nature Study (14: 7-14). It reads very much like Thomas Bunker’s 1898 paper (Naturalist 30: 160), but on close scrutiny appears to be based on his 1894 manuscript, not the later printed version. Bunker wrote a number of notes and papers, and these are listed chronologically: 1877: Kingfishers, etc., at Goole. Naturalist 3: 39. 1878: A list of the Birds that have been observed near Goole. Ann. Rep. Cttee Goole Sci. Soc. 1877/78 : 1-8. [This paper was read to the Goole Scientific Society on 27 February 1878. Details appear in the Ann. Rep. Cttee Goole Sci. Soc. (1877/78: 13) and The Naturalist (3: 140-41). The text appears in the Goole and Marshland Times of 22 March 1878, a reprint from which was incorporated into the G.S.S. report for 1877/78, as above.] 1879: Redshank at Goole. Naturalist 4: 184-85. Great Crested Grebe, etc near Goole. Naturalist 5: 58. 1881: Pike with Spawn. Naturalist 6: 92. Cuckoo in March. Naturalist 6: 152. Little Bittern at Goole. Naturalist 7: 66. Bottle-nosed Dolphin at Goole. Naturalist 7: 66. 1882: Bottle-nosed Dolphins. Naturalist 8: 56. Fishes and Allied Animals of the District. Goole Weekly Times , 3 March 1882. [This is actually a detailed abstract of a paper delivered by Bunker to the Scientific Society on 20 February 1882.] 1884: Nesting of the Twite on Thorne Waste. Naturalist 10: 9. Angler-fish at Whitgift. Naturalist 10: 60. Capture of a Rudolphi’s Rorqual ( Balaenoptera borealis ) at Goole. Naturalist 10: 87-88. Rudolphi’s Rorqual at Goole. Zoologist 8 (third ser.): 483-84. 1886: Goole Fish-notes. Naturalist 11: 81. Fishes observed near Goole. Naturalist 11: 309. 1888: Capture of a Seal in the Aire at Rawcliffe. Naturalist 13: 226. Stratiotes abides at Carlton near Selby. Naturalist 13: 331. 1889: Turtle-Dove and Nightingale near Goole. Naturalist 14: 182. 1890: Storm Petrel at Howden, Yorks. Naturalist 15: 352. 1893: Acherontia atropos at Goole. Naturalist 18: 332. 1898: The natural history of Goole Moor and the immediate vicinity. Trans Hull Sci. Fid Nat. Cl. 1: 1-9. 1905: Note on the occurrence of the Beluga, or White Whale, in the Ouse. Naturalist 30: 167-68. Angler Fish at Goole. Naturalist 30: 219. 98 BOOK REVIEWS The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. Volume 4. 1847-50. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt and Sydney Smith. Pp. xxxvi + 711, including text figures, plus 13 b/w plates. Cambridge University Press. 1988. £32.50. The latest volume of this scholarly edition (see The Naturalist 111: 36 & 113: 24) is not only a definitive work of reference but also a fitting tribute to possibly the most remarkable of all natural historians. The present volume covers a period when Darwin’s scientific work was based mainly at Down House, a major part of that time devoted to the study of barnacles; the correspondence clearly shows how crucial letter writing was to his investigations, for although he attended numerous meetings in London and elsewhere and received many visitors at his home, he was nevertheless somewhat isolated at Down. A thoroughly worthwhile publishing venture. MRDS Heather in England and Wales edited by R. G. H. Bunce. Pp. v + 40, including 10 tables, 9 line drawings and 9 colour plates. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology Research Publication No. 3, HMSO, 1989. £5.90 paperback. This booklet is described as a research report on a project carried out in 1988 to assess the spatial distribution and current status of heather in England and Wales, in response to concern over heather decline. Recent Landsat satellite imagery was used to map the distribution and to estimate the area covered by heather (defined as including Calluna vulgaris plus species of Erica), and to indicate where the heather was dominant and where managed by burning. The report contains an introduction, details of methodology and overview of results, including a comparison with results from previous surveys by different methods and a discussion preceded by a section on regional assessments of England and Wales. Readers of The Naturalist may be particularly interested in the section on northern England. The causes of decline are often attributed to changes in mangement, such as reductions in grazing, burning and the removal of bracken, and also fragmentation and land-use changes. For upland heaths in northern England the major factor in heather decline is thought likely to have been overgrazing by sheep, coupled with inappropriate burning regimes. Lowland heaths are noted as having suffered a disproportionately greater heather loss than upland areas. Different methods of assessment will always provide somewhat different estimates of the extent of heather, but the results showed a larger estimated area of heather in this survey than for 1947 for all but one region of England and for Wales, when the thrust of the publication is to discuss heather decline! The ground survey indicated a number of limitations to the method, suggesting caution is needed in interpreting the results. None the less, there is interesting and useful material contained in this report, although its format is a strange mixture of information aimed at a semi-popular market combined with a large body of tabulated data, whose major use would presumably be comparison with subsequent studies by researchers using similar techniques. The plates are attrac- tively produced, but add little to the information contained in the report. It was unclear who the intended readership of this report was or why it was published in this format, and I also have my doubts about how many people would wish to purchase it at the price indicated. WHGH 99 ANNUAL AVIAN AND MAMMALIAN TRAFFIC MORTALITY ALONG A SOUTH YORKSHIRE ROAD P. N. JOHNSON Abstract Avian and mammalian road traffic casualties were recorded along a 1 km section of an A class, derestricted road in a rural environment throughout 1984. 103 casualties were recorded throughout the year, 7 mammalian species (n = 19) and 15 avian species (n = 89). Mortality was low between January and April, rising in May and June and peaked in September. In October, the number of casualties recovered fell, and remained at a lower level through to December. The majority of species recovered were resident species, with only two winter migratory avian species recovered. The most frequently recorded avian species was Passer domesticus (n = 41) and the most frequently recorded mammal species was Lepus capensis (n = 6). The majority of casualties were recovered at two locations along the surveyed section of road, near the outskirts of a town (Askern) and near the River Went bridge. Introduction Throughout 1984, a 1 km section of the A19 road and its adjacent grass verges were surveyed for road traffic casualties. The aim of the survey was to record the frequency of avian and mammalian species mortality rates attributable to motor vehicle traffic in a rural environment. The survey section ran from the outer limits of Askern, G.R. 44/150 564 to the road bridge over the River Went G.R. 44/160 565. The surveyed section of road was straight, with a two metre wide grass verge: a Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna ) and Willow (Salix fragilis) hedge, 1.8 metres high and 1 metre wide at the base, separated the grass verge from the adjacent arable farmland along the length of the surveyed section. Methods The area was surveyed on foot twice daily throughout the year, once at first light and again in the late afternoon. Avian and mammalian road traffic casualties found were recorded and removed in order to avoid multiple recording. Some casualties were left in marked positions to test for the presence of carrion feeding species, which may possibly be removing casualties from the survey area. The exact position of each casualty found on the road was not assumed to be that of the point of impact, as relocation following impact with a moving vehicle and the transportation of casualties along the road was highly probable. No recording of traffic volume was undertaken, though it was noted that traffic volume increased between May and September. Results The monthly casualties are listed in Table 1, to show the seasonal variation in species composition and the frequency of occurrence and the total annual mortality for each species in the survey. It can be seen that species mortality was low between January and April. Both avian and mammalian species occur at almost equal frequencies in each month. In May, the level of avian species recorded rose, with a high frequency of Turdus philomelos, and a slight increase in the numbers of mammals, with a higher recovery of Lepus capensis. From June to September the level of recoveries rose, peaking in September, with 24.3 per cent of the annual casualties being recorded in this month. The majority of recoveries were of small passerine species, notably Passer domesticus Naturalist 114 (1989) 100 Traffic mortality along a South Yorkshire road TABLE 1 Species mortality Species Month JFMAMJ JAS OND Total Passer domesticus 10 8 9 11 2 1 41 Turdus merula 1 2 1 2 2 3 11 Turdus philomelos 4 1 1 1 7 Gallinulan chloropus 1 1 1 1 2 1 7 Parus caeruleus 1 1 1 3 Carduelis chloris 1 2 3 Strix aluco 1 1 2 Parus major 1 1 Prunella modularis 2 2 Perdix perdix 1 1 2 Carduelis carduelis 1 1 Passer montanus 1 1 Streptopelia decaocto 1 1 Turdus iliacus 1 1 Turdus pilaris 1 1 Lepus capensis 1 2 1 1 1 6 Felis catus 1 1 1 1 4 Erinaceus europaeus 1 1 1 3 Oryctolagus cuniculus 2 2 Mustela erminea 1 1 2 Meles meles 1 1 Domestic dog 1 1 and Turdus merula. Mammal recoveries increased only slightly during this period. The highest recoveries of avian species occurred between May and September, Passer domes ticus was the most frequently recorded species (n = 41), first recovered in June and lastly in November. Mammalian casualties were recorded at a continuous level throughout the year, with a slight rise in recoveries between July and October, the highest recoveries being in September and October. The presence in some months of Felis catus was due to the presence of a feral population in the area; these casualties were only recovered on the edge of the town, as was the domestic dog. Only two migratory species were recovered throughout the year, Turdus pilaris (n = 1) and T. iliacus (n = 1). Both these winter migrants were recorded in December near a source of Hawthorn berries. Although the position of each recovery was prone to relocation after impact, the majority of the recoveries was concentrated in two areas. The highest level of recoveries (n = 54) was from near the outskirts of the town (all within a 100 metre area); and from a 50 metre section of a road bridge passing over the River Went (n = 33). Only 16 casualties were recovered along the 845 metre straight section of road between these two points. All of the casualties left in marked positions were removed overnight, indicating the presence of regular scavenging species along the survey section. Discussion The rise in avian mortality in May coincided with the breeding efforts of many resident species. Between June and September, the hedges and surrounding farmland along the Book Review 101 road may offer suitable nesting and food resources to breeding birds. The higher level of recoveries for predominantly granivorous avian species between July and September (Table 1), may be attributable to the presence of abundant grain and cropseeds on the road surface and in neighbouring fields, attracting species to the road environment. Hudson and Snow (1965) noted a very high recovery of Passer domes ticus nationally, which was attributed to their flocking in corn fields between July and August. The level of P. domesticus mortality in this survey was comparable with the national level of 54 per cent of total recoveries being attributed to this one species. Dunthorn and Errington (1964) monitored a similar section of road in Wiltshire, on which 85 per cent of all avian recoveries occurred between April and September. This seasonally high level was comparable to this northern study, with 82.68 per cent of all mortality recorded in the same period (Table 1). Mammals, e.g. Meles meles, Orycotolagus cuniculus and Erinaceus europaeus, appear to remain within defined boundaries throughout the year. This continuous presence within the road area and use of roads as crossing points over rivers, would result in year-round exposure to traffic, and may account for the continuous year-round mortality observed. The mobile Lepus capensis, is prone to agriculture-related disturbances on the adjacent farmland; most recoveries of this species followed the spring activities of farmers, while later recoveries coincided with harvesting and stubble burning. Various carnivorous species were recovered on the road, e.g. Strix aluco , Meles meles , Felis catus and M us tela erminea; these species may be attracted to the road environment by the presence of regularly occurring road casualties, and the seasonal concentration of granivorous prey species. In a national survey, the high occurrence of vehicle collisions with owl species were in part attributed to their habit of carrion-feeding on the road surface and also the dazzling of owls and other nocturnal animals by car headlights (Glue 1971). The presence of scavengers along the survey section has resulted in all probability in under-recording of the true mortality levels. The occurrence of mortality ‘hot spots’ was noted by Hudson and Snow (1965), where high levels of mortality were found near open clearings along uniform areas of hedgerow and woodland. Dunthorn and Errington (1964) viewed ‘hot spots’, resulting for example from a large number of animals crossing at a specific point, but due to topographical features which restricted the animals vision, the killing frequency was also high. ‘Black spots’ identified on the edge of the town and near the river bridge in this study may be attributable to either hypothesis and would require future monitoring both of animals crossing at each point and the frequency of traffic and collisions. References Dunthorn, A. A. and Errington, F. P. (1964) Casualties among birds along a selected road in Wiltshire. Bird Study 11: 168-182. Glue, D. E. (1971) Ringing recovery circumstances of some small birds of prey. Bird Study 18: 137-146. Hudson, N. L. and Snow, D. W. (1965) The British Trust for Ornithology road deaths enquiry 1960-61. Bird Study 12: 90-99. BOOK REVIEW Restoration Ecology: a synthetic approach to ecological research edited by William R. Jordan, Michael E. Gilpin and John D. Aber, with 27 contributors. Pp. 342, with b/w plates and figures. Cambridge University Press, 1987. £35. The first section explains what the authors mean by restoration or synthetic ecology: instead of merely using knowledge gained from basic research to provide the basis for successful restoration, the very process of repairing a damaged ecosystem itself offers valuable opportunities for fundamental ecological research, which in turn leads to improved restoration and management techniques. 102 Book Review Section two deals with the restoration of entire ecosystems. A general discussion of the problems of derelict land and the treatments needed to overcome these is followed by examples of restoration of specific ecosystems, namely prairies, forests and lakes. Each underlines the particular problems involved, such as invasion by trees, shrubs and non-native herbaceous species, the need to understand the course of succession, the minimum area which can be maintained as a successful ecosystem in the case of prairies and forests, and the problem of over-eutrophication in lakes. Section three discusses the usefulness of ‘manufactured’ ecosystems. The construction of an artificial coral reef and lagoon ecosystem are described, together with the problems involved and insights gained. Studies based on experimental community assemblages suggest that the final outcome of a restored ecological community is dependent on the order in which the species are introduced. In section four, partial restoration in the field is dealt with, including a study of animal behaviour and ecology during the re-introduction of two wren species of birds to an island in the Panama Canal, and the implications for restoration projects. A series of experiments leading to a categorisation of plant species in relation to successional communities is discussed, together with the importance of regenerative trials in determi- ning the diversity and abundance of species in plant communities. Community ecologists study sets of populations that ‘interact on a pairwise basis in three fundamentally different ways: through predation, competition, and mutualism’. It is suggested that one should know how these interactions will react if there is any drastic change in the community; restoration ecology can be used for this kind of analysis. The role of mycorrhizae in succession is considered. Comparisons made of the mycorrhizal com- ponent of topsoil removed from a native community and spread immediately on to a disturbed site, with that of topsoil stock-piled for a number of years before spreading, showed that different species colonized the two types of soil when compared with each other, and with nearby undisturbed native communities. In section five the opportunities which restored systems provide for basic research are considered. For example, restored forests provided valuable information on species-site interactions, with nitrogen availability as the critical factor, whilst studies of degraded ecosystems, resulting from mining operations, led to an increased understanding of the phenomenon of metal tolerance and evolutionary processes in general. Section six deals with some of the practical problems and considerations not usually encountered in traditional ecological studies, such as having to work to a prescribed scale, the size of the restoration site, minimum viable populations of species and the use of ‘mechanistic’ experiments dealing with some specific aspect of a single species or group of species. The final chapter reflects on what the explicit goals of restoration should be and what benefits to the study of ecology emerge from this synthetic approach. These appear to be two-fold: restoration projects allow ecologists to work on temporal and spatial scales far greater than ‘normal’ research projects and they provide perturbations greater than it would be morally, legally or practicable to provide. A thought-provoking book, but not one for the layman. JMD BOTANICAL REPORT FOR 1988 FLOWERING PLANTS AND FERNS 103 The names of contributors are given in full the first time they appear in each vice-county report and thereafter initials are used. The Recorders thank those members who have sent in records for the report. 10 km grid references are indicated by figures, t new county record * new vice-county record. East Yorkshire (VC 61) (F. E. Crackles) Records are included only for those species which are new to the 10 km square and which have previously been recorded for fewer than twelve 10 km squares in the vice- county. Several of the records are the result of work done in relation to the B.S.B.I. Monitoring Scheme. The record for the hybrid between Typha latifolia and T. angustifolia is of interest as this hybrid may have been overlooked previously, being recorded as T. angustifolia. The record for Puccinellia distans at North Cave suggests that the edge of roadside verges should be examined for salt-marsh species introduced with salt for de- icing purposes. Dr Perring’s record for Bromus racemosus at the edge of a wheat field by the River Flull raises the interesting question as to whether the species is relict from former marsh vegetation which no doubt occurred there. The species is a characteristic one of the water-meadows by the River Derwent and has also been found in former carr-land at Withernwick and Hollym in Holderness; there is an eighteenth century record for marshes near Beverley. Dryopteris affinis (Lowe) Fraser-Jenkins ssp. cambrensis Fish Ponds Wood, Boynton 54/16; E. Chicken, conf. J. M. Camus. Coronopus didymis (L.) Sm. Roadside verge, North Cave 44/83; T. Rich. Viola hirta x V. odorata = V. x permixta Jord. North Grimston 44/86; E.C. Hypericum humifusum L. The Moors, Burton Constable 54/13; Y.N.U. Excursion. Myosoton aquaticum (L.) Moench The Moors, Burton Constable 54/13; Y.N.U. Excur- sion. Chrysosplenium oppositifolium L. Holly Carrs Wood, Escrick 44/64; J. Lambert. Bidens cernua L. The Dams, Filey 54/18; P. Dunn. Potamogeton berchtoldii Fieb. Dew pond, near Fimber 44/86; T.R. Sparganium emersum Rehm. Everingham Carrs 44/84; D. R. Grant, t Typha angustifolia x T. latifolia = T. x glauca Godr. Pond, Holme upon Spalding Moor 44/83; T. Mundell, det. A. C. Leslie. Glyceria fluitans x G. plicata = G. x pedicellata Towns. Hotham 44/83; E.C. Festuca pratensis x Lolium multiflorum = x Festulolium braunii (K. Richt.) A. Camus. Near Youlthorpe 44/75; D. E. Haythornthwaite. Puccinellia distans (L.) Pari. By roadside, North Cave 44/83; F. E. Crackles. Bromus racemosus L. In winter wheat at Corps Landing 54/05; F. H. Perring. Chara hispida Upper lake, Burton Constable 54/13; E.C. and D.R.G. det. Mrs J. Moore. North-east Yorkshire (VC 62) (T. F. Medd) * Ceterach officinarum DC. Boundary wall of United Reform Church, Loftus 45/71; A. Fryday. Phegopteris connectilis (Michx) Watt Blowgill 44/59 and Danby Dale head 45/60; Mrs N. Sykes; Northdale, off Rosedale 44/79; British Pteridological Society. Juniperus communis L. Fryup Dale head 45/70; N.S. Trollius europaeus L. Beadale Wood, Wrelton 44/78; R. and M. Gulliver: New Wath, Goathland 45/80; N.S. Fumaria muralis Sond. ex Koch Everley 44/98; C. Wilson: Staithes (with F. officinalis) 45/71; R. and M.G. Naturalist 114 (1989) 104 Botanical Report for 1 988 Hypericum elodes L. Hole Beck, Spaunton Moor 44/79; N.S. Myosoton aquaticum (L.) Moench Nunnington 44/68; R. and M.G. Stellaria nemorum L. Helmsley 44/68; D. Grant: Arncliffe Wood, Glaisdale 45/70; R. and M.G. Tilia cordata Mill. Hell Bank Wood, Appleton-le-Moors 44/78; Peel Wood, Hutton Mulgrave 45/81; R. and M.G. Lythrum salicaria L. Netherby Dale 44/88; Y.N.U. Bot. Sec. Excn. Blackstonia perfoliata (L.) Huds. Harwood Dale 44/99; Mrs J. Gatenby. Scrophularia umbrosa Dumort. Yearsley (growing on gravel in former quarry) 44/57; R. and M.G. Mentha rotundifolia (L.) Huds. Helmsley 44/68; D.G. Lycopus europaeus L. Netherby Dale 44/88; Y.N.U. Bot. Sec. Excn. Gnaphalium sylvaticum L. Poverty Hill, Danby 45/70; R. and M.G. Crepis paludosa (L.) Moench Beadale Wood, Wrelton 44/78; R. and M.G. Paris quadrifolia L. Deepdale, Dalby Forest 44/99; N.S. Epipactis palustris (L.) Crantz Dalby Forest 44/88; F. Horsman. * Dactylorhiza X claudiopolitana (Soo) Soo = D. incarnata x maculata Dalby Forest 44/88; F.H. conf. R. H. Roberts. D. x kernerorum (Soo) Soo = D. fuchsii x incarnata Dalby forest (2 sites) 44/88; F.H. D. x venusta (T. and T. A. Stephenson) Soo = D. fuchsii x purpurella Ellerburn Bank 44/88; F.H. Scirpus lacustris L. Beningborough 44/55; D.G. Hordelymus europaeus (L.) Harz Hell Bank Wood, Appleton-le-Moors 44/78; R. and M.G. Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link Saltwick Nab 45/91; R. and M.G. South-west Yorkshire (VC 63) (D. R. Grant) Phyllitis scolopendrium (L.) Newm. Sandal Castle, Wakefield 44/31; E. Thompson. Asplenium adiantum-nigrum L. Crosland Edge, Huddersfield 44/11; J. Lucas. Ceterach officinarum DC. Wall, Elland Bridge 44/12; F. Murgatroyd; wall, Holywell Green 44/01; F.M. Botrychium lunaria (L.) Sw. Grass verge, Norland Moor, Halifax 44/02; F.M. Ranunculus hederaceus L. Great Gill, Lothersdale 34/94; D. R. Grant. Nuphar lutea (L.) Sm. Crimpsall, Doncaster 44/50; E.T. Hypericum maculatum Crantz Arksey Ings 44/50; T. Schofield; Hexthorpe, Doncaster 44/50; D.R.G. H. humifusum L. Rishworth 44/01; F.M. Rhamnus catharticus L. Almholme 44/50; E.T. Astragalus glycyphyllos L. Roman Ridge, Red House, Doncaster 44/50; D. Bramley. Cornus sanguinea L. Notton 44/31; D.R.G. Hydrocotyle vulgaris L. Sharlston 44/31; E.T. Berula erecta (Huds.) Coville Old Canal, Gawber, Barnsley 44/30; Y.N.U. Excursion. Silaum silaus (L.) Schinz and Thell. Clifton Interchange 44/12; J.L.; Gawber 44/30; Y.N.U. Excursion. Pastinaca sativa L. Ravensthorpe 44/22; E.T. Oenanthe aquatica (L.) Poir. Snaith 44/62; D.R.G. Bryonia dioica Jacq. Wrenthorpe 44/32; D.R.G. Humulus lupulus L. Barnburgh 44/40; E.T.; Smithy Brook, Middlestown 44/21; E.T. Salix repens L. Elland Gravel Pits 44/12; F.M. Primula vulgaris Huds. Near Elslack 34/94; D.R.G. Hottonia palustris L. Near Goole 44/71; D.R.G. Scrophularia aquatica L. Gawber 44/30; Y.N.U. Excursion. Ballota nigra L. Snaith 44/62; D.R.G. Picris hieracioides L. Cadeby Lime Works Tip 44/50; D.R.G. 105 Botanical Report for 1988 P. echioides L. Near Blacktoft Sands 44/82; T.S. Sagittaria sagittifolia L. Arksey Ings 44/50; T.S. Hydrocharis morsus-ranae L. Arksey Ings 44/50; D.B. Confirmation of an old record. Zannichellia palustris L. Near Thorne 44/71; D.R.G.; Castle Hills, Highfields 44/50; Y.N.U. Botanical Section Excursion. J uncus subnodulosus Schrank Doncaster 44/50; D.R.G. Lemna gibba L. Arksey Ings 44/50; E.T. Scirpus fluitans L. Drain near Sandtoft 44/70; D.R.G. Eleocharis palustris (L.) Roem. and Schult. Pugneys Lake, Wakefield 44/31; E.T. Care x disticha Huds. Gawber 44/30; Y.N.U. Excursion. C. pallescens L. Gawber 44/30; Y.N.U. Excursion. Puccinellia distans (L.) Pari. West Bretton 44/21; D.R.G.; Clayton, Doncaster 44/40; D.R.G. Catabrosa aquatica (L.) Beauv. Doncaster 44/50; I. Macdonald. Chara globularis var globularis Oulton Hall, Rothwell 44/32; D. Wall, det. Br. Museum. Mid- west Yorkshire (VC 64) (L. Magee) A very large number of records were received from five members; these cover almost every 10 km square in V.C. 64 but only a small selection is given. Many changes are taking place in land use in the vice-county and the recorder welcomes all new records and confirmation of old records. Thanks are given to all who made this report possible. Ophioglossum vulgatum L. Swinsty 44/15; colony of 200 plants submerged for most of year; L. Magee; Paythorne 34/85; D. R. Grant. Ranunculus penicillatus var. calcareus (R. W. Butcher) Cook R. Wharfe, Arthington 44/24; L.M.; Harewood 44/34; L.M. R. penicillatus (Dum.) Bab. var. penicillatus Stream at Buckden 34/97; L.M. Rorippa palustris (L.) Besser. subsp. palustris Linton Beck 34/96; H. Lefevre. Astragalus glycyphyllos L. Old railway, Thorpe Arch 44/44; D.R.G. Potentilla palustris (L.) Scop. Blubberhouses end of Fewston Reservoir 44/15; L.M. Callitriche stagnalis Scop. Stream at Buckden 34/97; L.M. Pimpinella major (L.) Huds. Nun Monkton 44/55; D.R.G. Oenanthe crocata L. Bolton-by-Bowland 34/77; D.R.G. Rumex longifolius DC. Arncliffe 34/71; D.R.G. Populus tremula L. Knapton 44/55; D.R.G.; Barlow 44/62; D.R.G. Lysimachia nummularia L. Hutton Wandesley 44/55; J. Payne. Zannichellia palustris L. Barlow Common 44/62; D.R.G. Gymnadenia conopsea (L.) R.Br. subsp. densiflora (Wahlenb.) G. Camus, Bergon and A. Camus ‘Near Grassington’ 34/96; F. Horsman. Dactylorhiza maculata (L.) Soo subsp. ericetorum (E. F. Linton) Hunt and Summerhayes By Scarcroft Beck 44/34; Y.N.U. Excursion. D. praetermissa (Druce) Soo Lawkland Moss 34/76; F.H. First record for Yorkshire Dales. Confirmed R. H. Roberts. D. incarnata (L.) Soo x D. purpurella (T. and T. A. Stephenson) Soo Austwick Moss 34/76; F.H. A rare hybrid. Acorus calamus L. Selby Canal 44/62; D.R.G. Carex pallescens L. Lindley 44/25; D.R.G. C. spicata Huds. Hetton 34/95; D.R.G. C. dioica L. Near Embsay Reservoir 34/95; D.R.G. Apera spica-venti (L.) Beauv. Barlow 44/62; D.R.G. North-west Yorkshire (VC 65) (T. F. Medd) Dryopteris carthusiana (Vill.) H. P. Fuchs Little Fencote 44/29; C. D. Preston. Helleborus viridis L. Kirkby Fleetham 44/29; C.D.P. Confirmation of pre-1930 record. Cochlearia officinalis L. Catterick 44/29; C.D.P. 106 Botanical Report for 1 988 Stellaria palustris Retz. Ivelet 34/99; D. Millward and Mr and Mrs Roberts. Lamium hybridum Vill. Catterick 44/29; C.D.P. Dactyloriza x venusta (T. and T. A. Stephenson) Soo = D. fuchsii x purpurella Mickleton 35/92; Mrs M. Burnip. Casuals and Adventives (E. Chicken) Since the last report I have received 34 records of 31 taxa from 11 contributors. The majority of these records are listed below. Unless stated otherwise, the contributor is taken to be the determiner in each case. I would repeat that it helps considerably if all the information for an entry can be provided. Authorities for plant names can be difficult to find and the determiner really should know. Locations should be readily traceable using a 1:50 000 Ordnance Survey map. Lepidium ruder ale L. (64) Merrion Centre, Leeds 44/33; L. Magee. Cardaria chalepensis (L.) Hand.-Mazz. (61) Hessle foreshore 54/02; E. Chicken. Montia perfoliata (Willd.) Howell (61) Scampston 44/87; B. Pashby per Miss F. E. Crackles. Linum usitatissimum L. (61) Old airfield, Carnaby 54/16; E.C. Impatiens parviflora DC. (61) Sand pit, North Cave 44/83; F.E.C. Medicago falcata L. (61) Spurn 54/41, 1987; F.E.C. Cotoneaster horizontalis Decne (63) Old quarry, Sprotborough 44/50; D. R. Grant. Crassula helmsii (T. Kirk) Cockayne (62) Cayton Bay 54/80; Mrs M. Robinson conf. E.C. Presumed previously known without details, 1987, Heritage Coast workers per Mrs N. Sykes. (63) Drain near Sandtoft 44/70; D.R.G. (64) Gravel pit, Burley in Wharfedale 44/14; D.R.G. Saxifraga paniculata Miller (64) On rocks at Beckermonds, Upper Wharfedale 34/88; Mrs F. Houseman det. A. Leslie. Tellima grandiflora (Pursch) Dougl. ex Lindl. (62) Roadside woodland, Silpho Forest 44/99; Mrs E. J. Chicken. Eryngium giganteum Bieb. (64) Ben Rhydding gravel lagoons 44/14; F.H. Euphorbia dulcis L. (62) Ride in Broxa Forest 44/99; E.C. Polygonum amplexicaule D. Don (64) Merrion Centre, Leeds 44/33; L.M. Reynoutria sachalinensis (F.S. Petrop.) Nakai (61) Hessle 54/02, known here since 1966, but possibly not reported; E.C. conf. Miss A. Conolly. Nymphoides peltata (S.G. Gmel.) Kuntze (64) Gravel pits, Burley-in-Wharfedale 44/14; D.R.G. Linaria purpurea (L.) Mill. (63) Gawber near Barnsley 44/30; Y.N.U. excursion per D.R.G. Lamium moluccellifolium Fr. (61) Wholsea Grange, S. Cliffe 44/83; D.R.G. per F.E.C. Lonicera trichosantha L. (64) Clapham 34/76, 1984; F.H. det. A. Grenfell. Petasites fragrans (Vill.) C. Presl (64) Waste ground, Ilkley 44/14, 1987; Mrs J. Duncan. Hieracium aurantiacum L. (63) Roadside and field near Holme, Holmfirth 44/10; Mrs J. Lucas. Allium roseum L. (64) Ben Rhydding lagoons 44/14; F.H. Cyperus longus L. (64) Gravel pits, Burley in Wharfedale 44/14; D.R.G. Tragus berteronianus Schult. (63) Field with shoddy, Rothwell Haigh 44/32; F.H. Digitaria ciliaris (Retz.) Koeler (63) Field with shoddy, Rothwell Haigh 44/32; F.H. BOOK REVIEWS 107 An Atlas of the Land and Freshwater Mollusca of Northumberland and Durham by Ralph Lowe. Pp. 139. Special Publication No. 4 of the Northumberland Biological Records Centre, The Hancock Museum, The University, Newcastle upon Tyne. 1989. £6.50 inc p&p. Spiral bound, A4 format. As the title indicates, the bulk of this publication consists of 125 maps showing the distributions of the land and freshwater molluscs recorded from VC’s 66, 67 and 68 on a 10 km grid basis. These are preceded by an introduction which outlines the history of mollusc recording in the area and 6 pages of very brief habitat notes on the species mapped. Each map covers a full A4 page and consists of a 10 km square grid superimposed on an outline map of the three vice-counties, species records being indicated by a large, open circle. The habitat notes are a hotch-potch of information on each species, including references to status, localities, identification and micro-site as well as habitat preference. Most of this information would be of little use to anyone with more than a passing interest in molluscs and can be found easily enough in field guides. A discussion of the molluscan fauna of the area in the context of national distributions would have been of far more interest. Nor are the maps without their quirks: there is no indication of their orientation, and curiously the border between Cheviotland (VC 68) and Northumberland (VC 67) is omitted while that between Northumberland and Durham (VC 66) is shown. A key map is needed, showing orientation and features such as the major conurbations and the general geology of the area to aid interpretation of the species maps. The spelling of one specific name is incorrect and the inclusion of sub-generic names for certain species only is inexplicable. There is no attempt to indicate the date of a record or impart any other information through the maps. Considering the A4 format, different symbols for pre- and post-1970 records could easily have been included. Mr Lowe’s wish to encourage fieldwork through this publication is a worthy one, but although he has obviously put a great deal of time and effort into preparing it, the final result is amateurish and will not enhance the reputation of the Northumberland BRC. PL The Birds of Egypt edited by S. M. Goodman and P.L. Meininger, with the assistance of S. M. Baha El Din, J. J. Hobbs and W. C. Mullie. Pp. 551, with 70 figures, 17 tables and 6 colour plates. Oxford University Press. 1989. £70. An enlightened presentation of all the available information on birds and their natural habitats known to be found in Egypt between 1850 and 1988. It consists of two main parts, well supported by numerous figures, graphs, tables and magnificent colour plates. The first part provides the reader with a wealth of information on several related introductory subjects including: a brief history of post-1930 Egyptian ornithology, the geography of the country and its three major environments, nature conservation and local bird hunting, as well as the responses of Egyptian birds to recent changes in the environment. The second part, forming the main body of the book, gives a clear and informative account of different bird species known to have occurred in Egypt. For every species, it discusses breeding distribution within the country, period of occurrence and passage routes for migrants, abundance, geographical variation, subspecies, synonyms and breeding seasons. The book concludes with two appendixes, references, and four indexes. It is very clear and easy to follow, yet it reflects the deep understanding and enthusiasm of the authors. I find this book important from several points of view. For the world’s ornithologists, it emphasises the role of Egypt as one of the ornithologically best-known countries of Africa. For bird-watchers and bird lovers it provides an insight into a number of 108 Book Reviews Egyptian habitats which support a rich and fascinating avifauna. For the graduate and undergraduate student it brings together the many references to Egyptian birds scattered in the literature, museums and unpublished records. For researchers, government personnel and planners it provides a clear picture of the current status of Egyptian birds, suggests ways to secure this valuable resource, and discusses what still needs to be done in this area of research. I can highly recommend this book to all those mentioned above as well as those interested in exploring the wonderful world of birds in this fascinating country. AHE-S Dynamic Modeling in Behavioural Ecology by M. Mangel and C. W. Clark. Pp xii + 308. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 1988. $45.00 hardback, $15.95 paperback. Modelling techniques in population or community biology aim to focus attention on the principal factors affecting individuals in such a population or community. First, the rigour of defining the problem may of itself bring new insights, and secondly, use of the model will enable predictions to be made, the success of which may then be tested by new experiments. This scholarly work explains how to develop and use one particular approach involving dynamic optimisation models, with examples of their application to problems from behavioural ecology. There are three notional sections. The first has three parts, starting with an introduction to probability theory and some statistical distributions; the major part of the book introducing the dynamic modelling approach then follows; and thirdly there is an addendum on how to write a computer program in BASIC. The second section contains five chapters, each involving the development of models appropriate to different examples in behavioural ecology. The final section contains two additional topics related, but not central, to the modelling approach. This is not an easy book to read, but repays careful study. To the less mathematically inclined, the main interest will be in section two with the application of models to biological problems, from vertical migration of aquatic organisms to clutch sizes in birds, and the insights that this provides. I found particularly fascinating the chapter on hunting behaviour in lions, and the authors’ suggestions as to why hunting by lions is normally performed in groups whereas other large felines, such as leopards, hunt singly. In this example as in others, however, as the authors note, one of the most useful roles of theory in biology is to help organise one’s thoughts about a particular problem. Mathematics is a useful tool, not a replacement for clear thinking! WHGH ‘The Naturalist’ is available in microform UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS INTERNATIONAL 300 North Zeeb Road Dept PR Ann Arbor, Mi 48106 USA White Swan House Godstone Surrey RH9 8LW England The Lepidoptera of Yorkshire Separates of the collected instalments which appeared serially in The Naturalist (1967-70) are available from Dr W. A. Sledge, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds 2. Price £1 plus 20p postage. Binding Why not have your copies of The Naturalist bound into volumes? One year’s issues per volume, or alternatively two years in one volume at less cost than binding as two separate volumes. We are also experienced and expert in the re-binding and repairing of all books. Spink & Thackray Broomfield Bindery Back Broomfield Crescent LEEDS LS6 3BP Telephone 0532 780353 The Irish Naturalists’ Journal A quarterly journal of Irish natural history Edited by Elizabeth Platts Assistant Editor - Robin Govier Annual subscription £10.00, IR£12.00 ($20.00) Further information from the Honorary Secretary, INI Department of Biology, Queen’s University of Belfast Belfast BT7 INN, Northern Ireland Printed by the Leeds University Printing Service ISSN 0028-0771 , i October — December 1989 In October — December 1989 rr^| Number 991 I -| # Volume 114 Naturalist A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND QH 1 N2853 NH Li 1 I Vegetation changes on Ilkley Moor 1964-1984 — D. E. Cotton and W. H. G. Hale Plant succession in Middle Wood, Askham Bog — J. Latto and A. H. Fitter The wasps and bees (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) of Allerthorpe Common before and after coniferization — Michael E. Archer Possible incestuous breeding by yearling barn owls Tyto alba — D. I. K. Anderson , S. J. Petty, B. Little and M. Davidson Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union Editor M. R. D. Seaward, MSc, PhD, DSc, FLS, The University, Bradford BD7 1DP Notice to Contributors to ‘The Naturalist’ Manuscripts (two copies if possible), typed double-spaced on one side of the paper only with margins at top and left-hand at least 2.5 cm wide, should be submitted. Latin names of genera and species, but nothing else, should be underlined. S.I. Units should be used wherever possible. Authors must ensure that their references are accurately cited, and that the titles of the journals are correctly abbreviated. Volumes of The Naturalist for the years 1886 to 1975 have been retrospectively numbered 11 to 100 to accord with numbering before and after this period (see YNU Bulletin no. 3, pp. 21-22, 1985); please cite these volume numbers in all references. Tables and text-figures should be prepared on separate sheets of paper. Drawings and graphs, drawn about twice the linear size they are to appear, should be in jet-black Indian ink, and legends should not be written on the figures. © Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union - 1989 Single copies may be made of single articles in this journal provided that due acknowl- edgement is made and the copies are for non-profit making educational or private use. Copying of more than one article or multiple copying of a single article is forbidden unless special permission has been obtained from the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union. Permission is granted for the use of brief quotations in published work provided that acknowledgement of the source is clearly stated, but the use of substantial sections of text and any illustrative matter requires the express permission of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union. Appointment of Membership Secretary In order to ease the workload on the Administrative Officer (Mr Don Bramley), all matters regarding membership other than subscriptions should now be addressed to: Mr John A. Newbould, Rother Pharmacies Ltd, 72-78 York Road, ROTHERHAM S65 1PW. Items which should be sent to the above include: all membership applications, changes of address, resignations and problems concerning non-receipt of any of the YNU’s publications. Subscriptions (unless covered by Banker’s Order) should continue to be sent to Mr Bramley (see below) or to the Treasurer. Subscription rates: Issued free to individual members of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union and to Affiliated Societies. Institutions and Subscribers £12.00. All subscriptions should be forwarded to: Mr D. Bramley do Doncaster Museum Chequer Road Doncaster DN1 2AE Eva Crackles The Flora of the East Riding of Yorkshire edited by Roger Arnett A New Flora for Vice County 61. Co-published by Hull University Press and Humberside County Council The Flora of the East Riding of Yorkshire (S.E. Yorks v.c. 61) This Flora brings together all that is known concerning the past and present distribution of vascular plants in the vice-county and other information which helps in the understanding of the flora. The result of intensive first-hand study of the plant associations of the East Riding over some forty years, as well as exhaustive research of the relevant literature, the Flora provides information required to evaluate the vegetation of a particular site for conservation purposes. The East Riding of Yorkshire has clearly defined topographical areas and great physical diversity, supporting a large variety of habitats. For descriptive purposes the vice-county is sub-divided into four areas: Upper and Lower Derwentland, the Wolds and Holdemess. The only previous Flora of the East Riding , published in 1902, was by JF Robinson. Since that time there have been great changes both in vegetation and in the study of taxonomy, particularly of critical taxa. In addition, the approach to fieldwork has become more ecological and motorised transport has enabled the area to be explored with much greater thoroughness than was then possible. The introductory chapters to the Flora are extensive. Chapter II (written by Roger Arnett) considers the geology and soils of the region, Chapter III includes biographical notes on the most notable of former botanists who resided in the area or visited it and Chapter IV surveys the various types of habitat in all districts. Features of special interest are highlighted, and characteristic and notable species named. The Annotated List of Plant Species is comprehensive, giving the status and habitats in the vice-county of all species occurring in twelve or less localities, i.e. the name of a nearby village, the 10 km square grid- reference, date of the record and the initials of the recorder. 465 tetrad distribution maps give all post 1950 records. As a special feature, 250 maps are placed in sets, mainly on ecological grounds - species on calcareous grassland and their chalk are in one set as are those of open water. Transparent overlays are supplied showing the distribution of a) chalk and limestone, b) land of different altitudes, c) sand and gravel, d) clay, e) rivers, canals and lakes, f) springs, g) disused railways and h) built up areas. Specifications Approximately 280 pages, 300 x 210mm with 8 pages of colour plates. Hardback with colour dustjacket. 465 tetrad distribution maps and 5 maps in text. Price £30.00 Publication date May 1990 Pre-publication price £21.50 (subscriptions close 1 April 1990) ISBN 085958 487 9 Pre-publication orders to Hull University Press, Hull University, Hull HU6 7RX Contents Part One The East Riding of Yorkshire (definition, topography and history); Geology and soils; Study of the flora; Habitats; Distribution of flowering plants and ferns: Conservation. Part Two The Flora; Annotated list of plant species; Supplement of casual alien species; Distribution maps; Bibliography; Index, Transparent overlays. Order Form Please send me copy/copies of The Flora of the East Riding of Yorkshire at the special pre-publication price of £21 .50 + £3.00 p&p* I enclose a crossed cheque/R O. value payable to HULL UNIVERSITY PRESS Name Address *Please indicate if you wish to collect your order (post-free) from Hull University □, Hull Central Library □, Scunthorpe Central Library □, Grimsby Central Library □ , Bridlington Library □ , Goolc Library □ , Beverley Library □ . Eva Crackles, BSc, MSc, FLS is a past president and honorary life member of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union. She is plant recorder for the East Riding for the Botanical Society of the British Isles and for the YNU. An active conservationist, she has supplied the Nature Conservancy Council and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust with information concerning Sites of Special Scientific Interest and other significant botanical sites. A retired schoolteacher, she was Head of Biology at Malet Lambert High School, Hull for almost 29 years. 109 VEGETATION CHANGES ON ILKLEY MOOR 1964-1984 D. E. COTTON and W. H. G. HALE Department of Environmental Science, University of Bradford Summary In 1970 a set of maps was published which summarized the results of an extensive survey of the vegetation of Ilkley Moor. This paper presents new maps showing the distribution of selected vegetation communities based on a detailed survey undertaken in 1983-84, and examines the changes which have occurred in the period 1964-1984. Comparison of the maps reveals that Calluna vulgaris and Pteridium aquilinum have increased their occupancy of the moor, whilst there has been a marked reduction in the abundance of Empetrum nigrum and Eriophorum spp. These changes indicate that the degradation of the moor which was recorded during the 1960s was reversed, at least partially, between 1964 and 1984. Introduction Yorkshire naturalists have long taken a keen interest in aspects of the ecology of Ilkley Moor, and there is a considerable body of information detailing aspects of its geology and vegetation (Lees, 1885; Smith and Moss, 1903; Smith and Rankin, 1903; Lamming, 1969; Clouston and Partners, 1974). Between 1961 and 1970, members of the Wharfedale Naturalists’ Society published a number of useful papers which reviewed vegetation changes on Ilkley Moor (Dalby, 1961; Fidler, 1963; Fidler etat., 1970; Dalby etal., 1971). Fidler etal. (1970) include maps which provide an overview of the vegetation distribution on the moor in 1964. They highlighted the spread of Empetrum nigrum (crowberry) and Pteridium aquilinum (bracken) and attributed the changes to excessive grazing by sheep and to drainage activity which they considered was causing the moor to dry out. During the local government re-organization of 1974, administration of the commonland on Ilkley Moor became the responsibility of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. There was a general disquiet about the state of the moor, with many people contending that Calluna vulgaris (heather) was in decline and Pteridium aquilinum rapidly spreading (Leach, 1982). It was feared that the appeal of the moor to visitors was slowly diminishing, and that its wildlife and economic value were declining owing to the disappearance of heather which was important in providing food and shelter for animal populations. Because of the need for factual information, the Manpower Services Commission provided personnel to re-survey the moor in order to assess the extent of changes taking place over recent years. A team of five people was appointed, based at the Department of Environmental Science at Bradford University, whose staff supervised the work and provided guidance and training. The new survey of the moor was completed during the period May 1983-April 1984. This paper provides maps of the distribution of plant communities in 1984, and outlines the major changes which appear to have occurred in the period between 1964 and 1984. Methods Fidler et al (1970) do not provide full details of the procedure that they used to survey the moor in 1964, but they mention that mapping was based both on aerial photographs and field surveys. In this respect the earlier work is similar to the 1984 survey, which began by examining a series of panchromatic vertical aerial photographs taken in April 1968 by Meridian Air Maps. Areas clearly delineated on the photographs were visited and the characteristic vegetation determined. It quickly became apparent that although the Naturalist 114 (1989) Figures 1-4 Distribution of the principal species on llkley Moor in 1964 and 1984 (Key . pure community, , partial cover, + selected National Grid intersections) no 1964 Ti 1984 Figure 3 Bracken ill 1984 112 Vegetation changes on Ilkley Moor photographs provided a useful guide, the species composition of any given tract of land could not be accurately determined on the basis of these alone. Field surveys based upon transects therefore became the primary means of acquiring data. After considerable experimentation, it was found that a broad categorization of the vegetation into ten basic divisions enabled replicable mapping to be achieved. The ten divisions are described below. Six categories were assigned for communities where Ericales accounted for over 50% of the vegetation cover. As Calluna vulgaris, Empetrum nigrum and Vaccinium myrtillus (bilberry) are the only abundant Ericales on the moor, the first three categories were allocated to each of these species respectively when any one individually comprised more than 80% of the cover for the Ericales in total. Two further categories encompassed those communities where crowberry and bilberry, or heather and crowberry, were virtually co- equal. Where there were approximately equal proportions of crowberry, heather and bilberry, the community was assigned to a further category. The four remaining categories related to communities where the Ericales comprised less than 50% of the vegetation cover. Bracken was allocated to a discrete category whenever it was present. This emphasis on bracken was acceptable because the survey was particularly concerned with determining its extent. Moreover, it rarely occurs sparsely and where present usually overtops other species in the community. Dominance by grasses and Juncus squarrosus (heath rush), or by Juncus effusus (soft rush), were the respective criteria for two further categories, while areas dominated by Eriophorum spp. (cotton grasses) were assigned to the final category. Using this categorization, a map of the vegetation was produced at a scale of 1:500. This map was then overlaid with a grid of almost 9000 points, providing a density of nine points in each 100 metre square. The maps presented here record the cover of species in each 100 metre square. A square occupied by a majority of points where one species was dominant was considered to be a pure community. Where a majority of points within the square was of other species, or a mixed-dominance category, then the species was considered to have partial cover. A square with no record of the species, or with only one mixed-dominance category record, was counted as not being represented and was left blank. As the 1984 survey covered a slightly smaller portion of Ilkley Moor, the original maps in Fidler etal (1970) have been redrawn to provide a common basis for comparison. Results The pairs of distribution maps from 1964 and 1984 for heather, crowberry, bracken and cotton grasses are illustrated in Figures 1 to 4. Comparison of the two maps in Figure 1 reveals that there has been a notable change in the distribution of heather. In 1964 it was found in some smaller patches and primarily present in two large areas. However, by 1984 there had been a substantial expansion of the principal areas of heather, particularly in the south-eastern and north-eastern sections of the moor, where dominant heather had markedly increased. There had also been a major spread of heather in both the western and east central areas of the moor where it had not been recorded in 1964. However, in 1984 it was still largely absent in the central section of the moor. In 1964, crowberry was almost ubiquitous, described as encroaching and was absent only where heather was dominant. On the lower northern levels of the moor, where bracken and cotton grass communities are firmly established, crowberry appears to have become much less abundant than it was in 1964. It also suffered an apparent decline in the southeast of the moor, where heather increased its dominance. However, crowberry was still present in 1984 in almost all areas where it was the dominant species in 1964, and in one area (around GR 44/105465) it appears to have increased its presence and now comprises over 40% of the cover, whereas formerly it was recorded as providing only partial cover. In 1984, the strongholds of bracken occupancy recorded in the 1964 survey, on the lower ground which makes up the northern edge of the moor, were still being maintained. Vegetation changes on Ilkley Moor 113 However, though there have been some areas of expansion and some of contraction, the total area where it was recorded as being dominant had markedly increased. In 1964, cotton grasses occupied large areas of the moor, particularly in the central section which consists of a poorly drained plateau. There was also a very strong representation in the southernmost, highest section, especially on Hawksworth Moor. The 1984 map indicates that there has been a general reduction in distribution of these species, but with a consolidation in parts of the central plateau where more favourable conditions exist. Whilst the recorded dominance in the central plateau has increased, on the higher plateau in the south, where pure and mixed heather communities have expanded, cotton grasses have undergone a substantial reduction. By 1984, there had also been some reduction on the lower levels of the moor. Discussion Though broad vegetation changes are clearly detectable, detailed interpretation of the results is hampered by the different methods of recording the vegetation used in the two surveys. In 1964, the vegetation was described by assigning areas to seven phytosociological communities. With the exception of Empetrum nigrum , these were based on the dominant species. E. nigrum , however, was recorded simply either as present or dominant, irrespective of whatever associates were present. In contrast, in 1984 the ten-division categorization enabled both individual species and jointly dominant species to be used to define categories, and E. nigrum was not given special treatment. Interpretation is also difficult because observed changes may be attributed to various factors. For example, the observed reduction in cotton grasses may be due to the moor drying out, as suggested by Fidler et al (1970), or to reduced grazing pressure limiting the availability of bare ground, which these species readily colonize (Phillips, 1954). It may, however, also be accounted for by differences in recording procedure. It is not clear when the 1964 survey took place, but as cotton grass species have striking flowers, their presence would be more readily noted in an early summer survey. However, the 1984 survey took place in late summer, autumn and early spring when the plants would have been much less obvious. While bearing these qualifications in mind, analysis of the maps from the two dates indicates that over the last two decades the nature of the vegetation on Ilkley Moor has undergone appreciable change. Fidler et al (1970) suggested that at the time of their survey heather might have been recovering due to a reduction in sheep grazing pressure since the mid-1950s. Many of the changes revealed by the 1984 survey support this view. Both the expansion of heather and the reduction of crowberry can be attributed to changes in grazing pressure, as removal of grazing at other sites on the Pennines is known to have produced such effects (Anderson and Yalden, 1981; Rawes, 1983). Where both species are present, sheep preferentially graze the heather. Consequently, a reduction in the number of sheep might be expected to produce a striking expansion of heather such as the one which has been recorded in the 1984 survey. Vigorous heather growth is known to overtop crowberry (Rawes, 1983) and the resulting enhanced competition could be a factor in the decline of the latter species. Changes in the recorded dominance of the bracken stands may also be attributed to changed grazing pressure. In many parts of Britain, bracken has traditionally been controlled by heavy stocking as it is sensitive to trampling during the dormant season and period of early growth (MAFF, 1974). Whilst such trampling is best achieved by cattle, Pennine farmers sometimes use high sheep stocking rates to obtain a similar effect. It is possible that overstocking by sheep during and after the 1939-45 war effectively controlled bracken, but that when stocking rates were reduced, the species consolidated its occupancy of suitable habitats. The fact that there has been little increase in the total area which it occupies indicates that physical factors, such as exposure or drainage, may limit its distribution on the moor. Bilberry remains a minor component of the vegetation, and a separate map for this species has therefore not been presented. There are indications that it too had expanded 114 Vegetation changes on Ilkley Moor its distribution, which would further support the hypothesis of reduced grazing. However, this and other aspects of change in the vegetation can only adequately be assessed by a more detailed and finer-scale analysis of the data than has been undertaken in the present paper; this is currently in progress. However, the evidence presented here regarding the vegetation of Ilkley Moor does not support the view that its status deteriorated in the period 1964-1984. Acknowledgments We wish to thank the members of the survey group, Mr P. Baker, Mr A. Bradford, Mr J. Brown, Mr S. Pickard and Mr S. Short, for much of the fieldwork and the Manpower Services Commission for financial support. Thanks are also due to Dr J. E. P. Currall, who helped supervise the survey work, Mrs J. E. Duncan for information regarding the earlier survey, and Mr S. Davidson for drawing the figures. References Anderson, P. and Yalden,'D. W. (1981) Increased sheep numbers and the loss of heather moorland in the Peak District, England. Biological Conservation 20: 195-213. Clouston, B. and Partners (1974) Ilkley Moor Experimental Restoration Project. Interim Report for the Countryside Commission and Ilkley Urban District Council. Dalby, M. (1961) The ecology of crowberry ( Empetrum nigrum ) on Ilkley Moor 1959-60 Naturalist 86: 37-40. Dalby, M., Fidler, J. H., Fidler, A. and Duncan, J. E. (1971) The vegetative changes on Ilkley Moor. Naturalist 96: 49-56. Fidler, J. H. (1963) The role of sheep in the degeneration of bracken on Ilkley Moor. Naturalist 89: 41-42. Fidler, J. H., Dalby, M. and Duncan, J. E. (1970) The plant communities of Ilkley Moor. Naturalist 95: 41-48. Lamming, P. D. (1969) The geology of Ilkley Moor. Naturalist 94: 53-54. Leach, E. (1982) Bringing life to Ilkley Moor. Yorkshire Post Colour Magazine No. 24: 10-13. Lees, F. A. (1885) Botany of the Ilkley district. In: Ancient and Modern Ilkley (R. Collyer and J. H. Turner), Part II, pp.xxix-lxi. Otley. MAFF (1974) Bracken and its Control. Leaflet No. 190. HMSO, Edinburgh. Phillips, M. E. (1954) Biological Flora of the British Isles. Eriophorum angustifolium Roth. Journal of Ecology 42: 612-622. Rawes, M. (1983) Changes in two high altitude blanket bogs after the cessation of sheep grazing. Journal of Ecology 71: 219-235. Smith, W. G. and Moss, C. E. (1903) Geographical distribution of vegetation in Yorkshire. Part 1 - Leeds and Halifax District. Geographical Journal 21: 375-401. Smith, W. G. and Rankin, W. M. (1903) Geographical distribution of vegetation in Yorkshire. Part 2 - Harrogate and Skipton District. Geographical Journal 22: 149-178. 115 PLANT SUCCESSION IN MIDDLE WOOD, ASKHAM BOG J. LATTO1 and A. H. FITTER2 1 Department of Biological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA 2 Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York, Y015DD Introduction Askham Bog is a small valley mire, about 5 km SW of York, managed and partly owned by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Ltd. It is surrounded and divided into compartments by dykes (Fig. 1). The history and ecology of the Bog were reviewed by Fitter and Smith (1979). Detailed studies have been carried out in Far Wood of the inter-relationships between the vegetation and the environment (Fitter etal 1980), the tree population (Tucker and Fitter 1981) and the role of phosphorus in vegetational differentiation (Wilson and Fitter 1984). Sphagnum is less dominant in Middle Wood than Far Wood (this was also the case in 1933 (Day 1933)). Sphagnum has been implicated as being of prime importance in FIGURE 1 Sketch map of Askham Bog, York. Thin lines denote dykes whilst the thick lines denote the study area bounded to the north by a fence and by dykes on the other three sides. the successional process of Far Wood (Wilson and Fitter 1984), and a study of Middle Wood provided a further opportunity to study the effect of the presence or absence of Sphagnum on succession. Middle Wood is also less acidic than Far Wood, possibly due to a higher water table, at least in the past. The tree cover is however similar between Middle and Far Wood. This paper reports on work carried out in the winter of 1985-86 on the tree structure and successional process in Middle Wood. Methods All survey work was based on the 50 m x 50 m grid present at the bog and a 25 m x 25m grid derived from this. The area studied was delimited by dykes to the south, east and west and by a fence, and the extrapolation of the fence to meet the dykes, to the north. This gave an area of 8.2 hectares. The excluded north side of Middle Wood has been more affected by man, having been grazed until the 1920s, and recent management has again Naturalist 114 (1989) 116 Plant succession in Middle Wood, Askham Bog involved grazing. Fifty-six sites were selected at random, one each from the area surrounding each 25 m intersection. At each site a circular area of radius four metres was used for all sampling work. A hole was dug and the depth of the water table below the surface was measured. The pH at the water table was determined using a pH meter (Consort D314 portable digital) and the total amount of inorganic phosphate was estimated from a water sample using the single solution colorimetric method (Murphy and Riley 1962). Vegetation survey Data were collected on the presence and abundance (using an arbitrary 0-3 scale to record absent (0), trace (1), frequent (2) or dominant (3)) of 24 plant species which had all either previously been used as indicators of the environmental conditions (Tucker 1979) or had been suggested as playing an important or indicative role in the successional process (Fitter and Smith 1979). Cluster analyses were performed on the data using the Ciustan 1C and Clusco packages as implemented on the Dec-10 computer at the University of York. Two similarity coefficients were used in the cluster analyses: the nearest neighbour method (a single linkage method) and Ward’s method (an error sum of squares method). Tree survey At each site the relative proportion of each species in the canopy directly above the sample site was estimated by eye. Also each live tree with the centre of its base falling within the sampling site was identified and marked on a map of the site with a record of its diameter at breast height (DBH) and status (live or dead). An estimate was made of the time since death of the tree by measuring the effort needed to compress a standard sized sample of wood a given amount. Using dead trees which had been felled at known times in the past it appeared that few trunks remained relatively intact beyond thirty years and this was used as a maximum. This crude method allowed a rough estimate, at least to within ten years, of the time since death. In order to convert the DBH data to age data forty trees of each major species were sampled using an increment borer. This indicated growth rates of 0.4 cm/year for birch ( Betula pubescens ) and oak ( Quercus robur) and 0.55 cm/year for alder (Alnus glutinosa). These rates were slightly higher than those recorded in Far Wood (Tucker 1979) but this could be an experimental artefact. There were no significant differences in growth rate found between trees sampled in the acid areas and trees sampled in the fen areas. Using the information calculated it was possible to reconstruct the age structure of birch for successive ten year intervals from 1935, but not of oak or alder since the number of dead oak and alder was very small. An age structure for birch in preceding decades before 1935 was approximated by subtracting successively older tree age classes starting with those estimated to have recruited in the 1925-1935 decade. This method was used for all decades for oak and alder; it is, however, more inaccurate, due to the lack of evidence on trees which may have recruited and then died. Using the information on DBH it was possible to calculate the total basal area of each species present in an area for any time period. This was done for successive ten year intervals to assess the relative change in the abundance of birch, oak and alder. Results The physical environment Topographically Middle Wood consisted, at the time of the study, of two raised, acidic areas separated and to some extent surrounded by an area some 20-30 cm lower (Fig. 2) with a relatively higher water table (Fig. 3) and higher pH (Fig. 4). The two raised areas can however be distinguished since the area to the east largely coincides with an area with a high level of dissolved inorganic phosphate at the water table (Fig. 5). Plant succession in Middle Wood, Askham Bog 117 FIGURE 2 The topography of Middle Wood. Thick lines denote the position of the internal dyke system recorded in 1846 and still visible on the ground today. Contours (in metres AOD) are at 5 cm intervals. Data obtained by levelling and by direct measurement in spring 1977 when the whole bog was flooded (Fitter and Smith 1979). FIGURE 3 Depth of water table below the surface (cm) on 2 December 1985. Contours at 6 cm intervals. Measurement sites are indicated. The ground vegetation and tree distribution Although birch was dominant over most of the site, whilst oak and alder were scarce, there were differences in the tree cover between sites, which could be related to the physical characteristics. Using the results from the cluster analyses (both methods yielding similar results) the 56 sites were divided into five areas (Fig. 6). These could largely be described in terms of the twelve vegetation types described at the Bog by Fitter et al (1980), and showed the two main classes of vegetation: base-rich and base-poor. The two central areas both had a base-poor vegetation but they were distinguished by the number of dry- ground trees such as hazel ( Crylus avellana), hawthorn ( Crataegus monogyna) and rowan {Sorbus aucuparia) present (Table 1). They were denoted the eastern and western acid 118 Plant succession in Middle Wood, Askham Bog areas, with the eastern acid area having the larger number of dry ground trees. The sites nearest to the dykes and in the lower lying central strip showed a base-rich vegetation, but again of two types: one, generally that nearest the dykes, in the wettest areas, usually had alder as the dominant tree species whilst the other contained much more birch and relatively less alder (Table 1). These two areas were termed the alder fen and fen areas respectively. There remained a number of sites in the area between the acid and fen areas which were intermediate between the two. Birch was found over the whole area but oak clearly favoured the central, acid areas. In the eastern acid areas, hazel and rowan were also fairly common with rowan significantly associated with an inorganic phosphate level of >2 pM (p<0.05, X2 test performed on pH at the water table on 3 December 1985. Contours at 0.5 pH unit intervals. See Fig. 3 for measurement sites. FIGURE 5 Inorganic phosphate level (pM dissolved inorganic phosphate) at the water table on 4 December 1985. Contours at 5 pM intervals except for an extra contour at 2 pM and the point marked * with a concentration of 61 pM. See Fig. 3 for measurement sites. Plant succession in Middle Wood, Askham Bog 119 The five vegetation types into which the 56 sites were divided. A = Alder fen, B = Fen, C = intermediate, D = Western acid, E = Eastern acid. individual sites) and also with a water table depth of greater than 22 cm below the surface, (p<0.05 X2 test performed on individual sites). Sallow ( Salix cinerea) was common only in the western half of Middle Wood. Using these distribution data the mean constancy of plants and trees and the average physical data for each area could be calculated (Table 1). Tree succession When the total density of the three tree species was reconstructed for successive decades since 1925 two important features emerged (Fig. 7a). First birch had initially increased in relative density at the expense of alder (from 1925 to 1945). Secondly in the last decade birch has declined relative to both oak and especially alder. Between these two periods there was little change in the relative abundance of the species, with birch consistently the most abundant and oak and alder as minor constituents. These features were also seen in the age structures, with a poor recruitment of birch over the last twenty years (Fig. 7 d-g), but oak (Fig. 7b) and alder (Fig. 7c) are both reproducing well at present. For both birch and alder the oldest trees present were in the 90-99 year old age class, suggesting that they were older colonists than oak, since the oldest oak was in the 70-79 year old age class. Birch has been declining and oak increasing most noticeably and most persistently in the eastern acid area (Fig 8e) and least noticeably in the fen area (Fig. 8b). In the alder fen area (Fig. 8a) it is alder that is replacing the birch. Grouping the sites according to their physical characteristics shows that the replacement of birch is favoured most at those sites with a high phosphate level (Fig. 9a), whilst at those sites with a high pH (Fig. 9c) alder alone has been replacing birch, with no oak being present. In the last ten years oak has increased most noticeably at those sites with a low pH or low water table (Fig. 9b and 9d). The number of trees recruiting in each year since 1931 was estimated using the ages estimated for all the living trees (Fig. 10). Oak and alder showed the expected pattern of recruitment rate with a large number of trees having recruited in the last five years and a relatively constant number recruiting from 1980 back to 1931. Data was only used from live trees to avoid the double errors involved in calculating the recruitment date of dead trees. The curves shown thus represent the number of trees, currently living, which were recruited from each particular year. However since very few dead saplings of oak or alder were recorded it would appear that there has been some real increase in the recruitment rate. Birch shows a very different pattern to oak and alder in that there has been a greatly 120 Plant succession in Middle Wood, Askham Bog TABLE 1 Mean constancy (% occurrence) of plants and trees and average physical characteristics at each site. Species/Measurement Alder Fen Interm- Western Eastern Fen ediate Acid Acid Calamagrostis canescens 33 29 63 22 13 Dryopteris austriaca 0 21 31 67 88 Filipendula ulmaria 89 71 31 0 0 Galium palustre 56 50 13 0 0 Lonicera periclymenum 22 57 81 33 75 Lysimachia vulgaris 78 50 50 22 38 Molinia caerulea 0 14 31 56 25 Phalaris arundinacea 44 36 44 22 38 Phragmites australis 33 79 50 56 13 Poa trivialis 22 36 13 0 13 Rubus caesius 56 21 19 0 0 Rubus fruticosus 67 71 88 89 100 Solanum dulcamara 81 79 78 33 25 Sphagnum palustre 0 7 44 0 0 Thelypteris palustris 11 36 13 0 0 Urtica dioica 44 29 0 0 0 Viburnum opulus 50 43 33 11 0 Alnus glutinosa 100 21 38 0 25 Betula pubescens (live) 44 86 100 100 88 Betula pubescens (dead) 56 86 100 100 88 Corylus avellana 0 7 19 0 100 Crataegus monogyna 44 71 88 0 50 Frangula alnus 0 29 31 33 0 Quercus robur 22 29 79 78 88 Salix cinerea 56 43 13 67 0 Sorbus aucuparia 0 7 13 0 50 Water Table Depth (cm) 18.2 19.2 21.6 26.8 27.6 pH 5.9 5.3 5.1 4.1 4.5 Inorganic phosphate(ixmol) 2.8 2.2 3.8 1.4 17.1 reduced recruitment rate over the last fifteen years compared to that over the previous period. So few young birch trees were discovered that an investigation was made into which sites these trees were found at. The results suggested that birch could not recruit at sites that had either a dense bramble cover or a dense alder canopy (21 out of the 56 sites), this being significant (p<0.05, X2 test). Discussion A number of methods of studying ecological succession are available but those used here, age structure analysis combined with the use of historical data, had a number of advantages over other methods in this situation. These advantages consisted of the low cost, the lack of disturbance to the bog, and the provision of a general data base on the flora and physical conditions which could be of future use. Historical evidence alone can rarely provide sufficient evidence for a detailed successional study (see Stearns (1949) for a notable Plant succession in Middle Wood, Askham Bog 121 c) Alder 10-19 30-39 50-59 70-79 90-99 Age class g) Birch 1955 Age class FIGURE 7 a) Total density of the three major tree species in previous years, b-g) Age structure of the three major tree species in previous years. Numbers at the top of the histograms represent the sample size. 122 Plant succession in Middle Wood, Askham Bog C) 100 90 % of total w basal so area 40 30 20 10 0 Intermediate area d) Western acid area 1933 1945 1935 1965 1975 1985 Year FIGURE 8 Changes in the density of the three major tree species over time according to site type. Plant succession in Middle Wood, Askham Bog 123 e) High water table sites 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 Year FIGURE 9 Changes in the density of the three major tree species over time according to the sites’ physical characteristics. Low pH sites: Sites with a pH greater than 5 except those with a high phosphate level, n=26. High pH sites: Sites with a pH greater than five, except those with a high phosphate level, n=20. Low water table sites: Sites with a water table greater than 27 cm below the surface, except those with a high phosphate level, n= 10. High water table sites: Sites with a water table less than 19 cm below the surface, except those with high phosphate levels, n=14. High phosphate sites: Sites with a soluble inorganic phosphate concentration at the water table greater than 5 p-M, n=10. 124 Plant succession in Middle Wood, Askham Bog tXQ a ‘3 *-h o <2-> Pi