SPECIES-BASED DATA
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INTRODUCTION
SBRC holds
records from Suffolk for all taxonomic groups. Coverage varies from group to
group and is largely a reflection of the number of people interested in the
group. In general the 'big and pretty' groups, such as birds, butterflies and
mammals are well covered whilst less popular groups such as mosses, micro-moths
and parasitic hymenoptera have relatively little data.
This
document provides a brief summary of SBRC holdings for each group and to what
extent (if any) this data has been computerised.
County recorders for each group are listed and, where known, other major data
holders. Current projects and future work priorities (as seen by S.B.R.C.) are
also outlined together with any major publications which
provide Suffolk information.
For all
groups the first requirement is to establish a checklist of the species in the
County, past and present. The next stage is to list species in national red
data books, nationally scarce, and those included in the Biodiversity Action
Plan lists. For some groups lists of 'County Notable' and 'Habitat Quality
Indicator' species will also be drawn up. These lists
will be prepared by working groups with expertise on each
taxonomic group in consultation with conservation bodies in the County.
As far as possible selection at County level will be comparable from group to group using published evaluation criteria similar to those used
for County Wildlife Site selection. These lists will be used
internally when deciding on priorities for computerisation and will be
circulated within the County to encourage recording.
BTO County
Representative: Mick Wright
This is by
far the most popular area for naturalists in the County. Most
recording is carried out by members of the Suffolk
Ornithologists' Group (SOG).
Records of rarities and applications for access to such
confidential data is dealt with by the Suffolk Ornithological Records
Committee (SORC). Suffolk Birds, giving a review of
the previous year's records, is published annually.
All
correspondence used for compiling the annual Bird Report since 1973 is housed
at SBRC - it is roughly sorted (and coded) into date order. There is a
species-based card index for all 1973 records. For the years 1979-1990 an
effective species index has been created by Bob Warren which
cross-references species with letter codes. From 1991 to 1995, SBRC took over
this role and records were collated using the RECORDER
program. Data was first edited by the County Bird Recorders
and over this period some 89,000 records were added. From 1996 the three
recorders used Jack Levene's 'Club Recorder', more
recently data has been stored and processed using the Mapmate software
.At the end of each year records are collated for production of the annual Bird
Report and a copy stored at SBRC.
A tetrad
level survey of the county's breeding birds was run
from 1988 to 1992. The first three years were organised in conjunction with a
national survey organised by the BTO. All records have been computerised at
SBRC using a simple Dbase II file to enable quick mapping of records and are also available in the RECORDER database. There are over
53,000 records from the years 1988-1994. A provisional atlas was
produced in 1993; a new Avifauna incorporating all new survey data, as
well as maps collated from tetrad survey and other records held at SBRC was
published in 2003.
A new county
survey is under way, again this will run in parallel
with the BTO National Survey 2007-2011.
Basic
Suffolk Checklist on Recorder
Major
Publications:
A History of the Birds of Suffolk. 1932
Ticehurst.
The Birds of Suffolk. 1962
Payn.
Provisional Atlas of Breeding Birds in Suffolk. 1993 Sanford.
Suffolk Bird Report (in TSNS 1950-1978,
separate publication 1979 to present).
The Birds of
Estuaries Enquiry have published a Suffolk Estuaries Report since 1986-7.
Easy Birdwatching Again. 2002, SOG
Landguard,
Minsmere and the Redgrave Ringing Group also produce annual reports.
The Birds of Suffolk. 2003 Piotrowski
ACTION
Monitor the
progress of computer systems used by the three recorders
Investigate
transfer of records between Recorder, Club Recorder and Mapmate
systems so that at some stage all bird records can be analysed on one system
Hold complete
back-up set of data collected (paper and computer form) as far as possible
maintain retrieval systems to enable tracking to original paper source
Produce new
tetrad-level distribution maps for all breeding species
improve the quality of incoming data by:-
encouraging more 'scientific' and repeatable bird monitoring
methods
encouraging (and perhaps grant-aiding) more recorders and
particularly major reserves to use Mapmate to input
records
Increase number
of BBS sites in the County to 50 so that production of Suffolk population
indices is possible
County Recorder: Simone Bullion
The SBRC has
organised a County Mammal Survey, which started on 1st Jan 1990. The aim was to
establish the status and distribution of all mammals in the County and to
publish the results as an Atlas and History in the SNS series. Over 15000
records have been computerised. The new Suffolk
Mammal book was published in 2009.
In 1996 the
Suffolk Mammal Group was set up to co-ordinate and encourage
studies and surveys of mammals in the County.
The Suffolk
Bat Group has collected information on bats in the County since 1985. All known
bat sites are included in the County Wildlife Site registers.
The Suffolk
Badger Group has collected detailed information on all known Badger setts in the County from the early 1980s to the present.
Other projects going
on in the County include surveys of Dormice, Deer, Hares and Red
Squirrels
in the Thetford Forest Park.
Otters
have been surveyed at irregular intervals by the Otter Trust; they have also
released animals at selected sites in the County. A major new survey of otters, water voles and mink
has been run by SWT and the Environment Agency. All
records are being added to the SBRC system. See sample
map
of otters.
MAFF have
collected data on various mammals including Coypu, Hares and Rabbits, Badgers
and on road casualties. Local Council Environmental Health Departments have
information on pest species such as Rats and Mice though this is not always to
species level.
Basic
Suffolk Checklist on Recorder
Major
Publications:
The Mammals of Suffolk. 1932
Ticehurst TSNS 2: 13.
Provisional Atlases of Suffolk Mammals. 1993 (1st ed.) -
1998 (5th ed.). SBRC
The Suffolk Otter Survey. 1974 West TSNS 16: 378.
A survey of the distribution of deer in Suffolk. 1984 S. Cham TSNS 20:10.
Suffolk Dormouse Survey. 1986 .J. Roughton SWT.
Suffolk Bat
Group produce regular newsletters and an annual
report.
The Mammals of Suffolk. 2009.
S. Bullion. SWT/SNS
ACTION
Continue to
computerise all post-1990 (and pre-1990 for some scarce/critical species)
records
produce tetrad-level maps for all species
Obtain copies
of other datasets relating to mammals (e.g. MAFF information)
encourage more scientific survey methods through working
group for mammal recording so that even coverage of the County is achieved
County Recorder: Rosie Norton
A
survey was run by Mark Jones, whilst based at SBRC. between
1983 and 1986. SWT commissioned A Conservation Strategy for Reptiles and
Amphibians in Suffolk from Herpetofauna International
(T. Langton) in 1990. All recent (post-1980) records have
been logged on RECORDER and are kept updated.
All Adder
(see sample map) and Great Crested Newt (see sample
map) sites are being
included in the County Wildlife Sites registers. An Amphibian/Reptile Group
(S.A.R.G.) was launched in 1996 with the aim of
species recording, site initiatives and landowner contact - contact: Rosie Norton.
Basic
Suffolk Checklist on Recorder,
Provisional
Atlas published and available for download from SBRC Web site.
Major
Publications:
The Reptilia of Suffolk. 1934 Rope TSNS 2: 209.
A Survey of Reptilia and Amphibia of
Suffolk. 1988 Jones TSNS 24: 9.
Suffolk Amphibian and Reptile Atlas
2007. SBRC/SARG
ACTION
Encourage
S.A.R.G. members to continue with new survey work
FISH (Freshwater)
County Recorder:
Phil Strachan
Efforts were made to assess the status of the smaller, 'non-stocked'
species such as Minnow, Bullhead, Sticklebacks Lampreys and Stone Loach.
Although there was a good response from some individuals, contacts with Angling
Clubs were disappointing with very few bothering to send in records. In an
effort to improve our knowledge of these fish SWT ran
the Suffolk Tiddler Survey in 2002.
Anglian
Water and the NRA both collect data on fish stocks in all the major river
systems.
Major
Publications:
The Fishes of Suffolk. 1932 Collings TSNS 2: 104.
ACTION
produce an up-to-date county checklist on RECORDER and a
list of county-level notable species.
Encourage
research on individual species of conservation concern
MOLLUSCA (Land &
Freshwater)
County Recorder: Ian Killeen
Over a ten year period Ian Killeen has covered over 70% of the
tetrads in Suffolk. The results of his survey (probably the most detailed in
Britain) have been computerised and are now included
in the RECORDER database and are published in The Land & Freshwater Molluscs
of Suffolk.
Basic
Suffolk Checklist on Recorder
Major
Publications:
The Land and Freshwater Molluscs of Suffolk - An Atlas and History. (1992) Killeen
SNS.
ACTION
Encourage
further research on Suffolk species listed on the Biodiversity Action Plan
short list
County Recorder: Gen Broad
Species-based
card indexes covering published records (mainly from TSNS) are
held for most groups of Marine Fauna.
The MAFF
Laboratories at Lowestoft have records of fish stocks and some other marine fauna
from the North Sea.
Major
Publications:
The Fishes of Suffolk. 1932 Collings TSNS 2: 104.
Various lists of minor groups in early TSNS and The Total Living
Fauna of Suffolk. 1943 Morley TSNS 5: 74.
Marine Fauna off the coast of East Anglia. Ellis &
Rogers TSNS 35: 45.
ACTION
Establish Suffolk
checklist of Marine Fauna on RECORDER.
Establish
priority groups for further research and encourage recording through
publication.
County Recorder: Paul Lee
SBRC holds
spider lists for several of the major reserves, much
of the recording was done by Eric Duffey in the
1960s. There is a species-based card index of all records published in TSNS.
Paul Lee has computerised most spider records on his own copy of RECORDER.
Basic
Suffolk Checklist on Recorder
Major
Publications:
The Arachnida of Suffolk. Order Araneae: The true spiders. 1940 Bristowe TSNS 4: 156.
The remaining Arachnida. 1940 Morley TSNS 4: 165.
The spider fauna of the heaths and fens in West Suffolk.
1959 Duffey et al TSNS 10: 1.
A preliminary account of the Spiders of the Flatford
Mill Region. 1962 Cooke TSNS 12: 155.
A review of Suffolk Pseudoscorpions.
1981 Mendel TSNS 18: 226.
The Spiders of Suffolk. 1981
Russell-Smith TSNS 18: 213.
The study of
spiders and some recent records of interesting spiders found in Suffolk. 1981 Thornhill TSNS 18: 149.
ACTION
Update and
improve nomenclature on County Checklist
produce lists of national and local rarities present in the
County
encourage research and monitoring of under-recorded and BAP
species
County Recorder: Paul Lee
Species-based
card indexes for most groups covering published records (mainly from TSNS).
Various
lists (Crustacea, Rotifera,
Worms etc.) in early TSNS and The Total Living Fauna of Suffolk. 1943
Morley TSNS 5: 74.
Basic
Suffolk Checklist of woodlice on Recorder
Paul
Lee has his own copy of RECORDER and has loaded many species records using the
same sites file as SBRC.
Major
Publications:
Woodlice in Suffolk. 1993 Lee TSNS
29: 12.
ACTION
establish County checklists for groups other than woodlice
County
Recorder: Vacant
Relatively
few sites have been surveyed. Hoverflies are better recorded than other sections.
Major
Publications:
The Diptera of Suffolk. 1915 TNNS
10: 1.
The Diptera of Suffolk (1st
supplement) 1932 Harwood TSNS 2: 36.
Diptera of
Suffolk. 1945 Hocken
TSNS 5: 184.
The Diptera of Suffolk (6 parts)
1946-1951 Morley TSNS 6&7.
The Diptera of Suffolk. (many parts) 1954-1960 Aston et al TSNS 8-11.
Recent records
of some notable and rare Diptera from Suffolk Hubbard
TSNS 36: 76.
ACTION
produce an up-to-date county checklist on RECORDER and a
list of county level RDB species.
Encourage
research and monitoring of national rarities found in Suffolk
County Recorder: Adrian Chalkley
Adrian has
computerised his own records and those from SBRC card indexes using a Paradox
file. He has also obtained a large volume of records from N.R.A., which he has
been able to transfer to his own computer files. S.B.R.C. has ASCII copies of
these files. A website on the Freshwater Invertebrate Survey of
Suffolk
contains checklists, photos and maps of selected species.
Basic
Suffolk Checklists for published groups are loaded on Recorder
Major
Publications:
The Neuroptera of Suffolk. 1929 Morley TSNS 1: 181.
The status of some aquatic invertebrates in Suffolk. 1994 Chalkley TSNS 30: 18.
Aquatic invertebrates in Suffolk. 1996
Chalkley TSNS 32: 35.
The aquatic and semi-aquatic Heteroptera
of Suffolk. 1998 Chalkley
TSNS 34: 51.
ACTION
transfer records to Recorder when ASCII transfer routines
available
County Recorder: Adrian Knowles
Major
Publications:
The Hymenoptera of Suffolk (several parts) 1935-7 Morley TSNS 3.
The Wasps and
Bees (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) of the Breckland and Suffolk Sandlings. 1987 Archer NCC.
Wasps and bees (Hymenoptera) in the Suffolk Sandlings and
management for the conservation of these insects. 1998
Edwards TSNS 34: 80.
County Recorder: Nigel Cuming
Species-based
card indexes covering published records (mainly from TSNS).
Priorities
are to produce up-to-date county checklists on RECORDER and lists of county
level RDB species.
Major
Publications:
Hemiptera of
Suffolk. 1905 Morley.
The Hemiptera of Suffolk (1st
Supplement) 1933 Anon. TSNS 2: 134.
Notes on
Suffolk Shieldbugs Hubbard TSNS 31: 20.
ACTION
produce lists of national RDB and nationally scarce species
found in Suffolk
LEPIDOPTERA (Moths)
County Recorder: Tony Prichard
The Suffolk Moth Group, co-ordinated by
Tony has made detailed records for many Suffolk sites, mainly reserves. The
group also produces a regular newsletter to facilitate exchange of information
across the County. Records published in TSNS up to 1988 are stored in a
species-based card index. There are at least 15,000 records on paper at SBRC. The County Recorder also has a copy of RECORDER and has
successfully transferred about 450 thousand records to the SBRC database.
Annual reviews of important records and trends have been
published in TSNS for many years. The group have produced an up-to-date
county checklist on RECORDER including statuses. The Moth Group website includes data
on the status and distribution of most species.
Major
Publications:
Lepidoptera of Suffolk. 1890 Bloomfield
Final Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Suffolk. 1937 C.
Morley. Memoir No. 1 SNS.
The Lepidoptera
of Suffolk -supplement to the Final Catalogue. 1960
Aston TSNS 11: 479.
ACTION
encourage regular site monitoring so that some idea of
frequency and distribution can be established for larger moths.
encourage research and monitoring of nationally rare and BAP
listed species
LEPIDOPTERA
(Butterflies)
County Recorder: Rob Parker
A countywide
survey was run by SBRC from 1982 to 1986, records
(estimated 25,000) are sorted by species at SBRC but are not computerised. DMAP
map files based on this survey data have been prepared for each species. New
records and additional information since 1986 are added
to these files and regular reports appear in the SNS Newsletter 'White
Admiral'. From 1995 a new Countywide survey has been
undertaken as part of a nation-wide survey co-ordinated by Butterfly
Conservation. This has generated 78,000 new records. These are
mapped in the new Millennium Atlas of Suffolk Butterflies but the full
records still require computerisation for further analysis. During 2001 a Churchyard butterfly survey was run by SWT and the Suffolk branch
of Butterfly Conservation in conjunction with SNS and SBRC.
Detailed
survey work on Silver-studded Blues in Suffolk has been carried out by Neil Ravenscroft and others.
Basic Suffolk
Checklist on Recorder
Major
Publications:
Many notes in TSNS
Plebejus argus
(Silver-studded Blue) colony population estimates and changes in status in
Suffolk 1985-1986. 1987 Ravenscroft
SWT.
The Butterflies of Suffolk -
An Atlas and History. 1986 Mendel and Piotrowski SNS.
Provisional Atlases of Suffolk Butterflies - incorporating records
from 1995-1998 Stewart S.B.R.C.
The Millennium Atlas of Suffolk Butterflies.
2001 Stewart SNS.
ACTION
Computerisation
of new Millennium atlas records (may be possible to transfer from BC 'Flybase' if individual records are computerised rather than
summarised 10k information)
ODONATA
County Recorder: Adrian Parr
A countywide survey
was run by SBRC from 1986 to 1991, over 7,000 records
have been computerised using the RECORDER program. See sample map Banded
Demoiselle.
Basic
Suffolk Checklist on Recorder
Major
Publications:
The Dragonflies of Suffolk. 1929
Morley TSNS 1: 18.
Suffolk Dragonflies - An Atlas
and History. 1992 Mendel SNS.
ACTION
encourage further research and monitoring of national and
county rarities
County Recorder: Stuart Ling
A
species-based card index of published records from TSNS.
Major
Publications:
The Orthoptera of Suffolk. 1929 Morley TSNS 1: 92.
Suffolk Orthoptera. 1982 Maybury TSNS 18: 289.
Orthoptera of
Suffolk.
2000 Ling TSNS 36:53.
ACTION
encourage more recording of this group
produce an up-to-date county checklist on RECORDER and a
list of county notables.
County Recorder: David Nash
David Nash
is computerising Suffolk records with the aim of producing a book on the
Beetles of Suffolk. There are lists for many of the major reserves at SBRC.
Ipswich Museum collections also contain many localised records.
Colin Hawes has been
researching Stag Beetles in Suffolk - see sample map.
Major
Publications:
Coleoptera of
Suffolk. 1899 Morley
The Coleoptera of Suffolk. 1929 Elliott TSNS 1: 121.
Many reviews
and amendments in TSNS
ACTION
produce an up-to-date county checklist on RECORDER and a
list of national (and county level?) RDB species.
FLOWERING PLANTS & FERNS
County
Recorder: Martin Sanford (BSBI & SNS)
SBRC holds many
thousands of plant records, substantial progress has been
made on computerisation but there remains a large backlog of data in
site files to be processed. There are about 500,000 plant records on RECORDER
and good progress is being made towards the production
of a new Atlas Flora of Suffolk. Records from the Atlas 2000 survey,
the 5 squares (TL75, TL78, TM05, TM35 and TM38 plus TM06 completed by Richard Addington) surveyed in the BSBI Monitoring Scheme survey,
the Churchyard Survey (1987-present), Protected Roadside Verge surveys, and
most Phase II sites surveys have been loaded on RECORDER. All records published
in TSNS, Watsonia or received in correspondence are stored on a species-based
card index which is gradually being computerised. All
10 km records from Simpson's Flora and all post-1980
records from Enid Hyde's BSBI records have been transferred
to RECORDER. A basic checklist simply giving statuses for Suffolk species has
been set up on RECORDER. See sample maps for Black Bryony and Cowslip.
The pulication of The Vascular Plant Red Data List of Great
Britain (Cheffings & Farrell, 2005) has
prompted a revision of the Suffolk Rare Plant Register. For the first time,
all native and archaeophyte taxa have been analysed, not just those that had
already been identified as rare or scarce. This analysis has been made possible
by the publication of the New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora
(Preston et al., 2002), which has allowed comparisons to be made with
the Atlas of the British Flora (Perring &
Walters, 1962) for all taxa. The new register follows guidelines on which
species to include issued by the Botanical Society of the British Isles in June
2005.
It includes
all species occurring in Suffolk which are:
- Internationally
Rare - endemics and sps listed in IUCN Red
Lists, EU Habitats Direstive or the Bern
Convention
- Nationally
Threatened - All IUCN threat categories CR (critically endangered), EN
(endangered), VU (vulnerable) and NT (near threatened) plus Nationally
Rare (=RDB) - species occurring in less than 16 10-km squares in Britain
- Nationally
Scarce - species occuring in 16-100 10-km
squares in Britain
- Locally
Rare - species which are present in 3 sites or fewer
- Locally
Scarce and Declining - species that are present in 10 sites or fewer, or
are thought to be in serious decline
Data on the
Ipswich Museum herbarium is held on a simple Dbase
file produced by volunteer Peter Furze, there are over 16,000 records on file,
many of which relate to Suffolk specimens.
Major
Publications:
Flora of Suffolk. 1860 Henslow
& Skepper.
Flora of Suffolk. 1889 Hind.
An Ecological Flora of Breckland. 1979
Trist.
Simpson's Flora of Suffolk. 1982 Simpson SNS.
The Orchids of Suffolk - An Atlas and
History.
1991 Sanford SNS.
Interesting
botanical records are published annually in TSNS.
ACTION
Production of a new
Atlas Flora of Suffolk
Computerisation
of all post-1980 plant records
priority will be for the most recent data and for records of
species included in the national and local rarity or notable lists
County
Recorder: Chris Hitch
Dr Hitch has
been recording the Lichen Flora of Suffolk for over 10 years and has already
collected over 30,000 records from about 50% of the tetrads in the County. Many
of the records are from churchyards, but woodlands and old parks have also been covered. All records have
been logged on RECORDER.
Major
Publications:
The Hepatics, Mosses and Lichens of Suffolk. 1930 Mayfield. IDNHS 1: 89
Records of Suffolk Cladoniae. 1968 Manning TSNS 14: 11.
Lichenology in
Suffolk. 1989 Hitch TSNS 25: 72.
ACTION
encourage recorders to extend survey coverage to even up the
spread across the county
continue to computerise all records for production of an
Atlas of Suffolk Lichens
County Recorder: Jerry Bowdrey
Little
systematic recording for this group has been done although several recorders
have noted species whilst recording for other groups.
BRYOPHYTES
County Recorder: Richard Fisk
Most moss
recording in the County has been co-ordinated by the British Bryological Society, they may have
records not copied to SBRC. SBRC holds lists for many of the major reserves but
there has not been any attempt at a countywide survey. The last major Suffolk
checklist was published in 1930. A new county
checklist has been prepared by Paul King and loaded on
RECORDER.
David
Strauss has been surveying all known sites for Sphagnum mosses over the past
few years.
Major
Publications:
The Hepatics, Mosses and Lichens of Suffolk. 1930 Mayfield. IDNHS 1: 89
Suffolk Mosses and Liverworts. 1989. Smith TSNS 25: 65.
ACTION
produce a list of national and county level RDB species
FRESHWATER ALGAE
County Recorder: Dr.
Hilary Belcher
Very little
work has been done on this group apart from the Stoneworts (Characae) which are
recorded by some botanists. A start has been made on
producing a County checklist. Intricate Tolypella has been included in the
County BAP and the sole site for the species in the County has
been designated as a County Wildlife Site.
ACTION
encourage naturalists to send samples to the County Recorder
FUNGI
There has
been quite a large volume of recording done on this group over the years, but
the coverage has been very uneven. Several of the richer sites have been surveyed annually, but the vast majority,
including reserves, have not been looked at. A card index compiled by the late
Martin Ellis is housed at SBRC. A county checklist
compiled by Martin and Pamela Ellis has been published but has not been loaded
onto Recorder due to nomenclatural difficulties
Major
Publications:
The Fungi of Suffolk. (series of
papers) 1935-48 Mayfield TSNS 3- 6.
Fungi and Slime Moulds in Suffolk. 1989
Martin and Pam Ellis.
A 2nd edition, incorporating supplement 1 was produced in
1992.
Fungi and Slime
Moulds in Suffolk - Supplement 1. 1991 Martin and Pam
Ellis TSNS 27: 87.
Fungi and Slime
Moulds in Suffolk - Supplement 2. 1994 Martin and Pam
Ellis TSNS 30: 87.
Fungi and Slime
Moulds in Suffolk - Supplement 3. 1996 Martin and Pam
Ellis TSNS 32: 165.
ACTION
find an active mycologist willing to take on the job of
County Recorder
resolve problems of nomenclature and produce an up-to-date
county checklist on Recorder
encourage research and monitoring on national rarities (e.g.
Battarea phalloides)
