FLOOOOOOOODS
Printed From: Reptiles and Amphibians of the UK
Category: Conservation
Forum Name: Habitat Loss
Forum Description: Use this forum to highlight harmful development projects and other issues involving habitat destruction
URL: http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4686
Printed Date: 16 Apr 2024 at 12:57pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.06 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: FLOOOOOOOODS
Posted By: AGILIS
Subject: FLOOOOOOOODS
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2014 at 6:37am
 Wonder what sort of impact these floods in the south west and the rest of the country will have on the survival of animals this year,assuming the rain everstops and we get some sunshine? Keith  ------------- LOCAL ICYNICAL CELTIC ECO WARRIOR AND FAILED DRUID |
Replies:
Posted By: will
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2014 at 11:55am
I know one of the London adder sites is currently underwater, and was last winter as well. What was once a slowly growing population with counts of around 15-20 animals in spring produced only 2 last spring and presumably will be extinct this spring. Partly due to flooding, but also because of lack of management which prevented the adders from moving to higher ground, in spite of management briefs recommending this back in the mid 2000's. As for other low lying areas, pretty dire I suspect. Amphibian ponds will have filled, of course, but some of these ponds will have been flooded with riverwater allowing fish to colonise them, too. Pretty bad all round. Keep smiling, though! |
Posted By: AGILIS
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2014 at 3:00pm
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Hi will pretty depressing & grim all round for all, sad thing is just start getting a bit of a come back with some of the herp then this happens, bad enough with the tidy up brigade keith ------------- LOCAL ICYNICAL CELTIC ECO WARRIOR AND FAILED DRUID |
Posted By: will
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2014 at 3:32pm
| yes, depressing especially given the precarious status of adders in London amongst 8 million largely apathetic / hostile humans... I've watched the numbers grow since c1994, only for two years of wet winters to nail them. |
Posted By: GemmaJF
Date Posted: 09 Feb 2014 at 7:41pm
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It's always the way with conservation though. Populations are slowly eroded down and are then at the mercy of single catastrophic events. The local adder site I monitor saw the removal of a lot of vegetation in areas that I had identified as acting as satellite hibernacula to the main one. The main one is close to a waterbody so you can see the problem It now only takes one event such as flooding of the main hibernacula to wipe out the entire population. Try to explain to them though that they were lowering the conservation status of adder at the site during the vegetation clearance. Complete waste of time sadly. |