DormouseA hibernating #dormouse was rescued after being found fast asleep in an old helium balloon caught in a tree. The dozy dormouse was returned to a safer habitat to continue its snooze.
The risk of #litter, like this balloon, includes entanglement and injury.
"#nature reserves are managed so that dormice have safe places to sleep and won't miss this balloon.
"Litter is an ongoing threat and it's examples like this that remind us to keep taking action."
#hazeldormouse
#Climate and land-use change are driving global #biodiversity declines, impacting species’ distributions, behaviours, and physiology. The hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) is highly sensitive to environmental change, yet little is known about how #climatechange and land-use change influence its body mass.
#hazeldormouse #dormouse #Bilch #Haselmaus #TeamBilch
The effects of climate and land cover on hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) body mass over space and time - Scientific Reports
Climate and land-use change are driving global biodiversity declines, impacting species’ distributions, behaviours, and physiology. The hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) is highly sensitive to environmental change, yet little is known about how climate change and land-use change influence its body mass. Using data from a 30-year citizen science monitoring programme, we investigated spatiotemporal trends in dormouse body mass across Britain and assessed the roles of climate and land cover as potential drivers. Furthermore, we tested whether changes in body mass vary between sexes and across seasons due to differences in energetic requirements. We show that post-hibernation body mass (May-June) has declined over time, in line with the general observed trend of body size decreasing with rising ambient temperatures to support thermoregulation. In contrast, pre-hibernation body mass has increased over time, potentially indicating increased resource availability linked to increased summer rainfall. Post-hibernation body mass was higher in warmer and wetter sites, while pre-hibernation body mass was higher at cooler and wetter sites. Landscape analysis showed a positive correlation between dormice body mass and the presence of hedgerows 4–6 m tall, while there was a negative effect of overgrown hedgerows. This study provides the first insights into how climate and landscape affect hazel dormouse body mass, offering crucial guidance for conservation strategies amidst ongoing environmental change. Differences in response to climate change across the year highlight the importance of accounting for seasonal variability when studying impacts of climate change on heterothermic animals.
Britain’s hazel dormice are getting lighter in spring but fatter in autumn as our #climate changes.
“Findings show that #climatechange is affecting dormice in complex ways.Smaller body sizes may help them cope with warmer temperatures,while increased summer temperatures/rainfall can provide a short-term boost in feeding opportunities before hibernation,but extreme weather patterns are likely to have negative impacts
#hazeldormouse #dormouse #Bilch #Haselmaus #TeamBilch
ENCOURAGING signs of #dormouse activity have been recorded in the restored woodland at Pentre Ifan, North Pembrokeshire, as part of a new #wildlife monitoring project.
The #hazeldormouse is one of the UK’s most threatened native mammals, listed as Vulnerable on the Mammal Society’s Red List. Populations have fallen by more than 70% since 2000, largely due to #habitatloss and fragmentation.
#Haselmaus #bilch
https://pembrokeshire-herald.com/125439/dormouse-discoveries-bring-new-hope-at-pentre-ifan/
Dormouse discoveries bring new hope at Pentre Ifan
ENCOURAGING signs of dormouse activity have been recorded in the restored woodland at Pentre Ifan, North Pembrokeshire, as part of a new wildlife monitoring project. Volunteers trained through the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority’s Cysylltu Natur 25×25 project spent the summer tracking the elusive hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) using specially designed footprint tunnels. The method, […]
A population of hazel dormice has been located in a nature reserve in West #Sussex.
The rodents' presence was confirmed when their distinctive triangular footprints were found in tunnels laid down to track their movements.
The tiny nocturnal species has already disappeared from 20 counties in #England since the 19th Century.
#Climatechange has also disrupted their hibernation patterns.
#dormouse #hazeldormouse #Haselmaus #bilch
The summer has been a "bumper" breeding season for dormice in #Hampshire conservationists have said.
Volunteers from the Hampshire Dormice Group, who have been carrying out surveys to monitor the tiny mammal, said the warm, dry summer had allowed them more time to breed.
#dormouse #hazeldormouse #bilch
#climatechange threatens species in a variety of ways, such as by impacting life history traits or causing spatial and temporal distribution mismatches of interdependent species. Hibernating species, such as the #hazeldormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius), may be particularly susceptible to changes in climate. For example, milder winters may increase the number of interbout arousals during hibernation, which are energetically costly.
https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/csp2.13254
Vulnerable dormice will have a more favourable habitat as a new national #nature reserve is opened, a #wildlife charity has said.
The Stiperstones Landscape reserve in Shropshire brings together organisations to safeguard heathland, ancient woodland, bogs and acidic grasslands.
One of the areas within the reserve is home to hazel dormice, which are found in "very few places" in the UK
#dormouse #hazeldormouse #bilch #Haselmaus
Hazel dormice are a native #rodent to the #UK and are the only one with a distinctive furry tail, and while they can live in many habitats, they favour #woodlands and #hedgerows.
However, the #dormouse population has declined by 70% nationally since 2000, and the species is now extinct in 20 English counties, according to a 2023 report.
#hazeldormouse #Haselmaus #bilch
The study demonstrates that the #hazeldormouse has specific #habitat requirements related to food and safety that can be accommodated with relatively simple means in managed forests.
#dormouse #bilch #Haselmaus