JNCC’s surveillance programme aims to
contribute to the overall surveillance and monitoring need within
countries and the UK as a whole by supporting schemes that meet
multiple requirements and support uses at UK, country and, where
relevant, local scales. The programme invests with partners
in long term schemes. Although the schemes are taxonomically
based, in many cases their sampling strategies are designed to make
them sensitive to the environmental and anthropogenic drivers of
change (pressures) operating at broad scales so that through
analysis they can provide information relevant to a wide range of
policies.
Our main investments are through schemes led
by the British Trust for Ornithology,
the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology,
Butterfly
Conservation, the Bat Conservation Trust,
the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust,
and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, but these
schemes involve the financial and in kind contribution of many
other partners, and in most
cases depend on the huge contribution of time and effort by skilled
volunteers. JNCC itself leads monitoring of
seabirds, with the support of many
partners, and hosts results of the Seabird Monitoring Programme on
it's website.
Further details of these schemes, including
more information on what they involve, how they are run and
their species and geographical coverage, are provided in the
UK EOF overview of UK biodiversity surveillance schemes.
JNCC UK Biodiversity Statistics
As a result of our partnership schemes, JNCC is responsible for
the production of eight Official Statistics on UK
Biodiversity. These represent a variety of species and
habitats, including monitoring of the UK protected areas network,
and come together to construct an up-to-date overview of current
status and ongoing trends of UK biodiversity. This picture
illustrates the long term drivers of change in UK wildlife and its
response to changing conditions and contributes to UK National
Statistics.
Partnership schemes
Birds:
Breeding Bird Survey
(BTO, JNCC, RSPB)
3604 x 1km squares in UK surveyed 3 times in
2007, covering 101 species. Scheme started in 1994. Trends of bird
species can be found at the BTO's Breeding Birds in the
Wider Countryside webpages.
Goose and Swan Monitoring Programme (WWT,
JNCC)
13 goose and swan populations monitored in the
UK. Scheme started c. 1955.
National Ringing Scheme
(BTO, JNCC)
Around 880,000 birds ringed each year of 270 species, including
birds from 120 Constant Effort Survey (CES) sites and 100
Retrapping Adults for Survival (RAS) studies. National scheme
started in 1909, whilst CES started in 1983, and RAS in 1998.
Nest Record
Scheme (BTO, JNCC)
34,202 records in GB submitted in 2007,
covering 90 species. Scheme started in 1939.
Rare Breeding Birds Panel collation of
breeding bird records (RBBP, JNCC, RSPB,
BTO)
Annual reporting on the status of UK’s
rarest breeding birds (c. 130 species). Scheme stated in
1972. Historical summary data available here.
Seabird Monitoring Programme (JNCC,
CEH, NTS, RSPB, TSG, SOTEAG)
All 26 species of regularly breeding seabirds
monitored at a sample of colonies in the UK, since 1986.
Wetland Bird Survey (BTO,
JNCC, RSPB, WWT)
Around 2,000 wetlands in GB monitored up to
once a month for waders and other waterbirds. Over 100 species
recorded. Scheme started in 1947.
Invertebrates:
Recording Schemes
(range of invertebrates) (BRC, CEH, JNCC, NBN, NERC,
NSS)
At least 412 BAP invertebrates are recorded
across the UK by 88 organisations.
UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme
(BC, CEH, JNCC, NRW, DEFRA, NE, NIEA, FC, SG,
SNH)
Includes transect walks and timed counts.
Butterflies counted on 850 transects, 16 times a year. 63 species
have data collected regularly, and some trends go back to 1976.
Mammals:
Breeding
Bird Survey/Waterways Breeding Bird Survey – Mammal Data
(BTO, JNCC)
Mammal data collected at 2400 Breeding Bird
Survey sites since 1995, and around 300 Waterways Breeding Bird
Survey Sites since 1998.
National Bat Monitoring
Programme (BCT, JNCC, NE)
Approximately 2500 sites monitored. Long terms
trends available for 11 of the UK’s 17 bat species. Scheme started
in 1996.
National Gamebag Census (GWCT, JNCC)
600 estates across GB return information on
game and predator bags. 16 species of mammal recorded. JNCC funds
analysis of the data. Scheme started in 1961.
These schemes are part of the Tracking
Mammels Partnership, a collaborative initiative, which aims to
improve the quality, quantity and dissemination of information on
the status of mammal species in the UK.
Plants:
British Bryological Society Recording Schemes
(BBS, CEH, JNCC, BRC, NERC)
The Vice-County Recording Scheme (established
1937), the Mapping Scheme (established 1960) and the Threatened
Bryophyte Database scheme (established 2000) have collected data on
1034 species of bryophyte across the UK.
Partner Organisations
BBS – British Bryological
Society, BC – Butterfly Conservation,
BCT – Bat Conservation Trust, BRC
– Biological Records Centre, BTO - British Trust
for Ornithology, NRW – Natural Resources
Wales (formally Countryside Council for Wales - CCW),
CEH – Centre for Ecology and Hydrology,
DEFRA – Department for the Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs, FC – Forestry Commission,
GWCT – Game and Wildlife Conservation
Trust, JNCC - Joint Nature Conservation
Committee, NBN - National Biodiversity Network,
NE – Natural England, NERC –
Natural Environment Research Council, NIEA –
Northern Ireland Environment Agency, NSS –
National Schemes and Societies, NTS – National
Trust for Scotland, RBBP - Rare Breeding Birds
Panel, RSPB – Royal Society for the Protection of
Birds, SG – Scottish Government,
SNH – Scottish Natural Heritage,
SOTEAG – Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental
Advisory Group, TSG – The Seabird Group,
WWT – Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust