Species
An important part of JNCC's work concerns species
conservation. This includes giving advice on UK policy and
legislation regarding species, as well as commissioning and
supporting
surveillance and monitoring schemes to assess
and report upon the changing status of species in the UK. This
section covers terrestrial and freshwater species.
Find
out about marine species.
JNCC have collated information from a variety of sources for
each and every one of the 1150 species included on the UK priority
species list. The purpose of this collation is to bring these data
together into a single report for each species and potentially to
improve the use of this evidence in decision making and developing
the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) framework. The
following pages are a prototype to demonstrate that it is
possible to combine and repackage existing information from a
variety of sources. See
the prototype
Current Topics of Interest
Phytophthora impacts on biodiversity
Phytophthora is a genus of plant-damaging water moulds
that are responsible for a number of notorious plant diseases, such
as potato blight. Three species, named ramorum,
kernoviae and pseudosyringae have recently been
identified in the UK affecting heathland plants. They are
believed to be non-native, and may have been introduced
via international horticultural trade. Further information on
Phytophthora>>>
Species Status
JNCC has collated information on species status and
designations, and you can download the list as a spreadsheet.
JNCC have just published The Butterfly Red List for Great Britain (2010)
as part of the Species Status Assessment project. This assessment,
by Fox, Warren and Brereton, assesses all 62 resident and regularly
breeding butterflies against the new IUCN criteria (IUCN 2001), and
replaces earlier assessments published in 1987 and 1997. The report
is both important and timely, illustrating the serious extinction
risk facing butterflies in Great Britain.
Quinquennial Review
Every five years, the statutory nature conservation agencies
(Natural England, Countryside Council for Wales and Scottish
Natural Heritage), working jointly through the Joint Nature
Conservation Committee (JNCC), are required to review Schedules 5
and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and to make
recommendations to the Secretary of State and Ministers for the
Environment. Schedule 5 lists animals (other than birds) which are
specially protected, and Schedule 8 lists plants which are
specially protected.
Link: The Fifth Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5
and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981
Avian Influenza
Biological Records Centre: Report 1999-2004
This report highlights major
achievements, including new atlases and improved data access
via the NBN Gateway.
More>>>