Š Pat Morris
Planning for dormice: a landscape scale approach Simone Bullion
Key aspects of hazel dormouse ecology • • • • • • • • •
Native small mammal Nocturnal, highly arboreal but hibernates on ground High quality diet Live at low densities (2 animals per ha) Low annual recruitment Relatively long-lived Poor coloniser so vulnerable to habitat fragmentation Can persist undetected and can be hard to survey Flagship species © Pat Morris
Surveying dormice
Field signs – limited by habitat and time
Nest boxes and tubes – less reliable where there is a poorly developed shrub layer All photos © Alison Looser
Footprint tunnels - looking promising but high effort
Status of hazel dormice in UK © Alison Looser
European Protected Species UK Priority Species IUCN ‘least concern’ but monitored populations declined by 72% in last 22 years (Goodwin et al. 2017) Now considered ‘vulnerable’ (if not ‘endangered’) in UK
Known distribution
Š Alison Looser
Š The Mammal Society
Dormouse Habitat
Ancient woodland and ancient species rich hedgerows Coniferised ancient woodlands (PAWs) Recent and early successional habitats: plantation woodland, scrub, younger hedgerows All photos Š Alison Looser
Corsican pine plantation
Leylandii shelter belt
Thorny low growing scrub
Disused allotments
All photos Š Simone Bullion
Scruffy places!
Myths why dormice may be scoped out
• • • • •
No records No hazel on site No woodland in landscape Gaps in the hedgerows connecting to site Habitat not suitable (without qualifying explanation) © Alison Looser
Habitat availability: Parish of Bentley, Babergh DC, Suffolk
Ipswich
Dormice can exist in hedgerow network in absence of woodland
Š Simone Bullion
Connectivity in the landscape
All Photos Š Alison Looser
Sites with poor structure and diversity can still support dormice if part of the ‘woody’ ecological network.
© Simone Bullion
Ancient woodland
Parish boundary Mothballed quarry
Key messages for planning and dormice • Lack of records doesn’t mean lack of dormice • Negative survey is ‘likely absence’ • Assess beyond the site: look at the landscape spatially and temporally • Where present, take a strategic areabased approach where a development is likely to be phased
Any questions?
© Alison Looser