species interpretation at fletcher moss filesupplementary materials species interpretation at...

Supplementary Materials Species Interpretation at Fletcher Moss

J. Green

4/17/2013

The document gives the first interpretation of the findings from Fletcher Moss taken from November 2012 to January 2013.

Supplementary Materials

Species Interpretation at Fletcher Moss

J. Green

1

Contents Description of the location ..................................................................................................... 2

Summary .............................................................................................................................. 2

Results .................................................................................................................................. 2

Recommendations ................................................................................................................ 7

References ........................................................................................................................... 8

Appendix A: Species ............................................................................................................. 8

Figure 1: Temperatures ......................................................................................................... 2

Figure 2: Clouds .................................................................................................................... 4

Figure 3: Rain Event ............................................................................................................. 5

Figure 4: Frequency of Species in habitats ........................................................................... 5

Figure 5: Habitat H Species by Percentage ........................................................................... 6

Figure 6: Abundance ............................................................................................................. 7

Image 1: Petroleum ............................................................................................................... 7



J. Green

2

Description of the location Fletcher Moss is a Site of Special Biological Interest grade B near Didsbury in Manchester

with Ordnance Survey Grid Reference SJ846901. South to Fletcher Moss is the River

Mersey that includes Fletcher Moss into its Basin catchment area as do the Environment

Agency who credits Fletcher Moss is Didsbury Flood Storage Basin. River Mersey is

approximately 64 kilometres from its emergence point in Stockport, Cheshire from the

convergence of River Tame, from Yorkshire and River Goyt, from Derbyshire. As a

consequence of River Mersey carries cross-boundary floodwaters waters on its passage to

the Irish Sea (Olds, 1999).

Summary The Pdf includes climate conditions measurements of during the observation period,

25/11/2012 to 12/01/2013, which are compared with RODIS recorded species to establish if

there are any relationships between the species and/or their habitats. The descriptions use

taxonomy to identify and explain species relationships with their host- Fletcher Moss. These

relationships are questioned and commented upon as an attempt to identify if climate

change is having an impact upon those species and at Fletcher Moss.

The materials used for this study including teachings came from University of Manchester,

the host location for the Grey to Green Project recording course. Nowgen the Manchester

Biomedical Research Centre is where inputting into RODIS was taught. Other materials that

have significantly aided the findings include field trips by Greater Manchester Local Record

Centre and online resources by the Met Office and OPAL Explore Nature. These were used

so that the findings could be cross-referenced with other datasets and independently

verified.

The findings show the overall habitat at Fletcher Moss is woodland.

Results Figure 1: Temperatures

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

A B C E F G H I J K L

Te

mp

era

ture

(°C

)

Habitats

Temperature (°C)



J. Green

3

Figure 1 and Table 1 show the field temperature range is 0°C to 11°C, an 11°C temperature

difference in the 49 consecutive day study period between 11:05 to 15:50. Night temperature

range is -2°C to 9°C resulting in an 11°C temperature difference. Therefore the overall

temperature range is -2°C to 11°C which is 13°C.

The temperature was taken from the internet as the thermometer used during the study

period began at 11°C therefore was not accurate enough to record temperatures below

11°C. Consequently an internet site was utilised to record the average temperatures for the

location as temperature was believed to be an important measurement to the study as it is

used in other studies such as The OPAL Climate Study by the Met Office and the Royal

Meteorological Society. It is their Cloud Guide (OPAL Explore Nature & RMetS, 2011) which

was utilised to establish the cloud coverage on each field visit to Fletcher Moss.

For future studies the purchase of a thermometer able to record temperatures between -5°C

and 30°C could be beneficial so that temperatures in each habitat are accurately recorded

and to capture localised fluctuations within Fletcher Moss. The fluctuations may offer an

explanation of why species are located in specific locations as the temperatures in this study

are not accurate enough to make any correlations between temperature fluctuations and

species locality.

Table 1: Temperature and Time

Date Habitat

Day Temperature (°C)

Night Temperature (°C) Clouds

Time Start

Time End

25/11/2012 A 7 3 Cirrocumulus 12:20 13:50

25/11/2012 B 7 3 Cirrocumulus 12:20 13:50

01/12/2012 C 0 -2 Altostratus 14:35 15:50

15/12/2012 E 7 5 Stratus 13:10 14:10

29/12/2012 F 11 5 Cumulonimbus 12:05 12:53

30/12/2012 G 5 9 Cumulus 11:05 12:20

06/01/2013 H 8 7 Cumulus 12:30 13:20

12/01/2013 I 2 0 Cumulus 12:00 12:30

12/01/2013 J 2 0 Cumulus 12:00 12:30

12/01/2013 K 2 0 Cumulus 12:00 12:30

12/01/2013 L 2 0 Cumulus 12:00 12:30

(Source for temperature My Weather)

The cloud coverage was recorded and is illustrated in Figure 2 as a crude method of

recording humidity in Fletcher Moss. Given that Fletcher Moss is a flood plain and one that

does have water bodies, contains meadowlands and ponds the cloud coverage recordings

add little value to the study. Future studies may benefit from actual humidity recording as

these would give actual measurements for microclimates and may illustrate how a

macroclimate interacts with the climatic variants and its transient species. For example it is

not understood why the Black Cap birds Sylvia atricapilla were found in only one location,

Habitat H as there were many vascular plants contained within Fletcher Moss. Measuring



J. Green

4

the microclimate conditions may differentiate if it was localised climate or other such as

animal behaviour from established territory, evolving animal behaviour (Tinbergen, 1980) or

even as a protective response to predators as a reason for Black Caps in Habitat H.

The Cloud cover on the day of the visit to Habitat H was Cumulus and only two berries were

seen on the Holly Ilex aquifolium plants in all of Fletcher Moss. Beside the location of Habitat

H is Millgate Lane which is lined with houses and which leads to a large housing estate. It is

unknown if the gardens of the residential homes provide birds with food though there was a

national study endorsed by the BBCs Winter Watch Team being undertaken at the same

time as this which may establish that those residential homes do provide food to birds.

The most common cloud type is Cumulus which was present in habitats G, H, I, J, K and L.

Cumulous was present in habitat F, Stratus in habitat E, altostratus in habitat C and

Cirrocumulus in habitats A and B. However the field visits for I, J, K and L occurred

12/01/2013 and habitats A and B occurred 25/11/2012. The removal of duplications does not

alter the Cumulus result which hovers no more than 2000 meters (OPAL Explore Nature &

RMetS, 2011) above Fletcher Moss. The results of the observations do not explain why

cumulus is the most common cloud type nor is it able to offer any correlations between cloud

coverage and species. In future it may be beneficial to record lumen in each habitat to

establish if there are any anomaly species in those areas and in which season they appear if

any are present and to indicate species adaptations to climate change.

Figure 2: Clouds

Cumulus cloud is unlikely to contain rain. Rain was observed in one visit and during the field

visit to Habitat F which is highlighted by the vertical blue bar in figure 3. The number of

species in habitat F where is rained does not indicate there is a unique relationship between

the rain and the number of species and taxomic groups, as both the taxomic groups and

number of species are both mid-range. Figure 3 does illustrate that there is a relationship

between rain and the number of species and taxomic groups, but it does not identify if there

is a unique relationship between them and one specific habitat. The relationship identified is

that Fletcher Moss has a consistent number of taxomic groups in winter.

02000400060008000

Ap

pro

xim

ate

Me

ters

fro

m

Terr

est

rial

Lan

d

Cloud Type

Cloud Types



J. Green

5

Figure 3: Rain Event

It may also be worth noting that Habitats I, J, K and L are hedgerows. The increase in

species and taxomic groups in habitat L may be due to that hedge backing onto a

meadowland floodplain, Habitat F whereby some of the species from the meadowland were

succeeding into the base of the hedge. As a comparison Habitat I has Millgate Lane behind

it and Habitat H near to it at one end. Habitat J has a pagoda garden behind it and a

concrete path in front of it and Habitat K has a pagoda park in front t of it and a leaf litter

flood plain area behind it which is recorded as Habitat A. After this study Habitats K and L

contained caterpillars of the March Moth indicating that two months does not give enough

data to make assumptions of the taxomic groups or number of species at Fletcher Moss.

Figure 4 show there are more species in Habitat H than any other habitat. The recordings

from the other habitats are given as Appendix A. Figure 5 illustrates the species taxomic

percentage of those identified and Table 2 names the recorded species.

Figure 4: Frequency of Species in habitats

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

A B C E F G H I J K L

Fre

qu

en

cy (

ƒ)

Habitats

Rain Event

Number of Species

Taxomic Groups

0

5

10

15

20

25

A B C E F G H I J K LFre

qu

en

cy (

ƒ)e

Habitats

Number of Species



J. Green

6

Figure 5: Habitat H Species by Percentage

Table 2: Species Recorded

Taxomic Group Species Habitats Directive

Birds

Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla 1

Black-billed Magpie Pica pica 1

Stock Pigeon Columba oenas 1

Common Blackbird Turdus merula 1

Plants - vascular plants

Pedunculate Oak Quercus robur 1

Fagus Fagus 1

Canary Ivy Hedera canariensis 1

Crataegus Crataegus 1

Salix Salix 1

Bramble Rubus fruticosus agg. 1

Douglas Fir Pseudotsuga menziesii 1

Bay Laurus nobilis 1

Holly Ilex aquifolium 1

Norway Spruce Picea abies 1

Ash Fraxinus excelsior 1

Fungi and lichens

Coral-Spot Fungus Nectria cinnabarina 1

Jelly Ear Auricularia auricula-judae 1

Turkeytail Trametes versicolor 1

Mammals Eastern Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis 1

Molluscs

Lehmannia marginata Lehmannia marginata 1

Trochulus Trochulus striolatus 1

21.4

39.3

3.6 7.1

3.6

14.3

3.6

Fre

qu

cny

(ƒ)

%

Species

Habitat H Species by Percentage

Fungi

Flowering Plant

Mollusc

Conifer

Bird

Lichen

Terrestrial

Mammal



J. Green

7

The volume and diversity of the vascular plants may explain why the water body that lay

within Habitat H decreased so rapidly after a period of heavy rain. This water may have been

abstracted by those species this is suggested as there was no apparent run off from this

locality though there is evidence of run off into it as petroleum as Image 1.

Image 1: Petroleum

There was no obvious point source or route for the contaminant and given that this habitat

contained the greatest diversity it can be assumed, in this instant, that the saturation point

was not reached in this habitat.

Figure 6 shows the most abundant taxon group is vascular plants. This illustrates that

Fletcher Moss is succeeding in becoming woodland as a primary habitat. No signage was

present that explained if the management plan of the vascular plants resulted in those plants

being utilised for Forest Stewardship Council or PECF products.

Figure 6: Abundance

Taxon Group Occurrence

Plants - vascular plants 72

Fungi and lichens 13

Crustaceans 1

Birds 5

Insects 2

Annelid worms 1

Centipedes, millipedes 1

Mammals 1

Molluscs 4

Recommendations



J. Green

8

1) To use a thermometer that can record the temperature fluctuations and on site

2) Recording the humidity in each habitat may aid correlations and interactions to be

made between species and their habitat

3) To continue with the study for twelve months to establish a baseline for Fletcher

Moss

4) Establish where the run off has come from, is it internal or external to Fletcher Moss

5) Investigate if the management plan for FSC and PECF involvement

References Olds, M., ed., 1999. Europe and the Russian Federation: North England. In: Geographica:

The Complete Illustrated Atlas of the World. Milsons Point: Könemann, p. 306.

OPAL Explore Nature & RMetS, 2011. Cloud Guide. s.l.:FSC Publications.

Tinbergen, N., 1980. The Evolution of Behaviour. In: A. Virginia, ed. Animal Behaviour. New

Jersey: Time-Life Books, p. 179.

Appendix A: Species Habitat Habitat

Type Taxon Group Species Habitats

directive

A Leaf litter flood area


Betula (Betula) 1

White Willow (Salix alba) 1

Fungi and lichens Candle-Snuff Fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon)

1

Jelly Tooth (Pseudohydnum gelatinosum)

1

Brown Mottlegill (Panaeolina foenisecii)

1

Crustaceans Porcellio scaber (Porcellio scaber) 1

Annelid worms Common Earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris)

1

Centipedes, millipedes, etc (Myriapoda)

Polydesmus angustus (Polydesmus angustus)

1

Molluscs Lehmannia marginata (Lehmannia marginata)

1

Cepaea (Cepaea) nemoralis (Cepaea (Cepaea) nemoralis)

1

B Rockery near water body


Walnut (Juglans regia) 1

Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur) 1

Abies (Abies) 1

Holly (Ilex aquifolium) 1

Hazel (Corylus avellana) 1



J. Green

9

C Meadowland


Water Dock (Rumex hydrolapathum) 6


Indian Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) 4

Bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg.) 3

Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris) 2

Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) 2

Small-leaved Lime (Tilia cordata) 1

Alder (Alnus glutinosa) 1

Common Nettle (Urtica dioica) 1

Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) 1

Woolly Burdock (Arctium tomentosum) 1

Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) 1

Weeping Willow (Salix alba x babylonica = S. x sepulcralis)

1

Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) 1

Nematodes or roundworms

Bent grass nematode (Anguina agrostis)

3

Plants - lower plants

Large White-moss (Leucobryum glaucum)

1

Fungi and lichens Hypogymnia physodes (Hypogymnia physodes)

1

E Meadowland floodplain

Plants - vascular Woolly Burdock (Arctium tomentosum) 2


Water Dock (Rumex hydrolapathum) 1



Silver Birch (Betula pendula) 1

Fungi and lichens Turkeytail (Trametes versicolor) 1

Orange-Peel Fungus (Aleuria aurantia) 1

F Meadowland floodplain


Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) 5

Arctium (Arctium) 3

Weeping Willow (Salix alba x babylonica = S. x sepulcralis)

2

Crack-willow (Salix fragilis) 2

Caucasian Wingnut (Pterocarya fraxinifolia)

1


Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris) 1


Betula albosinensis (Betula albosinensis)

1

Beech (Fagus sylvatica) 1


Bristle Bent (Agrostis curtisii) 1

Fungi and lichens Hypogymnia (Hypogymnia) 1



J. Green

10

G Woodland near water




Acer (Acer) 4

Ivy (Hedera helix) 4


Norway Spruce (Picea abies) 2

Rosa (Rosa) 1


Salix (Salix) 1

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) 1

Hay-scented Buckler-fern (Dryopteris aemula)

1


Insects, etc (Hexapoda)

Gonepteryx (Gonepteryx)

Tree Hopper (Centrotus cornutus) 1

Fungi and lichens Hypogymnia (Hypogymnia) 1

Candle-Snuff Fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon)

1

Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus)

1

I Hedgerow Plants - vascular plants



Birds American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 1

J Hedgerow Plants - vascular plants



K Hedgerow Plants - vascular plants


Dog-rose (Rosa canina) 3


L Hedgerow Plants - vascular plants




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