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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
Supplementary Materials
Species Interpretation at Fletcher Moss
J. Green
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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)
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Species Interpretation at Fletcher Moss
J. Green
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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
Supplementary Materials
Species Interpretation at Fletcher Moss
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
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Species Interpretation at Fletcher Moss
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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
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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
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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
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Species Interpretation at Fletcher Moss
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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
Plants - vascular plants
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
Plants - vascular plants
Walnut (Juglans regia) 1
Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur) 1
Abies (Abies) 1
Holly (Ilex aquifolium) 1
Hazel (Corylus avellana) 1
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Species Interpretation at Fletcher Moss
J. Green
9
C Meadowland
Plants - vascular plants
Water Dock (Rumex hydrolapathum) 6
Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur) 5
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
Indian Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) 1
Water Dock (Rumex hydrolapathum) 1
Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) 1
Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur) 1
Silver Birch (Betula pendula) 1
Fungi and lichens Turkeytail (Trametes versicolor) 1
Orange-Peel Fungus (Aleuria aurantia) 1
F Meadowland floodplain
Plants - vascular plants
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
Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur) 1
Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris) 1
Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) 1
Betula albosinensis (Betula albosinensis)
1
Beech (Fagus sylvatica) 1
Bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg.) 1
Bristle Bent (Agrostis curtisii) 1
Fungi and lichens Hypogymnia (Hypogymnia) 1
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G Woodland near water
Plants - vascular plants
Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur) 6
Holly (Ilex aquifolium) 5
Acer (Acer) 4
Ivy (Hedera helix) 4
Bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg.) 4
Norway Spruce (Picea abies) 2
Rosa (Rosa) 1
Indian Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) 1
Salix (Salix) 1
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) 1
Hay-scented Buckler-fern (Dryopteris aemula)
1
Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) 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
Bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg.) 9
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) 9
Birds American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 1
J Hedgerow Plants - vascular plants
Holly (Ilex aquifolium) 4
Ivy (Hedera helix) 4
K Hedgerow Plants - vascular plants
Ivy (Hedera helix) 5
Dog-rose (Rosa canina) 3
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) 3
L Hedgerow Plants - vascular plants
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) 3
Indian Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) 1
Bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg.) 1