Scotland’s Terrestrial and Aquatic Mammals
3 May 2024Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.
With 69% of Scotland being used for agriculture, farmland has a vital role to play in ensuring that our native mammals have sufficient connected habitat to reach stable populations and to adapt to environmental change.
Which species could you find on your farm, and what tips and funding options could you deploy to make your farm more accessible to them?
Background
Scotland hosts 49 wild native species of terrestrial mammals. Ranging from the red deer to the wildcat, these species are often the focal point when discussing Scotland’s biodiversity as well as its cultural identity. While mammals might not boast the diversity in species of other groups of animals (beetles having 2,600 species for example), they are often the main drivers of ecosystem health, through regulating vegetation, seed dispersal, predation of insects and other mammals, and introducing elements of disturbance. As such, mammals shape ecosystems, with their presence or absence impacting a range of other species.
As human society developed in Scotland, the impacts to our native mammals has varied from species to species. Where red deer dominate, wildcats have diminished. As such, some of our species have been awarded protection and recognition, to safeguard them against human activities and prevent them from being driven to extinction. They take prime place in the Scottish Biodiversity List - a list of animals, plants, fungi and habitats considered to be of principle importance for biodiversity in Scotland, including 22 species of terrestrial mammals.
With 69% of Scotland being used for agriculture, farmland has a vital role to play in ensuring that our native mammals have sufficient connected habitat to reach stable populations and to adapt to environmental change. Knowing which of these species you have on your farm can be tricky without knowing the field signs to look for. However, websites such as the NBN Scotland Atlas can play a massive role in informing landowners of the species found on their land and neighbouring areas. The Atlas provides open access biodiversity data in a user-friendly way, to display what species have been found all over Scotland.
Here we highlight some of the mammals from the Scottish Biodiversity List that you could find on your farm, and actions you can take to make your farm more accessible to these species.
Click to expand:
Image credit: Peter Trimming at Flickr.com
Habitats: Rivers, streams, ditches, around water bodies, and wetlands.
Check your farm location for records!
NBN Atlas occurrence download at https://nbnatlas.org accessed on 15 April 2024
Actions to take to promote water voles:
- Install fenced-off buffer strips
Fencing off watercourses protects water vole burrows from trampling. Water voles require dense vegetation for shelter and food, and allowing grass to grow tall and dense within this fenced off area is a great way to promote the right conditions for them. Funding options to fence off water margins and manage them in a way sympathetic to water voles is available to farmers through the Scottish Governments Agri-Environmental and Climate Schemes (AECS).
- Restore or create wetland habitat
Wetland habitats offer valuable foraging and sheltering habitat for water voles across the farmed landscape. Some wetland creation options are available to farmers across Scotland through AECS.
- Control of American mink
Non-native American mink have been devastating water voles for decades in the UK and are one of their main sources of decline. If you have spotted American mink, or signs of their presence, in water courses on your farm, report it to the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative to arrange installing traps to eradicate them.
Image credit: Harry Fisher, SAC Consulting
Habitats: Urban and gardens, grassland, mixed woodland, heathland and arable land.
Check your farm location for records!
NBN Atlas occurrence download at https://nbnatlas.org accessed on 15 April 2024
Actions to take to promote hedgehogs:
- Hedgerow management
Increasing the number of hedgerows, and the width, height and length of existing hedgerows on your farm will provide invertebrates and berries vital for hedgehogs. Hedgehogs really benefit from hedgerows that are dense at the base giving good coverage. Hedgerow species such as bramble and rose also provide more coverage, important for hedgehogs to nest in. Funding options are available to farmers in parts of Scotland for the creation and management of existing hedgerows.
- Field margin management
By maintaining a grassy field margin of at least 2m around the edge of arable fields, you are providing habitat that has been scientifically proven to benefit foraging hedgehogs. Pairing this with beetle banks across large arable fields will improve food availability throughout the year in addition to pest control services. Funding options for creating grass margins are available to farmers in some areas of Scotland through AECS.
- Scrub creation and management
Through creating and retaining areas of dense scrub, such as holly and hawthorn, you are providing hedgehogs with cover and leaf litter that is used for nest building. Try and ensure that old leaves are left and not disturbed over winter where they could be supporting hibernating hedgehogs.
Image credit: Alison Day at Flickr
Habitats: Rivers, wetlands, coastal, marshlands, standing water.
Check your farm location for records!
NBN Atlas occurrence download at https://nbnatlas.org accessed on 15 April 2024
Deterrents and things to avoid:
As the quality of our watercourses improved, otters are once again thriving in Scotland. Otters will traverse up and down river networks, making use of the adjacent habitat to rest in. To encourage otters to make their home on your farm they will require the following:
- Food – Including fish and eels from fresh water sources. Watercourses therefore have to have little pollution to ensure healthy fish populations.
- Shelter – Long grass, woodland or scrub, so long as it can give them some shelter from the elements during colder periods.
- Little disturbance – otters are mostly nocturnal, and so need limited disturbance during the day.
- Connected habitat – Otters use rivers to travel, and so need good quality watercourses throughout the countryside to ensure there is opportunity for individuals and populations to spread and grow.
Actions to take to promote otters:
- Improve watercourses by creating fenced off buffer strips
Through fencing off watercourses, multiple benefits to otter and other aquatic and semi-aquatic species can be achieved. By reducing grazing around the watercourse, buffers increase vegetation and reduce poaching, improving water quality for fish and providing more prey for otters. The longer vegetation will provide shade and shelter for resting otters. Funding options to fence off water margins and manage them in a way sympathetic for otters is available to farmers through AECS.
- Create or restore wetland habitats on your farm
Otters will make use of other wetland habitats other than just watercourses, specifically for the rearing of young. Female otters will seek out ponds to teach their young how to swim and catch food. Often, they will look for water bodies that are a good distance from watercourses, to ensure that the pups are not harmed by aggressive male otters. Funding to achieve this can be covered through pond creation options in AECS.
- Creation of woodland near watercourses for breeding habitat
Similarly, female otters will require sheltered habitat to safely raise their pups which is offset from the watercourse. Woodlands with dense understories located near watercourses will provide great shelter for the female to raise her family. Riparian trees will also create burrows with their roots that are used by female and male otters to shelter. Funding options for woodland creation on farmland is covered within the forestry grant schemes.
Image credit: Caroline Legg at Flickr
Habitats: Coniferous woodland, deciduous woodland, mixed woodland.
Check your farm location for records!
NBN Atlas occurrence download at https://nbnatlas.org accessed on 15 April 2024
Action to promote pine martens on your farm:
- Woodland creation to connect woodland patches
To ensure pine marten populations can grow and spread, it is important that isolated patches of woodland are connected through carefully targeting the creation of new woodland. Check the NBN Atlas to see if any woodlands near your farm have recent records of pine martens and if your farm could expand this range. Woodland comprising of a mix of native species and varying age classes will benefit pine martens the most. Funding options for woodland creation are available through the forestry grant scheme.
- Avoid clear felling of existing woodlands
Clear felling removes all shelter and food for pine martens within a very short time period, either removing their only habitat or potentially forcing them into another pine marten’s territory.
- Keep deadwood
Existing deadwood and trees with cavities provide extra habitat complexity that boosts woodland biodiversity. For pine martens this provides greater foraging and shelter potential.
Image credit: Sandor Somkuti at Flickr
Habitats: Coniferous woodland, deciduous woodland, mixed woodland.
Check your farm location for records!
NBN Atlas occurrence download at https://nbnatlas.org accessed on 15 April 2024
Actions to take to promote red squirrels:
- Connect woodland
Red squirrel populations will also grow and spread where woodland is connected. Where isolated patches of woodland exist, it means red squirrel populations will struggle to disperse. Creating new woodland to join up two woodland patches not only offers benefits from the new woodland creation itself, but also means species like red squirrel can now access woodland that previously would have been difficult or dangerous to access. Use the NBN portal to look for some recent red squirrel records in woodland in your area - could woodland creation on your farm expand this range? Funding for woodland creation is available through the forestry grant scheme.
- Manage existing woodlands to benefit red squirrels
Enhancing the diversity of tree species and age structure of woodlands will provide a dependable supply of seeds. There is evidence that red squirrels particularly benefit from the seeds of pine cones, and that including Scots Pine in planting regimes could give red squirrels a competitive advantage over grey squirrels. Current felling plans should be reviewed to ensure suitable habitat provisions are maintained. Financial support is available to landowners under the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) through grants such as the woodland improvement grants. Explore funding options to improve woodland for red squirrels.
- Control and report grey squirrels
Grey squirrels have had a hugely detrimental impact on our native red squirrels with the greatest threat coming from grey squirrels carrying the squirrelpox virus. Grey squirrels can carry the disease with no symptoms, but when they pass it to red squirrels it is normally fatal. If you spot a grey squirrel in your woodland, you can report the sighting to Scottish Squirrels. Additionally, funding is available for grey squirrel trapping though the forestry grant schemes Sustainable Management of Forests grant.
Image credit: Caroline Legg at Flickr
Habitats: Grassland, arable land.
Check your farm location for records!
NBN Atlas occurrence download at https://nbnatlas.org accessed on 15 April 2024
Though only introduced during the Roman period, brown hares have now become a naturalised part of our countryside, and provide a valuable prey for some of our iconic birds of prey.
Actions to take to promote brown hares:
- Establish grass strips on the edge of arable fields
Having grass strips along the edge of arable fields will allow hares to travel through the countryside, with the cover protecting them from predators. Funding options for creating grass margins are available to farmers in some areas of Scotland through AECS.
- Establish bird seed mixes and winter stubble in arable fields
It is not only birds that benefit from these actions, winter stubble and establishing bird seed mixes will also provide food and cover for hares. Funding options for establishing bird seed mixes and for winter stubble are available through AECS.
- Leave grass to grow tall during summer and cut in a wildlife friendly manner
Leaving grass to grow tall during summer months will provide cover and food beneficial to hares. Baby hares, known as leverets, are particularly vulnerable to farm machinery. When threatened their response is to freeze – while this may be an excellent defence against a fox it is less successful against mowers or harvesters, or even grazing cattle. Adaptive multi-paddock grazing can provide safe zones for leverets, and cutting/harvesting in a wildlife friendly manner (from the inside of the field outward) will help prevent killing both baby and adult hares. Funding options are available to compensate for wildlife mown grassland across Scotland through AECS.
Harry Fisher, SAC Consulting
All map images taken from https://nbnatlas.org, accessed on 15 April 2024.
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