Fauna of Great Britain
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The island ofGreat Britain,along with the rest of the archipelago known as theBritish Isles,has a largelytemperateclimate. It contains a relatively small fraction of the world's wildlife. The biota was severely diminished in thelast ice age,and shortly (in geological terms) thereafter was separated from thecontinentby theEnglish Channel's formation. Since then, humans have hunted the most dangerous forms (the wolf,[Notes 1]thebrown bearand thewild boar) to extinction, though domesticated forms such as the dog and the pig remain. The wild boar has subsequently been reintroduced as a meat animal.[2]
Overview
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In most of Great Britain there is a temperate climate, with high levels ofprecipitationand medium levels of sunlight. Further northwards, the climate becomes colder andconiferousforests appear, replacing the largelydeciduousforests of the south. There are a few variations in the generally temperate British climate, with some areas ofsubarcticconditions, such as theScottish HighlandsandTeesdale,and evensub-tropicalin theIsles of Scilly.Plants have to cope with seasonal changes across the British Isles, such as in levels of sunlight, rainfall and temperature, as well as the risk of snow and frost during the winter.
Since the mid 18th century, Great Britain has gone throughindustrialisationand increasingurbanisation.ADEFRAstudy from 2006 suggested that 100 species became extinct in the UK during the 20th century: about 100 times thebackground extinction rate.[3]This has had a major impact on indigenous animal populations. Song birds in particular are becoming scarcer, and habitat loss has affected largermammalianspecies. Some species have however adapted to the expanding urban environment, particularly thered fox,which is the most successfulurban mammalafter thebrown rat,and other creatures such ascommon wood pigeon.
Invertebrates
[edit]Molluscs
[edit]There are 220 species of non-marine molluscs that have been recorded as living in the wild in Britain. Two of them (Fruticicola fruticumandCernuella neglecta) are locally extinct. In addition there are 14 gastropod species that live only ingreenhouses.[4]
Insects
[edit]Vertebrates
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Amphibians
[edit]The species ofamphibiannative to Britain are thegreat crested newt,smooth newt,palmate newt,common toad,natterjack toad,common frogand thepool frog.Several other species have become naturalised.
Reptiles
[edit]Like many temperate areas, Great Britain has few snake species: theEuropean adderis the only venomous snake to be found there. The other notable snakes found in Great Britain are thebarred grass snakeand thesmooth snake.Great Britain has three native species of lizard:slowworms,sand lizardsandviviparous lizards.There are also turtles, such asleatherback turtlesto be found in theIrish Sea,although these are rarely seen. Other reptile species exist but are not native:aesculapian snake,wall lizardandgreen lizard.
Birds
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In general theavifaunaof Britain is similar to that of Europe, consisting largely ofPalaearcticspecies. As an island, it has fewer breeding species than continental Europe. Some species, like thecrested lark,breed as close as northernFrance,but have not colonised Britain. The mild winters mean that many species that cannot cope with harsher conditions can winter in Britain, and also that there is a large influx of wintering birds from the European continent and beyond. There are about 250 species regularly recorded in Great Britain, and another 350 that occur with varying degrees of rarity.
Mammals
[edit]Large mammals are not particularly numerous in Great Britain. Many of the large mammal species, such as thegrey wolfand thebrown bear,were hunted to extinction many centuries ago. However, in recent times some of these large mammals have been tentatively reintroduced to some areas of Britain. The largest wild mammals that remain in Britain today are predominantly members of thedeerfamily. Thered deeris the largest native mammal species, and is common throughoutEngland,ScotlandandWales.
The other indigenous species is theroe deer.The commonfallow deerwas not naturally present Britain during the Holocene, having been brought over fromFranceby theNormansin the late 11th century. It has become well established,[5]though the fallow deer was naturally present in Britain during the previousEemian interglacial.[6]Thesika deeris another small species of deer which is not indigenous, originating fromJapan.It is widespread and expanding in Scotland from west to east, with a strong population inPeeblesshire.Bands of sika exist across the north and south of England though the species is absent in Wales.[7]
There are also several species ofinsectivorefound in Britain. Thehedgehogis probably the most widely known as it is a regular visitor to urban gardens. Themoleis also widely recognised and its subterranean lifestyle causes much damage to garden lawns.Shrewsare also fairly common, and the smallest, thepygmy shrew,is one of the smallest mammals in the world. There are also seventeen species ofbatfound in Britain: thepipistrelleis the smallest and the most common.
Rodentsare also numerous across Britain, particularly the brown rat which is by far the most abundant urban mammal after humans. Some however, are becoming increasingly rare.Habitatdestruction has led to a decrease in the population ofdormiceandbank volesfound in Britain. Due to the introduction of the North Americangrey squirrel,thered squirrelhad become largely extinct in England and Wales, with the last populations existing in parts of North West England and on theIsle of Wight.European rabbitandEuropean harewere introduced in Roman times,[8][9]while the indigenousmountain hareremains only in Scotland and a small re-introduced population in Derbyshire.[10]
Eurasian beaverswere formerly native to Britain before becoming extinct by the early 16th century due to hunting. Efforts are being made to reintroduce beavers.[11]
There are a variety of carnivores, especially from the weasel family (ranging in size from theweasel,stoatandEuropean polecatto theEuropean badger,pine marten,recently introducedminkand semiaquaticotter). In the absence of the locally extinctgrey wolfandbrown bearthe largest carnivores are the badger,red fox,the adaptability and opportunism of which has allowed it to proliferate in the urban environment, and theEuropean wildcatwhose elusiveness has caused some confusion over population numbers, and is believed to be highly endangered, partly by hybridisation with the domestic cat.
Various species ofsealanddolphinare found seasonally on British shores and coastlines, along withharbour porpoises,orcas,and many other sea mammals.
Fish
[edit]Great Britain has about forty species of nativefreshwater fish,of which the largest is thesalmon.Thesaltwater fishinclude some larger species such as sharks.
Extinct or extirpated animals
[edit]During the previousEemian Interglacial(130-115,000 years ago) when Britain had a similar or slightly warmer temperate climate as it does today,[12]the large mammal fauna of Britain was considerably more diverse than it is at present or earlier in theHolocene.Large herbivore species present during the Eemian not present in Britain during the Holocene include the largestraight-tusked elephant,[12]thenarrow-nosed rhinoceros,[13]thehippopotamus,[14]Irish elkandbison,in addition to the currently present roe, fallow and red deer.[15]Large carnivores present during this time include hyenas (Crocuta spelaea) and lions (Panthera spelaea) in addition to wolves and brown bears.[15]During the Holocene, Britain was inhabited by theaurochs(the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle) until its extinction around 3,500 years ago.[16]TheEurasian lynxwas also formerly native to Britain during the Holocene, with its youngest records dating to around 1,500 years ago during the early Medieval period.[17]Themoose/elkwas present in Britain during the early Holocene, but became extinct by around 5600 years ago.[18]TheEuropean pond turtlewas also present in Britain during the Holocene (as it had been during the Eemian[12]), with the youngest radiocarbon-dated records dating to around 5,500 years ago.[19]
See also
[edit]- Biodiversity in British Overseas Territories
- Fauna of Europe
- Fauna of Scotland
- Flora and fauna of the Outer Hebrides
- Flora and fauna of Cornwall
- Fauna of the Isles of Scilly
- Fauna of Ireland
- Fauna of England
- Atlases of the flora and fauna of Britain and Ireland
- Biota of the Isle of Man
- List of endangered species in the British Isles
- Introduced species of the British Isles
- List of extinct animals of Britain
- Animal welfare in the United Kingdom
References
[edit]- Footnotes
- Bibliography
- Clarke, Philip; Jackman, Brian; and Mercer, Derrik (eds):The Sunday Times Book of the Countryside.London: Macdonald General Books, 1980.ISBN0-354-04441-9
- Citationsanal
- ^Clarke et al. 1980, p. 116.
- ^Clarke et al. 1980, p. 86.
- ^DEFRA,2006
- ^ Anderson, Roy (2005). "An annotated list of the non-marine molluscs of Britain and Ireland".Journal of Conchology.38(6): 607–637.ISSN1753-2205.
- ^The Fallow Deer Project, University of NottinghamArchived2008-03-15 at theWayback Machine
- ^Baker, K. H.; Gray, H. W. I.; Lister, A. M.; Spassov, N.; Welch, A. J.; Trantalidou, K.; De Cupere, B.; Bonillas, E.; De Jong, M.; Çakırlar, C.; Sykes, N.; Hoelzel, A. R. (2024-02-12)."Ancient and modern DNA track temporal and spatial population dynamics in the European fallow deer since the Eemian interglacial".Scientific Reports.14(1): 3015.Bibcode:2024NatSR..14.3015B.doi:10.1038/s41598-023-48112-6.ISSN2045-2322.PMC10861457.PMID38346983.
- ^Ratcliffe, P. R. (1987). "Distribution and current status of Sika deer,Cervus nippon,in Great Britain ".Mammal Review.17:39–58.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.1987.tb00047.x.
- ^"BBC - Science & Nature - Pets - Rabbits".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-06-30.Retrieved2012-04-18.
- ^"BBC Nature - Hare videos, news and facts".Bbc.co.uk.Retrieved6 January2018.
- ^"Hare Preservation Trust".Hare-preservation.trust.co.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 2 May 2013.Retrieved6 January2018.
- ^"How beavers are returning to England's forests".Forestry England.Retrieved2024-06-13.
- ^abcRussell Coope, G. (August 2000)."The climatic significance of coleopteran assemblages from the Eemian deposits in southern England".Netherlands Journal of Geosciences.79(2–3): 257–267.Bibcode:2000NJGeo..79..257R.doi:10.1017/S0016774600021740.ISSN0016-7746.
- ^van Asperen, Eline N.; Kahlke, Ralf-Dietrich (January 2015)."Dietary variation and overlap in Central and Northwest European Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis and S. hemitoechus (Rhinocerotidae, Mammalia) influenced by habitat diversity".Quaternary Science Reviews.107:47–61.doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.10.001.
- ^Schreve, Danielle C. (January 2009)."A new record of Pleistocene hippopotamus from River Severn terrace deposits, Gloucester, UK—palaeoenvironmental setting and stratigraphical significance".Proceedings of the Geologists' Association.120(1): 58–64.Bibcode:2009PrGA..120...58S.doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2009.03.003.
- ^abTurner, Alan (December 2009)."The evolution of the guild of large Carnivora of the British Isles during the Middle and Late Pleistocene".Journal of Quaternary Science.24(8): 991–1005.Bibcode:2009JQS....24..991T.doi:10.1002/jqs.1278.ISSN0267-8179.
- ^Hall, Stephen J. G. (April 2008)."A comparative analysis of the habitat of the extinct aurochs and other prehistoric mammals in Britain".Ecography.31(2): 187–190.Bibcode:2008Ecogr..31..187H.doi:10.1111/j.0906-7590.2008.5193.x.ISSN0906-7590.
- ^Hetherington, David A.; Lord, Tom C.; Jacobi, Roger M. (January 2006)."New evidence for the occurrence of Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx ) in medieval Britain".Journal of Quaternary Science.21(1): 3–8.Bibcode:2006JQS....21....3H.doi:10.1002/jqs.960.ISSN0267-8179.
- ^Schmölcke, U.; Zachos, F.E. (November 2005)."Holocene distribution and extinction of the moose (Alces alces, Cervidae) in Central Europe".Mammalian Biology.70(6): 329–344.Bibcode:2005MamBi..70..329S.doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2005.08.001.
- ^Sommer, Robert S.; Persson, Arne; Wieseke, Nina; Fritz, Uwe (December 2007)."Holocene recolonization and extinction of the pond turtle, Emys orbicularis (L., 1758), in Europe".Quaternary Science Reviews.26(25–28): 3099–3107.Bibcode:2007QSRv...26.3099S.doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.07.009.