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All organisms shed DNA into the environment. Sources of DNA include mucus, hair or fur, skin, urine and faeces. This environmental DNA, or eDNA, can be extracted from samples taken in the wild (usually soil or water) and used to detect different species, measure biodiversity, and even look at the abundance of different animals. It’s …

A project at Fingle Woods A woodland conservation scheme that PTES is funding in partnership with the Heritage Lottery Fund is making new discoveries about how dormice colonise recovering habitat. The project is located in Fingle Woods, a site jointly owned by the National Trust and Woodland Trust, in the north of Dartmoor in Devon. …

Isabel Fry has been out surveying water voles as part of the National Water Vole Monitoring Programme, which PTES runs every year. Find out more about the programme and get involved here. Found along our waterways, water voles are similar-looking to the brown rat, but with a blunt nose, small ears and furry tail. Sadly, …

It’s that time of year again when spring is upon us. The birds are singing in the trees, the bees are buzzing in the meadows and all around us there are many species of mammal that are performing courtship displays, some of which are very intricate and surprising. I’m sure we’ve all seen squirrels chasing …

We know very little about hibernation in those British mammals that use this strategy to survive winter periods when food is scarce. It’s possibly a vulnerable time for these animals. Both hedgehogs and hazel dormice hibernate on the ground. This helps them keep their temperatures and humidity levels relatively stable. However, we do know that …

We’ve heard lots of stories about the differing impacts of the pandemic across the globe. Many of us had to slow down and stay at home. Others ended up busier than ever. Mohammad Farhadinia’s team, working in the mountains of Iran, were certainly busy; “Our conservation work could not afford to pause. During 2020, our …

Britain’s water voles are in trouble. The arrival of non-native American mink and loss of suitable habitat have led to them becoming one of our fastest declining mammals. The key to halting the decline and conserving this species is understanding where water voles currently are, where they are doing well, and crucially, where they have …

Conservationist, William Isebaidu, has been in contact from Uganda to report on his work at Koome Island on Lake Victoria. William and his team, from wildlife organisation Hope for Nature, are working hard to restore the fortunes of Singida tilapia fish, which were historically harvested in the lake. Over fishing and illegal fishing practices have …

Hazel dormice build different nests for different purposes: hibernating, breeding or just resting. Sometimes they don’t build a nest at all. But the different types of nests they do build might help us work out how much time dormice spend in different habitats. As part of my work at Fingle Woods, owned by the Woodland …

Voles, rats, shrews, mice, and hazel dormice can be difficult to study. Their size and behaviour make them hard to find and, living predominantly in the shrub layer and being nocturnal, makes hazel dormice even more tricky. Occasionally though, these small creatures give themselves away by their vocalisations. Whilst we may hear an indistinguishable high-pitched …

You might stumble upon a slightly frazzled looking person in a tatty woolly hat and a big purple jacket held together in places by duct tape. She may well be muttering to herself as she walks, very slowly, up and down between two lines of tape. At first glance, she appears to be metal-detecting – …

Ian Powell and the Arun Countryside Trust Few people know the woods on Tortington Common in West Sussex as well as Ian Powell. A local man, interested in natural history, he has lived his life with a passion for conserving the ancient woodlands of the Arun Valley. For two decades Ian, the principal dormouse monitor …