Beyond birds: working across other taxa

One of the great strengths of the BTO is its volunteer networks, and the organisation’s expertise in working with and supporting volunteers delivers valuable monitoring outputs across a broad range of taxa, from deer and butterflies through to bats and bush-crickets. Many of those interested in birds and birdwatching are also interested in other wildlife, and the BTO recognises the contribution that its volunteers can make to our knowledge of habitats and wildlife.This note outlines recent BTO research, monitoring and partnership working involving other taxa.

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Providing Data for Rapid Condition Assessment of Non-Breeding Waterbird SPAs in England: Phase II

This report explores means by which a standardised trend analysis of data from the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) can aid rapid assessment of condition for non-breeding waterbird SPAs in England.For supporting material please contact Natural England.

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Potential for coupling the monitoring of bush-crickets with established large-scale acoustic monitoring of bats

Bush-crickets are a little-known group of insects that inhabit our marshes, grasslands, woods, parks and gardens. Some may be seen in the summer when they are attracted to artificial lights, but as most produce noises that are on the edge of human hearing, we know little about their status. There are suggestions that some bush-crickets may be benefiting from climate change, while others may be affected by habitat changes. But how to survey something that is difficult to see and almost impossible to hear?

Neglected issues in using weather and climate information in ecology and biogeography

Doses of neighborhood nature: the benefits for mental health of living with nature

Experiences of nature provide many mental-health benefits, particularly for people living in urban areas. The natural characteristics of city residents’ neighborhoods are likely to be crucial determinants of the daily nature dose that they receive; however, which characteristics are important remains unclear. One possibility is that the greatest benefits are provided by characteristics that are most visible during the day and so most likely to be experienced by people. We demonstrate that of five neighborhood nature characteristics tested, vegetation cover and afternoon bird abundances were positively associated with a lower prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress. Furthermore, dose–response modeling shows a threshold response at which the population prevalence of mental-health issues is significantly lower beyond minimum limits of neighborhood vegetation cover (depression more than 20% cover, anxiety more than 30% cover, stress more than 20% cover). Our findings demonstrate quantifiable associations of mental health with the characteristics of nearby nature that people actually experience.