in Situ Conservation

Conserving Widlife in Our Own Back Garden

The term in situ conservation means that all conservation efforts to protect a species from extinction is conducted within the species natural habitat.

BeeWalks 

Did you know there is more than 1 species of bumblebee?

Within the UK there is currently 24 different species of bumblebee with the most common 8 species being the Common carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed (Bombus lapidarius), Early (Bombus pratorum), Tree (Bombus hypnorum), Garden (Bombus hortorum), Heath (Bombus jonellus), Buff-tailed (Bombus terrestris) and White-tailed (Bombus lucorum) bumblebees. The UK would have two more bumblebee species the Cullum’s bumblebee (Bombus cullumanus) and the Short-haired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus), but they were officially declared extinct serval decades ago. Besides the common 8 species, the other species are facing fast decline in their population numbers with one of the rarest species the Great Yellow bumblebee (Bombus distinguendus) only being found in the far north and west of Scotland. But more worryingly the rarest UK bumblebee species, the Shrill carder bee (Bombus sylvarum) can only be found in a handful of locations in South Wales and Southern England.

Concerningly, the UK has lost 97% of wildflower meadows in the last century due housing development and farmland use. Without meadows the bumblebees struggle to survive, due to their reliance on meadows for food and breeding grounds, which is why we are seeing a decline in several bumblebee populations. On top of habitat loss, the increase of pesticide use on corps or garden flowers are directly killing bumblebees and flowering plants or affecting the ability of bumblebees to find food and reproduce. With shifts in seasonal patterns and extreme weather events like floods, droughts and storms, bumblebees’ natural hibernation and emergence cycles are being impacted. Additionally, these weather conditions are affecting when plants flower and increase wetter conditions during spring and summer months are preventing bumblebees from foraging for food as they struggle to fly in wet windy weather.

Here at The Fenn Bell Conservation Project, we are helping to monitor bumblebee species in  Medway. We do this by conducting a monthly BeeWalk at a location very close to the zoo

site, between March and October which are the months bumblebees are active. During the BeeWalk we aim to identify bumblebee species we see and identify the plants they interact with. We share our data with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, who will use our data (along with other data from around the UK) to produce annual monitoring reports for all 24 species of bumblebee. We also use our own data to conduct our own research and collaborate with local students with their research projects. With great pride we can share that we have been extremely fortunate to be contributors to the Shrill carder bee (Bombus sylvarum) population data. As keepers have been lucky to find individuals of this species during the BeeWalks. This finding caught local media attention helping to raise awareness for the species locally.

FitCounts

It is not only bumblebees who have a declining population due to the loss of meadows. Unfortunately, the loss of meadows is causing all pollinating insects to struggle to survive. Therefore, here at The Fenn Bell Conservation Project we find it of great importance to monitor all pollinating insect species.

    In the same location as our BeeWalks we also conduct FitCounts in April-September. This data collection is aimed for all pollinating insect species. To monitor pollinating insects, we simply watch a 50 × 50 cm quadrat and record the species and number of individuals of that species we see within the quadrat in a 10-minute time period. The quadrat is placed over a certain target flower such as buttercup (Ranunculus) or knapweed (Centaurea), but the location of where we place our quadrat is picked randomly to avoid biased data collecting. With the data we collect, we share this with the UK Pollinating Monitoring Scheme who produce annual reports on pollinating insect populations and distributions with all data they receive across the UK. Additionally, we use our own data to conduct our own research and collaborate with local students with their research projects.

    Spotted On Site 

    In addition to monitoring species off our zoo site, we also monitor wildlife around our site. During 2023 we joined the BIAZA Spotted on Site campaign, this campaign aimed to have zoos across the UK carry out a recording scheme noting all wild flora and fauna zoo staff spotted across their site. This campaign was very successful with over 1000 species being recorded across 42 different UK zoos.

    Since joining the campaign, we have been participating in this kind of monitoring scheme annually ever since and to date we have recorded over 200 different species. To help us keep a record of the species our staff have spotted, we use iNaturalist which will add our records to a global database to be a part of many scientific research projects. We also use our own data to conduct our own research and collaborate with local students with their research projects.

    British Wildlife Area  

    Around our zoo grounds we have dedicated space for wildlife.

    In 2022, we dedicated an area within the bottom of our zoo to build a British Wildlife Area. Within the area we have installed bug hotels, log piles, a pond, native hedgerows and flowers, bird boxes and bat boxes. We use no chemicals on the gardens or wild areas and if any flora management is needed our keepers and volunteers carry this out by hand. In addition to this area, a central area in the zoo is left unmanaged for wildlife, with only the grass around the perimeter being cut to prevent it from growing over pathways.

    Since the development of the area, we have been able to record a range of native birds, insects and amphibians use our British Wildlife Area during our Spotted on Site recording schemes.

    Wildlife Needs You

    You too can help monitor wildlife in your own back garden by joining a project or starting your own records on iNaturalist or iRecord. Below is a list of monitoring schemes you could be a part of.