A new network of organisations has been formed in North East Scotland to help put the region on UK’s ecological sciences map.
The North East Scotland Ecology Network (NESEN) brings together major players in the sector across academia and government at a time when nature is under pressures including climate change, avian influenza and pollution.
The group’s first meeting, a Science Day held at network partner The James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen on October 6, was attended by around 100 ecologists from in and around the city – representing just some of the area’s wider ecological expertise.
They shared research ranging from understanding the region’s marine life, including one of just two resident populations of bottlenose dolphins in the UK, through to how complex new woodland growth can be when it comes to how much carbon it soaks up – or causes to be released – into the atmosphere.
Professor Des Thompson, Principal Adviser on biodiversity and science at NatureScot, one of the network’s founder members, attended the event. He said, “NE Scotland has outstanding environmental pedigree, with some of the world’s most brilliant naturalists and scientists studying in this area. One has only to think of William MacGillivray, John Harvie-Brown, Seton Gordon, V.C. Wynne-Edwards, Charles Gimingham and Adam Watson to name but a small fraction of researchers.
“The diversity and richness of the land, rivers, coast and seas is unrivalled as a tapestry of nature and research endeavour. Seeing and hearing from so many young students at this inaugural event offers tremendous hope for the future. There has never been a more important time for science and innovation to help us combat the nature-climate crisis, and the North East Scotland Ecology Network has to be at the vanguard of this.”
The other organisations involved in NESEN are the University of Aberdeen, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), The James Hutton Institute, Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the Scottish Marine Directorate, with support also from NatureScot.
Professor Rob Brooker, head of ecological science at the Hutton, says, “Biology, ecology and conservation is a really strong sector in the North East of Scotland, not only focusing on the ecological systems on our doorstep here, but also all over the globe, from the Arctic to the southern hemisphere.
“Our goal, through NESEN, is to help to promote ecological science and information sharing about our research in Aberdeen and the wider Aberdeenshire area, with the aim of making North East Scotland a UK centre for ecological research.”
The event also celebrated the work of Dr Sarah Woodin, who is due to retire as Reader in Plant Ecology at the University of Aberdeen, following a 40-year career in ecology. She specialised in upland plant ecology, but has been called on to join a wide range of expert groups, from the National Expert Group on Transboundary Air Pollution to NatureScot’s Scientific Advisory Committee Expert Panel.
Professor Thompson paid tribute to Dr Woodin (both pictured above), acclaiming her outstanding teaching, supervisory and research contributions, and highlighting a seminal piece of her work from 1990 as being “the very first formal statement from the UK Government on climate change consequences for nature conservation”, more than 30 years ago, “when global warming was a speculative, off-the radar issue”.
This paper, co-authored by Dr Woodin and former NCC Chief Scientist, Professor Peter Bridgwater, was published by the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC, the UK statutory nature conservation agency at the time), entitled ‘Scientific and Policy Initiatives. Global Warming’.
Tribute was also paid to Professor Thompson, who will be retiring soon from NatureScot. Professor Brooker (pictured below, with Professor Thompson) said, “Des – as well as undertaking highly regarded ecological research – has been a passionate supporter of ecologists and ecology throughout his career and in helping with the difficult challenge of linking up science and policy making. I’m personally very grateful to Des for the opportunities I’ve had to engage in the biodiversity policy arena and the support and guidance he’s given me over many years. Des’ enthusiasm for nature and for ecology has made a huge difference for many of us and so it’s absolutely right that we give our thanks to him.”
Some of the research highlighted at the event included new work to better understand the marine mammal populations in the North East, including its unique population of 230 bottlenose dolphins, around 2,000 grey seals who converge on the Ythan estuary, and harbour seals that congregate around Donmouth.
Harbour seals have been particularly hard hit in recent years, with their own version of Covid accounting for a 50% reduction on the population around the UK, highlighted by Dr Sarah Marley, an ecologist at SRUC. While at least four pups were successfully born this year at Donmouth, there’s increasing human activity in the area, potentially disturbing them. However, there are other concerns about depletion of salmon stocks, with the seals potentially contributing, creating a complex picture.
Another potential challenge is human activity around the Ythan estuary “haul out”, so-called as it’s where the seals haul out of the sea to rest. Here, boats of tourists are now being taken from cruise liners to view the seals, adding potential disturbance alongside known human activity in the area.
A presentation by Naomi Housego at the Hutton focused on a project to assess how natural regeneration of Scots pine onto heather moorland influenced carbon gains or losses over multiple decades, while Susanna Quer from Marine Scotland shared work on 10 years of acoustic monitoring of mammals in Scottish waters and Professor Cecile Gubry-Rangin, from the University of Aberdeen zoomed down to the micro scale to look at microbial ecological adaptation caused by climate change.
Other talks looked at the impact of geese on Arctic tundra, the social networks of dolphins, parasites among damselfly, upland grazing, plant pathogens, how to monitor small mammals, how mixed farming could be good for moths, and how standardising data can help make science easier.
Difficult questions were also asked, such as could moorland burning help reduce pathogens or should pathogens be allowed to spread to help build resilience in ecosystems?
While the founding members of the NESEN network represent some of the larger organisations working in ecology in the North East, there are many other groups whose work relates to ecology. These include the North East Scotland Biodiversity Partnership, based at the Hutton, and the city and shire council countryside ranger services.
There are also ecological staff at organisations such as the National Trust for Scotland at Mar Lodge, the Cairngorms National Park Authority, the River Dee Trust, a number of RSPB, NatureScot and Scottish Wildlife Trust reserves, the North East Scotland Biological Records Centre, as well as many ecologists providing wildlife tours, expeditions, advisory and consultancy services via their own businesses.