El Annie
Wednesday 12th March 2003, 22:07
In conserv@tion today - http://www.habitat.org.uk/news1.htm
Ecological replacement of native red squirrels by invasive greys driven by disease......................
The traditional explanation for the replacement of the native red squirrel by the introduced grey over much of the United Kingdom is that the grey out-competes the red for food resources. A new study published in the March issue of Ecology Letters demonstrates that a virus introduced with the grey may also be a crucial component. The research team from the University of Stirling has now shown that the rate and pattern of red decline, and grey expansion, can only be understood in light of an interaction between competition and disease. The planting of Kielder Forest has connected forest fragments in the north of England with those in southern Scotland.
More information - AlphaGalileo
Scientists to study squirrel virus.....................
Research to tackle a disease capable of devastating the red squirrel population could be carried out in Thetford Forest if funding can be secured. The three-year study hopes to examine how the virus is transferred between squirrels. Experts at Thetford are confident the problem will not spread to East Anglia, but Nick Gibbons, conservation officer for East Anglian Forest District, said: "The situation in Thetford is dire and has been a story of steady decline. "We have literally got so few red squirrels in the forest it is almost impossible to tell just how many there are here."
More information - EDP24
Annie :)
Ecological replacement of native red squirrels by invasive greys driven by disease......................
The traditional explanation for the replacement of the native red squirrel by the introduced grey over much of the United Kingdom is that the grey out-competes the red for food resources. A new study published in the March issue of Ecology Letters demonstrates that a virus introduced with the grey may also be a crucial component. The research team from the University of Stirling has now shown that the rate and pattern of red decline, and grey expansion, can only be understood in light of an interaction between competition and disease. The planting of Kielder Forest has connected forest fragments in the north of England with those in southern Scotland.
More information - AlphaGalileo
Scientists to study squirrel virus.....................
Research to tackle a disease capable of devastating the red squirrel population could be carried out in Thetford Forest if funding can be secured. The three-year study hopes to examine how the virus is transferred between squirrels. Experts at Thetford are confident the problem will not spread to East Anglia, but Nick Gibbons, conservation officer for East Anglian Forest District, said: "The situation in Thetford is dire and has been a story of steady decline. "We have literally got so few red squirrels in the forest it is almost impossible to tell just how many there are here."
More information - EDP24
Annie :)