Fight to save Dorset's wildlife and plants from extinction (From Bournemouth Echo)

Fight to save Dorset's wildlife and plants from extinction

9:00am Friday 12th March 2010 in

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MORE than 20 species have become extinct in Dorset over the past two centuries.

These are among nearly 500 animals and plants that have faced extinction across England.

Natural England, the independent public body which aims to protect and improve the natural environment, has launched a report to chart the decline and extinction of many species, including those in Dorset.

The report, Lost Life: England’s Lost And Threatened Species, comes as the United Nations declares 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity.

According to Gwilym Wren from Natural England, such life can be found virtually anywhere but survival depends on complex and varied circumstances.

He said: “If something changes or is lost or damaged then the animal or plant that depends on it is at risk.

“Of course species adapt but only if given time and space, which is why the world risks losing some of its most iconic species like the tiger.

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Recent extinctions in Dorset

• The red squirrel which was widespread but now, apart from Brownsea Island and the Isle of Wight, has disappeared from Southern England over the last 50 years.

• The corncrake became extinct in Dorset in the 1940s.

• Dorset lost one species of farmland bird per decade in the second half of the 20th century: the Red Backed Shrike, Cirl Bunting, Stone Curlew, Yellow Wagtail and Tree Sparrow. Due to conservation efforts the Tree Sparrow has now returned to North Dorset.

• The Greater Mouse Eared Bat disappeared from Dorset in the 1980s.

• The Mazarine Blue butterfly became extinct in Dorset in 1841.

• The tawny earwig has not been seen since the 1930s.

• The ladybird spider is now restricted to a few sites in Dorset.

• The Polecat was driven out of England by persecution in the 19th century and is only slowly making its way back.

• The Black Backed Meadow Ant has not been seen at its last known site near Wareham since 1988.

• The Bearded Stonewort was lost from the Abbotsbury area in the 1980s.

• The Shore Dock became extinct in Dorset in the 1980s. It was last seen at Durdle Door in 1985.

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“But extinction does not just happen abroad, they have been happening in Dorset, too.

“We must take more care of our environment because it is weakened every time a single species is lost.”

But conservation efforts have meant wild asparagus has been successfully reintroduced in Weymouth.

Damage to the Dorset heaths, with their scarce populations of sand lizards and smooth snakes, has also been reduced, and conservation initiatives have led to the reappearance of the otter.

The threatened coral pink sea fan is still found in Lyme Bay.

Chief executive of Natural England Dr Helen Phillips said: “Coinciding with the International Year of Biodiversity, this report is a powerful reminder that we cannot take our wildlife for granted and that we all lose when biodiversity declines.”