Biodiversity News

A new field guide to mosses and liverworts has just been published by the British Bryological Society (BBS), with new keys, photos and illustrations.

A highly invasive marine species, the sea squirt Didemnum vexillum, has recently been discovered for the first time in Scottish waters. A colonial species, it has been spreading around the world in recent years, colonizing marine structures, ships’ hulls, and natural marine habitats.

Volunteers have long played a major part in biological recording in the UK. From the amateur naturalists of the 1800s to the present day, their contribution to the knowledge of our flora and fauna cannot be understated. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) have now commissioned a study to look into the current extent of voluntary biological recording in Scotland and at its potential value

The programme of events for the 2010 Dumfries and Galloway Wildlife Festival is now available. The Festival is a showcase for some of the special wildlife found in Dumfries and Galloway, with local groups, organisations, businesses and visitor attractions putting on special events to enable more people to learn about and enjoy the plants and animals that live in the region.

Autumn 2009 has seen the discovery of a new species of ladybird in the region. With records from two locations on the Kirkcudbrightshire coast the Water Ladybird it seems to be colonising Dumfries and Galloway.