Fiona Mathews

• University of Sussex

Little is known about the contamination of terrestrial food webs by microplastics. We conducted community-level assessments of invertebrates at 51 sites in England, sampling four trophic levels and six taxonomic groups. We hypothesized that plastic contamination would be most common in herbivores and detritivores, owing to the accumulation of micro...

Knowledge of important demographic factors that influence the structure of animal populations is crucial for understanding species trends. Increased mortality during key life stages, such as hibernation, can have an impact on populations dynamics and yet, it is rarely estimated for most taxa. Using the hazel dormouse as a model species, an arboreal...

According to Bergmann's and Allen's rules, climate change may drive morphological shifts in species, affecting body size and appendage length. These rules predict that species in colder climates tend to be larger and have shorter appendages to improve thermoregulation. Bats are thought to be sensitive to climate and are therefore expected to respon...

Climate change is predicted to drive geographical range shifts that will result in changes in species diversity and functional composition and have potential repercussions for ecosystem functioning. However, the effect of these changes on species composition and functional diversity (FD) remains unclear, especially for mammals, specifically bats. W...

The continuing global expansion of the traffic infrastructure network has a detrimental impact on bats and other wildlife through indirect effects such as loss of habitats and roost sites, increased habitat fragmentation, avoidance of habitats (the barrier effect) and directly through collisions with vehicles. Some impacts can be avoided or minimis...

The Caliciviridae family, comprising positive-sense RNA viruses, is characterised by its non-enveloped, small virions, broad host range, and notable tendency for host switching. These viruses are primarily associated with gastroenteric disease, though they can lead to haemorrhagic or respiratory infections. Our study employed a metagenomics analysi...

The Caliciviridae family, comprising positive-sense RNA viruses, is characterised by its non-enveloped, small virions, broad host range, and notable tendency for host switching. These viruses are primarily associated with gastroenteric disease, though they can lead to haemorrhagic or respiratory infections. Our study employed a metagenomics analysi...

The Caliciviridae family , comprising positive-sense RNA viruses, is characterised by its non-enveloped, small virions, broad host range, and notable tendency for host switching. These viruses are primarily associated with gastroenteric disease, though they can lead to haemorrhagic or respiratory infections. Our study employed a metagenomics analys...

Bats play a pivotal role in pest control, pollination and seed dispersal. Despite their ecological significance, locating bat roosts remains a challenging task for ecologists. Traditional field surveys are time-consuming, expensive and may disturb sensitive bat populations. In this article, we combine data from static audio detectors with a bat mov...

Wind energy production is growing rapidly worldwide in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, wind energy production is not environmentally neutral. Negative impacts on volant animals, such as bats, include fatalities at turbines and habitat loss due to land-use change and displacement. Siting turbines away from ecologically sensiti...

The Caliciviridae family, comprising positive-sense RNA viruses, is characterised by its non-enveloped, small virions, broad host range, and notable tendency for host switching. These viruses are primarily associated with gastroenteric disease, though they can lead to haemorrhagic or respiratory infections. Our study employed a metagenomics analysi...

Expanding digital data sources, including social media and online news, provide a low‐cost way to examine human–nature interactions, such as wildlife exploitation. However, the extent to which using such data sources can expand or bias understanding of the distribution and intensity of threats has not been comprehensively assessed. To address this...

We present models of bat motion derived from radio-tracking data collected over 14 nights. The data presents an initial dispersal period and a return to roost period. Although a simple diffusion model fits the initial dispersal motion we show that simple convection cannot provide a description of the bats returning to their roost. By extending our...

Repeat spillover of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) into new hosts has highlighted the critical role of cross-species transmission of coronaviruses and establishment of new reservoirs of virus in pandemic and epizootic spread of coronaviruses. Species particularly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 spillover include Mustelidae (...

Although the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) has been widely considered to be resilient to human disturbance, the species is now thought to be undergoing widespread population declines. Nevertheless, only a handful of population density estimates are available for the species, despite the importance of this information for informing conservation m...

Locating colonies of rare bats can be a time consuming process, as it is often difficult to know where to focus survey effort. However, identifying peaks of bat activity via acoustic monitoring may provide insights into whether a colony is locally present, and help screen out sites with low potential. Using a triage approach, we developed a survey...

The hazel dormouse is mainly an arboreal species with nocturnal habits that, in northern European countries, moves down to the ground to hibernate in the autumn where they stay until spring at locations not well understood. To prepare for hibernation, dormice accumulate fat reserves necessary to maintain vital bodily functions when food supply is l...

https://www.stateofnature.org.uk/

The hazel dormouse is predominantly an arboreal species that moves down to the ground to hibernate in the autumn in temperate parts of its distributional ranges at locations not yet well understood. The main objective of this study is to test whether environmental characteristics surrounding hazel dormouse hibernacula can be identified using high-r...

Simple Summary Plastic entanglement is well known for causing both conservation and welfare issues for marine mammals, but little is known about the impacts on terrestrial species. Following anecdotal reports in the media, we assessed the prevalence and consequences of plastic entanglement for the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) in Great Br...

Horseshoe bats are the natural hosts of the Sarbecovirus subgenus that includes SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV- 2. Despite the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still little known about the underlying epidemiology and virology of sarbecoviruses in their natural hosts, leaving large gaps in our pandemic preparedness. Here we describe the...

Repeat spill over of SARS-CoV-2 into new hosts has highlighted the critical role of cross species transmission of coronaviruses and establishment of new reservoirs of virus in pandemic and epizootic spread of coronaviruses. Species particularly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 spill-over include Mustelidae (mink, ferrets and related animals) and cricetid...

Widespread concerns about declines of wild pollinating insects has attracted considerable research interest, largely directed towards identifying key nectar sources and assessing the contribution of pollinators towards ecosystem services. However, previous work has almost exclusively focussed on bees and other diurnal invertebrate taxa. This study...

Horseshoe bats are the natural hosts of the Sarbecovirus subgenus that includes SARS-CoV-1 and 2. Despite the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still little known about the underlying epidemiology and virology of sarbecoviruses in their original hosts, leaving large gaps in our pandemic preparedness. Here we describe the result...

This comprehensive species-specific chapter covers all aspects of the mammalian biology, including paleontology, physiology, genetics, reproduction and development, ecology, habitat, diet, mortality, and behavior. The economic significance and management of mammals and future challenges for research and conservation are addressed as well. The chapt...

Understanding how species respond to climate change is key to informing vulnerability assessments and designing effective conservation strategies, yet research efforts on wildlife responses to climate change fail to deliver a representative overview due to inherent biases. Bats are a species‐rich, globally distributed group of organisms that are th...

The dataset comprises one 1km habitat suitability surface for each of 5073 species of mammal, bryophyte, vascular plant, lichen, insect and non-insect invertebrate. The outputs are provided as .asc files denoting habitat suitability at a spatial resolution of 1km. The map projection is OSGB 1936 (EPSG:27700). The habitat suitability surfaces repres...

The exposure of wildlife to waste plastic is widely recognised as an issue for aquatic ecosystems but very little is known about terrestrial systems. Here, we addressed the hypothesis that UK small mammals are ingesting plastics by examining faecal samples for the presence of plastic using micro Fourier Transform infrared microscopy. Plastic polyme...

NatureScot Research Report 1294 - Development of the Mountain Hare National Monitoring Scheme - trialling a citizen science approach. Full report here - https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-research-report-1294-development-mountain-hare-national-monitoring-scheme-trialling

The Hazel Dormouse is predominantly an arboreal species that moves down to the ground to hibernate in the autumn in temperate parts of its distributional ranges at locations not yet well understood. In this study, we tested whether environmental characteristics surrounding Hazel Dormouse hibernacula can be identified using high-resolution remote se...

The Hazel Dormouse is predominantly an arboreal species that moves down to the ground to hibernate in the autumn in temperate parts of its distributional ranges at locations not yet well understood. In this study, we tested whether environmental characteristics surrounding Hazel Dormouse hibernacula can be identified using high-resolution remote se...

Zoos include invertebrates in visitor interaction sessions to educate and spread conservation messages to the public. Yet, the welfare implications of these encounters on invertebrates are unstudied. Empirical studies reveal negative effects of handling on vertebrate species, thus providing reason to investigate impacts on invertebrates. Mexican re...

Conservation action is usually triggered by detecting trends in species’ population size, geographical range, or occupancy (proportion of sites occupied). Robust estimates of these metrics are often required by policy makers and practitioners, yet many species lack dedicated monitoring schemes. An alternative source of data for trend estimation is...

Trade‐offs between specialist use of particular resources and opportunistic use of widespread materials may present different strategies for survival. Hazel dormice Muscardinus avellanarius are arboreal mammals that in Great Britain hibernate from late autumn to mid spring in nests that are specially built at ground level. Hibernation nests are rar...

Rail transport is expanding, with a global increase in infrastructure of up to one-third predicted by 2050. Greater reliance on rail is expected to benefit the environment at a planetary level, by mitigating transport-related carbon emissions. However, smaller-scale, more direct consequences for wildlife are unclear, as unlike roads, railway impact...

We review how different bat guilds respond to artificial light at night (ALAN) and assess how the impacts can vary according to ecological context. All studied European species respond negatively to ALAN close to roosts and drinking sites, and impacts occur across a wide range of light colours and intensities. Most bat species are sensitive to ALAN...

Context Habitat suitability models (HSM) have been used to understand the impacts of landscape-scale habitat connectivity and gene flow mostly by assuming a regular decrease in the cost of movement as habitat improves. Yet, habitat selection and gene flow are governed by different behavioural processes which may limit the reliability of this approa...

We propose a novel approach for modelling bat motion dynamics and use it to predict roost locations using data from static acoustic detectors. Specifically, radio tracking studies of Greater Horseshoe bats demonstrate that bat movement can be split into two phases: dispersion and return. Dispersion is easily understood and can be modelled as simple...

Winner of the T. H. Kunz award for best poster presentation at the 6th International Berlin Bat Meeting.

Wind turbines are a relatively new threat to bats, causing mortalities worldwide. Reducing these fatalities is essential to ensure that the global increase in wind-energy facilities can occur with minimal impact on bat populations. Although individual bats have been observed approaching wind turbines, and fatalities frequently reported, it is uncle...

Molecular approaches to calculate effective population size estimates (Ne) are increasingly used as an alternative to long‐term demographic monitoring of wildlife populations. However, the complex ecology of most long‐lived species and the consequent uncertainties in model assumptions means that effective population size estimates are often impreci...

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Prior to this study, the nearest sighting of miombo genet to VMWR was 300 km away in Zambia. According to the IUCN range map, the nearest confirmed record is 300 km from VMWR in Zambia. Although this species is not thought to be threatened, the population trend is poorly understood. This note presents a new recorded location for this species as par...

A report by the Mammal Society for Natural Resources Wales, produced in association with Wales Mammal Biodiversity Action Forum.

Agricultural grasslands provide vital habitats for many species. Yet despite representing a significant proportion of European land use, they are disproportionately understudied compared to arable systems. Increases in productivity and intensification have led to changes in management practices, which are likely to affect grassland habitats and the...

Simple Summary Understanding how species interact with agricultural landscapes is essential for future conservation efforts. Using a large-scale citizen science project, we examined the influence linear features have on bat activity compared to the centre of agricultural fields and detailed the effect of different types of linear features (intensiv...

Background The Schreiber’s bat, Miniopterus schreibersii, is adapted to long-distance flight, yet long distance movements have only been recorded sporadically using capture-mark-recapture. In this study, we used the hydrogen isotopic composition of 208 wing and 335 fur specimens from across the species' European range to test the hypothesis that th...

Anthropogenic noise is a globally widespread sensory pollutant, recognized as having potentially adverse effects on function, demography, and physiology in wild animals. Human population growth and associated changes in urbanization, transportation, and resource extraction all contribute to anthropogenic noise and are predicted to increase in the c...

This document is freely available from the Natural England website and any updates will be posted there: http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5636785878597632

Simple Summary Owing to the rapid expansion of urbanisation, light pollution has increased dramatically in the natural environment causing significant negative effects on species fitness, abundance, foraging and roosting behaviours. However, very little research has examined the impacts of artificial light at night (ALAN) on mammal species other th...

Increasing levels of road noise are creating new anthropogenic soundscapes that may affect wildlife globally. Bats, which form about a third of all mammal species, are sensitive bioindicators, and may be particularly vulnerable because of their dependency on echolocation. However, few studies have solely focused on this potential impact, with many...

It is often difficult to compare studies examining the effects of endectocides on dung fauna because of different experimental approaches, for example, active ingredients (eprinomectin, doramectin, ivermectin, moxidectin) and formulations (injectable, pour‐on, spiked). To gain a better understanding, we performed a quantitative meta‐analysis using...

ContextThe importance of habitat connectivity for wildlife is widely recognised. However, assessing the movement of species tends to rely on radio-tracking or GPS evidence, which is difficult and costly to gather.Objectives To examine functional connectivity of greater horseshoe bats (GHS, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) at a local scale using Circuitsc...

Road vehicle collisions are likely to be an important contributory factor in the decline of the European hedgehog ( Erinaceus europaeus) in Britain. Here, a collaborative roadkill dataset collected from multiple projects across Britain was used to assess when, where and why hedgehog roadkill are more likely to occur. Seasonal trends were assessed u...

Achtzig Prozent der Weltbevölkerung leben derzeit unter einem lichtverschmutzten Himmel, und die Milchstraße ist für mehr als ein Drittel der Menschheit nicht mehr sichtbar. Das Tempo, in dem die Lichtverschmutzung zunimmt, ist schneller als das globale Bevölkerungswachstum und die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung. Während sich die Umweltbedingungen in...

Abstract The greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) is among the most widespread bat species in Europe but it has experienced severe declines, especially in Northern Europe. This species is listed Near Threatened in the European IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals, and it is considered to be highly sensitive to human activities and parti...

The State of Nature report 2019 presents an overview of how wildlife is faring in the UK and its Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. Additionally, it assesses the pressures that are acting on nature, and the responses being made, collectively, to counter these pressures.

As part of my Master of research (MRes) degree, I conducted a camera trapping survey in a remote reserve in Northern Malawi. This was done in collaboration with Conservation Research Africa and Carnivore Research Malawi with data contributed by Lilongwe Wildlife Trust and Biosphere Expeditions. The aim of this study was to assess the species compos...

Wind farms and their associated transmission infra- structure can have negative impact on biodiversity. Offshore wind farms, for example, can pose threats to animals like harbour porpoises and migrating birds and onshore wind farms and transmission grids may harm birds and bats. In this article we analyse how European Union species protection law i...

The greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) is among the most widespread bat species in Europe but it has experienced severe declines, especially in Northern Europe. This species is listed Near Threatened in the European IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals and it is considered to be highly sensitive to human activities and particularly to...

Robust ecological assessments are fundamental for effective wildlife conservation. Owing to the high legal protection of bats, surveys are frequently required as part of ecological assessments. Yet there is uncertainty about the amount of survey effort that should be deployed to facilitate bat protection. Bat activity can be extremely variable, and...

These guidelines explain how European bats respond to artifiical light at night and how the negative effects of artificial light at night can be mitigated when new street lamps are installed or when the type of lighting is changed, e.g. from conventional to energy efficient lighting schemes.

The Bechstein’s bat (Myotis bechsteinii) is a rare sedentary bat considered to be highly reliant on the presence of ancient woodland. Understanding the genetic connectivity and population structure of such elusive mammals is important for assessing their conservation status. In this study, we report the genetic diversity and structure of M. bechste...

Clear, accessible, objective metrics of species status are critical to communicate the state of biodiversity and to measure progress towards biodiversity targets. However, the population data underpinning current species status metrics is often highly skewed towards particular taxonomic groups such as birds, butterflies and mammals, primarily due t...

The age profile of populations fundamentally affects their conservation status. Yet age is frequently difficult to assess in wild animals. Here, we assessed the use of DNA methylation of homologous genes to establish the age structure of a rare and elusive wild mammal: the Bechstein's bat (Myotis bechsteinii). We collected 62 wing punches from indi...

Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are used globally as the evidence-base for planning decisions, yet their efficacy is uncertain. Given that EIAs are extremely expensive and are enshrined in legislation, their place in evidence-based decision making deserves evaluation. The mean is the most commonly used summary statistic in ecological assess...

Acoustic surveys of bats are one of the techniques most commonly used by ecological practitioners. The results are used in Ecological Impact Assessments to assess the likely impacts of future developments on species that are widely protected in law, and to monitor developments’ postconstruction. However, there is no standardized methodology for ana...

This is a report of a one-day meeting jointly convened by the RSPCA and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), which brought together around 70 researchers, veterinarians, animal technologists, regulators and others with an interest in the welfare of wild animals used in regulated procedures, either in the wild or in captivity. The meeting, whi...

Demand for renewable energy is rising exponentially. While this has benefits in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, there may be costs to biodiversity [1 • Wang S. • Wang S. Impacts of wind energy on environment: a review.Renew. Sustainable Energy Rev. 2015; 49: 437-443 • Crossref • Scopus (60) • Google Scholar ]. Environmental Impact Assessments...

Appendix S1. The flight height category to which each reported species included in the meta‐analysis was assigned. Appendix S2. The total number of casualties reported by each country. Appendix S3. Site characteristics as reported by authors. Appendix S4. Line chart showing the numbers of casualties reported by each study at different times of t...

Roads are a potential threat to bat conservation. In addition to the direct risk of collision of bats with vehicles, roads could pose a threat to bat populations as a result of habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, and could act as barriers to movements of bats between habitats. We performed a systematic review of the literature and conducte...

Wind energy continues to be one of the fastest growing renewable energy sources under development, and while representing a clean energy source, it is not environmentally neutral. Large numbers of bats are being killed at utility-scale wind energy facilities worldwide, raising concern about cumulative impacts of wind energy development on bat popul...

Our research shows that environmental features are important predictors of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in British cattle herds in high-prevalence regions. Data from 503 case and 808 control farms included in the randomized badger culling trial (RBCT) were analysed. bTB risk increased in larger herds and on farms with greater areas of maize, deciduous...

Potential risks posed to domestic animals and human beings by zoonotic diseases in reintroduced animals can reduce the acceptability of reintroductions. The authors investigated the role of endangered water voles, Arvicola amphibius, as a host for leptospirosis, a waterborne zoonosis affecting a range of mammals. Based on samples from 112 individua...

Organic farming, a low intensity system, may offer benefits for a range of taxa, but what affects the extent of those benefits is imperfectly understood. We explored the effects of organic farming and landscape on the activity density and species density of spiders and carabid beetles, using a large sample of paired organic and conventional farms i...

The development of a rapid method for identification of the fifteen common species of British bat is described: Barbastella barbastellus, Eptesicus serotinus, Myotis bechsteinii, Myotis daubentonii, Myotis mystacinus, Myotis nattereri, Nyctalus leisleri, Nyctalus noctula, Plecotus auritus, Plecotus austriacus, Pipistrellus nathusii, Pipistrellus pi...

Artificial lighting is a particular problem for animals active at night. Approximately 69% of mammal species are nocturnal, and one-third of these are bats. Due to their extensive movements-both on a nightly basis to exploit ephemeral food supplies, and during migration between roosts-bats have an unusually high probability of encountering artifici...

Artificial nighttime lighting has many effects on biodiversity. A proposed environmental management option, primarily to save energy, is to alter the duration of night lighting. Using the greater horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum as an example of a photophobic species, we explored roadside behaviour patterns throughout the night to assess the...

Understanding of the movements of species at multiple scales is essential to appreciate patterns of population connectivity and in some cases, the potential for pathogen transmission. The serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus) is a common and widely distributed species in Europe where it frequently harbours European bat lyssavirus type 1 (EBLV-1), a vi...

Stillbirth rates have changed little over the last decade, and a high proportion of cases are unexplained. This meta-analysis examined whether there are inequalities in stillbirth risks according to sex. A systematic review of the literature was conducted, and data were obtained on more than 30 million birth outcomes reported in observational studi...