ERCCIS Recorders' Forum 2001
The Environmental Records Centre is holding an event on Saturday 14th July 2001 with the aims of introducing people to the work of ERCCIS and encouraging recorders to meet and discuss the projects in which they are involved. The event will be held at Truro College from 10.00am to 5.00pm and will comprise a series of presentations in the morning and a buffet lunch, followed by a number of workshops in the afternoon. Please contact Sarah Myles for further details and a booking form.
Cornwall Bird Atlas
The Cornwall Bird Atlas is an exciting project that began in 2000 and is overseen by the Cornwall Bird Watching and Preservation Society (CBWPS), with the Environmental Records Centre acting as the secretariat. It is a good example of the way in which the Records Centre can work with a recording group to further recording in Cornwall.
The project will collate records of all bird species made at any time of year, for the period 2000 to 2010, and use them constructively. The primary aim is to concentrate on the production of two atlases: one dealing with breeding species and the other covering the winter period.
The degree to which the county has been covered so far can be illustrated by the number of tetrads that have records of wren Troglodytes troglodytes. The map shows which tetrads have wren records for both breeding and wintering atlases (large dots) or for only one of them. There are obviously large areas that have not been covered so far.
These are early days but changes in population and distribution are already beginning to appear. For example, the yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella population is clearly in
decline and this is something that it is hoped the atlas will record and monitor closely. Anecdotal evidence indicates that the west of the county has been hardest hit, but we will need further records to confirm this.
Anyone wishing to contribute to this project should contact Paul McCartney at ERCCIS.
 
Tel: (01872) 240777 ext 214 (messages may be left on voice-mail)
e-mail: pmccart @cornwt.demon.co.uk
Eelgrass beds
Eelgrass, or sedge, as it is called on the Isles of Scilly, are common names for Zostera, a member of the only group of higher flowering plants that is truly marine and able to live and reproduce under either permanent or cyclic submergence in salt water. Unlike terrestrial plants, relatively little is known about its ecology and distribution. Eelgrass develops "beds" or "meadows" on sheltered sedimentary coasts, occurring from the upper shore to approximately ten metres deep.
There are two species of Zostera in Britain: dwarf eelgrass Zostera noltei and eelgrass Zostera marina. The latter is now further subdivided into
 
Z. marina var. marina and Z. marina var. stenophylla. Until recently, in Britain, there was a third species, narrow-leaved eelgrass Z. angustifolia, but the taxonomic status of Zostera has changed and this is now regarded as a variety of Z. marina.
Eelgrass was once abundant around the coasts of Cornwall and Scilly but has been affected by a "wasting disease". The first outbreak occurred worldwide in the 1920s to 1930s. After
a reasonable recovery, there was another period of decline that peaked in the mid-1980s. Significant losses have again occurred and this time many intertidal beds have completely disappeared.
The eelgrass project, being co-ordinated and carried out by ERCCIS (funded by English Nature and the Green Card Trust Biodiversity Challenge Awards), seeks to address this for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and aims to underpin the future conservation of eelgrass in the area.
All existing information on the present and historical distribution and status of eelgrass beds in the area is currently being drawn together. Some targeted survey work has been carried out to fill in gaps in existing information. The Records Centre's Geographical Information System (GIS) and associated database will integrate the collected data, with the creation of digital maps and summary sheets. At the same time an inventory of current action is being compiled, in liaison with relevant agencies and local groups.
It is hoped that publicity surrounding the project will raise public awareness of the significance of this habitat and of marine conservation issues generally.
Sarah Myles
 
Thank you to everyone who completed the recording form that appeared in the last issue of Wild Cornwall. We are always grateful to receive information about the plants, animals, habitats, rocks and fossils that you have seen within Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Please keep a note of all you see this summer, along with details of where and when you saw them, and send them in to the Records Centre. An easy way to help the wildlife of the area, wouldn't you agree?!
For the record
It seems to have been non-stop in the Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (ERCCIS) lately. We have been busy working on national contracts, as well as focusing on the plants and animals found locally. Some of the key projects are outlined below. But first ......