Significant decline among seals on Scotland's west coast
Scotland's west coast harbour seal numbers have dropped significantly for the first time in decades.The population fell by 20% between 2018 and 2023, in a region long considered the last stronghold for the marine mammal in the UK.Conservation experts said the findings - carried out by the University of St Andrews - should serve as "a real wake-up call".Harbour seals have experienced long-term decline across much of the UK since the early 2000s with the exception of the west coast of Scotland, where numbers held steady in the likes of the Inner Hebrides and the western Highlands.
The research was carried out by the university's Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), which has monitored seal populations since the 1980s through aerial surveys, photo-ID, and tagging studies.Dr Debbie Russell, lead seal ecologist and deputy director of the SMRU, said the figures marked a "concerning turning point" regarding the species survival in UK waters.She added: "This is a real wake-up call. For years, we've viewed the west coast as a refuge for harbour seals, a place where they seemed to be doing okay. "To now see declines in this region suggests that the pressures affecting these animals are becoming more widespread or severe."
The west coast of Scotland holds around 65% of the UK's entire harbour seal population.Research is ongoing regarding reasons for the population decline, with possibilities including disease outbreak, environmental changes and reduced availability of prey.Harbour seals and their more elusive cousins - grey seals - are both native to Scotland, but greys are bigger and more powerful creatures.That has lead to some suggestions that the larger mammals are forcing harbour seals from their traditional areas and onto public beaches, where they are at risk.Dr Carol Sparling, the director of SMRU, said there needed to be a quick response to the university's findings and called for targeted conservation measures.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Frogs in boiling water: Creep of extreme heat events
A late 19th Century experiment was said to show a frog would not jump out of a pan of water and save itself if the water was heated slowly. A grisly way to scientists, like University of Reading's Eugene Mohareb, think the story could also be used to describe our failure to react to the high temperatures we are seeing."Extreme heat events have been creeping up on us over the past 25 years," he said. "Like with the frog and boiling water, we haven't noticed how much more frequent they've become."Statistics show that June heatwaves are becoming increasingly common and intense, so how can we keep the heat out of - as well as in - our homes? As strange as it may seem, one of the answers is the insulation we put into our homes to keep them warm in the experts say insulation in the walls can also act as a heat barrier. Staff at Swindon's National Self Build and Renovation Centre say they are seeing a big increase in calls from self-builders wanting to know how it works. Managing director Harvey Fremlin said: "The key is in the detail with insulation. "The fabric of your building will be breathable so it will retain the heat in the colder months, with the installation products designed to do that, but they're also designed to block out solar gain - the heating from the sun." The government has said 1.5 million hew homes need to be built over the next four years. It wants developers to install heat pumps in these homes to keep people warm while reducing carbon the right type of air source heat pump, installed correctly, can also help cool our buildings. Mr Fremlin said mechanical and heat recovery systems filter out the external air and "bring that fresh air into a home, providing heating in the winter and cooling air in the summer". Upgrading double glazing to triple glazing can also help as the extra layer will reflect the sun's rays back into the atmosphere. None of these solutions are cheap but one product Mr Fremlin says is becoming increasingly affordable is electric shutters. A common feature on apartment blocks in countries like Spain, he expects the extreme heat the UK is seeing at the moment will inspire more people to buy them. Electric shutters are not the only things we're used to seeing when we holiday in southern Europe. Air conditioning is one of the first things people look for when booking a holiday there. Dr Mohareb, who lectures in sustainable urban systems, does not think that is the answer for the UK."While we do have the occasional extreme heat event, many days of the year we won't have any need for air conditioning," he said."When you've got very short intermittent heat events then the expense of it isn't really worth it." Heatwaves are particularly dangerous for older people with health problems but a new report from the UK Green Building Council warns climate change means some schools in London and the South can expect heatwave-like temperatures for 10 weeks a year in a 2C (36F) global warming for the here and now, research by Imperial College London estimates more than 550 people will have died as a result of the recent spell of persistent hot weather. In its latest three month outlook, the Met Office predicted this summer (1 June to 31 August) is twice as likely to be hotter than pressure is on to make sure our towns and cities can cope with what is coming down the track but Dr Mohareb says there is still time to react to what is happening around us.''Adaptation is kind of the next big thing that we need to be moving on," he said. "We really need to be making more effort to improve the quality of the built environment so we're better prepared for the extreme weather events we're expecting."
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Parents warned to limit their children's screen time, as research finds youngsters glued to smartphones and tablets have smaller brains and lower IQs
Parents are being warned to limit children's screen time after a study found it could lead to them having smaller brains and lower intelligence. Scientists found children who watched television and used smartphones, tablets and computers had, on average, lower IQs and less intracranial volume (ICV) – a marker for brain size. In contrast, children who exercised in their spare time were likely to be more intelligent and had a larger brain volume, according to the research. The study used databases from across Europe that contained information from thousands of children on IQ, screen use and physical exercise. This was analysed to establish whether there was any link between leisure time habits, intelligence and ICV – the total space within the skull which is used as a proxy for the maximum size of the brain. Larger ICV has been linked to superior intelligence. The researchers, based in China, say their results provide further evidence that excessive screen time has a lifelong impact on children's brain development. 'These findings highlight the critical need to manage and regulate children's media use while also promoting increased physical activity,' they wrote in the journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. The study comes as children's screen time use has rocketed in recent years. The average amount of time British children aged five to 15 spend on screens rose from nine hours a week in 2009 to 15 hours a week in 2018, according to a House of Commons education committee report from last year. While there can be benefits, including building friendships and improving learning, negative effects include online bullying, exposure to violence and pornography, lower levels of physical activity and eye strain. Sir Cary Cooper, a psychology professor at the University of Manchester, said: 'Children are using these devices and they are not learning social and non-verbal skills that we pick up from interacting, face-to-face, with other people.'
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Think you're hilarious but your siblings don't find you funny? Scientists discover that humour doesn't run in the family
They are the groanworthy one-liners and corny puns that make your toes curl, with 'Dad jokes' becoming a byword for the most cringe-making of them all. But if you are worried about following in your Dad's footsteps, don't panic as it's unlikely you'll inherit his humour. Experts have found that, unlike intelligence or eye colour, humour doesn't run in the family. In the first ever study to look at the influence of genes and the environment on comedic abilities, scientists asked a thousand twins to create funny captions for cartoons. By comparing a mix of both identical twins, who share 100 per cent of their DNA, and non-identical twins, who are like any biological siblings and share about 50 per cent of their DNA, their findings revealed there was no evidence that they inherited their humorous talents. If comedic ability was inherited, then the researchers would have expected to see stronger humour similarities between the identical twins compared to the non-identical twins. However, they discovered that across all twin pairs, individuals shared the same level of comedic ability, indicating humour is shaped by the environment rather than genetics. It could also help explain the rarity of comedy duos from the same family - such as the Chuckle Brothers or the Marx Brothers - compared to actors, musicians or writers. Dr Gil Greengross, from the Psychology Department at Aberystwyth University, led the study, published in the journal Twin Research and Human Genetics. He said: 'Despite humour's importance, relatively little is known about how we develop our sense of humour or why one sibling can be funny and another cannot. 'Our study's finding that these talents are not inherited is surprising, as it contradicts most research on the heritability of cognitive abilities such as creativity and mathematical skills. So, it is really fascinating.' He explained that while telling a joke may seem simple, having a good sense of humour is a complex and unique trait that is influenced by a range of psychological attributes and personality characteristics. 'It varies across different social contexts, like when going on a date or entertaining,' he said. 'This may explain why, Chuckle and Marx Brothers aside, there are few successful comedians from the same immediate family. 'What is exciting about this research is it begs the question: if our sense of humour is not handed down from our parents but comes from our environment, what is it precisely that makes us funny?' The findings also have implications for how scientists think about humour's role in evolution and even dating. Dr Greengross added: 'These early findings also challenge the widely accepted evolutionary basis of humour. 'A great sense of humour can help ease tension in dangerous situations, foster cooperation, break down interpersonal barriers, and attract mates—all of which enhance survival and reproduction. 'There are also intriguing dating and mating aspects to this. Previous research has shown that women prioritise comedic talents in a partner more than do men, whereas men value a women's ability to appreciate their humour. 'Men experience stronger selection pressure to be funny to impress women, leading to men having slightly higher humour ability, on average — a finding supported by our study.'
