Speaker
Description
Scopes, Eleanor R.1*; MacPherson, Jenny2; Wright, Patrick G.R.2; McNicol, Catherine M.3; Kingscott-Edmunds, Jamie4; Kerecsenyi, Nora5; Guy, Matt6; Bellamy, Chloe C.5; Weaver, Josh6; Rae, Nicola5; A’Hara, Stuart5; Ham, Cally6
1 Forest Research, Forestry Commission National Office, Bristol, UK
2 Vincent Wildlife Trust, Eastnor, Ledbury, UK
3 British Association for Shooting and Conservation, Marford Mill, Wrexham, UK
4 Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, Gloucester, UK
5 Forest Research, Northern Research Station, Roslin, UK
6 Forest Research, Alice Holt Lodge, Farnham, UK
* ellie.scopes@forestresearch.gov.uk
DOI: 10.20315/evmc.2025.052
In Britain, invasive grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) cause extensive damage by bark stripping, reducing the value of trees for forestry and broader ecosystem services. Due to these negative impacts and invasive status, widespread management and control is undertaken by landowners to reduce squirrel abundance, but this requires significant time, effort and monetary cost. The recovery of pine marten (Martes martes) in Britain may provide a natural solution to grey squirrel management, as has been evidenced in Ireland. Pine marten recovery has been supported with successful translocations from Scotland to England and Wales. Here, I will briefly report on the recovery of pine marten in Britain including new habitat suitability models showing important habitats and possible future release sites. I will then present the results of a DNA analysis of pine marten scats from across Britain, indicating the proportion of scats containing grey squirrel and others key species DNA. Finally, I will describe new evidence indicating the effects of predators, pine martens and goshawks (Accipiter gentilis), on grey squirrel damage and density.
