Butterflies and Climate Change

At the start of June I started a three month summer job as a Field Assistant with the University of York. I am helping to collect field data for a research project investigating the impact of climate change on butterflies, specifically if the range of certain butterflies is changing.

Our target species are the Northern Brown Argus, Large Heath, Scotch Argus and Mountain Ringlet. Each of these has specific host plants that are needed in their habitats, so as well as carrying out a butterfly transect we also have to do plant surveys for species such as rock rose and cotton grasses. Split into small teams, we each survey several sites a day. These are 1km squares where the butterflies have been previously seen, and a similar project surveyed for them ten years ago.  Overall there are nearly 500 sites to be covered over two survey seasons, across the north of England and Scotland.

So far we have spent two weeks based in Cumbria where we visited sites mainly around the Arnside & Silverdale areas, but also commuted down to the Forest of Bowland.  I then spent a week based from home, travelling out to survey sites on the North Yorkshire Moors, Derbyshire Dales and South Yorkshire peat moors.

We are currently in Scotland where we will be for the next two months. This weeks I have been based near Ullapool, and we have surveyed sites in north west Scotland. The area is remote and the scenery is amazing. Of course, butterfly surveys are weather dependent and this week has been a little challenging, but we have managed to survey all nine sites and found butterflies on all of them. We did get rather wet today though!

As well as looking for butterflies, it has been a chance to see some amazing wildlife and improve my botany skills, and I'm looking forwards to exploring some more areas in the coming months.