News
Monday 19 February 2007
Project to safeguard future of UK water shrews
A study which could help with the future conservation of the UK’s least-studied mammal is being launched at Nottingham Trent University. PhD student Anna Champneys is to embark on a three-year project at the University’s Brackenhurst campus and locations across the region to better understand the habitat and survival needs of the water shrew.
Anna will look carefully at the specific features of each watery habitat - this will involve studying water quality, analysing droppings to identify what the water shrews are eating, and recording which other animals inhabit the area.
By laying friendly traps she will be able to record the water shrew population in each area before establishing their habitat and water quality preferences.
Little is known about water shrews as they are rarely seen in the wild and their footprints and droppings are not easily found. They are the largest of the British shrews, weighing about 15g and measuring about ten centimetres in length. They can be identified by their velvety black fur with a silver grey underside and often have a white patch above the eyes.
Anna, who studied BSc (Hons) Wildlife Conservation at the University’s School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, said: “Findings from this research will help provide guidelines for effective management and conservation of this much understudied species, safeguarding its future.”
It will be the second major study Anna has undertaken at the University - two years ago she was one of just five students nationwide to be awarded a six-month internship from the Mammals Trust UK (MTUK). Her work involved investigating the types of hedgerows small mammals such as mice, shrews and voles preferred to inhabit. This latest project is being part-funded by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES).
Jill Nelson, the Chief Executive of the PTES and Mammals Trust UK, said: “It is very difficult to identify and address conservation issues in the absence of knowledge about any animal, and water shrews are certainly little studied. The loss of nearly all Britain’s water vole population in the 1990s is a warning that, unless we take steps to keep an eye on species and their habitats, it can quickly become too late to act.”
ENDS
For more information please contact: Dave Rogers, Press Officer, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8782, or via email: dave.rogers@ntu.ac.uk.
Or Therese Easom, Press and Media Relations Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8774, or via email: therese.easom@ntu.ac.uk.
