Rain, Rain & more Rain

We have certainly seen a lot of rain in recent days in what is now a very wet North Yorkshire and has been for much of the year. It is very difficult to summarise the magnitude of winter rain and mild weather on our wildlife due to the number of adaptations different species have to cope with it. As with summer rain there are undoubtedly winners and losers. Waders for example like the curlew (below) must surely benefit from the increase in mud and access to soil dwelling invertebrates, which would otherwise be scarce or hard to get at in frozen or dry soils, this may also mean there is less need to expend energy moving around the country to match suitable ground conditions.

Curlew - Like other waders enjoy a bit of damp soil

 

However localised flooding is a very real threat to small mammal populations, hibernating amphibians and invertebrates. Small mammals like field vole suffer high mortality in wet weather, especially when the areas of prime low-lying floodplain become inundated with water. This habitat tends to contain very high densities of the species. However by their very nature they are ephemeral often chaotic populations which fluctuate dramatically even without high rainfall and flooding. They have the ability to rapidly re-colonise areas due to their quick breeding rates. Perhaps it is animals which hibernate which suffer the most from mild wet winters as hibernacula are at risk of flooding and the animals themselves frequently awake during warm spells which raises metabolisms and used fat which cannot be sufficiently replenished if a cold snap occurs. Fortunately most individuals are quite specific as to where they hibernate and often avoid areas prone to extensive flooding. Prolonged cold weather in many cases is probably more beneficial to many species.

Perhaps warmer wetter winters may even begin to alter the communities of fauna and flora which we see. Mild damp weather undoubtedly increases fungal communities which may in turn impact on hibernating amphibians and invertebrates, like this queen wasp (below). Even within species groups like bats we can see how different approaches may benefit certain species or others due to their life histories. Take the common pipistrelle bat for example, a highly successful species which is too small to successfully put on enough fat to survive full winter hibernation. Instead it adopts a strategy where it hibernates in less stable conditions compared to many other bats i.e. Myotis. This enables it to quickly react and forage in mild winter weather, perhaps this strategy is likely to further benefit from the weather we are seeing at the moment this year.    

Hibernating Queen Dolichovespula media - A recent addition to Yorkshires fauna

 

A mixture of weather is probably the ideal climate for many species, with limited amounts of extremes. I am a firm believer that evolution has adapted these species to cope and persist through extremes and even 2012 has probably not been as catastrophic as many feared during the summer. Perhaps only 2013 will reveal just how much the wet summer and winter floods have had on the regions wildlife for good and bad.