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Natur Cymru

Issue 41 Winter 2011

Seals of Wales

Grey seal pup (c) Mandy McMathHow many? What type? Where do they go? What problems do they face? How do you recognise them? These and many more questions are considered by MANDY McMATH, who has been studying our seals for many years.

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Summaries

Welsh Black cow (c) Huw Jenkins

The progress of dairy farming in Wales?

HILARY KEHOE explores the changing fortunes of milk production in Wales which is driven by economies of scale with fewer farmers, cows and dairies. Is there a viable future for multipurpose cows and small producers?

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Mussel Harvesting on the Mare Gratia (c) Huw Jenkins

Mariculture of mussels

If you were able to design the optimum natural environment for large scale production of mussels you could not do better than copy the Menai Strait. HUW JENKINS experiences at first hand the ebb and flow of mussel harvesting on board the Mare Gratia.

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Sea Slug Flabellina pedata (c) CCW Skomer MNR

The sea slugs of Skomer

… they’re slugs, Jim, but not as we know them…

Skomer recently celebrated its 20th anniversary as Wales’ only statutory marine reserve, but what have CCW’s team at the reserve been up to in that time? PHIL NEWMAN draws out Skomer’s underwater world from the shadow of the Island’s more celebrated profile as a hotspot for birds.

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Razorbill (c) RSPB images Andy Hay

Seabird tracking from Bardsey

It's comparatively easy to monitor birds on land: tracking them in the air and at sea presents a whole new set of challenges, but the reward is a greater understanding of bird behaviour and of ecosystem functioning as a whole. JOHN CLARK outlines some of the techniques.

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Saxifraga cespitosa, snow saxifrage (c) CCW

Cwm Idwal – through the eyes of the Warden

The relationship between a warden and his nature reserve is a very special one. Over the past twenty years Cwm Idwal NNR has been a second home to HYWEL ROBERTS, who has seen and learnt a lot through studying the changes that have been taking place at the Cwm...

 

This article is written in Welsh. Read a translation here.

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Osmerus eperlanus smelt egg (c) Nick Jones Dan Moore

Smelt – a little known marine migrant

Humble cousins of the more famous salmon and sea trout, European smelt used to be a common sight in Welsh rivers but numbers are sadly much reduced. IAN MCCARTHY reports on their status and an exciting attempt to captive-breed them at Bangor University.

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Slime mould Lepidoderma tigrinum (c) Alain Michaud

Slime moulds in Wales

Slime moulds are mysterious creatures whose behaviour would not be out of place in science fiction. Dr BRUCE ING introduces us to their complex lifecycle, highlighting hot spots in Wales.

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