WWT Consulting offers a complete invertebrate surveying service and advice on habitat evaluation and management for specific species

Our services

Aquaticinvertebratesurveysandstudies

• Macroinvertebratesurveydesignandimplementation

• Analysisofsamplestoinclude:BiologicalMonitoringWorkingParty(BMWP);AverageScorePerTaxa(ASPT);LincolnQualityIndex(LQI),andCommunityConservationIndex(CCI)

• ProtectedspeciessurveysincludingLesserSilverWaterBeetleandWhite-clawedCrayfish

Invertebratespeciesandhabitatadvice

• Deskandfieldbasedentomologicalresearch

• Specimensortingandidentification

• Managementandenhancementofwetlandhabitatsforaquaticinvertebrates

R. Taylor-Jones, Chris Algar & R. Taylor-Jones/ WWT

Aquatic invertebrate services

Example projects

• FullaquaticinvertebratesurveysaspartofaseriesofecologicalsurveysataSiteofSpecialScientificInterest(SSSI)inSurrey.ThisincludedtheidentificationofsamplestospecieslevelandthecalculationofBMWP,ASPTandCCIvalues.Thesurveysareongoingandwillhelptoinformthenextmanagementplanforthesite

• IdentificationandanalysisofsamplescollectedfromJersey.ThesewereidentifiedtofamilylevelandanalysedusingBMWPandASPTscorestoinformwaterqualityanalysis

• BaselineecologicalsurveysofawetlandtreatmentsysteminstalledataschoolinWigan.SampleswereanalysedtospecieslevelwithBMWPandASPTscoresalsocalculated

• SampleswerecollectedandanalysedfromanumberofsitesaroundEaling,WestLondon.ResultswerethenusedtoinformhabitatmanagementadvicefortheLocalAuthority

Clients

Clientsincludelocalauthorities,developers,constructioncompanies,conservationcharitiesandlandowners

T +44 (0)1453 891222 W wwtconsulting.co.uk

Mammal services

WWT Consulting offers expertise in a wide range of mammal surveys, including UK and European protected and Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species

Our services

• Protectedspeciessurveys,includingWaterShrew,WaterVole,Dormouse,bats,OtterandBadger

• Adviceonthecreation,managementandenhancementofwetlandandterrestrialhabitatsformammals

• Deskandfieldbasedmammalresearch

• Visualaerialsurveysformarinemammals

R. Taylor-Jones & Pawel Tomkiewicz/ WWT

Example projects

• EcologicalsurveysandhabitatscopeforWaterVoleintheLondonBoroughofEaling.SitevisitstoanumberofwetlandswithintheBoroughinordertoassessthesuitabilityoftheirhabitatstosupportWaterVole

• Aerialsurveys,andinterpretationofdata,forcetaceansintheMorayFirth.Datawasusedtoassesschangesinabundancesanddistributions,andalsotocomparecostsandbenefitsofusingdifferentsamplingapproachestocensusmarinemammals

• NaturalEnglandWaterVoleReviewStrategyofSitesofSpecialScientificInterest(SSSIs),usingGISspatialanalysis,toestablishwhichSSSIsmaybeappropriatecandidatesforWaterVolenotification

Clients

Clientsincludeuniversities,localauthorities,conservationcharities,developersandconstructioncompanies

T +44 (0)1453 891222 W wwtconsulting.co.uk

Ornithologyservices

WWT Consulting offers a comprehensive approach to bird survey and monitoring programme design, implementation and analysis, and habitat related advice for specific wetland bird species

Our services

Birdsurveys

• CommonBirdCensus(CBC)andBreedingBirdSurveys(BBS)

• Waderandwildfowlcountsandseabirdcolonycounts

• WetlandBirdSurvey(WeBS)corecountsandlowtidewaterbirdcounts

• Vantagepointsurveysforwindturbineprojects

• Ground-basedCommonScotercountsforSpecialProtectionArea(SPA)monitoring

• Monitoringofdisturbanceandproductivitymonitoring

• Digitalandvisualaerialsurveys

• Boat-basedwaterbirdsurveyswithEuropeanSeabirdsatSea(ESAS)trainedstaff

• Bespokebirdstudiesincludingsatellitetagging,radiotelemetryanddigitalimagerecognitionanalysis

Birdspeciesandhabitatadvice• Wetlandhabitatdesignandcreation

• Habitatassessmentandmanagementforbirdspecies

• Statisticalanalysisandmodellingtodeterminebirdabundanceanddensity

J.Lees/WWT

R. Taylor-Jones/ WWT

Example projects

• Ground-basedcountsofCommonScoterMelanittanigra werecarriedoutinCarmarthenBaytoassesstheconditionoftheSpecialProtectionArea(SPA)

• AscopingstudywasimplementedintothepossibleinstallationofrenewableenergydevicesontheFarneIslands,animportantbirdarea.Thisinvolvedanextensiveecologicaldatareviewwithafocusonbirdsandmarinemammals

• Vantagepointsurveyswerecarriedoutatthesiteofaproposedwindturbine.Theseinvolvedmappingtheflightpathsandidentifyingspeciesofinterestthroughoutthesite,aswellasrecordingflightheights.Flightheightsandnumbersofgullspeciesusingthesitewererecorded,andlowtidecountsofwaterbirdswerealsomade

Clients

Clientsincludenationalgovernmentagencies,energycompanies,localauthorities,developers,conservationcharitiesandlandowners

T +44 (0)1453 891222 W wwtconsulting.co.uk

J. Lees & R. Taylor-Jones/ WWT

Great Crested Newtservices

WWT Consulting offers Great Crested Newt field surveys, under a Natural England licence, Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) surveys and desk-based records searches. We also provide pond design, planting plans and habitat management advice for amphibians

Our services

• Presenceorprobableabsencesurveysandassessmentstodeterminerelativepopulationsize.Techniquesincludeeggsearches,terrestrialsearches,netting,bottletrappingandtorchlightsurveys

• PonddesigntoincludefeaturesofparticularbenefittoGreatCrestedNewts

• ManagementandplantingplanstailoredtotherequirementsofGreatCrestedNewts

• eDNAanalysisofwatersamplesforpresence/absencesurveys.Thistechniquerequiresonlyonevisittoeachpondtocollectwatersamplesandresultscouldbeavailablewithin14days.Positiveresultsshowthepresenceofspecieswithin20daysofthesamplebeingtaken

T +44 (0)1453 891222 W wwtconsulting.co.uk

Example projects

• Newt,toadandfrogsurveysaspartofaChytridfungusscreeningprogrammeonwetlandnaturereserves

• Baselinehabitatsurveysincludingnewtsurveysusingterrestrialsearches,torchlightsurveysandbottletrappingforShibdonMeadowhabitatcreation

• Habitatdesignandconstructionadvicewasgivenforthecreationofwetlandhabitat,includingponds,forasiteinOxfordshirewithalocalGreatCrestedNewtpopulation

Clients

Clientsincludedevelopers,localauthorities,conservationcharitiesandconstructioncompanies

R. Taylor-Jones/ WWT

H.Tait, J.Lees & N.Cottrell/ WWT

WWT Consulting offers a complete botanical survey, analysis and management service for terrestrial, aquatic and intertidal habitats

Our services

Fieldsurveys

• Phase1andextendedPhase1habitatsurveys

• NationalVegetationClassification(NVC)survey

• Hedgerowsurvey

• Rivercorridorsurvey

• Designatedsiteconditionassessment(CommonStandardsMonitoring)

• Lowerplantsurvey

Thesesurveysyieldthebestresultswhencarriedoutduringthegrowingseason-ApriltoAugust

Deskbasedservices

• Aerialphotographyinterpretation

• GIShabitatmapping

• Dataanalysisandinterpretation

• Habitatmonitoringevaluation

• Habitatmanagementplanning

• Habitatrestorationandcreation

• Multispectralanalysisofhabitats

Botanicalservices

Example projects

• AsiteconditionassessmentofOuseWashesSiteofSpecialScientificInterest(SSSI)wasmadeonthewetgrasslandcommunityfeature.Thisincludedcarryingoutstructuredwalksandidentifyingpositiveandnegativeindicatorspeciesintargethabitats

• Rivercorridorsurveyswereconductedusingthestandardmethodologyover12kmoftheRiverAvonandassociatedtributariessouthofChippenham,Wiltshire

• ExtendedPhase1surveysofStainesMoorSSSIwerecarriedoutaspartofasuiteofecologicalsurveys.Specieslistsofhabitatssuchasswampandsemi-improvedneutralgrasslandweremade,andthesitewasmappedinGISusingthestandardJNCCmethodology

Clients

Clientsincludenationalgovernmentagencies,localgovernment,conservationcharities,developersandlandowners

T +44 (0)1453 891222 W wwtconsulting.co.uk

Marine spatial planning services

R. Taylor-Jones, J. Lees, R. Taylor-Jones/ WWT

With the continued pressures and growth in marine environments WWT Consulting is able to offer a wide range of marine survey and data analysis services that can inform or drive marine spatial planning

Withover10yearsexperienceofdesigningandcompletingaerialsurveysinoffshoreareasWWTConsultinghavealreadyworkedforawiderangeofdevelopers,energycompaniesandgovernmentdepartments

AswellasofferingaerialsurveytechniquesWWTConsultingholdsoneoftheUK’slargestoffshoredatasetsforseabirdsandmarinemammalsenablingthecompletionofawiderangeofmappingandstatisticalanalysisprojects

Our services

• Marinelinetransectvisualaerialsurveyingandremotesensing

• Dataextractionrequests

• Databasecreationandmanipulation

• Dataanalysissuchasdistanceanalysis,DensitySurfaceModelling(DSM)andPopulationViabilityAnalysis(PVA)

• Speciessensitivityscoringandmapping

• CollisionRiskModelling(CRM)forwindfarms

Clients

Clientsincludegovernmentdepartments,renewableenergydevelopers,engineeringconsultanciesandacademicinstitutions

Example Projects

• Thecreationofajointdatabasethatincorporatedaerialandboatsurveydatasetsintoasingledatabase

• ThedevelopmentofaseabirdsensitivityindexfortidalandwaveturbinesinWelshwaters.Thishasbeenfurtherdevelopedasatoolformappingsensitivitiestodifferentfishingtechniques

• GannetPVAanalysisforallUKoffshorewindfarms

• SeabirdsensitivitymappingforwindfarmsinEnglishoffshoreareas.Thisincludedthecreationoflargescaledatasetsthatutilisednumerousdatasources,spatialanalysisusingDensitySurfaceModelling(DSM)andGISprocessingtocreateapracticaltoolformarinespatialplanning

T +44 (0)1453 891222 W wwtconsulting.co.uk