Fauna of Great Britain: Difference between revisions

[[File:Satellite image of the United Kingdom.jpg|thumb|300px|A satellite image of theGreat island.Britain]]

The island of '''Great Britain''', along with the rest of the archipelago known as the [[British Isles]], has a largely [[temperate]] climate. It contains a relatively small fraction of the world's wildlife. The biota was severely diminished in the last [[IceLast Glacial Period|last ice Ageage]], and shortly (in geological terms) thereafter was separated from the [[Continental Europe|continent]] by the [[English Channel]]'s formation. Since then, humans have hunted certain megafauna (including the [[Wolvesmost indangerous Greatforms Britain|grey(the wolf]],{{#tag:ref|The last wolf was allegedly killed in 1743.<ref>Clarke et al. 1980, p. 116.</ref>|group="Notes"}} the [[brown bear]], [[Eurasianand lynx|lynx]] andthe [[wild boar]]) to extinction, though domesticated forms (such as the dog and the pig) remain. The wild boar has subsequently been reintroduced as a meat animal.<ref>Clarke et al. 1980, p. 86.</ref>

{{NoUnreferenced references|section|date=December 2020}}

In most of Great Britain there is a temperate climate, which receiveswith high levels of [[precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] and medium levels of sunlight. Further northwards, the climate becomes colder and [[coniferous]] forests appear, replacing the largely [[deciduous]] forests of the south. There are a few variations in the generally temperate British climate, with some areas of [[subarctic]] conditions in areas, such as the [[Scottish Highlands]] and [[Teesdale]], and even [[sub-tropical]] in the [[Isles of Scilly]]. Plants Thehave to cope with seasonal changes that occur across the archipelagoBritish meanIsles, thatsuch plantsas have to cope with many changes linked toin levels of sunlight, rainfall and temperature, as well as the risk of snow and frost during the winter.

Since the mid eighteenth18th century, Great Britain has gone through [[industrialisation]] and increasing [[urbanisation]]. A [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|DEFRA]] study from 2006 suggested that 100 species have becomebecame extinct in the UK during the 20th century,: about 100 times the [[background extinction rate]].<ref>[[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|DEFRA]], 2006</ref> This has had a major impact on indigenous animal populations. Song birds in particular are becoming scarcer, and habitat loss has affected larger [[mammalian]] species. Some species have however adapted to the expanding urban environment, particularly the [[red fox]], which is the most successful [[urban wildlife|urban mammal]] after the [[brown rat]], and other animalscreatures such as [[common wood pigeon]].

{{NoUnreferenced references|section|date=December 2020}}

Like many temperate areas, Great Britain exhibitshas afew relativesnake lack of snakes, withspecies: the [[European adder]] beingis the only venomous snake to be found there. The other notable snakes found in Great Britain are the [[barred grass snake]] and the [[Coronella austriaca|smooth snake]]. Great Britain has three native breedsspecies of lizard: [[Anguis fragilis|slowworm]]s, [[sand lizard]]s and [[viviparous lizard]]s. There are also turtles, such as [[leatherback turtle]]s to be found in the [[Irish Sea]], although these are rarely seen by the public. Other reptile species exist but are not native: [[aesculapian snake]], [[Podarcis muralis|wall lizard]] and the [[Lacerta viridis|green lizard]].

[[File:Long Eared Owl (5934254712).jpg|thumb|300px|A [[Long long-eared owl]] in the UK.]]

In general the [[avifauna]] of Britain is similar to that of [[Europe]], consisting largely of [[Palaearctic]] species. As an island, it has fewer breeding species than continental Europe, with. someSome species, like the [[crested lark]], breedingbreed as close as northern [[France]], yetbut unablehave tonot colonisecolonised Britain. The mild winters mean that many species that cannot cope with harsher conditions can winter in Britain, and also that there is a large influx of wintering birds from the European continent orand beyond. There are about 250 species regularly recorded in Great Britain, and another 350 that occur with varying degrees of rarity.

Large mammals are not particularly numerous in Great Britain. Many of the biggerlarge mammal species, such as the [[grey wolf]], brownand bear, Eurasian lynx, wild boar,the [[Moose|Eurasianbrown elkbear]], and [[reindeer]] were hunted to extinction many centuries ago. However, in recent times some of these large mammals have been tentatively (or have been suggested to be) reintroduced to some areas of mainland Britain. The largest wild mammals that remain in Britain today are predominantly members of the [[deer]] family. The [[red deer]] is the largest native mammal species, and is common throughout [[England]], [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]].

The other indigenous species is the [[roe deer]]. The common [[fallow deer]] is in factwas not nativenaturally topresent Britain during the Holocene, having been brought over from [[France]] by the [[Normans]] in the late 11th century. It has become well established.,<ref>[http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/archaeology/research/plants_fallow.php The Fallow Deer Project, University of Nottingham] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315225356/http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/archaeology/research/plants_fallow.php |date=2008-03-15 }}</ref> though the fallow deer was naturally present in Britain during the previous [[Eemian interglacial]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Baker |first1=K. H. |last2=Gray |first2=H. W. I. |last3=Lister |first3=A. M. |last4=Spassov |first4=N. |last5=Welch |first5=A. J. |last6=Trantalidou |first6=K. |last7=De Cupere |first7=B. |last8=Bonillas |first8=E. |last9=De Jong |first9=M. |last10=Çakırlar |first10=C. |last11=Sykes |first11=N. |last12=Hoelzel |first12=A. R. |date=2024-02-12 |title=Ancient and modern DNA track temporal and spatial population dynamics in the European fallow deer since the Eemian interglacial |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |page=3015 |doi=10.1038/s41598-023-48112-6 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=10861457 |pmid=38346983|bibcode=2024NatSR..14.3015B }}</ref> The [[sika deer]] is another small species of deer which is not indigenous, originating from [[Japan]]. It is widespread and expanding in Scotland from west to east, with a strong population in [[Peeblesshire]]. Bands of sika exist across the north and south of England though the species is absent in Wales.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Ratcliffe, P. R. |year=1987 |title=Distribution and current status of Sika deer, ''Cervus nippon'', in Great Britain |journal=Mammal Review |volume=17 |pages=39–58|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2907.1987.tb00047.x}}</ref>

[[File:Hedgehog-among-leaves.jpg|thumb|300px|alt=A hedgehog at night|A [[European hedgehog]].]]

[[Rodent]]s are also numerous across Britain, particularly the brown rat which is by far the most abundant urban mammal after humans. Some however, are becoming increasingly rare. [[Habitat]] destruction has led to a decrease in the population of [[dormice]] and [[bank vole]]s found in Britain. Due to the introduction and [[invasive species|invasiveness]] of the North American [[Eastern gray squirrel|grey squirrel]], the [[red squirrel]] had become largely extirpatedextinct fromin England and Wales, with the last populations existing in parts of North West England and on the [[Isle of Wight]]. [[European rabbit]]s and [[European hare]]s were introduced in Roman times,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/pets/rabbits.shtml |title=ArchivedBBC - Science & Nature - Pets - copyRabbits |access-date=2012-04-18 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630035620/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/pets/rabbits.shtml |archive-date=2012-06-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/European_Hare|title=BBC Nature - Hare videos, news and facts|website=Bbc.co.uk|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref> while the indigenous [[mountain hare]] remains only in Scotland and a small re-introduced population in Derbyshire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hare-preservation-trust.co.uk/mountain.html|title=Hare Preservation Trust|website=Hare-preservation.trust.co.uk|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref> [[Eurasian beaver|Beaver]]s havearchive-date=2 beenMay reintroduced to Scotland with great success.<ref>2013|archive-url=https://wwwweb.bbcarchive.comorg/newsweb/uk20130502102132/http://www.hare-scotlandpreservation-58158296trust.co.uk/mountain.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Category:Fauna of the United Kingdom|* ]]