assessing cloud cover and wind

[Nick Greatorex-Davies]

Corina

Here in the UK we make crude assessments of cloud cover (% sun), wind speed (Beaufort scale) and temperature (and also noting time of day) for all the weekly transect counts that are carried out throughout the UK as part of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (April to September each year). We have done a little analysis of some of these data and will be doing some more this spring on a limited number of species. I can send you a booklet on the BMS methodology if you would like one (Butterfly Monitoring Scheme - Instructions for independent recorders) which explains how the counts are carried out, how the various weather factors are recorded, what weather criteria need to be satisfied before a transect walk is carried out etc. The methodology is also explained in the book:

Pollard, E. & Yates, T.J. (1993). Monitoring butterflies for ecology and conservation. Chapman and Hall, London. 274 pp. ISBN 0 412 40220 3.

There is also a section in the book that goes into some of the trials that were carried out before the scheme was launched in 1976 to determine what weather criteria need to be satisfied before a transect count is done.

You may find the following paper of interest as it looks a little at the effect of windspeed on the activity of butterflies:

Dover, J.W., Sparks, T.H. & Greatorex-Davies, J.N. (1997) The importance of shelter for butterflies in open landscapes. Journal of Insect Conservation 1, 89-97.

Hope the above proves to be useful.

Kind regards

Nick Greatorex-Davies

Mr J Nick Greatorex-Davies
(Butterfly Monitoring Scheme co-ordinator)
Institute of Terrestrial Ecology
Monks Wood
Abbots Ripton
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire PE17 2LS  UK

Tel: (+44) (0) 1487 773 381
Fax: (+44) (0) 1487 773 467
E-mail: n.greatorex-davies at ite.ac.uk

>>> "C. Brdar" <cbrdar at gpu.srv.ualberta.ca> 09/03/99 22:16:42 >>>

Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone knows of any methods used to assess wind and cloud
cover at a scale that is meaningful for butterflies.  I'm doing research,
and it involves observing butterfly behaviour, and I need to evaluate these
things since they have such marked affects on their behaviour.

Thanks for your help,

Corina Brdar