D1686/004/02 - National Water Vole Monitoring Programme (NWVMP) (Records from the Cofnod area (2020))

Subject Mammals/Watervoles
Abstract Records of water vole signs and sightings from standardised surveys at sites across England, Scotland and Wales. Species presence records from this survey are included in this dataset.
Species Groups Terrestrial Mammal [12]
Geographic Coverage/Site Name General: UK
Geographic Coverage Notes England, Wales and Scotland. Water voles do not occur in Ireland. Sites surveyed during the the previous VWT national surveys were randomly selected to give a good geographical spread across England, Scotland and Wales, as well as to ensure all habitats were surveyed. However, the majority of the sites selected for the NWVMP were intentionally biased towards those sites that had had water voles present in the previous surveys to ensure surveying is targeted towards sites that have the potential to have water voles present. Survey coverage is not complete however and is lower in areas with fewer volunteers or with less accessible terrain such a upland areas. The grid references normally refer to the location of the start of the transect rather than the precise location of the sighting/signs. Cofnod hold a copy of data for North Wales.
Dataset Owner People's Trust for Endangered Species
Dataset Contact Emily Thomas
Date Range 2020
Total Records 12
Restriction Details Standard Restrictions Only
Acknowledgements People's Trust for Endangered Species
Expand/Collapse Further Details
Original Title National Water Vole Monitoring Programme (NWVMP)
Temporal Coverage Notes The NWVMP started in 2015 and is ongoing. Most surveys take place in May and should have a full date (DD/MM/YYYY). Some sites are surveyed again later in the summer (September/October).
Module Description Records from the Cofnod area (2020)
Purpose Data are collected for the purpose of producing population trends.
Capture Methods One bank of a 500m stretch of waterway is surveyed to record all water vole field signs (latrines, feeding signs, burrows and sightings) within each 100m section. Sites are either ones that were surveyed in the previous national water vole surveys carried out by The Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) or have been registered with the programme. Most transect are 500m, but some sites have multiple shorter transects (i.e. 100m) surveyed. Normally one survey is carried out during May but some sites are surveyed again later in the summer. All volunteers are asked about their experience of surveying when registering to take part and photos of signs can be submitted to allow verification.
Verification/Validation Procedures All data were collected using a standardised method. Participants are provided with training and resources to aid identification of the field signs but it is not possible to verify all records from this survey. Volunteers are encouraged to submit photos of field signs so they can be verified and the experience of the monitor is establish during the registration process. It is also recommended that volunteers gain some practical experience of surveying for water voles before taking part. The data do not represent a complete picture of water vole distriution but should be considered as a sample of sites from across England, Scotland and Wales. The dataset has been checked using NBN Record Cleaner.
Data Collated by People's Trust for Endangered Species
Data Collected by Miscellaneous
National Scheme Organisers People's Trust for Endangered Species
Dataset Category Category 03: Dataset originates from other trusted source
Dataset Status Data Collection Ongoing
Data Entry Project Completion Date N/A
Date Imported 08/09/2021