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Botham, M.S.; Brereton, T.; Harris, S.; Harrower, C.; Middlebrook, I.; Randle, Z.; Roy, D.B.

United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme: collated indices 2018

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By accessing or using this dataset, you agree to the terms of the relevant licence agreement(s). You will ensure that this dataset is cited in any publication that describes research in which the data have been used.

© UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

© Natural Environment Research Council

© Butterfly Conservation

© Joint Nature Conservation Committee

© British Trust for Ornithology

Attribution statement: Contains UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) data © copyright and database right Butterfly Conservation, the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, British Trust for Ornithology, and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.

This dataset is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence

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https://doi.org/10.5285/37cc9541-0e15-4fb8-97ea-685f306228d5
Collated indices are a relative measure of butterfly abundance across monitored sites in the UK, calculated from data collected by the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS). Collated indices are calculated annually for each individual butterfly species that has been recorded on five or more sites in that year. Based on this criterion collated indices have been calculated for the entire UKBMS time series from 1976 to the current year for the majority of species. For some rarer species the time series starts in a later year due to lack of data. Collated indices are calculated using a statistical model that accounts for missing data. The number of sites for each species ranges from 5 to several hundred and varies from year to year. Since 2008 more than 1,000 sites have been monitored across the UK each year. Collated indices are calculated so that we can determine how butterfly populations are changing over time across the UK. This data can be used, for example, to determine where to target conservation efforts and to measure the condition of the UK countryside. Butterflies are recognised as important indicators of biodiversity and environmental change (e.g. as official UK Biodiversity Indicators), and have been used in numerous research studies to understand the impacts of changes in climate and the extent and condition of habitats.

The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is organized and funded by Butterfly Conservation (BC), the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The UKBMS is indebted to all volunteers who contribute data to the scheme.

This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability.
Publication date: 2019-11-26
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Format

Comma-separated values (CSV)

Spatial information

Study area
Spatial representation type
Tabular (text)
Spatial reference system
OSGB 1936 / British National Grid

Temporal information

Temporal extent
1976-04-01    to    2018-09-30

Provenance & quality

Collated indices are produced using a series of statistical models on butterfly transect counts recorded by a volunteer network. These indices are a relative measure of each species' abundance across the UK compared to the baseline in 1976. The statistics are presented as log10 values. These values are centred around an arbitrary value of 2 as a mean for the time series in order to help show which years are below or above average (a technique used in other biodiversity indicators).

Licensing and constraints

This dataset is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence

Cite this dataset as:
Botham, M.S.; Brereton, T.; Harris, S.; Harrower, C.; Middlebrook, I.; Randle, Z.; Roy, D.B. (2019). United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme: collated indices 2018. NERC Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/37cc9541-0e15-4fb8-97ea-685f306228d5

© UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

© Natural Environment Research Council

© Butterfly Conservation

© Joint Nature Conservation Committee

© British Trust for Ornithology

Attribution statement: Contains UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) data © copyright and database right Butterfly Conservation, the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, British Trust for Ornithology, and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.

Related

This dataset is included in the following collections

United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) 1976-2018 data

Citations

Ashe-Jepson, E., Bladon, A.J., Herbert, G., Hitchcock, G.E., Knock, R., Lucas, C.B.H., Luke, S.H., & Turner, E.C. (2021). Oviposition behaviour and emergence through time of the small blue butterfly (Cupido minimus) in a nature reserve in Bedfordshire, UK.Journal of Insect Conservation, 26(1), 43-58 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-021-00360-5

Supplemental information

Correspondence/contact details

Botham, M.
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford
Wallingford
Oxfordshire
OX10 8BB
UNITED KINGDOM
 enquiries@ceh.ac.uk

Authors

Botham, M.S.
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Brereton, T.
Butterfly Conservation
Harris, S.
British Trust for Ornithology
Harrower, C.
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Middlebrook, I.
Butterfly Conservation
Randle, Z.
Butterfly Conservation
Roy, D.B.
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Other contacts

Custodian
NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
 info@eidc.ac.uk
Publisher
NERC Environmental Information Data Centre
 info@eidc.ac.uk

Additional metadata

Topic categories
biota
INSPIRE theme
Environmental Monitoring Facilities
Keywords
Biodiversity , England , Northern Ireland , Scotland , UK-SCAPE , United Kingdom , Wales
Funding
Natural Environment Research Council Award: NE/R016429/1
Last updated
21 March 2025 13:35