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405 pages

English

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What was the state of wildlife in Britain and Ireland before modern records began? The Atlas of Early Modern Wildlife looks at the era before climate change, before the intensification of agriculture, before even the Industrial Revolution. In the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, beavers still swim in the River Ness. Isolated populations of wolves and lynxes linger in the uplands. Sea eagles are widespread around the coasts. Wildcats and pine martens remain common in the Lake District.

In this ground-breaking volume, the observations of early modern amateur naturalists, travellers and local historians are gathered together for the very first time. Drawing on more than 10,000 records from across Britain and Ireland, the book presents maps and notes on the former distribution of over 160 species, providing a new baseline against which to discuss subsequent declines and extinctions, expansions and introductions. A guide to identification describes the reliable and unreliable names of each species, including the pre-Linnaean scientific nomenclature, as well as local names in early modern English and, where used in the sources, Irish, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Cornish and Norn.

Raising a good number of questions at the same time as it answers many others, this remarkable resource will be of great value to conservationists, archaeologists, historians and anyone with an interest in the natural heritage of Britain and Ireland.

Acknowledgements

Copyright permissions

INTRODUCTION

Scope

Early modern natural history

Key sources

Other sources

Interpreting the sources

Vernacular languages

Trend since 1772

Geographical bias of top-quality records

Identifying absence

Comparison with modern data

How to read the maps

MAMMALS

Rabbits and hares

Rodents

Carnivores

Ungulates

Seals

Cetaceans

BIRDS

Waterfowl

Game birds

Divers

Petrels and shearwaters

Herons, storks and ibises

Gannets and cormorants

Raptors

Bustards

Cranes

Waders, gulls and auks

Owls

Falcons

Perching birds

FISHES

Lampreys

Sturgeons

Carps

Pikes

Smelts

Salmonids

Perches

Sharks

Skates and rays

Eels

Herrings

White Fishes

Anglers

Mullets

Gurnards

Sandeels

Bass

Open-water Fishes

Flat Fishes

AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES

Amphibians

Reptiles

INVERTEBRATES

Molluscs

Crustaceans

Echinoderms

CONCLUSIONS

Overall analysis

Groups that have expanded their range

Groups that have reduced their range

Problems with using the Little Ice Age as a baseline

References

Index and glossary of species names

Sujets

Sciences de la nature

Biologie

Life Sciences

HISTORY

Sciences et techniques

Archaeology

Biology

General officer

Wildlife

Zoology

Paleontology

Wild Life

Animals

General

454 Life Sciences

Science

Informations

Publié par	Pelagic Publishing
Date de parution	18 juillet 2023
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781784274085
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	10 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,3200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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The Atlas of Early Modern Wildlife

Published in 2023 by
Pelagic Publishing
20-22 Wenlock Road
London N1 7GU, UK
www.pelagicpublishing.com
The Atlas of Early Modern Wildlife: Britain and Ireland between the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution
Copyright 2023 Lee Raye
The moral rights of the author have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Apart from short excerpts for use in research or for reviews, no part of this document may be printed or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, now known or hereafter invented or otherwise without prior permission from the publisher.
https://doi.org/10.53061/DDBT1693
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-78427-407-8 Hbk
ISBN 978-1-78427-408-5 ePub
ISBN 978-1-78427-409-2 PDF
Typeset by BBR Design, Sheffield
Front cover image: A Wolf from The History of Four-Footed Animals and Serpents by Edward Topsell, E. Cotes, 1658.
Spine image: A Golden Eagle from The Ornithology of Francis Willughby edited by John Ray, Royal Society, 1678.
Back cover images: A Rabbit from The History of Four-Footed Animals and Serpents by Edward Topsell, E. Cotes, 1658; a Burbot from Historia Piscium by Francis Willughby and John Ray, Royal Society, 1686.
Cover background photo: The Highlands, Scotland by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash.
To Laurie, who will be pleased to find that this book is now pogge-free.
In memory of Pauline Allen (1940-2022).
C ONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Copyright permissions
INTRODUCTION
Scope
Early modern natural history
Key sources
Other sources
Interpreting the sources
Vernacular languages
Trend since 1772
Geographical bias of top-quality records
Identifying absence
Comparison with modern data
How to read the maps
MAMMALS
Rabbits and hares
Rodents
Carnivores
Ungulates
Seals
Cetaceans
BIRDS
Waterfowl
Game birds
Divers
Petrels and shearwaters
Herons, storks and ibises
Gannets and cormorants
Raptors
Bustards
Cranes
Waders, gulls and auks
Owls
Falcons
Perching birds
FISHES
Lampreys
Sturgeons
Carps
Pikes
Smelts
Salmonids
Perches
Sharks
Skates and rays
Eels
Herrings
Whitefishes
Anglers
Mullets
Gurnards
Sandeels
Bass
Open-water fishes
Flatfishes
AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES
Amphibians
Reptiles
INVERTEBRATES
Molluscs
Crustaceans
Echinoderms
CONCLUSIONS
Overall analysis
Groups that have expanded their range
Groups that have reduced their range
Problems with using the Little Ice Age as a baseline
References
Index and glossary of species names
A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Considering that this book is a historical atlas, it is ironic how difficult it is to trace back when and where it was inspired. The seed of the idea might have been planted in 2015, as I walked around the newly created Natterjack Toad ponds at the RSPB Lodge Nature Reserve in Bedfordshire, and chatted with the insightful Reserves Archaeologist about the need for an authoritative single resource on species history. The idea was certainly actively growing when the RSPB s State of Nature report came out the next year and compared the present and past distribution of species in different parts of the UK. The project was planned close to its present form by 2017, when a learned professor at the University of Bristol helped me develop the idea into a research proposal. That research proposal was ultimately unsuccessful, but the work has been enjoyable regardless.
However, I think the germ of the idea has deeper roots then that. Ultimately, this atlas just maps old records of wildlife from historical sources. The tools used here to compile and analyse and present the data are new, but the data itself has been waiting to be collated for centuries, as we shall see.
The creation of the atlas itself has been supported by many individuals over the last few years. Thanks are due to the Society for the History of Natural History for providing two grants from their Small Research Fund, once in 2020 to obtain a copy of a manuscript by John Hooker from the South West Heritage Trust in Devon Archives, and again in 2021 to visit the unpublished archives of William Henry at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. I also especially need to thank Trinity College Dublin Archives for providing copies of Samuel Molyneux s notes on natural history (TCD MS 883.1). Access to historical sources provided by Early English Books Online, Google Books, the Internet Archive, the Biodiversity Heritage Library, Eighteenth Century Collections Online, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales, The Open University Library, Cardiff University Library and Swansea University Library has also been absolutely essential for the success of this project.
I am very fortunate to have been accepted into some local, national and international communities, and this atlas has also benefitted from day-to-day conversations within these communities. I am grateful for inspiring discussions with the Animal History Group and the Society for the History of Natural History, focused work with the Open University Writing Club and excited conversations with Cardiff University biodiversity gang, and with other wildlife and history enthusiasts on Twitter. I have also very much benefitted from reading the work of scholars in the NiCHE group, especially those focused on HGIS.
Whilst writing the atlas I worked on two papers for Mammal Communications and Bird Study , disclosing some of my early results. I am especially grateful to the editors and reviewers there for their kind and thoughtful comments. I would also like to especially acknowledge the help and support from Nigel, David and Sarah at Pelagic Publishing.
Finally, I need to thank a few individuals not included above for providing feedback and help with the atlas as I was working on it: Pauline Allen, Kieran Buckley, Ian Carter, Frazer Coomber, Charlie Cooper, Peter Cooper, Peter Evans, Julie Ewald, Derek Gow, Lauren Hartny-Mills, Alen Knox, Charlie Le Marquand, Jack Elliot Marley, Jim Martin, Alec Moore, Stephen Newton, Laurie Raye, Simon Sanghera, Richard Seaby, Dhruti Shah, Robin Somes, Harvey Tweats, Rene Winkler.
With special apologies to those I have inevitably forgotten - your work was not in vain!
All mistakes are my own.
COPYRIGHT PERMISSIONS
The maps presented in this atlas are based on data taken directly from historical primary sources.
The county borders on the maps are based on freely available data by wikishire.co.uk (2021). These files contain border data provided by the Historic County Borders Project Historic Counties Trust. May contain Ordnance Survey data Crown credit and database right 2014-18. May contain public sector information licensed under the Northern Ireland Open Government Licence. May contain public sector information licensed under the Isle of Man Open Government Licence. May contain Ordnance Survey Ireland data licensed under the Creative Commons 4.0 Licence.
The inset maps that show the modern distribution of each species are very simplified versions of copyrighted distribution data provided in other sources. All are used with permission from the copyright holders: Mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (Aulagnier et al. 2018). The Atlas of the Mammals of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Crawley et al. 2020). The cetacean fact sheets by the Sea Watch Foundation (Sea Watch Foundation 2020). The RSPB Handbook of British Birds (Holden and Gregory 2021). Identification Guide to the Inshore Fish of the British Isles (Henderson 2014). Freshwater Fishes in Britain (Davies et al. 2004). Amphibians and Reptiles (Beebee 2013). The Diver s Guide to Marine Life of Britain and Ireland (Wood 2018).
The species pictures are all from the early modern period. All are in the public domain. The sources are: Ornithology (Ray 1678) for all of the birds. Historia Piscium (Willughby & Ray 1686) for most of the fishes. History of Four-Footed Animals and Serpents (Topsell 1658) for the frogs and most of the mammals. The Natural History of Cornwall (Borlase 1758) for the Dolphin, Porpoise, Adder, Slow Worm, Leatherback Turtle, Limpet, Scallop and sea urchins. The Natural History of Lancashire, Cheshire and the Peak in Derbyshire (Leigh 1700) for the cockle, the Cuttlefish and the seal. Historiae sive Synopsis Methodicae Conchyliorum (Lister 1752) for the Common Mussel. Phalainologia nova (Sibbald 1692) for the Sperm Whale.
I NTRODUCTION
This book maps and discusses where mammals, birds, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms were recorded in Britain and Ireland before the Industrial Revolution. By piecing together very old records of wildlife provided by naturalists, geographers, travellers and historians it is possible to build up a detailed idea of the state of nature between 250 and 500 years ago.
There are two common traps that we can walk into when we think about wildlife in the past. The first is to fall prey to shifting baseline syndrome. This is to assume that the species that we see and remember around us are the same species that have always been present in the area. Studying historical sources can help with this. As we shall find, in Britain and Ireland, the early modern period was the last great age of the Wolf, the Sea Eagle, the Red Kite and the Bustard. Brown Rats and Grey Squirrels had yet to become established, but Wildcats and Pine Martens wandered through the woods. Rabbits and Herring Gulls had not finished moving inland but Sturgeon and Burbot still swam in the rivers. All of this has changed over the last 250 years.
But there is a second common trap. This is to assume that before the modern period the natural world existed in a pristine, harmonious state. Studying histori