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The island ofGreat Britain, along with the rest of the archipelago known as theBritish Isles, has a largelytemperate climate. It contains a relatively small fraction of the world's wildlife. The biota was severely diminished in thelast ice age, and shortly (in geological terms) thereafter was separated from thecontinent by theEnglish Channel's formation. Since then, humans have hunted the most dangerous forms (the wolf,[Notes 1] thebrown bear and thewild 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.[2]
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In most of Great Britain there is a temperate climate, with high levels ofprecipitation and medium levels of sunlight. Further northwards, the climate becomes colder andconiferous forests appear, replacing the largelydeciduous forests of the south. There are a few variations in the generally temperate British climate, with some areas ofsubarctic conditions, such as theScottish Highlands andTeesdale, and evensub-tropical in theIsles of Scilly. Animals have to cope with seasonal changes across the British Isles, such as in levels of sunlight, rainfall and temperature, as well as the risk of snow and frost during the winter.
Since the mid 18th century, Great Britain has gone throughindustrialisation and increasingurbanisation. ADEFRA study from 2006 suggested that 100 species[citation needed] became extinct in the UK during the 20th century: about 100 times thebackground extinction rate, according to DEFRA in 2006. This has had a major impact on indigenous animal populations. Song birds in particular are becoming scarcer, and habitat loss has affected largermammalian species. Some species have however adapted to the expanding urban environment, particularly thered fox, which is the most successfulurban mammal after thebrown rat, and other creatures such ascommon wood pigeon.
There are 220 species of non-marine molluscs that have been recorded as living in the wild in Britain. Two of them (Fruticicola fruticum andCernuella neglecta) are locally extinct. In addition there are 14 gastropod species that live only ingreenhouses.[3]
There are more than 20,000 species ofinsects ofGreat Britain.[4]
There are some 650 species of spider in the UK.[5] Ten of the more common are:[6]
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The species ofamphibian native to Britain are thegreat crested newt,smooth newt,palmate newt,common toad,natterjack toad,common frog and thepool frog. Several other species have become naturalised.
Like many temperate areas, Great Britain has few snake species: theEuropean adder is the only venomous snake to be found there. The other notable snakes found in Great Britain are thebarred grass snake and thesmooth snake. Great Britain has three native species of lizard:slowworms,sand lizards andviviparous lizards. There are also turtles, such asleatherback turtles to be found in theIrish Sea, although these are rarely seen. Other reptile species exist but are not native:aesculapian snake,wall lizard andgreen lizard.
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In general theavifauna of Britain is similar to that of Europe, consisting largely ofPalaearctic species. As an island, it has fewer breeding species than continental Europe. Some species, like thecrested lark, breed as close as northernFrance, but have not colonised 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 and 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 large mammal species, such as thegrey wolf and thebrown bear, were hunted to extinction many centuries ago. However, in recent times some of these large mammals have been tentatively reintroduced to some areas of Britain. The largest wild mammals that remain in Britain today are predominantly members of thedeer family. Thered deer is the largest native mammal species, and is common throughoutEngland,Scotland andWales.
The other indigenous species include theroe deer and thewild boar. The commonfallow deer was not naturally present in Britain during the Holocene, having been brought over fromFrance by theNormans in the late 11th century. It has become well established,[7] though the fallow deer was naturally present in Britain during the previousEemian interglacial.[8] Thesika deer is another small species of deer which is not indigenous, originating fromJapan. It is widespread and expanding in Scotland from west to east, with a strong population inPeeblesshire. Bands of sika exist across the north and south of England though the species is absent in Wales.[9]
There are also several species ofinsectivore found in Britain. Thehedgehog is probably the most widely known as it is a regular visitor to urban gardens. Themole is also widely recognised and its subterranean lifestyle causes much damage to garden lawns.Shrews are also fairly common, and the smallest, thepygmy shrew, is one of the smallest mammals in the world. There are also seventeen species ofbat found in Britain: thepipistrelle is the smallest and the most common.
Rodents 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 ofdormice andbank voles found in Britain. Due to the introduction of the North Americangrey squirrel, thered squirrel had become largely extinct in England and Wales, with the last populations existing in parts of North West England and on theIsle of Wight.European rabbit andEuropean hare were introduced in Roman times,[10][11] while the indigenousmountain hare remains only in Scotland and a small re-introduced population in Derbyshire.[12]
Eurasian beavers were formerly native to Britain before becoming extinct by the early 16th century due to hunting. Efforts are being made to reintroduce beavers.[13]
There are a variety of carnivores, especially from the weasel family (ranging in size from theweasel,stoat andEuropean polecat to theEuropean badger,pine marten, recently introducedmink and semiaquaticotter). In the absence of the locally extinctgrey wolf andbrown bear the largest carnivores are the badger,red fox, the adaptability and opportunism of which has allowed it to proliferate in the urban environment, and theEuropean wildcat whose elusiveness has caused some confusion over population numbers, and is believed to be highly endangered, partly by hybridisation with the domestic cat.
Various species ofseal anddolphin are found seasonally on British shores and coastlines, along withharbour porpoises,orcas, and many other sea mammals.
Great Britain has about forty species of nativefreshwater fish, of which the largest is thesalmon. Thesaltwater fish include some larger species such as sharks.
During the previousEemian Interglacial (130-115,000 years ago) when Britain had a similar or slightly warmer temperate climate as it does today,[14] the large mammal fauna of Britain was considerably more diverse than it is at present or earlier in theHolocene. Large herbivore species present during the Eemian not present in Britain during the Holocene include the largestraight-tusked elephant,[14] thenarrow-nosed rhinoceros,[15] thehippopotamus,[16]Irish elk andbison, in addition to the currently present roe, fallow and red deer.[17] Large carnivores present during this time include hyenas (Crocuta spelaea) and lions (Panthera spelaea) in addition to wolves and brown bears.[17] During the Holocene, Britain was inhabited by theaurochs (the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle) until its extinction around 3,500 years ago.[18] TheEurasian lynx was also formerly native to Britain during the Holocene, with its youngest records dating to around 1,500 years ago during the early medieval period.[19] Themoose/elk was present in Britain during the early Holocene, but became extinct by around 5600 years ago.[20] TheEuropean pond turtle was also present in Britain during the Holocene (as it had been during the Eemian[14]), with the youngest radiocarbon-dated records dating to around 5,500 years ago.[21]