Protected Species Surveys > Invertebrates – including Terrestrial & Aquatic Species, Dragonflies, Moths & Butterflies
Some UK invertebrates enjoy legal protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and/or the Habitat Regulations 1994. Several are also listed as Biodiversity Action Plan Species and as such planning authorities would expect these to be flagged up in ecological impact assessments.
Greenwillows Associates' principal invertebrate work comprises site biodiversity survey and analysis for formal Environmental Assessments. Our specialist entomologists also have considerable experience in conservation land management plans and in the mitigation of unavoidable adverse changes arising from development programmes.
Our specialists are experienced expert witnesses for public inquiries and also accept Customs and Excise and forensic work (for both prosecution and defence) on a 24 hour basis. They also undertake a "within 24 hours" emergency sampling of aquatic invertebrates following pollution incidents; these sometimes lead to later Court appearances as expert witnesses. For Customs related work, our specialists are licensed under The Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations, 1994 to hold specimens of European protected species.
Our Checklist of Services which complies with national best practice standards includes:
- Preliminary site walk-over to assess habitat suitability for various invertebrate target groups
- Generic and specialist surveys for target invertebrate groups using a range of techniques
- Aquatic invertebrate surveys
- Prepare reports in support of planning applications
- Design and implementation of mitigation schemes for invertebrate target groups
- Population monitoring to discharge planning conditions
