Â鶹Éç

Wales was particularly affected with the River Wye bursting its banks and the Monnow rising hugely (see the picture) not to mention the flooding in the valleys.

As I mentioned a few weeks back, rivers are extraordinary things when they're in flood and usually wildlife and animals have ways to deal with it.

However it's not always ok. I remember stories from last year's floods of people finding fish in flooded car parks, not to mention the pollution caused by toxins and other harmful materials that large amounts of rainfall brings.

But interestingly the large amounts of water have both good and bad implications. I spoke to Anna Gutherie from the about what the possible effects may be.

She said that invertebrates could be at risk with many insects and spiders having been washed away by the flash floodwaters. This would potentially mean that area would bea poorer feeding ground for birds afterwards.

On the other hand, the waters would have meant that many plant species will have been dispersed as seeds or twigs in the flood waters and may have colonised new areas. So it seems it may go both ways as long as the natural balance can be restored.

However, Julian Branscombe from the made an interesting point on how the measures needed to combat flooding could potentially have harmful affects on wildlife and habitats.

He said that the rebuilding and engineering work now needed to lessen the chances of future landslips could threaten native habitats and species. Natural features like spring-lines, old meadows and healthy slopes may be destroyed.

As Julian explained, it all serves to highlight the surprising and insidious ways that the environment can be affected by changes to our climate. At first it may seem that wildlife is simply affected by flooding, then by the measures needed to combat it. But in fact the root cause to all of this may be human-influenced climate change.

Food for thought indeed...

Here's my pick from this week's wildlife web

• One for the lovers out there!
• An interesting site that allows you to view pictures in time and place
• Pictures of the recent