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United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme: species trends 2024

This dataset provides linear trends, over varying time periods, for the Collated Indices of individual butterfly species across the UK. The main statistical values derived from a linear regression (slope, standard error, P-value) are presented for the entire time series for each species (1976# to 2024), for the last 20 years, and for the last decade. In addition, trends are classified based on the direction and significance of a linear slope together with an estimated percentage change for that time period. These trend data are provided for all UK butterfly species for which we have sufficient data (58 species). Trends are calculated by performing a linear regression on the annual Collated indices for each species. Collated indices are calculated using a log-linear model incorporating individual site indices from all monitored sites across the UK for a given species in a given year. Trends across different time series allow us to determine the long and short-term status of individual species. This is enables us to focus conservation and research and also to assess species responses to conservation already in place. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is organized and funded by Butterfly Conservation (BC), the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), 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. #Because the Collated indices are only calculated for each species in years in which it was recorded on five or more sites, the starting year for the series is later than 1976 for a number of rarer species. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/4cf966ef-4d8e-48de-8368-3a68faf6fbbf

Simple

Date (Publication)
2025-12-17
Identifier
https://catalogue.ceh.ac.uk/id/4cf966ef-4d8e-48de-8368-3a68faf6fbbf
Identifier
doi: / 10.5285/4cf966ef-4d8e-48de-8368-3a68faf6fbbf
Other citation details
Botham, M.S., Middlebrook, I., Heywood, J., Harrower, C.A., Milborrow, J., Roy, D.B. (2025). United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme: species trends 2024. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre 10.5285/4cf966ef-4d8e-48de-8368-3a68faf6fbbf
Author
  UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology - Botham, M.S.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5276-1405
Author
  Butterfly Conservation - Middlebrook, I.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0448-9144
Author
  British Trust for Ornithology - Heywood, J.
Author
  UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology - Harrower, C.A.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5070-5293
Author
  Butterfly Conservation - Milborrow, J.
Author
  UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology - Roy, D.B.
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5147-0331
Owner
  UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Owner
  Butterfly Conservation
Owner
  British Trust for Ornithology
Owner
  Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Publisher
  NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
Custodian
  NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
Point of contact
  UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology - Dr Marc Botham
GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
  • Environmental Monitoring Facilities
Keywords
  • Biodiversity
  • annual
  • butterflies
  • Lepidoptera
  • BReVI
  • Uinited Kingdom
  • England
  • Scotland
  • Wales
  • Northern Ireland
Access constraints
otherRestrictions Other restrictions
Other constraints
no limitations
Use constraints
otherRestrictions Other restrictions
Other constraints
Open Government Licence - UKBMS (this is the OGL with a UKBMS-specific attribution statement)
Use constraints
otherRestrictions Other restrictions
Other constraints
Contains UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) data © copyright and database right Butterfly Conservation, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, British Trust for Ornithology, and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.
Use constraints
otherRestrictions Other restrictions
Other constraints
These are the most up to date versions of the data and should be those used unless there is otherwise a reason to require older versions of the data
Use constraints
otherRestrictions Other restrictions
Other constraints
If you reuse this data, you should cite: Botham, M.S., Middlebrook, I., Heywood, J., Harrower, C.A., Milborrow, J., Roy, D.B. (2025). United Kingdom Butterfly Monitoring Scheme: species trends 2024. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre https://doi.org/10.5285/4cf966ef-4d8e-48de-8368-3a68faf6fbbf
Spatial representation type
textTable Text, table
Metadata language
EnglishEnglish
Character set
utf8 UTF8
Topic category
  • Biota
Begin date
2024-01-01
End date
2024-12-31
N
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Unique resource identifier
OSGB 1936 / British National Grid
Distribution format
  • Comma-separated values (CSV) ()

Distributor
  NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
OnLine resource
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Hierarchy level
dataset Dataset
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dataset

Conformance result

Date (Publication)
2010-12-08
Statement
Trends are calculated by performing a linear regression on the annual Collated Indices for each species. Indices are calculated for all species (across Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey squares and traditional UKBMS sites) using the Generalised Abundance Index (GAI) method developed in 2016 with an additional modification that the data from each site in each year is weighted in the final stage relative to the proportion of the species flight period surveyed that year for that site. They give a statistical measure of how the abundance of each species has changed on monitored sites since 1976, over the last 20 years, and over the last decade. Because the Collated indices are only calculated for each species in years in which there was sufficient data available, the starting year for the series is later than 1976 for a number of rarer species
File identifier
4cf966ef-4d8e-48de-8368-3a68faf6fbbf XML
Metadata language
EnglishEnglish
Character set
ISO/IEC 8859-1 (also known as Latin 1) 8859 Part 1
Hierarchy level
dataset Dataset
Hierarchy level name
dataset
Date stamp
2026-01-09T10:10:48
Metadata standard name
UK GEMINI
Metadata standard version
2.3
Point of contact
  NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg , Lancaster , LA1 4AP , UK
https://eidc.ac.uk/
 
 

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Keywords

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
Environmental Monitoring Facilities

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