Editing Lundy (section)

==Ecology==

===Flora===
[[File:Lundy Cabbage.JPG|thumb|left|Lundy cabbage (growing at [[Bristol Zoo]])]]
The vegetation on the plateau is mainly dry heath, with an area of waved [[Calluna]] heath; the northern end of the island is largely bare rock.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hubbard |first=Elizabeth |title=Botanical studies |publisher=Lundy Field Society |url= https://lfs-resources.s3.amazonaws.com/is/LFS_Island_Studies_Hubbard-Botany.pdf |date=1997 |access-date=9 February 2024}}</ref> This area is also rich in [[lichen]]s, such as ''Teloschistes flavicans'' and several species of [[Cladonia]] and [[Parmelia (lichen)|Parmelia]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Allen |first1=Anne |title=Lichen Specialities of Lundy: An Overview |date=2008 |journal=Journal of the Lundy Field Society |url= https://lfs-resources.s3.amazonaws.com/j1/LFS_Journal_Vol_1_Part_4.pdf |access-date=9 February 2024}}</ref>

Other areas are either a dry heath/acidic grassland mosaic, characterised by heaths and [[Ulex gallii|western gorse]] (''Ulex gallii''), or semi-improved acidic grassland in which [[Yorkshire fog]] (''Holcus lanatus'') is abundant. Tussocky (Thrift) (Holcus/Armeria) communities occur mainly on the western side, and some patches of [[bracken]] (''Pteridium aquilinum'') on the eastern side.<ref name="SSSI" />

There is one [[endemic]] plant species, the [[Coincya wrightii|Lundy cabbage]] ''(Coincya wrightii)'', a species of primitive [[brassica]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.lundy.org.uk/island/cabbage.html |title=The Lundy Cabbage |publisher=Lundy Field Society |access-date=28 May 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140529051524/http://www.lundy.org.uk/island/cabbage.html |archive-date=29 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

By the 1980s, the eastern side of the island had become overgrown by [[rhododendron]]s (''Rhododendron ponticum'') which had spread from a few specimens planted in the garden of Millcombe House in [[Victorian era|Victorian times]], but in recent years significant efforts have been made to eradicate this non-native plant.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Crompton |first1=Stephen G. |last2=Key |first2=Roger S. |last3=Pratt |first3=Steve |date=2016 |title=Progress Towards Eradication of ''Rhododendrum ponticum'' on Lundy |url= https://lfs-resources.s3.amazonaws.com/j5/LFS_Journal_Vol_5_Part_3.pdf |journal=Journal of the Lundy Field Society |volume=5 |access-date=25 January 2024}}</ref>

===Fauna===

====Terrestrial invertebrates====
Two invertebrate taxa are [[endemic]] to Lundy, with both feeding on the endemic Lundy cabbage (''[[Coincya wrightii]]''). These are the Lundy cabbage flea beetle (''[[Psylliodes luridipennis]]''), a species of [[leaf beetle]] (family Chrysomelidae) and the Lundy cabbage weevil (''[[Ceutorhynchus contractus]]'' var. ''pallipes''), a variety of [[Curculionidae|true weevil]] (family Curculionidae).<ref name="Natural England">{{cite web |url= http://www.english-nature.org.uk/virtualtours/Lundy/Lundy_wildlife.htm |title=Lundy island, virtual tour&nbsp;— wildlife |access-date=5 September 2007 |work=Natural England |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081120062103/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/virtualtours/Lundy/Lundy_wildlife.htm |archive-date=20 November 2008}}</ref><ref name="Compton and Key" /> In addition, the Lundy cabbage is the main host of a flightless [[Form (zoology)|form]] of ''[[Psylliodes napi]]'' (another species of flea beetle) and a wide variety of other invertebrate species which are not endemic to the island.<ref name="Compton and Key">{{Cite journal |last1=Compton |first1=S. G. |last2=Key |first2=R. S. |title=''Coincya wrightii'' (O. E. Schulz) Stace (''Rhynchosinapis wrightii'' (O. E. Schulz) Dandy ex A. R. Clapham) |journal=Journal of Ecology |volume=88 |issue=3 |pages=535–547 |date=2000 |bibcode=2000JEcol..88..535C |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2745.2000.00477.x |doi-access=free}}</ref> Another resident invertebrate of note is ''[[Atypus affinis]]'', the only British species of [[Atypical tarantula|purseweb spider]].<ref name="Natural England" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Lundy: A Wildlife Haven |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/11/11/lundy_island_feature.shtml |date=15 August 2010 |access-date=19 August 2014 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

====Birds====
The population of [[Atlantic puffin|puffins]] (''Fratercula arctica'') on the island declined in the late 20th and early 21st centuries as a consequence of depredations by brown and [[black rat]]s (''Rattus rattus'') and possibly also as a result of commercial fishing for [[sand eel]]s, the puffins' principal prey. Since the elimination of rats in 2006, seabird numbers have increased. By 2023 the number of puffins had risen to 1,355 and the number of [[Manx shearwater]] to 25,000, representing 95% of England's breeding population of this seabird. The island has since 2014 become colonised by [[European storm petrel]].<ref>{{Cite web |title='Shear' success for Lundy's seabirds thanks to decades of conservation effort |date=12 October 2023 |website=Inside Ecology |url= https://insideecology.com/2023/10/12/shear-success-for-lundys-seabirds-thanks-to-decades-of-conservation-effort/ |access-date=25 January 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Atlantic Puffin Lundy.jpg|left|thumb|A group of six [[Atlantic puffin|puffins]] on Lundy, June 2008]]
As an isolated island on major migration routes, Lundy has a rich bird life and is a popular site for [[birdwatching]]. Large numbers of [[black-legged kittiwake]] (''Rissa tridactyla'') nest on the cliffs, as do [[razorbill]] (''Alca torda''), [[common guillemot]] (''Uria aalge''), [[European herring gull]] (''Larus argentatus''), [[lesser black-backed gull]] (''Larus fuscus''), [[northern fulmar]] (''Fulmarus glacialis''), [[European shag]] (''Phalacrocorax aristotelis''), [[Eurasian oystercatcher]] (''Haematopus ostralegus''), [[Eurasian skylark]] (''Alauda arvensis''), [[meadow pipit]] (''Anthus pratensis''), [[common blackbird]] (''Turdus merula''), [[European robin]] (''Erithacus rubecula''), and [[linnet]] (''Carduelis cannabina''). There are also smaller populations of [[peregrine falcon]] (''Falco peregrinus'') and [[common raven|raven]] (''Corvus corax'').<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lymbery |first=Philip |date=21 March 2017 |title=Plight of the falcon: Why the birds are under threat |url= https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/peregrine-falcon-lundy-island-philip-lymbery-54030 |access-date=9 February 2024 |website=inews.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Birds |url= https://www.lundy.org.uk/about-lundy/wildlife-on-the-island/birds |access-date=9 February 2024 |website=Lundy.org.uk |publisher=Lundy Field Society}}</ref>

Lundy has attracted many [[Vagrancy (biology)|vagrant birds]], in particular species from [[North America]]. As of 2007, the island's bird list totals 317 species.<ref name="BirdsofLundy">{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Tim |last2=Jones |first2=Tim |date=2007 |title=The Birds of Lundy |others=Langman, Mike (ill.) |location=Berrynarbor |publisher=Devon Bird Watching & Preservation Society / Lundy Field Society |isbn=978-0-9540088-7-1}}</ref> This has included the following species, each of which represents the sole British record: [[Ancient murrelet]], [[eastern phoebe]], and [[eastern towhee]]. Records of [[bimaculated lark]], [[American robin]], and [[common yellowthroat]] were also firsts for Britain (American robin has also occurred two further times on Lundy).<ref name="BirdsofLundy" /> [[Veery]]s in 1987 and 1997 were Britain's second and fourth records, a [[Rüppell's warbler]] in 1979 was Britain's second, an [[eastern Bonelli's warbler]] in 2004 was Britain's fourth, and a [[black-faced bunting]] in 2001 Britain's third.<ref name="BirdsofLundy" />

Other [[British Birds Rarities Committee|British Birds rarities]] that have been sighted (single records unless otherwise indicated) are: [[little bittern]]; [[gyrfalcon]] (3 records); [[little crake|little]] and [[Baillon's crake]]s; [[collared pratincole]]; [[semipalmated sandpiper|semipalmated]] (5 records), [[least sandpiper|least]] (2 records), [[white-rumped sandpiper|white-rumped]], and [[Baird's sandpiper|Baird's]] (2 records) sandpipers; [[Wilson's phalarope]]; [[laughing gull]]; [[bridled tern]]; [[Pallas's sandgrouse]]; [[great spotted cuckoo|great spotted]], [[black-billed cuckoo|black-billed]], and [[yellow-billed cuckoo|yellow-billed]] (3 records) cuckoos; [[European roller]]; [[olive-backed pipit]]; [[citrine wagtail]]; [[Alpine accentor]]; [[thrush nightingale]]; [[red-flanked bluetail]]; [[western black-eared wheatear|western black-eared]] (2 records) and [[desert wheatear|desert]] wheatears; [[White's thrush|White's]], [[Swainson's thrush|Swainson's]] (3 records), and [[grey-cheeked thrush|grey-cheeked]] (2 records) thrushes; [[Sardinian warbler|Sardinian]] (2 records), [[Arctic warbler|Arctic]] (3 records), [[Radde's warbler|Radde's]], and [[western Bonelli's warbler]]s; [[Isabelline shrike|Isabelline]] and [[lesser grey shrike]]s; [[red-eyed vireo]] (7 records); [[two-barred crossbill]]; [[yellow-rumped warbler|yellow-rumped]] and [[blackpoll warbler]]s; [[yellow-breasted bunting|yellow-breasted]] (2 records) and [[black-headed bunting]]s (3 records); [[rose-breasted grosbeak]] (2 records); [[bobolink]]; and [[Baltimore oriole]] (2 records).<ref name="BirdsofLundy" />

====Mammals====
[[File:Sikadeerlundy.jpg|thumb|[[Sika deer]]]]
Lundy is home to an unusual range of introduced mammals, including a distinct breed of wild pony, the [[Lundy pony]], as well as [[Soay sheep]] (''Ovis aries''), [[sika deer]] (''Cervus nippon''), feral [[goat]]s (''Capra aegagrus hircus''), and [[European rabbit]], some of which are [[Melanism|melanistic]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Timmermans |first1=Martijn |last2=Elmi |first2=Hanna |last3=Kett |first3=Stephen |title=Black rabbits on Lundy: Tudor treaures or post-war phonies? |date=2018 |journal=Journal of the Lundy Field Society |url= https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/download/fec81ca0e7ad1530523bc12b035f00ed1a2c474f093087a6b8ca99f75ec9e603/4959725/LFSJournal2018-Rabbits.pdf |issue=6 |access-date=9 February 2024}}</ref>

Other mammals which have made the island their home include the [[grey seal]] (''Halichoerus grypus'') and the [[Eurasian pygmy shrew]] (''Sorex minutus''). Until their elimination in 2006, in order to protect the nesting seabirds, Lundy was one of the few places in the UK where the [[black rat]] (''Rattus rattus'') could be found regularly.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.hows.org.uk/inter/birds/exotics/gbm.htm |title=British Isles Exotic and Introduced Mammals |publisher=World of European Exotic and Introduced Species |access-date=15 September 2012}}</ref>

====Marine habitat====
In 1971, a proposal was made by the Lundy Field Society to establish a marine reserve, and the survey was led by Dr Keith Hiscock, supported by a team of students from [[Bangor University]]. Provision for the establishment of statutory Marine Nature Reserves was included in the [[Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981]], and on 21 November 1986 the [[Secretary of State for the Environment]] announced the designation of a statutory reserve at Lundy.<ref name="lundymnr">{{cite web |url= http://www.lundy.org.uk/island/mnr.html |title=Lundy Island Marine Nature Reserve |access-date=28 May 2014 |publisher=Lundy Field Society |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140529052009/http://www.lundy.org.uk/island/mnr.html |archive-date=29 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

There is an outstanding variety of marine habitats and wildlife, and a large number of rare and unusual species in the waters around Lundy, including some species of [[seaweed]], [[Sponge|branching sponges]], [[Gorgonian|sea fans]], and [[Coral|cup corals]].<ref name="lundymnr" />

In 2003, the first statutory No Take Zone (NTZ) for marine nature conservation in the UK was set up in the waters to the east of Lundy island.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.english-nature.org.uk/news/story.asp?ID=444 |title=Protection for Lundy Island's sea life boosted: The First No Take Zone in UK confirmed by Government |work=Press Release |publisher=Natural England |access-date=16 July 2008}}</ref> In 2008, this was declared as having been successful in several ways including the increasing size and number of [[Homarus gammarus|lobsters]] within the reserve, and potential benefits for other marine wildlife.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/0/4E6632DE31F71CBF802573D90053BC51 |title=Natural England says it's time to sink or swim to save our seas |type=press release |publisher=Natural England |via=Wired-Gov.net |access-date=28 May 2014}}</ref> However, the no take zone has received a mixed reaction from local fishermen.<ref>{{Cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7508216.stm |title=Fishing ban brings seas to life |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=16 July 2008 |date=16 July 2008}}</ref>

On 12 January 2010 the island became Britain's first [[Marine protected area|Marine Conservation Zone]] designated under the [[Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009]], designed to help to preserve important habitats and species.<ref name="lmcz">{{cite web |url= http://www.lundymcz.org.uk/ |title=Lundy Marine Conservation Zone |publisher=Lundy Marine Conservation Zone |access-date=18 December 2011 |archive-date=29 December 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111229193004/http://www.lundymcz.org.uk/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/8453202.stm |title=Lundy sea is England's first Maritime Conservation Zone |date=12 January 2010 |publisher=BBC |access-date=12 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jan/12/lundy-island-marine-conservation-zone |title=Lundy Island becomes England's first marine conservation zone |date=12 January 2010 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=12 January 2010 |location=London}}</ref>

[[File:Phocoena phocoena.2.jpg|220px|thumb|right|alt=The harbour porpoise is probably the most common cetacean in the waters around Lundy.|The [[harbour porpoise]] is probably the most common [[cetacea]]n in the waters around Lundy.]]
Three species of [[cetacea]]n are regularly seen from the island; them being the [[common bottlenose dolphin|bottlenose dolphin]] (''Tursiops truncatrus''), [[common dolphin]] (''Delphinus delphis''), and [[harbour porpoise]] (''Phocoena phocoena''). Other cetacean species that are sighted from Lundy, albeit more rarely, are the [[Common minke whale|minke whale]] (''Balaenoptera acutorostrata''), [[Risso's dolphin]] (''Grampus griseus''), and [[long-finned pilot whale]] (''Globicephala melas''). [[Basking shark]]s (''Cetorhinus maximus''), [[ocean sunfish]] (''Mola mola''), and [[leatherback sea turtle]]s (''Dermochelys coriacea'') are also seen around Lundy, especially off the more sheltered eastern coast and only during the warmer months. Furthermore, there is a [[grey seal]] (''Halichoerus grypus'') colony consisting of roughly 60 animals that live around the island.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/lundyisland/discovering-lundy/wildlife/below-the-waves/marine-life/ |title=Marine life |website=LandmarkTrust.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.lundy.org.uk/about-lundy/wildlife-in-the-sea/mammals |title=Mammals |website=Lundy.org.uk |publisher=Lundy Field Society |access-date=7 August 2023}}</ref>