SCIENCE / Sleeping its way to extinction: The dormouse, star of children's fiction, is in danger. It sleeps too much, it forgets to breed and its habitat is vanishing. Steve Connor on a programme to boost its chances of survival

IT SPENDS most of its life asleep and often finds it difficult to stay awake, even at the time of year when it should be busy breeding. It likes to eat flowers and will sometimes hang upside down in the tree-tops to reach its favourite blooms. It is so shy that even the most experienced woodland ecologist has rarely caught sight of it.

Our native dormouse, with its endearing behaviour and absurdly cherubic features, is a popular character in many a fairytale. Lewis Carroll, for example, described its idiosyncracies well in his account of the Mad Hatter's tea party: 'A Dormouse was sitting in between them, fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it and talking over its head. 'Very uncomfortable for the dormouse,' thought Alice; 'only as it's asleep, I suppose it doesn't mind.' '

Yet despite its abundance in children's storybooks, and its instant familiarity, Muscardinus avellanarius is one of the most endangered small mammals in Britain. Later this year, probably within the next two months, biologists hope to begin the second phase of an ambitious programme to bolster the population of the nation's sleepiest eater of flowers, nuts and berries.

A field experiment conducted last year showed that it is feasible to release captive-bred dormice into the wild and monitor how well they do. This year's research goes a stage further. It intends to assess whether reintroduced dormice can successfully survive and breed for several years in an area from which they have disappeared entirely. If this limited reintroduction programme works, the stage is set for bringing the dormouse back to the other parts of Britain where it went missing many decades ago.

The nocturnal habits of the dormouse - it is one of the few mammals other than bats to be active almost entirely at night - and its love of climbing around the tops of bushes and trees make accurate surveys of its numbers difficult. Nobody really knows how many there are, says Pat Morris, a biologist at London University's Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, who is heading the reintroduction programme. 'It seems to have disappeared from seven counties where it was present 100 years ago.'

There can be little doubt that the dormouse has gone into quite serious decline in recent years, Dr Morris says. 'It is found in an area stretching from Cornwall to Kent, then north as far as about Shropshire. There's a small patch in Cumbria, and an even smaller group in Northumberland. But there is a huge chunk in the middle of England where they appear to be absent.'

Rather than trying to count them by sightings, naturalists rely on looking for tell-tale signs, such as hazelnuts that have been gnawed at in a certain fashion (a good naturalist can distinguish a hazelnut eaten by a dormouse from one eaten by a vole or woodmouse). 'How many dormice there are rather depends on the quality of the habitat locally. In some sites they appear to be quite dense; at others they are less dense, perhaps a tenth of the number of other woodland mammals.'

The native dormouse, which is a few inches long, is not to be confused with its larger continental cousin - the fat or edible dormouse Glis glis, introduced into this country in 1902 by Lord Rothschild, who thought it would be rather nice to have them in the grounds of his home at Tring in the Chilterns. Unfortunately, this larger dormouse, which is about the size of a squirrel, has since spread out in a 30-mile radius and can be a nuisance when it invades houses and garages.

Our native dormouse, however, is much too shy to come anywhere near towns. It lives entirely in woodland habitats and appears to do best in woods that are actively managed under the old coppiced system, when bushes are allowed to grow for a few years before being cut for their branches to be made into charcoal, woven fences or baskets. English woods had been managed like this since medieval times, making them ideal for the dormouse which relies on an abundant supply of hazelnuts to fatten up before its winter hibernation. Unfortunately, coppiced woodland management has been virtually abandoned since the Second World War. This is causing problems for dormice, Dr Morris says.

Regular cutting of hazel in particular stimulates the continual growth and seeding that dormice need. 'If you leave any woodland alone, it becomes dominated by very tall trees, and shades out the understorey, the bushy layer where most of the dormouse's food is found. We know that woodland management is no longer carried out the way it was in many areas of England, and this has been damaging to the habitats that the dormice like. Because coppiced woodland has been good for all sorts of wildlife, many conservation organisations have now reinstated coppicing as a conservation tool rather than an economic concern.'

It is important, however, to introduce dormice into the right sort of coppiced system. Short-rotation coppice - where the bushes are cut in less than a five-year period - is no good for dormice because hazel takes between seven and 10 years to produce nuts, Dr Morris says. Managing woodland is a bit like conducting an orchestra: 'You can bring up the wind section or play down the drums. You can fine-tune it to decide whether you are going to have lots of nightingales or lots of butterflies. We know that short-rotation coppice, which is very good for flowers and certain species of butterfly, is in fact disastrous for dormice. But equally, leaving it without coppice makes it unsuitable for dormice; they become rare, and in a bad breeding year they just die out.'

A bad year for breeding is most likely to happen when the summer is wet and cold. Dormice, it seems, are particularly vulnerable to bouts of 'bad' weather: notably wet, cool summers and warm winters. The best sort of climate is when there is a marked seasonal difference between summer and winter. Hot summers make them active and less likely to go into torpor, which they do as soon as they feel the cold. Cold winters are good because dormice are less likely to come out of hibernation and waste vital stores of body fat during the winter months.

A report by the Mammal Society says: 'The vagaries of the British climate probably contribute significantly to the problems faced by dormice in this country and at least partly account for its historical decline.'

Dr Morris says that sites have already been chosen for possible reintroduction, but exact locations are being kept secret to prevent disturbance by inquisitive visitors. 'We're reintroducing them into those areas where either the woodland management is suitable or where, for natural reasons, the habitat grows in a form that is suitable for dormice. One kind of woodland doesn't have big trees, for example, while another has big trees that are widely spaced, with shrubby woodland in between.'

English Nature is sponsoring the scheme as part of its Species Recovery Programme (see listing opposite), which aims to boost the numbers of a wide variety of endangered animals and plants. Andrew Deadman, project manager at English Nature, says the dormouse is one of the most important projects on its books: 'We chose the dormouse for the Species Recovery Programme because this would have knock-on benefits for woodland conservation itself. You're not only managing woodlands for the benefit of dormice, but for the benefit of other species too.'

The plan this year is to release about 20 animals. Half will be captive-bred and half caught in the wild from sites where they are doing relatively well - young animals, born late in the year, that are otherwise unlikely to survive. The scientists want to compare the survival chances of each group.

Tiny radio transmitters will be fitted to some of the animals so that their movements in the trees and bushes at night can be monitored. Previous research using such radio devices showed that the animals did not roam very far - a few hundred metres at most. It also demonstrated how the animals moved up and down the woodland canopy, spending more time on the ground in late summer. Nestboxes are being provided to help the animals cope with their new environment.

Some sceptics may ask why we want to reintroduce an animal that is

evidently not well-suited to the way modern woodland is managed. Dr Deadman's answer is emphatic: 'The dormouse is part of our wildlife heritage. We have a responsibility to ensure that such species don't disappear off the face of England because nobody is doing anything about it.'

OTHER SPECIES AT RISK

English Nature - the Government's conservation watchdog - launched its Species Recovery Programme two years ago. It is an attempt to 'rescue, revive and restore' endangered species of British animals and plants. The ultimate aim, says English Nature, is 'to achieve the long-term, self-sustained survival in the wild of the species currently under threat'. Projects involving 20 species, including those listed here, have received government funding.

WART-BITER CRICKET: One of the rarest insects in Britain, with only three populations surviving in southern England. London Zoo is involved in a captive-breeding programme, which has successfully reared enough stock to reintroduce the Wart-biter at several suitably managed sites.

LARGE BLUE BUTTERFLY: Became extinct in 1979 but was successfully re- established with stock sent from Sweden. The aim is to reintroduce it into six managed sites in the South-west.

ESSEX EMERALD MOTH: Once occurred in the coastal salt marshes of Kent and Essex, but now survives in only one colony. Its decline is due to overgrazing of the salt marshes and the destruction of sea walls. Captive-bred moths will be released into the wild.

LARGE COPPER BUTTERFLY: Originally re-established in 1927 after becoming 'extinct' around 1850. The programme hopes to improve its survival at the caterpillar stage in winter.

RED SQUIRREL: Has declined steadily with the growth in numbers of the introduced grey squirrel. The project intends to investigate ways of manipulating habitat to favour the red.

LAGOON SANDWORM: This invertebrate is close to extinction in Britain - its survival, in a Hampshire coastal lagoon, is in doubt. Work has begun on the feasibility of transferring some sandworms to form a new population at a lagoon nearby.

STINKING HAWK'S BEARD: A striking yellow-flowered plant thought to be extinct after construction work at its last remaining site, in Kent. Seed has been obtained from wild stock, and biologists are looking at suitable sites for reintroduction.

NATTERJACK TOAD: Britain's rarest amphibian has suffered badly as its natural habitat, sand dunes and heathland, has been lost to development. Breeding and management will take place at carefully selected sites.

STRAPWORT: The entire British population of this plant, which thrives on shingle, is restricted to a single site in Devon. Water levels are being controlled and cattle encouraged to trample the water's edge, to help create the right conditions for growth.

REDDISH BUFF MOTH: Thrives on heathland, but is now thought to exist at only one site. Captive-breeding programmes should boost numbers for reintroduction at some managed sites.

PLYMOUTH PEAR: A tree that grows up to five metres high in hedgebanks and is now restricted to a few sites in Devon and Cornwall. Botanists are improving techniques for propagation.

RIBBON-LEAVED WATER PLANTAIN: Nitrate pollution and dredging of waterways have limited this plant to one site in Worcestershire, but it has recently been rediscovered at another site in Lincolnshire. Germination experiments have led to re-establishment at two previous sites.

FIELD CRICKET: Survives in only two colonies at one site in Sussex. Discussions with local landowners should lead to more appropriate management of former habitat sites.

LADY'S SLIPPER ORCHID: Now found at only one site in northern England. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has successfully propagated seeds which will be reintroduced into a number of suitably managed sites.

FEN RAGWORT: Looks similar to the common ragwort plant, reaching a height of two metres. Previously thought to be extinct, it was recently rediscovered in a Cambridgeshire ditch. Seeds were collected, and re-

establishment is planned at old sites.

FEN RAFT SPIDER: Found in only two British wetlands; has suffered due to the draining of fens. Small breeding pools have been created in Suffolk; conservationists are trying to improve habitat management in Sussex.

STARFRUIT: Grows on the edges of pools and ponds, but has suffered badly from lack of pond management. Pond clearance schemes should boost its recovery.

(Photographs omitted)