Best of Natural History Radio

Some wildlife is fragile and will die out if it loses particular conditions. Some butterflies need a particular rare plant, or some birds certain trees for example. This week's field report comes from the heart of England where the needs of the Duke of Burgundy butterfly are revealed, our most endangered butterfly. In an increasingly crowded world is it possible to preserve fragile wildlife with so much demand on space. Monty Don explores whether it is possible for fragile wildlife to thrive in a world where the use of land changes from one generation to another, often linked to demand from an increasing global population.

Shared Planet explores the link between a growing human population and wildlife and there is no other part of the natural world that is under as much pressure as the earth's soils. We rely on them to grow healthy crops, which they can only do if they support an appropriate community of bacterial, fungal and invertebrate life. Wildlife too depends on this diverse life that thrives in the soil, everything from birds to plants to insects. The earth worm is the surprising champion of soils and an animal that looks vulnerable in the face of human population pressure. Monty Don will be in the studio speaking with soil scientist Dr Helaina Black and soil biophysisist Professor Wilfred Otten.

From a dawn solo to the thunderous roar of a midnight train, this vibrant sound portrait follows 24 hours in the life of Newcastle Central Station with recordings by Chris Watson. Produced by Sarah Blunt

Sharks are in decline across the world's oceans. It can be argued sharks have an image problem with reports of attacks on swimmers and surfers. Persecution and deliberate killing to clear areas near swimming beaches are only a contributor to shark decline. Legal fishing, by-catch and catching sharks for their fins are large contributors to shark decline. In this programme Monty Don talks to a wildlife cameraman who has filmed sharks for 20 years and recorded his observations of shark decline in his dive logs. Dr Shelley Clarke and Professor Colin Simpfendorfer talk about the ways in which experts believe we can share the oceans with the large diverse group of fish. Plus a report from Fiji where a single living shark is allegedly worth $50,000 a year in dive tourist revenue.

This week Monty Don explores how religious teachings might help people get more involved in conservation. In southern India, the city of Bangalore is the third most populous city in India and one of the fastest growing. As the city expands, the nearby national park - Bannerghatta - is under pressure. People now live in the buffer zone that was designed to separate people and wildlife. Elephants now regularly damage crops and farmland as their traditional sites are settled by people. Professor Mary Evelyn Tucker, Fazlun Khalid and Bishop James Jones join Monty to explore how religion and conservation fit together.

In this programme a field report from Saba Douglas-Hamilton of Save the Elephants from the Samburu National Park in Kenya. Saba sees first-hand the sight of an elephant shot for its ivory. Monty Don explores some of the wider issues in Africa with David Western, Chairman of the Africa Conservation Centre in Kenya, and speaks with Dr Peter Li, associate professor of East Asian Politics at University of Houston-Downtown. With many commentators and scientists saying the end markets for ivory are too large to supply from legally traded ivory, what argument will save elephants from the huge market incentive to kill elephants for their ivory?

As trade between different countries and continents increases we move more animals and plants around the world. With them go diseases that can be devastating for local wildlife.

In this week's programme we have a field report from South Georgia where Tony Martin, Professor in Zoology at Dundee University and working with the South Georgia Heritage Trust, has embarked on a programme to remove 100% of rats on South Georgia. Human activity over the decades and centuries have inadvertently introduced Brown Rats to islands and mainlands and the rats have driven local extinctions of birds and caused havoc on many seabird populations, eating the chicks in the nest. Is the wildlife benefit worth the effort it takes to return such areas to a situation before Brown Rats were introduced? Monty Don also speaks with environmental author Emma Marris.

In this week's programme we have a field report from England with Simon Potts, Professor of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services at Reading University. Simon Potts's research looks specifically at how effective bees and other pollinators are and their abundance in agricultural landscapes - a crucial link in food security. Monty Don explores some of the issues with Vandana Shiva in Delhi, a board member of the International Forum on Globalisation and an author of over 20 books about biodiversity, food and economies.

This week's Living World sees presenter Chris Sperring heading to Hampshire where with native lime tree specialist Hugh Milner they embark on a journey into the remarkable life of the UK's native lime trees. Most people's association with lime is a sticky mess on car windscreens from street planted non-native common lime. This is a hybrid of the 2 native species of lime tree in Britain, the small leaved lime and the large leaved lime. The bark, or more importantly the sap from the bark is also a great delicacy for great spotted woodpeckers, who it is now believed, after drilling their holes, wait until insects become trapped in the sap to take back to their young in the nest. More surprisingly lime trees can walk across a landscape, as they have the ability to regenerate from fallen timber or if branches make contact with the ground. Producer: Andrew Dawes

This week on Living World, presenter Trai Anfield travels to mid Scotland for an encounter with one of Britain's rarest mammals, the pine marten. Here in a remote landscape she meets up with Martyn Jamieson from the Field Studies Council for a safari with a difference, can they find a female with young, high in the tree tops? Producer: Andrew Dawes

This week on Living World, presenter Chris Sperring is in Buckinghamshire on the lookout for glow worms. Literature is full of references to these enigmatic little beetles who glow when its dark enough not to be able to differentiate colours. With Chris is Robin Scagell who has been studying glow worms for over 40 years and still gets a sense of excitement seeing one in some long grass by a lake near Little Marlow. While recording the programme, Chris witnessed a male come to a female and mate with her; something that is very rare to see in the wild. Producer Andrew Dawes.

In this week's programme we have a report from Gloucestershire on the waxing and waning of Eel populations. Jonathan Porritt, one of the founders of the sustainability charity Forum for the Future will be in the Shared Planet studio to explore the issues and the wider implication of sustainability and Monty also speaks with Pavan Sukhdev, founder of the GIST Advisory - a specialist consulting firm which helps governments and corporations manage their impacts on natural and human capital.

Presenter Trai Anfield travels to Coquet Island off the Northumberland coast for this week's Living World for an encounter with the rare roseate tern in its last UK breeding colony. Produced by Andrew Dawes

In this week's programme we have a report from the Arabian Gulf off the coast of Qatar where we witness oil rig legs encrusted with life, pods of dolphins and work monitoring the arrival of migrant whale sharks to the area. David Paterson, Executive Director of the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland is in the Shared Planet studio to explore the issues, and macro-economist and professor of Economics, Alejandro Nadal also speaks with Monty.