Puffins on St Kilda in 1972

The Puffin population on St Kilda declined dramatically between the early 1960's and 1971. A census of Hirta and Dun, together with some observations on Soay in 1972, did not indicate any marked continuing decline. Some redistribution of Puffin colonies and recolonisation of areas of Holcus grassland was observed. The validity of colony size assessment by counting birds is discussed.     

Repeated selection of morphometric traits in the Soay sheep on St Kilda

1. Long-term studies allow the outcomes of repeated selection events to be monitored. Here, we investigate phenotypic selection in successive winter mortality events in the Soay sheep of St Kilda, Scotland, between 1985 and 1996. Selection of three quantitative morphometric traits, body weight, hindleg length and incisor arcade breadth, was investigated in different sectors of the population.
2. Evidence from fitness differentials of positive directional selection for large size was repeatedly found in lambs and adult females. Selection in the opposing direction was only found in one year in lambs.
3. Selection gradients showed that in most years when significant selection occurred, body weight was the focus of direct selection, whereas selection of hindleg length and incisor breadth was indirect, arising from their correlation with body weight.
4. Selection was strongest in years of low over-winter survival and almost absent in years when survival was high. Intensity of selection was greatest in lambs, emphasizing the differences in selection pressure experienced by different sectors of the population, in addition to the temporal variation in selection pressure due to population density and environmental conditions.
5. Despite repeated positive selection of body weight, no evidence of a change in the population mean was found over the course of the study.     

Heterozygosity, inbreeding and neonatal traits in Soay sheep on St Kilda

We investigated whether birth weight and neonatal survival, a period within which 24% of all mortalities occur, were correlated with levels of inbreeding in St Kilda Soay sheep, using pedigree inbreeding coefficients and four marker-based estimators of inbreeding. None of the inbreeding estimators, either of the offspring, or of their mothers, explained significant variation in a lamb's birth weight or probability of surviving the neonatal period, suggesting low inbreeding depression for these traits. We evaluated the correlation between the marker-based measures of inbreeding and inbreeding coefficients obtained from the Soay pedigree, where paternal links were inferred using the same panel of microsatellite markers. Even when using a relatively complete portion of the pedigree, in which all individuals had known maternal and paternal grandparents, the correlation was found to be weak (r = -0.207, where mean f = 0.0168). These results add support to the recent prediction that when the mean and variance in inbreeding are low in a population, heterozygosity-fitness correlations can be very weak or even undetectable. The pursuit of more detailed pedigrees offers the best prospect for identifying inbreeding depression within this study population.     

Metazoan-protozoan parasite co-infections and host body weight in St Kilda Soay sheep

For hundreds of years, the unmanaged Soay sheep population on St Kilda has survived despite enduring presumably deleterious co-infections of helminth, protozoan and arthropod parasites and intermittent periods of starvation. Important parasite taxa in young Soay sheep are strongyles (Trichostrongylus axei, Trichostrongylus vitrinus and Teladorsagia circumcincta), coccidia (11 Eimeria species) and keds (Melophagus ovinus) and in older animals, Teladorsagia circumcincta. In this research, associations between the intensity of different parasite taxa were investigated. Secondly, the intensities of different parasite taxa were tested for associations with variation in host weight, which is itself a determinant of over-winter survival in the host population. In lambs, the intensity of strongyle eggs was positively correlated with that of Nematodirus spp. eggs, while in yearlings and adults strongyle eggs and coccidia oocysts were positively correlated. In lambs and yearlings, of the parasite taxa tested, only strongyle eggs were significantly and negatively associated with host weight. However, in adult hosts, strongyles and coccidia were independently and negatively associated with host weight. These results are consistent with the idea that strongyles and coccidia are exerting independent selection on Soay sheep.     

黄腹山鹪莺育雏行为和雏鸟生长

2007年3~9月,在广东省肇庆市江溪村对黄腹山鹪莺(Prinia flaviventris)的育雏行为和雏鸟生长进行了研究。通过取食行为观察、育雏食物分析和雏鸟身体量度的测量来研究黄腹山鹪莺亲鸟繁殖投资和雏鸟的生长规律。研究期间,利用隐蔽帐观察窗进行行为观察,观察距离在5 m以内;在雏鸟身体上用无味彩笔标号以区别雏鸟个体:10日龄前,标记于雏鸟背部,10~12日龄,标记在雏鸟跗跖处;对部分数据进行双变量相关分析,利用Logistic曲线拟合雏鸟形态增长,并比较每个回归方程斜率间的差异。结果显示:1)黄腹山鹪莺育雏由雌雄共同承担,育雏期(11.9±0.4)d(n=7巢)。幼雏出壳后亲鸟早晚暖雏,第7天起亲鸟白天不再暖雏;2)随雏鸟的生长,喂食次数和食物种类逐渐增加,雏鸟日龄与喂食次数极显著相关(r=0.995,P0.01);3)育雏期雏鸟食物皆为动物性食物,以蜘蛛目物种所占比例最大(40.95%),其他包括幼虫及直翅目、鳞翅目、鞘翅目、蜻蜓目等节肢动物;4)Logistic曲线方程中,体重的生长率常数k值最大,与其他k值之间存在显著性差异(P0.05);5)黄腹山鹪莺体重、体长、尾长、翼长、嘴峰、嘴裂、第三根初级飞羽(简称为P3)、跗跖及爪各参数间的相关系数均为0.9以上(P0.01),参数之间在一定程度上可相互代替;6)黄腹山鹪莺雏鸟的发育遵循最重要的功能优先发育的原则,符合能量分配假说。黄腹山鹪莺喂食次数、雏鸟生长速率(k值)相对较高,可能与当地丰富的食物资源有关,也可能是对巢址环境多变的适应。     

Modeling linkage disequilibrium in natural populations: the example of the Soay sheep population of St. Kilda, Scotland

The use of linkage disequilibrium to localize the genes underlying quantitative traits has received considerable attention in the livestock genetics community over the past few years. This has resulted in the investigation of linkage disequilibrium structures of several domestic livestock populations to assess their potential use in fine-mapping efforts. However, the linkage disequilibrium structure of free-living populations has been less well investigated. As the direct evaluation of linkage disequilibrium can be both time consuming and expensive the use of simulations that include as many aspects of population history as possible is advocated as an alternative. A simulation of the linkage disequilibrium structure of the Soay sheep population of St. Kilda, Scotland, is provided as an example. The simulated population showed significant decline of linkage disequilibrium with genetic distance and low levels of background linkage disequilibrium, indicating that the Soay sheep population is a viable resource for linkage disequilibrium fine mapping of quantitative trait loci.     

青海海北高寒草甸黄嘴朱顶雀亲鸟递食率

中国科学院海北高寒草甸生态系统定位站的黄嘴朱顶雀（Acanthis flavirostris)雌雄亲鸟的育幼行为数据收集于1999－2001年的3个繁殖季节（5－8月）。观察使用了一个闭路电视系统,包括放在鸟巢附近5－10cm处的摄像头和35－40m外的监视器。数据分析表明：亲鸟的递食率无年间变化;雌、雄鸟递食率没有差异;总递食率不随雏鸟日龄和日间不同时段改变,但雌鸟在傍晚以前的递食率低于雄鸟并在傍晚高于雄鸟。在雏鸟6日龄前,雌鸟总递食率低于雄鸟,且二者逐步逼近,然后稳定在同一水平。此种性别差异与雌鸟在递食以外所承担的,为雏鸟保温、遮阳以及清除雏鸟粪便等事务有关。这些结果与单配制鸟类亲本投资理论一致。     

Grazing decisions of Soay sheep,Ovis aries,on St Kilda: a consequence of parasite distribution?

Relationships between the height of grass swards and herbage intake have been established for a number of large herbivores and sward height plays a major role in determining the selection of herbivore diets. However, tall grass swards also represent a more stable damp microclimate for gastrointestinal parasite larvae and tall swards contain generally greater numbers of parasites than short swards. Herbivores may then trade-off the need to maximise nutrient intake through the selection of tall swards with the need to avoid parasite ingestion. Stratified sward sampling techniques were used to determine the distribution of nutrients and parasites in a heterogeneous sward structure on the island of Hirta, St Kilda, which is grazed by a population of feral Soay sheep. The disparity between the short gap vegetation and the tall tussock vegetation was greatest in spring, when gap vegetation was some three-fold shorter than tussock vegetation; this led to tussocks offering greater nutrient and energy intake rate when compared to gap vegetation in spring. Parasites were concentrated in tussocks in spring, thus creating trade-offs. Such trade-offs were not present in summer when parasites were more evenly distributed across the gap/tussock sward structure and the nutritional advantages associated with grazing tussocks were diminished. The diet selection of the resident population of sheep was determined by recording the number of bites taken from gap and tussock vegetation by randomly selected focal animals over repeated 5-min grazing periods. Overall, all animals avoided grazing tussocks, which were most strongly avoided in the spring, and older animals avoided grazing tussocks to a greater extent. Overall, females with lambs and males avoided tussocks to a similar degree and both avoided them less than barren females. Faecal egg counts (FEC) of female sheep were negatively correlated with tussock selectivity and vice versa for male sheep. The interaction between the grazing behaviour of each sex and FEC is discussed in relation to the immunocompetence and nutrient requirements of the different sexes. The maximum disparity between the costs and benefits of the trade-off studied occurred in late winter/early spring which also represents the time of greatest nutrient demand in the Soay sheep, since many are close to starvation and/or are in the advanced stages of pregnancy. Grazing decisions of individuals at this time, determining relative nutrient and parasite intake, may then be related to subsequent fitness and survival.     

The Food of Nestling Jays and Magpies

Half of the 4,000 Grey Plovers which reach the Wash in late summer remain there to moult; more than a quarter are already in arrested wing moult, having begun elsewhere. The authors discuss this condition and also the birds' movements in the light of ringing recoveries.     

Accounting for female space sharing in St. Kilda Soay sheep (Ovis aries) results in little change in heritability estimates

When estimating heritability in free‐living populations, it is common practice to account for common environment effects, because of their potential to generate phenotypic covariance among relatives thereby biasing heritability estimates. In quantitative genetic studies of natural populations, however, philopatry, which results in relatives being clustered in space, is rarely accounted for. The two studies that have been carried out so far suggest absolute declines in heritability estimates of up to 43% when accounting for space sharing by relatives. However, due to methodological limitations these estimates may not be representative. We used data from the St. Kilda Soay sheep population to estimate heritabilities with and without accounting for space sharing for five traits for which there is evidence for additive genetic variance (birthweight, birth date, lamb August weight, and female post‐mortem jaw and metacarpal length). We accounted for space sharing by related females by separately incorporating spatial autocorrelation, and a home range similarity matrix. Although these terms accounted for up to 18% of the variance in these traits, heritability estimates were only reduced by up to 7%. Our results suggest that the bias caused by not accounting for space sharing may be lower than previously thought. This suggests that philopatry does not inevitably lead to a large bias if space sharing by relatives is not accounted for. We hope our work stimulates researchers to model shared space when relatives in their study population share space, as doing so will enable us to better understand when bias may be of particular concern.     

Competition and extinction: the mice of Foula, with notes on those of Fair Isle and St Kilda

House mice ( Mus rnusculus muralis ) on St Kilda became extinct within about 18 months of the human population leaving the island in 1930. Although it was argued at the time that they died out because they were unable to find enough food, house mice flourish on a number of uninhabited islands and it seems more probable that they could not successfully compete with the Long-tailed field mouse ( Apodemus sylvaticus ) in the absence of man.
A study of the distribution and diet of both house and field mice on the Shetland islands of Foula and Fair Isle shows that the house mouse populations tend to be centred on human dwellings, although both species were found apparently living together on Foula away from habitation. The natural history of the two species is reviewed, and it is concluded that the breeding of the house mouse is the most probable characteristic to be upset by disturbance, and that the disappearance of man on St Kilda allowed Apodemus to enter a habitat previously occupied almost exclusively by Mus .     

Ageing in a variable habitat: environmental stress affects senescence in parasite resistance in St Kilda Soay sheep

Despite widespread empirical evidence for a general deterioration in the majority of traits with advancing age, it is unclear whether the progress of senescence is chronologically determined, or whether factors such as environmental conditions experienced over the lifespan are more important. We explored the relative importance of ‘chronological’ and ‘environmental’ measures of age to changes in parasite resistance across the lifespan of free-living Soay sheep. Our results show that individuals experience an increase in parasite burden, as indicated by gastrointestinal helminth faecal egg count (FEC) with chronological age. However, chronological age fails to fully explain changes in FEC because a measure of environmental age, cumulative environmental stress, predicts an additional increase in FEC once chronological age has been accounted for. Additionally, we show that in females age-specific changes are dependent upon the environmental conditions experienced across individuals'' life histories: increases in FEC with age were greatest among individuals that had experienced the highest degree of stress. Our results illustrate that chronological age alone may not always correspond to biological age, particularly in variable environments. In these circumstances, measures of age that capture the cumulative stresses experienced by an individual may be useful for understanding the process of senescence.     

Survival and behaviour of castrated Soay sheep (Ovis aries) in a feral island population on Hirta, St. Kilda, Scotland

The free-living population of Soay sheep on the island of Hirta, St. Kilda, in the Outer Hebrides, has been intensively studied since 1959. The present study was initiated to throw light on the causes of the high mortality rate of adult rams in comparison to that of ewes. In 1978, 1979 and 1980, a total of 72 male lambs was castrated within a day or two of birth. The survival of these castrates has been much longer than that of the entire rams, marked as controls, and longer than that of ewes of the cohorts of the same years. The daily activity pattern of the castrates was similar to that of ewes rather than that of rams. In particular, during the rut the castrates spent most of the daylight hours grazing, in contrast to the rams who were continuously moving and involved in agonistic and sexual encounters. This study substantiates the earlier assertion that the costs in energy of reproduction are a major cause of mortality in temperate zone ungulates. The social organization of some castrates was similar to that of females in that they remained with the home-range group of ewes into which they were born, but other individuals resembled males in that these castrates clubbed together in their own groups. These patterns of behaviour persisted throughout life.     

Land use history of Village Bay,Hirta, St Kilda World Heritage Site: A palynological investigation of plaggen soils

This paper presents findings based on a palynological investigation of artificially accreting (plaggen) soils from the settlement of Village Bay, Hirta, in the St Kilda archipelago, which was perhaps the most distant and inhospitable outpost of sustained human habitation in the British Isles. The soils were developed principally through the addition of turf ash and seabird waste, although some ash may have been derived from upland peats. It is assumed that the woodland pollen signal (much lower in the soils than in an upland peat site nearby) represents off-island sources. Corylus avellana-type pollen (frequent in upland sites), along with Potentilla-type, may provide markers in the Village Bay profiles for the addition of ashed hillside turf, and possibly peat, to the plaggen soils. Cereal-type pollen is well represented through the profiles and is often strongly associated with the record for Chrysanthemum segetum (corn marigold), a frequent indicator of arable land. The Brassicaceae signal may partly reflect the cultivation of cabbages; Chelidonium majus (greater celandine) may have been grown for medicinal use. Soil mixing has rendered radiocarbon dating meaningless at this site, but the establishment of a change in cultivation regime before AD 1830 may have been identified from the patterns of pollen concentration and preservation in the profiles.