Potential effects of climate change on plant species in the Faroe Islands

Aim To identify the effect of climate change on selected plant species representative of the main vegetation types in the Faroe Islands. Due to a possible weakening of the North Atlantic Current, it is difficult to predict whether the climate in the Faroe Islands will be warmer or colder as a result of global warming. Therefore, two scenarios are proposed. The first scenario assumes an increase in summer and winter temperature of 2 °C, and the second a decrease in summer and winter temperature of 2 °C. Location Temperate, low alpine and alpine areas in the northern and central part of the Faroe Islands. Methods The responses of 12 different plant species in the Faroe Islands were tested against measured soil temperature, expressed as T_min, T_max, snow cover and growing degree days (GDD), using generalised linear modelling (GLM). Results The tolerance to changes in winter soil temperature (0.3–0.8 °C) was found to be lower than the tolerance to changing summer soil temperature (0.7–1.0 °C), and in both cases lower than the predicted climate changes. Conclusions The species most affected by a warming scenario are those that are found with a limited distribution restricted to the uppermost parts of the mountains, especially Salix herbacea, Racomitrium fasciculare, and Bistorta vivipara. For other species, the effect will mainly be a general upward migration. The most vulnerable species are those with a low tolerance, especially Calluna vulgaris, and also Empetrum nigrum, and Nardus stricta. If the climate in the Faroe Islands should become colder, the most vulnerable species are those at low altitudes. A significantly lower temperature would be expected to produce a serious reduction in the extent of Vaccinium myrtillus and Galium saxatilis. Species like Empetrum nigrum, Nardus stricta, and Calluna vulgaris may also be vulnerable. In any case, these species can be expected to migrate downwards.     

New insights into the biodiversity and generic relationships of foliose Bangiales (Rhodophyta) in Iceland and the Faroe Islands

Foliose species of the Bangiales (Porphyra sensu lato) have a long history of study in the N Atlantic, but there are still regions, especially in the northern parts of the N Atlantic that need more attention. A molecular study using rbcL and cox1 sequences was undertaken to assess the diversity of foliose Bangiales species in Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Herbarium collections from the intertidal and subtidal of Iceland (summer and winter) and the Faroe Islands (all seasons) revealed a total of 13 species (11 common to both areas), which were referred to four of the genera recognized in a recent two-gene global phylogeny. Boreophyllum birdiae, Porphyra dioica, P. linearis, P. purpurea, P. umbilicalis, Pyropia ‘leucosticta’ A, Pyropia njordii Mols-Mortensen, J. Brodie & Neefus, sp. nov., Wildemania amplissima and W. miniata were common to both areas, while Pyropia thulaea and Wildemania abyssicola (Kjellman) A. Mols-Mortensen & J. Brodie, comb. nov. (=Porphyra abyssicola Kjellman) were reported from Iceland but not from the Faroe Islands; Porphyra sp. FO and Pyropia elongata were reported from the Faroe Islands but not from Iceland. Boreophyllum birdiae is reported for the first time for Iceland and Porphyra sp. FO is reported for the first time for the Faroe Islands. Pyropia njordii is described from the Faroe Islands and is also recorded for Iceland, Greenland, New England, USA and Nova Scotia, Canada. A total of 25 foliose Bangiales species are now reported from the N Atlantic and these results demonstrate the importance of investigating as many areas as possible to reach a more complete understanding of species diversity and distribution.     

Fit is fat: winter body mass of Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica

Capsule: Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica from Scottish and Norwegian populations were significantly heavier in winter than when rearing chicks.

Aims: To compare body masses of Atlantic Puffins on their wintering grounds off the Faroe Islands with those of birds rearing chicks at colonies in Scotland and Norway.

Methods: We took standardized measurements of wing length and body mass of Atlantic Puffins during the summer chick-rearing period and on the wintering grounds near the Faroe Islands. These measurements were used to estimate seasonal changes in body mass for the two breeding populations. In three cases data were available for individuals weighed both at the colony and on the wintering grounds.

Results: On average, Atlantic Puffins breeding in Scotland and Norway increased their body mass by 20–30% between the chick-rearing period and winter. The very limited individual level data accorded well with the population level estimates.

Conclusions: Our results provide the first estimates of the order of magnitude in mass change between two key life history stages in this species. They indicate that gains in body mass between chick-rearing and winter are at least double the decline in mass previously recorded between incubation and chick-rearing. Given the Atlantic Puffin’s deteriorating conservation status, improved information on seasonal changes in body condition should help determine the underlying causes of die-offs in major wreck incidents such as those reported in recent years.     

Alcune Stazioni di Taxus Baccata L. Nel Gruppo del M. Fumaiolo

Summary

The Author gives details of the station of the jew-tree (Taxvs baccata L.) identified in the region of Mount Fumaiolo. He draws attention to the importance of such findings, allied to what is already known, to the study of plant geography in the Italian peninsula, extending the hope that the caracteristic coniferous pine, rightly considered as a survingin from former times, would be protected, where it grows spontaneously, as evidence of Italian paleoclimatic conditions.     

The North Atlantic subpolar gyre and the marine migration of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar: the ‘Merry‐Go‐Round’ hypothesis

One model for marine migration of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar proposes that North American and southern European stocks (<62° N) move directly to feeding grounds off west Greenland, then overwinter in the Labrador Sea, whereas northern European stocks (>62° N) utilize the Norwegian Sea. An alternate model proposes that both North American and European stocks migrate in the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre (NASpG) where S. salar enter the NASpG on their respective sides of the Atlantic, and travel counterclockwise within the NASpG until returning to natal rivers. A review of data accumulated during the last 50 years suggests a gyre model is most probable. Freshwater parr metamorphose into smolts which have morphological, physiological and behavioural adaptations of epipelagic, marine fishes. Former high‐seas fisheries were seasonally sequential and moved in the direction of NASpG currents, and catches were highest along the main axis of the NASpG. Marking and discrimination studies indicate mixed continental origin feeding aggregations on both sides of the Atlantic. Marked North American smolts were captured off Norway, the Faroe Islands, east and west Greenland, and adults tagged at the Faroes were recovered in Canadian rivers. Marked European smolts were recovered off Newfoundland and Labrador, west and east Greenland, and adults tagged in the Labrador Sea were captured in European rivers. High Caesium‐137 (¹³⁷Cs) levels in S. salar returning to a Quebec river suggested 62·3% had fed at or east of Iceland, whereas levels in 1 sea‐winter (SW) Atlantic Canada returnees indicated 24·7% had fed east of the Faroes. Lower levels of ¹³⁷ Cs in returning 1SW Irish fish suggest much of their growth occurred in the western Atlantic. These data suggest marine migration of S. salar follows a gyre model and is similar to other open‐ocean migrations of epipelagic fishes.     

The House mice of the Faroe Islands: a study in microdifferentiation

The House mice (Mus musculus L.) of the Faroe Islands (62°N, 7°W) are frequently quoted as examples of rapid evolution, because they seem to be clearly differentiated both from mice in other parts of the world, and between different islands within the Faroe group despite being introduced through human agency within the last millennium. They are also of interest in being among the most climatically stressed mice in the Northern Hemisphere.
The present study is an attempt to determine the extent of differentiation between the populations on the six Faroe islands which harbour mice. It is based on size and organ weights, measurements on the mandibles and scapulae, non-metrical variation of the skeleton, and allozymic frequencies at 22 loci. Distance statistics calculated for all five groups of data between samples from each island compared with every other, showed that all the populations were clearly distinct. However the distances calculated from the different data were disconcertingly heterogeneous. The most likely explanation is that the different characteristics scored each depend on a relatively small number of different genes.
Taking all the results together, it seems most probable that mice first entered the Faroes via the main port of Torshavn and spread from there to Nols0y, Hestur and Sand0y, and from Sand0y to Fugloy and Mykines. The large inter-island differences can be attributed primarily to "instant sub-speciation" produced by each colonization depending on a probable small number of effective founders.     

Sir William Jardine and the Ichnology of Annandale

ABSTRACT

Sir William Jardine was a polymath; he was one of the world's foremost ornithologists, and ichthyologists, as well as a knowledgeable geologist, entomologist and botanist. He was a talented and skilled artist and engraver and a keen hunter and fisherman. He was also the author of the book The Ichnology of Annandale that represents the first book ever published on the subject of ichnology. It was here in this volume that Jardine coined the word ichnology. It is also one of the rarest ichnology publications, as it is believed that only 135–140 copies were ever printed. This volume remains the most lavishly illustrated book in vertebrate ichnology literature. This paper discusses the work of Jardine, the finds from his estate and his role in defining ichnology as a science.     

Exploitation of Local,Drifted and Imported Wood by the Vikings on the Faroe Islands

Summary

Two hundred wood samples have been examined from the Viking settlement at Argisbrekka on Eysturoydated to AD 770–1015. They fall into three categories:-1. local wood: Juniperus. Betula pubescens Ehrh., Corylus, Salix and heathland dwarf shrubs; 2. driftwood: Picea, Larix and Pinus section strobus; and 3. imported wood: Quercus, Pinus section sylvestris, Alnus and Fraxinus. The local tree vegetation was over-exploited and Betula became extinct in the course of the Viking Age. Driftwood, mainly of Siberian origin, seems to be the most important tree resource and was used for houses and utensils. Imported wood probably mostly comprised ships and finished products made in Scandinavia. The detection of tree Betula growth between 2,460 BC and AD 770 is a new contribution to the vegetational history of the Faroe Islands.     

Ræstur fiskur: air-dried fermented fish the Faroese way

Background

Fish has played an important role in the diet of the population of the mid-Atlantic Faroe Islands. Dried and fermented fish in particular have been an essential storable protein source in an economy where weather conditions and seasonal fluctuations affect the availability of food. For generations the islanders have prepared ræstur fiskur, a home-made air-dried and fermented fish dish made of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) or saithe (Pollachius virens (L.)). Fermenting the fish is an efficient and valuable cultural strategy for preserving fish.

Methods

This ethnobiological study investigates the historical and present use of fermented fish in Faroese cuisine and examines its preservation as an everyday food that Faroese men pride themselves on making in high quality. This study is based on field notes collected through interviews and observations on the Faroe Islands since the mid-1990s.

Results

Processed fish could be stored for a long period of time; this was important in an economy where weather conditions and seasonal fluctuations affect food availability dramatically. For this reason, home-made air-dried fish has been central to the food security of the Faroese people. Usually consumed with tallow from sheep, the dish was once appreciated customarily on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, but has been largely replaced by Danish dishes. However, it has survived as everyday food until today.

Conclusion

The presence of small-scale fishing, changing economic conditions, socially acquired taste-preferences, and the importance of old-fashioned dishes as key symbols of cultural identity, all contribute to the survival of ræstur fiskur in Faroese food culture. Today, the dish is not only an essential food source, but its consumption is also an important act of identification and solidarity with the national identity of the islanders.

     

Escursione Floristica Nelle Isole Pelagie

Abstract

Floristic excursion in the Pelagie Islands. — This is the result of the Author's researches in the Pelagie Islands. He points out the geobotanic interest of Limoniastrum monopetalum growing in the island of Linosa, and states that though it is widely present in the Mediterranean world, Limoniastrum monopetalum grows in districts which are very far from one another, so that its area results fragmentary.     

“On the Windy Edge of Nothing”: A Historical Human Ecology of the Faroe Islands

In the context of the North Atlantic arena, the histories and landscape evolution of the Faroe Islands are comparatively less known. The position of the archipelago astride cyclonic tracks and the predominantly rugged terrain with meagre woodland and limited high quality agricultural land, conspired to produce an environment which might be thought to have severely challenged early colonizers. Those settlers, whether Norse/Vikings, or earlier Irish monks, had access to the vital resources of bird cliffs, rivers, and the sea to supplement the produce of their domestic animals and crops. The lack of apparent crises is a function both of the richness of the resources provided by the Faroe Islands, and of the development of appropriate land management practices such as outfield grazing and soil augmentation to counteract any detrimental effects arising from, for instance, reductions in the bird population, soil and slope erosion, the lack of naturally fertile soils, and any climatic downturn. From the research contained within this volume, it seems likely that there have always been sufficient resources available for an enterprising human population and that the Faroes did not exceed their carrying capacity during the Norse period.     

Vegetation transition following drainage in a high‐latitude hyper‐oceanic ecosystem

Questions: How does draining affect the composition of vegetation? Are certain functional groups favoured? Can soil parameters explain these differences? Location: Central Faroe Islands, treeless islands in the northern boreal vegetation zone. Since 1987, an area of 21 km² at 100–200 m a.s.l. was drained in order to provide water for hydro‐electric production. Method: Vegetation and soil of a drained area and a control, undrained neighbouring area of approximately the same size were sampled in 2007. Six sites were sampled in each area. The vegetation was classified with cluster analysis. Results: Four plant communities were defined in the area: Calluna vulgaris–Empetrum nigrum–Vaccinium myrtillus heath, Scirpus cespitosus–Eriophorum angustifolium blanket mire, Carex bigelowii–Racomitrium lanuginosum moss‐heath, Narthecium ossifragum–Carex panacea mire. Heath was more extensively distributed within, and was the dominant community of the drained area, whereas moss‐heath was more extensive in the undrained area. Blanket mire and mire had approximately the same distribution in both areas. For the blanket mire, species composition indicated drier conditions in the drained than in the undrained area. The drained area had higher frequencies of woody species and lichens, grasses had finer roots and available soil phosphate was considerably higher, whereas the undrained area had higher frequencies of grasses and sedges. Conclusion: The dominant plant communities were different in the two areas, which indicated that the blanket mire was drying in the drained area. Higher concentration of soil phosphate in the drained area also indicated increased decomposition of organic soils owing to desiccation.     

The genera Galerìna and Phaeogalera (Basidiomycetes, Agaricales) on the Faroe Islands

The diversity of the genera Galerìna and Phaeogalera on the Faroe Islands is recorded. Eighteen species are recognised, twelve of which are here reported for the first time on the archipelago. A key to the species is provided. A certain affinity is shown to the arctic-alpine Galerìna flora, especially by species occurring at higher altitudes on the Faroes. All the Faroese species grow on the North American continent as well, and many probably have a circumglobal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. Some occur also on the Southern Hemisphere, some as far south as in Subantarctic-Antarctic regions. Naucoria macrospora J. E. Lange var. borealis F. H. Møller is synonymized with G. pseudotundrae Kühner.     

Phylogeography of North Atlantic intertidal tardigrades: refugia,cryptic speciation and the history of the Mid‐Atlantic Islands

Aim To analyse the phylogeographical history of intertidal tardigrades in the North Atlantic in order to improve our understanding of geographical differentiation in microscopic organisms, and to understand the potential importance of the Mid‐Atlantic Islands as stepping stones between the American and European coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. Location Twenty‐four localities from the Mid‐Atlantic Islands (Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands) and both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. Methods A mitochondrial marker (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) was sequenced from individual tardigrades belonging to the genus Echiniscoides. The existence of cryptic species was detected using generalized mixed Yule coalescence analysis; lineage ages were estimated with relaxed clock methods; and the degree of geographical differentiation was analysed with samova analyses, haplotype networks and Mantel tests. Results Echiniscoides hoepneri, previously known only from Greenland, was recovered throughout the Mid‐Atlantic Islands. The Faroe Islands population was isolated from Greenland and Iceland, but overall genetic variation was low. The morphospecies Echiniscoides sigismundi had high genetic variation and consisted of at least two cryptic species. A northern and a southern species were both recovered on both sides of the Atlantic, but only the northern species was found on the Mid‐Atlantic Islands. The northern species showed signs of long‐term isolation between the Western and Eastern Atlantic, despite the potential of the Mid‐Atlantic islands to act as stepping‐stones. There was no sign of long‐term isolation in the southern species. The Mid‐Atlantic individuals of the northern species were of Eastern Atlantic origin, but Greenland and Iceland showed signs of long‐term isolation. The genetic pattern found in the southern species is not clearly geographical, and can probably be best explained by secondary contact between former isolated populations. Main conclusions North Atlantic intertidal tardigrades from the genus Echiniscoides showed strong geographical differentiation, and the Mid‐Atlantic Islands seemed unimportant as stepping stones across the Atlantic. The geographical variation of the northern species of E. sigismundi suggests post‐glacial recolonization from several refugia.     

Genetic divergence of Troglodytes troglodytes islandicus from other subspecies of Eurasian wren in northwestern Europe

The Icelandic subspecies of Eurasian wren Troglodytes troglodytes islandicus has been described as a large wren which is sedentary on the island. It is one member of a large passerine complex which is widely distributed over the Holarctic except the Arctic. The taxonomic affiliation of the subspecies is mainly based on variation in plumage and on the song complexity. This study investigated the genetic differentiation of T. t. islandicus among the Eurasian wren subspecies in northwestern Europe, and especially in relation to its geographically proximate populations in the Faroe Islands, Scotland, southern Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Troglodytes t. islandicus and the Faroese subspecies (T. t. borealis) were genetically differentiated from the other subspecies (T. t. indigenus and T. t. troglodytes) with an estimated time of divergence from this group during the last glacial maximum; 21 thousand years before present (KYBP) [44–8]. A clear but a more recent split was observed between T. t. islandicus and T. t. borealis 12 KYBP [28–4].     

Grimmia anomala Schimp., new to Britain and Ireland

Abstract

Grimmia anomala is reported from seven sites in Scotland and Ireland. Confusion in the past with Grimmia hartmanii has meant that this species has been overlooked. Its occurrence in Scandinavia and the Faroes means that its sites in Scotland are not unexpected but the Irish localities for this boreal-montane species are noteworthy.     

Use of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Capsicum frutescens</Emphasis> L. by the Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan and the Batanes Islands

Use of Capsicum frutescens L. by the Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan and the Batanes Islands. The local nomenclature, use, and distribution of C. frutescens among indigenous peoples in Taiwan and the Batanes Islands were studied. Among Taiwanese indigenous peoples, the distribution, frequency of use, and importance of C. frutescens were found to increase with decreasing latitude, which appears to have affected the local names of Capsicum and C. frutescens. The local name for Capsicum in the Batanes Islands—“sili”—is used by several indigenous peoples in Taiwan, suggesting that Capsicum was brought from the south to the north. Indigenous peoples in Taiwan and the Batanes Islands used C. frutescens fruits as condiments, medicines, ornaments, or for ritual uses; also, they used its leaves for soup. A complex of both green and yellowish-green types possessing ShDH-B was introduced from Indonesia into the Batanes Islands and Taiwan, and later only the type with yellowish-green immature fruit was introduced to the Ryukyu Islands under the bottleneck effect.     

Macrouridophora halargyrea n. sp. (Monogenea: Diclidophoridae) from Halargyreus johnsonii (Moridae) in the North-eastern Atlantic

Macrouridophora halargyrea n. sp. (Monogenea: Diclidophoridae) is described from the gills of the morid teleost Halargyreus johnsonii caught off the Faroe Islands in the North-eastern Atlantic. This new species is differentiated from ten other species in the genus Macrouridophora Rubec & Dronen, in press, by its: specialised heart-shaped haptor distinctly set-off from the body proper; inverted orientation of the first three anterior pairs of clamps; distinct spinulation covering the isthmus and haptor; small body size; small numbers of testes; and host.     

The species in primatology

Biologists of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries all bandied about the term “species,” but very rarely actually said what they meant by it. Often, however, one can get inside their thinking by piecing together some of their remarks. One of the most nearly explicit‐appropriately, for the man who wrote a book called The Origin of Species – was Charles Darwin 1 : “Practically, when a naturalist can unite two forms together by others having intermediate characters, he treats the one as a variety of the other… He later translated this into evolutionary terms: “Hereafter, we shall be compelled to acknowledge that the only distinction between species and well‐marked varieties is, that the latter are known, or believed, to be connected at the present day by intermediate gradations, whereas species were formerly thus connected”^1:484‐5