@article {Smith1979, title = {Mollusca of rocky shores: Lewis and Harris, Outer Hebrides}, journal = {Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh. Sect. B. Biol. Sci.}, volume = {77}, year = {1979}, pages = {173{\textendash}187}, abstract = {

The history of previous molluscan work in the Outer Hebrides shows that most work has been done offshore, and that the littoral zone of Lewis and Harris has been neglected. Mollusc populations of different macro- and micro-habitats were examined empirically, and compared and contrasted with each other. Habitats have been chosen to exhibit as wide a variety of environment as possible, from the wave-lashed exposed rocks facing the Atlantic to the very sheltered sea lochs opening into the Minch. The richness and diversity of the fauna is noted.

}, keywords = {Harris, Invertebrates, Lewis, littoral, Loch Roag, Marine, Marine Molluscs, molluscs, Outer Hebrides}, author = {Smith, S M} } @article {Summers2011, title = {The Grey seal {\textquoteleft}problem{\textquoteright} in the Outer Hebrides}, journal = {Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh. Sect. B. Biol. Sci.}, volume = {77}, year = {2011}, pages = {495{\textendash}503}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, keywords = {Marine Mammals, Seals}, issn = {0269-7270}, doi = {10.1017/S0269727000012872}, url = {http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract{\_}S0269727000012872}, author = {Summers, C. F. and Harwood, J.} } @article {Waterston2011a, title = {The inland waters of the Outer Hebrides}, journal = {Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh. Sect. B. Biol. Sci.}, volume = {77}, year = {1979}, pages = {329-351}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, abstract = {

The Outer Hebrides comprise approximately 1\·3\% of the land area but 15\·8\% of the area of standing waters of Great Britain. Streams there are generally small and only three are as large as fifth order. The majority of the lochs occur below 200 m altitude and are less than 25 ha in area. A total of 1375 stream systems enter the sea, and drain the land mass through 9240 stream segments. There are just over 6000 lochs, of which less than half are connected to these networks. Most of the water systems are on geologically base-poor rock or soil, and less than 3\%, situated on machair, are base-rich and eutrophic. The islands, due to their situation, receive precipitation in the form of very dilute sea water (with some non-marine sulphate probably derived from fossil fuel combustion) and this leads to unusual concentrations of chloride in the inland waters. Metamorphic rocks are resistant to weathering, so there is usually little variation in the composition of fresh waters except in the machair areas, where calcareous sands affect calcium concentrations and alkalinities.

The flora and fauna reflect the aqueous conditions and there are some unique successions of species from high to low salinities even in the same water body. The lochs provide a wide range of habitats for aquatic vegetation, ranging from the rich machair lochs to the oligotrophic peaty lochs (which show marked similarities with their counterparts on the mainland). Three broad categories can be delineated on the basis of their water quality and vegetation: brackish lochs with varying degrees of marine influence, calcareous machair lochs which may also be affected by sea connections, and the peaty lochans of low alkalinity. A few brackish water animals are sufficiently euryhaline to exist in the machair lochs, which are otherwise dominated by freshwater species. The occurrence of chloride in inland waters enables some crustaceans, e.g. Neomysis integer, Gammarus duebeni and Diaptomus wierzejskii to extend into what are poor freshwater habitats. The main constituents of the freshwater fauna are molluscs and arthropods, and a few species of euryhaline fishes, i.e. salmon, sea and brown trout, three-spined and ten-spined sticklebacks and eels. There are some populations of non-migratory charr. No amphibians are present.

}, keywords = {Invertebrates, Outer Hebrides}, issn = {0269-7270}, doi = {10.1017/S0269727000012781 }, url = {http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online\&aid=8378833\&fulltextType=RA\&fileId=S0269727000012781}, author = {Waterston, A.R and Holden, A.V. and Campbell, R.N and Maitland, P.S.} } @article {Waterston2011, title = {The macrofauna of brackish and fresh waters of the Loch Druidibeg National Nature Reserve and its neighbourhood, South Uist}, journal = {Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh. Sect. B. Biol. Sci.}, volume = {77}, year = {2011}, month = {dec}, pages = {353{\textendash}376}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, abstract = {

The macrofauna of brackish and fresh waters of the Loch Druidibeg National Nature Reserve and its neighbourhood, South UistThree main types of Hebridean freshwater lochs occur in the Loch Druidibeg National Nature Reserve; eutrophic calcareous machair lochs near the Atlantic coast, mesotrophic lochs on the edge of the moor and oligotrophic lochs on the peatlands. Chloride/calcium concentrations, highest in lochs near the sea, fall away rapidly inland and are lowest in the moor lochs. The fauna of eutrophic and mesotrophic lochs includes a few euryhaline brackish-water species Potamopyrgus jenkinsi, Diaptomus wierzejskii, Neomysis integer and Gammarus duebeni. G. duebeni alone penetrates the oligotrophic lochs. Freshwater sponges are widespread but are absent from the machair lochs and there are no triclad planarians. The fauna of fast and slow stream segments is described. Loch Bee, a man-made lagoon, unlike the open brackish lochs of North Uist, is an unstable habitat and its fauna has changed considerably since it was investigated in 1933. The fauna consists mainly of brackish-water species and a few stenohaline marine species which are confined to its seaward ends. The sequence of faunistic change in the Howmore estuary, Lochs Roag and Fada, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), is described; the brackish-water fauna is reduced by the volume of fresh water passing through the system. A brief account is given of the unusual dominance of Hyalinella punctata and Potamopyrgus jenkinsi in Loch Ardvule (SSSI), South Uist.

}, keywords = {Invertebrates, Loch Druidibeg, Uist}, issn = {0269-7270}, doi = {10.1017/S0269727000012793}, url = {http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online\&aid=8378836\&fulltextType=RA\&fileId=S0269727000012793}, author = {Waterston, AR and Lyster, IHJ} } @article {Welch2011, title = {Survey of the invertebrate fauna of sand dune and machair sites in the Outer Hebrides during 1976}, journal = {Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh. Sect. B. Biol. Sci.}, volume = {77}, year = {2011}, month = {dec}, pages = {395{\textendash}404}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, abstract = {

During June and July 1976 the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology carried out a limited invertebrate survey on 18 sites in the Outer Hebrides.

Portable battery-operated UV light traps were installed at each site and left to operate for eight nights. Bad weather in June greatly reduced the numbers of Lepidoptera caught. During July moths were trapped at 16 of the sites. Details of the combined catches are given. Pitfall traps were also installed at all sites and all beetles, spiders, harvestmen, snails, millipedes, centipedes and woodlice have been identified. In addition a list of species of littoral Coleoptera recorded from 24 Hebridean localities is given.

This survey was part of a much wider project around the coasts of Scotland, commissioned by the Nature Conservancy Council, to whom a full report will be submitted when identification and analysis of the results has been completed.

}, keywords = {Arachnids, Coleoptera, Dunes, Invertebrates, Lepidoptera, Machair, molluscs, Outer Hebrides}, issn = {0269-7270}, doi = {10.1017/S0269727000012811}, url = {http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online\&aid=8378842\&fulltextType=RA\&fileId=S0269727000012811}, author = {Welch, R. C.} } @article {Ritchie2011, title = {Machair development and chronology in the Uists and adjacent islands}, journal = {Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh. Sect. B. Biol. Sci.}, volume = {77}, year = {2011}, month = {dec}, pages = {107{\textendash}122}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, abstract = {

Several types of machair landforms are found in the Uists (Outer Hebrides) but the most distinctive are low altitude plains. Morphological and stratigraphical evidence suggests that both erosional and depositional processes, operating over a long period of time, have produced these sand plains and other landforms. A vast but relatively finite (partly shell-derived) sand supply was swept landwards across the gentle offshore rock platform assisted by a rising sea level to provide the initial pre-machair coastal accumulation. Phases of development can be dated using archaeological evidence, and 14C dating of offshore peat suggests that initiation probably took place before 5700 BP. Although the evidence is fragmentary, machair development appears to have consisted of long periods of stability, interrupted by episodes of major environmental disturbances. There is also evidence of coastal erosion and associated physiographic changes

}, keywords = {Machair, Outer Hebrides}, issn = {0269-7270}, doi = {10.1017/S0269727000012677}, url = {http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0269727000012677}, author = {Ritchie, W.} } @article {George2011, title = {The polychaetes of Lewis and Harris with notes on other marine invertebrates}, journal = {Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh. Sect. B. Biol. Sci.}, volume = {77}, year = {2011}, month = {dec}, pages = {189{\textendash}216}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, abstract = {

In July 1976 six rocky littoral sites and eight rocky sublittoral sites in Lewis and Harris were sampled for polychaetes. The sites ranged from those on the exposed west and north coast to more sheltered east coast sites.

A total of 107 species were recorded during the survey and are presented in an annotated species list. Syllidae are the dominant family both in number of species and number of individuals present, although the Serpulidae, Spionidae and Sabellidae are also well represented. Similarity of habitats sampled at different sites makes it possible to relate differences in species composition to the conditions prevailing at these localities. Such comparisons are made for four habitats\—Corallina officinalis, sediment under stones on the shore, Laminaria holdfasts and the upper shell valves of Pecten. Twenty polychaete species were found in the C. officinalis habitat, 24 species in sediment under stones on the shore, 61 species in laminarian holdfasts and 22 species on the upper shell valves of Pecten.

In general the sublittoral macroinvertebrate fauna, although lacking the Lusitanian elements found in the warmer waters of south-west England and Ireland, was found to have a high species diversity and to exist in an environment virtually free from man-made pollution.

}, keywords = {Harris, Lewis, Marine Invertebrates, Polychaetes}, issn = {0269-7270}, doi = {10.1017/S0269727000012720}, url = {http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0269727000012720}, author = {George, J. D.} } @article {Angus2011, title = {The macrofauna of intertidal sand in the Outer Hebrides}, journal = {Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh. Sect. B. Biol. Sci.}, volume = {77}, year = {1979}, month = {dec}, pages = {155{\textendash}171}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, abstract = {

The abundance and composition of the macrofauna of Outer Hebridean beaches is determined mainly by the degree of exposure to wave action. Most of the beaches are on the western seaboard, many without any form of shelter, and thus receive the full force of the Atlantic swell.

Twenty principal sites in Lewis and Harris were sampled for intertidal macrofauna.

Beaches of open aspect are populated by amphipods and Eurydice pulchra with very low densities of polychaetes. The sands of the Minch coast and some of the western beaches which are sheltered by islands or headlands usually have a Tellina\–Nephtys association, with a tendency for Tellina tenuis to be replaced by Donax vittatus with increasing shelter. Very sheltered inlets and the fords of the Uists have a well-developed Cerastoderma-Macoma association, while Traigh Mhor in Barra, dominated by Cerastoderma edule, has the richest fauna of any beach in the Outer Hebrides.

}, keywords = {Marine Invertebrates, Outer Hebrides}, issn = {0269-7270}, doi = {10.1017/S0269727000012707}, url = {http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0269727000012707}, author = {Stewart Angus} } @article {Bailey2011, title = {The fish and shellfish resources in seas adjacent to the Outer Hebrides}, journal = {Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh. Sect. B. Biol. Sci.}, volume = {77}, year = {1979}, month = {dec}, pages = {479{\textendash}494}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, abstract = {

The demersal fishery in Hebridean seas is based mainly on haddock, whiting and cod, mostly from local spawning grounds, with some recruitment from the North Sea. An important seasonal fishery for dogfish is based on a highly migratory stock. All these stocks are probably fully exploited.

Herring spawning grounds occur west and north of Lewis, and larvae drift eastwards to nursery areas, mainly in the North Sea. Enhanced recruitment in the late 1960s and an increase in fishing effort produced a large increase in landings but these have subsequently declined. The west coast herring fishery is subject to quota regulations for conservation. There are also important exploitable stocks of mackerel and sprats. Since 1971 an industrial fishery for Norway pout has taken a few thousand tonnes per annum.

Shellfishing by small boats goes with crofting. Since 1962 the number of larger boats has increased with full-time fishing, particularly for Norway lobsters and lobsters. Exploitation has been helped by processing and lobster-holding facilities. Scallops and periwinkles are also important commercially and there are good prospects for cultivating oysters and mussels.

By far the largest underexploited fish stock is blue whiting, which migrates south to spawn in March-April on the continental slope in depths of over 400 m to the west of Scotland. The spawning stock in this area is estimated to be 5-15 million tonnes. Sandeels may also occur in commercial quantities in some areas.

}, keywords = {Fish, Marine Molluscs, Outer Hebrides}, issn = {0269-7270}, doi = {10.1017/S0269727000012860}, url = {http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0269727000012860}, author = {Bailey, R. S. and Hislop, J. R. G. and Mason, J.} } @article {Berry2011, title = {The Outer Hebrides: where genes and geography meet}, journal = {Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh. Sect. B. Biol. Sci.}, volume = {77}, year = {1977}, month = {dec}, pages = {21{\textendash}43}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, abstract = {

The Outer Hebridean fauna is almost entirely the result of the chance characteristics of opportunist colonizers modified by subsequent adaptation and sometimes later immigrants. A few primitive relicts may persist (e.g. possibly, the moth Nyssia zonarid), but the fauna is certainly not largely composed of early post-glacial invaders. These, traditional theory argues, are likely to have been eliminated on the mainland by later arrivals but to have been able to persist on the islands by the timely breaking of hypothetical land-bridges.

The influence of the original island colonizers is discernible through the persistence of similar traits in both ancestral and descendant populations despite massive genetical differences produced by stochastic sampling, and often by an apparently random pattern of differentiation between islands (e.g. field mice, cats, men, wrens). Adaptation is difficult to detect in the presence of unmeasurable founder effects, but is shown by large-scale clines (such as bridling in guillemots or colour phase frequencies in arctic skuas), by the existence of similar local races in different species (notably by melanism in Lepidoptera, especially Triphaena comes; but also possibly in bumble-bees and dragonflies), and by evidence of local selection (e.g. Cochlicella acuta).

In the light of these many pressures, simple equilibrium theories of island biogeography are woefully inadequate; every species has to be considered on its merits. This can be done for terrestrial vertebrates, and virtually all but the Pygmy Shrew prove to have been introduced by man.

}, keywords = {Outer Hebrides}, issn = {0269-7270}, doi = {10.1017/S0269727000012616}, url = {http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0269727000012616}, author = {Berry, R. J.} } @article {Boyd2011, title = {The natural environment of the Outer Hebrides}, journal = {Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh. Sect. B. Biol. Sci.}, volume = {77}, year = {1979}, month = {dec}, pages = {3{\textendash}19}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, abstract = {

The historical review of scientific work done in the Outer Hebrides precedes a scientific profile of the archipelago including geographical, geological, botanical, zoological and resource outlines. Effects of the use of natural resources by man on the natural environment are discussed. Management of land and water for the purposes of nature conservation are given by descriptions of the Loch Druidibeg and Monach Islands National Nature Reserves and other Sites of Special Scientific Interest. These exemplify existing case studies and procedures in nature conservation conducted by the Nature Conservancy Council and others. In conclusion, the Outer Hebrides are set in the context of the National Planning Guidelines of the Scottish Development Department which show resources of \‘national\’ importance in agriculture and nature conservation.

}, keywords = {Outer Hebrides}, isbn = {doi:10.1017/S0269727000012604}, issn = {0269-7270}, doi = {10.1017/S0269727000012604}, url = {http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0269727000012604}, author = {Boyd, John Morton} } @article {Campbell2011, title = {The fishes of inland waters in the Outer Hebrides}, journal = {Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh. Sect. B. Biol. Sci.}, volume = {77}, year = {2011}, month = {dec}, pages = {377{\textendash}393}, publisher = {Cambridge University Press}, abstract = {

Only euryhaline fishes were able to recolonize Outer Hebridean fresh waters after the last glaciation so that inland waters now contain only six indigenous, truly freshwater species; salmon, trout, charr, three- and ten-spined stickleback and the freshwater eel. Parts of some lochs are invaded by the sea at stages in the tidal cycle and some 20 species of marine fish may be found at times in inland waters. Both salmon and sea trout occur in all the larger freshwater systems and sea trout are also found in many of the minor ones. The original sea trout gave rise to sedentary brown trout populations similar to those of the mainland. Fluctuations in the Hebridean salmon catch suggest that the stock is affected by the same factors as those affecting Scottish west coast stocks generally: the vast-majority return to fresh water as grilse, while sea trout stocks have been declining over the last 25 years. Brown trout and eels are almost ubiquitous. Charr occur in Lewis and parts of North Uist but have not been reported from Harris or South Uist and are now only present as sedentary forms. The three-spined stickleback is more widely distributed than the ten-spined. Outer Hebridean lochs in general have special scientific value because, unlike many Scottish mainland lochs, they have not been affected by the introduction of alien species and some are still in an unexploited state.

}, keywords = {Fish, Outer Hebrides}, issn = {0269-7270}, doi = {10.1017/S026972700001280X}, url = {http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract{\_}S026972700001280X}, author = {Campbell, R. N. and Williamson, R. B.} }