Sea Mayweed Tripleurospermum maritimum and Scentless Mayweed T. inodorum (Asteraceae) intermediates in Orkney

This article describes a study of Tripleurospermum maritimum (L.) W.D.J. Koch and T. inodorum (L.) Sch. Bip. (Asteraceae) in the Orkney Islands (v.c.111), the results of which suggest that intermediates between these taxa may be rather common, and that T. maritimum subsp. nigriceps and subsp. maritimum are both involved, the former more frequently. Obviously this results in a complex taxonomic situation, evidently not confined to Orkney in the far north. Key identifying characters of the taxa are systematically examined and guidance offered on determining hybrids using a population level approach. The taxonomic complexities of these northern populations are discussed, with regard in particular to the identity of T. inodorum occurring there and the place of T. maritimum subsp. nigrescens in the forms and subspecies of T. maritimum found in the north Atlantic region.

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using psychrotolerant strains of Tulasnella albida from South Orkney Islands (Antarctica)

Nanoparticles are widely studied due to their possible uses in biological and technological systems. Four psychrotolerant strains of Tulasnella albida isolated from Antarctica were tested and compared in their ability to synthesize silver nanoparticles. The four strains were capable of synthesizing silver nanoparticles with the addition of AgNO3 (final concentration of 0.5 mM), showing similar results under the same conditions: 28°C, 200 rpm, pH 9. Additionally, we registered the synthesis of nanoparticles at 6°C using biomass generated at the same temperature. For the characterization of synthesized nanoparticles, TEM and SEM microscopy analyses were performed. The images obtained showed the existence of spherically shaped silver nanoparticles with a log-normal size distribution centered at 2 nm diameter for 28°C. The largest ones showed a capping shell around them, appearing associated with the formation of small silver nanoparticles. Theoretical calculations of optical absorption based on core-shell Ag-Ag2O nanoparticles were used to characterize the experimental absorption spectra of silver nanoparticles colloids. This work contributes to expanding the studies and possible technological applications of psychrotolerant organisms in the industry, particularly in the green synthesis of nanoparticles at suboptimal conditions.

Dr James Copland (1791–1870) and his Dictionary of Practical Medicine

Dr James Copland (1791–1870) was born in the Orkney Islands and studied medicine at Edinburgh where he graduated in 1815. The following year was spent in Paris to acquire knowledge of the latest developments in pathology and he then travelled for a year along the coast of West Africa gaining practical experience of treating tropical diseases. After establishing his medical practice in London, which eventually became extremely successful, he contributed to medical journals and also became editor of the London Medical Repository from 1822 to 1825. His greatest work was The Dictionary of Practical Medicine written entirely by himself which was completed between 1832 and 1858. More than 10,000 copies of the dictionary were sold and its author became world famous during his lifetime. In 1833, Copland was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and from 1837 onwards he played a prominent role in the proceedings of The Royal College of Physicians. This article shows how his extensive professional and literary work was combined with an unusual private life.

Foraging conditions for breeding penguins improve with distance from colony and progression of the breeding season at the South Orkney Islands

Background According to central place foraging theory, animals will only increase the distance of their foraging trips if more distant prey patches offer better foraging opportunities. Thus, theory predicts that breeding seabirds in large colonies could create a zone of food depletion around the colony, known as “Ashmole’s halo”. However, seabirds’ decisions to forage at a particular distance are likely also complicated by their breeding stage. After chicks hatch, parents must return frequently to feed their offspring, so may be less likely to visit distant foraging patches, even if their quality is higher. However, the interaction between prey availability, intra-specific competition, and breeding stage on the foraging decisions of seabirds is not well understood. The aim of this study was to address this question in chinstrap penguins Pygoscelis antarcticus breeding at a large colony. In particular, we aimed to investigate how breeding stage affects foraging strategy; whether birds foraging far from the colony visit higher quality patches than available locally; and whether there is evidence for intraspecific competition, indicated by prey depletions near the colony increasing over time, and longer foraging trips. Methods We used GPS and temperature-depth recorders to track the foraging movements of 221 chinstrap penguins from 4 sites at the South Orkney Islands during incubation and brood. We identified foraging dives and calculated the index of patch quality based on time allocation during the dive to assess the quality of the foraging patch. Results We found that chinstrap penguin foraging distance varied between stages, and that trips became shorter as incubation progressed. Although patch quality was lower near the colony than at more distant foraging patches, patch quality near the colony improved over the breeding season. Conclusions These results suggest chinstrap penguin foraging strategies are influenced by both breeding stage and prey distribution, and the low patch quality near the colony may be due to a combination of depletion by intraspecific competition but compensated by natural variation in prey. Reduced trip durations towards the end of the incubation period may be due to an increase in food availability, as seabirds time their reproduction so that the period of maximum energy demand in late chick-rearing coincides with maximum resource availability in the environment. This may also explain why patch quality around the colony improved over the breeding season. Overall, our study sheds light on drivers of foraging decisions in colonial seabirds, an important question in foraging ecology.

Discussion on ‘The geological collection from the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (1902–04) in the Museo de La Plata, Argentina’ by Carrasquero 2021 (Scottish Journal of Geology, 57, 60– 66)

The informative paper by Carrasquero (2021) reveals the personal contribution made by Francisco Moreno to the success of the 1902-04 Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE) during the time it spent in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was a crucial intervention, and for the hospitality and generous assistance that Moreno arranged for the expedition's leader, William Speirs Bruce (Fig. 1), the presentation of a few rock specimens might seem scant reward, although as an additional mark of respect Bruce named Point Moreno on the expedition's published map of Laurie Island (Brown et al. 1906, p. 145): the name is still valid – 60° 44’ S, 44° 41’ W. Bruce would have been deeply satisfied by the knowledge that his donation of specimens from the South Orkney Islands had initiated the development of an Antarctic collection at the Museo de La Plata. His scientific outlook was always international and collaborative.