The Glasgow Naturalist Volume 26 Part 3 Edited by: Dominic J. McCafferty & Iain Wilkie Contents EDITORIAL Biological field stations in Scotland: valuing their past and supporting their future. D. J. McCafferty………................. 1 FULL PAPERS Establishment of conservation refuge populations for Scotland’s rare freshwater fish, the powan Coregonus lavaretus. A. A. Lyle, A. Stephen & C. E. Adams………………………………………………………………………………………………..... 3 Staurastrum spinolobatum: a new species of placoderm desmid from the Shetland Islands. C. F. Carter & D. B. Williamson………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………............................ 10 Observations on co-existing populations of adders, slow-worms and common lizards at Loch Lomond, Scotland: implications for conservation. C. J. McInerny……………………………………………………………………………………………..….. 15 Annual variation in the numbers of breeding common frog Rana temporaria at a cluster of sites in the west of Scotland. E. Paterson………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…... 25 First investigation of the consumption of seal carcasses by terrestrial and marine scavengers. M.M. Quaggiotto, L. R. Burke, D. J. McCafferty, D. M. Bailey……………………………………………………………………………………………….…………... 32 The bordered brown lacewing Megalomus hirtus (L. 1761) rediscovered: an invertebrate survey in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh. M. Smith & S. Burgess……………………………………………………………………………………………..………….. 52 The beetles of the Grey Hill/Pinbain Burn SAC near Girvan, South Ayrshire. B. Philp………………………………………. 55 Quantifying 250 years of change to the channel structure of the River Kelvin. I. Moore, C. McGillivray, W. E. Yeoman, K. Murphy……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 64 SHORT NOTES First record of Hydra oxycnida Schulze, 1914 (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) for the British Isles. P. Sumner………………….72 Recent insect records from North Ayrshire’s sand dune systems. B. Philp & I. Hamlin…………………………………….. 74 The non-native flatworm, Kontikia andersoni Jones 1981 (Seriata, Geoplanidae) in Scotland. G. Wilkinson……... 79 Sex ratio of the stonefly Perla bipunctata (Plecoptera: Perlidae) in the River Carron. C. R. Macadam……………….. 80 Recently discovered portraits of two 19th century Loch Lomondside naturalists. J. Mitchell…………………………… 82 Wild orchids in suburban localities around Glasgow. M. O’Reilly & S. Longrigg……………………………………………….. 85 A prodigious collembolan 'swarming' event on Kames Bay, Millport. P.G. Moore…………………………………………….. 86 Notes on Opiliones (Harvestmen) on Great Cumbrae Island. P. G. Moore………………………………………………………… 87 BOOK REVIEWS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………………... 89 OBITUARIES ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………… 92 PhotoSCENE ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...……………….. 95 PROCEEDINGS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...………………. 97 i The Glasgow Naturalist (2017) Volume 26, Part 3, 1-2 EDITORIAL Biological field stations in Scotland: valuing their past and supporting their future Dominic J. McCafferty Scottish Centre for Ecology and the Natural Environment (SCENE), University of Glasgow, Rowardennan, G63 0AW, Scotland, UK E-mail: [email protected] This year I have been fortunate to relocate from the Ronaldsay, as well as a range of field and outdoor main University of Glasgow campus to the Scottish centres delivering environmental education across Centre for Ecology and the Natural Environment the country. (SCENE), as it celebrates 70 years of environmental education and research on Loch Lomondside. Like It seems that our history of biological field stations in most research stations, SCENE had humble Scotland is not unique and is replicated throughout beginnings when, in 1946, field laboratories were the World. More than 1200 biological field stations assembled from ex-army huts on the west shore of are currently in operation in 120 countries, Loch Lomond at Rossdhu (Maitland & Hamilton stretching from the Arctic to the Antarctic (Tydecks 1994). In 1964, the University Field Station was built et al., 2016). A large proportion of field stations were on the current location on the east shore of the loch, set up after World War II, and more than a third are 5 km south of Rowardennan and the current currently linked with universities. They occur in all redevelopment was completed in 2014. major biomes including terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, with a majority located in This is just one example of how importantly we value protected areas. One fascinating statistic is that “the environmental education and research in Scotland. global network of biological field stations constitutes Indeed, one of the oldest field stations in Europe, The an environmental infrastructure worth above US$1.3 Marine Biological Station on the Isle of Cumbrae was billion per year, which is comparable with the annual established in 1897 but was predated by the Ark, a budget of CERN (approx. US$1.2 billion in 2014).” barge fitted out as a floating laboratory that was This certainly highlights the significance of our field brought from Granton to Cumbrae in 1885. The stations as a global resource for environmental Marine Station Millport is now run by the Field monitoring, research and education. Studies Council as its second field station in Scotland, the first being Kindrogan in Perthshire. The How different are field stations in the 21st century? Cromarty Lighthouse Field Station was established In many respects they continue to function as they in 1990 by the University of Aberdeen to support have always done, providing residential and teaching teaching and research, specialising in studies on the facilities for students of all ages, long term behaviour and population dynamics of marine monitoring of natural ecosystems and pioneering mammals and seabirds. scientific research. They have a shared outdoor and environmental ethos and welcome visitors from Sadly, some other biological stations have not different parts of the world. The information age has, survived including the Culterty Field Station however, transformed communication and provides (established 1957) at Newburgh, Aberdeen, which remote access to the internet making it possible to undertook teaching and research on the ecology of link field stations with their parent organisations. the Ythan estuary. Our knowledge and Even in Antarctica, field stations have 24/7 understanding of upland ecology was considerably communication via satellite and researchers can be advanced by facilities first setup in Glen Esk in 1956, flown to bases and remote field camps. These are before moving to Deeside where the Institute of financially challenging times and biological field Terrestrial Ecology (ITE), then named the Centre for stations are being encouraged to modernise and Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) continued long term communicate more effectively their mission to studies, before staff relocated to CEH at the Bush policymakers, funders, the public and even their own Estate near Edinburgh in 2007. However, we are universities (National Research Council, 2014). very fortunate in Scotland to have long running bird Funding, leadership, ICT infrastructure and observatories on Fair Isle, Isle of May, and on North networking have been identified as critical areas for 1 attention but the future appears to hold real public engagement. BioScience, 66(2), 164–171. opportunities for field stations to contribute to key environmental issues (Baker, 2015). Here in Scotland many of these aspects are being addressed and field stations are working hard today to answer important questions related to climate change, fisheries and environmental impacts of renewable energy. Over the years The Glasgow Natural History Society has both supported and benefitted greatly from our field stations throughout Scotland. Members have participated in excursions, training, research and some have travelled to stations abroad to pursue their interests in natural history. The Glasgow Naturalist regularly publishes studies that have been undertaken at our field stations, as is the case in this edition. So let’s celebrate more than 100 years of biological field stations in Scotland and continue to use and support their future in any way we can. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Glasgow Naturalist would not be produced without the hard work of many people, including the anonymous reviewers who ensure the scientific quality of this journal. I am particularly grateful to Iain Wilkie as Editor of Short Notes and his continued help and enthusiasm, Bob Gray for book reviews and to Richard Weddle for making journal articles available online. Next year we will be able to access online all digitised issues of the journal since 1908 at the Biodiversity Heritage Library www.biodiversitylibrary.org . I am indebted to Chris McInerny for facilitating the digitisation of the journal. Many thanks to Ruth Maclachlan who undertook copy editing and administrative duties. For authors (past and present) please see notice about digitisation agreement at: http://www.glasgownaturalhistory.org.uk/docume nts/Digitisation_Announcement.pdf Some of the information in this article is based on my recent blog at: https://naturallyspeaking.blog/2016/12/07/back- to-the-future-scene/ REFERENCES Baker, B., 2015. The way forward for biological field stations. BioScience, 65 (2), 123–129. Maitland, P.S. & Hamilton, J.D., 1994. Glasgow University Field Station at Rossdhu, Loch Lomond: the first British University Freshwater Field Station. Hydrobiologia, 290 (1-3), pp.ix–x. National Research Council, 2014. Enhancing