The spider fauna of Shetland and its zoogeographic context
Synopsis The spider fauna of Shetland is described on the basis of collections made in 1974–75 and earlier published and unpublished data. The number of species recorded is increased from 35 to 90. Work on Ronas Hill and elsewhere has shown that Shetland has a substantial array of montane spiders, m...
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1979
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0269727000012951 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0269727000012951 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0269727000012951 2024-06-23T07:50:24+00:00 The spider fauna of Shetland and its zoogeographic context Ashmole, N. Philip 1979 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0269727000012951 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0269727000012951 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Section B. Biological Sciences volume 78, issue 1-2, page 63-122 ISSN 0269-7270 2053-5910 journal-article 1979 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0269727000012951 2024-05-29T08:08:50Z Synopsis The spider fauna of Shetland is described on the basis of collections made in 1974–75 and earlier published and unpublished data. The number of species recorded is increased from 35 to 90. Work on Ronas Hill and elsewhere has shown that Shetland has a substantial array of montane spiders, many of them occurring at much lower elevations than is normal in mainland Britain: a height of 400 m on Shetland is roughly equivalent—in terms of the spider community—to one of 900 m in the Cairngorms. Shetland appears to lack, however, a number of the arctic-alpine species present at high levels in mainland Scotland and the Faroes. The spider fauna of moorland in Shetland is shown to have closely similar composition to that of a moorland area in the Pennines, although the latter has more species. Other habitats discussed include sand dunes in South Mainland and serpentine heaths in Unst. The new information permits for the first time assessment of the spider fauna of Shetland in its zoogeographic context. Almost all of the species found in Shetland, the Faroes and Iceland are present in both Scotland and Fennoscandia; however, only two-thirds of the Faroes species and less than half of the Iceland species are also found in Shetland. Consideration of the Pleistocene history of the area permits analysis of the origins of the faunas. Some species adapted to arctic conditions may have survived through the last glacial episode in Iceland, where there were ice-free areas, but such survival is most unlikely for the Faroes and Shetland: for Orkney the picture is unclear. There was no subsequent overland immigration to Iceland or the Faroes and little or none to Shetland, but Orkney may have received rather more of its species in this way. The rapid postglacial rise in sea level ensured that the bulk of the species in all these faunas had to colonise over water. Some species were transported by man and a few may have travelled on natural rafts, but the majority seem to have immigrated by ballooning. Orkney probably received ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Faroes Fennoscandia Iceland Cambridge University Press Arctic Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Section B. Biological Sciences 78 1-2 63 122 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Synopsis The spider fauna of Shetland is described on the basis of collections made in 1974–75 and earlier published and unpublished data. The number of species recorded is increased from 35 to 90. Work on Ronas Hill and elsewhere has shown that Shetland has a substantial array of montane spiders, many of them occurring at much lower elevations than is normal in mainland Britain: a height of 400 m on Shetland is roughly equivalent—in terms of the spider community—to one of 900 m in the Cairngorms. Shetland appears to lack, however, a number of the arctic-alpine species present at high levels in mainland Scotland and the Faroes. The spider fauna of moorland in Shetland is shown to have closely similar composition to that of a moorland area in the Pennines, although the latter has more species. Other habitats discussed include sand dunes in South Mainland and serpentine heaths in Unst. The new information permits for the first time assessment of the spider fauna of Shetland in its zoogeographic context. Almost all of the species found in Shetland, the Faroes and Iceland are present in both Scotland and Fennoscandia; however, only two-thirds of the Faroes species and less than half of the Iceland species are also found in Shetland. Consideration of the Pleistocene history of the area permits analysis of the origins of the faunas. Some species adapted to arctic conditions may have survived through the last glacial episode in Iceland, where there were ice-free areas, but such survival is most unlikely for the Faroes and Shetland: for Orkney the picture is unclear. There was no subsequent overland immigration to Iceland or the Faroes and little or none to Shetland, but Orkney may have received rather more of its species in this way. The rapid postglacial rise in sea level ensured that the bulk of the species in all these faunas had to colonise over water. Some species were transported by man and a few may have travelled on natural rafts, but the majority seem to have immigrated by ballooning. Orkney probably received ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ashmole, N. Philip |
spellingShingle |
Ashmole, N. Philip The spider fauna of Shetland and its zoogeographic context |
author_facet |
Ashmole, N. Philip |
author_sort |
Ashmole, N. Philip |
title |
The spider fauna of Shetland and its zoogeographic context |
title_short |
The spider fauna of Shetland and its zoogeographic context |
title_full |
The spider fauna of Shetland and its zoogeographic context |
title_fullStr |
The spider fauna of Shetland and its zoogeographic context |
title_full_unstemmed |
The spider fauna of Shetland and its zoogeographic context |
title_sort |
spider fauna of shetland and its zoogeographic context |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1979 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0269727000012951 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0269727000012951 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Faroes Fennoscandia Iceland |
genre_facet |
Arctic Faroes Fennoscandia Iceland |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Section B. Biological Sciences volume 78, issue 1-2, page 63-122 ISSN 0269-7270 2053-5910 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0269727000012951 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Section B. Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
78 |
container_issue |
1-2 |
container_start_page |
63 |
op_container_end_page |
122 |
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1802641278755667968 |