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John Morton Boyd
John Morton Boyd CBE FRSE (31 January 1925 – 25 August 1998) was a British zoologist, writer and conservationist. He was a pioneer of nature conservation in Scotland. Life Boyd was born in Darvel, Ayrshire, the son of Thomas Boyd, master builder and Jeanie Morton. He was educated at Kilmarnock Academy. He then attended the University of Glasgow where he began a course in engineering before switching to zoology. As an undergraduate he studied sand dune snails on the island of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides, subsequently undertaking a doctoral study on the earthworms of the machair and further ecological research. Boyd was influenced by the writings of Seton Gordon and Frank Fraser Darling. He visited St Kilda and recognised the potential for research into its endemic fauna, including the Soay sheep, the St Kilda wren (a subspecies of the Eurasian wren), and the St Kilda field mouse. He was also involved in research on the grey seal on North Rona. In 1971 Boyd became the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darvel
Darvel ( sco, Dairvel, gd, Darbhail) is a small town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is at the eastern end of the Loudoun, Irvine Valley and is sometimes referred to as "The Lang Toon" ( en, the Long Town). The town's Latin motto, , means "Not for ourselves, but for others". Location Darvel is situated on the A71 road that runs from Irvine on the west coast to Edinburgh on the east. The town is east of Kilmarnock and is the most easterly of the Irvine Valley Towns, the others being Galston, East Ayrshire, Galston and Newmilns. The town was once linked with Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire, Stonehouse (via Strathaven) by the Caledonian Railway. However, the line was closed by the LMS before the Second World War. The former Glasgow and South Western Railway branch line to Kilmarnock survived for much longer and was closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching Axe. Much of the route of both lines is still in existence, although the rails have long since gone and many road bridges have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach"). In most countries, a research degree qualifies the holder to teach at university level in the degree's field or work in a specific profession. There are a number of doctoral degrees; the most common is the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), awarded in many different fields, ranging from the humanities to scientific disciplines. In the United States and some other countries, there are also some types of technical or professional degrees that include "doctor" in their name and are classified as a doctorate in some of those countries. Professional doctorates historically came about to meet the needs of practitioners in a variety of disciplines. Many universities also award honorary doctorates to individuals d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nature Conservancy (UK)
The Nature Conservancy was a British government agency established in 1949 under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, drafted in part by Max Nicholson. It was a research council for natural sciences and 'biological service'. This provided legal protection of national nature reserve (United Kingdom), national nature reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The first Director General was Captain Cyril Diver. In 1952 Max Nicholson took over as Director General and served until 1966. During this time Nature Conservancy developed, despite opposition from vested interests, as a research and management body which promoted ecology as having broad relevance and application to land use decision-making and management. This included helping to establish the Monks Wood Experimental Station, which was perhaps the first to examine the effect of pesticides on the environment. In 1966 it was incorporated in to the newly created Natural Environment Research C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Rona
Rona ( gd, Rònaigh) is a remote, uninhabited Scottish island in the North Atlantic. Rona is often referred to as North Rona to distinguish it from South Rona (another small island, in the Inner Hebrides). It has an area of and a maximum elevation of . It is included within the historic county of Ross-shire. The island lies northwest of Cape Wrath, the same distance north-northeast of the Butt of Lewis and east of Sula Sgeir. More isolated than St Kilda, it is the most remote island in the British Isles ever to have been inhabited on a long-term basis. It is also the closest neighbour to the Faroe Islands. Because of the island's remote location and small area, it is omitted from many maps of the United Kingdom. Etymology The name "Rona" may come from , Old Norse for "rough island", a combination of and , Gaelic and Old Norse for "seal" and "island" respectively, or it may have been named after Saint Ronan. The English language qualifier ''North'' is sometimes used to d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey Seal
The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". It is the only species classified in the genus ''Halichoerus''. Its name is spelled gray seal in the US; it is also known as Atlantic seal and the horsehead seal. Taxonomy There are two recognized subspecies of this seal: The type specimen of ''H. g. grypus'' (Zoological Museum of Copenhagen specimen ZMUC M11-1525, caught off the island of Amager, Danish part of the Baltic Sea) was believed lost for many years but was rediscovered in 2016, and a DNA test showed it belonged to a Baltic Sea specimen rather than from Greenland, as had previously been assumed (because it was first described in Otto Fabricius' book on the animals in Greenland: ''Fauna Groenlandica''). The name ''H. g. grypus'' was therefore transferred to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Kilda Field Mouse
The St Kilda field mouse (''Apodemus sylvaticus hirtensis'') is a subspecies of the wood mouse that is endemic to the Scottish archipelago of St Kilda, the island west of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides, and from mainland Scotland. Unique to the islands, the mouse is believed to have arrived on the boats of Viking settlers more than a millennium ago. It is not to be confused with the St Kilda house mouse (''Mus musculus muralis''), a subspecies of the house mouse which is now extinct. The last remaining human inhabitants of St Kilda abandoned the islands on 29 August 1930. Thereafter the mice that survived, even those occupying houses abandoned by the St Kildans, were field mice that had moved into the houses from the hills. The islands' house mice could not survive the harsh conditions for more than two years after the archipelago was abandoned by its human population. The islands currently have temporary human habitations. While field mice are widespread on Hirta, their c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Wren
The Eurasian wren (''Troglodytes troglodytes'') or northern wren is a very small insectivorous bird, and the only member of the wren family Troglodytidae found in Eurasia and Africa (Maghreb). In Anglophone Europe, it is commonly known simply as the wren. It has a very short tail which is often held erect, a short neck and a relative long thin bill. It is russet brown above, paler buff-brown below and has a cream buff supercilium. The sexes are alike. The species was once lumped with '' Troglodytes hiemalis'' of eastern North America and '' Troglodytes pacificus'' of western North America as the winter wren. The Eurasian wren occurs in Europe and across the Palearctic – including a belt of Asia from northern Iran and Afghanistan across to Japan. It is migratory in only the northern parts of its range. It is also highly polygynous, an unusual mating system for passerines. The scientific name is taken from the Greek word "troglodytes" (from τρώγλη "hole", and δ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Kilda Wren
The St Kilda wren (''Troglodytes troglodytes hirtensis'') is a small passerine bird in the wren family. It is a distinctive subspecies of the Eurasian wren endemic to the islands of the isolated St Kilda archipelago, in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Description The St Kilda wren is distinguished from the mainland form by its larger size and heavier barring, as well as its generally greyer and less rufous colouration. It differs from other Scottish island sub-species by its heavy barring, long and strong bill, and its greyer and paler plumage. The voice is somewhat louder than the mainland subspecies. Distribution and habitat This wren is known only from St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides, where it is present on all islands in the group. In the breeding season it is largely found on the cliffs and steep rocky slopes with thick vegetation, but also around old buildings. Outside the breeding season it is more widely dispersed around the islands. Ecology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soay Sheep
The Soay sheep is a breed of domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') descended from a population of feral sheep on the island of Soay in the St Kilda Archipelago, about from the Western Isles of Scotland. It is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep breeds. It remains physically similar to the wild ancestors of domestic sheep, the Mediterranean mouflon and the horned urial sheep of Central Asia.Ryder, M L, (1981), "A survey of European primitive breeds of sheep", ''Ann. Génét. Sél. Anim.'', 13 (4), pp 381–418. It is much smaller than modern domesticated sheep but hardier, and is extraordinarily agile, tending to take refuge amongst the cliffs when frightened. Soays may be solid black or brown, or mor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Kilda, Scotland
St Kilda ( gd, Hiort) is an isolated archipelago situated west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom; three other islands ( Dùn, Soay and Boreray) were also used for grazing and seabird hunting. The islands are administratively a part of the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar local authority area. The origin of the name ''St Kilda'' is a matter of conjecture. The islands' human heritage includes numerous unique architectural features from the historic and prehistoric periods, although the earliest written records of island life date from the Late Middle Ages. The medieval village on Hirta was rebuilt in the 19th century, but illnesses brought by increased external contacts through tourism, and the upheaval of the First World War contributed to the island's evacuation in 1930. The story of St Kilda has attracted artis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Fraser Darling
Sir Frank Fraser Darling FRSE (23 June 1903 – 22 October 1979) was an English ecologist, ornithologist, farmer, conservationist and author, who is strongly associated with the highlands and islands of Scotland. He gives his name to the Fraser Darling effect. Early life Fraser Darling was born in Soresby Street in Chesterfield in northern England, the illegitimate son of Harriet Cowley Ellse Darling and Cpt. Frank Moss. His mother was the daughter of a prosperous family from Sheffield. Her family wanted the child to be fostered and forgotten about. However, she would not cooperate and refused to part with Frank. His father, whom he never met, left for East Africa around the time of his birth, and was killed in action on the Kenya-Tanganyika border in 1917. In 1966 Darling revealed to his son that the pioneering plant geographer, Charles Edward Moss, was his uncle. Career After running away from school at the age of 15, Darling was sent to work on a farm in the Pennines. He th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seton Gordon
Seton Gordon CBE (1886–1977) was a Scottish naturalist, photographer and folklorist. Gordon began exploring the Highlands of Scotland as a boy, particularly the Cairngorms. He later became a world-famous naturalist, photographer and folklorist, describing the wildlife and scenery of Scotland. His books are still widely available, and a recent anthology has been published. Their appeal is based upon the knowledge of natural history displayed, together with his ability as a writer. Born in Aberdeen, he lived on Deeside and was educated privately and at Oxford. Given cameras as a young man, his books were illustrated with photographs taken by himself and his first wife, Audrey Gordon, for many years his companion and helper in the field. He accompanied the Oxford University Expedition to Spitsbergen in 1921 and took many photographs there, but the birds of the Scottish mountains and glens were always his real passion. From his home in Aviemore (and later the Isle of Skye), he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
