Unpublished Records of Marine Algae Made Mainly in County Waterford by Thomas Johnsonand Matilda KnowlesAuthor(s): M. J. P. ScannellSource: The Irish Naturalists' Journal, Vol. 16, No. 7 (Jul., 1969), pp. 192-198Published by: Irish Naturalists' Journal Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25537316 .

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192

although surprisingly small amounts can be utilized; heathers, bramble, bushea.

hedges, ditches, drains and stone piles can all afford concealment. With the abundance of such sites available in Northern Ireland, the foxes proven ability to

make use of them, the mild climate and the animal's thick insulating coat of hair, this lying up above ground is not surprising. The idea that foxes hunt at night and

sleep in earths during the day is a gross oversimplification. It is not until December the heterosexual pairs are particularly noticeable.

By this time the typical vulpine odour is becoming more apparent. Foxes

copulate in January and early February (unpublished data). In February and, exceptionally, late in January there is frequent evidence

that the animals are digging at the earths. Copious fresh soil is scattered around

the mouths of holes and this is marked with foot-prints. It is not uncommon for a dropping to be deposited in the entrance. It is in February and March that foxes smell most strongly. This is not only remarked by hunters but is very noticeable

while dissecting carcasses. While handling live foxes, during tagging studies, they were particularly restless and difficult to handle at this time. All this suggests that

perhaps there may be some sort of territorial behaviour with respect to an earth.

Surprisingly small holes, unoccupied at other seasons, may show signs of fox

activity, but some holes which seem satisfactory are not occupied. As the vixen nears term she remains below ground and the dog fox lies

in nearby cover, or, less commonly, in the mouth of the burrow during the day.

During late February and March they are thus more easily killed. It seems likely that the activities of the vixen are restricted to a small range in late pregnancy. It is probable that she may hunt a fortnight before parturition but in the later

stages the dog fox carries food to her. Judging by one accumulation of prey this

can be considerably in excess of her immediate needs?one earth containing a

vixen almost at term had a complete domestic hen, a pullet and half a rabbit.

Department of Zoology, Queen's University of Belfast.

Present address: Department of Zoology, University College, Galway.

REFERENCES

Fairley, J. S. (1969). Destruction of foxes in Northern Ireland. Ir. Nat. J., 16: 187.

Southern, H. N. (1964) (ed.). The Handbook of British Mammals. Blackwell, Oxford.

Teagle, W. G. (1967). The fox in the London suburbs. Lon. Nat., 46: 44-68.

UNPUBLISHED RECORDS OF MARINE ALGAE MADE MAINLY IN COUNTY WATERFORD BY THOMAS

JOHNSON AND MATILDA KNOWLES

M. J. P. SCANNELL

The coast of County Waterford, H 6, is long and varied yet few marine

algae have been recorded from its shores. A recent bibliography of phycological literature (Dixon, Irvine and Price, 1966) lists four papers for the county. The

most important is that of Johnson (Anon., 1897, pp. 139-140) who, as secretary of the Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, reported the activities of the Club for the

year 1896. Johnson incorporated in the report a summary of a paper by himself

and Miss Matilda C. Knowles which he had read at a meeting of the Club.

Johnson, Professor of Botany in the Royal College of Science and officer in charge

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193

of the Herbarium, Science and Art Museum, Dublin, with A. R. Nichols, a marine

zoologist, visited Dungarvan in October 1896 to collect marine algae and shells

on behalf of the Flora and Fauna Committee of the Royal Irish Academy. This

Committee had been set up in 1893 to encourage biological field work in Ireland.

The paper read by Johnson was based on Miss Knowles' identification of the

specimens collected chiefly at Helvick Point. It was stated in the summary that 90

species had been collected and 21 are listed. In papers published by Johnson

(Johnson and Hensman, 1899, and Johnson et alia, 1899) a further nine species are recorded, making a total of 29 species published. Batters (1902) includes a total

of 16 records from both Dungarvan Bay and Helvick Point. His records of

epiphytic Phaeophyceae may have been extracted from Johnson's paper but records of Chlorophyta and Rhodophyta seem to have been communicated directly to

Batters by Johnson. In 1896 Miss Knowles was a student of Johnson in the Royal College of Science. Of the other papers referred to in the bibliography (Dixon, Irvine and Price, 1966), Parkes (1953) mentions the work of Miss Ann Ball

(referred to by Harvey in Mackay, 1836, as "an acute and zealous algologist") who lived at Youghal, Co. Cork, and recorded algae from Ardmore, Co. Waterford.

Brennan (1945) records Callymenia reniformis from the county but gives no locality. The fourth reference in the bibliography is to the donation by Johnson of

specimens to Herbarium TCD (Anon., 1898), The following aspects of the history of the algal flora of Co. Waterford

may be of interest here. The Ring district of the county, on the south shore of

Dungarvan Bay, was one of the areas on the south coast heavily denuded of seaweeds in pre-famine years due to the use of seaweed as a manure for the potato crop (Lewis, 1849). The Reverend Eugene O'Meara visited the county prior to

1875. He collected diatoms from the larger seaweeds at Tramore, publishing his

results in his major work on the Irish Diatomaceae (O'Meara, 1875). Harvey (in

Mackay, 1836, pp. 182, 241) includes two records from H 6, Ectocarpus tomentosus

Lyngb. from Ardmore, collected by Miss A. Ball, and Porphyra linearis Grev.

collected at Dunmore by Miss A. Taylor. There is a specimen of the last mentioned

seaweed in Herbarium DBN, collected by Thomas Chandlee, but no date is given. A recent addition to the algal flora of the county, Melobesia jarinosa

Lamour, was recovered from leaves of Zostera angustifolia collected by Dr Keith

Ferguson, Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, on salt marsh, Back Strand,

Tramore, on 18th August, 1968, and donated to Herbarium DBN.

The list of seaweeds collected at Dungarvan in 1896 by Johnson was

never published in full. In 1968 a six-page manuscript in the handwriting of Miss

M. C. Knowles was uncovered in the Herbarium amongst papers relating to algae. The list is entitled "Marine Algae from South East of Ireland" and it is a

record of specimens collected between 1895 and 1896. The records are mostly from Helvick Point, the extremity of an easterly facing promontory south of

Dungarvan Bay. Included in the list are records, also, of 9 species from Ballina

courty on the north side of Dungarvan Bay and a small number of species from

other localities in Ireland. Many records from numbered districts are included.

The numbers refer to the divisions of the coast of Ireland proposed by Holmes

and Batters (1891) and adopted by Johnson (Johnson et alia, 1899). The district

divisions are as follows: 10. Malin Head, Co. Donegal, to Slyne Head, Co.

Galway; 11. Slyne Head to Crow Head, Co. Cork (W); 12. Malin Head to Howth,

Co. Dublin; 13. Howth to Raven Point, Co. Wexford; 14. Crow Head to Raven

Point. Initials follow the district numbers and refer to the collector as J for

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194

Johnson, H for Hensman and K for Knowles. In the case of Sorocarpus uvaeformis the statement R 11 would seem to refer to Roundstone, district 11 (see Johnson's

paper on the Phaeophycea). The Knowles list follows the order of the major groups of algae

Cyanophyceae, Chlorophyceae, PhaeopHyceae and Rhodophyceae in Holmes and

Batters (1891). The species do not follow the order within these groups. This

may be due to the fact that the manuscript list was a working document and was

not intended as the final draft. The nomenclature agrees, in the main, with that

of Holmes and Batters (1891) with the exception of the genera Streblonema and

Ectocarpus. Johnson was in communication with M. Sauvageau regarding the nomenclature of the Irish parasitic PhaeopHyceae (Johnson et alia, 1899). Authors are cited in some cases only. When authorities are quoted they follow, in the

main, those of Holmes and Batters (1891). Synonyms, when such could be traced in Parke and Dixon (1964), are given in parenthesis. Miss Knowles has distin

guished in the manuscript list those specimens which are previously unrecorded

either from Ireland or from district 14. These records are indicated respectively below thus *, t

A search has been made for the material collected in the Dungarvan area

in 1896. A total of 14 specimens has been located in Herbarium DBN. Some

material was donated to Herbarium TCD by Johnson (Anon., 1898, p. 122).

Micropreparations of algae, referred to by Knowles, have not been found.

Specimens located in Herbarium DBN are so noted in the list published below.

For convenience of reference, species are arranged in alphabetic order

within the classes and in this matter is a departure from the manuscript of

Knowles. A sketch map is included to show the location of Helvick Point and

Ballinacourty in County Waterford. The Irish National Grid references are: ?

Helvick Point IGX3289 Ballinacourty IG X 3192

/ WAiriiroRu S> \ J*

j . JlT

BMLINACOURTY

|j ̂ ^ HFLVICK POINT *

Hu. Q Mites 10

/^-? 0 Ktfometres 20

CYANOPHYCEAE

*Amphithrix violacea on Ectocarpus secundus. Helvick Point, October 1896. *Anabaena torulosa. 10 J.

*Calothrix confervkola. Helvick Point, October 1896.

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195

fDermOcarpa prasina. Helvick Point, October 1896 and on Polysiphonia from Ireland's Eye 30/3/96 MCK; 10 J; 11 J.

*Dermocarpa schousboeu Arranmore, July 1895; 10 J; 11 J. Dermocarpa sp. Helvick Point, October 1896. Gleocapsa crepidinum. Skerries, 17/3/96. *Hydrocoleum lyngbyaceum. Helvick Point, October 1896. *Hyella caespitosa. Galway, July 1895, also Belfast Lough, July 1896; 14 K; 11 J; 12 J.

Mastigocoleus testarum. Galway, July 1895; Belfast Lough, July 1896; Helvick Point, October 1896.

Rivularia atra* Roundstone, 4/1896, material of Mrs. Tatlow. *Spirulina subsalsa (tenuissima) among scrapings from the surface of infested Chondrus

crispus. Helvick Point, October 1896.

CHLOROPHYCEAE ^Bolbocoleon piliferum Pringsh. on Laminaria from Ballinacourty, October 1896; 14 J. Bryopsis plumosa C.Ag. Helvick Point, October 1896. Chaetomorpha tortuosa [Chaetomorpha capillaris Borg.] 14 J. ^Chlorochytrium inclusum Kjellm. in Dilsea edulis. Helvick Point, October 1896; 14 J. tCladophora pellucida. Dalkey, December 1896. MCK; 11 J. Codium tomentosum. 10 J; 11 J. Conferva arnicola. Helvick Point, October 1896. \Entodemra viride [Entocladia viridis Reinke] in Ectocarpus hintksiae. Helvick Point,

October 1896.

jEnteromorpha clathrata. 14 J.

-\Epicladia flustrae Reinke on Polyzoon on Poly ides. Helvick Point, October 1896. Also on Sertularian on Fucus serratus, Helvick Point, October 1896; 12 J; Belfast Lough, J. and H.

Gomontia polyrhiza. 10 J; 11 J; 12 J; Galway, July 1895. J. and H. "\Halicystis ovalis on Callithamnion. Ballinacourty (dredged), October 1896. ^Monostroma grevillei J.Ag. Helvick Point, October 1896; 13 J. *Prasiola stipitata. Skerries, J., 17/3/1896. *Pringsheimia scutata [Pringsheimiella scutata (Reinke) Marchew]. Belfast Lough,

July 1896; Johnson and Hensman. *Ulothrix implexa' Ireland's Eye, April 1896. MCK. Viva latissima [Ulva lactuca L]. Helvick Point, October 1896.

PHAEOPHYCEAE

Aglaeozonia repens on Saccorhiza bulbosa. Helvick Point, October 1896. [See Parke and Dixon, 1964, p. 528. Note (40)].

*Ascocyclus balticus on Laminaria saccharina. Helvick Point, October 1896.

*Ascocyclus ocellatus [Chilionema ocellatum (Kutz.) Sauv.] on Laminaria, Ballinacourty,

October 1896.

*Ascocylus reptans on Chondrus crispus and Laminaria. Helvick Point, October 1896.

Ascophyllum nodosum, Helvick Point, October 1896.

Asperococcus compressus dredged off Roonane Rock, 9/9/95. Chorda filum. Helvick Point, October 1896. Chordaria flagelliformis C.Ag. Helvick Point, October 1896.

Cladostephus spongiosus C.Ag. Helvick Point, October 1896. Herb. DBN.

Cladostephos verticillatus C.Ag.. Helvick Point, October 1896 [herb. spec, from Ballinacourty] Herb. DBN.

Cystoseira ericoides [C. tamarisciiolia (Huds.) Papenf.] Helvick Point, October 1896. Desmarestia aculeata. Helvick Point, October 1896.

Desmarestia ligulata. Helvick Point, October 1896.

Dictyosiphon foeniculaceus Grev. dredged off Dungarvan, October 1896.

Dictyota dichotoma. Helvick Point, October 1896 ffa^rb^pec. from Ballinacourty]. Herb. DBN. ^

Ectocarpus confervoides [E. arctus Kutz.] on Chorda filum dredged Ballinacourty. October 1896.

Ectocarpus confervoides f. siliculosa [E. arctus Kiitz] on Chondrus crispus, dredged Dungarvan Bay, October 1896. Sporangia frequently on long stalks.

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196

Ectocarpus fasciculatus on Fucus and on Saccorhiza bulbosa* Helvick Point, October 1896.

Ectocarpus granulosus {Giffordia granulosa (Sm.) Hamel] on Himanthalia, Helvick Point, October 1896.

^Ectocarpus hincksiae {Giffordia hincksiae (Harv.) Hamel] on Saccorhiza bulbosa, Helvick Point, October 1896.

Ectocarpus pusillus [Acinetospora crinita (Carm. ex Harv. in Hook.) Kornm.] on

Cladostephus. Helvick 1896. Ectocarpus repens see Streblonema reptans. 14 J.

Ectocarpus secundus [Giffordia secunda (Kiitz.) Batt.] on Desmarestia ligulata and on Himanthalia lorea. Helvick Point, October 1896.

^Ectocarpus terminalis on Corallina officinalis. Helvick Point, October 1896. Also on Chondrus crispus and on Hydroid tubes.

Ectocarpus tomentosus on Gigartina mamillosa. Helvick Point, October 1896.

^Elachista flaccida on Fucus serratus. Helvick Point, October 1896. Shows a slight connection with host.

Elachista fucicola on Fucus serratus. Helvick Point, October 1896. Fucus vesiculosus. Helvick Point, October 1896. Fucus serratus. Helvick Point, October 1896. Herb. DBN. Halidrys siliquosa. Helvick Point, October 1896. Himanthalia lorea [H. elongata (L.) S. F. Gray]. Helvick Point, October 1896. Laminaria saccharina. Helvick Point, October 1896.

-fMesogloea vermiculata. Helvick Point, October, 1896.

Pelvetia canaliculata. Helvick Point, October 1896.

Phyllitis fascia [Petalonia fascia (O. F. Mull.) Kuntze]. Helvick Point, October 1896. Pylaiella litoralis [Pilayella littoralis (L.) Kjellm.] on Chondrus crispus. Helvick Point,

October 1896. ? Pylaiella varia on Fucus serratus. Helvick Point, October 1896.

Saccorhiza bulbosa [S. polyschides (Lightf.) Batt.]. Helvick Point, October 1896. Scytosiphon lomentarius. Helvick Point, October 1896.

*Sorocarpus uvaeformis [S. micromorus (Bory) Silva]. R 11; September 1893 with plurilocular sporangia.

* Sphacelaria caespitula on Laminaria. Helvick Point, October 1896. Sphacelaria cirrhosa [S. pennata (Huds.) Lyngb.] on Fucus, Laminaria etc., Helvick

Point, October 1896.

Sphacelaria radicans on Naccaria. Helvick Point, October 1896.

*Streblonema luteolum on Fucus. Helvick Point, October 1896. * Streblonema major (Johnson) on Chylocladia kaliformis. Helvick Point, October 1896. ^Streblonema minimum (Svgeau) on Fucus. Helvick Point, October 1896. ^Streblonema minor (Johnson) [on Chylocladia kaliformis, Helvick Point, October 1896.

[S. major and S. minor have been emended, in Johnsons handwriting to "E.

zanardinii Crn. ?"?see Irish Phaeophycea, Johnson et alia 1899?MJPS]. *Streblonema reptans on Fucus, Helvick Point, October 1896. *Streblonema solitarius (Svgeau) on Fucus. Helvick Point, October 1896. [Emended in

Johnsons handwriting to "S. pseudolitarium"?see Irish Phaeophyceae, Johnson

et alia 1899, MJPS]. * Streblonema parasiticus (Svgeau) on Fucus. Helvick Point, October 1896. Streblonema velutinum Thur. on Himanthalia. Helvick Point, October 1896, a peculiar

form.

RHODOPHYCEAE Actinococcus roseus. Helvick, October 1896. Callithamnion hookeri [no locality]. Ceramium rubrum. Helvick Point, October 1896. Chondrus crispus. Helvick Point, October 1896 [herb. spec, from Ballinacourty].

Herb. DBN. Choreocolax potysiphoniae on Polysiphonia. Helvick Point, October 1896. Also

Dalkey,4/1896. Chylocladia kaliformis [C. squarrosa (Kiitz.) Le Jol.]. Helvick Point, October 1896.

Chylocladia oralis [Gastroclonium ovatum (Huds. Papenf.]. Helvick Point, October 1896.

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197

Cystoclonium purpurascens [C. purpureum (Huds.) Batt.]. Helvick Point, October 1896. Ballinacourty, October 1896.

Delessena aldta [Membranoptera alata (Huds.) Stackh.]. Helvick Point, October 1896.

Herb. DBN. Furcellaria fastigiata. Helvick Point, October 1896. Gelidium corneum. Helvick Point, October 1896. Gigartina acicularis. Ballinacourty, October 1896, infested with Melobesia

confervoides.

Gigartina mamillosa [G. stellata (Stackh.) Batt.]. Helvick Point, October 1896. tGoniotrichum elegans [G. alsidii (Zanard.) Howe] on Laminaria, Ballinacourty,

October 1896. Laurentia pinnatifida. Helvick Point, October 1896. Lomentaria articulata. Helvick Point, October 1896.

Melobesia confervoides on Poly ides. Helvick Point, October 1896. Melobesia corallinae [Lithophyllum corallinae (Cruan frat.) Heydr.] on Corallina

officinalis. Helvick Point, October 1896. Melobesia laminariae. Helvick Point, October 1896. Melobesia membranaceum on Chylocladia. Helvick.

Naccaria wigghii [sic.]. Helvick Point, October 1896. Also Dalkey, 12/1896. Nitophyllum laceratum. Helvick Point, October 1896; Ballinacourty, October 1896.

Herb. DBN.

Nitophyllum reptans on Laminaria. Ballinacourty, October 1896. Not in fruit. Peyssonelia squamaria on stone. Helvick, October 1896.

Plocamium coccineum [Plocamium vulgare Lamour.]. Helvick Point, October 1896.

Herb. DBN.

Poly ides rotundus. Helvick Point, October 1896.

Polysiphonia elongata. Helvick Point, October 1896.

Polysiphonia fastigiata [P. lanosa (L.) Tandy]. Helvick Point, October 1896. Phyllophora membranifolia. Helvick Point, October 1896. Phyllophora rubens. Helvick Point, October 1896. Herb. DBN. Ptilota plumosa. Helvick Point, October 1896. Rhodocorton floridulum. Helvick Point, on base of Polysiphonia. Halycystis mixed

up with it, October 1896. Rhodocorton membranaceum [Audouinella membranacea (Magn.) Papenf.] on

polyzoon on Polyides. Helvick Point, 10/1896. Rhodocorton mesocarpum. Helvick Point, October 1896. Rhodocorton rothii [R. purpureum (Lightf.) Rosev.] on stone. Helvick, October 1896. Rhodymenia palmata. Helvick Point, October 1896 [herb. spec, from Ballinacourty]

Herb. DBN. Schmitzella endophloea on Cladophora pellucida. Dalky, October 1896. Sphondylothamnion multifidum. Helvick Point, October 1896.

Specimens of Dasya coccinea, Chylocladia articulata (Lomentaria articulata

(Huds.) Lyngb.), Plumaria elegans and Porphyra laciniata from Dungarvan Bay, October 1896, not included in the above list have been located at Herbarium DBN.

I thank Professor Mairin de Valera, University College, Galway, who

kindly advised on the publication of the Waterford algae, Miss Hilda Parkes for

help with nomenclature, Dr Austin Burke, Director, Irish Meterological Service, Dublin, for references to the pre-famine collection of seaweed at Ring and to Mr Donal Synnott for help in many directions.

" National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, 2.

REFERENCES Anon. (1897). Dublin Naturalists' Field Club (pp. 139-140). In, Anon., Proceedings of Irish

Societies. lr. Nat., 6: 136-140 (T. Johnson). Anon (1898). Herbarium notes (Donations to the Herbarium 1897-8). Notes bot. Sch. Trin

Coll. DubL, 1: 120-128. [Note. Probably E. P. Wright]. Batters, E. A. L. (1902). A catalogue of the British marine algae. /. Bot., Lond., 40 (Suppl)

[2]: 107. Brennan, A. T. (1945). Notes on the distribution of certain marine algae on the west coast

of Ireland. Ir. Nat. J., 8: 252-254

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Dixon, P. S., Irvine, D. E. G., and Price, J. H. (1966). The Distribution of Benthic Marine

Algae. A Bibliography for the British Isles. Br. phycol Bull, 3 (1): 87-142. Holmes, E. M. and Batters, E. A. L. (1891). A revised list of British marine algae. Ann. Bot?

5: 63-107. (Note: Dated 1890 but issued 1891). Johnson, T and Hensman R. (1899). A list of Irish Corallinaceae. Scient. Proc. R. Dubl Soc,

N.S., 9: 22-30.

Johnson, T., Hanna, H., Hensman, R. and Knowles, M. C. (1899). Irish Phaeophyceae (Report of the Fauna and Flora Committee). Proc. R. Ir. Acad., Ser. 3, 5: 441-461.

Lewis, S. (1849). A topographical dictionary of Ireland, 2nd edition. London.

Mackay, J. T. (1836). Flora Hibernica. Dublin.

O'Meara, E. (1875), Report on the Irish Diatomaceae. Part I. Proc. R. Ir. Acad., Ser. 2, 2.

Parkes, H. M. (1953). Some notes on the herbarium of University College, Cork. Ir. Nat. J., 11: 102-106.

Parke, M. W. and Dixon, P. S. (1964). A Revised Check-list of British Marine Aigae /. mar. biol Ass. V.K, 44: 499-542.

THE SPREAD OF FERAL MINK IN IRELAND C. Douglas Deane and Fergus O'Gorman

The American mink, Mustela vision Schreber, is found throughout Canada and United States wherever suitable habitat exist. It is semi-aquatic and although more terrestrial than the otter, is fast-moving and swims efficiently

having partially-webbed toes. It is rarely found far from water where it feeds on

crayfish, mussels, fish, birds and small mammals. It climbs readily and has been seen 50 feet (15 metres) above the ground.

The male is considerably larger and heavier than the female and the anal

glands, characteristic of weasels, are well developed and pungent in this species. The pelage is composed of long, hard, lustrous hairs with a short undercoat of

soft, dense fur, dark brown in colour, but lighter in tone than the long hairs, sometimes with a more or less white chin.

In captivity it is used as a ferret and is bred extensively for the sake of

its pelt. In the late 1920s ranch-bred mink were exported to various countries

including Britain and Scandinavia and by 1959 the world population of captive mink was between 10 and 11 millions (Thompson, 1968a).

The carefully selected ranch bred mink is far removed from its wild

ancestor and combines large size and fertility with the excellent pelt quality of the

eastern form, resulting in a blend of mutations ranging in colour through different shades of brown, beige, blue, grey, cream and white. Some two dozen

mutations have been developed, affecting colour and although the mutant may be

smaller, of reduced fertility and more susceptible to disease, current fashion and

colour preference can ensure its commercial success. Mink fur is prime from

November and may be taken until March when it is shed for a lighter coat.

The first fur farms for mink were established in Britain in 1929 and a

boom in demand provided a stimulus for considerable investment in breeding animals. The first mink farms in Ireland were established 1950-53 and the

result of a questionnaire survey in 1960 showed that over 40 people were breeding mink while the average unit size was 50 females and 20 males with pelt production at 4,000-4,500 skins (Dawczewski, 1960). According to various sources Ireland

is well suited for the fanning of mink as those bred in cold climates give a long, loose, woolly fur difficult to work, while the short, napped, close furred pelt obtained in humid, mild climates such as Ireland, is well suited for production of

good quality pelts.

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