The importance of aeolian deposition is clearly shown by the size and bulk of coastal dunes. Sand dunes occur where there is a large supply of sand, a wind to move it, and a place in which it can accumulate. A dune classification is presented which takes into account the origin, internal geometry and surface geomorphology of coastal dunes. Since the main element that distinguishes coastal dunes from desert dunes is vegetation, the relative amount of vegetation may be used as a typology. Four dune types are distinguished: vegetated dunes, parabolic dunes, medanos (i.e. large sand hills devoid of vegetation), and artificially-inseminated dunes. Vegetated and medano dunes are the end members, with parabolic dunes in between. Parabolic dunes are “anchored” by vegetation, but the centre of the dunes has migrated in the down-wind direction. The artificially-inseminated dunes are formed by vegetation plantings, fencing, or other artificial means, but with natural sand accumulation around these obstacles. These now account for a very substantial portion of the world's coastal dunes.

The role of wind and its relation to the internal geometry (i.e. cross-bed dip and direction) are discussed in some detail, with examples from Brazil, U.S. east and south coasts, Israel and China. Differences in these characteristics are detailed, and related to the different modes of formation of the four dune types.

The role of the wind in transporting and depositing sand in coastal areas is being quantified through both wind tunnel and field transport measurements. An example from a field study along the coast of Israel illustrates the differences between desert and coastal dune transport, where the role of vegetation and beach topography must be taken into account. From the Israeli study, and others, it appears that transport in coastal dunes is reduced by one-third to one-half of that in deserts, due to these factors.

Coastal dunes provide a useful, and often necessary, buffer against storm waves and the presently rising sea level. They form primarily through vertical sand accretion trapped by the sensitive dune vegetation. Provided that sufficient space exists between the high tide line and developed areas, planned dunes can be easily formed with the aid of plantings and fencing.

Documented studies of the ecology of red deer in Scotland refer principally to populations which occupy treeless moorlands. Commercial forests have become a major part of the Scottish landscape and little is known of the dynamics of the red deer populations which inhabit them.

Red deer which benefit from the enhanced shelter and nutrition of a woodland habitat often perform better than those occupying open-range. Birth rates of 60–70 calves 100 hinds are common, especially in forests in the south and west of Scotland. This potential may be reduced to a post-winter recruitment of 50 60 calves 100 hinds (cf. birth rates on open-range of 40 60 calves 100 hinds reducing to 30–35). A range of densities in forests of 5–15 deer km" is almost identical to the densities found on open-range.

Simulation models suggest that many woodland populations can support a sustained yield of about 20% of adults each year and focus attention on the practical difficulties of achieving culls in commercial forests. Simulations of changes in forest structure are used to demonstrate the related changes occurring in the ability of the habitat to support changing densities of deer through time.

In a study in Galloway, southern Scotland, evidence suggests that the red deer population has increased considerably during the expansion of commercial forestry between 1960–80.

The present paper forms a continuation of studies of recessive sex-linked lethals in Drosophila melanogaster published previously (1938, 1941). In these, lethals occurring spontaneously, induced by X-ray treatment and by ultra-violet light were examined cytologically in the salivary gland chromosomes.

The genetic factors which stop or change the development of an individual in such a way that its death ensues under normal conditions are termed lethals. A lethal effect may be connected with a mutation of a gene or with its absence from the chromosome: those which cannot be proved to be associated with the absence of a cytologically detectable part of the chromosome are considered as due to “point” mutations.

The absence of a microscopically identifiable section of a chromosome with all its genetical and structural elements is called a deficiency. With few exceptions (Muller, 1935; Demerec and Hoover, 1936) the deficiencies in the X-chromosome, whatever their size and whatever loci they involve, are lethal for males. In females heterozygous for them deficiencies of small or even moderate size usually do not produce any visible phenotypical effect, although some cases are known (Mohr, 1923; Slizynska, 1938) in which a heterozygous deficiency for a particular band is always associated with a definite phenotype. Thus a lethal effect may or may not be the result of a deficiency, while a deficiency in the X-chromosome almost always has a lethal effect in the males.

In 1941 Auerbach (1943, 1946 in press) succeeded in producing “visible” and lethal mutations and chromosomal rearrangements by chemical treatment in which adult males were exposed to vapours of (C1CH2CH2)2S in a specially designed apparatus. The object of this paper is to show what proportion of sex-linked recessive lethals produced in Drosophila melanogaster by these new agents is connected with detectable deficiencies. Besides finding out whether chemically produced lethals are associated with detectable deficiencies, the problem of the relation between lethals and “visible” mutations is discussed on the basis of their respective distributions along the chromosome. It should be stated that the lethals connected with gross structural changes represent probably only a small fraction of such lethals actually produced since many of them were eliminated by zygotic lethality.

The distribution of seaweeds in the Firth of Clyde is described. The patterns of algal distribution are discussed in relation to propagule dispersal and recruitment, and the physiological ecology of the plants. Particular attention is given to the influence of biotic factors: competition, grazing by invertebrates and the effects of man.

Recently described 7α-alkylamide analogues of oestradiol, exemplified by ICI 164,384, have the pharmacological characteristics of pure antioestrogens. ICI 164,384 is completely free of oestrogenic activity in rodents and blocks the trophic actions of exogenous and endogenous oestradiol and of partial agonist antiooestrogens like tamoxifen. In addition, ICI 164,384 is peripherally selective, producing complete involution of the uterus without affecting LH secretion in intact female rats.

In MCF-7 oestrogen-responsive, human breast cancer cells ICI 164,384 is a more potent and effective inhibitor of cell growth than tamoxifen. This difference in efficacy is reflected by a greater reduction in the proportion of cells continuing DNA synthesis in ICI 164,384-treated cultures than in tamoxifen-treated cells. This observation implies that a pure antioestrogen may provide more effective therapy of breast cancer but this will have to be demonstrated in clinical studies.

This paper presents a chemist's view of the action of ionising radiation on matter with a range of simple examples. Attention is given to the ways in which electron spin resonance spectroscopy (which is described briefly) can be harnessed to give useful information about the initial stages of radiation damage. The effects of radiation are generally indiscriminate and hence damage to water is of special importance in biological systems. Water-derived free radicals will attack biomolecules (the indirect effect) and this mechanism is compared with direct damage events. Also, examples are given of some remarkably discriminate radiation-induced reactions.

Specific attention is given to radiation-induced damage to proteins, and especially to aqueous DNA and DNA in chromatin and in cells. The importance of DNA strand-breaks is discussed in relation to both the production of mutations and cell death.

Ovarian oestrogens appear to have a central role in the development of the breast. However, peripheral tissues including the breast and its tumours have the potential to synthesise and metabolise oestrogens. When ovarian secretion of hormones is low, for example, after the menopause, such extra-gonadal steroidogenesis may assume biological significance.

While no individual steroid conversion in the breast has been shown to correlate with levels of endogenous oestrogens, certain positive associations have been observed between enzyme activities and the presence, stage and hormone dependence of breast cancer.

Thus biosynthesis of oestrogen (aromatisation) in breast fat is significantly higher in patients with breast cancer as compared to that from women with benign breast disease. Within the breasts of women with cancer, oestrogen biosynthesis is enhanced in quadrants bearing tumour. In contrast, levels of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase are not associated with the presence of malignancy, but in women with breast cancer, activity is significantly higher in breast fat of patients with large tumours and those with nodal metastasis. There is also evidence that oestrogen sulphurylation in breast cancer is associated with hormone dependence and among postmenopausal patients with oestrogen-receptor-positive tumours, response to the aromatase inhibitor, aminoglutethimide, is restricted to cancers possessing aromatase activity.

Increasing attention has been paid to dying-out of heather in Scotland over the last fifteen years. The question is of considerable economic importance, owing to the huge areas of grazing involved. Cameron (1937), Morison (1938) and Cameron, McHardy and Bennett (1944) have dealt with the entomological side of the problem. Braid and Tervet (1937) have stressed the necessity of a fuller study of fungi on heather and, particularly, of the heather rhizomorph fungus.

The present work, begun in 1939, was undertaken to determine the identity, parasitism, distribution and characters of the heather rhizomorph fungus and of any other fungi capable of attacking heather in Scotland. The heather rhizomorph fungus proved to be the only one isolated from heather which acted as a parasite. Accordingly, the others were not investigated further.

This assessment of selected literature on pteridophyte edaphic adaptation is presented in three parts: (1) pH and general soil nutrient background, (2) growth responses to specific inorganic ions and frond mineral content, and (3) collected works on Pteridium aquilinum edaphic adaptations. In this report, a case is made for the overriding effect of both soil pH and inorganic ion content in determining pteridophyte occurrence. Recommendations are made for more field and laboratory co-ordinated studies, especially as they pertain to the determination of species-specific amplitudes of adaptation, and for the initiation of physiological and metabolic investigations into the basis of these edaphic adaptations.

Birds have a layer of plumage over most of the body which provides thermal insulation. The vane-shaped feathers are more efficient than fur in decreasing air movement between the skin microclimate and the ambient environment. Around the feathers is a layer of air, the depth of which for optimum insulation is determined by their angles to the skin surface maintained by the follicular musculature. The mean avian core temperature is 41°C which is higher than in mammals, but skin surface temperature is several degrees lower. Over the exposed skin the microclimate is more variable, but the skin is warmed by the dermal blood vessels and so the feet do not freeze even at sub-zero temperatures. Transpiration occurs through the skin and helps cool the body. Some water vapour is absorbed by the feather keratin, which prevents the feathers from becoming brittle in dry ambient air. Maintenance of the feather vane arrangement requires a more rigid keratin than in hairs. Birds have only one skin gland, the secretion of which contains wax and lipids, but the epidermis is also strongly lipogenic. The sebaceous secretion probably waterproofs the skin, prevents the feathers from becoming too dry, and is anti-microbial. The avian skin surface provides habitats for many commensal micro-organisms and a few bacterial, fungal and arthropod parasites. Pathogenic microorganisms can penetrate the epidermal barrier in wounds or indirectly through the bites of animal parasites. Once in the dermis micro-organisms are combated by immune responses.

The responses of clones of a range of willow species to waterlogging and total submersion were compared in glasshouse experiments using specially constructed perspex tanks. Up to 13 weeks of waterlogging had little effect on form and growth rates of above-ground parts of two clones of Salix caprea L. and one clone of S. cinerea L. A second clone of S. cinerea responded differently to the other three clones by significantly increasing its leaf area and stem dry weight, suggesting that it is likely to be more tolerant of waterlogging.

Plant parts below the waterline in the waterlogging treatment responded very differently to the same parts on control plants. All waterlogged plants developed hypertrophied lenticels within four weeks, followed by significant increases in stem diameter. In each clone most of the pre-existing root system died by the end of the waterlogging treatment. All clones formed adventitious roots which varied considerably between the species and to a lesser extent between clones within each species. In S. cinerea many short, fine, much-branched roots grew vertically upwards until they reached the water surface. In S. cinerea clone 90 they originated from both the pre-existing woody roots and from the hypertrophied lenticels on the submerged portions of the stems. In S. cinerea clone 12 they developed only from the hypertrophied lenticels. New roots produced by waterlogged S. caprea clones were long, sparsely branched and floated on or near the surface of the water. As in S. cinerea clone 90 they originated from both the pre-existing woody roots and the submerged hypertrophied lenticels. Whereas roots of the control plants of all clones were mostly ectomycorrhizal, those of the waterlogged plants had no mycorrhizae. In a second waterlogging experiment S. × sericans, S. viminalis and S. fragilis produced adventitious roots more like those of S. caprea than S. cinerea. Plants of all clones removed from the waterlogging treatment after 16 days and kept with their soil at field capacity thereafter produced many new roots from their old root balls. After 32 days waterlogging no such recovery occurred.

Total submersion caused much more severe damage to the aerial parts of all tested species than waterlogging. After eight days submersion the shoot tips of S. fragilis were beginning to rot and by day 25 those of S. × sericans and S. viminalis were rotting too. Subsequently shoots developed from axillary buds which remained unaffected by rot throughout the experiment. In S. cinerea shoot growth ceased after eight days and terminal buds were formed which remained dormant but healthy throughout the experiment. Submersion caused progressive loss of pre-existing leaves in all species. Some newly formed leaves of each species developed epinastic deformities after > 16 days of submersion. All species except S. cinerea showed significant reductions in root dry weight after 32 days of submersion.

In a second submersion experiment responses of three clones each of S. purpurea and S. viminalis were compared. Shoot growth was reduced significantly in four of the six clones after 14 days. No further reductions occurred in the next 14 days of submersion. Root dry weight also decreased, but it took 28 days of submersion to produce the greatest effect. The faster growing clones of each species were more adversely affected by submersion in terms of both reduced shoot growth and root growth than those which grew more slowly.

Considerable intraspecific variability in responses to waterlogging and submersion have been shown in these experiments by clones not selected for their variation in flooding tolerance. This suggests that selection and breeding could lead to the development of flood-tolerant cultivars of species such as S. cinerea and S. caprea which are not noted for their ability to withstand inundation.

The bacterial and chemical bases for the luminescence of a number of marine animals had been demonstrated by the end of the nineteenth century. Since that time a considerable amount has been learned about the chemical reaction systems of some bioluminescent animals and a generalised reaction sequence can be postulated to encompass the various components extracted from the different species.

The factors which determine, at the various biological levels, the intensity and the spectral and spatial distribution of the emitted light are described and discussed in terms of the chemical nature of the reaction systems and the biology of the animals concerned.

A Shetland-wide beached bird survey was established in March 1979 and monthly surveys have continued since. This paper presents results from March 1979 to December 1992 during which time a total of 34 320 corpses of seabird and seaduck were found, of which 34023 (99.1%) were specifically identified. Corpses of guillemot (8911), fulmar (8707), kittiwake (4421), herring gull (2264), shag (1843) and great black-backed gull (1785) comprised 82.1% of the identified total, the remainder being made up of 31 other species. The relationship between the numbers of each species found, and their numbers and occurrence in Shetland waters is discussed. A total of 2781 corpses were judged to have been oiled before their deaths, of which 2732 (98.2%) were specifically identified. The six species most frequently found oiled were guillemot (1170 corpses), fulmar (543), kittiwake (184), razorbill (131), puffin (111) and shag (99).

Variations in both the percentage of corpses found that were oiled, and the number of oiled corpses found per kilometre of beach surveyed, are examined and discussed. Comparison is made with results from beached bird surveys elsewhere in the British Isles and in other countries bordering the North Sea. In some species, notably the pelagic auks, there was considerable annual variation in the numbers of unoiled corpses found while in other species the number of unoiled corpses found changed more gradually over the 14 years. Reference is made to similar changes observed in other beached bird surveys and possible reasons for these changes are discussed.

The Outer Hebrides, because of their apparent isolation, attracted zoologists in the past who looked for new species and subspecies and some sought to explain the origin of the invertebrate fauna by exotic land connections in preglacial times. These expectations were largely unfulfilled and the speculations are unsupported by geologists or geomorphologists. The non-marine invertebrate fauna is examined from published records, museum collections and special field surveys and the lists total over 2500 species, of which approximately one-third are of general occurrence in the Outer Hebrides. Three species of mites are new to the British fauna and over 700 species, mainly insects, are additions to the Hebridean fauna. The fauna is impoverished compared with the mainland and this may be due to climate and the lack of variety of habitats and the low structure of the vegetative cover. Upland species occur on the moors and some descend to sea level, possibly on account of the low mean temperature in summer. Species with a north western distribution occur in the Odonata, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera. Species with a discontinuous distribution are discussed and it is suggested that some reached the islands by natural means and others by human agency and there is no evidence of refugia for a glacial relict fauna. Examples are given of insects with a south western distribution arriving by sea in driftwood and five amphiatlantic species, including a freshwater sponge, which may have been brought by migrating birds, a wrack-fly, two strand-line beetles and a mite, which may have been distributed by the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Drift.

There are no endemic species, but a few so-called subspecies of insects may be restricted to the Outer Hebrides. Changes in the fauna are traceable in a stratified Flandrian shell deposit in Harris, where two species have become extinct, and some insects have also become extinct in St Kilda during the last century. Some of the most conspicuous land snails have arrived in historic times and the most rapid coloniser has been a brackish-water snail which has spread throughout the islands since 1933.

Analysis of the factors influencing the seasonal changes in biomass of the ‘net’ phytoplankton in 1972– 73 snowed that the dynamics of the spring waxing of the diatom populations were controlled by narrow ‘windows’ of climatic events, and that subsequent fluctuations in cell numbers were linked with the interplay between zooplankton grazing and wind induced dispersion. Data for 1976–77, set against a similar background of events with the ‘net’ plankton, showed that the nanophytoplankton constituted a less variable biomass through the seasons and, on an annual basis, contributed some 50% of the total carbon fixed.

A diverse benthic and bathypelagic fauna was first incontrovertably established by the deep-sea samples of H.M.S. Challenger, and demonstrated the ability of organisms to live and reproduce in the deep, dark and cold abyssal environment of enormous hydrostatic pressure as high as 1000 atm (14 000 psi) on trench floors at 10 000 metres. The investigations of Regnard (1891), Fontaine (1930) and Ebbecke (1935) established that various shallow animals have the capacity to withstand increased hydrostatic pressure. This paper deals with the response of whole organisms, mainly shallow-water metazoans, to hydrostatic pressure-temperature effects. The level of occurrence of pressure-induced increased activity (R1), onset of paralysis or tetany (T) and LD50 are discussed for tropical and temperate marine species in relationship to temperature and hydrostatic pressure. The pressure sensitivity and resistance exhibited by different species are examined in relation to various hypotheses and theories such as (1) group effect, in which Schlieper (1968) claims that those shallow species that belong to the group which has successfully colonised the deep sea, such as Echinodermata, Mollusca, Isopoda, have a higher pressure resistance; (2) pressure resistance as a species or genetic property; (3) environmental impact, in which deeper species have a greater pressure resistance; and (4) finally a re-examination of temperature and pressure effects as these relate to deep-sea colonisation.

The highest carbonate values are associated with exposed coasts of Lewisian gneiss, reaching 95% CaCO3 in SW Tiree: around Iona average values are 80 to 85% CaCO3. Maximum values of 60 to 70% on Islay indicate a regional gradient which reflects a reduced fetch southwards, and a greater input from reworked glacial drift and fluvial material.

High energy carbonate deposits are distinguished by the low diversity of their components, nearly all coming from fragmented molluscs and barnacles. Low energy carbonates have diverse components, with foram and echinoid values each reaching 10%. The ratio most easily separates the two facies (high energy mean = 18-5: low energy mean = 2-1).

In the immediate offshore tidal-swept zones such as the Sound of Iona barnacles are the most important contributors to the sediment.

Most of the carbonate is fresh and by its relationship to contemporary shore ecology can be shown to be of present-day origin. Offshore, however, relict grains are widespread. Their pitted surfaces are inhabited by very abundant diatoms, and it is tentatively suggested that local carbonate dissolution may be caused by them. Additionally they represent a much more abundant source of silica for eventual silicification of the carbonate than do sponge spicules, which are rare.

The relationship between the scientist for whom the theory of tides has always offered a fertile field for academic research, and the practical man whose operational need for tide tables has seldom coincided with the desire to seek a full understanding of tidal phenomena, have played a fundamental role in the development of accurate tidal predictions.

Until the last decade, without the sympathetic collaboration of the scientist, the intelligent mariner was rarely able to satisfy the more demanding of his own requirements for tidal forecasts; academic dilettantism was (and still is) of little use to him. In the United Kingdom, the earliest recorded efforts, those of John Wallingford, Abbott of St Albans in the thirteenth century, were only intermittently improved, as for example by John Flamstead during the seventeenth century, until the full potential of Isaac Newton's work on gravitational theory was utilised systematically by Sir Joshua Lubbock, Lord Kelvin and Sir George Darwin in the second half of the nineteenth century. The extension and refinement of the framework of applied theory so formed was then taken over by A. T. Doodson until the dawn of the digital computation revolution just over a decade ago.

The nature, scope and quality of tidal predictions over the centuries have seen many changes in response to demands for improvement, which are as pressing today as at any time in the past. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this trend has been the way in which the development of techniques for observing tidal variations—the raw material from which predictions are derived—has failed to keep pace with advances in theory, computational techniques and practical usage.

Since 1924 the Forth has received effluent from Scotland's major petrochemical industry and refinery in addition to hydrocarbon inputs from many other sources. The firth shows no major effects of this, but the history of inputs, together with the estuary's physical characteristics, have created a large residue of hydrocarbon contaminants especially in its sediments. This paper gives the degree and gradients of contamination in several components and describes the effect of hydrocarbon contaminants on the ecosystem structure.

The major inputs have produced localised lethal effects, in that productive estuarine intertidal habitat has been lost or its functioning altered. The changes are primarily due to organic enrichment with only very near-field toxic effects. Some of the effects result from historical contamination, but existing discharges continue to have a deleterious effect. New petrochemical discharges in both firth and estuary appear to have a minimal impact, although the historical contamination makes it difficult to assess their effects.

Man's use of the timber of Sitka spruce grown in North America and in the United Kingdom is reviewed. The contrast in character and properties of the timber from the two sources is considered and an explanation for the differences given in terms of the growth. The importance of Sitka spruce to the British forest and timber industries is examined and consideration given to how Sitka spruce should be managed to ensure the production of timber which will meet the requirements of the British timber user.