Mostly Eurasian but a few strays find themselves in North America each year. They nest on open marshland in the north without much cover, so they have a well developed "broken wing" display to lure predators away from their nests.[doi:10.1098/rspb.2022.0058] You have to wonder how it feels to have your brain wired with a compulsion for silly walks.
2023-05-15 Reykjavik, Iceland
With a constant flow of superheated water, thermophilic bacteria form streaks of colour on the rocks. A clear demonstration that boiling water doesn't kill everything inside it. Even with the recent rain there were still parts of the river hot enough to scald our toes as we waded up the river.
2023-05-19 Reykjadalur, Iceland
Named for the shape of the leaves, which don't appear until after the flower has withered and died. Used since ancient times, its scientific name is Tussilago farfara, from Latin tussis (cough) + ago (act on). It is part of an herbalist treatment for COVID-19 symptoms. Although it produces toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) which can damage the liver, they are only present at low levels. However, the related butterbur (Petasites spp.) has similar shaped leaves with far higher levels of PAs. Mixing them up has been fatal. Over 150 other compounds have been isolated, some of which may act against Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer.
2023-05-15, Reykjavik, Iceland
[1] doi:10.1016/j.jep.2020.113478
The small sturdy Icelandic horses arrived with the Vikings in the 9th century. They were selected for gentle demeanor and smooth gaits over the rough Icelandic terrain. In addition to the usual walk and trot, where diagonally opposite legs move together, there are the "tölt" and "flying pace" where legs on the same side move together. Natural selection has played a part, giving them an extra 4 cm of fur for the winter. When it is particularly cold and windy they will huddle for warmth, with the high-ranked individuals sheltered from the worst of the weather.[1] I suppose that is adaptive: Give the advantage to the strongest since they are most likely to survive and breed the next year.
2023-05-20 Eyrarbakki, Iceland
[1] Ingólfsdóttir, Hrefna B., and Sigurjónsdóttir, Hrefna (2008). The benefits of high rank in the wintertime—a study of the Icelandic horse. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 114(3-4) 485-491. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2008.04.014
If you don't like reindeer lichen or lady's mantle you are going to have a hard time surviving in Iceland; there's only so many dandelions to go around. Despite several introductions over the last centuries feral rabbits had not established sustainable populations. Recently, though, there are two populations that are thriving, thanks to warmer weather and increased hay production, and in cities, the well-meaning folk who don't want to see the poor little bunnies starve.
2023-05-20 Perlan Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland
A shore bird with a beak built for digging in the mud and sand. All sorts of critters to eat: worms, snails, clams, crabs and the occasional fish.[1] They need to stay vigilant so they don't get eaten themselves, glancing around once every few seconds to check for danger. They relax a bit among friends, feeding for 15 s before glancing around.[2] When preening they need extra vigilance because their heads are buried under their feathers.
2023-05-14 Gunnuhver, Iceland
[1] doi:10.2307/3677294 [2] doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1988.tb02723.x
Nesting in meadows doesn't work so well when the tractor comes calling. With more intensive agriculture in the Netherlands there is less range land and more mowing. Avoiding nests doesn't help much: Foxes quickly learn that the tasty bits are in the remaining islands. The result is a population in steady decline. Curiously, farming seems to help the Icelandic population,* with hayfields providing sustenance during the nesting season.[1]
2023-05-15 Reykjavik, Iceland
[1] Gill, J. A., et al. (2007). Contrasting trends in two Black-tailed Godwit populations: a review of causes and recommendations. Wader Study Group Bulletin, 114, 43-50.
* It also helps that they stopped shooting them (except France, where they are still considered a delicacy).
Perhaps trumpet lichen (Cladonia fimbriata), a mushroom playing host to algae and/or cyanobacteria in exchange for sugar. The mushroom offers protection from sun and cold and provides water for the algae. While many plants have ice as an enemy (bacteria nucleate ice crystals on the leaf surface to breach the cell walls and drink from the mush that remains), the lichen fungus encourages ice formation to harvest humidity and help it grow when temperatures rise. [doi:10.25227/linbg.01070]
2023-05-20 Perlan Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland
Named Lichen canina by Linnaeus because its fruiting bodies resemble dogs teeth. On the theory that "like affects like", it is a traditional remedy for the treatment of rabies.[1] It also acts as an antioxidant and is used as a liver tonic. But take care: lichens concentrate heavy metals such as lead and uranium.[2]
2023-05-20 Perlan Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland
[1] doi:10.1007/s11101-010-9189-6
[2] Haas, J., Bailey, E. & Purvis, O. (1998). Bioaccumulation of metals by lichens: Uptake of aqueous uranium by Peltigera membranacea as a function of time and pH. American Mineralogist, 83(11), 1494-1502.
A pair of Mareca penelope. Named by Linnaeus for the duck in Greek myth that saved Penelope from the ocean (her father tried to drown her because he wanted a son). Given Penelope's role as faithful wife while Odysseus was away, the allusion to a duck is ironic; they choose a different partner each year. However, Penelope is also purported to be the mother of Pan, possibly having all 108 suitors as the combined father, so perhaps appropriate after all.[1]
2023-05-15 Reykjavik, Iceland
[1] Levaniouk, Olga. 2011. Eve of the Festival: Making Myth in Odyssey 19. Hellenic Studies Series 46. Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies.
As the name suggests, this is mostly a Eurasian species, but some overwinter in the US. The Eurasian wigeon (red-headed males) will occasionally hybridize with the American wigeon (green-headed males), with a gene flow rate of 3.17 individuals/generation across the Bering Strait. Not much for a combined population of 700,000, but enough that genetically they look like subspecies rather than species. [DOI:10.1111/mec.15574] But we already knew that ducks are confusing. Fig 1 of [DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0274059] illustrates this nicely, showing frequent hybridization within each genus, and infrequent hybridization between genera. <Insert obvious pun on the state of taxonomy when you have breeding between groups.>
2023-05-15 Reykjavik, Iceland
Eking out a living in the harshest of environments, Arabidopsis lyrata provides lovely contrast to the black lava in Iceland. It likes living alone without lots of neighbours stealing its light. It is a member of the cabbage family which native Alaskans used in salads or as a cooked vegetable.
2023-05-14 Hafnarberg Sea-cliffs, Iceland
Seljalandsfoss (Seljalands falls) fed from Eyjafjallajökull (Eylja mountains glacier) 14 km upstream.
2023-05-15 Seljalandsfoss, Iceland
A long migration for a little bird: 14,500 km each way from Alaska to the Sudan.[1] Those from the Canadian arctic travel 7500 km to west Africa, crossing 3400 km over the Atlantic ocean in 4 days. All with a 25 g body mass (about the same as 2 tbsp of sugar). Timing the return is tricky. The early bird gets the frost, losing her clutch, but wait too long and she may not get the worm.[2]
2023-05-17 Fjallsárlón, Iceland
[1] doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.1223 [2] doi:10.1111/ibi.13133
Because, yes, she does wag her tail, though it's not clear why.[1,2] She is quite acrobatic, able to catch insects as they fly overhead. As an insectivore she is also a target of a variety of European cuckoo (parasitism rate 0.42%, egg match 54%), though less than the meadow pipit (rate 2.66%, match 64%) or the reed warbler (rate 5.54%, match 47%).[3]
[1] doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.07.026* [2] doi:10.2326/osj.15.1 [3] doi:10.1007/s004420050727
* An example of Betteridge's law of headlines, the article is titled, "Is tail wagging in white wagtails, Motacilla alba, an honest signal of vigilance?" If the data were definitive there would be no need for the question mark.
The meadow pipit:cuckoo competition provides a living example of a GAN (generative adversarial network: the technology behind the DALL-E image generation framework), with the cuckoo laying eggs that are indistinguishable from those of the meadow pipit and the meadow pipit removing the eggs that are clearly not her own.[1] The feedback is strong on both sides. If the cuckoo egg is identified then that generation will fail to reproduce. If the cuckoo egg is not identified, the chick will be born a little sooner and a little bigger than the meadow pipit, and will eject pipit chicks from the nest when they are born. A further natural experiment: cuckoos can't tolerate the Icelandic climate, so the selective pressure on egg discrimination has had 10,000 years to weaken. And sure enough, Icelandic meadow pipits have more variation in egg colour (UV brightness), as well as less ability to identify cuckoo eggs in her nest.[2]
2023-05-15 Hafnarberg Sea-cliffs, Iceland
[1] doi:10.2307/4995 [2] doi:10.1046/j.1095-8312.2003.00208.x
Less showy than the male, and just as difficult to catch.* The mountain streams are too dangerous to wade through so they put a net downstream after a blind corner and chase the birds with a kayak.[doi:10.1002/wsb.530] The capture is gentle (one foot injury over 961 captures), with a mist net that breaks if the bird is flying fast. Of the 1 in 6 misses most had the bird falling out of the net, but pair bonds are strong so you get a second chance when the escapee comes back looking for its mate :-(
2023-05-16 Vik, Iceland
* Mostly for banding so they can do behavioural research (where they winter, whether they return to the same streams, whether they stay with their partners, how the young know where to migrate, how old they live). They can also do health checks such as weighing, searching for parasites, looking at feather health.
Feeding on blackfly and midge larvae in fast flowing mountain streams,[1] Harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) risk life and limb with every meal. They are said to have more broken bones than any other species[2] I couldn't find numbers, but about 4.5% of all birds in the U. Kansas collection (n=6212) have healed bones.[3] An even bigger study (n=40772) only looked at bone pathology, not fractures. Pity the poor ibis, a quarter of whom stand around all day with arthritic ankles.[4] Ducks not so much. I guess floating is easier on the joints.
2023-05-16 Vik, Iceland
[1] doi:10.2307/3676161 [2] Harlequin duck All About Birds. [3] doi:10.2307/4078953 [4] doi:10.1080/03079450500096455
Alchemilla vulgaris (?) like other Alchemilla are technically hermaphrodites, with each flower producing stamens but no viable pollen. Biologically active, it contains vasodilators that reduce blood pressure and menstrual cramps,[1] polyphenols for wound treatment,[2] and cholinesterase to reduce Alzheimer symptoms.[3]
2023-07-09 Les Karellis, Savoie, FR
[1] doi:10.4103/0973-1296.149733 [2] doi:10.1002/ptr.2060 [3] doi:10.1016/j.jtice.2015.01.026
Self-portrait in dew. Probably Alchemilla faeroënsis with its partly joined leaf lobes, endemic to Iceland and the Faroe Islands. To keep the leaves dry in the constant Icelandic weather, tiny hairs suck up the water from the surface to form large drops. [doi:10.1021/la901557d doi:10.1002/polb.22286] The "super-hydrophobicity" gives rise to the genus name*: medieval alchemists believed this to be the purest source of water and used it when trying to transmute base metals into gold.
2023-05-18 Öræfi, Iceland
* Wiktionary says Greek kheimeia (art of alloying metals) through arabic al-kimiya into medieval latin alchemia, with alchemilla being the feminine diminutive for "the little alchemist".