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Evidence from morphology and molecular sequence data from three chloroplast genes, rbcL, ndhF, and atpB, have shown that the genus Maesa constitutes an evolutionary lineage separate from the other three primuloid families, Theophrastaceae, Myrsinaceae, and Primulaceae. The new family Maesaceae is here formally recognised, its taxonomic status being changed from a subfamily of Myrsinaceae. The new family comprises a single genus, Maesa Forssk., with some 100 species of trees or shrubs; it is diagnosed by characters such as flower pedicels with two bracteoles, a semi-inferior ovary, and indehiscent fruits with many seeds. A key to the major groups of primuloid taxa is presented.

Observations of feeding behaviour of common guillemots, Uria aalge, in June 2002 at the island Stora Karlsö in the Baltic Sea proper, and measurements of morphology and energy density in the prey fish sprat, Sprattus sprattus, showed that fish delivered to chicks at present are shorter and weigh less than in the 1970s. Long lasting attending periods and a feeding rate of 4.6 feeds per day indicate that parents are feeding their chicks at a maximum rate. Because of a decline in the energy density in sprat (22.4 kJg^-1 dry weight) the daily energy intake of common guillemot chicks have declined noticeably. This could probably explain the observed decrease in fledging body weight of chicks through the 1990s. Baltic common guillemots do not seem to be able to select more energy-dense prey sizes or to switch to other prey species.

A list of 1719 chemical compounds identified from headspace samples of floral scent is presented. The list has been compiled from some 270 published papers, including analyses of 991 species of flowering plants and a few gymnosperms, a sample including seed plants from 90 families and 38 orders. The compounds belong to seven major compound classes, of which the aliphatics, the benzenoids and phenylpropanoids, and, among the terpenes, the mono- and sesquiterpenes, occur in most orders of seeds plants. C5-branched compounds, irregular terpenes, nitrogen-containing compounds, and a class of miscellaneous cyclic compounds have been recorded in about two-thirds of the orders. Sulfur-containing compounds occur in a third of the orders, whereas diterpenes have been reported from three orders only. The most common single compounds in floral scent are the monoterpenes limonene, (E)-β-ocimene, myrcene, linalool, α- and β-pinene, and the benzenoids benzaldehyde, methyl 2-hydroxybenzoate (methyl salicylate), benzyl alcohol, and 2-phenyl ethanol, which occur in 54–71% of the families investigated so far. The sesquiterpene caryophyllene and the irregular terpene 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one are also common and occur in more than 50% of the families. Orchidaceae are by far the best investigated family, followed by several families known to have many species with strongly scented flowers, such as Araceae, Arecaceae, Magnoliaceae, and Rosaceae. However, the majority of angiosperm families are still poorly investigated. Relationships between floral scent and pollination, chemistry, evolution, and phylogeny are briefly discussed. It is concluded that floral scent chemistry is of little use for phylogenetic estimates above the genus level, whereas the distribution and combinations of floral scent compounds at species and subspecific levels is a promising field of investigation for the understanding of adaptations and evolutionary processes in angiosperms.

Morphological traits and sequences from two chloroplast genes, ndhF and trnL-F (intron, 3' exon, and spacer), have been used to investigate relationships in the Ericalean family Theophrastaceae. A total evidence parsimony analysis shows that the herbaceous genus Samolus is sister to all other Theophrastaceae. The latter are in turn divided into two major groups, one with Theophrasta, Neomezia, and Clavija and the other with Deherainia, Votschia, and Jacquinia. The representatives of Jacquinia are found in two separate well-supported clades, one consisting of the white-flowered species and the other of the mostly orange-red-flowered species, together with J. paludicola and J. longifolia, two aberrant species with whitish yellow flowers. Deherainia and Votschia group with the latter clade, which makes Jacquinia paraphyletic. We propose that J. paludicola and J. longifolia, together with the orange-red-flowered Jacquinia, be recognized as a separate genus, Bonellia. The sister taxa Theophrasta and Neomezia are confined to Hispaniola and Cuba, respectively. Within Clavija, which is the sister group of Theophrasta-Neomezia, the only Antillean species, Clavija domingensis, is sister to all other species occurring in South and Central America. With the splitting of Jacquinia, Jacquinia s. str. is composed of species occurring in the Caribbean, which are mostly confined to the Greater Antilles, whereas Bonellia is composed of a mixture of Caribbean, Central American, and South American species.

Modern methods for managing pine (Pinus sylvestris) create homogenized forests. This decreases nature’s potential for biodiversity and might threaten species in need of different types of milieu. The main purpose of this study was to investigate how important older pine trees are for biodiversity. In the Hall-Hangvar Reserve in the north-west part of Gotland, insects collected from traps showed that more species were found in old or dead trees compared to younger pine trees. A statistically significant difference was found for Coleoptera (beetles). The taxons of greatest interest for this study were Coleoptera and Hymenoptera (wasps). Certain families of Hymenoptera use ducts made by larvae from some families of Coleoptera.These larvae also serve as prey. Relevance concerning enviromental importance to species and diffrenences in inhabiting the three stages of pine trees was of importance.

Geese are often seen as one of nature's best examples of monogamous relationships, and many social pairs stay together for life. However, when parents and young are screened genetically, some chicks do not match their social parents. Although this has often been explained as adoption of foreign young after hatching, conspecific nest parasitism is another possibility. We used nondestructive egg albumen sampling and protein fingerprinting to estimate the frequency and success of nest parasitism in a Baltic Sea population of barnacle geese, Branta leucopsis. Among the 86 nests for which we had the most complete information, 36% were parasitized, and 12% of the eggs were parasitic. Almost 80% of the parasitic eggs were laid after the host began incubation. Hatching of these eggs was limited to the few cases where the host female incubated longer than normally because her own eggs failed to hatch. Conspecific nest parasitism in this population therefore seems mainly to be an alternative reproductive tactic of lower fitness than normal nesting. Comparison with DNA profiling of chicks (with 10–14 microsatellites) and other evidence confirmed the suitability of protein fingerprinting for analysis of nest parasitism. It can often provide more data than microsatellites, if eggs are albumen-sampled soon after being laid, before most losses occur.

Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP), females laying eggs in the nest of other 'host' females of the same species, is a common alternative reproductive tactic among birds. For hosts there are likely costs of incubating and rearing foreign offspring, but costs may be low in species with precocial chicks such as waterfowl, among which CBP is common. Waterfowl show strong female natal philopatry, and spatial relatedness among females may influence the evolution of CBP. Here we investigate fine-scale kin structure in a Baltic colony of barnacle geese, Branta leucopsis, estimating female spatial relatedness using protein fingerprints of egg albumen, and testing the performance of this estimator in known mother-daughter pairs. Relatedness was significantly higher between neighbour females (nesting ≤ 40 metres from each other) than between females nesting farther apart, but there was no further distance trend in relatedness. This pattern may be explained by earlier observations of females nesting close to their mother or brood sisters, even when far from the birth nest. Hosts and parasites were on average not more closely related than neighbour females. In 25 of 35 sampled parasitized nests, parasitic eggs were laid after the host female finished laying, too late to develop and hatch. Timely parasites, laying eggs in the host's laying sequence, had similar relatedness to hosts as that between neighbours. Females laying late parasitic eggs tended to be less related to the host, but not significantly so. Our results suggest that CBP in barnacle geese might represent different tactical life-history responses.

Traditional breeding grounds of the Russian Barnacle Goose population are at the Barents Sea in the Russian Arctic. During the last decades, the population increased and expanded the breeding area by establishing new breeding colonies at lower latitudes. Breeding numbers outside arctic Russia amounted to about 12,000 pairs in 2005. By means of a questionnaire, information about breeding habitat characteristics and colony size, colony growth and goose density were collected from breeding areas outside Russia. This paper gives an overview about the new breeding sites and their development in Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium. Statistical analyses showed significant differences in habitat characteristics and population parameters between North Sea and Baltic breeding sites. Colonies at the North Sea are growing rapidly, whereas in Sweden the growth has levelled off in recent years. In Estonia numbers are even decreasing. On the basis of their breeding site choice, the flyway population of Barnacle Geese traditionally breeding in the Russian Arctic can be divided into three sub-populations: the Barents Sea population, the Baltic population and the North Sea population. The populations differ not only in habitat use but also in breeding biology.

The redshank (Tringa totanus) is declining throughout Europe and to implement efficient conservation measures, it is important to obtain information about the population genetic structure. The aim of the present study was two-fold. First, we analysed the genetic variation within and between populations in the Baltic region in southern Scandinavia. Evidence of genetic structure would suggest that different populations might require separate management strategies. Second, in an attempt to study large-scale genetic structure we compared the Baltic populations with redshanks from northern Scandinavia and Iceland. This analysis could reveal insights into phylogeography and long-term population history. DNA samples were collected from six breeding sites in Scandinavia presumed to include two subspecies (totanus and britannica) and a further sample from Iceland (subspecies robusta). Two methods were used to study the population genetic structure. Domain II and III of the mitochondrial control region was analysed by DNA sequencing and nuclear DNA was analysed by screening amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Mitochondrial DNA showed no variation between individuals in domain II. When analysing an 481 bp fragment of domain III seven haplotypes were found among birds. On the basis of mtDNA sequences, redshanks showed some evidence of a recent expansion from a bottlenecked refugial population. Bayesian analyses of AFLP data revealed a significant genetic differentiation between suggested subspecies but not between populations within the Baltic region. Our results indicate that populations of redshanks in Europe constitute at least three separate management units corresponding to the recognised subspecies.

Aims: To investigate if predation on Redshank nests was affected by habitat characteristics at a local scale.

Methods: We examined survival rates of Redshank nests on coastal meadows on the Baltic island of Gotland, Sweden, over two breeding seasons. We analysed nest survival rates in relation to several habitat characteristics that may benefit predators searching for nests. We examined existing studies concerning predation rates on wader nests in relation to edges and habitat features potentially used by avian predators.

Results: We found no significant effects of distance to habitat edge or to nearest potential lookout for avian predators or to shoreline. Abundance of Lapwings Vanellus vanellus, an aggressive species with active nest-defence, did not have any significant effect on nest survival rate, nor did vegetation concealment of nests. Nest survival rates were significantly different between years and lower later in the season.

Conclusions: There is only weak support for general effects on wader nest predation rates of proximity to edges and features used by avian predators. Simple mechanical management actions such as removal of trees and bushes on coastal meadows may not directly, and by itself, result in higher reproductive success of waders. Further understanding is needed of the behaviour of predators and the composition of the predator community in different landscapes in order to increase the efficiency of management actions to remove threats to vulnerable species on coastal meadows.

Denna rapport sammanfattar våra vinterinventeringar av oljeskadad alfågel längs Gotlands sydkust under perioden 1996/97 till 2008/09. Rapporten ska ses som ett tillägg till och uppdatering av våra tidigare rapporter där vi redovisat resultat av vinterinventeringar av oljeskadad alfågel längs Gotlands sydkust mellan 1996/97 och 2007/08 (Larsson 2005, Larsson och Tydén 2005, 2007, 2008). I de tidigare rapporterna har vi även behandlat olika frågor som rör alfåglarnas biologi, utnyttjande av utsjöbankar och det stora hot som oljeutsläpp vid Natura 2000 områdena Hoburgs bank och Norra Midsjöbanken utgör mot övervintrande sjöfåglar. Mer detaljerade beskrivningar av undersökningsmetoder mm. kan sökas i de tidigare artiklarna. Mer information kan också fås av författarna.

Inventeringarna av oljeskadad alfågel under vintern 2008/09 är genomförd med den standardiserade inventeringsmetodik som använts under tidigare år. Antalet observerade oljeskadade alfåglar vid de olika inventeringstillfällena ska betraktas som index som kan jämföras med tidigare års index. Inventeringarna kan därmed svara på om effekter av oljeutsläppen till havs minskar eller ökar samt även användas för att följa upp delmål i miljömålet "Hav i balans samt levande kust och skärgård". För att beräkna det totala antalet oljeskadade alfåglar per år i centrala Östersjön krävs även andra undersökningsmetoder (se Larsson 2005, Larsson och Tydén 2005).

Vintern 2008/09 observerades färre oljeskadade alfåglar längs Gotlands sydkust än under tidigare vintrar. Antalet oljeskadade alfåglar har varierat under den studerade 13-årsperioden. Högst antal observerades under vintrarna 2000/01 och 2001/02 och lägst antal under 2005/06, 2007/08 och 2008/2009. Data från vintern 2004/05 saknas. Det finns inget tydligt samband mellan antal observerade oljeskadade alfåglar under olika vintrar och antalet oljeutsläpp som kustbevakningen årligen registrerat i hela den svenska ansvarszonen, dvs. i svenskt territorialvatten och i svensk ekonomisk zon, eller i svensk ansvarszon öster om Öland och Gotland. Detta visar att information om antalet registrerade oljeutsläpp på nationell eller regional nivå i sig inte räcker för att förutsäga effekter på övervintrande fåglar i Östersjön.

Det finns ett stort behov av nya heltäckande inventeringar av övervintrande sjöfåglar på utsjöbankar i Östersjön. Räkningar i Finland och Estland av flyttande alfåglar indikerar att alfågeln har minskat med ca 80 % under de senaste 15 åren (Kauppinen 2008). Inventeringar i kustnära områden i Sverige och på utsjöbanken Hoburgs bank visar också att alfågeln har minskat kraftigt i antal under senare år (Nilsson och Green 2007, Nilsson opubl, Larsson opubl). Ännu kraftfullare åtgärder mot sjöfart av undermålig standard och mot illegala oljeutsläpp måste införas. Eftersom huvuddelen av alla oljeutsläpp sker i fartygsrutterna måste de mest trafikerade rutterna flyttas bort från Östersjöns mest värdefulla Natura 2000-områden.

Idag passerar mer än 25 000 fartyg per år genom Natura 2000 området Hoburgs bank. Hoburgs bank är klassat som ett SPA område och som ett SCI område enligt EUs fågel- och habitatdirektiv. En del av Natura 2000-området Hoburgs bank, dvs. den sydöstra delen, är även klassad av International Maritime Organisation IMO som ett område som sjöfarten rekommenderas att undvika (Area to be Avoided). Uppföljningar av AIS information har visat att ett mindre antal fartyg ej följer den av IMO beslutade rekommendationen att inte färdas i det av IMO definierade "area to be avoided" (Sjöfartsverket 2007). Detta är olyckligt men det stora hotet mot fågellivet vid Hoburgs bank kommer dock inte från detta mindre antal fartyg utan från den fartygstrafik, ca 25 000 fartyg, som färdas i rutten väster om det av IMO definierade "area to be avoided" men genom Natura 2000 området Hoburgs bank. Enligt fastställd bevarandeplan för Natura 2000-området Hoburgs bank (Länsstyrelsen Gotlands län, 2005) bör "den fartygsrutt som går över banken flyttas så att fartygsrutten går söder och öster om banken".

Beräkningar visar tydligt att antalet upptäckta och oupptäckta illegala oljeutsläpp i Östersjön fortfarande är mycket högt, kanske flera tusen per år. HELCOMs statistik visar att antalet oljeutsläpp med största sannolikhet var ca 2 till 3 gånger fler i slutet på 1980-talet och början på 1990-talet än idag. HELCOMs data visar dock även att antalet upptäckta oljeutsläpp per flygtimme inte har minskat i Östersjön de senaste åren. Efter år 2005 då Östersjön klassades som ett särskilt känsligt havsområde har antalet upptäckta oljeutsläpp per flygtimme snarare ökat. Den sammanlagda volymen utsläppt olja vid dessa utsläpp är relativt liten i jämförelse med den mängd olja och oljeprodukter som når Östersjön från landbaserade källor eller med den mängd olja som kan läcka ut vid en olycka med en stor oljetanker. Studier visar dock tydligt att tid och plats för ett oljeutsläpp, och inte volymen utsläppt olja, är de viktigaste faktorerna som bestämmer hur kraftigt fåglar och fågelpopulationer drabbas. Eftersom sjöfåglar ofta är mycket ojämnt fördelade över Östersjöns yta kan även ett mycket litet oljeutsläpp i ett område som hyser hundratusentals sjöfåglar slå ut en mycket stor del av fågelbestånden. Omvänt så kan även ett större oljeutsläpp i fågelfattiga områden ha liten effekt på bestånden. Det är därför viktigt att styra fartygstrafik bort från nationellt och globalt viktiga områden som hyser mycket stora mängder sjöfågel. Med sannolikt upp mot flera tusen illegala oljeutsläpp per år i Östersjön går det även att konstatera att vi är långt från att uppfylla det av riksdagen beslutade miljömålet att utsläppen av olja och kemikalier från fartyg ska minimeras och vara försumbara senast år 2010.

Det finns ett mycket stort behov av att harmonisera den statistik över antalet oljeutsläpp som presenteras av HELCOM och av Kustbevakningen. Olika metoder att beräkna antalet utsläpp ger helt olika slutsatser. Statistik från HELCOMs CEPCO flygningar och statistik från HELCOMs regelbundna flygningar leder t.ex. till helt olika slutsatser vad beträffar totalantalet oljeutsläpp i Östersjön.

Within three decades, the barnacle goose population wintering on the European mainland has dramatically increased in numbers and extended its breeding range. The expansion has occurred both within the Arctic as well as by the colonization of temperate areas. Studies of performance of individuals in expanding populations provide information on how well species can adapt to novel environments and global warming. We, therefore, studied the availability of high quality food as well as timing of reproduction, wing moult, fledgling production and postfledging survival of individually marked geese in three recently established populations: one Arctic (Barents Sea) and two temperate (Baltic, North Sea). In the Barents Sea population, timing of hatching was synchronized with the peak in food availability and there was strong stabilizing selection. Although birds in the Baltic and North Sea populations bred 6–7 weeks earlier than Arctic birds, timing of hatching was late in relation to the peak in food availability, and there was moderate to strong directional selection for early breeding. In the Baltic, absolute timing of egg laying advanced considerably over the 20-year study period, but advanced little relative to spring phenology, and directional selection on lay date increased over time. Wing moult of adults started only 2–4 weeks earlier in the temperate populations than in the Arctic. Synchronization between fledging of young and end of wing moult decreased in the temperate populations. Arctic-breeding geese may gradually accumulate body stores from the food they encounter during spring migration, which allows them to breed relatively early and their young to use the peak of the Arctic food resources. By contrast, temperate-breeding birds are not able to acquire adequate body stores from local resources early enough, that is before the quality of food for their young starts to decrease. When global temperatures continue to rise, Arctic-breeding barnacle geese might encounter similar problems.

We investigated the settling pattern of barnacle geese Branta leucopsis that returned to breed in their natal colony. Females nested close to their parents and sisters, but settling of males conformed to a random pattern. The apparent preference for breeding close to kin in females could be a by-product of extreme philopatry to the natal nest site. However, sisters also nested close to each other when settling on a different island than the one where their parents bred, pointing at a genuine preference for breeding close to kin. Females only nested close to sisters born in the same year (i.e., sisters that they had been in close contact with). This suggests that the clustering of female kin in barnacle geese does not result from phenotype matching. We did not detect any direct benefits of settling close to birth site or kin, but the analyses lacked power to detect small benefits of proximity to kin given the many other factors that may influence breeding success. Colonially breeding birds share characteristics that are generally believed to promote the evolution of cooperation, yet kin clustering and kin selection have been little studied in this group. Future research should be directed to studying the possible roles of kin clustering and kin selection in the evolution of coloniality.

Broad-nosed pipefish Syngnathus typhle were used to investigate whether males used scent in their search for mates. When the males in an experiment had access to olfactory cues only, they did not locate females better than they located males. Thus, S. typhle, was less successful in mate search when visual cues were absent.

Stock development of cod and sprat, two major fish species in the Baltic Sea, is linked by trophic interactions. Depending on recruitment success the Baltic may be pushed towards either a cod- or a clupeid dominated system. Both cod and sprat spawn in the Baltic deep basins at strongly varying hydrographical conditions with survival during the egg and early larval stages regarded as a major bottleneck. Due to differences in egg specific gravity, cod and sprat eggs occur at different depths and are thus subject to different hydrographical conditions. For sprat, weak year-classes have been associated with low water temperatures during peak spawning. For cod the shift in peak spawning from spring to summer during the 1990s has been discussed as a reason for the poor recruitment at present as delayed spawning may involve egg development at too high temperatures. In the present study cod and sprat eggs and yolk sac larvae were incubated at different temperatures, 1–11thinsp°C for cod and 1–13thinsp°C for sprat. No difference in viable hatch occurred in the range 3–9thinsp°C for cod and in the range 5–13thinsp°C for sprat. Larval viability decreased at 11thinsp°C for cod and at le5thinsp°C for sprat. Comparing the results with vertical egg distribution and temperature profiles from field studies suggested no major influence of temperature on cod reproduction, but a considerable effect on sprat. The results imply that different environmental conditions; frequency of major saline water inflows into the Baltic Sea for cod, and water temperature in the upper layers, e.g. following severe/mild winters, for sprat, involve different opportunities for egg and larval survival and may thus cause a displacement in the balance between cod and sprat.