Killarney National Park Research Articles

Nature and the Environment in Nineteenth-Century Ireland, edited by Matthew Kelly

Reviewed by: Nature and the Environment in Nineteenth-Century Ireland ed. by Matthew Kelly Siobhan Carroll (bio) Nature and the Environment in Nineteenth-Century Ireland, edited by Matthew Kelly; pp. xii + 231. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2019, £75.00, $120.00. Nature and the Environment in Nineteenth-Century Ireland brings together papers delivered at the 2016 Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland conference, the laudable goal of which was to "raise the profile of the environmental humanities in Irish studies" ("CFP Annual Conference 2016," The Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland [SSNCI, 2016]). From the quality and range of essays assembled in this collection, that goal would seem to have been accomplished. While not as comprehensive as its title implies, this collection contains a diverse set of well-researched essays that employ, with varying degrees of comfort, environmental and ecocritical approaches to traditional objects of study. Conference-derived essay collections are difficult beasts to manage. Stripped of their contextualizing discussions, individual essays can appear scattershot in their choice of topics and approaches. Thankfully, in this collection, editor Matthew Kelly has done an admirable job both in selecting high-quality essays and in assembling them into a coherent structure. His engaging introduction performs some heavy lifting, deftly summarizing ecocritical theory and Irish environmental history scholarship before erecting a useful scaffold for the diverse sets of essays that follow. For Victorianists looking for an overview of Irish environmental scholarship, Kelly's introduction will prove an invaluable read. The essays assembled in this book fall into three categories. The first section contains historical case studies on "the improvers" (8): that is, on the Irish writers and landowners [End Page 333] who contributed to the improvement of Ireland's agriculture. The second section features essays on the social construction of natural places in Ireland, while the third contains essays exploring individual authors' ecological representations. As this summary may indicate, the first section of the collection is the most coherent and the third the least, though its essays have much to offer readers interested in the authors in question. Of the "improvers" essays, the standout is David Brown's study of Henry John Temple, the third Viscount Palmerston, whose improvement campaigns Brown reads as an attempt to conquer natures both human and nonhuman. A prominent British statesman and an Irish landlord, Palmerston's correspondence and actions offer a window into the philosophies informing nineteenth-century attempts to transform the physical environment of Ireland. Brown writes with admirable clarity about Palmerston's projects and, in the last part of his essay, gestures provocatively toward the implications of the Irish improvement movement for the 1840s famine. Unusually for the historicist essays in this collection, Brown is also attentive to nonhuman forms of agency, observing the ways in which geological changes affecting Sligo influenced Palmerston's projects. Drawing on environmental history, Brown's essay models a historicist method informed by ecocritical theory, one that takes seriously Paul S. Sutter and William Cronon's proposition that human history and natural history cannot be disentangled. The book's middle section features essays on the social construction of environmental place. Highlights from this section include Kelly's essay on the politics surrounding the management of Killarney, Ireland's first National Park, and Juliana Adelman's essay on the animal geographies of Dublin. Kelly's essay traces the debates about the necessity of preserving Killarney through late nineteenth-century parliamentary discussions and newspaper articles. Alternatively constructed in the history as a "transnational commons" and as a distinctly Irish landscape vulnerable to exploitation by American speculators, Killarney National Park reflects changing views on Ireland's national and environmental identities (120). Adelman's essay on the animal industries of Dublin similarly focuses on the history of a particular space, while also offering the collection's most comprehensive and methodologically suggestive essay on the nineteenth-century Irish environment. Combining digital humanities techniques with traditional historical interpretation, and drawing on sources from James Joyce's Ulysses (1920) to project-generated maps, Adelman constructs a history of Dublin's animal infrastructures that encompasses issues of environmental justice, class, and changing social mores. Given the degree to which urban space is segregated from discussions...

Combining paleoecological and archaeological records to inform fire management and ecosystem conservation in Killarney National Park, Ireland

Combining paleoecological and archaeological records to inform fire management and ecosystem conservation in Killarney National Park, Ireland

Palaeoecological records as a guide for fire management in Killarney National Park, Ireland

Climate change is allowing fire to expand into previously unburnt ecosystems and regions. While management policies such as fire suppression have significantly altered their frequency and intensity. To prevent future biodiversity/ecosystem services loss, and the large financial burden of wildfires, management plans will be required to adapt to future climate and land use changes. Long-term ecological data offer a unique perspective to assess fire variability under different climate and land-use conditions. In this study, we focus on Killarney National Park, Ireland. An area which today is under threat from an increase in fire activity. Comparing palaeoecological and archaeological records, we reconstruct the past fire dynamic and its impact on the landscape, and evaluate the role of climate vs humans in influencing the natural fire regime over the millennial time-scale. Our results indicate that fire has been present in the landscape since the beginning of the Holocene, with fire in the early Holocene being largely controlled by climate and microsite conditions, and in the late Holocene being increasingly influenced by human activity. The knowledge of past fire regimes can help inform future management in order to protect the semi-natural native woodland. The park's present landscape mosaic, could be preserved by limiting forest encroachment through moderate grazing and burning, while also protecting any fragmented forest from excessive grazing and large/intense fires, via traditional fire management strategies such as fuel load management. However, a fire management strategy should only be implemented following careful consideration of all ecosystem factors and controls.

Stenogrammitis myosuroides (Polypodiaceae): a new addition to the European flora from southwest Ireland

The occurrence of the fern Stenogrammitis myosuroides (Sw.) Labiak in Europe is reported for the first time. A small population was discovered on two boulders beside a stream in Atlantic oak woodland in the Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry, in southwest Ireland. The main identification features of this taxa and features that distinguish it from other similar taxa are laid out and discussed. S. myosuroides is elsewhere known to occur in the Neotropics, in Cuba, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, and is thought to have colonised its Irish site through long-distance spore dispersal. Two Grammitid species of similar ecology have been discovered in the Azores in the past five decades and a number of bryophyte species share a similar disjunct distribution between Ireland and the Neotropics, all of which supports the theory that long-distance dispersal is the most plausible explanation for the occurrence of S. myosuroides in Ireland. It is not clear how long S. myosuroides has been present in Ireland, although morphological differences suggest that it may have been separated from the Neotropical populations for a long period. However, molecular analysis is required to elucidate this.

Lawrence M. O'Shaughnessy, Humanist

Lawrence M. O'Shaughnessy, Humanist Larry O'Shaughnessy was a man of rare integrity, humility, and grace. On December 3, the Center for Irish Studies, the University of St. Thomas that is its home, and indeed, the Irish American community as a whole, lost a remarkable friend when Lawrence M. O'Shaughnessy—always known to us as Larry—died in St. Paul at the age of ninety-six. We extend our deepest sympathies to his widow Bonnie, to his five surviving children, to his extended family, and to his many friends. Click for larger view View full resolution Born in St. Paul in 1921, Larry was the last surviving child of Ignatius Aloysius O'Shaughnessy, a legendary philanthropist; in addition to his benefactions to higher education, Larry's father was one of the donors who purchased what is now Killarney National Park and presented it to the Irish state to keep it from development. Larry continued that tradition of philanthropy, both in his own giving and in his stewardship of the O'Shaughnessy Family Foundation, for which he served as president from 1981 to 2004. Larry graduated from St. Thomas Academy, then located on our campus, and attended what was then the College of St. Thomas for two years before transferring to Yale University, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1944. For a time, he pursued graduate studies in English at the University of Minnesota, with a particular interest in literary aesthetics. He returned to St. Thomas in 1948 and taught English for two years. Much of his prominence in Irish circles came through his early support of the Irish American Cultural Institute (founded by Eoin McKiernan in 1962 and located on the St. Thomas campus for three decades), from which the Center for Irish Studies descends. Larry and Eoin became close friends through O'Shaughnessy's service on the institute's board and, for a few years, as associate editor of Éire-Ireland, the first American journal of Irish Studies. He was an active associate editor, even taking on the drudge work of reading page proofs. McKiernan had a deep trust in Larry and a profound admiration for his commitment to the life of the mind. It is a warming thought to think of these [End Page 9] two busy men getting together to read Irish poetry, as they did regularly. And for a time, McKiernan even tried to tutor Larry in the Irish language, though Larry was the first to admit he made almost no progress. In the 1960s Sen. Eugene McCarthy put forward O'Shaughnessy's name to become ambassador to Ireland—though Larry declined the position because his wife was ill at the time. Father Dennis Dease, president of St. Thomas from 1991 to 2013, said that in addition to philanthropy, he always will remember O'Shaughnessy as "a poet and an Irish gentleman." "At family gatherings," Dease recalled, "Larry would go on reciting Irish poetry until the wee hours. He always saw himself as a teacher; that was his calling." When in 1996, Larry redirected his giving to Irish projects to our newly founded Center, he was insistent that the programs include the continued publication of a journal of Irish Studies and support for Irish poetry, in the form of the annual award that bears his name. Larry met all of the visiting poets over the past twenty-one years, taking time to acquaint himself with their work in advance. Well into his nineties, Larry still attended the public readings that concluded each poets' visit, following along with their books open on his lap. Today, a subset of the university's 9,000-volume Celtic Collection is the Lawrence O'Shaughnessy Collection of Irish Poetry. Many of the past honorees sent condolences to the O'Shaughnessy family. Theo Dorgan, who received the award in in 2010, said, "Larry O'Shaughnessy had the gentleman's instincts that only a convinced and genuine democrat can exhibit." Dorgan continued, He was, as anyone who had the privilege of meeting him saw at once, a true and noble soul. When he founded the O'Shaughnessy Award, he did so from a profound sense of service: he...

Factors influencing epiphytic moss and lichen distribution within Killarney National Park

The niches of epiphytes are widely studied and have been shown to be complex involving interspecific competition, succession and predation. This study is unique in that it applies the niche concept to moss and lichen distributions within Killarney National Park, Kerry, Ireland. We studied 75 trees between three pristine ancient woodlands and measured a range of physical and biological factors to ascertain influences on epiphyte cover. The species of tree was found as the principal determinant in community structure as it bioengineers conditions such as light, temperature and humidity that the epiphytes are reliant upon. Furthermore, the bark character and trunk circumference were important. Zonation of the epiphytes was apparent with both aspect and height on the trunk. Typically, moss dominated over lichen within a niche that was relatively sheltered. Lichen tolerated drier and lighter niches often being further up the trunk on sun facing aspects. Ultimately, there was succession up the tree mediated through competition. This study highlights the complexity and interrelatedness between biotic and abiotic factors in a relatively unstudied geographical and biological area. Understanding agents behind a population's distribution enables manipulation for conservation or sustainable exploitation.

Ambient measurements of biological aerosol particles near Killarney, Ireland: a comparison between real-time fluorescence and microscopy techniques

Abstract. Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs) can contribute significantly to the coarse particle burden in many environments. PBAPs can thus influence climate and precipitation systems as cloud nuclei and can spread disease to humans, animals, and plants. Measurement data and techniques for PBAPs in natural environments at high time- and size resolution are, however, sparse, and so large uncertainties remain in the role that biological particles play in the Earth system. In this study two commercial real-time fluorescence particle sensors and a Sporewatch single-stage particle impactor were operated continuously from 2 August to 2 September 2010 at a rural sampling location in Killarney National Park in southwestern Ireland. A cascade impactor was operated periodically to collect size-resolved particles during exemplary periods. Here we report the first ambient comparison of a waveband integrated bioaerosol sensor (WIBS-4) with a ultraviolet aerodynamic particle sizer (UV-APS) and also compare these real-time fluorescence techniques with results of fluorescence and optical microscopy of impacted samples. Both real-time instruments showed qualitatively similar behavior, with increased fluorescent bioparticle concentrations at night, when relative humidity was highest and temperature was lowest. The fluorescent particle number from the FL3 channel of the WIBS-4 and from the UV-APS were strongly correlated and dominated by a 3 μm mode in the particle size distribution. The WIBS FL2 channel exhibited particle modes at approx. 1 and 3 μm, and each was correlated with the concentration of fungal spores commonly observed in air samples collected at the site (ascospores, basidiospores, Ganoderma spp.). The WIBS FL1 channel exhibited variable multimodal distributions turning into a broad featureless single mode after averaging, and exhibited poor correlation with fungal spore concentrations, which may be due to the detection of bacterial and non-biological fluorescent particles. Cladosporium spp., which are among the most abundant fungal spores in many terrestrial environments, were not correlated with any of the real-time fluorescence channels, suggesting that the real-time fluorescence instruments are relatively insensitive to PBAP classes with dark, highly absorptive cell walls. Fluorescence microscopy images of cascade impactor plates showed large numbers of coarse-mode particles consistent with the morphology and weak fluorescence expected of sea salt. Some of these particles were attached to biological cells, suggesting that a marine source influenced the PBAPs observed at the site and that the ocean may be an important contributor to PBAP loadings in coastal environments.

Ground-dwelling spider diversity in rare European oak and yew woodlands and the impact of grazing

In Ireland only 2 % of the total land area is native woodland, which tends to be small and fragmented. Killarney National Park in south-west Ireland contains the most extensive semi-natural woodland in the country, and includes oak (Quercus petraea) and yew (Taxus baccata) woodlands which are internationally protected. Here, over-grazing by large populations of red deer (Cervus elaphus) and Asian sika deer (Cervus nippon) have lead to changes in overstory and understory vegetation species composition and structure. This study presents the first description of ground-dwelling spider fauna in the rare woodlands of Killarney National Park and asked (1) do these rare woodlands support rare or specialist species, (2) does deer grazing have an effect on spider abundance, richness and species composition in the park, (3) what management recommendations can be made for deer in the park? Active ground-dwelling spiders were sampled in the oak and yew woodlands of the park by pitfall trapping within deer-proof exclosures and adjacent grazed controls. Four spider species classified as vulnerable were collected from these woodlands: Agyneta subtilis occurred in the oak and yew woodlands but Saaristoa firma, Tapinocyba insecta and Walckenaeria dysderoides were collected only in the oak woodland. Killarney National Park may be important for five species, not typically found in plantation forests, which rely on nationally scarce habitats. Deer grazing was linked with decreased ground-dwelling spider abundance and species richness in the oak woodland by reducing structural diversity of the habitat. Fewer effects of grazing were detected in the yew woodland, possibly due to increased culling in the area. Results provide evidence that controlling deer grazing is important for woodland biodiversity in Killarney National Park. Incorporating deer into woodland management in the park is recommended to maintain low grazing levels which will prevent woodland closure and maintain ground vegetation diversity.

Evaluating the dendroclimatological potential of Taxus baccata (yew) in southwest Ireland

Tree-ring research in Ireland has typically been dominated by Quercus species, particularly Quercus petraea and Quercus robur. Recent years have seen a greater focus on multi-species reconstructions in Ireland but, due to difficulties with the hardness of the wood, missing/pinched rings and fused stems, Taxus baccata has not been included in these investigations. Despite these difficulties, a 31-tree, 204-year T. baccata chronology was successfully constructed from Killarney National Park, southwest Ireland. The chronology exhibits promising dendroclimatological potential, with climatic responsiveness equivalent to that of the other major Irish tree taxa, including Quercus. The chronology shows the strongest relationship with May–June precipitation from Muckross House synoptic station (1970–2007; r=0.521, p<0.01) and Valentia Observatory (1941–2007; r=0.545, p<0.01). November–April temperatures also exhibited a strong relationship with the chronology post-1970 (r=0.605, p<0.01 for Muckross House, r=0.567, p<0.01 for Valentia Observatory), but this relationship is not time stable and breaks down for the pre-1970 Valentia Observatory record. The long-lived nature of T. baccata, the exceptional preservation of wood and rings in this hard softwood species, as well as its prominence in Irish archaeology, all point to the potential to expand this chronology both spatially and temporally, and demonstrate T. baccata's potential in multi-site and multi-species tree-ring studies in the region.

Long-term deer exclusion in yew-wood and oakwood habitats in southwest Ireland: Changes in ground flora and species diversity

Changes in ground flora were monitored over a 32-year period in deer exclosures in a yew-wood and a neighbouring oakwood in Killarney National Park, southwest Ireland; both woods are Annex I habitats under the European Habitats Directive. Comparison was made with unfenced plots adjacent to each of the exclosures. During the period of the study, both woods were heavily grazed by introduced sika deer ( Cervus nippon). In the yew-wood exclosures, total ground flora cover increased markedly during the period of deer exclusion, the main species to increase in abundance being Rubus fruticosus agg. and Hedera helix. Herbaceous species increased initially in frequency but subsequently declined; herbaceous species had higher total cover in unfenced plots than in fenced plots at the end of the study. In the oakwood, Luzula sylvatica and Vaccinium myrtillus expanded their cover in one exclosure with cover in ferns declining, but in other exclosures where dense holly thickets developed, it was instead R. fruticosus and H. helix that became more abundant within the fences than outside. Overall, long-term fencing has caused a shift from vegetation characterised by woodland specialist to woodland generalist species and there are indications of a long-term decline in diversity. We conclude that chronic heavy grazing in these woodlands has strongly influenced the overall abundance and composition of the ground flora, but that complete exclusion of grazing is also undesirable due to potential declines in diversity of woodland specialists.

Aggregation in the Tick Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae): Use and Reuse of Questing Vantage Points

Ongoing work in oak woods in Killarney National Park in southwestern Ireland is focusing on the factors influencing the fine-scale aggregated distribution of Ixodes ricinus L. (Acari: Ixodidae) on the ground. The extent of reuse of stems of vegetation as questing points by adult ticks was determined by paint-marking stems on which ticks were found, counting and removing these ticks, and subsequently reexamining the same stems for ticks on two further occasions. Overall, an estimated 2,967 stems in 123 separate rush plants (Juncus effusus L.) were examined. Statistical analysis of the data demonstrated a highly significant reoccupancy by ticks of stems previously and recently used. Furthermore, it is shown that the extent of stem reuse by ticks is significantly and positively correlated with the numbers of ticks originally observed on those stems. Although other factors may be involved in generating clumping of ticks, the results are compatible with the proposition that aggregation of I. ricinus on the ground is pheromone-mediated. The findings are discussed in relation to what is known about the powers of lateral movement of I. ricinus on the ground and the possible implications for the performance of tick traps.

Nótaí na nEagarthóirí: Editors' Notes

Nótaí na nEagarthóirí:Editors' Notes James Silas Rogers We begin New Hibernia Review's twenty-third volume with notice of a change: this is the last issue under my editorship, owing to my full retirement. I know our readers will join me in welcoming our new editor, Dr. David M. Gardiner, who comes to us from an already accomplished career in Irish Studies, including (during his earlier tenure at Creighton University) his creative stewardship of An Sionnach: A Journal of Literature, Culture, and the Arts. I leave with confidence that the best years of this journal are ahead of it, under his energetic leadership. And I leave, too, with immense gratitude for the contributions of the scholars, poets, memoirists, and reviewers who have built this journal's reputation. Certainly, the members of our editorial boards have been inspiring in their commitment to excellence. I would be remiss if I did not also thank you, the readers and subscribers, who give purpose and creditibility to the publication. Finally, I must thank the University of St. Thomas for its longstanding and continued support of the journal and the Center for Irish Studies. In exploring and fostering the Irish note in the Humanities, the university honors us all. I have been fortunate indeed to serve in that project. The stereotypical Irish person is boisterous, extroverted, and talks entirely too much: but such glib stereotypes wear thin in a hurry, and are certainly not what Dr. Karen Babine seeks on her Irish travels. In our opening memoir, Babine pauses in several sacred sites, from the ruins of Clonmacnoise to the still-active churches of Galway, and plumbs the depths of association that come to her in the moments of quiet these places afford. As in her acclaimed essay collections Water and What We Know (2015) and All the Wild Hungers (2019), Babine's reflections range widely and allusively. Karen Babine previously appeared in these pages as an essayist and as the author of a study of Tim Robinson. She is the founding editor of the on-line journal Assay: Nonfiction Studies. [End Page 5] Countless visitors from both home and abroad cherish the landscapes of Killarney National Park. Here, Dr. Julieann Ulin recounts the tale of how, little more than sixty years ago, this national treasure was in imminent peril of being sold off to American buyers who—after early assurances that the region would be unscathed—soon began making plans to privatize the place as an enclave for the super-rich. In the face of the brute reality that little could be done legally to stop the sale, the response in Ireland was widespread outrage and dismay. It was not until the middle of 1958 that a new group of wealthy Irish Americans, among them I. A. O'Shaughnessy, officially scrapped the development plans, and the property was sold to the state some years later—but it is well worth recalling that this happy ending came close to never happening. Ulin reveals the centrality of this episode to future thinking and legislation on parks and civic space in Ireland; for one thing, it led directly to the passage of the milestone 1963 Local Government (Planning and Development) Act. Moreover, the sale provides a previously unrecognized context for John B. Keane's 1965 play The Field. Juileann Ulin's many publications include Medieval Invasions in Modern Irish Literature (2014). U2's music might arguably be called the most prominent Irish export in the world today. For the most part, though, their output has been only slightly tinged with signifiers of their Irishness. But in the 1988 album "Rattle and Hum and especially in 'Sunday Bloody Sunday" Dr. Kevin Farrell sees the band make a clear turn toward an Irish post-nationalist stance—a gesture complicated by U2's selective relationship with the traditions of African American music. Kevin Farrell has published on Irish R&B in the Journal of Popular Music Studies. Dr. M. L. Brillman also homes in on the political and cultural overlays of U2's music-making, particularly in the 1980s, a decade in which their forays into "conscience rock" were heavily inflected by the United States: "U2 did...

THE DIET OF THE PINE MARTEN (MARTES MARTES) IN KILLARNEY NATIONAL PARK

This study examined the diet of a re-established population of pine marten Martes martes in the broadleaf woodlands of Killarney National Park between 2003 and 2005. In contrast to previous dietary studies of pine marten, fruit formed the greater part of the diet, not small mammals. Except in summer, fruit was the most frequently consumed item and it also contributed the most in terms of percentage mass and percentage fresh weight ingested in the diet. The Mammal Group was the next most important food group overall, particularly in summer. No significant difference was observed in the frequency of occurrence of the wood mouse and the recently introduced bank vole in the diet. Birds were only consumed in spring and summer. Frogs were important throughout spring, summer and autumn, while earthworms were only important in winter. The overall dietary niche breadth was wide, and the narrowest seasonal niche breadth was recorded in autumn. The maintenance of woodlands with good fruiting species diversity, which in themselves provide the habitat for the other prey items that the pine marten consumes, is desirable for marten conservation.

Long-term deer exclusion in yew-wood and oakwood habitats in southwest Ireland: Natural regeneration and stand dynamics

Woodland dominated by Taxus baccata is one of the rarest of European woodland types and has priority habitat status under Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive, yet little is known about its stand dynamics or the effects of long-term grazing. The abundance of naturally regenerating seedlings and saplings was monitored over a 32-year period in exclosures in a yew-wood and a neighbouring oakwood in the Killarney National Park, southwest Ireland. Both woods are heavily grazed by introduced sika deer ( Cervus nippon). Mortality, recruitment and growth of adult trees were monitored over a 20-year period. Comparison was made with unfenced plots adjacent to each of the exclosures. Regeneration in the yew-wood exclosures was chiefly by Ilex aquifolium, Sorbus aucuparia and Fraxinus excelsior. No Taxus baccata saplings were recorded and seedlings of this species were very rare throughout the duration of the experiment. Taxus baccata trees which died during the 20-year monitoring period were significantly smaller than those which survived, indicating that self-thinning is occurring and the wood in its present form may be of relatively recent origins. Changes in adult tree species composition suggest that yew woodland in Ireland may develop from a yew-hazel scrub woodland sere. A variety of species regenerated in the oakwood exclosures, including Taxus baccata, and dense holly thickets formed in several areas. Quercus petraea failed to regenerate beneath the oak canopy. We conclude that chronic heavy grazing in the Killarney woodlands strongly influences the natural regeneration of several tree species. Research into the scientific manipulation of grazing levels in temperate woodlands is required. However, grazing intensity is not the only factor affecting regeneration, canopy conditions in particular are also likely to be of high significance, and this should be reflected in management plans.

A Recent History of Sessile Oak (&lt;i&gt;Quercus petraea&lt;/i&gt; (Mattuschka) Liebl.)–Dominated Woodland in Killarney, S.W. Ireland, Based on Tree–Ring Analysis

Determination of the age structure of the present population of trees within a forest provides the means to infer the past population dynamics of the forest, which can in turn provide insight into how the forest can best be managed towards its conservation. This paper presents oak tree age-structure data from selected oak-dominated woodlands within Killarney National Park in south-western Ireland?the first study of its kind in Ireland. Tree-ring counts were obtained from 147 oak trees located in three oakwoods. Most sampling was concentrated in the remote western portion of the National Park. The modern oak population was revealed to have established during the 1790s (AD). Oak establishment proceeded through all succeeding decades until it ceased after the 1950s. The most frequent tree age class dated from the 1830s. Oak regeneration from the first half of the nineteenth century gave rise to the main body of the oakwoods present today. A second peak in oak establishment dated from the 1880s; this was confined to small clearings and woodland margins. A third, minor regeneration phase dated from the 1910s. The two later phases of regeneration appeared to be correlated with human disturbance, i.e. removal of oak timber and in some cases coppicing. The origin and development of these woods are discussed in the light of historical documentation and of palynological evidence.

The regeneration of Quercus petraea (sessile oak) in southwest Ireland: a 25-year experimental study

The growth and survival of Quercus petraea saplings were monitored over a 25-year period, in an exclosure in a heavily-grazed oakwood on podzol soil in Killarney National Park. Seedlings were subjected to combinations of two levels of shading (under canopy and in an artificial clearing), two levels of competition (weeded and unweeded) and five fertiliser treatments (N, P, NP, Ca and control). Damage by Apodemus sylvaticus (long-tailed fieldmice) was confined to acorns and first-year seedlings, and was not a limiting factor. Invertebrate damage was unimportant. Seedling survival was greatly enhanced within the ungrazed exclosure, even under canopy. In the clearing, following a short-term breach of the fence in the second winter, Cervus nippon (sika deer) browsed 49% of oak seedlings in weeded plots but only 11% in unweeded plots, confirming that surrounding vegetation cover may exercise a protective effect. In later years, seedling survival was significantly higher in the weeded plots, presumably owing to reduced competition. Seedlings under canopy showed no significant response to fertilisation or weeding; the median proportion surviving per plot was zero within 8 years and all had died within 20 years. In the clearing, the median proportion surviving per plot was 0.33 after 8 years and 0.2 after 25 years. In a portion of the clearing with peaty soil and impeded drainage, seedlings showed reduced performance and significantly increased mortality. Microsphaera alphitoides (oak mildew) attacked seedlings mainly in the clearing; its impact appeared negligible. Fertilisation with P significantly enhanced performance in the clearing. No fertiliser treatment enhanced survival. Fertilisation with N alone led to sharply increased mortality in the clearing. I conclude that, in woodlands in western Ireland, successful oak regeneration is to be expected only in unshaded or lightly-shaded sites where grazing levels are low.

Seasonal changes in circadian grazing patterns of Kerry cows ( Bos Taurus) in semi-feral conditions in Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry, Ireland

Domestic cattle generally graze during the day although some night-time grazing also occurs. However, questions remain as to the effect of management on circadian grazing patterns. This study provides for the first time a quantification of seasonal, circadian and animal variation in grazing behaviour and grazing time in cattle in semi-wild conditions. The objectives of the study were to examine how daily grazing times and the temporal distribution of grazing activity changed with season and to examine the extent to which grazing patterns were influenced by day-length. A group of 12 heifers of the Kerry breed continuously grazed a lowland field of 4.7 ha. The old permanent pasture sward was dominated by Holcus spp . and Agrostis spp . Feed availability was never limiting. Length and periodicity of grazing were recorded using vibracorders attached to the necks of seven animals. Results showed that daily grazing times remained constant over most of the grazing season (circa 10–11 h per day), however, some variation occurred late in the season. The temporal distribution of grazing activity changed as the season advanced so that by October grazing patterns became significantly different to those of July. The time interval between grazing bouts at dawn and dusk decreased with decreasing day-length. An increased percentage of night-time grazing occurred at shorter day-lengths. It is concluded that there is a significant seasonal effect of day-length on temporal distribution of grazing activity with night-time grazing featuring more as day-length decreases. The maintenance of similar total daily grazing times in the face of changing day-length (with the exception of late in the season) suggests that daily grazing times are a function of the attainment of a relatively constant nutritional requirement by the animal.

Body Reserves and Social Dominance in the Great Tit Parus major in Relation to Winter Weather in Southwest Ireland

We studied the interactions between weather, social dominance and body condition (fat and protein reserves) in a colour-ringed population of the Great Tit in the Killarney National Park, Rep. of Ireland in two mild winters (1990 and 1992) differing markedly in rainfall. Rainfall, but not temperature, was a strong predictor of mean daily fat levels (birds were fatter on wetter days) but did not predict muscle score. The birds were also fatter in the wet winter than the dry one, and this was a greater difference than predicted by daily rainfall alone. The effects of rainfall are considered in the context of ultimate and proximate cues to fattening. In contrast, muscle scores were greater in the dry year than the wet. On average, birds known to have survived from the 1990 to the 1992 winter had higher muscle scores, irrespective of their age or sex, in 1990 than those not seen again. In the wet winter, muscle score (but not fat) was positively correlated with a measure of individual dominance; in the dry winter fat was negatively related to dominance, and no relation was found between muscle score and dominance. These results indicate that individual differences in condition reflect differences in individual status, and that experienced environmental conditions strongly influence the relationship between social status and body reserves. This is the first field study of Great Tits relating condition and dominance among individuals rather than among status classes. We suggest that, under some circumstances, muscle may be a better indicator of condition than fat.

Local variations in the distribution and prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genomospecies in Ixodes ricinus ticks.

Unfed nymphal and adult Ixodes ricinus ticks were collected from five locations within the 10,000-ha Killarney National Park, Ireland. The distribution and prevalence of the genomospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the ticks were investigated by PCR amplification of the intergenic spacer region between the 5S and 23S rRNA genes and by reverse line blotting with genomospecies-specific oligonucleotide probes. The prevalence of ticks infected with B. burgdorferi sensu lato was significantly variable between the five locations, ranging from 11.5 to 28.9%. Four genomospecies were identified as B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, and VS116. Additionally, untypeable B. burgdorferi sensu lato genomospecies were identified in two nymphs. VS116 was the most prevalent of the genomospecies and was identified in 50% of the infected ticks. Prevalences of B. garinii and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto were similar (17 and 18%, respectively); however, significant differences were observed in the prevalence of these genomospecies in mixed infections (58.8 and 23.5%, respectively). Notably, the prevalence of B. afzelii was low, comprising 9.6 and 7.4%, respectively, of single and mixed infections. Significant variability was observed in the distribution and prevalence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato genomospecies between locations in the park, and the diversity and prevalence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato genomospecies was typically associated with woodland. The distributions of B. burgdorferi sensu lato genomospecies were similar in wooded areas and in areas bordering woodland, although the prevalence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato infection was typically reduced. Spatial distributions vegetation composition, and host cenosis of the habitats were identified as factors which may affect the distribution and prevalence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato genomospecies within the park.

First isolation and characterisation of Borrelia garinii, agent of Lyme borreliosis, from Irish ticks.

Nymphal Ixodes ricinus, the tick vector of Lyme borreliosis, were collected from the edges of paths in Muckross Demesne, Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry, Ireland. Examination of some of these nymphs by indirect immunofluorescence showed an infection prevalence of 12% with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the spirochaete agent of Lyme borreliosis. Gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) were infected by infesting them with other nymphs from the same batch. Subsequently uninfected laboratory larvae were applied to the gerbils and the contents of the resulting infected engorged ticks were then placed in media and the spirochaetes cultured. The spirochaetes were identified as B. burgdorferi sensu lato by indirect immunofluorescence using monoclonal antibodies and they were further characterised by polymerase chain reaction and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Both of these latter techniques showed that spirochaetes in all samples belonged to the genomic species, Borrelia garinii.