In 2024, there were approximately 650,300 people living in Glasgow, with a further 530,680 people living in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, the first and second most-populated Scottish council areas respectively. The region of Fife is also heavily populated, with approximately 374,760 people living there. The least populated areas are the islands of Scotland such as Orkney, estimated to have only 22,020 people there.

Orkney and Shetland, the population isolates which make up the Northern Isles of Scotland, are of particular interest to multiple sclerosis (MS) research. While MS prevalence is high in Scotland, Orkney has the highest global prevalence, higher than more northerly Shetland. Many hypotheses for the excess of MS cases in Orkney have been investigated, including vitamin D deficiency and homozygosity: neither was found to cause the high prevalence of MS. It is possible that this excess prevalence may be explained through unique genetics. We used polygenic risk scores (PRS) to look at the contribution of common risk variants to MS. Analyses were conducted using ORCADES (97/2118 cases/controls), VIKING (15/2000 cases/controls) and Generation Scotland (30/8708 cases/controls) datasets. However, no evidence of a difference in MS associated common variant frequencies was found between the three control populations, aside from HLA-DRB1*1501 tag SNP rs9271069. This SNP had a significantly higher risk allele frequency in Orkney (0.23, p-value = 8 x 10-13) and Shetland (0.21, p-value = 2.3 x 10-6) than mainland Scotland (0.17). This difference in frequency is estimated to account for 6 (95% CI 3, 8) out of 150 observed excess cases per 100,000 individuals in Shetland and 9 (95% CI 8, 11) of the observed 257 excess cases per 100,000 individuals in Orkney, compared with mainland Scotland. Common variants therefore appear to account for little of the excess burden of MS in the Northern Isles of Scotland.

Pairs of Adélie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins recorded in study areas at Signy Island 1978/79–2015/16.

Invasive non-native species eradication attempts are typically large and expensive projects that benefit from the support of quantitative tools, such as population models, to be completed within the scheduled and funded time. Managed ecosystems are constantly changing due to population and ecosystem dynamics. Accordingly, any model predictions need to be updated, using different sources of data, to inform the project about the progress toward eradication. The stoat Mustela erminea was introduced to the hitherto predatory land mammal free Orkney archipelago around 2010. In 2016, a project aiming to eradicate stoats to preserve ecologically and economically important native wildlife was designed and implemented. It entailed a “knockdown” phase followed by a “mopping-up” phase to remove stoats that escaped capture. We used data from this project to iteratively predict the progress toward eradication. We applied spatially explicit individual-based models to estimate the proportion of stoats being exposed to capture, and then compared these simulation-based predictions with removal data, allowing us to estimate changes in the population size through time. We also used sighting data from members of the public to refine eradication probability. We were also able to demonstrate how the initially wide uncertainty gradually diminished as more evidence accumulated. The information derived from different types of data and quantitative models allowed us to track the effectiveness of current trapping approaches and to help to inform project managers about when the project achieved the knockdown phase milestone. Our analyses confirmed that the expected magnitude of the initial knockdown phase has been achieved in some areas, but also revealed spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the distribution of captures, most likely caused by the sequential trapping and stoat movement and trap shy stoats exposed to capture but not caught. This heterogeneity calls for additional data sources (e.g., from camera traps or detection dogs) to estimate the proportion of trap-shy individuals and the size of the untrapped population, and ultimately the feasibility of eradication.

Since 1995 research on pinnipeds were focused on four main lines: 1. Bioenergetics In collaboration with the Mammals group from the Alfred Wegener Institute, field work is carried out on a project which aims to: (i) compare energy passed by different mothers during lactation in relation to their mass and body condition, and by the same females during different breeding seasons; (ii) assess energy gained by females during the post-breeding and post-moulting period at sea..(iii) assess energy spent by pups during fasting .

1. Population dynamics
2. Annual censuses are carried out during the breeding and moulting period in the study area.

3. A long term study of branded pups is being carried out to asses the role of year, and condition at weaning on survival.

4. Immunology Studies of serum and milk Immunoglobulin levels are carried out in cooperation with the Biochemistry Program directed by M.E.I. Marquez. The main aims of these studies are:

5. To investigate the passive transfer of immunity from mother to pup throughout the lactation period.

6. To investigate the development of active immunity in newborns of Southern elephant seals .

7. Diet The diet of different antarctic pinnipeds is investigated through stomach lavage and scat collection to assess their localities and interannual variations. Diet studies of different species of pinnipeds are conducted in collaboration with Ricardo Casaux from the Instituto Antartico Argentino and Gustavo Daneri from the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia".

The colony size and breeding success of Southern giant petrels (Macronectus giganteus) on Signy Island has been monitored annually since 1996. The data presented here includes the number of breeding pairs (occupied nests) and the number of chicks present in their nests prior to fledging. Breeding pairs and chicks are monitored by direct counts at nine sites on the west coast of the island. The nest surveys are undertaken from December to January, with chick counts completed in mid-March.

This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) core funding to the British Antarctic Survey.

Six species of penguins breed on the Antarctic continent, the Antarctic Peninsula, the South Shetland and South Orkney Islands. Their breeding populations within the Antarctic Peninsula, and the South Orkney and South Shetland Is., and estimates of global populations are given. Typical breeding seasons are also presented, but it must be noted that these will vary inter-annually and intra-annually under the influence of factors such as sea-ice extent and ENSO (interannual) and the location of each breeding colony (southerly localities will be later than northerly localities, as their breeding season is "compressed" within the shorter summer). Their foraging strategies (categorized as near-shore or offshore) and typical durations of foraging trips are also tabulated. As with breeding season events, foraging behaviour will vary intra-seasonally and inter-seasonally (in terms of dive duration, dive depth, foraging location, etc). The distribution of known penguin breeding colonies is circum-continental, with Emperor and Adelie penguins predominant on approximately 75 % of the coast, with two major concentrations in the Ross Sea and in Prydz Bay. The third concentration is in the Antarctic Peninsula region, where some of the largest penguin colonies are present. All six species breed within the area (predominantly Chinstrap Penguins), and the Peninsula region has a greater diversity than the remainder ofthe Antarctic with respect to penguins. The distribution at sea of nonbreeding penguins is less cIear. Non-breeding individuals of all six species move throughout the Southern Ocean, and in many cases, to areas well north of the winter pack-ice zone. However, it is not possible to estimate densities of penguins at sea as there are no estimates of non-breeding penguin populations the extent of their travels.

Although the grey seal Halichoerus grypus is one of the most familiar and intensively studied of all pinniped species, its global population structure remains to be elucidated. Little is also known about how the species as a whole may have historically responded to climate-driven changes in habitat availability and anthropogenic exploitation. We therefore analysed samples from over 1500 individuals collected from 22 colonies spanning the Western and Eastern Atlantic and the Baltic Sea regions, represented by 350bp of the mitochondrial hypervariable region and up to nine microsatellites. Strong population structure was observed at both types of marker, and highly asymmetrical patterns of gene flow were also inferred, with the Orkney islands being identified as a source of emigrants to other areas in the Eastern Atlantic. The Baltic and Eastern Atlantic regions were estimated to have diverged a little over 10,000 years ago, consistent with the last proposed isolation of the Baltic Sea. Ap...

Genome analysis provides a powerful approach to test for evidence of genetic variation within and between geographical regions and local populations. Copy number variants which comprise insertions, deletions and duplications of genomic sequence provide one such convenient and informative source. Here, we investigate copy number variants from genome wide scans of single nucleotide polymorphisms in three European population isolates, the island of Vis in Croatia, the islands of Orkney in Scotland and the South Tyrol in Italy. We show that whereas the overall copy number variant frequencies are similar between populations, their distribution is highly specific to the population of origin, a finding which is supported by evidence for increased kinship correlation for specific copy number variants within populations.

141 catchments throughout mainland Scotland, Orkney and Shetland and Western Isles were surveyed by electrofishing for larvae, confirming lamprey presence in most rivers with previous records and identifying 17 catchments with previously unknown populations, extending the known range of all species. Lampreys were present in 65 of the 141 catchments and at 342 of 710 survey sites. Lampreys were absent from all survey sites on Orkney and Shetland and from those areas of west Highlands north of Loch Carron. Distribution was patchy in east Sutherland, Caithness and Easter Ross, but several previously unrecorded populations were identified. Lampreys were present in most rivers south of the Great Glen. Sea lamprey were present in 13 catchments, river lampreys in 20 and brook lampreys in 51. Unidentified Lampetra species were present in a further 13. Sea lampreys were the rarest species in both records and survey. They have been recorded in 35 rivers, although their continuing presence in some of these is uncertain. Although scarce, sea lampreys are widespread with extant populations in all regions excepting Orkney and Shetland and, perhaps, Western Isles where occasional adults are seen but breeding is unconfirmed. The survey identified several catchments with previously unrecorded river lamprey populations, particularly in south Argyll. River lampreys have now been recorded in 42 mainland rivers. There are no records from any of the islands. River lampreys are largely restricted to rivers south of the Great Glen. Brook lampreys were the most common species in both records and survey. Their presence has now been confirmed in all regions excepting Orkney and Shetland. Single, isolated populations were present on Lewis, Skye and Islay. The species is common south of the Great Glen. Distribution is patchy in the far north of Scotland and they are absent from the far north-west.

Number of satellite and archival telemetry deployments on penguins and fur seals during the summer and winter (in parentheses) and population size data during the study period, 2009–2014. For the fishery, the number of net tows is reported for each year.

There are longstanding questions about the origins and ancestry of the Picts of early medieval Scotland (ca. 300–900 CE), prompted in part by exotic medieval origin myths, their enigmatic symbols and inscriptions, and the meagre textual evidence. The Picts, first mentioned in the late 3rd century CE resisted the Romans and went on to form a powerful kingdom that ruled over a large territory in northern Britain. In the 9th and 10th centuries Gaelic language, culture and identity became dominant, transforming the Pictish realm into Alba, the precursor to the medieval kingdom of Scotland. To date, no comprehensive analysis of Pictish genomes has been published, and questions about their biological relationships to other cultural groups living in Britain remain unanswered. Here we present two high-quality Pictish genomes (2.4 and 16.5X coverage) from central and northern Scotland dated from the 5th-7th century which we impute and co-analyse with >8,300 previously published ancient and modern genomes. Using allele frequency and haplotype-based approaches, we can firmly place the genomes within the Iron Age gene pool in Britain and demonstrate regional biological affinity. We also demonstrate the presence of population structure within Pictish groups, with Orcadian Picts being genetically distinct from their mainland contemporaries. When investigating Identity-By-Descent (IBD) with present-day genomes, we observe broad affinities between the mainland Pictish genomes and the present-day people living in western Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Northumbria, but less with the rest of England, the Orkney islands and eastern Scotland—where the political centres of Pictland were located. The pre-Viking Age Orcadian Picts evidence a high degree of IBD sharing across modern Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Orkney islands, demonstrating substantial genetic continuity in Orkney for the last ~2,000 years. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA diversity at the Pictish cemetery of Lundin Links (n = 7) reveals absence of direct common female ancestors, with implications for broader social organisation. Overall, our study provides novel insights into the genetic affinities and population structure of the Picts and direct relationships between ancient and present-day groups of the UK.