Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nr4z6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-05T12:18:32.631Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

THE POST-GLACIAL COLONIZATION OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC ISLANDS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

J.A. Downes
J.A. Downes*
Affiliation:
Lyman Entomological Museum and Research Laboratory, Macdonald College of McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada H9X lC0 and Zoology Division, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P 6P4
Get access

Abstract

The paper discusses the nature and origins of the present-day insect faunas of Greenland, Iceland, and the Faeroes in relation to those of North America and Europe. The markedly warm-adapted faunas of the Early Tertiary were modified or eliminated as the climate cooled from the Oligocene onward to the Pleistocene glaciations. The Wisconsinan glaciation peaked about 20 000 years ago, and then gave way rapidly to the arctic and cool temperate climates of the present, and the North Atlantic islands thus became habitable again but separated by wide expanses of northern seas. At most only a few strongly arctic-adapted species could have persisted through the Pleistocene and no land bridges from the continents have existed since the Early Miocene, 20 million years ago.Southern Greenland, Iceland, and the Faeroes have been colonized across sea passages from the adjacent continents, mainly by air but partly by sea, during the postglacial period (ca. 10 000 years). The faunas are all young, with no endemic species among about 2000 in all; the faunas are not arctic but distinctly subarctic, mainly of the High and Low Boreal life zones, and derived from these life zones of North America or Europe. The naturally established faunas are small or very small, less than 14% of the corresponding continental faunas, and are obviously disharmonic, with some groups absent across the North Atlantic, e.g. Culicidae, Tabanidae, Tachinidae, Papilionoidea, aculeate Hymenoptera (except Bombus sp.). This indicates a severe "sweepstakes" route. The lack of Tachinidae is noteworthy because their hosts are plentiful, and indicates dispersal by air, with adult Tachinidae, unlike adult Lepidoptera, unable to make the journey; dispersal by a land bridge would offer parasites and hosts an equal opportunity. Aerial transport is indicated also by the high proportion of migrant species (of Lepidoptera) in the island faunas, and the arrival in Surtsey (a new volcanic island) of almost 25% of the Icelandic fauna in 12 years. The Surtsey observations suggest that the Icelandic fauna is preadapted to aerial dispersal, by selection during its journey from Europe.The fauna of southern Greenland is derived partly from boreal America and partly from boreal Europe. The North American moiety becomes vestigial in Iceland and the Faeroes and does not reach Europe. Iceland and the Faeroes have been populated from northwestern Europe, especially Britain and Scandinavia. A few species extend to southern Greenland and thence, or even directly, reach North America, and have thus completed a post-glacial traverse of the North Atlantic.The fauna of North Greenland differs fundamentally from all the above. It is a high arctic fauna, nearly identical with the high arctic fauna in Canada, and thus complete, not disharmonie, though very small by virtue of its high arctic nature. It has encountered no "sweepstakes" dispersal. North Greenland is separated from High Arctic Canada only by a narrow channel which permits winter dispersal by wind across unbroken sea ice. Biologically, North Greenland is part of the North American High Arctic, and although certain species (e.g. mosquitoes and butterflies) may extend somewhat into southern Greenland, it has not contributed to the basic faunas of the North Atlantic islands.Among other problems, the extreme variability in wing pattern of many Lepidoptera in Iceland, the Faeroes, and Shetland is also commented on.

Résumé

Cet article traite de la nature et des origines des faunes entomologiques actuelles du Groënland, de l'Islande et des Iles Féroés, en rapport avec celles de l'Amérique du Nord et de l'Europe. Les faunes particulièrement bien adaptées au climat doux du début du Tertiaire ont été modifiées ou éliminées lors du refroidissement du climat de l'Oligocène jusqu'aux glaciations du Pléistocène. La glaciation Wisconsinienne a culminé il y a environ 20 000 ans, pour ensuite céder rapidement la place aux climats arctique et tempéré froids actuels; les îles de l'Atlantique Nord devinrent alors de nouveau habitables, bien qu'isolées par de larges étendues de mers nordiques. Au mieux, seulement quelques espèces très bien adaptées à l'arctique ont persisté au cours du Pléistocène, et aucun pont de terre avec les continents n'a existé depuis le début du Miocène, il y a 20 millions d'années.Le sud du Groënland, l'Islande et les Féroés ont été colonisés par dessus les mers à partir des continents adjacents, principalement par la voie des airs mais aussi celle des mers, durant la période post-glaciaire (environ 10 000 ans). Les faunes y sont jeunes, sans aucune espèce endémique sur un total d'environ 2000; ces faunes ne sont pas de type arctique, mais plutôt subarctique, caractéristiques des bio-régions du Haut et du Bas Boréal, et provenant de ces bio-régions d'Amérique du Nord ou d'Europe. Les faunes implantées naturellement sont petites ou très petites, représentant moins de 14% des faunes continentales correspondantes, et sont évidemment discordantes, avec plusieurs groupes absents dans tout le Nord-Atlantique : les Culicidae, Tabanidae, Tachinidae, Papilionoidea et Hymenoptera aculéates (à l'exception de Bombus sp.). Elles semblent résulter d'une "loterie" très discriminante. L'absence des Tachinidae est remarquable étant donné que leurs hôtes sont abondants; elle indique une dispersion par voie des airs, les tachines adultes étant incapables de faire le voyage, contrairement aux Lépidoptères adultes; une invasion par voie de terre aurait permis l'accès égal des hôtes et des parasites. L'accès par air est aussi indiqué par la proportion élevée d'espèces migrantes (de lépidoptères) dans la faune des îles, et l'arrivée à Surtsey (une nouvelle île volcanique) d'environ 25% de la faune islandique en 12 ans. Les observations de Surtsey indiquent que la faune islandique est préadaptée à la dispersion aérienne, par une forte sélection au cours de son émigration d'Europe.La faune du sud du Groënland est dérivée en partie de l'Amérique boréale et de l'Europe boréale. La fraction Nord-Américaine est vestigiale en Islande et aux Féroés et n'atteint pas l'Europe. L'islande et les Féroés ont été colonisées à partir du nord-ouest de l'Europe, surtout les Iles Britanniques et la Scandinavie. Quelques espèces s'étendent jusqu'au sud du Groënland, et de là, ou par voie directe, ont atteint l'Amérique du Nord, pour compléter ainsi la traversée post-glaciaire de l'Atlantique Nord.La faune du nord du Groënland diffère fondamentalement des autres mentionnées ci-dessus. Il s'agit d'une faune de Haut Arctique, presque identique à la faune du Haut Arctique Canadien, et donc complète et non-discordante quoique de petite taille vu son caractère haut arctique. Elle ne présente pas de cas de dispersion du type "loterie". Le Groënland Nord n'est séparé du Haut Arctique Canadien que par un mince détroit qui permet la dispersion hivernale par le vent au dessus des glaces. Biologiquement, le Groënland Nord fait partie du Haut Arctique Nord Américain, et quoique certaines espèces (par ex. des maringouins et des papillons) s'étendent quelque peu au Sud du Groenland, le Nord n'a pas contribué aux faunes des Iles de l'Atlantique Nord.Parmi d'autres problèmes, la variabilité extrême des motifs alaires de plusieurs Lepidoptera de l'Islande, des Féroés et de Shetland est aussi commentée.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada , Volume 120 , Supplement S144 , 1988 , pp. 55 - 92
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ball, G.E. 1963. The distribution of the species of the subgenus Cryobius (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Pterostichus): with special reference to the Bering Land Bridge and Pleistocene refugia. pp. 133–151 in Gressitt, J. Linsley (Ed.), Pacific Basin Biogeography. Bishop Museum, Honolulu. 563 pp.Google Scholar
Banfield, A.W.F. 1974. The Mammals of Canada. Natn. Mus. Nat. Sci./Univ. Toronto Press. 438 pp.Google Scholar
Böcher, T.W., Holmen, K., and Jakobsen, K.. 1968. The Flora of Greenland. Haase, Copenhagen. 312 pp.Google Scholar
Braendegaard, J. 1958. Araneida. Zool. Iceland 3: 54.Google Scholar
Brown, W.J. 1937. The Coleoptera of Canada's eastern Arctic. Can. Ent. 69: 106–111.10.4039/Ent69106-5Google Scholar
Brown, W.J. 1965. Distribution of the beetles of the eastern Canadian Arctic, pp. 29–32 in Macpherson, A.H. (Ed.), Summary of Papers and Discussions at Meeting of Arctic Circle, Ottawa, 1964. Arct. Circular 16(2): 14–34. With associated manuscript notes.Google Scholar
Bruggemann, P.F. 1958. Insects and environments of the high arctic. Proc. 10th int. Congr. Ent. (Montreal 1956) 1: 695–702.Google Scholar
Buckland, P.C., Perry, D.W., Gísli M., Gíslason, and Dugmore, A.J.. 1986. The pre-Landnám fauna of Iceland: a palaeontological contribution. Boreas 15: 173–184.Google Scholar
Campbell, J.A., and Pelham-Clinton, E.C.. 1960. A taxonomic review of the British species of “Culicoides” Latreille (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae). Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh 67: 181–302.Google Scholar
CLIMAP project members. 1976. The surface of the ice age earth. Science 191: 1131–1144.Google Scholar
CLIMAP project members. 1981. Seasonal reconstructions of the Earth's surface at the last glacial maximum. Geo. Soc. Am. Map Ser. MC–36.Google Scholar
Coope, G.R. 1969. The contribution that the Coleoptera of Glacial Britain could have made to the subsequent colonisation of Scandinavia. Opusc. ent. 34: 95–108Google Scholar
Coope, G.R. 1970. Interpretation of Quaternary insect fossils. A. Rev. Ent. 15: 97–120.Google Scholar
Coope, G.R. 1978. Constancy of insect species versus inconstancy of Quaternary environments. Symp. R. ent. Soc. Lond. 9: 176–187.Google Scholar
Coope, G.R. 1979 a. Carabids of the British glacial refuge. pp. 407–424in Erwin, T.L., Ball, G.E., and White-head, D.R. (Eds.), Carabid Beetles: Their Evolution, Natural History and Classification. Junk, The Hague.Google Scholar
Coope, G.R. 1979 b. Late Cenozoic fossil Coleoptera: evolution, biogeography and ecology. A. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 10: 247–267.Google Scholar
Dahl, L. 1954. Firvaldar i Føroyum. Frødskaparrit, 3. bok. 128–154. [In Faeroese, English summary.]Google Scholar
Danks, H.V. (Ed.). 1979. Canada and its Insect Fauna. Mem. ent. Soc. Can. 108. 573 pp.Google Scholar
Danks, H.V. (Ed.). 1981. Arctic Arthropods. Entomological Society of Canada, Ottawa. 608 pp.Google Scholar
Dietz, R.S., and Holden, J.C.. 1970. The breakup of Pangaea. Sci. Am. 223(4): 30–31.Google Scholar
Downes, J.A. 1962. What is an arctic insect? Can. Ent. 94: 143–162.Google Scholar
Downes, J.A. 1964. Arctic insects and their environment. Can. Ent. 96: 280–307.Google Scholar
Downes, J.A. 1965. Adaptations of insects in the arctic. A. Rev. Ent. 10: 257–274.Google Scholar
Downes, J.A. 1966. The Lepidoptera of Greenland: some geographic considerations. Can. Ent. 98: 1135–1144.Google Scholar
Einarsson, Á. 1982. The palaeolimnology of Lake Mývatn, northern Iceland; plant and animal microfossils in the sediment. Freshwater Biol. 12: 63–82.Google Scholar
Einarsson, E. 1963. The elements and affinities of the Icelandic flora. pp. 297–302in Löve, A., and Löve, D. (Eds.), North Atlantic Biota and their History. Pergamon, Oxford.Google Scholar
Elton, C. 1925. The dispersal of insects to Spitsbergen. Trans, ent. Soc. Lond. 1925: 289–299.Google Scholar
Embree, D.G. 1965. The Population Dynamics of the Winter Moth in Nova Scotia, 1954–1962. Mem. ent. Soc. Can. 46. 57 pp.Google Scholar
Freeman, T.N. 1958. The distribution of arctic and subarctic butterflies. Proc. Tenth int. Congr. Ent. 1: 659–672.Google Scholar
Fridriksson, S. 1975. Surtsey. Wylie, New York and Toronto. 198 pp.Google Scholar
Gíslason, G.M. 1981 a. Predatory exclusion of Apatania zonella (Zett.) by Potamophylax cingulatus (Steph.) (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) in Iceland. pp. 93–98in Moretti, G.P. (Ed.), Proc 3rd Int. Symp. Trichoptera. Junk, The Hague.Google Scholar
Gíslason, G.M. 1981 b. Distribution and habitat preferences of Icelandic Trichoptera. pp. 99–109in Moretti, G.P. (Ed.), Proc. 3rd Int. Symp. Trichoptera. Junk, The Hague.Google Scholar
Hardwick, D.F. 1969. A European cutworm moth (Cerapteryx graminis) collected in Newfoundland. Can. Ent. 101: 766–767.10.4039/Ent101766-7Google Scholar
Hardwick, D.F. 1970. The Genus Euxoa (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in North America. I. Mem. ent. Soc. Can. 67. 177 pp.Google Scholar
Hardy, A.C., and Cheng, L.. 1986. Studies in the distribution of insects by aerial currents. III. Insect drift over the sea. Ecol. Ent. 11: 283–290.Google Scholar
Hardy, A.C., and Milne, P.S.. 1937. Insect drift over the North Sea. Nature 139: 510–511.10.1038/139510b0Google Scholar
Heezen, B.C., and Tharp, M.. 1963. The Atlantic floor. pp. 21–27in Löve, A., and Löve, D. (Eds.), North Atlantic Biota and their History. Pergamon Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Henriksen, K.L. 1939. A revised index of the insects of Grønland. Meddr Grønland 119(10): 1–111.Google Scholar
Henriksen, K.L., and Lundbeck, W.. 1917. Grønlands Landarthropoder (Insecta et Arachnida). Meddr Grønland 22: 481–821.Google Scholar
Hocking, B., and Richards, W.R.. 1952. Biology and control of Labrador black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae). Bull. ent. Res. 43(2): 237–257.Google Scholar
Johansen, F. 1910. General remarks on the life of insects and arachnids in northeast Greenland. The insects of the ‘Danmark’ expedition. Meddr Grønland 43(3): 35–54.Google Scholar
Johnson, C.G. 1969. Migration and Dispersal of Insects by Flight. Methuen, London. 763 pp.Google Scholar
Kryger, I.P., and Schmiedeknecht, O.. 1938. XLIII. Hymenoptera. Zoology of the Faeroes, 2(2). Høst, Copenhagen. 38 pp.Google Scholar
Lafontaine, J.D., Mikkola, K., and Kononenko, V.S.. 1983. A revision of the genus Xestia subg. Schoyenia Auriv. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), with descriptions of four new species and a new subspecies. Ent. scand. 14: 337–369.Google Scholar
Lafontaine, J.D., and Wood, D.M.. 1988. A zoogeographic analysis of the Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) of Beringia, and some inferences about past Beringian habitats. pp. 109–123 in Downes, J.A., and Kavanaugh, D.H. (Eds.), Origins of the North American Insect Fauna. Mem. ent. Soc. Can. 144.Google Scholar
Larsson, S.G. 1959. Coleoptera 2. General Remarks. The Zoology of Iceland, III. Pt. 46b. Munksgaard, Copenhagen and Reykjavik. 85 pp.Google Scholar
Larsson, S.G., and Gigja, G.. 1959. Coleoptera. 1. Synopsis. The Zoology of Iceland III, Pt. 46a. Munksgaard, Copenhagen and Reykjavik. 218 pp.Google Scholar
Laughton, A.S. 1971. South Labrador Sea and the evolution of the North Atlantic. Nature (London) 232: 612–617.Google Scholar
Leech, R.E. 1966. The spiders (Araneida) of Hazen Camp 81°49′N, 71°18′W. Quaest. ent. 2: 153–212.Google Scholar
Lindroth, C.H. 1931. Die Insektenfauna Islands und ihre Probleme. Zool. Bidr. 13: 105–589. Uppsala.Google Scholar
Lindroth, C.H. 1949. Die fennoskandischen Carabidae. Eine tiergeographische Studie. Vol. 3. Göteborgs K. Vetensk. Vilterhsamh. Handl. (6), Ser. B. 4.Google Scholar
Lindroth, C.H. 1953. Influence of Pleistocene climate changes on the insect fauna of Northern Europe. Trans. IX int. Congr. Ent. 2: 145–153.Google Scholar
Lindroth, C.H. 1957. The faunal connections between Europe and North America. Almquist and Wiksell, Stockholm. 344 pp.Google Scholar
Lindroth, C.H. 1961. Verbindungen und Barrieren in der zircumpolaren Verbreitung der Insekten. Proc. 11th int. Congr. Ent. (Vienna, 1960) 1: 438–455.Google Scholar
Lindroth, C.H. 1965. Skaftafell, Iceland, a living glacial refugium. Oikos, Suppl. 6: 1–142.Google Scholar
Lindroth, C.H. 1968. Distribution and distributional centres of North Atlantic insects. Bull. ent. Soc. Am. 14(2): 91–95.Google Scholar
Lindroth, C.H., Andersson, H., Bodvarsson, H., and Richter, S.H.. 1973. Surtsey, Iceland. The development of a new fauna, 1963–1970. Terrestrial invertebrates. Ent. Scandinavica, Suppl. 5: 1–280.Google Scholar
Lyneborg, L. 1968. Diptera Brachycera et Cyclorrhapha. Zoology of the Faeroes 2(2), Fasc. 42a. Høst, Copenhagen. 79 pp.Google Scholar
MacArthur, R.H., and Wilson, E.O.. 1967. The Theory of Island Biogeography. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton. 203 pp.Google Scholar
Macpherson, A.H. 1965. The origin of diversity in mammals of the Canadian arctic tundra. Syst. Zool. 14(13): 153–173.Google Scholar
Matthews, J.V. Jr., 1979. Tertiary and Quarternary environments: historical background for an analysis of the Canadian insect fauna. pp. 31–86 in Danks, H.V. (Ed.), Canada and its Insect Fauna. Mem. ent. Soc. Can. 108.Google Scholar
Matthews, J.V. Jr., 1980. Tertiary land bridges and their climate: backdrop for the development of the present Canadian insect fauna. Can. Ent. 112: 1089–1103.Google Scholar
McKenna, M.C. 1983. Cenozoic paleogeography of North Atlantic land bridges. pp. 351–399in Bott, et al. (Eds.), Structure and Development of the Greenland–Scotland Ridge. Plenum Press, New York.Google Scholar
Nielsen, P., Ringdahl, O., and Tuxen, S.L.. 1954. Diptera I (exclusive of Ceratopogonidae and Chironomidae). Zoology of Iceland III, 48a. Munksgaard, Copenhagen and Reykjavik. 189 pp.Google Scholar
Ólafsson, E. 1978. The development of the land-arthropod fauna on Surtsey, Iceland, during 1971–1976 with notes on terrestrial Oligochaeta. Surtsey Res. Prog. Rep. 8: 41–46.Google Scholar
Oliver, D.R. 1963. Entomological studies in the lake Hazen area, Ellesmere Island, including lists of species of Arachnida, Collembola and Insecta. Arctic 16(3): 175–180.Google Scholar
Palmén, E. 1944. Die anemohydrochore Ausbreitung der Insekten als zoogeographischer Faktor, mit Berucksichtigung der baltischen Einwanderungsrichtung als Ankunftsweg der fennoskandischen Kaferfauna. Ann. Zool. Soc. Vanamo 10(1): 1–259.Google Scholar
Pedersen, B.V. 1971. Diptera Nematocera. Zoology of the Faeroes 2(2), Fasc. XLIIb. Høst, Copenhagen. 79 pp.Google Scholar
Remm, H. 1962. The genus Dasyhelea Kieffer (Diptera, Heleidae) in Estonia. Tartu Riikliku Ulikodi Toimetised 120: 108–133. [In Russian, English summary.]Google Scholar
Ruddiman, W.F., and McIntyre, A.. 1981. The mode and mechanism of the last deglaciation: oceanic evidence. Quat. Res. 16: 125–134.Google Scholar
Savile, D.B.O. 1961. The botany of the northwestern Queen Elizabeth Islands. Can. J. Bot. 39: 909–942.Google Scholar
Savile, D.B.O. 1964. Review of North Atlantic biota and their history. Arctic 17: 138–141.10.14430/arctic3620Google Scholar
Savile, D.B.O. 1972. Arctic adaptations in plants. Can. Dept. Agric. Monogr. 6. 81 pp.Google Scholar
Scholander, P.F., Flagg, W., Hock, R.J., and Irving, L.. 1953. Studies on the physiology of frozen plants and animals in the Arctic. J. Cell. Comp. Physiol. 42 (Suppl. 1). 56 pp.Google Scholar
Schwert, D.P., and Ashworth, A.C.. 1988. Late Quaternary history of the northern beetle fauna of North America: a synthesis of fossil and distributional evidence. pp. 93–107 in Downes, J.A., and Kavanaugh, D.H. (Eds.), Origins of the North American Insect Fauna. Mem. ent. Soc. Can. 144.Google Scholar
Tuxen, S.L. 1954. General remarks. pp. 141–189 in Nielsen, P., Ringdahl, O., and Tuxen, S.L. (Eds.), Diptera I (exclusive of Ceratopogonidae and Chironomidae). Zoology of Iceland III, 48a. Munksgaard, Copenhagen and Reykjavik. 189 pp.Google Scholar
van Emden, F.I. 1954. Diptera, Cyclorrhapha, Calyptrata (1); Section (a). Tachinidae and Calliphoridae. Handbooks for the identification of British insects, Vol. X, Part 4(a). R. ent. Soc., London.Google Scholar
Vockeroth, J.R. 1958. Distribution patterns of the Scatomyzinae (Diptera, Muscidae). Proc. 10th int. Congr. Ent. (Montreal 1956) 1: 619–625.Google Scholar
West, A. 1937. XL. Coleoptera. The Zoology of the Faroes 2(1). Høst, Copenhagen. 66 pp.Google Scholar
Wolff, N.L. 1929(1937). XXXIX. Lepidoptera. The Zoology of the Faroes 2(1). Høst, Copenhagen. 38 pp.Google Scholar
Wolff, N.L. 1964. The Lepidoptera of Greenland. Meddr Grønland 159(11): 1–74 + 21 pls. Reitzels, Kobenhavn.Google Scholar
Wolff, N.L. 1970. Revideret fortegnelse over Faeroernes sommerfugle. Ent. Meddr 38: 3–14.Google Scholar
Wolff, N.L. 1971 a. Tilaeg og rettelse til fortegnelsen over Grønlands sommerfugle. Ent. Meddr 39: 71–79.Google Scholar
Wolff, N.L. 1971 b. Lepidoptera. Zool. Iceland 3: 45. 193 pp.Google Scholar
Wolff, N.L. 1975. Nomophila arterne (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) fra det nordatlantiske område. Ent. Meddr 43: 129–135.Google Scholar
Wood, D.M. 1978. Taxonomy of the nearctic species of Twinnia and Gymnopais (Diptera: Simuliidae) and a discussion of the ancestry of the Simuliidae. Can. Ent. 110: 1297–1338.Google Scholar
Wood, D.M., Dang, P.T., and Ellis, R.A.. 1979. The mosquitoes of Canada (Diptera: Culicidae). The insects and arachnids of Canada, Part 6. Agric. Can. Publ. 1986. 390 pp.Google Scholar
Wright, B. 1987. The European yellow underwing, Noctua pronuba L. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), in the Atlantic provinces (Canada) and the State of Maine (USA). Can. Ent. 119: 993–997.Google Scholar