Lucy Mortlock, University of the Highland and Islands, was part-funded by the Arctic Travel and Partnerships Fund to visit Comon Scoter breeding habitats in Iceland as part of her PhD research.

I study Common Scoter, Melanitta nigra, a species of duck. We have several small breeding populations in Scotland; the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland, the lochs west of Inverness and Islay being the largest. ‘Largest’, of course, being a relative term; in 2007 there were 52 breeding pairs in Scotland and that number has decreased. 

Scotland is at the southern extent of their range, with larger breeding populations in Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia.

I am interested in how the productivity of the populations in Scotland compares to other locations and have very kindly been given data from two populations in Iceland. ScAN provided funding for me to visit researchers in Iceland who collected the data on Common Scoter in the Northeast region of the country. 

Whilst in Iceland I met Sölvi Rúnar Vignisson, director of the Mývatn Research Station, who took me out to Lake Mývatn to discuss Common Scoter breeding in the area, interactions with other species, and the surrounding habitat. I was struck by how different the habitat is from the Flow Country; volcanic, rather than peatland, and high in nutrients from the natural springs that feed the lake. Excitingly, most of the lake was frozen hard enough to drive across, but at the north end the thermal springs which feed the lake keep the water ice free.  

Unfortunately, the Common Scoter had not yet returned to  Mývatn as it was too early in the season. However, I was lucky enough to see a flock of Barrow’s Goldeneye. Iceland is the only place in Europe that Barrow’s breed, and my, what a smart bird. They were even displaying to each other! Magnificent!

The following day I visited Þorkell Lindberg Þórarinsson (Lindi), director of the Northeast Iceland Nature Research Centre. Lindi was very generous with his time and we discussed how the geology of Iceland impacts the ecology, the current and historic duck populations and the work of the institute more widely. The small team manages the collection of data on a wide range of species in the whole of the Northeast of Iceland and is responsible for seabird monitoring across the whole country. Learning about the work that they carry out was very interesting, and I was very impressed by the wide scope of their remit.

I am extremely grateful to Sölvi and Lindi for their generosity with their time and knowledge. 

The trip was really important for my academic studies because it has given me context for my study species in other regions, introduced me to other researchers and increased my confidence in my ability to communicate ideas with others. 

 I am very grateful to the Scottish Arctic Network for their support in form of an Early Career Travel Grant. I would also like to thank ECOWILD CDT for funding my PhD. 

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