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The fauna of Scotland is generally typical of the northwest European part of the Palearctic ecozone, although several of the country's larger mammals were hunted to extinction in historic times and human activity has also led to various species of wildlife being introduced. Scotland's diverse temperate environments support 62 species of wild mammals, including a population of wild cats, important numbers of grey and harbour seals and the most northerly colony of bottlenose dolphins in the world.〔Matthews (1968) p. 254.〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Mammals )〕 Many populations of moorland birds, including the black and red grouse live here, and the country has internationally significant nesting grounds for seabirds such as the northern gannet.〔Fraser Darling and Boyd (1969) pp. 7, 98–102.〕 The golden eagle has become a national icon,〔Benvie (1994) p. 12.〕 and white-tailed eagles and ospreys have recently re-colonised the land. The Scottish crossbill is the only endemic vertebrate species in the UK.〔In the past, this claim has been made on behalf of other species such as the red grouse (now considered to be a sub-species of willow ptarmigan) and Irish stoat (''Mustela erminea hibernica''), also now considered to be a sub-species of stoat. ''Loxia scotica'' 's position as a true species is a matter of debate but the current consensus is that it does have this status (see for example Miles and Jackman (1991) pp. 21–30 and Benvie (2004) p. 55.) The position of the freshwater fish the vendace ''Coregonus vandesius'' is disputed, with many authorities considering it to be a synonym of ''Coregonus albula''.〕〔Adams, William Mark (2003) (''Future Nature'' ). British Association of Nature Conservationists p. 30. Retrieved 14 July 2009. This source lists the UK's endemic species as being "14 lichens, 14 bryophytes, 1 fern, 21 higher plants, 16 invertebrates and 1 vertebrate (the Scottish crossbill)."〕〔Perhaps because endemic vertebrates are all but absent from the UK neither SNH nor JNCC appear to provide a definitive "list" but it is clear that the Scottish crossbill is the only endemic bird, (Gooders (1994) p. 273. and ("Scottish Crossbill: ''Loxia Scotica''" ) (pdf) JNCC. Retrieved 7 July 2009.) and that there are no endemic freshwater fish (Maitland, P. and Lyle A.A. (1996) ("Threatened freshwater fishes of Great Britain" ) in Kirchofer, A. and Hefti, D. (1996) ''Conservation of Endangered Freshwater Fish in Europe''. Basel. Birkhauser.) or mammals (("The British Mammals list" ) ppne.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2009.) in Britain. There are too few amphibians and reptiles native to the UK for there to be any doubt that no endemic species exist. The position is implied, although not stated by SNH in their Information and Advisory Note Number 49 ("Priority species in Scotland: animals" ) Retrieved 7 July 2009. See also Myers, Norman (2003) ("Conservation of Biodiversity: How are We Doing?" ) (pdf) ''The Environmentalist'' 23 pp. 9–15. Retrieved 7 July 2009. This publication confirms there is only one "endemic non-fish vertebrate species" in the British Isles, although it fails to identify the species concerned.〕 Scotland's seas are among the most biologically productive in the world; it is estimated that the total number of Scottish marine species exceeds 40,000.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Inshore Fisheries in Scotland )〕 The Darwin Mounds are an important area of deep sea cold water coral reefs discovered in 1998. Inland, nearly 400 genetically distinct populations of Atlantic salmon live in Scottish rivers.〔 Of the 42 species of fish found in the country's fresh waters, half have arrived by natural colonisation and half by human introduction. Only six amphibians and four land reptiles are native to Scotland, but many species of invertebrates live there that are otherwise rare in the United Kingdom (UK).〔Miles and Jackman (1991) p. 48.〕 An estimated 14,000 species of insect, including rare bees and butterflies protected by conservation action plans, inhabit Scotland. Conservation agencies in the UK are concerned that climate change, especially its potential effects on mountain plateaus and marine life, threaten much of the fauna of Scotland.〔See for example Johnston, I. (29 November 2006) "Sea change as plankton head north'". Edinburgh. ''The Scotsman''. This report quotes James Lovelock's concern that global warming will "kill billions" of people over the coming century.〕 ==Habitats== Scotland enjoys a diversity of temperate environments, incorporating deciduous and coniferous woodlands, and moorland, montane, estuarine, freshwater, oceanic, and tundra landscapes.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Scottish wildlife habitats )〕 About 14% of Scotland is wooded, much of it in forestry plantations, but before humans cleared the land it supported much larger boreal Caledonian and broad-leaved forests.〔Although no one denies that past forests were much larger, they disagree about the timing and causes of the reduction. Many writers, from the 16th century author Hector Boece to the 20th century naturalist Frank Fraser Darling, believed that the woods were much more extensive in Roman times than today. However, it is now thought that deforestation of the Southern Uplands, caused by climate and by people, was well underway when the legions arrived. See Smout (2007) pp. 20–32.〕 Although much reduced, significant remnants of the native Scots pine woodlands can be found. Seventeen per cent of Scotland is covered by heather moorland and peatland. Caithness and Sutherland have one of the world's largest and most intact areas of blanket bog, which supports a distinctive wildlife community.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 North Highland: Peatlands of Caithness & Sutherland )〕 Seventy-five per cent of Scotland's land is classed as agricultural (including some moorland) while urban areas account for around 3%. The coastline is long, and the number of islands with terrestrial vegetation is nearly 800, about 600 of them lying off the west coast. Scotland has more than 90% of the volume and 70% of the total surface area of fresh water in the United Kingdom. There are more than 30,000 freshwater lochs and 6,600 river systems.〔 Under the auspices of the European Union's Habitats Directive, as of December 2007 a total of 239 sites in Scotland covering more than had been accepted by European Commission as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC).〔("SACs in Scotland" ) Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2008.〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Trends: The Seas around Scotland ) Quoting the Scottish Office. (1998). ''People and nature. A new approach to SSSI designations in Scotland''. The Scottish Office, Edinburgh. Retrieved 2 January 2007.〕 Scotland's seas are among the most biologically productive in the world and contain 40,000 or more species. Twenty-four of the SACs are marine sites, and a further nine are coastal with marine and non-marine elements. These marine elements extend to an area of around . The Darwin Mounds, covering about , are being considered as the first offshore SAC.〔〔"Offshore" in this context means not incorporating any land.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fauna of Scotland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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