Natural history of Scotland
The total number of vascular species is low by world standard but lichens and bryophytes are abundant and the latter form a population of global importance.The fauna of Scotland is generally typical of the north-west European part of the Palearctic realm, although several of the country's larger mammals were hunted to extinction in historic times.[4][5] Many populations of moorland birds, including blackcock and the famous red grouse, live here, and the country has internationally significant nesting grounds for seabirds such as the northern gannet.[9] Included in the country's ocean inventory are the Darwin Mounds, are an important area of cold water coral reefs discovered in 1988.Many agencies in the UK are concerned that climate change, especially its potential effects on mountain plateaus and marine life, threaten much of the flora and fauna of Scotland.
mycotaScotlandScottish breedsHighland faunaSpecial Areas of ConservationWildlife TrustsScottish Wildlife TrustLocal nature reservesNational nature reservesProtected areasNational parksNational Scenic AreasFlora of ScotlandBirnamTay ValleyvascularlichensbryophytesEuropeanPalearctic realmScottishborealCaledonian forestmoorlandmachairDouglas firInvernessUnited KingdomFortingall YewShetland mouse-earScottish primroseendemicFauna of Scotlandmammalsextinctiontemperatewild catsharbour sealsblackcockred grousenestingseabirdsnorthern gannetgolden eaglewhite-tailed eaglesospreysre-colonisedScottish crossbillvertebratespeciesBritish IslesDarwin MoundsAtlantic SalmonnativeinvertebratesfungalPhelloden confluensSyringammina fragilissimaxenophyophoreRockallsingle-celled organismConservationclimate changeplateausmarineCairngormsCairn ToulSgor an Lochain UaineBraeriachwhalesdolphinsporpoisebasking sharksHebrideanHighland Wildlife ParkLoch Lomond and the Trossachs National ParkCairngorms National ParkForestry CommissionGeography of ScotlandGeology of ScotlandMurray, W.H.Wayback MachineNew ScientistJames LovelockOutline of ScotlandHistoryTimelinePrehistoricRoman timesMiddle AgesEarly Middle AgesKingdomHigh Middle AgesDavidian RevolutionWars of IndependenceLate Middle AgesRenaissanceEarly modernReformationColonisation of the AmericasGlorious RevolutionTreaty of Union1707 Acts of UnionJacobitismEnlightenmentLowland ClearancesHighland ClearancesIndustrial RevolutionRomanticismModernGeographyAnglo-Scottish borderCentral BeltClimateGeologyHighlandsIslandsLowlandsMountains and hillsHighestWaterfallsEcoregionsBiosphere reservesEnvironmentMunicipalitiesPolitics