Agnar Ingólfsson

B.Sc. (Hon) in zoology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland 1961

Ph.D. in Ecology/Ornithology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, U.S.A. 1967

Employment

Assistant professor in biology, Southeastern Massachusetts University (now University of
Massachusetts), North Dartmouth, Massachusetts 1967-1970

Docent, University of Iceland, 1970-1973

Professor, University of Iceland, 1973-

Ongoing research projects

Ecological studies on the seashore of Iceland
An attempt has been made during the last decades to obtain a reasonable picture of the macrobiota
of the Icelandic intertidal, with emphasis on the invertebrates. A large number of transects have
been worked all around the country with emphasis on rocky shores. Distributional patterns of
invertebrates around the coasts have been analysed (4). A detailed study has been made on the
species composition of brackish salt marsh ponds (1) and a study has been made of the seasonal
abundance of intertidal algae (2), to mention two examples of more restricted recent studies.

Structure of rocky shore communities at high latitudes - an interocean comparison
The structure of rocky shore communities has been studied in the northern North Atlantic (northern
Norway, Iceland, eastern Canada), northern Pacific (Alaska, Washington), southern South America
(Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego) and on South Island, New Zealand. Environmental conditions are
similar at most of these locations, while species compositions often differ markedly. The study aims
at increasing the understanding of factors which are important in determining the structure of rocky
shores communities.

The ecology of Icelandic coastal lagoons
A survey is being made of the fauna and environmental conditions of about 60 lagoons of several
different types around the shores of Iceland. The main purpose of the survey is to investigate
relationships between species composition and environmental factors while an additional purpose
is to aid in the proper management of coastal lagoons.

Floating seaweed as a habitat and means of dispersal
A study is being made on the animals found on floating seaweed originating in the intertidal zone.
The main purpose is to shed light on the possible role of floating seaweed in dispersing shore animals,
even over long distances, and to investigate the importance of the seaweed to macro- and meiofaunal
species that are attracted to it. The study is largely based on the collecting of seaweed clumps at sea
at all seasons as well as on experiments where variously treated seaweed clumps are kept afloat for
specific periods anchored to buoys. In addition to general studies (3), emphasis has been placed on
two more restricted projects:
I. The ecology of the harpacticoid copepod Parathalestris croni. This planktonic copepod has been
found to use floating seaweed as "nests". The naupliar larval stages are unable to swim but crawl on the
seaweed, on which the species is completely dependent to complete its life cycle. This work is done in
co-operation with Dr. Emil Ólafsson of Stockholm University (5).
II. The ecology of the fry of lumpsucker, Cyclopterus lumpus. The fry of the lumpsucker is
conspicuously attracted to floating seaweed. The purpose of the study is to investigate the age and
season at which this occurs and the reasons for this attraction. The study centers around the analysis
of stomach contents of the fry which is compared to the availability of food items in the seaweed
clumps. The food of fry living on the seashore is also studied.

The shore at high tide
The study aims at obtaining information on the composition and functioning of animal communities of
the intertidal during high tide since most of the available knowledge on intertidal ecology is based on
observations during low tide. Traps are used to catch animals at different levels on the shore, and
samples are taken from the seaweed "forest" by diving at high tide. The results may be expected to
throw light on several aspects of intertidal ecology, e.g. on the zonation pattern of mobile animals
(as this pattern emerges at low tide) and on the role of animals, which may visit the intertidal during
high tide, in predation, grazing and scavenging there.

Some recent publications

Ingólfsson, A. 1994. Species assemblages in saltmarsh ponds in western Iceland in relation to
environmental variables. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 38: 235-248.

Gunnarsson, K. & Ingólfsson, A. 1995. Seasonal changes in the abundance of intertidal algae
in southwestern Iceland. Botanica Marina 38: 69-77.

Ingólfsson, A. 1995. Floating clumps of seaweed around Iceland: natural microcosms and a
means of dispersal for shore fauna. Marine Biology 122: 13-21.

Ingólfsson, A. 1996. The distribition of intertidal macrofauna on the coasts of Iceland in relation
to temperature. Sarsia 81: 29-44.

Ingólfsson, A. & Ólafsson, E. 1997. Vital role of drift algae in the life history of the pelagic
harpacticoid Parathalestris croni in northern North Atlantic. Journal of Plankton Research 19: 15-27.

Ingólfsson, A. 1998. Dynamics of macrofaunal communities of floating seaweed clumps off western Iceland: a study of patches on the surface of the sea. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 231: 119-137.

Ingólfsson, A. 1999. The macrofauna of the tidal flats at Blikastaðir, southwestern Iceland, during a 27-year period. Rit Fiskideildar 16: 141-154.

Morritt, D. & Ingólfsson, A. 2000. Upper thermal tolerances of the beachflea Orchestia gammarellus (Pallas)(Crustacea: Amphipoda: Talitridae) associated with hot springs in Iceland. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 244: 215-227.

Ingólfsson, A. & Agnarsson, I. 1999. Anonyx sarsi: a major unrecognized scavenger and predator in the intertidal zone. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 79: 1127-1128.

Morritt, D. & Ingólfsson, A. 2000. Upper thermal tolerances of the beachflea Orchestia gammarellus (Pallas)(Crustacea: Amphipoda: Talitridae) associated with hot springs in Iceland. Journal of   Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 244: 215-227.

Ingólfsson, A. 2000. Colonization of floating seaweed by pelagic and subtidal benthic animals in southwestern Iceland. Hydrobiologia 440: 181-189

Ólafsson, E., Ingólfsson, A. & Steinarsdóttir, M. B. 2001. Harpacticoid copepod communities of floating seaweed: controlling factors and implications for dispersal.   Hydrobiologia 453/454: 189-200.

Ingólfsson, A. & Kristjánsson, B. K. 2002. Diet of juvenile lumpsucker Cyclopterus lumpus (Cyclopteridae) in floating seaweed: Effects of ontogeny and prey availability. Copeia 2002: 472-476.

Teaching

09.51.41 Ecology

09.51.53 Marine Ecology

08.41.82 Ecology