Náttúrufræðingurinn - 2013, Page 5

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Tímarit Hins íslenska náttúrufræðifélags
that it was feeding time. I could then stand nearby
Páll and catch the surprised cubs by hand. We
have also spent much time together in the labora-
tory discussing methods and also in front of the
computer discussing data. Much time together has
also been spent in tents, while it is raining outside,
enjoying discussi ons about all other matters, mat-
ters far more important than science, viz. matters
about values in life such as friendship and matters
about death. We started as co-workers and ended
up as greatest friends.
There was always a joy to write scientific papers
with Páll Hersteins son, his clear eye together with
his sharp pen turned into outstanding texts and
whenever you sent him a draft of a manuscript he
returned it commented and edited within some
hours or maximum two days. If it took longer
he always responded directly explaining that he
would be late. When the manuscript arrived he
had reworked it, removed mis understandings,
corrected mis tak es and turned into a flowing text
in an easy way. But there were also issues that we
discussed over and over again. Why are the Arctic
foxes more social in Sweden than in Iceland? Did
the Arctic fox get to Iceland from Greenland, or did
they migrate from Ireland after the land ice melted
about 10 000 years ago? These are questions that he
and I won’t be able to discuss further.
Páll and his wife Ásta Pálsdóttir had always
an open door to friends and guests. Many of our
internati onal colleagues have passed their home in
Reykjavík and their summer house in Borgarnes.
My last memory of Páll was when we crawled on
the ground in Reykholt to find out where the bees
had been collected the pollen they brought back to
the hive at the summer house.
At Iceland University and at Stockholm Uni-
versity he fostered a new generation of modern
ecolog ists. With enthusiasm and examples from
both his own studies and others he has inspired
many students. He helped me to supervise my
students in Stockholm in a warm and productive
way. He also worked close to Icelandic fox hunt ers
for several years and collect ed a most valuable and
interesting data set that has few equivalents in the
world. This was organized when Páll Hersteinsson
was head of the Wildlife Management Unit at the
Ministry of Agriculture.
Parallel to his scientific career he continued his
father’s editorial task in his editing company, Rit-
verk, and edited books in Icelandic. One of the
most successful books he edited was Þingvallavatn
together with Pétur M. Jónasson. But he also kept
writing his own books, some of them about the
“melrakka” Agga Gagg, and some of them collec-
tions of short stories, such as Línur: Smásögur. In
the short stories his sharp eye was again present
but now also with together with humor. Over all
Páll Hersteinsson was a story teller, following the
old Nordic saga tradition, he told scientific stories,
funny stories or long stories in a way so you didn’t
know how they were related to reality. I will try to
keep the legacy of this and continue to tell about
Páll in stories, both in scientific papers and in the
saga tradition.
Anders Angerbjörn
Stockholm
Scientific publications by Páll Hersteinsson
1. Elmhagen, B., Páll Hersteinsson, Norén, K., Ester Rut Unnsteinsdóttir, &
Angerbjörn, A. 2013. From breeding pairs to fox towns: The social
organisation of arctic fox populations with stable and fluctuating avail-
ability of food. Polar Biol in press. DOI 10.1007/s00300-013-1416-3
2. Bocharova, N., Treu, G., Czirjak, G.A., Krone, O., Stefanski, V., Wibbelt, G.,
Ester Rut Unnsteinsdóttir, Páll Hersteinsson, Schares, G., Doronina, L.,
Goltsman, M. & Greenwood, A.D. 2013. Correlates between feeding ecol-
ogy and mercury levels in historical and modern arctic foxes (Vulpes
lagopus). PLOS ONE 8: e60879 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0060879
3. Rannveig Magnúsdóttir, Menja von Schmalensee, Róbert A. Stefánsson,
Macdonald, D.W. & Páll Hersteinsson 2013. A foe in woe: American
mink (Neovison vison) diet changes during a population decrease.
Mammalian Biology in press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2013.08.002
4. Norén, K., Páll Hersteinsson, Samelius, G., Eide, N.E., Fuglei. E., Elm-
hagen, B., Dalén, L., Meijer, T. & Angerbjörn, A. 2012. From monogamy
to complexity: social organization of arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) in
contrasting ecosystems. Canadian Journal of Zoology 90. 1102–1116.
5. Rannveig Magnúsdóttir, Róbert A. Stefánsson, Menja von Schmalensee,
Macdonald, D.W. & Páll Hersteinsson 2012. Habitat- and sex-related differ-
ences in a small carnivore's diet in a competitor-free environment. European
journal of wildlife research 58. 669–676 DOI: 10.1007/s10344-012-0615-5
6. Gunnar Þór Hallgrímsson & Páll Hersteinsson 2012. Spatial contraction in
a large gull colony in relation to the position of arctic fox dens. European
journal of wildlife research 58. 441–450. DOI: 10.1007/s10344-011-0594-y
since 2011
7. Dalerum, F., Perbro, A., Rannveig Magnúsdóttir, Páll Hersteinsson &
Angerbjörn, A. 2012. The influence of coastal access on isotope variation
in Icelandic arctic foxes. PLoS One 7(3): e32071.
8. Ellen Magnúsdóttir, Leat, E.H.K., Bourgeon, S., Strom, H., Ævar Petersen,
A. Phillips, R.A., Hanssen, S.A., Bustnes, J.O., Páll Hersteinsson &
Furness, R.W. 2012. Wintering areas of Great Skuas Stercorarius skua
breeding in Scotland, Iceland and Norway. Bird study 59. 1–9.
9. Geffen, E., Kam, M., Hefner, R., Páll Hersteinsson, Angerbjörn, A.,
Dalèn, L., Fuglei, E., Norèn, K., Adams, J., Vucetich, J., Meier, T.J.,
Mech, D.L., vonHoldt, B.M., Stahler, D.R., Smith, D.W. & Wayne, R.K.
2011. Kin encounter rate and inbreeding avoidance in canids. Molecu-
lar Ecology 20. 5348–5358.
10. Norèn, K., Carmichael, L., Fuglei, E., Eide, N.E., Páll Hersteinsson &
Angerbjörn, A. 2011. Pulses of movement across the sea ice - popula-
tion connectivity and temporal genetic structure in the arctic fox.
Oecologia 166. 973–984.
11. Norèn, K., Carmichael, L., Dalèn, L., Páll Hersteinsson, Samelius, G.,
Fuglei, E., Kapel, C.M.O., Menyushina, I., Strobeck, C. & Angerbjörn,
A. 2011. Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population structure: circumpolar
patterns and processes. Oikos 120. 873–885.
12. Ester Rut Unnsteinsdottir & Páll Hersteinsson 2011. Effects of contrasting
habitats on population parameters and diet of Apodemus sylvaticus
(Rodentia) in south-western Iceland. Mammalia 75. 13–21 DOI: 10.1515/
MAMM.2010.068