1. Too hot to handle : effects of water temperature on the early life stages of Gongolaria barbata (Fucales)Ana Lokovšek, Valentina Pitacco, Annalisa Falace, Domen Trkov, Martina Orlando-Bonaca, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: Gongolaria barbata plays a crucial role as a habitat-forming Fucales species in the Mediterranean Sea, thriving in shallow, sheltered coastal regions, where it exhibits optimal growth in a temperature range of 10 to 25 °C. In the northern Adriatic Sea, a semi-enclosed part of the Mediterranean, there has been a remarkable increase in seawater temperatures in recent decades, often exceeding 28 °C in summer. These high temperatures pose a significant threat to the vulnerable early life stages of G. barbata. This study delves into the effects of four temperatures (15, 18, 24, and 28 °C) on the growth of G. barbata over its first 16 days, closely monitoring mortality, deformities, and overall survival. Our experiments reveal that higher temperatures can result in deformities and increased mortality of germlings. Notably, a temperature of 28 °C resulted in the death of all germlings within the first week, whereas those exposed to 24 °C survived until the second week, albeit with significant deformities prior to death. In contrast, germlings cultivated at 15 and 18 °C exhibited normal development with minimal deformities. These results highlight the susceptibility of the early life stages of G. barbata to temperature-induced stress and provide valuable insights into the potential consequences of rising seawater temperatures in the Mediterranean.
Keywords: sea temperature, early stages of growth, deformations, macroalgae, climate change, Mediterranean Sea
Published in DiRROS: 17.05.2024; Views: 1; Downloads: 0
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2. Lizard host abundances and climatic factors explain phylogenetic diversity and prevalence of blood parasites on an oceanic islandRodrigo Megía-Palma, Gemma Palomar, Javier Martínez, Bernardo Antunes, Katarzyna Dudek, Anamarija Žagar, Nina Guerra Serén, Miguel A. Carretero, Wiesław Babik, Santiago Merino, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: Host abundance might favour the maintenance of a high phylogenetic diversity of some parasites via rapid transmission rates. Blood parasites of insular lizards represent a good model to test this hypothesis because these parasites can be particularly prevalent in islands and host lizards highly abundant. We applied deep amplicon sequencing and analysed environmental predictors of blood parasite prevalence and phylogenetic diversity in the endemic lizard Gallotia galloti across 24 localities on Tenerife, an island in the Canary archipelago that has experienced increasing warming and drought in recent years. Parasite prevalence assessed by microscopy was over 94%, and a higher proportion of infected lizards was found in warmer and drier locations. A total of 33 different 18s rRNA parasite haplotypes were identified, and the phylogenetic analyses indicated that they belong to two genera of Adeleorina (Apicomplexa: Coccidia), with Karyolysus as the dominant genus. The most important predictor of between-locality variation in parasite phylogenetic diversity was the abundance of lizard hosts. We conclude that a combination of climatic and host demographic factors associated with an insular syndrome may be favouring a rapid transmission of blood parasites among lizards on Tenerife, which may favour the maintenance of a high phylogenetic diversity of parasites.
Keywords: Canary Islands, climate change, next-generation sequencing, phylogenetic analyses, zoology, ecology
Published in DiRROS: 16.05.2024; Views: 23; Downloads: 8
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5. European genetic resources conservation in a rapidly changing world : three existential challenges for the crop, forest and animal domains in the 21st centuryFrançois Lefévre, Danijela Bojkovski, Magda Bou Dagher Kharrat, Michele Bozzano, Eléonore Charvolin-Lemaire, Sipke Joost Hiemstra, Hojka Kraigher, Denis Laloë, Gwendal Restoux, Suzanne Sharrock, Enrico Sturaro, Theo J. L. van Hintum, Marjana Westergren, Nigel Maxted, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: Even though genetic resources represent a fundamental reservoir of options to achieve sustainable development goals in a changing world, they are overlooked in the policy agenda and severely threatened. The conservation of genetic resources relies on complementary in situ and ex situ approaches appropriately designed for each type of organism. Environmental and socioeconomic changes raise new challenges and opportunities for sustainable use and conservation of genetic resources. Aiming at a more integrated and adaptive approach, European scientists and genetic resources managers with long experience in the agricultural crop, animal and forestry domains joined their expertise to address three critical challenges: (1) how to adapt genetic resources conservation strategies to climate change, (2) how to promote in situ conservation strategies and (3) how can genetic resources conservation contribute to and benefit from agroecological systems. We present here 31 evidence-based statements and 88 key recommendations elaborated around these questions for policymakers, conservation actors and the scientific community. We anticipate that stakeholders in other genetic resources domains and biodiversity conservation actors across the globe will have interest in these crosscutting and multi-actor recommendations, which support several biodiversity conservation policies and practices.
Keywords: agroecology, climate change, in situ conservation, multi-actor engagement, policy
Published in DiRROS: 11.03.2024; Views: 194; Downloads: 80
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6. A new approach towards a user-driven coastal climate service to enhance climate resilience in European citiesRoberta Paranunzio, Iulia Anton, Elisa Adirosi, Tasneem Ahmed, Luca Baldini, Carlo Brandini, Filippo Giannetti, Cécil J. W. Meulenberg, Alberto Ortolani, Francesco Pilla, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: Coastal climate services play a crucial role in developing customised climate information for diverse end-users and stakeholders. To build climate-resilient societies, decision-makers should be empowered through easy access to powerful tools that enable timely adaptation to future and ongoing hazards. For this reason, fit-for-purpose climate services are needed to conduct accurate historical characterisation and projections for interpretative studies on climate- and water-related risks at the local coastal scale. The EU-funded SCORE project (Smart Control of Climate Resilience in European Coastal Cities) utilises climate and marine services for the development of smart technologies that support nature-based solutions to address specific concerns, including rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and coastal flooding due to extreme weather events. As part of the SCORE project, decision-makers will be able to address climate change-related coastal effects in their own cities through novel participatory approaches (Coastal City Living Labs—CCLLs). As part of this framework, this work (i) discusses the main requirements for the identification of fit-for-purpose coastal climate services for local-scale impact studies in European coastal cities based on CCLL requests and prior knowledge and (ii) provides relevant parameters and features that fulfil the users’ needs.
Keywords: ecosystem, ecosystem services, climate change adaptation, coastal climate service, urban areas, climate resilience, coastal hazards
Published in DiRROS: 05.01.2024; Views: 245; Downloads: 110
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7. Attitudes of Slovenian school children towards forests and climate change : a study by the Forest of experimentsBoris Rantaša, Ajša Alagić, Amina Gačo, Martin Jež, Mateja Kraševec, Urša Vilhar, 2023, other monographs and other completed works Keywords: forestst, climate changes, school children, Slovenia, environmental education, forest pedagogy, Slovenian Forestry Institute, Forest of experiments, LIFE SySTEMiC
Published in DiRROS: 15.12.2023; Views: 274; Downloads: 76
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8. Low but significant evolutionary potential for growth, phenology and reproduction traits in European beechMarjana Westergren, Juliette Archambeau, Marko Bajc, Rok Damjanić, Adélaïde Theraroz, Hojka Kraigher, Sylvie Oddou-Muratorio, Santiago C. González-Martínez, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: Local survival of forest tree populations under climate change depends on existing genetic variation and their adaptability to changing environments. Responses to selection were studied in European beech (Fagus sylvatica) under field conditions. A total of 1087 adult trees, seeds, 1-year-old seedlings and established multiyear saplings were genotyped with 16 nuSSRs. Adult trees were assessed for phenotypic traits related to growth, phenology and reproduction. Parentage and paternity analyses were used to estimate effective female and male fecundity as a proxy of fitness and showed that few parents contributed to successful regeneration. Selection gradients were estimated from the relationship between traits and fecundity, while heritability and evolvability were estimated using mixed models and the breeder's equation. Larger trees bearing more fruit and early male flowering had higher total fecundity, while trees with longer growth season had lower total fecundity (directional selection). Stabilizing selection on spring phenology was found for female fecundity, highlighting the role of late frosts as a selection driver. Selection gradients for other traits varied between measurement years and the offspring cohort used to estimate parental fecundity. Compared to other studies in natural populations, we found low to moderate heritability and evolvability for most traits. Response to selection was higher for growth than for budburst, leaf senescence or reproduction traits, reflecting more consistent selection gradients across years and sex functions, and higher phenotypic variability in the population. Our study provides empirical evidence suggesting that populations of long-lived organisms such as forest trees can adapt locally, even at short-time scales.
Keywords: climate change, Fagus sylvatica, heritability, in situ adaptation, response to selection, selection gradients
Published in DiRROS: 12.12.2023; Views: 220; Downloads: 104
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9. Coastal flood risk assessment : an approach to accurately map flooding through national registry-reported eventsErik Kralj, Peter Kumer, Cécil J. W. Meulenberg, 2023, original scientific article Keywords: sea flood prediction, flooding maps, climate change resilience, natural disaster registry, coastal inundation, flood-prone areas
Published in DiRROS: 08.12.2023; Views: 276; Downloads: 120
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