The role of competition and herbivory in biotic resistance against invaders: a synergistic effect

Invasive species pose a major threat to global diversity, and once they are well established their eradication typically becomes unfeasible. However, certain natural mechanisms can increase the resistance of native communities to invaders and can be used to guide effective management policies. Both competition and herbivory have been identified as potential biotic resistance mechanisms that can limit plant invasiveness, but it is still under debate to what extent they might be effective against well-established invaders. Surprisingly, whereas biotic mechanisms are known to interact strongly, most studies to date have examined single biotic mechanisms separately, which likely influences our understanding of the strength and effectiveness of biotic resistance against invaders. Here we use long-term field data, benthic assemblage sampling, and exclusion experiments to assess the effect of native assemblage complexity and herbivory on the invasion dynamics of a successful invasive species, the alga Caulerpa cylindracea. A higher complexity of the native algal assemblage limited C. cylindracea invasion, probably through competition by canopy-forming and erect algae. Additionally, high herbivory pressure by the fish Sarpa salpa reduced C. cylindracea abundance by more than four times. However, long-term data of the invasion reflects that biotic resistance strength can vary across the invasion process and it is only where high assemblage complexity is concomitant with high herbivory pressure, that the most significant limitation is observed (synergistic effect). Overall, the findings reported in this study highlight that neglecting the interactions between biotic mechanisms during invasive processes and restricting the studied time scales may lead to underestimations of the true capacity of native assemblages to develop resistance to invaders.Versión del editor4,84

Establecimiento del tamaño de raciones de consumo de frutas y hortalizas para su uso en guías alimentarias en el entorno español: propuesta del Comité Científico de la Asociación 5 al día

Introduction: Food servings are standard amounts of food stuffs or drinks to help dietetic advice to promote and preserve health. The aim is to establish the serving size of fruits and vegetables (FH) to be used in food based dietary guidelines (FBDG). Material and Methods: Methodology of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was adapted to establish serving sizes for FBDG, along of the followed by the food exchange system. Data was collected from the FH portion sizes reported in nutritional surveys and common sizes available in the Spanish market, and they were adjusted to an easily recognisable quantities of food with equivalence on key nutrients: the compliance with public health goals for FH consumption was evaluated. Results: Portion sizes typically reported in Spanish nutrition surveys are scarce and not homogeneous, and no data published in scientific journals on portion sizes were available. The Spanish FBDG, in spite of showing a range of serving size for FH, do not assure that they are interchangeable nor specify the method to obtein them.The serving of vegetables was 139,44g (DS:+/- 21.98, CV:0.16), 137,68g (DS:+/- 49,61, CV:0,36) for fruits and 28.00g (DS:+/- 7,53, CV:0.27) for dried fruits. Conclusions: With the established servings, the recommendation of consuming "at least 5 servings of FH a day" would allow reaching the Public Health goals for FH established in 600g (net weight)/person/day. It is recommended that the Spanish Agency for Consumers, Food Safety and Nutrition (AECOSAN) uses this methodology to establish serving sizes for the rest of food groups that make up the FBDG for the Spanish population.Introducción: Las raciones de consumo son cantidades estándar de alimentos o bebidas sugeri-das para asesorar sobre la cantidad de alimento a consumir para preservar un estado de salud adecuado. El objetivo principal de este trabajo es establecer los tamaños de ración de consumo de frutas y hortalizas (FH) para uso en guías alimentarias.Material y Métodos: Se adaptó la metodología de la United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) para el establecimiento de los tamaños de ración de consumo para guías, y la del Sistema de Intercambios. Se recopilaron datos de porción reportados en encuestas y calibres comunes en el mercado, se ajustó a cantidades de alimento fácilmente reconocibles y con equivalencia de nutrientes clave y se evaluó el grado de cumplimiento de los objetivos de salud pública para el consumo de FH. Resultados: Los tamaños de porción típicamente reportados en encuestas españolas son escasos y poco homogéneos, y no se encontraron datos publicados en revistas científicas sobre los cali-bres. Las guías alimentarias españolas, a pesar de mostrar un rango de tamaño de ración para FH no aseguran que sean intercambiables ni especifican el método para llegar a las mismas. La ración de hortalizas obtenida ha sido de 139,44g (DS:±21,98; CV:0,16), de 137,68g (DS:±49,61; CV:0,36) para frutas y 28,00g (DS:±7,53; CV:0,27) para frutas desecadas. . Conclusiones: Con las raciones establecidas, el mensaje “consume al menos 5 raciones entre FH al día” permitiría alcanzar los objetivo de Salud Pública para FH establecidos en 600g (peso neto)/persona/día. Se recomienda a la Agencia Española de Consumo, Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (AECOSAN) que use esta misma metodología para el establecimiento de raciones en el resto de grupos de alimentos que configuran la Guía Dietética Basada en Alimentos para la población española

Database of spatial distribution of non indigenous species in Spanish marine waters

Research in marine Spanish waters are focused on several actions to achieve an effectively management on protected areas, with the active participation of the stakeholders and research as basic tools for decision-making. Among these actions, there is one about the knowledge and control on NIS. One of its objectives is the creation of NIS factsheets, which are going to be added to the National Marine Biodiversity Geographical System (GIS) providing complementary information about taxonomic classification, common names, taxonomic synonyms, species illustrations, identification morphological characters, habitat in the native and introduced regions, biological and ecological traits, GenBank DNA sequences, world distribution, first record and evolution in the introduced areas, likely pathways of introduction, effects in the habitats and interaction with native species, and potential management measures to apply. The database will also provide data for (1) the European online platforms, (2) the environmental assessment for the Descriptor 2 (D2-NIS) of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), as well as (3) supporting decisions made by stakeholders. It is the result of extensive collaboration among scientist, manager’s and citizen science in the Spanish North-Atlantic, South-Atlantic, Gibraltar Strait-Alboran, Levantine-Balearic and Canary Islands marine divisions, providing an updated overview of the spatial distribution of relevant extended and invasive NIS of recent and established NIS introduced by maritime transport and aquaculture pathways, as well as on cryptogenic or native species in expansion due to the climatic water warming trend

Physico-chemical, biological and geological study of an underwater volcano in a degassing stage: Island of El Hierro

El objetivo principal del proyecto “Physico-chemical, biological and geological study of an underwater volcano in a degassing stage: Island of El Hierro”, (VULCANO-II) es estudiar, desde un punto de vista totalmente interdisciplinar, la fase de desgasificación activa del único volcán submarino monitoreado desde su nacimiento en aguas españolas. De esta forma, se pretende además, dar continuidad a los estudios multidisciplinares realizados sobre el volcán submarino de la isla de El Hierro en el contexto del proyecto del Plan Nacional VULCANO-I, (CTM2012-36317) y VULCANA (Vulcanología Canaria Submarina, IEO). Para ello, se realizará la monitorización de las propiedades físico-químicas, biológicas y geológicas del proceso eruptivo submarino de la isla de El Hierro y otros puntos sensibles, como el volcán de Enmedio entre Gran Canaria y Tenerif

Atlas de las praderas marinas de España

Knowledge of the distribution and extent of seagrass habitats is currently the basis of management and conservation policies of the coastal zones in most European countries. This basic information is being requested through European directives for the establishment of monitoring programmes and the implementation of specific actions to preserve the marine environment. In addition, this information is crucial for the quantification of the ecological importance usually attributed to seagrass habitats due to, for instance, their involvement in biogeochemical cycles, marine biodiversity and quality of coastal waters or global carbon budgets. The seagrass atlas of Spain represents a huge collective effort performed by 84 authors across 30 Spanish institutions largely involved in the scientific research, management and conservation of seagrass habitats during the last three decades. They have contributed to the availability of the most precise and realistic seagrass maps for each region of the Spanish coast which have been integrated in a GIS to obtain the distribution and area of each seagrass species. Most of this information has independently originated at a regional level by regional governments, universities and public research organisations, which explain the elevated heterogeneity in criteria, scales, methods and objectives of the available information. On this basis, seagrass habitats in Spain occupy a total surface of 1,541,63 km2, 89% of which is concentrated in the Mediterranean regions; the rest is present in sheltered estuarine areas of the Atlantic peninsular regions and in the open coastal waters of the Canary Islands, which represents 50% of the Atlantic meadows. Of this surface, 71.5% corresponds to Posidonia oceanica, 19.5% to Cymodocea nodosa, 3.1% to Zostera noltii (=Nanozostera noltii), 0.3% to Zostera marina and 1.2% to Halophila decipiens. Species distribution maps are presented (including Ruppia spp.), together with maps of the main impacts and pressures that has affected or threatened their conservation status, as well as the management tools established for their protection and conservation. Despite this considerable effort, and the fact that Spain has mapped wide shelf areas, the information available is still incomplete and with weak precision in many regions, which will require an investment of major effort in the near future to complete the whole picture and respond to demands of EU directives.Versión del edito

Atlas de las praderas marinas de España

Knowledge of the distribution and extent of seagrass habitats is currently the basis of management and conservation policies of the coastal zones in most European countries. This basic information is being requested through European directives for the establishment of monitoring programmes and the implementation of specific actions to preserve the marine environment. In addition, this information is crucial for the quantification of the ecological importance usually attributed to seagrass habitats due to, for instance, their involvement in biogeochemical cycles, marine biodiversity and quality of coastal waters or global carbon budgets. The seagrass atlas of Spain represents a huge collective effort performed by 84 authors across 30 Spanish institutions largely involved in the scientific research, management and conservation of seagrass habitats during the last three decades. They have contributed to the availability of the most precise and realistic seagrass maps for each region of the Spanish coast which have been integrated in a GIS to obtain the distribution and area of each seagrass species. Most of this information has independently originated at a regional level by regional governments, universities and public research organisations, which explain the elevated heterogeneity in criteria, scales, methods and objectives of the available information. On this basis, seagrass habitats in Spain occupy a total surface of 1,541,63 km2, 89% of which is concentrated in the Mediterranean regions; the rest is present in sheltered estuarine areas of the Atlantic peninsular regions and in the open coastal waters of the Canary Islands, which represents 50% of the Atlantic meadows. Of this surface, 71.5% corresponds to Posidonia oceanica, 19.5% to Cymodocea nodosa, 3.1% to Zostera noltii (=Nanozostera noltii), 0.3% to Zostera marina and 1.2% to Halophila decipiens. Species distribution maps are presented (including Ruppia spp.), together with maps of the main impacts and pressures that has affected or threatened their conservation status, as well as the management tools established for their protection and conservation. Despite this considerable effort, and the fact that Spain has mapped wide shelf areas, the information available is still incomplete and with weak precision in many regions, which will require an investment of major effort in the near future to complete the whole picture and respond to demands of EU directives