Ecología y conservación del Cernícalo Primilla durante el periodo premigratorio

164 p.El periodo premigratorio, o post-reproductor, es una parte del ciclo vital muy poco estudiada en aves migradoras y su importancia es aún poco conocida desde el punto de vista ecológico y de conservación. Esta tesis presenta resultados sobre la ecología y conservación del Cernícalo Primilla durante el periodo post-reproductor en una de las principales áreas premigratorias conocidas en Europa. Específicamente se ha estudiado 1) cómo se distribuye espacialmente la abundancia de cernícalos primillas y qué factores determinan esta distribución, 2) cuántos dormideros comunales estivales hay y cuántos individuos los usan, 3) el uso del espacio los cernícalos primillas en el entorno de los dormideros, 4) las preferencias de hábitat de los cernícalos primillas y los hábitats usados cazar, y 5) la importancia que tienen para el cernícalo primilla los hábitats seminaturales (linderos y barbechos) en el paisaje agrícola durante el periodo premigratorio

Inferring resilience to fragmentation-induced changes in plant communities in a semi-arid Mediterranean ecosystem

Predicting the capacity of ecosystems to absorb impacts from disturbance events (resilience), including land-use intensification and landscape fragmentation, is challenging in the face of global change. Little is known about the impacts of fragmentation on ecosystem functioning from a multi-dimensional perspective (multiple traits). This study used 58 500-m linear transects to quantify changes in the functional composition and resilience of vascular plant communities in response to an increase in landscape fragmentation in 18 natural scrubland fragments embedded within a matrix of abandoned crop fields in Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, Almería, Spain. Changes in functional community composition were measured using functional diversity indices (functional richness and functional dispersion) that were based on 12 plant traits. Resilience was evaluated using the functional redundancy and response diversity from the perspective of plant dispersal, which is important, particularly, in fragmented landscapes. Scrubland fragmentation was measured using the Integral Index of Connectivity (IIC). The functional richness of the plant communities was higher in the most fragmented scrubland. Conversely, the functional dispersion (i.e., spread) of trait values among species in the functional trait space was lower at the most fragmented sites; consequently, the ecological tolerance of the vegetation to scrubland fragmentation decreased. Classifying the plant species into four functional groups indicated that fragmentation favoured an increase in functional redundancy in the 'short basal annual forbs and perennial forbs' group, most of which are species adapted to degraded soils. An assessment based on the traits associated with plant dispersal indicated that the resilience of 'woody plants ', an important component in the Mediterranean scrubland, and habitat fragmentation were negatively correlated; however, the correlation was positive in the 'short basal annual forbs and perennial forbs ' and the 'grasses' groups. © 2015 de Frutos et al.We are grateful to Beatriz Bueno, Elena Lahoz, Benjamin Komac, and Virginia Pascual for assisting with the collection of field data. We thank Luis Villar for his help in translating the biological types. María Felipe, Maite Gartzia, Bruce MacWhirter, and two referees provided critical comments and helpful suggestions on the manuscript.Peer Reviewe

La didáctica de las ciencias naturales: una propuesta de aula para trabajar los seres vivos en 1º de Infantil.

La Educación Ambiental es un término que está poco integrado en el currículo de Educación Infantil. En este trabajo se propone una propuesta de intervención para trabajar la Educación Ambiental mediante los animales de granja, utilizando una metodología basada en proyectos combinada con la observación, mediante el diseño de recursos y actividades con el objetivo de contribuir a la Educación Ambiental y despertar un sentimiento de respeto yempatía, en el alumnado, hacía los animales de granja.Todo ello se podrá observar en la puesta en práctica, en un aula de 1º de Infantil, con diferentes sesiones de carácter más teórico y con sesiones de ciencia vivida donde el alumnado a través de su cuerpo experimentará con el entorno. Finalmente, culminará con la exposición de los resultados obtenidos en la aplicación de las sesiones en un aula de 1º de Infantil y también con las reflexiones de los resultados adquiridos.<br /

Habitat selection and diet of Western Capercaillie

P. 260-272Ecological features and conservation requirements of populations at the latitudinal limits of a species’ geographical range frequently differ from those in other parts of the range. Identifying such differences is key to implementing effective conservation strategies for threatened range-edge populations especially, in the context of rapid global warming, at the lower-latitude range edge. We studied habitat selection and diet of the endangered Cantabrian Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus cantabricus in a recently discovered population at the southernmost edge of the sub-species’ range. This is the only Western Capercaillie population in the Mediterranean biogeographical region. We combined non-systematic surveys based on questionnaires, reports and field sampling with data from radiotracking to assess habitat selection. Diet was surveyed by micro-histological methods from droppings collected in the new population, which inhabits Pyrenean Oak Quercus pyrenaica forests and Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris plantations, and in two Cantabrian populations inhabiting Eurosiberian forests. Capercaillie preferred large (> 500 ha) and medium-sized (100–500 ha) Pyrenean Oak forest fragments and large Scots Pine plantations. Forest fragments smaller than 100 ha and non-forested habitats were always avoided. Diet differed markedly between Mediterranean and Eurosiberian populations. Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus is common in the diet of most Capercaillie populations but was scarce in the study area and so was rare in the diet of the new population. Instead, Rockrose Halimium lasianthum was described for the first time as a major food resource for the Capercaillie and was consumed in autumn and winter. Pine needles were also heavily consumed in winter. We document for the first time the strong preference of Capercaillie for Pyrenean Oak forests and a moderately high consumption of the leaves, buds and acorns of this tree species throughout the year. Habitat selection and diet of this Mediterranean population differ from those of the core Cantabrian and other populations. Our results suggest a wider environmental tolerance (phenotypic plasticity) in the species than previously recognized. We advocate specific protection for this unique range-edge Capercaillie population and its Pyrenean Oak forest habitatS

¡Cabo de Gata está hecho un mosaico!

4 páginas. Presentación elaborada para las II Jornadas IPErinas, celebradas el 12 de diciembre de 2013.Peer reviewe

Plant β-diversity in human-altered forest ecosystems: the importance of the structural, spatial, and topographical characteristics of stands in patterning plant species assemblages

37 páginas, 5 figuras, 2 apéndices.[EN] An understanding of spatial patterns of plant species diversity and the factors that drive those patterns is critical for the development of appropriate biodiversity management in forest ecosystems. We studied the spatial organization of plant species in human-modified and managed oak forests (primarily, Quercus faginea) in the Central Pre-Pyrenees, Spain. To test whether plant community assemblages varied non-randomly across the spatial scales, we used multiplicative diversity partitioning based on a nested hierarchical design of three increasingly coarser spatial scales (transect, stand, region). To quantify the importance of the structural, spatial, and topographical characteristics of stands in patterning plant species assemblages and identify the determinants of plant diversity patterns, we used canonical ordination. We observed a high contribution of β-diversity to total γ-diversity and found β-diversity to be higher and α-diversity to be lower than expected by random distributions of individuals at different spatial scales. Results, however, partly depended on the weighting of rare and abundant species. Variables expressing the historical management intensities of the stand such as mean stand age, the abundance of the dominant tree species (Q. faginea), age structure of the stand, and stand size were the main factors that explained the compositional variation in plant communities. The results indicate that (1) the structural, spatial, and topographical characteristics of the forest stands have the greatest effect on diversity patterns, (2) forests in landscapes that have different land use histories are environmentally heterogeneous and, therefore, can experience high levels of compositional differentiation, even at local scales (e.g., within the same stand). Maintaining habitat heterogeneity at multiple spatial scales should be considered in the development of management plans for enhancing plant diversity and related functions in human-altered forests.We thank Arben Q. Alla, Gabriel Sangüesa-Barreda, Guillermo C. Bueno, Benjamin Komac, Maite Gartzia, Hugo Saiz, and Paloma Nuche for assistance in the field. Y.K. was funded by a MAEC-AECID grant from the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development, and A.F. was supported by a JAE-doc postdoctoral contract from the framework “Junta para la Ampliación de Estudios” (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness), co-financed by the European Social Fund. This study was part of the research project CGL2011-27259 (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and Innovation) co-financed by the FEDER.Peer reviewe

Responses of medium- and large-sized bird diversity to irrigation in dry cereal agroecosystems across spatial scales

Conserving biological diversity under agriculture intensification is a global challenge given that the intensification process erodes biodiversity worldwide. Recently, efforts have begun to move towards conserving biodiversity in intensified farmland ecosystems, but there is little understanding of how some kinds of intensification (e.g., irrigation) affect biodiversity. We aimed to assess the responses of farmland bird diversity along an agricultural intensification gradient from dry to irrigation across spatial scales. We covered 10-km-survey transects by car to census medium- and large-sized farmland birds through a decreasing gradient of agricultural intensification ranging from irrigated to dry cereal farming systems in North-western Spain. We evaluated diversity of breeding and winter birds using different measures (species richness, abundance, and true Shannon diversity), and partitioning diversity into spatial components (α, β, and γ). We used turnover and variation partitioning to assess the variation in species composition. Changes from dry to irrigated farmland had no effects on (total) species richness, total abundance, and partitioning of farmland bird diversity in any season. However, irrigation led to changes in species composition, severely affecting open-habitat specialist species, most of which were threatened steppe birds. Βeta(β)-diversity at landscape scale (between-transects) contributed to total diversity as much or more than β-diversity at regional scale (between-farming sub-areas with different degrees of intensification) in both seasons (i.e. spring and winter). Our study suggests a homogenization of the farmland bird community at regional scale driven by intensification. Promoting landscape-scale habitat heterogeneity could be an effective management measure to improve bird diversity in intensified farmland ecosystems, as long as requirements of open-habitat specialists are met. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.This research was supported by the Junta de Castilla y León (SEK02B06), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (CGL2006-05047/BOS) and FEDER. AF was financed by a JAE-DOC postdoctoral contract from CSIC and Fondo Social Europeo. PMT was supported by a postdoctoral grant funded by Junta de Comunidad de Castilla-La Mancha and Fondo Social Europeo.Peer Reviewe

Modelling landscape management scenarios for equitable and sustainable futures in rural areas based on ecosystem services

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permitsunrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Scenario analysis is a useful technique to inform landscape planning of social-ecological systems by modelling future trends in ecosystem service supply and distribution. This is especially critical in floodplain agroecosystems of rural areas, which are at risk of losing riparian forest corridors due to increasing land use conversion for agricultural production and other ecosystem services due to rural abandonment. However, few studies investigating the effects of land management combine social and ecological modelling in scenario analyses. We estimated the supply of 16 ecosystem services under five alternative scenarios along two gradients: agricultural intensification of the floodplain and active ecological restoration of the riparian forest. We used redundancy analyses to detect ecosystem service bundles and interviews to identify societal gains and losses associated with each management scenario. Our results show how land management influences both the supply and distribution of ecosystem services. Scenarios promoting active ecological restoration supplied more services and benefited a larger range of societal sectors than scenarios focused on provisioning services. We also found two consistent bundles across scenarios, one related to less intensive food supply and another one related to outdoor activities. Interestingly, additional services were included in these bundles in the different scenarios, reflecting land management effects. Landscape scale management promoting both the conservation of ecosystem functioning and the sustainable use of provisioning services could supply a more balanced set of ecosystem services and benefit a larger number of societal sectors, contributing to more equitable and sustainable futures in rural areas.Peer reviewe

Habitat selection and diet of Western Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus in an atypical biogeographical region

Ecological features and conservation requirements of populations at the latitudinal limits of a species' geographical range frequently differ from those in other parts of the range. Identifying such differences is key to implementing effective conservation strategies for threatened range-edge populations especially, in the context of rapid global warming, at the lower-latitude range edge. We studied habitat selection and diet of the endangered Cantabrian Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus cantabricus in a recently discovered population at the southernmost edge of the sub-species' range. This is the only Western Capercaillie population in the Mediterranean biogeographical region. We combined non-systematic surveys based on questionnaires, reports and field sampling with data from radiotracking to assess habitat selection. Diet was surveyed by micro-histological methods from droppings collected in the new population, which inhabits Pyrenean Oak Quercus pyrenaica forests and Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris plantations, and in two Cantabrian populations inhabiting Eurosiberian forests. Capercaillie preferred large (>500ha) and medium-sized (100-500ha) Pyrenean Oak forest fragments and large Scots Pine plantations. Forest fragments smaller than 100ha and non-forested habitats were always avoided. Diet differed markedly between Mediterranean and Eurosiberian populations. Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus is common in the diet of most Capercaillie populations but was scarce in the study area and so was rare in the diet of the new population. Instead, Rockrose Halimium lasianthum was described for the first time as a major food resource for the Capercaillie and was consumed in autumn and winter. Pine needles were also heavily consumed in winter. We document for the first time the strong preference of Capercaillie for Pyrenean Oak forests and a moderately high consumption of the leaves, buds and acorns of this tree species throughout the year. Habitat selection and diet of this Mediterranean population differ from those of the core Cantabrian and other populations. Our results suggest a wider environmental tolerance (phenotypic plasticity) in the species than previously recognized. We advocate specific protection for this unique range-edge Capercaillie population and its Pyrenean Oak forest habitat.We thank the Consejería de Medio Ambiente of the Junta de Castilla y León and the Fundación Biodiversidad for staff and field support during radiotracking. P.M.T. was supported by a postdoctoral grant funded by Consejería de Educación, Ciencia y Cultura de la Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha and Fondo Social Europeo. M.A.G. was financed by a predoctoral scholarship of the Universidad de León.Peer Reviewe

Habitat selection and diet of Western Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus in an atypical biogeographical region

Ecological features and conservation requirements of populations at the latitudinal limits of a species' geographical range frequently differ from those in other parts of the range. Identifying such differences is key to implementing effective conservation strategies for threatened range-edge populations especially, in the context of rapid global warming, at the lower-latitude range edge. We studied habitat selection and diet of the endangered Cantabrian Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus cantabricus in a recently discovered population at the southernmost edge of the sub-species' range. This is the only Western Capercaillie population in the Mediterranean biogeographical region. We combined non-systematic surveys based on questionnaires, reports and field sampling with data from radiotracking to assess habitat selection. Diet was surveyed by micro-histological methods from droppings collected in the new population, which inhabits Pyrenean Oak Quercus pyrenaica forests and Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris plantations, and in two Cantabrian populations inhabiting Eurosiberian forests. Capercaillie preferred large (>500ha) and medium-sized (100-500ha) Pyrenean Oak forest fragments and large Scots Pine plantations. Forest fragments smaller than 100ha and non-forested habitats were always avoided. Diet differed markedly between Mediterranean and Eurosiberian populations. Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus is common in the diet of most Capercaillie populations but was scarce in the study area and so was rare in the diet of the new population. Instead, Rockrose Halimium lasianthum was described for the first time as a major food resource for the Capercaillie and was consumed in autumn and winter. Pine needles were also heavily consumed in winter. We document for the first time the strong preference of Capercaillie for Pyrenean Oak forests and a moderately high consumption of the leaves, buds and acorns of this tree species throughout the year. Habitat selection and diet of this Mediterranean population differ from those of the core Cantabrian and other populations. Our results suggest a wider environmental tolerance (phenotypic plasticity) in the species than previously recognized. We advocate specific protection for this unique range-edge Capercaillie population and its Pyrenean Oak forest habitat.We thank the Consejería de Medio Ambiente of the Junta de Castilla y León and the Fundación Biodiversidad for staff and field support during radiotracking. P.M.T. was supported by a postdoctoral grant funded by Consejería de Educación, Ciencia y Cultura de la Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha and Fondo Social Europeo. M.A.G. was financed by a predoctoral scholarship of the Universidad de León.Peer Reviewe