The interplay of wind and uplift facilitates over-water flight in facultative soaring birds.

Flying over the open sea is energetically costly for terrestrial birds. Despite this, over-water journeys of many birds, sometimes hundreds of kilometres long, are uncovered by bio-logging technology. To understand how these birds afford their flights over the open sea, we investigated the role of atmospheric conditions, specifically wind and uplift, in subsidizing over-water flight at a global scale. We first established that ΔT, the temperature difference between sea surface and air, is a meaningful proxy for uplift over water. Using this proxy, we showed that the spatio-temporal patterns of sea-crossing in terrestrial migratory birds are associated with favourable uplift conditions. We then analysed route selection over the open sea for five facultative soaring species, representative of all major migratory flyways. The birds maximized wind support when selecting their sea-crossing routes and selected greater uplift when suitable wind support was available. They also preferred routes with low long-term uncertainty in wind conditions. Our findings suggest that, in addition to wind, uplift may play a key role in the energy seascape for bird migration that in turn determines strategies and associated costs for birds crossing ecological barriers such as the open sea

Ecological specialization to fluctuating resources prevents long-distance migratory raptors from becoming sedentary on islands.

Background The adaptive transition between behavioral strategies, such as the shift from migratoriness to sedentariness, remains an outstanding question in evolutionary ecology. Density-dependent variation in the age of first breeding has been proposed as a feasible mechanism through which long-lived migratory birds with deferred sexual maturity should become sedentary to persist on islands. Although this pattern seems to hold for most raptors and herons, a few exceptions have been identified. One of these exceptions is the Eleonora's falcon, a long-distance migratory bird, which shows one of the most peculiar adaptations in the timing of reproduction and food requirements among raptors. Methodology/Principal Findings Here, we compiled data concerning demography, banding recoveries and satellite tracking of Eleonora's falcons to discuss likely explanations for the exceptional behavior of this insular long-distance migratory species. Conclusions/Significance New data reveal that Eleonora's falcons do return to the natal colonies in their first year and young birds are able to breed. However, in contrast to previous hypothesis, the highly specialized strategy of this and other ecologically similar species, as well as the virtual lack of food during winter at breeding areas prevent them from becoming sedentary on islands. Although the ultimate mechanisms underlying the process of sedentarization remain poorly understood, the evidence provided reveal the existence of important trade-offs associated with ecological specialization that may become particularly relevant in the present context of global change

Transcriptomic analysis of the late stages of grapevine (Vitis vinifera cv. Cabernet Sauvignon) berry ripening reveals significant induction of ethylene signaling and flavor pathways in the skin

Background: Grapevine berry, a nonclimacteric fruit, has three developmental stages; the last one is when berrycolor and sugar increase. Flavors derived from terpenoid and fatty acid metabolism develop at the very end of thisripening stage. The transcriptomic response of pulp and skin of Cabernet Sauvignon berries in the late stages ofripening between 22 and 37 \ub0Brix was assessed using whole-genome micorarrays.Results: The transcript abundance of approximately 18,000 genes changed with \ub0Brix and tissue type. There were alarge number of changes in many gene ontology (GO) categories involving metabolism, signaling and abioticstress. GO categories reflecting tissue differences were overrepresented in photosynthesis, isoprenoid metabolismand pigment biosynthesis. Detailed analysis of the interaction of the skin and pulp with \ub0Brix revealed that therewere statistically significantly higher abundances of transcripts changing with \ub0Brix in the skin that were involved inethylene signaling, isoprenoid and fatty acid metabolism. Many transcripts were peaking around known optimalfruit stages for flavor production. The transcript abundance of approximately two-thirds of the AP2/ERF superfamilyof transcription factors changed during these developmental stages. The transcript abundance of a unique clade ofERF6-type transcription factors had the largest changes in the skin and clustered with genes involved in ethylene,senescence, and fruit flavor production including ACC oxidase, terpene synthases, and lipoxygenases. The transcriptabundance of important transcription factors involved in fruit ripening was also higher in the skin.Conclusions: A detailed analysis of the transcriptome dynamics during late stages of ripening of grapevine berriesrevealed that these berries went through massive transcriptional changes in gene ontology categories involvingchemical signaling and metabolism in both the pulp and skin, particularly in the skin. Changes in the transcriptabundance of genes involved in the ethylene signaling pathway of this nonclimacteric fruit were statisticallysignificant in the late stages of ripening when the production of transcripts for important flavor and aroma compoundswere at their highest. Ethylene transcription factors known to play a role in leaf senescence also appear to play a role infruit senescence. Ethylene may play a bigger role than previously thought in this non-climacteric fruit

The roadless map of Greece

Scientific contextRoadless land conservation is a measurable tool to preserve the nature of high ecological integrity, hamper fragmentation, and address biodiversity decline (Ibisch et al. 2016; Kati et al. 2020). Greece has introduced a roadless legislation to this aim (BCL 2022; Kati et al. 2022) but risks rapid habitat loss from RES deployment (Kati et al. 2021). Biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning is needed, and roadless maps can be valuable tools for this aim under the Global and European Biodiversity Strategy.DescriptionThe dataset is the roadless map of Greece (5/2022), updating a previous work (Kati et al. 2020). Definitions: Roadless Core Area (RCA) is any land patch (excluding large waterbodies) that has a size greater than 1 km2 and lies at least 1 km away from the nearest road (accessible by motor vehicles, excluding paths). Roadless Area (RA) is the RCA and its 1 km buffer zone. Roadless Island (RI) and Roadless islet (Ri) are any non-artificial islands that are road-free in all their area, with a size above and below 1 km2, respectively. Roadless Fragmentation Indicator (RFI) is the percentage of RAs plus RIs of the Greek territory. Content: The dataset includes high-confidence data and consists of four sub-databases in kmz format: (a) 389 RCAs (different colors indicate five different size categories: 1-5, 5-10, 10-20,20-50 and >50 km2, (b) 389 RAs (including the RCAs), (c) 62 RI and (d) 3,456 Ris. Nota: The RFI is 6.1%. Most of the roadless sites had a size of over 1,000ha, lying in mountains and islands.Significance, use, limitationsWe recommend using the database to: •Expand the Greek roadless legislation to roadless sites of at least 1,000ha.•Include roadless sites in the strictly protected zones of the national network of protected areas (EC 2020).•Identify new areas for expanding and connecting the network of protected areas (EC 2020).•Define exclusion zones for new infrastructure development across sectors (SEAs) for Renewable Energy Sources, transport, tourism, industry, etc. •Update the SEBI 13 indicator (EEA 2012) and monitor fragmentation in Greece in more natural ecosystems (RFI) •Trigger policies toward landscape conservation and fragmentation minimization (CoE 2000; EC 2020).•Identify wilderness areas of Greece and map old-growth forestsFundingGreen Fund of Greece: program “Natural environment and innovative environmental actions 2021”.ReferencesBCL 2022. https://bc.lab.uoi.gr/en/research/projects/roadless/CoE 2000. https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/176 EC 2020. https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/communication-eu-biodiversity-strategy-2030-bringing-nature-back-our-lives_en EEA 2012. https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/streamlining-european-biodiversity-indicators-2020 Ibisch et al. 2016. http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf7166 Kati et al. 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/d12040124 Kati et al. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo2014THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV