Climate change and mountain birds: how exposed is the Northern Wheatear to local extinctions?

Mountain areas host unique biodiversity, and mountain species show specific ecological adaptations enabling survival in extreme climatic conditions. Under the current context of climate change, mountain bird populations tend to shift their ranges to higher elevations, tracking their climatic optima. Nevertheless, space limitations at high altitudes constrain the possibilities of mountain species to cope with climatic changes and make them particularly vulnerable. In an extreme case, the climatic niche of some of these species can move beyond the mountain tops, driving such species ultimately to extinction. We are studying the case of the Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) in Spain, and we have compared the breeding distribution of this alpine bird between 2003 and 2022. Spain is in the southernmost distribution limit of the species in Europe, where Wheatears mostly occupy mountainous areas. To determine the factors conditioning the occurrence of the species we have built environmental favourability models using the information from the last two Spanish bird atlases and a set of environmental variables, belonging to the following factors: topography, climate, human activity, and lithology. The influence of climate compared to all other factors was obtained using variation partitioning analysis. The species has suffered a strong reduction (67 %) in occupied areas, as well as in favourability throughout mainland Spain, especially in the southern half, where climate change may have far-reaching consequences, including local extinctions. Climate explained more than 90 % of the variation in the model obtained for 2022. Interestingly, the occupied areas are in 2022, in average, 100 m higher in altitude than in 2003. If the effects of climate change continue, the species is doomed to disappear at its southernmost distribution limit, being the population of Parque Nacional Sierra de las Nieves the most vulnerable at the continental scale.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Un enfoque local para comprender mejor la dispersión a gran escala y el crecimiento de las poblaciones de cotorra argentina como especie invasora

Invasive species are currently a topic of  interest  to  environmental  management  agencies and the media  because  of the socio-economic  and environmental problems they cause. The Monk parakeet,     a parrot  originally from  South America,  and now established as an invasive species  in North America,   Asia,  Africa and Western Europe,  is a clear  example of this, especially in some cities where  populations    are growing rapidly and its distribution is continuously expanding. The first record  of this invasive species  in Spain  dates from  1975 and since  it has expanded its range  over large  areas  of the country,  especially    in and around large cities. Málaga has one of the largest populations in Spain  where, in the absence of  control measures, the species continues to increase in numbers and range. In this study, we document how a population reaches its carrying capacity, which favours the dispersal of the species to surrounding areas. Studying the populations of the species at a local  scale  helps us to estimate the number of parrots  that a  given area can support and also to predict more accurately the future occupation of favourable areas for the species. This would help to prevent the settlement of individuals in unoccupied areas and help to mitigate potential environmental impacts and conflicts with humansLas especies exóticas invasoras son actualmente un tema de interés para los organismos de gestión medioambiental y los medios de comunicación, debido a los problemas socioeconómicos y medioambientales que causan. La cotorra argentina, originaria de Sudamérica y establecida actualmente como invasora en América del Norte, Asia, África y Europa Occidental, es un claro ejemplo de ello, sobre todo en algunas ciudades donde las poblaciones crecen rápidamente y su distribución se amplía de manera continua. El primer registro de cotorra argentina en España tuvo lugar en 1975 y desde entonces la especie ha expandido su área de distribución por amplias zonas del país, especialmente en las grandes ciudades y sus alrededores. Málaga cuenta con una de las mayores poblaciones de España donde, a falta de la puesta en práctica de medidas de control, la especie sigue aumentando en efectivos. En este estudio documentamos como una población llega a alcanzar su capacidad de carga, lo que favorece la dispersión de la especie a las áreas circundantes. Estudiar las poblaciones de la especie a escala local nos ayuda a estimar el número de cotorras que puede soportar una zona determinada y también a predecir de un modo más preciso la futura ocupación de aquellas zonas que son favorables para la especie. Esto permitiría evitar el asentamiento de ejemplares en zonas desocupadas y ayudaría a mitigar posibles impactos ambientales y conflictos con el ser humano

From the first observations to the recent establishment: the paradox of a sub-Saharan species colonizing the western Palearctic.

Ongoing climate change is causing latitudinal shifts in many species to reach more favourable climatic conditions. These changes are of particular relevance in southern Europe, where a short-distance expansion of African species’ range toward the north represents a major step in biogeographical terms, as a new continent would be reached and colonised. In this way, species that were never in contact suddenly interacts with each other, generating changes in communities. This is currently occurring with Griffon and Rüppell's vultures in the Iberian Peninsula, where individuals of the African species are beginning to establish themselves on a stable basis in breeding colonies of Griffon Vultures. Until now, there has been no evidence that Rüppell's Vulture has been able to breed in Europe, despite some observed breeding attempts that did not result in successful reproduction. In 1999, an adult Rüppell’s Vulture was observed in Portugal in a possible nest, although successful breeding was not confirmed. The next signs of reproduction were detected in 2020 in southern Spain, when a female Rüppell’s Vulture was recorded mating with a male Griffon Vulture in Cádiz province, and a different female was observed carrying nesting material in Málaga province. Throughout 2021 and 2022, breeding attempts have consistently occurred in the breeding colony of Málaga, but close monitoring of the individuals, tagged with GPS transmitters confirmed that mating did not result in egg-laying. During the year 2023, the situation has changed and, in this communication, we will report the first confirmed case of Rüppell's Vulture breeding in Europe. Paradoxically, as the species begins to colonize a new biogeographic realm in the Palearctic, its rapid decline caused it to be reappraised to the IUCN Critically Endangered category. We will detail the case and discuss the potential implications for the conservation of the species.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Measuring the extent of the encroaching into Europe of African species due to climate change

Comunicación presentada a un CongresoThe recent modification of species distributions in response to a warmer climate constitutes a major and generalized biogeographic change. One of the main drivers of the change in species distribution is the disequilibrium of the species ranges with their climatic favorability. The various approaches to the species distribution modelling assume an equilibrium of the distribution with the environment, and this hinders their applicability to the analysis of this change. Using fuzzy set theory we have studied the response to climate change of 10 African bird species in the context of the Strait of Gibraltar, where a short-distance expansion of the species’ range towards the north means a major step in biogeographical terms, since the Strait is an important barrier separating North African and European fauna. All studied species have already been observed during the last decade in Spain, in some cases sporadically, in others regularly and in some others, it has even been possible to confirm the reproduction of the species in Europe; some examples of the latter case are the Long-legged Buzzard, the Little Swift and the Common Bulbul. We have also identified those areas of Southern Europe that are climatically favorable for the breeding of the set of selected African species for the period 2041-2060, which shows that southern Spain is a potential focal point for the colonization of Europe by African species. If our climate continues to warm, further arrivals of potential colonist African bird species to southern Europe are to be expected.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

¿Cómo de favorable es el sur de Europa para el establecimiento del Escribano Sahariano?

La modificación reciente de las áreas de distribución de las especies, como respuesta a un clima más cálido, constituye un desafío actual para la biogeografía. Este estudio pretende analizar la respuesta al cambio climático de una especie típicamente africana que comienza a observarse en el continente europeo: el escribano sahariano (Emberiza sahari). Para ello se han realizado modelos de favorabilidad, tanto para el presente como para el futuro, usando el área actual de distribución de la especie y un conjunto de variables ambientales. Los resultados muestran zonas con alta favorabilidad en el sur de Europa para la especie, en las que aún está ausente. Esto indica que dichas zonas muestran unas condiciones climáticas adecuadas para el establecimiento de esta en un futuro próximo, pudiendo ser las zonas de colonización del continente europeo.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Cuantificando el desequilibrio latitudinal de las áreas de distribución de las especies como consecuencia del cambio climático

La reciente modificación de la distribución de las especies en respuesta a un clima cada vez más cálido supone un cambio biogeográfico importante y generalizado. El objetivo de este estudio es desarrollar una metodología capaz de medir la dinámica de la distribución de las especies bajo el contexto del cambio climático, permitiendo detectar el desequilibrio entre las condiciones climáticas óptimas para la especie y su distribución actual, así como calcular la tasa del desplazamiento. Combinando la modelación biogeográfica mediante la Función de Favorabilidad con análisis de baricentro de las distribuciones, se evalúa la respuesta al cambio climático de dos especies típicamente africanas, el Busardo Moro del Atlas y el Colirrojo Diademado. Este enfoque revela el desequilibrio latitudinal existente entre las distribuciones de las dos especies y el clima, que se cuantifica en 4 y 2.8 km al norte, a una velocidad de 1.3 y 3.4 km/año respectivamente. Es el primer estudio que desarrolla una metodología capaz de detectar dicho desequilibrio y medirlo.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The Seventeenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: Complete Release of MaNGA, MaStar and APOGEE-2 Data

This paper documents the seventeenth data release (DR17) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys; the fifth and final release from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). DR17 contains the complete release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, which reached its goal of surveying over 10,000 nearby galaxies. The complete release of the MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar) accompanies this data, providing observations of almost 30,000 stars through the MaNGA instrument during bright time. DR17 also contains the complete release of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) survey which publicly releases infra-red spectra of over 650,000 stars. The main sample from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), as well as the sub-survey Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) data were fully released in DR16. New single-fiber optical spectroscopy released in DR17 is from the SPectroscipic IDentification of ERosita Survey (SPIDERS) sub-survey and the eBOSS-RM program. Along with the primary data sets, DR17 includes 25 new or updated Value Added Catalogs (VACs). This paper concludes the release of SDSS-IV survey data. SDSS continues into its fifth phase with observations already underway for the Milky Way Mapper (MWM), Local Volume Mapper (LVM) and Black Hole Mapper (BHM) surveys

The GenTree Platform: growth traits and tree-level environmental data in 12 European forest tree species

Background: Progress in the field of evolutionary forest ecology has been hampered by the huge challenge of phenotyping trees across their ranges in their natural environments, and the limitation in high-resolution environmental information. Findings: The GenTree Platform contains phenotypic and environmental data from 4,959 trees from 12 ecologically and economically important European forest tree species: Abies alba Mill. (silver fir), Betula pendula Roth. (silver birch), Fagus sylvatica L. (European beech), Picea abies (L.) H. Karst (Norway spruce), Pinus cembra L. (Swiss stone pine), Pinus halepensis Mill. (Aleppo pine), Pinus nigra Arnold (European black pine), Pinus pinaster Aiton (maritime pine), Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine), Populus nigra L. (European black poplar), Taxus baccata L. (English yew), and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. (sessile oak). Phenotypic (height, diameter at breast height, crown size, bark thickness, biomass, straightness, forking, branch angle, fructification), regeneration, environmental in situ measurements (soil depth, vegetation cover, competition indices), and environmental modeling data extracted by using bilinear interpolation accounting for surrounding conditions of each tree (precipitation, temperature, insolation, drought indices) were obtained from trees in 194 sites covering the species’ geographic ranges and reflecting local environmental gradients. Conclusion: The GenTree Platform is a new resource for investigating ecological and evolutionary processes in forest trees. The coherent phenotyping and environmental characterization across 12 species in their European ranges allow for a wide range of analyses from forest ecologists, conservationists, and macro-ecologists. Also, the data here presented can be linked to the GenTree Dendroecological collection, the GenTree Leaf Trait collection, and the GenTree Genomic collection presented elsewhere, which together build the largest evolutionary forest ecology data collection available

Between but not within species variation in the distribution of fitness effects

New mutations provide the raw material for evolution and adaptation. The distribution of fitness effects (DFE) describes the spectrum of effects of new mutations that can occur along a genome, and is therefore of vital interest in evolutionary biology. Recent work has uncovered striking similarities in the DFE between closely related species, prompting us to ask whether there is variation in the DFE among populations of the same species, or among species with different degrees of divergence, i.e., whether there is variation in the DFE at different levels of evolution. Using exome capture data from six tree species sampled across Europe we characterised the DFE for multiple species, and for each species, multiple populations, and investigated the factors potentially influencing the DFE, such as demography, population divergence and genetic background. We find statistical support for there being variation in the DFE at the species level, even among relatively closely related species. However, we find very little difference at the population level, suggesting that differences in the DFE are primarily driven by deep features of species biology, and that evolutionarily recent events, such as demographic changes and local adaptation, have little impact

Centrality evolution of the charged-particle pseudorapidity density over a broad pseudorapidity range in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=2.76TeV

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