Vitamin E Supplementation—But Not Induced Oxidative Stress—Influences Telomere Dynamics During Early Development in Wild Passerines

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00173/full#supplementary-materialWe thank F. Miranda and Laboratory of Ecophysiology-EBD (ISO9001:2015 and ISO14001:2015) for assistance with lab analyses. E. Roldán, at the National Museum of Natural History-CSIC, helped with sample conservation and transport.Telomere length is a marker of cellular senescence that relates to different components of individual fitness. Oxidative stress is often claimed as a main proximate factor contributing to telomere attrition, although the importance of this factor in vivo has recently been challenged. Early development represents an ideal scenario to address this hypothesis because it is characterized by the highest rates of telomere attrition of the life and by an arguably high susceptibility to oxidative stress. We tested the effect of oxidative stress on telomere dynamics during early development by exposing pied flycatcher nestlings (Ficedula hypoleuca) to either an oxidative challenge (diquat injections), an antioxidant (vitamin E) or control treatments (PBS injections and supplementation with vehicle substance). We found no effects of treatments on average telomere change during the nestling period. However, vitamin E supplementation, which increased growth, removed the association between initial telomere length and telomere attrition. Diquat-treated nestlings, by contrast, showed no differences in growth or telomere dynamics with respect to controls. These results do not support the hypothesis that oxidative stress is the main direct mechanism explaining telomere attrition in vivo, and highlight the importance of micronutrient intake during early development on telomere dynamics. Studies addressing alternative action pathways of vitamins on growth and telomere dynamics, perhaps via restoration mechanisms, would provide important insights on the proximate factors affecting telomere attrition during this critical phase of life.LP-R was supported by Severo Ochoa (SEV-2012-0262) and SECTI (UCLM) postdoctoral contracts during data collection manuscript and writing, respectively. Funding was provided by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SMEC); grant number CGL2014-55969-P. Additional funding came from the project “A test of the oxidative cost of a reliable signal,” granted to TR by the internal EBD proposal call Microproyectos and financed by the SMEC, through the Severo Ochoa Program for Centers of Excellence in R+D+I (SEV-2012-0262)

Justiça ambiental nas cidades latino-americanas: uma revisão dos indicadores utilizados para a sua análise

Diverse studies have sought to apply tools to measure and explain socio-environmental inequalities in the world, there is less research on measuring environmental justice (EJ) in the Global South, especially in Latin America, from a quantitative approach. This work aims to identify and classify indicators that have been recently used to measure EJ in Latin America urban areas. A literature review was conducted using three different databases. 23 studies distributed across 14 countries have been identified. Most indicators are used to measure positive environmental aspects while the population socio-economic level is the main social factor considered. This study shows a developing research field that highlights inequalities between countries and where there is a bias toward studies focused on some aspects of EJ.Si bien son diversos los estudios que han buscado aplicar herramientas para medir y explicar las desigualdades socio-ambientales en el mundo, existe un menor desarrollo de la investigación desde un enfoque cuantitativo de la justicia ambiental (JA) en el sur global y en particular en América Latina. Este trabajo busca identificar y clasificar los indicadores que han sido utilizados recientemente para medir la JA en zonas urbanas de Latinoamérica. Se realizó una revisión bibliográfica utilizando tres bases de datos diferentes. Se identificaron 23 estudios distribuidos en 14 países. La mayor parte de indicadores se utilizan para medir aspectos positivos del ambiente al tiempo que el nivel socioeconómico de la población es el principal factor social considerado. El estudio da cuenta de un campo de investigación en desarrollo que evidencia desigualdades entre países y donde existe un sesgo entre estudios centrados en algunos aspectos de la JA.Embora vários estudos tenham procurado aplicar ferramentas para medir e explicar as desigualdades socioambientais em todo o mundo, há menos pesquisas sobre uma abordagem quantitativa da justiça ambiental (JE) no hemisfério global e particularmente na América Latina. Este artigo procura identificar e classificar os indicadores que foram recentemente utilizados para medir a justiça ambiental em áreas urbanas da América Latina. Foi realizada uma revisão da literatura utilizando três bases de dados diferentes. Foram identificados 23 estudos de 14 países. A maioria dos indicadores é utilizada para medir aspectos positivos do ambiente, no qual o nível socioeconômico da população é o principal fator social considerado. O estudo revela um campo de investigação em desenvolvimento que evidencia desigualdades entre países e onde existe uma distorção entre os estudos que se centram em alguns aspectos do JA

Drivers of oak establishment in Mediterranean old fields from 25-year-old woodland islets planted to assist natural regeneration

14 p.Planted woodland islets can provide seeds for restoring forest ecosystems in Mediterranean old fields lacking seed sources, but other factors than seed arrival can also hinder the establishment of woody species. We experimentally examined factors affecting the emergence, survival, growth and recruitment of holm oak (Quercus ilex) seedlings juveniles from 25-year-old 100-m2 oak woodland islets planted in a Mediterranean old field. Wet springs and summers increased seedling emergence and survival. Distance to the islets per se did not affect seedling performance. However, emergence and survival increased in microsites close to the islets in less sun-exposed orientations of the islets and far from the islets in more sun-exposed orientations. Damage by wild boar reduced emergence, and unsheltered seedlings had 26% lower survival than sheltered ones, reflecting herbivory. Herb community biomass and light reduction by herbs increased with distance from nearest islet; the sparse herb cover around islets was due to competition from woodland islets, not to herbivory. There was a mismatch between the pattern of seedling survival and how the abundance of naturally recruited oaks varied with distance from the nearest islet; this suggests that other drivers can counteract the spatial pattern of seedling survival. We conclude that natural regeneration of Q. ilex in old fields from planted woodland islets is slow (5.7 seedlings ha?1 yr?1) due to acorn and seedling predation, and drought during spring and summer. Despite their small size, planted islets affected survival of oak juveniles depending on the orientation and distance relative to the islets.Ministerio de Ciencia y TecnologíaMinisterio de Ciencia e InnovaciónComunidad Autónoma de Madri

Predation and aridity slow down the spread of 21-year-old planted woodland islets in restored Mediterranean farmland

Las figuras y material suplementario que contiene el documento se localizan al final del mismo.Planted woodland islets act as sources of seed that may accelerate woodland development in extensive agricultural landscapes. We assessed a 1-ha plot that was planted with 16 100-m2 islets of holm oak Quercus ilex subsp. ballota seedlings near Toledo (Spain) in 1993. In spring 2014 we measured (1) acorn predation and (2) seedling emergence from seeded acorns at different distances from and orientations around the islets with half of the acorns protected to prevent predation, (3) survival of emerged seedlings, and (4) natural tree establishment outside of the planted islets. Most (96.9 %) unprotected acorns were removed or predated. Seedling emergence from protected acorns ranged from 42.9 % on the northern side of the islets to 13.2 % on the southern side, suggesting a less stressful microclimate on the northern side. Survival of naturally established seedlings was 28.6 % by the end of first summer; seedling mortality was chiefly due to drought (45.0 %) and herbivory (35.0 %). Density of emerged seedlings, surviving seedlings after first dry season, and established oaks >1-year old was similar at different distances from the islets. Over the 21 year time period, 58 new oak individuals >1-year old have established (an average of 3.3 established individuals per ha per year) at an average distance of 6.3 ± 5.4 m away from the closest islet. We conclude that initial oak regeneration triggered by small planted islets in Mediterranean abandoned farmland is slowed down by high acorn predation, seedling herbivory, and stressful microclimatic conditions. Regardless, these islets are a viable tool for regeneration of Mediterranean oak woodland.Projects from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education (CGL2010-18312 and CGL2014-53308-P) and the Government of Madrid (S2013/MAE-2719, REMEDINAL-3) are currently providing financial support for this body of research. We are indebted to Aurora Mesa and Paula Meli for their help for acorn seeding and to Laura Ferna´ndez and Luis Cayuela for their input with some statistical analyses. The subject editor and two anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments on a former version of this manuscript

Assessing the ability of novel ecosystems to support animal wildlife through analysis of diurnal raptor territoriality

Novel ecosystems have emerged through human intervention and are rapidly expandingaround the world. Whether they can support animal wildlife has generated considerable controversy.Here we developed a new approach to evaluate the ability of a novel forest ecosystem,dominated by the exotic tree species Eucalyptus globulus, to support animal wildlife inthe medium and long term. To evaluate this ability, we took advantage of the fact that speciesterritory size decreases with increasing habitat quality, and we used territoriality of araptor guild composed of Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), Eurasian Sparrowhawk(A. nisus) and Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) as indicator. We compared the territorialityof these species in the novel ecosystem with that in other ecosystems found in the literature.Average distances between con-specifics in the novel ecosystem were similar, or evenshorter, than those in other ecosystems. Average distances between Goshawk con-specificswere among the shortest described in the literature. All three species nested preferably in mixed stands abundant in large exotic trees, with high structural complexity and abundance of native species within the stand. Key factors supporting this diverse and dense raptor community were the special forest management system implemented in the study area and the agricultural matrix located close to forest plantations that complements the supply of prey. Our results suggest that forest management that promotes a complex and suitable forest structure can increase the ability of novel forest ecosystems to support wildlife biodiversity, particularly a diverse nesting community of forest-dwelling raptors and their preys. The results further suggest the suitability of territoriality for assessing this potential of novel ecosystemsMinisterio de Ciencia y TecnologíaUniversidad de AlcaláMinisterio de Educación y Cienci

Spatial decision-making in acorn dispersal by Eurasian jays around the forest edge: Insights into oak forest regeneration mechanisms

Seed dispersal is key to forest regeneration and often depends on the behavior of seed scatter-hoarding animals. However, our understanding of the decision-making of scatter-hoarders and how vegetation structure at different spatial scales affects dispersal patterns remains limited. We studied seed dispersal at the forest edge across multiple spatial scales (habitat, sub-habitat, microsites) between and within habitats with distinct vegetation structure. Our model system is a mixed-oak forest dominated by holm oak (Quercus ilex) and an adjacent shrubland dominated by the shrub Retama sphaerocarpa. For three years, we tracked the movement of acorns by a keystone scatter-hoarder, the Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius). At the coarse scale, jays did not show a preference for caching acorns either in the forest or in the shrubland when the source tree was within the forest. However, when the source tree was on the forest edge or was an isolated oak tree in the shrubland at 200 m from the forest, all acorns were dispersed in the shrubland. Dispersal distances were shorter within the forest than within the shrubland. At an intermediate scale, within the shrubland jays preferred to cache acorns under large retamas while avoiding gaps. In the forest, jays also avoided gaps and preferred certain woody species and vertical vegetation structures, although these preferences varied across feeders. At the finest scale, jays selected stones as cache microsites. Thus, the selection of acorn caching sites followed a hierarchical and selective top-down process across different spatial scales. The position of the source trees in the landscape determined habitat preference and dispersal distance. We detected different preferences in response to similar vegetation structure and composition, indicating that the decision-making process is flexible at an intermediate scale that generates diverse spatial patterns of dispersal. This study sheds light on the intricate decision-making process of seed caching by scatter-hoarders, and the consequences for the spatial patterns of seed dispersal as well as the expansion and regeneration of oak forests.Ministerio de Ciencia y TecnologíaComunidad de MadridUniversidad de Alcal

Higher reproductive success of small males and greater recruitment of large females could explain the strong reversed sexual dimorphism (RSD) in the northern goshawk

Abstract Reversed sexual dimorphism (RSD), whichoccurs when the female of a species is larger than the male,is the rule for most birds of prey but the exception amongother bird and mammal species. The selective pressuresthat favour RSD are an intriguing issue in animal ecology.Despite the large number of hypotheses proposed to explainthe evolution of RSD, there is still no consensus about themechanisms involved and whether they act on one or bothsexes, mainly because few intrapopulation studies havebeen undertaken and few raptor species have been investigated.Using the strongly size-dimorphic northern goshawk(Accipiter gentilis L.) as a model, we studied a populationwith one of the highest densities of breeding pairs reportedin the literature in order to understand selective pressuresthat may favour RSD. We evaluated life-history processes,including recruitment of adult breeders and reproductivesuccess, and we explored the mechanisms thought to act oneach sex, including hunting efficiency, diet, body conditionand mate choice. We found that smaller males producedmore fledglings than larger ones, but there was no relationshipbetween size and reproductive success for femalesMinisterio de Educación y Cienci

Differences in the progression rate of SCTLD in Pseudodiploria strigosa are related to colony size and morphology

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) impacts are unprecedented concerning the level of devastation they have imposed on Caribbean coral assemblages. Although SCTLD affects nearly 30 different coral species, it has been particularly lethal for Pseudodiploria strigosa. Mortality rates for this species are estimated to be between 60 and 100% in the Caribbean; however, tissue-loss rates have been shown to differ among colonies, which suggests that colony health, environmental conditions, and concurrent transmission events are crucial to the development of the disease at reef scale. To gain insight into the colony-level dynamics of SCTLD, we used a simplified photogrammetry and 3D modeling approach to quantify and compare SCTLD-related tissue-loss rates among 20 colonies of P. strigosa on a shallow back-reef in the Mexican Caribbean. Over a six-month period, SCTLD resulted in the full mortality of 70% of the colonies that were tagged shortly after infection. Although disease progression followed a multifocal-type infection in most cases, tissue-loss rates significantly differed among colonies. Some colonies died within the first 20 days of observation, while others died towards the end of the study period. We found a significant positive effect of colony size on rates of tissue loss disease, as well as evidence suggesting that elongated and vertically compressed colonies have a greater probability of experiencing higher tissue-loss rates than colonies with more spherical shapes. The observed relationship between colony morphology and tissue-loss rates is likely a result of elongated colonies having more flat surface area at the top of the colonies which facilitates accumulation of sediments, which have been shown to be a source of SCTLD transmission

Anything for a quiet life: shelter from mobbers drives reproductive success in a top-level avian predator

17 p.Understanding how habitat structure relates to reproductive performance of species can help identify what habitats are of the highest quality for a given species and thereby guide effective management. Here, we compared the influence of prey abundance and the amount of shelter area on the relationship between habitat and breeding performance. We focused on the forest-dwelling northern goshawk Accipiter gentilis in an agroforestry system. Using structural equation modelling, we tested the associations between reproductive performance and three explanatory factors: habitat structure, abundance of food resources or levels of mobbing disturbance, and prey supply to the nest. Our results suggest that habitat structure influences reproductive performance through shelter rather than through prey abundance. During the study period, forested habitats in the breeding territories provided shelter to the goshawk, reducing disturbance by carrion crows Corvus corone, which acted as large, aggressive, social mobbers. Decreased disturbance increased prey supply to the nest, probably because it favored food accessibility and male goshawk foraging efficiency. Habitat was not significantly associated with quality of the breeders, both in terms of body size and seniority in the territories. Our findings suggest that reproductive performance, and therefore habitat quality, may depend more on sheltered access to food resources than on the amount of food available. Our observation that mobbers decrease predator foraging efficiency highlights the possibility of designing effective, socially acceptable predator management strategies to protect sensitive domestic prey.Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto DemográficoMinisterio de Educación y CienciaMinisterio de Ciencia e InnovaciónComunidad de MadridUniversidad de Alcal

Spatial relationships and mechanisms of coexistence between dominant and subordinate top predators

Most forest ecosystems contain a diverse community of top-level predators. How these predator species interact, and howtheir interactions infl uence their spatial distribution is still poorly understood.Here we studied interactions among top predators in a guild of diurnal forest raptors in order to test the hypothesisthat predation among competing predators (intraguild predation) signifi cantly aff ects the spatial distribution of predatorspecies, causing subordinate species to nest farther away from the dominant ones.Th e study analyzed a guild in southwestern Europe comprising three raptor species. For 8 years we studied the spatialdistribution of used nests, breeding phenology, intraguild predation, territory occupancy, and nest-builder species andsubsequent nest-user species.Th e subordinate species (sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus ) nested farther away from the dominant species (goshawk A. gentilis), which preyed on sparrowhawks but not on buzzards Buteo buteo , and closer to buzzards, with which sparrowhawks donot share many common prey. Th is presumably refl ects an eff ort to seek protection from goshawks. Th is potential positiveeff ect of buzzards on sparrowhawks may be reciprocal, because buzzards benefi t from old sparrowhawk nests, which buzzardsused as a base for their nests, and from used sparrowhawk nests, from which buzzards stole prey. Buzzards occasionallyoccupied old goshawk nests.Universidad de Alcalá de Henare