Differential impact of hotter drought on seedling performance of five ecologically distinct pine species

Increasing temperature and drought intensity is inducing the phenomenon of so called “hotter drought”, which is expected to increase in frequency over the coming decades across many areas of the globe, and is expected to have major implications for forest systems. Consequences of hotter drought could be especially relevant for closely-related species overlapping their distributions, since differences in response can translate into range shifts. We assessed the effect of future climatic conditions on the performance of five ecologically distinct pine species common in Europe: Pinus halepensis, P. pinaster, P. nigra, P. sylvestris and P. uncinata. We hypothesised that Mediterranean species inhabiting dry, low-elevation sites will be less affected by the expected warming and drought increase than species inhabiting cold-wet sites. We performed a controlled-conditions experiment simulating current and projected temperature and precipitation and analysed seedling responses in terms of survival, growth, biomass allocation, maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) and plant water potential (Ψ). Either an increase of temperature or a reduction of water input alone reduced seedling performance, but the highest impact occurred when these two factors acted in combination. Warming and water limitation reduced Ψ, whereas warming alone reduced biomass allocation to roots and Fv/Fm. However, species responded differentially to warmer and drier conditions, with lowland Mediterranean pines (P. halepensis and P. pinaster) showing higher survival and performance than mountain species. Interspecific differences in response to warmer, drier conditions could contribute to changes in the relative dominance of these pine species in Mediterranean regions where they co-occur and a hotter, drier climate is anticipated.Supported by Stirling-held EU Marie Curie (FP7-2011-IEF-300825

A Linguistic Multi-Criteria Decision Making Model Applied to the Integration of Education Questionnaires

We present a model made up of linguistic multi-criteria decision making processes to integrate the answers to heterogeneous questionnaires, based on a five-point Likert scale, into a unique form rooted in the widespread course experience questionnaire. The main advantage of having the resulting integrated questionnaire is that it can be incorporated into other course experience questionnaire surveys to make benchmarking among organizations. This model has been applied to integrate heterogeneous educational questionnaires at the University of Granada.European Union (EU) TIN2010-17876Andalusian Excellence Projects TIC-05299 TIC-599

Special Issue on Genetic Fuzzy Systems and the Interpretability–Accuracy Trade-off

This special issue encompasses four papers devoted to the recent developments in the field of ‘‘Genetic fuzzy systems and the trade-off between interpretability and accuracy’’. The issue was originated from several contributions presented at the First International Workshop on Genetic Fuzzy Systems (GFS2005) that was held in Granada, Spain, March 17–19, 2005. Six conference papers were selected and the authors were asked to develop extended versions which were submitted to the special issue. Each of them was revised by at least three referees and finally four of them were accepted according to the reviewers’ evaluations

Fuzzy-Citation-KNN: a fuzzy nearest neighbor approach for multi-instance classification

This contribution deals with multi-instance classification, where the labeled data samples are bags composed on instances instead of labeled instances as in standard classification. Every bag contains a number of traditional instances (described by a number of attributes) and the number of instances is not usually the same in all the bags. So, the whole bag is labeled but the instances that compose the bag are not individually labeled. We propose a fuzzy sets based extension of the well known algorithm called Citation-KNN, a reference method in multi-instance classification. Citation-KNN uses two types of examples in the classification rule: neighbors and citers of the bag to be classified. We analyze two versions of our proposal, one of them using both neighbors and citers, and the other one using only neighbors. Our approach uses the Hausdorff distance and it is based on the FuzzyKNN algorithm. Several data-sets from KEEL data-set repository are used in the experimental study and we compare our proposals with the original Citation-KNN algorithm

Teranga Go!: Carpooling Collaborative Consumption Community with multi-criteria hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set opinions to build confidence and trust

La Comisión Europea da prioridad al fomento del consumo colaborativo en consonancia con la visión de la Estrategia Europa 2020 para un crecimiento inteligente, sostenible e integrador. En respuesta, se ha desarrollado una comunidad en línea dedicada al consumo colaborativo llamada Teranga Go!, centrada en la comunidad senegalesa que viaja en coche de Europa a África. Las relaciones de viaje compartido dentro de Teranga Go! hacen hincapié en un auténtico sentido de comunidad, interacciones sociales entre los usuarios y conexiones tecnológicas, con la confianza como elemento crucial. Para aumentar la confianza y la seguridad entre los miembros de Teranga Go! se ha implantado un sistema inteligente de apoyo a la toma de decisiones basado en la computación con palabras. En este sistema, los participantes actúan como expertos, evaluando las aptitudes del conductor y asignando colectivamente un valor lingüístico, denominado "karma", que representa la opinión colectiva de las personas que han viajado con el conductor. Este karma se muestra públicamente en los perfiles de los usuarios, y para representar las opiniones de los expertos en el proceso de evaluación se utiliza un modelo de toma de decisiones multicriterio multiexperto que emplea términos lingüísticos difusos vacilantes.The European Commission prioritizes promoting collaborative consumption in alignment with the Europe 2020 Strategy's vision for smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth. In response, a dedicated online community called Teranga Go! has been developed for collaborative consumption, focusing on the Senegalese community traveling by car from Europe to Africa. Carpooling relationships within Teranga Go! emphasize a genuine sense of community, social interactions among users, and technological connections, with trust as a crucial element. To enhance confidence, trust, and safety among Teranga Go! members, an intelligent decision support system based on computing with words has been implemented. In this system, participants act as experts, assessing driver aptitudes and collectively assigning a linguistic value, referred to as "karma," which represents the collective opinion of individuals who have traveled with the driver. This karma is publicly displayed on user profiles, and a Multi-Expert Multi-Criteria Decision Making model, employing Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Terms, is utilized to represent expert opinions in the evaluation process.Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación en Data Science and Computational Intelligence (DaSCI

Linking animal behaviour and tree recruitment: Caching decisions by a scatter-hoarder corvid determine seed fate in a Mediterranean agroforestry system

1. Seed dispersal by scatter-hoarder corvids is key for the establishment of important tree species from the Holarctic region such as the walnut (Juglans regia). However, the factors that drive animal decisions to cache seeds in specific locations and the consequences of these decisions on seed fate are poorly understood. / 2. We experimentally created four distinct, replicated habitat types in a Mediterranean agricultural landscape where the Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) is a common scatter hoarder: soft bare soil; compacted bare soil; compacted soil with a dense herbaceous cover; and soft linear bare soil made up of the irrigation furrows that separated the rest of the treatments. We also experimentally placed visual landmarks (stones, sticks and bunches of dry plants) to test if magpies use them to place seed caches. Walnut dispersal from feeders to the habitats was monitored by radiotracking and camera traps. / 3. A sowing experiment simulating natural caches tested the effect of caching type on seed germination and seedling emergence. Seed mass was controlled for the dispersal and sowing experiments. / 4. Magpies selected the two habitats with soft soil, and avoided the one with compacted soil, to cache nuts. Seed mass did not affect dispersal distance, germination or emergence; however, heavier seeds were cached more often under litter and in the habitat with herbaceous cover, whereas lighter seeds were more often buried in the soft bare soil habitat. Seed burial under soil or litter determined seed fate, as there was virtually no emergence from unburied nuts. There was no evidence of any effect of the visual landmarks. / 5. Synthesis. The consequences of seed caching for seedling early establishment are driven by a fine decision-making process of the disperser. Magpies seemed to ponder the characteristics of the habitat and the seed itself to determine where and how to cache each nut. By doing so, magpies reinforced the quality of seed dispersal effectiveness, as they cached walnuts in locations that enhanced both seed survival and seedling emergence

Effective nut dispersal by magpies (Pica pica L.) in a Mediterranean agroecosystem

Scatter-hoarding animals such as corvids play a crucial role in the dispersal of nut-producing tree species. This interaction is well known for some corvids, but remains elusive for other species such as the magpie (Pica pica), an abundant corvid in agroecosystems and open landscapes of the Palearctic region. In addition, the establishment of the individual dispersed seeds—a prerequisite for determining seed-dispersal effectiveness—has never before been documented for the interaction between corvids and nut-producing trees. We analyzed walnut dispersal by magpies in an agroecosystem in southern Spain. We used several complementary approaches, including video recording nut removal from feeders, measuring dispersal distance using radio tracking (with radio transmitters placed inside nuts), and monitoring the fate of dispersed nuts to the time of seedling emergence. Magpies were shown to be highly active nut dispersers. The dispersal distance averaged 39.6 ± 4.5 m and ranged from 4.1 to 158.5 m. Some 90% of the removed walnuts were cached later, and most of these (98%) were buried in the soil or hidden under plant material. By the time of seedling emergence, ca. 33% of nuts remained at the caching location. Finally, 12% of the cached nuts germinated and 4% yielded an emerged seedling, facilitating the transition to the next regeneration stage. The results demonstrate for the first time that magpies can be an effective scatter-hoarding disperser of a nut-producing tree species, suggesting that this bird species may play a key role in the regeneration and expansion of broadleaf forests in Eurasia.Gobierno de EspañaComunidad de MadridMinisterio de Economía y Competitivida

Massive and effective acorn dispersal into agroforestry systems byan overlooked vector, the Eurasian magpie (Pica pica)

Oak regeneration and the expansion of forested sites in Eurasia rely on acorn dispersal by animals,especially the Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius). However, in open agroforestry systems where jaysare absent, such as old fields far from acorn sources, oak recruitment still occurs. We hypothesize that theEurasian magpie (Pica pica), an abundant corvid in this system, substitutes the jay in its seed dispersal function.By ringing 169 magpies, video recording >7500 acorn removal events with trail cameras, and radiotagging337 acorns, we quantified that (1) magpies cached 41&#-56% of the annual acorn production of Quercusilex trees in single caches on the ground; (2) breeding pairs, and especially males, were the main acorndispersers; (3) each breeding magpie cached 169&#-1372 acorns in 6 weeks; and (4) the effectiveness of dispersal(percentage of cached acorns resulting in seedlings) was 0.6&-2.4%, which (5) yielded a high densityof emerged seedlings (56&-439 seedlings/ha). We evidence that magpie could be a key species in the regenerationof oak agroforestry mosaics because they massively and effectively dispersed acorns. However, inour particular study site, effectiveness was low probably due to herbivory and summer drought stress (i.e.,a context limitation rather than an intrinsic limitation of the disperser). As the distributions of magpies andoaks overlap widely in Eurasia, effective acorn dispersal by magpies could have a significant role in largescaleoak forest recovery in strongly fragmented landscapes.Ministerio de Ciencia y TecnologíaREMEDINALUniversidad de AlcaláMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidade

Pleuroparenchymal Fibroelastosis : a New Entity within the Spectrum of Rare Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonias

Pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) is a rare entity that has been recently included in the official American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) statement in 2013 as a group of rare idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs). PPFE is characterized by pleural and subpleural parenchymal thickening due to elastic fiber proliferation, mainly in the upper lobes. The etiology of the disease is unclear, although some cases have been associated as a complication after bone marrow transplantation, lung transplantation (LT), chemotherapy, and recurrent respiratory infections. The patients usually report progressive dyspnea and dry cough and are predisposed to develop spontaneous or iatrogenic pneumothoraces after surgical lung biopsy (SLB) for its diagnosis. That is why better awareness with the clinical and radiologic features can help optimal management by the multidisciplinary team. Novel invasive techniques such as cryobiopsy may become useful tools in these patients as it could spare SLB. We present the first reported cases in Spain

Caching territoriality and site preferences by a scatter-hoarder drive the spatial pattern of seed dispersal and affect seedling emergence

1. For plants with seeds dispersed by scatter-hoarders, decision-making by animals when caching determines the spatial pattern of seed dispersal and lays the initial template for recruitment, driving the regeneration of many species. However, the mechanism by which animal behaviour shapes seed distributions in spatially complex landscapes is not well understood. We investigated caching territoriality and site preferences to determine the spatial pattern of seed caching at different scales and whether scatter-hoarding behaviour drives the spatial distribution of seedling emergence. 2. We used radio-tracking and automatic wildlife cameras to monitor holm oak (Quercus ilex) acorn caching by Eurasian magpies (Pica pica), who are effective scatter-hoarders in agroforestry systems. We assessed the effect of caching territories, distance to seed source, habitat, subhabitat, microsites, and caching material in the spatial pattern of acorn dispersal by magpies. In addition, we analysed the relationship between the density of cached acorns and of emerged seedlings in different habitats. 3. Breeding magpies cached the acorns inside their caching territories, where they preferred tilled areas over oak plantations and mostly avoided old fields. These differences in habitat preference were maximized at relatively short to medium dispersal distances, where most acorns were cached, and decreased or disappeared at long-distances. Within tree plantations, magpies preferred high plant-productivity sites over low productivity ones. At the finest spatial scale, magpies preferred structures built by animals, such as rabbit grit mounds and latrines and ant litter mounds, to cache the acorns. In many sites, magpies selected uncommon materials such as stones and litter to cover caches. In the subsequent spring, seedling emergence was positively correlated with acorn cache density. 4. Synthesis. Scatter-hoarding is a hierarchical process in which caching sites are selected using different criteria at different spatial scales driven by territoriality and site preferences. Territoriality constrained dispersal distance and the habitats available for acorn caching. Magpie territoriality therefore indirectly drives oak seedling emergence and can determine oak recruitment and forest regeneration.CGL2014-459 53308-P (Ministerio Ciencia y Tecnología) PID2019-106806GB-I00 (Ministerio Ciencia e Innovación) S2013/MAE-2719 and S2018/EMT-4338 (Remedinal, CAM) CCG2014/BIO-02 & GP2019-6 (UAH) BES-2015-075276(FPI, MCT