A potential record of a procolophonid parareptile from the Triassic of the Iberian Peninsula

Cranial and postcranial remains from the Middle Triassic of the Northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula are reported and tentatively assigned to Procolophonidae. The finding is the first occurrence of a procolophonid parareptile in the Iberian Peninsula, representing the southernmost record of the group in Europe. The fossilbearing locality is dated as Anisian (Middle Triassic) and includes three tooth-bearing bones, two cranial bone fragments and one interclavicle. The mandible described herein includes nine teeth. No cusps or complete crowns are preserved, but sections of the teeth are available. The three anterior teeth progressively decrease in size from front to back, whereas the teeth from the fourth to the eighth position present the opposite trend. The last tooth (the ninth) is clearly reduced in comparison to the previous ones. A close relationship with Anomoiodon-Kapes is suggested, however, more material is required in order to assess the exact taxonomical determination of the Iberian remains. This finding is expected to shed some light on the geographical distribution of procolophonines

A fast-growing basal troodontid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the latest Cretaceous of Europe

Altres ajuts: "Xarxes paleocològiques dels jaciments de dinosaures del Cretaci català" ("Paleoecological networks of the dinosaur quarries of the Catalan Cretaceous") CLT/903/2018/67, funded by the Departament de Cultura of the Generalitat de Catalunya.A characteristic fauna of dinosaurs and other vertebrates inhabited the end-Cretaceous European archipelago, some of which were dwarves or had other unusual features likely related to their insular habitats. Little is known, however, about the contemporary theropod dinosaurs, as they are represented mostly by teeth or other fragmentary fossils. A new isolated theropod metatarsal II, from the latest Maastrichtian of Spain (within 200,000 years of the mass extinction) may represent a jinfengopterygine troodontid, the first reported from Europe. Comparisons with other theropods and phylogenetic analyses reveal an autapomorphic foramen that distinguishes it from all other troodontids, supporting its identification as a new genus and species, Tamarro insperatus. Bone histology shows that it was an actively growing subadult when it died but may have had a growth pattern in which it grew rapidly in early ontogeny and attained a subadult size quickly. We hypothesize that it could have migrated from Asia to reach the Ibero-Armorican island no later than Cenomanian or during the Maastrichtian dispersal events

Nuevos enfoques sobre los vertebrados del Pérmico y Triásico de la Península Ibérica, con énfasis en las cuencas Pirenaica y Catalana

Few studies paid attention to the Permian and Triassic vertebrates from the Iberian Peninsula and a re-evaluation of these faunas is needed in order to compare them with other European basins. As a first step, we present here the available data from the Catalonian and Pyrenean basins (NE of the Iberian Peninsula), offering new insights on the diversity and temporal distribution of their vertebrate faunas. The two basins have yielded unexpectedly abundant and diverse vertebrate assemblages, including fishes, amphibians and reptiles from continental and marine environments. The revision of classical finds and the analysis of new material provide data towards an understanding of the evolutionary and palaebiogeographical history of the Permian and Triassic vertebrate Iberian faunas. Permian remains mainly correspond to footprints recovered from alluvial deposits; the osteological record is scarce in the Iberian Peninsula. Early Triassic vertebrate localities are unknown. Middle Triassic faunas are abundant and reflect the change from continental environments to a wide diversity of coastal and marine depositional environments. During the Anisian, faunas are represented by footprints and skeletal remains of amphibians (capitosaurs) and terrestrial reptiles (archosauromorphs and procolophonoids). Ichthyofauna, sauropterygians, thalattosaurs and protorosaurians are known through the late Anisian and Ladinian. Finally, Late Triassic localities representing coastal environments have also yielded marine reptiles (sauropterygians) and a diverse ichthyofauna.Se han realizado hasta el momento pocos estudios de los vertebrados del Pérmico y el Triásico de la Península Ibérica y por este motivo, una re-evaluación de estas faunas es necesaria para compararlas con las halladas en otras cuencas europeas. Como primer paso, aquí presentamos la información disponible de las cuencas Catalana y Pirenaica (NE de la Península Ibérica), ofreciendo nuevos puntos de vista sobre la diversidad y distribución temporal de las faunas de vertebrados. Las dos cuencas muestran una inesperada abundancia y diversidad de faunas de vertebrados, incluyendo peces, anfibios y reptiles de ambientes continentales y marinos. La revisión de hallazgos clásicos y el análisis de nuevo material proporcionan nuevos datos para la comprensión de la historia evolutiva y paleobiogeográfica de las faunas de vertebrados durante el Pérmico y el Triásico en la Península Ibérica. Los hallazgos en el Pérmico corresponden mayoritariamente a pisadas encontradas en depósitos aluviales, siendo el registro osteológico muy escaso en la Península Ibérica. Se desconocen localidades de vertebrados del Triásico inferior. Las faunas del Triásico medio son abundantes y reflejan el cambio desde ambientes continentales hasta una amplia diversidad de ambientes deposicionales costeros y marinos. Durante el Anisiense, las faunas están representadas por pisadas y restos esqueléticos de anfibios (capitosaurios) y reptiles terrestres (arcosauriformes y procolofonoideos). De finales del Anisiense y el Ladiniense se conoce ictiofauna, sauropterigios, talattosaurios y protorosaurios. Finalmente, las localidades del Triásico superior están representadas por ambientes costeros conservando reptiles marinos (sauropterigios) y una diversa ictiofauna

Similar local but different systemic metabolomic responses of closely related pine subspecies to folivory by caterpillars of the processionary moth

Plants respond locally and systemically to herbivore attack. Most of the research conducted on plant-herbivore relationships at elemental and molecular levels have focused on the elemental composition or/and certain molecular compounds or specific families of defensive metabolites showing that herbivores tend to select plant individuals or species with higher nutrient concentrations and to avoid those with higher levels of defensive compounds. We performed stoichiometric and metabolomics, local and systemic, analyses in two subspecies of Pinus sylvestris under the attack by the caterpillars of the pine processionary moth, an important pest in the Mediterranean Basin. Both pine subspecies responded locally to folivory mainly by increasing the relative concentrations of terpenes and some phenolics. Systemic responses differed between subspecies and most of the metabolites presented intermediate concentrations between those of the affected parts and unattacked trees. Our results support the hypothesis that foliar nutrient concentrations are not a key factor of an alleged plant selection by adult female processionary moths for oviposition since folivory was not associated with any of the elements analyzed. Phenolic compounds did not generally increase in the attacked trees questioning thus their commonly proposed induction by folivory attack and their anti-feeding properties. Herbivory attack produced a general systemic shift in pines, including both primary and secondary metabolisms, that was less intense and chemically different from the local responses. Local pine responses were similar between subspecies while systemic responses were more distant between them

A Roadmap for the Restoration of Mediterranean Macroalgal Forests

Canopy-forming macroalgae play a crucial role in coastal primary production and nutrient cycling, providing food, shelter, nurseries, and habitat for many vertebrate and invertebrate species. However, macroalgal forests are in decline in various places and natural recovery is almost impossible when populations become locally extinct. Hence, active restoration emerges as the most promising strategy to rebuild disappeared forests. In this regard, significant efforts have been made by several EU institutions to research new restoration tools for shallow and mesophotic reef habitats (e.g., MERCES EU project, AFRIMED, and ROCPOP-life) and effective techniques have subsequently been proposed to promote self-sustaining populations. Recent research indicates that macroalgal forest recovery requires a broad spectrum of measures, ranging from mitigating human impacts to restoring the most degraded populations and habitats, and that the viability of large restoration actions is compromised by ongoing human pressures (e.g., pollution, overgrazing, and climate change). We propose a roadmap for Mediterranean macroalgal restoration to assist researchers and stakeholders in decision-making, considering the most effective methods in terms of cost and cost-effectiveness, and taking background environmental conditions and potential threats into account. Last, the challenges currently faced by the restoration of rocky coastal ecosystems under changing climate conditions are also discussed

Are the metabolomic responses to folivory of closely related plant species linked to macroevolutionary and plant-folivore coevolutionary processes?

Altres ajuts: MAGRAMA/OAPN-022/2008The debate whether the coevolution of plants and insects or macroevolutionary processes (phylogeny) is the main driver determining the arsenal of molecular defensive compounds of plants remains unresolved. Attacks by herbivorous insects affect not only the composition of defensive compounds in plants but also the entire metabolome. Metabolomes are the final products of genotypes and are constrained by macroevolutionary processes, so closely related species should have similar metabolomic compositions and may respond in similar ways to attacks by folivores. We analyzed the elemental compositions and metabolomes of needles from three closely related Pinus species with distant coevolutionary histories with the caterpillar of the processionary moth respond similarly to its attack. All pines had different metabolomes and metabolic responses to herbivorous attack. The metabolomic variation among the species and the responses to folivory reflected their macroevolutionary relationships, with P. pinaster having the most divergent metabolome. The concentrations of terpenes were in the attacked trees supporting the hypothesis that herbivores avoid plant individuals with higher concentrations. Our results suggest that macroevolutionary history plays important roles in the metabolomic responses of these pine species to folivory, but plant-insect coevolution probably constrains those responses. Combinations of different evolutionary factors and trade-offs are likely responsible for the different responses of each species to folivory, which is not necessarily exclusively linked to plant-insect coevolution

Foliar and soil concentrations and stoichiometry of N and P across European Pinus sylvestris forests: relationships with climate, N deposition and tree growth

1. This study investigated the factors underlying the variability of needle and soil elemental composition and stoichiometry and their relationships with growth in Pinus sylvestris forests throughout the species' distribution in Europe by analyzing data from 2245 forest stands. 2. Needle N concentrations and N:P ratios were positively correlated with total atmospheric N deposition, whereas needle P concentrations were negatively correlated. These relationships were especially pronounced at sites where high levels of N deposition coincided with both higher mean annual temperature and higher mean annual precipitation. Trends toward foliar P deficiency were thus more marked when high N deposition coincided with climatic conditions favorable to plant production. 3. Atmospheric N deposition was positively correlated with soil-solution NO3-, SO42-, K+, P, and Ca2+ concentrations, the soil-solution NO3-:P ratio, total soil N, and the total soil N:Olsen P ratio, and negatively correlated with soil Olsen P concentration. 4. Despite these nutrient imbalances, during the period studied (1990-2006), N deposition was positively related with Pinus sylvestris absolute basal diameter (BD) growth, although only accounting for the 10% of the total variance. However, neither N deposition nor needle N concentration were related with relative annual BD growth. In contrast, needle P concentration was positively related with both absolute and relative annual BD growth. 5. These results thus indicate a tendency of European P. sylvestris forests to store N in trees and soil in response to N deposition and unveil a trend toward increased nutrient losses in runoff as a consequence of higher soil-solution N concentrations. Overall, the data show increasing ecosystem nutrient imbalances with increasingly limiting roles of P and other nutrients such as K in European P. sylvestris forests, especially in the center of their distribution where higher levels of N deposition are observed. Thus, although the data show that N deposition has had an overall positive effect on P. sylvestris growth, the effect of continuous N deposition, associated with decreasing P and K and increasing N:P in leaves and in soil, may in the future become detrimental for the growth and competitive ability of P. Sylvestris trees

Foliar and soil concentrations and stoichiometry of N and P across European Pinus sylvestris forests : relationships with climate, N deposition and tree growth

1. This study investigated the factors underlying the variability of needle and soil elemental composition and stoichiometry and their relationships with growth in Pinus sylvestris forests throughout the species' distribution in Europe by analyzing data from 2245 forest stands. 2. Needle N concentrations and N:P ratios were positively correlated with total atmospheric N deposition, whereas needle P concentrations were negatively correlated. These relationships were especially pronounced at sites where high levels of N deposition coincided with both higher mean annual temperature and higher mean annual precipitation. Trends toward foliar P deficiency were thus more marked when high N deposition coincided with climatic conditions favorable to plant production. 3. Atmospheric N deposition was positively correlated with soil-solution NO3-, SO42-, K+, P, and Ca2+ concentrations, the soil-solution NO3-:P ratio, total soil N, and the total soil N:Olsen P ratio, and negatively correlated with soil Olsen P concentration. 4. Despite these nutrient imbalances, during the period studied (1990-2006), N deposition was positively related with Pinus sylvestris absolute basal diameter (BD) growth, although only accounting for the 10% of the total variance. However, neither N deposition nor needle N concentration were related with relative annual BD growth. In contrast, needle P concentration was positively related with both absolute and relative annual BD growth. 5. These results thus indicate a tendency of European P. sylvestris forests to store N in trees and soil in response to N deposition and unveil a trend toward increased nutrient losses in runoff as a consequence of higher soil-solution N concentrations. Overall, the data show increasing ecosystem nutrient imbalances with increasingly limiting roles of P and other nutrients such as K in European P. sylvestris forests, especially in the center of their distribution where higher levels of N deposition are observed. Thus, although the data show that N deposition has had an overall positive effect on P. sylvestris growth, the effect of continuous N deposition, associated with decreasing P and K and increasing N:P in leaves and in soil, may in the future become detrimental for the growth and competitive ability of P. Sylvestris trees

Thresholds in decoupled soil-plant elements under changing climatic conditions

Background and aims: aridity has increased in the past decades and will probably continue to increase in arid and semiarid regions. Here we decipher the plant and soil capacity to retain metal cations when climate evolves to more arid conditions. - Methods: we analyzed K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu concentrations in 580 soil samples and 666 plant (shoot and root) samples along a 3600 km aridity gradient in northern China. - Results: the concentrations of soil exchangeable K, Mg, Mn, Fe and Cu clearly decreased with increasing aridity due to the relationships of aridity with soil clay content and soil pH. Increases in exchangeable Na and Ca concentrations at mid- and high-aridity levels are probably due to the soil salinization, whereas increased exchangeable Fe concentrations at extreme levels of aridity may be more related to a reduced pH. Element concentrations in both plant shoots and roots were unrelated to soil exchangeable element concentrations; instead they increased monotonously with increasing aridity, corresponding with decreases in plant size and shoot/root ratios. The shoot/root mineralomass ratios in general increased with increasing aridity. The proportional higher element contents in shoots than in roots with increasing aridity are related to increased water uptake and/or use efficiency. - Conclusions: the extractability of soil elements in response to changing climate varied with the nature of specific elements that are controlled by biological and geochemical processes, i.e., some decreased linearly with increasing aridity, whereas others first decreased and then increased with different thresholds. These contrasting effects of aridity on nutrient availability could further constrain plant growth and should be incorporated into biogeochemical models. The prevailing paradigm of a positive relationship between concentrations of plant and soil elements needs to be reconsidered under changing climatic condition

Impact of soil warming on the plant metabolome of Icelandic grasslands

Altres ajuts: Scholarly Studies programme of the Smithsonian Institution, projects LM2015061 and LO1415 of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, and the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO aspirant grant to N.L.).Climate change is stronger at high than at temperate and tropical latitudes. The natural geothermal conditions in southern Iceland provide an opportunity to study the impact of warming on plants, because of the geothermal bedrock channels that induce stable gradients of soil temperature. We studied two valleys, one where such gradients have been present for centuries (long-term treatment), and another where new gradients were created in 2008 after a shallow crustal earthquake (short-term treatment). We studied the impact of soil warming (0 to +15 °C) on the foliar metabolomes of two common plant species of high northern latitudes: Agrostis capillaris, a monocotyledon grass; and Ranunculus acris, a dicotyledonous herb, and evaluated the dependence of shifts in their metabolomes on the length of the warming treatment. The two species responded differently to warming, depending on the length of exposure. The grass metabolome clearly shifted at the site of long-term warming, but the herb metabolome did not. The main up-regulated compounds at the highest temperatures at the long-term site were saccharides and amino acids, both involved in heat-shock metabolic pathways. Moreover, some secondary metabolites, such as phenolic acids and terpenes, associated with a wide array of stresses, were also up-regulated. Most current climatic models predict an increase in annual average temperature between 2-8 °C over land masses in the Arctic towards the end of this century. The metabolomes of A. capillaris and R. acris shifted abruptly and nonlinearly to soil warming >5 °C above the control temperature for the coming decades. These results thus suggest that a slight warming increase may not imply substantial changes in plant function, but if the temperature rises more than 5 °C, warming may end up triggering metabolic pathways associated with heat stress in some plant species currently dominant in this region