Suchergebnisse

Understanding the processes driving seabirds' reproductive performance through trophic interactions requires the identification of seasonal pulses in marine productivity.We investigated the sequence of environmental and biological processes driving the reproductive phenology and performance of the storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) in the Western Mediterranean. The enhanced light and nutrient availability at the onset of water stratification (late winter/early spring) resulted in annual consecutive peaks in relative abundance of phytoplankton, zooplankton and ichthyoplankton. The high energy-demanding period of egg production and chick rearing coincided with these successive pulses in food availability, pointing to a phenological adjustment to such seasonal patterns with important fitness consequences. Indeed, delayed reproduction with respect to the onset of water stratification resulted in both hatching and breeding failure. This pattern was observed at the population level, but also when confounding factors such as individuals' age or experience were also accounted for.We provide the first evidence of oceanographic drivers leading to the optimal time-window for reproduction in an inshore seabird at southern European latitudes, along with a suitable framework for assessing the impact of environmentally driven changes in marine productivity patterns in seabird performance. ; Research funds were provided by the Spanish Government (refs. BOS2003-01960, CGL2006-04325/BOS, CGL2009 08298, CGL2013-42203-R, JCI-2011-09085), and the European Union (FP7-PEOPLE 2009-IEF-MATERGLOBE) ; Peer Reviewed

10 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107943 ; For centuries, human activities have altered the population dynamics of wildlife. New anthropogenic food sources provide a predictable and abundant food supply that often induces very significant changes in the size, distribution, and behaviour of many populations, with ultimate consequences on the structure and functioning of natural ecosystems. Here, we combine historical and contemporary feather samples of a population of a superabundant, opportunistic predator, the yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis, to assess its trophic ecology and relate it to human activities in the long term. Dietary assessments were based on stable isotope analysis of carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur (δ13C, δ15N and δ34S), and were conducted through three end-point (marine prey, waste from landfills-slaughterhouses, and terrestrial invertebrates) Bayesian mixing models. Our results suggest that gulls' diet showed a progressive decrease in the consumption of marine prey throughout the most recent period (late 20th century onwards), linked to an increase in the consumption of meat waste and small terrestrial invertebrates. Reported dietary changes over the sampling period correlated positively with the availability of marine resources around the breeding area. We provide evidence suggesting that the ability of gulls to exploit efficiently diverse anthropogenic food subsidies likely resulted in the exponential demographic increase of this population throughout the 20th century. In addition, current regulations affecting the availability of these food resources (e.g., fishing discards and landfill waste) likely reversed this trend over the last decade. Long-term evidence of population trophic plasticity, like the one we present here, is essential to implement and support management and conservation actions that limit the availability of anthropogenic resources, especially when it comes to superabundant, problematic species ; This work was supported by FAU2008-00012-C02-01 from INIA (Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Spain), CGL2009-11278/BOS from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación from the Spanish Government, Fondos FEDER, 2017/2349 of the PLEAMAR programme with the collaboration of the Fundación Biodiversidad, from the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica (Spain), cofounded by the EMFF (European Union), and REN2003-07050 Aplicación de biomarcadores a la gestión de una especie problemática (Larus cachinnans). CERCA Programme from Generalitat de Catalunya is also acknowledged. RR was supported by a postdoctoral Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC-2017-22055) and VMP was supported by a pre-doctoral contract BES-2014-068025 both from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad ; With the institutional support of the 'Severo OchoaCentre of Excellence' accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S) ; Peer reviewed

11 pages, 7 figures, supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144002 ; Sustainable fishing practices must ensure human wellbeing by safeguarding the integrity of marine life-supporting systems. Unfortunately, a significant challenge to fisheries management is that sustainable fishing levels can decline, often synergistically, by co-occurring with climate-driven environmental stressors. Within one of the most impacted marine areas in the world, and encompassing a number of highly targeted commercial species, the small pelagic fish community of the western Mediterranean Sea has recently shown signs of collapse. In this study, we identify a worrying coincidence where fishing hotspots for the commercially valuable European sardine Sardina pilchardus and anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus occur in marine areas mostly affected by climate change. To identify these areas, we overlayed detailed, spatially explicit measurements of fishing pressure with the finest-scale maps of cumulative climate change impacts onto these species. According to our results, doubly impacted marine areas largely occur in the north-western Mediterranean Sea, with climate and fisheries mostly affecting European sardine. Reducing local stressors (i.e., fishing pressure) in highly impacted areas may contribute to maintain these communities within a "safe operating space" (SOS), where they remain resilient to climate change. Accordingly, the redistribution and/or reduction of fishing intensity may alleviate pressure in those areas already affected by climate change. Sustainable fishing strategies may benefit, therefore, from the SOS concept and the spatial assessments provided in this study ; This study was carried out within the Spanish Research project PELWEB (CTM2017-88939-R) funded by Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Catalonian Government PELCAT projects (CAT 152CAT00013, TAIS ARP059/19/00005), and the study received funding from European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 817578 (TRIATLAS project) ; Peer reviewed

© Inter-Research 2015. Interpopulation mixing of migratory species at particular stopover and wintering hotspots increases their vulnerability to anthropogenic impacts. Animal associations with human activities at this time of the annual cycle should, therefore, inform management policies. The Gulf of Cadiz, Spain is a key non-breeding area for the Near-Threatened Audouin's gull Ichthyaetus audouinii and the over-abundant lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus, both of which heavily depend on human fisheries. Here, we used long-term (1990-2013) data on coastal censuses, along with spatially-explicit information on fish landings (2000-2014) and on-board surveys of fishing vessels (2012-2013), to unravel the association of these gulls with human fisheries and evaluate its role in shaping their distribution at this important non-breeding hotspot. Fishing discards from trawlers were extensively used by lesser black-backed gulls, whereas Audouin's gulls apparently benefited from fish aggregations that occurred where purse seines were retrieved. Fishing influence was identified as an important driver of the non-breeding distribution of these gulls, particularly for the lesser black-backed gull, which congregated near main fishing ports. Within this scenario, we speculate that changes in fishing practices, such as those proposed by the upcoming EU Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy that includes a ban on fishing discards, will almost certainly impact the lesser black-backed gull. In contrast, the impact on the Audouin's gull remains unclear and will likely depend on how the proposed ban is implemented. ; Peer Reviewed

Poster presented at the 2nd International Agrobiodiversity Congress An Information System for Mexican Agrobiodiversity: Open Data and Tools to Support Agrobiodiversity Conservation. Agrobiodiversity conservation demands multi-sectoral collaboration supported by evidence. In this session, we will share the process of developing an Agrobiodiversity Information System (SIAgroBD) at the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), a governmental agency that coordinates data collection and analysis in support of the sustainable management of natural resources in Mexico. SIAgroBD aims to generate knowledge that enables the conservation of traditional agriculture and native crops of global importance. It is a comprehensive project at the national level that is part of the Mexican Agrobiodiversity GEF project. Research teams from different universities are collecting new data for SIAgroBD on native crops and their wild relatives in collaboration with local communities. Additionally, we are integrating agronomic data, qualitative assessments of local use of agrobiodiversity, and nutritional data from partner institutions. These data recognize the ecological, human and cultural dimensions of agroecosystems, in contrast with the current trends in big data for agriculture, which focus on conventional breeding and production. The need for recognizing and conserving the diversity of native crops and traditional practices drives the design and development of SIAgroBD. Our information system is intended for a wide audience, from academic researchers to policymakers and the general public. As part of developing SIAgroBD, we are promoting the adoption of digital field data collection tools, vocabulary standards, and open data training. We expect that the lessons we have learned in this project are valuable for practitioners and decision makers seeking examples of knowledge infrastructures centered on agrobiodiversity.

Este artículo contiene 27 páginas, 2 tablas, 5 figuras. ; Shearwaters and petrels (hereafter petrels) are highly adapted seabirds that occur across all the world's oceans. Petrels are a threatened seabird group comprising 124 species. They have bet-hedging life histories typified by extended chick rearing periods, low fecundity, high adult survival, strong philopatry, monogamy and long-term mate fidelity and are thus vulnerable to change. Anthropogenic alterations on land and at sea have led to a poor conservation status of many petrels with 52 (42%) threatened species based on IUCN criteria and 65 (52%) suffering population declines. Some species are well-studied, even being used as bioindicators of ocean health, yet for others there are major knowledge gaps regarding their breeding grounds, migratory areas or other key aspects of their biology and ecology. We assembled 38 petrel conservation researchers to summarize information regarding the most important threats according to the IUCN Red List of threatened species to identify knowledge gaps that must be filled to improve conservation and management of petrels. We highlight research advances on the main threats for petrels (invasive species at breeding grounds, bycatch, overfishing, light pollution, climate change, and pollution). We propose an ambitious goal to reverse at least some of these six main threats, through active efforts such as restoring island habitats (e.g., invasive species removal, control and prevention), improving policies and regulations at global and regional levels, and engaging local communities in conservation efforts. ; AR and FR were supported by Juan de la Cierva programme, Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (IJCI-2015-23913 and IJCI-2015-24531). ML was funded by the Ramón y Cajal programme (RYC-2012-09897), Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness. WM was supported by an NSERC Discovery grant. MG was partially supported by the European Union (MINOUW Project, H2020-634495). JMA and VC were supported by ZEPAMED Project, Pleamar programme, Fundación Biodiversidad, Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition. ; Peer reviewed