BUSCADOR RECOLECTA

Description of the project Context: In the face of anthropogenic global change, Mediterranean oak-dominated ecosystems confront increased biotic (ungulate herbivory) and abiotic (drought) stressors, compromising forest regeneration. Restoration measures are imperative to address this scenario. Aims: This study assesses the impact of different mitigation measures on the survival and biochemical traits of two widespread Mediterranean oak species. 4. Description of the dataset The dataset encompasses information from the planting of 300 Quercus seedlings in Cabañeros (Quercus ilex; N=200) and Doñana (Quercus suber; N=100), subjected to various treatments: cotyledon/acorn removal, seedling age (1 vs. 2-year-old), and herbivore protection (fenced vs. non-fenced). Monthly measurements of the seedlings were conducted from February to September 2021. Each visit consisted of recording: the seedling survival status (alive vs. dead), the damage caused by biotic and abiotic stress agents and the identification of the main stress agent, namely wild boar, deer, rabbit, fungi, insect or drought. We considered the main stress agent the one leading to the plant death, or, in the case of surviving seedlings, the one identified with the highest intensity score. To compare seedling physiological leaf biochemical responses to different treatments and plant ages, several non-destructive measures of chlorophyll, anthocyanin and flavonoid concentrations and the nitrogen balance index (NBI) were taken using the leaf clamp fluorescence sensor Dualex ® TMScientific+, Force One. The Dualex measures were taken on 5 leaves previously marked, from top to bottom, only in alive seedlings., Peer reviewed

When populations colonise new environments they may be exposed to novel selection pressures but also suffer from extensive genetic drift due to founder effects, small population sizes, and limited interpopulation gene flow. Genomic approaches enable us to study how these factors drive divergence, and disentangle neutral effects from differentiation at specific loci due to selection. Here, we investigate patterns of genetic diversity and divergence using whole-genome resequencing (> 22X coverage) in Berthelot’s pipit (Anthus berthelotii), a passerine endemic to the islands of three north Atlantic archipelagos. Strong environmental gradients, including in pathogen pressure, across populations in the species range, make it an excellent system in which to explore traits important in adaptation and/or incipient speciation. Firstly, we quantify how genomic divergence accumulates across the speciation continuum, i.e., among Berthelot’s pipit populations, between subspecies across archipelagos, and between Berthelot’s pipit and its mainland ancestor, the tawny pipit (Anthus campestris). Across these colonisation timeframes (2.1 million – ca. 8,000 years ago), we identify highly differentiated loci within genomic islands of divergence and conclude that the observed distributions align with expectations for non-neutral divergence. Characteristic signatures of selection are identified in loci associated with craniofacial/bone and eye development, metabolism, and immune response between population comparisons. Interestingly, we find limited evidence for repeated divergence of the same loci across the colonisation range but do identify different loci putatively associated with the same biological traits in different populations, likely due to parallel adaptation. Incipient speciation across these island populations, in which founder effects and selective pressures are strong, may therefore be repeatedly associated with morphology, metabolism, and immune defence., Natural Environment Research Council: NE/L002582/1; Natural Environment Research Council: NE/S007334/1; Norwich Research Park, Science Links Seed Fund; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación / European Commission: PGC2018-097575-B-I00; Gobierno del Principado de Asturias: AYUD/2021/51261, Peer reviewed

The dataset presents information on the spacial distribution of organic contaminants from different areas of L' Albufera Natural Park. It includes target analysis of pesticides and a non-target analysis of organic contaminants including pharmaceuticals, industrial compounds, etc in surface water samples considering two sampling campaigns (spring and autumn), and in sediment samples (only in spring). Additionally, an ecological risk assessment for pesticides is conducted to determine potential toxicity in the surface water samples., Conselleria d'Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport CIPROM/2021/032. Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades PRE2019-089042. Horizon 2020 grant agreement 862695., Peer reviewed

There is some evidence that seed traits can affect the long-term persistence of seeds in the soil. However, findings on this topic have differed between systems. Here, we brought together a worldwide database of seed persistence data for 1474 species to test the generality of seed mass-shape-persistence relationships. We found a significant trend for low seed persistence to be associated with larger and less spherical seeds. However, the relationship varied across different clades, growth forms and species ecological preferences. Specifically, relationships of seed mass-shape-persistence were more pronounced in Poales than in other order clades. Herbaceous species that tend to be found in sites with low soil sand content and precipitation have stronger relationships between seed shape and persistence than in sites with higher soil sand content and precipitation. For the woody plants, the relationship between persistence and seed morphology was stronger in sites with high soil sand content and low precipitation than in sites with low soil sand content and higher precipitation. Improving ability to predict the soil seed bank formation process, including burial and persistence, could benefit the utilization of seed morphology-persistence relationships in management strategies for vegetation restoration and controlling species invasion across diverse vegetation types and environments., National Natural Science Foundation of China: 31922062, 32171681, 32171518; Basic Research and Innovation Group Project of Gansu Province*: 22JR5RA390; Zhengzhou University: 32212526/134, Early career research project; Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands: 14-09-09-9354-93001, Peer reviewed

There is some evidence that seed traits can affect the long-term persistence of seeds in the soil. However, findings on this topic have differed between systems. Here, we brought together a worldwide database of seed persistence data for 1474 species to test the generality of seed mass-shape-persistence relationships. We found a significant trend for low seed persistence to be associated with larger and less spherical seeds. However, the relationship varied across different clades, growth forms and species ecological preferences. Specifically, relationships of seed mass-shape-persistence were more pronounced in Poales than in other order clades. Herbaceous species that tend to be found in site with low soil sand content and precipitation have stronger relationships between seed shape and persistence than in sites with higher soil sand content and precipitation. For the woody plants, the relationship between persistence and seed morphology was stronger in sites with high soil sand content and low precipitation than in sites with low soil sand content and higher precipitation. Improving ability to predict the soil seed bank formation process, including burial and persistence, could benefit the utilization of seed morphology-persistence relationships in management strategies for vegetation restoration and controlling species invasion across diverse vegetation types and environments., National Natural Science Foundation of China (31922062, 32171681, 32171518); Basic Research and Innovation Group Project of Gansu Province (22JR5RA390); Early career research project of Zhengzhou University (32212526/134); Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands of Iran (14-09-09-9354-93001)., Peer reviewed

Data for Måsviken et al. 2024. Processes regulating local community assembly of plants and spiders in high latitude mountains. Journal of Biogeography doi:10.1111/jbl.14981, RYC-2013-14662_MINECO; PID2019-­107862RB-­100_MICINN; PID2022-­137336OB-­I00_MICINN; FR-­2017-­00704_Formas; 1904_Göran-Gustafssons-Stiftelse; LINKA20417_CSIC, Peer reviewed

The R code for carrying out the meta-analysis is provided in file "global_fire_analysis_240325.R". The database is provided in the file "global_fire_DB_240325.csv". The columns in the file are described below: study_id: study identification, composed of the name of the first author and the year of publication. study_num: study number. ES_num: number of effect size within study. country: country where the study was carried out. latitude/longitude: coordinates indicating where the study was carried out. FR_hist: type of historical fire regime (surface fire, crown fire, or non fire prone). FR_comp: fire regime component (frequency or severity). fire_type: type of fire (wildfire or prescribed fire). habitat: type of habitat (broadleaf forest, conifer forest, mixed forest, grassland, shrubland, or woodland). response: broad response variable measured (abundance, diversity, or fitness). response_detailed: more detailed response variable measured (e.g., size or biomass, density or frequency, Shannon or Simpson indices, gamma diversity, survival). TSF_months: time since fire in months. TSF_factor: factor variable of time since fire (short, 24 months or less, or long, more than 24 months). PLF: plant life form studied (woody plant, herb, or bryophyte). climate: climate prevalent in the study region (arid, cold, temperate with a dry season, temperate without a dry season, or tropical). Xtreat1_type: type of crossed factor number one. Xtreat1_fact: category for crossed factor number one. Xtreat2_type: type of crossed factor number two. Xtreat2_fact: category for crossed factor number two. surface-crown: type of change in fire behaviour with intensification of fire regime (surface to crown, surface to surface, or crown to crown). eff_n: effective sample size. d_Hedges: Hedges’ d. var_Hedges: variance of Hedges’ d. imputed: whether the effect size was imputed or not. source: source of the data used to calculate the effect size (e.g., Table1, Figure2, main text). 'NA' indicate missing values, e.g., because they were not reported in the source study, or because the variable does not apply to that study., Database of responses of plant abundance, diversity, and fitness to increased fire frequency or severity, collected from published scientific articles or reports. The database includes 394 studies published worldwide between 1962 and 2023. Information on the following variables are also provided: fire regime component (fire frequency or severity), time since the last fire, fire type (wildfire or prescribed fire), historical fire regime type (surface or crown fire), plant life form (woody plant, herb, or bryophyte), habitat type, and climate. The database underpins the meta-analysis 'Global plant responses to intensified fire regimes', published in Global Ecology and Biogeography., Generalitat Valenciana: Prometeo/2021/040 European Union: Horizon 2020 - 101003890, Peer reviewed

Context-dependent dispersal allows organisms to seek and settle in habitats improving their fitness. Despite the importance of species interactions in determining fitness, a quantitative synthesis on how they affect dispersal is lacking. We present a meta-analysis asking (1) whether the interaction experienced and/or perceived by a focal species (detrimental interaction with predators, competitors, parasites, or beneficial interaction with resources, hosts, mutualists) affects its dispersal, (2) how the species’ ecological and biological background affects the direction and strength of this interaction-dependent dispersal. After a systematic search focusing on actively dispersing species, we extracted 397 effect sizes from 118 empirical studies encompassing 221 species pairs; arthropods were best represented, followed by vertebrates, protists and others. Detrimental species interactions increased the focal species’ dispersal (adjusted effect: 0.33 [0.06,0.60]), while beneficial interactions decreased it (-0.55 [-0.92,-0.17]). The effect depended on the dispersal phase, with detrimental interactors having opposite impacts on emigration and transience. Interaction-dependent dispersal was negatively related to species’ interaction strength, and depended on the global community composition, with cues of presence having stronger effects than presence of the interactor, and the ecological complexity of the community. Our work demonstrates the importance of interspecific interactions on dispersal plasticity with consequences for metacommunity dynamics., Peer reviewed

Raw data extracted from the videos of wolves and jackals feeding simultaneously on a carcass in Maharashtra (India). A legend is included in the archive., TRIADIC Project, Peer reviewed

The dataset presents information on the vertical distribution of contaminants, covering legacy heavy metals, emerging contaminants like pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and pesticides, as well as persistent organic pollutants in sediment cores from two areas (North and South) of L'Albufera lake. It includes 14C-data for organic matter and seashells, along with physico-chemical analyses of sediment characteristics at various depth levels. Additionally, an ecological risk assessment is conducted to determine potential toxicity in the surface sediment layers., Peer reviewed