BUSCADOR RECOLECTA

AFLP profiles for the plants of Lavandula latifolia sampled for the study Markers are identified by primer combination and size (base pairs) AFLP.scores.xlsx MSAP profiles for the plants of Lavandula latifolia sampled for the study Markers are identified by primer combination and size (base pairs). MSAP.scores.xlsx Spatial coordinates of Lavandula latifolia plants sampled for the study Coordinates are expressed in meters and the origin (0,0) is the lower left corner of the plot as depicted in the figures. Plant.coordinates.xlsx, Little is known on the potential of ecological disturbance to cause genetic and epigenetic changes in plant populations. We take advantage of a long-term field experiment initiated in 1986 to study the demography of the shrub Lavandula latifolia, and compare genetic and epigenetic characteristics of plants in two adjacent subplots, one experimentally disturbed and one left undisturbed, 20 years after disturbance. Experimental setup was comparable to an unreplicated ‘Before-After-Control-Impact’ (BACI) design where a single pair of perturbed and control areas were compared. When sampled in 2005, plants in the two subplots had roughly similar ages, but they had established in contrasting environments: dense conspecific population (‘Undisturbed’ subpopulation) versus open area with all conspecifics removed (‘Disturbed’ subpopulation). Plants were characterized genetically and epigenetically using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and two classes of methylation-sensitive AFLP (MSAP) markers. Subpopulations were similar in genetic diversity but differed in epigenetic diversity and multilocus genetic and epigenetic characteristics. Epigenetic divergence between subpopulations was statistically unrelated to genetic divergence. Bayesian clustering revealed an abrupt linear boundary between subpopulations closely coincident with the arbitrary demarcation line between subplots drawn 20 years back, which supports that genetic and epigenetic divergence between subpopulations was caused by artificial disturbance. There was significant fine-scale spatial structuring of MSAP markers in both subpopulations, which in the Undisturbed one was indistinguishable from that of AFLP markers. Genetic differences between subpopulations could be explained by divergent selection alone, while the concerted action of divergent selection and disturbance-driven appearance of new methylation variants in the Disturbed subpopulation is proposed to explain epigenetic differences. This study provides the first empirical evidence to date suggesting that relatively mild disturbances could leave genetic and epigenetic signatures on the next adult generation of long-lived plants., Peer reviewed

Tri-axial accelerometry has proved to be a useful technique to study animal behavior with little direct observation, and also an effective way to measure energy expenditure, allowing a refreshing revisit to optimal foraging theory. This theory predicts that individuals should gain the most energy for the lowest cost in terms of time and energy when foraging, in order to maximize their fitness. However, during a foraging trip, central-place foragers could face different trade-offs during the commuting and searching parts of the trip, influencing behavioral decisions. Using the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) as an example we study the time and energy costs of different behaviors during the commuting and searching parts of a foraging trip. Lesser kestrels are small insectivorous falcons that behave as central-place foragers during the breeding season. They can commute by adopting either time-saving flapping flights or energy-saving soaring-gliding flights, and capture prey by using either time-saving active hovering flights or energy-saving perch-hunting. We tracked 6 lesser kestrels using GPS and tri-axial accelerometers during the breeding season. Our results indicate that males devoted more time and energy to flight behaviors than females in agreement with being the sex responsible for food provisioning to the nest. During the commuting flights, kestrels replaced flapping with soaring-gliding flights as solar radiation increased and thermal updrafts got stronger. In the searching part, they replaced perch-hunting with hovering as wind speed increased and they experienced a stronger lift. But also, they increased the use of hovering as air temperature increased, which has a positive influence on the activity level of the preferred prey (large grasshoppers). Kestrels maintained a constant energy expenditure per foraging trip, although flight and hunting strategies changed dramatically with weather conditions, suggesting a fixed energy budget per trip to which they adjusted their commuting and searching strategies in response to weather conditions, Peer reviewed

Global Positioning System (GPS) tags are nowadays widely used in wildlife tracking. This geolocation technique can suffer from fix loss biases due to poor satellite GPS geometry, that result in tracking data gaps leading to wrong research conclusions. In addition, new solar-powered GPS tags deployed on birds can suffer from a new “battery drain bias” currently ignored in movement ecology analyses. We use a GPS tracking dataset of bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus), tracked for several years with solar GPS tags, to evaluate the causes and triggers of fix and data retrieval loss biases. We compare two models of solar GPS tags using different data retrieval systems (Argos vs GSM-GPRS), and programmed with different duty cycles. Neither of the models was able to accomplish the duty cycle programed initially. Fix and data retrieval loss rates were always greater than expected, and showed non-random gaps in GPS locations. Number of fixes per month of tracking was a bad criterion to identify tags with smaller biases. Fix-loss rates were four times higher due to battery drain than due to poor GPS satellite geometry. Both tag models were biased due to the uneven solar energy available for the recharge of the tag throughout the annual cycle, resulting in greater fix-loss rates in winter compared to summer. In addition, we suggest that the bias found along the diurnal cycle is linked to a complex three-factor interaction of bird flight behavior, topography and fix interval. More fixes were lost when vultures were perching compared to flying, in rugged versus flat topography. But long fix-intervals caused greater loss of fixes in dynamic (flying) versus static situations (perching). To conclude, we emphasize the importance of evaluating fix-loss bias in current tracking projects, and deploying GPS tags that allow remote duty cycle updates so that the most appropriate fix and data retrieval intervals can be selected., No

Global warming and direct anthropogenic impacts, such as water extraction, are largely affecting water budgets in Mediterranean wetlands, thereby increasing wetland salinities and isolation, and decreasing water depths and hydroperiods (duration of the inundation period). These wetland features are key elements structuring waterbird communities. However, the ultimate and net consequences of these dynamic conditions on waterbird assemblages are largely unknown. We combined a regular sampling on waterbird presence through the 2008 annual cycle with in-situ data on these relevant environmental predictors of waterbird distribution to model habitat selection for 69 individual species in a typical Mediterranean wetland network in south-western Spain. Species association with environmental features were subsequently used to predict changes in habitat suitability for each species under three climate change scenarios (encompassing changes in environment that ranged from 10% to 50% change as predicted by climatic models). Waterbirds distributed themselves unevenly throughout environmental gradients and water salinity was the most important gradient structuring the distribution of the community. Environmental suitability for the guilds of diving birds and vegetation gleaners will be reduced according to future climate scenarios, while most small wading birds will benefit from changing conditions. Resident species and those that breed in this wetland network will be also more impacted than those using this area for wintering or stopover. We provide here a tool that can be used in a horizon-scanning framework to identify emerging issues on waterbird conservation and to anticipate suitable management actions, Peer reviewed

This contains three Microsoft Excel files for global methylation, AFLP and MSAP data, respectively. On each file one sheet contains the information of maternal plants and the other the information of the offspring. Each row refers to individual samples. For AFLP and MSAP each column refers to specific (although anonymous) markers labeled similarly in both sheets. Leaves from 15 adult plants were sampled along a 125-m transect in Cuevas Bermejas population (Sierra de Cazorla, Jaén Province, southeastern Spain), in October 2015. Offspring were obtained from seeds under greenhouse conditions, leaf samples were collected when they were 8-months old when only offspring of 13 mothers remained. DNA was extracted from leaves using Qiagen DNeasy Plant Mini Kit and the manufacturer protocol. Maternal parents and greenhouse plants were genetically fingerprinted using amplified fragment polymorphism (AFLP) markers. The AFLP and MSAP analysis were performed using standard protocols involving the use of fluorescent dye-labeled selective primers. For AFLP, each plant was fingerprinted using three different EcoRI + 3 / MseI + 3 primer pair combinations. MSAP assays used four HpaII-MspI + 2 / MseI + 3 primer combinations. In the two analyses fragment separation and detection was made using an ABI PRISM 3130xl DNA sequencer, only fragments ≥ 150 base pairs in size were considered and the presence (1) or absence (0) of fragments in each sample was scored manually by visualizing electropherograms with GeneMapper 3.7 software, This dataset includes (i) global DNA cytosine methylation estimates (= percentage of all genomic cytosines that are methylated) obtained by reverse phase HPLC with spectrofluorimetric detection, (ii) the scoring (presence/absence) of individual genetic markers (AFLP), and (iii) the scoring (presence/absence) of individual epigenetic markers (MSAP) in maternal plants of the shrub Lavandula latifolia and their greenhouse-grown offspring., Peer reviewed