YLG 2023 field campaign, just started!

The Yellow-Legged Gull 2023 field compaign at Sa Dragonera Natural Park has started. 

Birds are looking for a territory. We are looking for red rings. Gull B5TX is already near its nest. 

Monk seal on the News!

The Monk Seal hit the news! An interview about the findings from the study by Valsecchi et al. on the local News (here).

 

 

New Publication on a Cryptic Cetacean!

Tenan, S., Moulins, A., Tepsich, P., Bocconcelli, A., Verga, A., Ballardini, M., Nani, B., Papi, D., Motta, G., Aguilar, A. S., & Rosso, M. (2023). Immigration as the main driver of population dynamics in a cryptic cetacean. Ecology and Evolution, 13, e9806. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9806

Abstract: Empirical evidence about the role and interaction of immigration with local demographic processes in shaping population dynamics is still scarce. This knowledge gap limits our capability to derive a conceptual framework that can be used to inform conservation actions. Populations exposed to nonstationary environment do not converge to a stable stage distribution, implying the need for evaluating the demographic role of both vital rates and stage distribution using appropriate tools. This is particularly important for species with larger generation times like cetaceans. We explored the relative demographic role of vital rates and population structure of a poorly known cetacean, the Mediterranean Cuvier's beaked whale, while accounting for the exposure to nonstationary environments. 

Photo: N Aguilar

We performed a retrospective analysis through transient life table response experiments (tLTRE) using demographic rates and population structure of both sexes obtained from an integrated population model. The contribution of immigration to variation in realized population growth rates was 4.2, 7.6, and 12.7 times larger than that of female apparent survival, proportional abundance of breeding females with a 2-year-old calf, and proportional abundance of breeding females with a 3-year-old calf, respectively. Immigration rate and proportional abundance of breeding females with a 2- or 3-year-old calf explained, respectively, 65% and 20% of total temporal variability in realized population growth rates. Changes in realized population growth rate between successive years were mainly driven by changes in immigration and population structure, specifically the proportional abundance of breeding females with a 2-year-old calf. Our study provides insight into the demographic processes that affect population dynamics and in a cryptic cetacean. We presented an analytical approach for maximizing the use of available data through the integration of multiple sources of information for individuals of different distinctiveness levels.

New Publication on Monk Seal!

Valsecchi, E., Tavecchia, G., Boldrocchi, G., Coppola, E., Ramella, D., Conte, L., Blasi, M., Bruno, A., Galli, P., 2023 Playing “hide and seek” with the Mediterranean monk seal: a citizen science dataset reveals its distribution from molecular traces (eDNA). Sci Rep 13, 2610. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-27835-6

Abstract: Animal conservation relies on assessing the distribution and habitat use of species, but for endangered/elusive animals this can prove difficult. The Monk Seal, Monachus monachus, is one of the world's most endangered species of pinniped, and the only one endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. During recent decades, direct observations have been few and scattered, making it difficult to determine its distribution away from the Aegean Sea (core distribution area of the post-decline relict population). This study relies on environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis to detect the presence of the Monk Seal in 135 samples collected in 120 locations of the central/western Mediterranean Sea, spanning about 1500 km longitudinally and 1000 km latitudinally.

Photo: www.mmc.gov

A recently described species-specific qPCR assay was used on marine-water samples, mostly collected during 2021 by a Citizen Science (CS) project. Positive detections occurred throughout the longitudinal range, including the westernmost surveyed area (Balearic archipelago). The distribution of the positive detections indicated six “hotspots”, mostly overlapping with historical Monk Seal sites, suggesting that habitat-specific characteristics play a fundamental role. We applied single-season occupancy models to correct for detection probability and to assess the importance of site-specific characteristics. The distance from small islets and protected (or access-restricted) areas was correlated negatively with the detection probability. This novel molecular approach, applied here for the first time in an extensive CS study, proved its potential as a tool for monitoring the distribution of this endangered/elusive species.

 

 

GEDA at the 11-F!

GEDA joint the 11F activities for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science . Dr. A. Sanz Aguilar explained the life and work of a scientist. She commented : "Best audience ever!". 😁  

New Publications on prospection!

Kralj, J., Ponchon, A., [...], Igual, J.-M.,[...], Tavecchia, G. [...] 2023.Active breeding seabirds prospect alternative breeding colonies. Oecologia .h ttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05331-y

 Abstract:Compared to other animal movements, prospecting by adult individuals for a future breeding site is commonly overlooked. Prospecting influences the decision of where to breed and has consequences on fitness and lifetime reproductive success. By analysing movements of 31 satellite- and GPS-tracked gull and tern populations belonging to 14 species in Europe and North America, we examined the occurrence and factors explaining prospecting by actively breeding birds. Prospecting in active breeders occurred in 85.7% of studied species, across 61.3% of sampled populations. 

Prospecting was more common in populations with frequent inter-annual changes of breeding sites and among females. These results contradict theoretical models which predict that prospecting is expected to evolve in relatively predictable and stable environments. More long-term tracking studies are needed to identify factors affecting patterns of prospecting in different environments and understand the consequences of prospecting on fitness at the individual and population level.

GEDA at the VIII Jornades de Medi Ambients 2023

Dr. A. Sanz-Aguilar joined the VII Jornades de Medi Ambients de les Illes Balears (Ibiza). She presented the results of the study of the Yellow legged gull population in Ibiza conducted in 2020-2022. 

New publication on Lilford's lizard microbiota!

Baldo L, Tavecchia G, Rotger A, Igual JM, Riera JL. 2023. Insular holobionts: persistence and seasonal plasticity of the Balearic wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) gut microbiota. PeerJ 11:e14511 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14511

Summary:Background: Integrative studies of animals and associated microbial assemblages (i.e., the holobiont) are rapidly changing our perspectives on organismal ecology and evolution. Insular vertebrates provide ideal natural systems to understand patterns of host-gut microbiota coevolution, the resilience and plasticity these microbial communities over temporal and spatial scales, and ultimately their role in the host ecological adaptation.  

Methods:Here we used the endemic Balearic wall lizard Podarcis lilfordi to dissect the drivers of the microbial diversity within and across host allopatric populations/islets. By focusing on three extensively studied populations/islets of Mallorca (Spain) and fecal sampling from individually identified lizards along two years (both in spring and autumn), we sorted out the effect of islet, sex, life stage, year and season on the microbiota composition. We further related microbiota diversity to host genetics, trophic ecology and expected annual metabolic changes. 

Photo: G. Tavecchia

Results:All the three populations showed a remarkable conservation of the major microbial taxonomic profile, while carrying their unique microbial signature at finer level of taxonomic resolution (Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs)). Microbiota distances across populations were compatible with both host genetics (based on microsatellites) and trophic niche distances (based on stable isotopes and fecal content). Within populations, a large proportion of ASVs (30–50%) were recurrently found along the four sampling dates. The microbial diversity was strongly marked by seasonality, with no sex effect and a marginal life stage and annual effect. The microbiota showed seasonal fluctuations along the two sampled years, primarily due to changes in the relative abundances of fermentative bacteria (mostly families Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae), without any major compositional turnover. 

Conclusions:These results support a large resilience of the major compositional aspects of the P. lilfordi gut microbiota over the short-term evolutionary divergence of their host allopatric populations (<10,000 years), but also indicate an undergoing process of parallel diversification of the both host and associated gut microbes. Predictable seasonal dynamics in microbiota diversity suggests a role of microbiota plasticity in the lizards’ metabolic adaptation to their resource-constrained insular environments. Overall, our study supports the need for longitudinal and integrative studies of host and associated microbes in natural systems