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- Climate Change Can Generate Enemy-Free Space for Crop-Feeding HerbivoresPublication . Wyckhuys, Kris; Pozsgai, Gabor; Finch, Elizabeth; Seehausen, M. Lukas; Zhang, Wei; Gc, YubakABSTARCT: Crop-feeding herbivores reduce the world's food output by approximately 20% and climate change (CC) is bound to deepen those losses. Endemic or introduced consumer organisms (i.e., biological control agents) naturally regulate herbivore populations and secure a quarter of crop yields, but are exceptionally susceptible to CC-related disturbances. Here, we use niche modeling for 14 globally-important herbivores (or pests) to forecast how richness of the associated biological control agents of each pest—as a proxy of service strength—may alter under a CC-driven range expansion. Results show that 57%–100% of pests are bound to lose parasitoid and predator associates. The cassava mealybug Phenacoccus manihoti may experience a 27% decline in parasitoid pressure, whereas cosmopolitan pests of cereal and horticultural crops benefit from 6% to 7% drops in predator pressure. Such ‘enemy release’ can possibly exacerbate pest-induced yield losses and threaten future harvests. Ant-pest associations change in both directions, implying that pests may either face strengthened or weakened biological control. For pests spreading towards or within food-deficit regions in the equatorial belt, parasitoid declines and increases in ant pressure are most pronounced. By exposing the fragility of biodiversity-based ecological safeguards in farmland, our work calls for urgent, integrative, and nature-friendly solutions to uphold food security under environmental change.
- MOVECLIM–AZORES: plot based vascular plant cover along elevational gradients (2013)Publication . Andrade, Rui; Gabriel, Rosalina; Borges, P.A.V.; Pires Bento da Silva Elias, Rui Miguel; Guerrero-Ramírez, NathalyABSTRACT: In the scope of the MOVECLIM project, in 2013, we surveyed vascular plants and their ground cover in native or better-preserved vegetation patches, following an elevational transect, on four Azorean islands (São Miguel, Terceira, Pico and Flores). Using a standardised, plot-based protocol, permanent 10 m × 10 m plots were established at approximately 200 m elevation steps, each plot subdivided into four 5 m × 5 m subplots. All vascular taxa were recorded per subplot and cover was assigned using the Braun-Blanquet Ordinal Transform Value (OTV), a scale based on a geometric series, that assigns a numeric value (1–9) to each Braun–Blanquet category.
- Monitoring of potential invasive arthropod species in Azores Islands (Corvo, Flores, Faial, Pico, Terceira, São Miguel and Santa Maria): The PRIBES ProjectPublication . Leite, Abrão; Canelas Boieiro, Mário Rui; Costa Miranda Soares, António Onofre; Ros Prieto, Alejandra; Costa, Ricardo; Pozsgai, Gabor; Oyarzabal da Silva, Guilherme; Coelho Teixeira, Mário; Calado, Hugo Renato; Lago, Alexandra; Vounatsi, Martha; Gabriel, Rosalina; Wallon, Sophie; Crespo, Luís Carlos; Gil de Gómez, Juan; Henriques Alves Ferreira, Maria Teresa; Lhoumeau, Sébastien Georges André; Borges, P.A.V.; Ruzzier, EnricoABSTRACT: Arthropods provide essential ecosystem services, yet multiple lines of evidence indicate widespread declines driven by habitat loss (degradation, fragmentation and reduction), biological invasions and climate change. Oceanic islands are particularly vulnerable to invasive alien species because of their isolation, small area and sensitivity to novel predators, competitors and pathogens. In the Azores, historical land-use change has greatly reduced native forest cover, while long-term monitoring indicates that introduced arthropod diversity is increasing even where total richness appears stable. However, ruderal coastal habitats (i.e. transitional, frequently disturbed environments often dominated by opportunistic exotic plants) remain comparatively under-sampled and may function as early “gateways” for new arthropod introductions. The PRIBES project intends to contribute to "The Regional Strategy for the Management of Terrestrial and Freshwater Exotic and Invasive Species in the Azores" (PRIBES-LIFE-IP- Estratégia regional para o controlo e prevenção de espécies exóticas invasoras - no âmbito do projeto LIFE IP AZORES NATURA, LIFE17 IPE/PT/000010). The PRIBES project addresses this gap by surveying arthropod assemblages associated with vascular plants in disturbed coastal ruderal habitats across multiple Azorean islands (Corvo, Flores, Faial, Pico, Terceira, São Miguel and Santa Maria) using a standardised time-based plant beating protocol, enabling comparisons of richness and colonisation status (endemic, native or exotic) amongst islands and vegetation contexts.
- New occurrence data of bryophytes and lichens from São Jorge Island (Azores, Macaronesia)Publication . Silveira, Gabriela; Gabriel, Rosalina; Elias, RuiABSTRACT: The Azorean Archipelago hosts an exceptionally rich cryptogamic flora, although several islands remain comparatively understudied. To address this gap, the present study presents records of bryophytes and lichens from São Jorge Island (SJO), based on opportunistic collections made during a MOVECLIM – Azores project expedition, from 29 July to 2 August 2014. Sampling was based on direct observation of noteworthy specimens and targeted areas with high substrate diversity and species richness. All collected material was subsequently examined and identified to species or subspecies level. Overall, the study aimed to: (i) document bryophyte and lichen species richness across major habitats; (ii) identify environmental drivers of species distribution; and (iii) increase the AZU Herbarium collection.
- Assessing Temperature-Induced Changes in Arthropod Communities over One Year: A Comparative AnalysisPublication . Wallon, Sophie; Pozsgai, Gabor; Borges, P.A.V.; Pires Bento da Silva Elias, Rui Miguel; Villa, MaríaABSTRACT: Understanding how rising temperatures driven by climate change affect biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is particularly relevant in fragile island environments. Terceira Island, part of the Azorean Archipelago (Portugal) in the mid-Atlantic Ocean, was selected for an in situ experiment to assess the effects of simulated warming on arthropod diversity and grass productivity in intensively managed pastures. Over one year, we examined the influence of a simulated increase in temperature via Open Top Chambers (OTCs) on ground-dwelling arthropod assemblages and plant biomass. We used several statistical methods to analyze both individual variables and overall community patterns to explore the relationships between treatments, grass biomass, and arthropod community structure. Although the OTC treatment did not result in any significant changes to the analyzed variables, an increase in diversity indices was observed over the course of the experiment. Distance-based redundancy analysis revealed significant effects of both OTC treatment and altitude on arthropod community composition. Models showed that the analyzed variables only partially explained the observed changes. Nevertheless, additional factors, such as vegetation structure and microclimatic variation, may also contribute to the observed patterns and warrant further investigation. These results underscore the importance of long-term, multifactorial approaches to understanding interactions between warming, plant productivity, and arthropod diversity.
- Does fishery management for groupers (Teleostei: Epinephelidae) protect them effectively? Context from the IUCN's Red list of threatened speciesPublication . Fennessy, Sean; Linardich, Christi; Rhodes, Kevin; Barreiros, João Pedro; Pollard, David; Sosa-Cordero, Eloy; Coleman, Felicia; Aguilar-Perera, Alfonso; Malinowski, Christopher; Brulé, Thierry; Afonso, Pedro; Ma, Kayan; Liu, Min; Menon, Muktha; Wen, Colin; Shea, Stanley; Porter, Sean; Craig, Matthew; Mitcheson, YvonneABSTRACT: Worldwide, groupers (Epinephelidae) are commercially valued fishes, which also play key ecological roles on tropical and subtropical reefs. In 2007 and 2016, the IUCN's Groupers and Wrasses Specialist Group assessed all 160+ grouper species, with 17 of these being identified as threatened in 2016 and the major threat factor being overexploitation. Our present study aimed to identify whether management measures (MMs) for previously assessed groupers were established, whether these measures aligned with IUCN's Red List categories, and whether they effectively protect grouper populations. Experts in grouper biology and management assigned scores per grouper species based on the extent to which MMs were in place and effective throughout these species' geographic ranges. Simple 4-level scores (0–3) were used to indicate the extent to which a MM was in place and how effective it was considered to be over the global distribution of each species. Of the 50 species scored, which included almost all threatened species, 97 % showed no/extremely limited/limited use of MMs, while only 3 % showed widespread/extensive use of MMs. Only 2 % of species showed highly/very effective scores for management, while 98 % showed limited/extremely limited/ineffective scores or no MMs in place. The MMs and their effectiveness were not commensurate with IUCN extinction risk levels. Overall, fishery management implemented for groupers by governments needs to be substantially improved, basic biological studies on many species are urgently required, fishing effort needs to be reduced, and regular biological and fishery monitoring conducted to evaluate the need for, and outcomes of, management. Although not all grouper species form spawning aggregations, recommendations are given to increase the protection of aggregating grouper species, in combination with well-placed Marine Protected Areas.
- The Role of Functional Traits in Structuring Fish Assemblages Across the Four Macaronesia ArchipelagosPublication . Barcelos, Luís; Anderson, Antônio; Freitas, Rui; Barreiros, João PedroABSTRACT: Aim: To investigate how functional traits shape the composition and functional structure of coastal fish assemblages across the four North-East Atlantic archipelagos, providing insights into the ecological drivers of species distributions and trait patterns in oceanic island systems. Location: Four North-East Atlantic oceanic archipelagos within Macaronesia: the Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and Cabo Verde. Taxon: Coastal marine fishes occurring up to 200 m depth, comprising 682 species. Methods: We compiled a validated checklist of coastal fish species (≤ 200 m depth) for each archipelago and integrated these data with a functional trait matrix comprising size category, trophic category, habitat affinity, milieu and climatic affinity. Generalised Linear Models (GLMs) were used to assess the influence of traits on species occurrences. Functional community structure was quantified using six functional diversity indices: functional richness (FRic), evenness (FEve), divergence (FDiv), dispersion (FDis), Rao's quadratic entropy (RaoQ) and FRic intersection (FRic Inter). Model performance was evaluated using AIC, BIC, pseudo R² and post hoc comparisons. Trait-based GLMs were complemented with assemblage-level RLQ ordination and fourth-corner tests to evaluate trait–environment coupling while accounting for species co-occurrence. Results: Species richness followed a clear latitudinal gradient, peaking in the Canary Islands and declining towards higher latitudes. RLQ revealed strong global trait–environment co-structure (Axis 1 = 91.7% of projected inertia), whereas Fourth-Corner tests detected no individually significant trait–environment associations after Holm correction. RV tests indicated a significant link between trait structure and species composition (Q–L), but not between environmental context and species composition (R–L). Among traits, body size and habitat affinity were the strongest predictors of species occurrences, with larger-bodied and reef-associated species more frequent in the southern archipelagos. Functional richness was highest in the Azores, indicating functional distinctiveness despite comparatively low species richness. Incorporating functional diversity indices into GLMs did not improve explanatory power beyond species-level traits. Main Conclusions: Body size and habitat affinity are key determinants of coastal fish assemblages across the Macaronesia archipelagos. Functional diversity peaks in the Azores, while Madeira exhibits intermediate trait compositions between temperate and tropical systems. These patterns provide insight into community assembly mechanisms and may inform predictions of species turnover under future climate change scenarios.
- Global insular leaf size shifts follow the island rule, independently of insect herbivory and macroclimatePublication . Moreira, Xoaquín; Abdala-Roberts, Luis; Amorim do Rosário, Isabel; Baider, Claúdia; Burns, Kevin; Caujapé-Castells, Juli; Cubas, Jonay; Dean, Lydia; Domínguez-Lapido, Paula; Endara, María-José; Florens, F. B. Vincent; Galmán, Andrea; Guevara-Andino, Juan Ernesto; Hutton, Ian; Lago-Núñez, Beatriz; Mooney, Kailen; Larrinaga, Asier; Pereira, Fernando; Randimbiarison, Finaritra; Razafindratsima, Onja; Rivas-Torres, Gonzalo; Vázquez-González, Carla; de Lafontaine, GuillaumeABSTRACT: The island rule, originally formulated for animals, predicts that small-bodied mainland species evolve larger body sizes on islands (gigantism), but that this effect weakens with increasing mainland body size, ultimately reversing and leading to dwarfism for the largest species. This dynamic is expected to produce a positive, saturating relationship between island and mainland body size, with insular size increases at small sizes and reductions at large sizes. Despite extensive support in animals, this prediction has rarely been tested in plants. Consequently, it remains unclear whether the island rule applies to plants, whether it operates consistently across evolutionary scales, and how biotic and abiotic drivers jointly shape insular size shifts. We tested the island rule in plants by examining leaf size variation—an organ-level analogue of body size—across 48 island species from six oceanic systems and their mainland counterparts. We conducted both conspecific comparisons (same species on islands and the mainland; n = 19 pairs) and congeneric comparisons (island endemics paired with closely related mainland species; n = 29 pairs) to assess patterns across evolutionary scales. We also measured insect herbivory and recorded climatic variables to explore ecological correlates of island–mainland variation in leaf size. Although mean leaf size did not differ significantly between island and mainland populations for either conspecific or congeneric comparisons, we detected a non-linear, positive saturating relationship between mainland and island leaf sizes, consistent with an island rule-like pattern. Small-leaved mainland species tended to evolve larger leaves on islands, whereas this effect diminished for larger leaved species, a pattern observed in both conspecific and congeneric comparisons. Insect herbivory and climate did not explain these relationships. Synthesis: These findings demonstrate that plants follow the island rule for leaf size and suggest that mainland-to-island shifts at opposite ends of the mainland leaf size spectrum offset one another, possibly explaining no overall difference in leaf size between island and mainland populations.
- Subterranean environments contribute to three-quarters of classified ecosystem servicesPublication . Mammola, Stefano; Brankovits, David; Di Lorenzo, Tiziana; Amorim do Rosário, Isabel; Bancila, Racula; Bellvert, Adrià; Bernard, Enrico; Blomberg, Anna; Borges, P.A.V.; Cappelletti, Martina; Ferreira, Rodrigo; Gabriel, Rosalina; Galassi, Diana M.P.; Garzoli, Laura; Gerovasileiou, Vasilis; Hose, Grant; Korbel, Kathryn; Martino, Simone; Miller, Ana; Mori, Nataša; Nanni, Veronica; Nicolosi, Giuseppe; Saccò, Mattia; Sakihara, Troy; Silva, Marconi; Tamalavage, Anne; Zagmajster, Maja; Chávez, Efraín; Griebler, Christian; Cardoso, Pedro; Serrano Martínez, AlejandroABSTRACT: Beneath the Earth's surface lies a network of interconnected caves, voids, and systems of fissures forming in rocks of sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic origin. Although largely inaccessible to humans, this hidden realm supports and regulates services critical to ecological health and human well-being. Subterranean ecosystems are integral to major biogeochemical cycles, sustain diverse surface habitats, and serve as the primary source of irrigation and drinking water. They also offer non-material benefits, including scientific discovery, education, and cultural practices. Yet, these contributions often go unrecognised, partly due to the lack of a unified synthesis of ecosystem services across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine subterranean compartments. This gap limits effective communication of their value to scientists, practitioners, and the public. Through a systematic expert-based review, we show that subterranean ecosystems contribute to up to 75% of classified ecosystem services. Notably, many of these contributions are described only qualitatively, lacking numerical or economic quantification. Next, we list examples of the main ecosystem services provided by subterranean systems to offer a global overview of their multifaceted value and vulnerability to environmental change. We believe this synthesis provides researchers and practitioners with concrete examples to communicate more effectively the importance of subterranean ecosystems to diverse audiences.
- Monitoring agroforest plots under the scope of the COMCHA project. 1. Baseline data for the vascular plants and arthropods of "Vale da Fonte Plot" in Pico Island (Azores Archipelago)Publication . Lago, Alexandra; Petrone, Andrea; Costa Miranda Soares, António Onofre; Canelas Boieiro, Mário Rui; Horta Lopes, David; Freitas, Tiago; Lhoumeau, Sébastien Georges André; Wallon, Sophie; Borges, Paulo; Mologni, FabioABSTRACT: Agroforestry is increasingly promoted as a nature-based solution (NbS) capable of reconciling production with biodiversity conservation, particularly in island landscapes, where endemism and fragmentation heighten conservation stakes. We established a permanent agroforest monitoring plot at Vale da Fonte (Pico Island, Azores) to generate baseline data on vascular plants and terrestrial arthropods and to evaluate whether a structurally complex orchard embedded in native coastal forest can support native and endemic biotas and key ecosystem functions. We used a modified COBRA framework integrating complementary active protocols (nocturnal aerial searching, day/night beating and day sweeping), together with pollinators time transects, pan traps and targeted pest traps. We collected 69 standardised samples (5 plant, 64 arthropod) and made the dataset publicly available in Darwin Core format via the GBIF IPT for long-term use.