Buzzworthy invasions: new data on alien Vespa (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) hornets in southern Spain

The introduction and expansion of the Asian yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) in Europe poses concern for multiple reasons, including biodiversity conservation. In addition to the predation of native insects (e.g., bees and wasps), this species may compete with native hornets due to an overlap of their climatic and trophic niches. The aim of this study is to investigate the realised climatic niche of V. v. nigrithorax and its response to climatic conditions and to evaluate the degree of overlap with the niches of the two native Vespa species present in Europe, Vespa crabro and Vespa orientalis. The niches of both native species partially overlap with the niche of the invasive species (Schoener’s D, 0.43 for V. crabro and 0.28 for V. orientalis), although some differences can be detected. V. crabro appears to be more adapted to cold and dry conditions than the invasive species, and V. orientalis is more adapted to arid climates. These differences may provide a competitive advantage to both native species in areas with a lower environmental suitability for V. v. nigrithorax, in the probable event that this species continues to spread, reaching all areas predicted to be suitable in Europe and in the Mediterranean basin.

Capsule The Asian Hornet Vespa velutina was the second most important species in the diet of the European Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus in southwestern Europe, just four years after the appearance of the exotic wasp in the study area. Aims To assess the consumption of the invasive Asian Hornet by the European Honey Buzzard in southwestern Europe, following the Asian Hornet’s appearance there in 2014. Methods In northwestern Spain, we installed trail cameras in, and collected wasp comb remains from, nine nests of European Honey Buzzards (five in 2018 and four in 2019). We estimated the representation of the Asian Hornet in the birds’ diet, as well as the number of colonies attacked. We also compared the nesting frequency and density of breeding pairs before (2004–13) and after (2014–20) the Asian Hornet’s appearance. Results We detected consumption of the Asian Hornet at all the nests we examined. The Asian Hornet was the second most abundant wasp species in the diet and it was the most abundant in 2018 based on biomass. During the breeding season, each pair of European Honey Buzzards attacked 34–61 colonies in 2018 and 15–28 in 2019. Nesting frequency rose from 60% before the Hornet’s appearance to 100% afterward, while the density of breeding pairs increased by 300%. Conclusion Our results suggest that the Asian Hornet is becoming an important part of the diet of the European Honey Buzzard. This finding opens a research avenue to assess the potential role of the raptor in the management of the invasive social wasp.

Vespa velutina nigrithorax venom allergy: Real-life clinical practice

Saharan dust contributions to PM10 and TSP levels in Southern and Eastern Spain

Human influence on the environment is so extensive that virtually all ecosystems on the planet are now affected by biological invasions. And, often, ecosystems are invaded by multiple co‐occurring non‐native species. Hence, it is important to understand the impacts these invasions are producing on biodiversity and ecosystem processes.Here, we present results of a 2‐year long field experiment where we tested the effects of co‐occurring invasive C4African grasses in a Cerrado area in central Brazil. We compared plant and arthropod communities, plant biomass, and soil nitrogen dynamics and soil chemical characteristics across five experimental treatments:Urochloa decumbensremoval;Melinis minutifloraremoval; bothU.decumbensandM.minutifloraremoval;U.decumbensandM.minutiflorainvaded plots; and uninvaded Cerrado. We hypothesized that selective removal of invasive grasses would have distinct effects on the native ecosystem structure and functioning. We expected that each invasive grass would produce a different type of impact on the native ecosystem and that their impacts would be synergistic when co‐occurring.Removal ofM.minutifloradoubled native plant diversity and biomass when compared to invaded plots, whereas removal ofU.decumbensdid not alter these parameters. Cerrado plots had four times more plant species than plots cleared of invasives. Removal of invasive grasses did not affect the species richness or community composition of soil epigeal fauna. Cerrado soils had lower fertility, organic matter content and pH than invaded soils. The effects were generally higher when both invasive grasses were removed, suggesting impacts were synergistic, butM.minutiflorahad greater effects on plants and soils thanU.decumbens. Both invasive species produced negative impacts, but a single species was the main driver. We also detected persistent effects of the invasive grass species on the ecosystem after 2 years of removal.We conclude that invasive species of the same functional group have similar types of effects in native ecosystems, but the magnitude of impact was largely dependent on invasive species biomass and cover. Where multiple invasive species are present, research and management of invaded ecosystems should tackle the interacting effects of co‐occurring invaders.

Introduction In the Iberian Peninsula, Schistostega pennata is a rare, acidophilic, Holarctic moss with a characteristic glowing protonema when illuminated by sunlight. It is typically found in dark and humid habitats and is categorised as Threatened or Near Threatened on the Iberian Red Lists. The main aim of this study was to improve knowledge of the distribution, ecology and conservation of S. pennata on the Iberian Peninsula. Methods All data that were available to us for Schistostega pennata on the Iberian Peninsula (relating to distribution, ecology, phenology) were compiled from the literature, citizen science platforms, and our own observations. Species distribution models were created in Maxent to provide the first approximation to its potential Iberian distribution. Key results Twenty-six new populations of Schistostega pennata were located, making a total of 73 records for the Iberian Peninsula, mostly from natural and artificial caves, cavities, mines and crevices, and essentially on siliceous substrates. All observations corresponded to areas with abundant rainfall, mild temperatures, and at least some oceanic influence. Species distribution models predicted an expanded potential climatic range in the Iberian temperate region and several montane Mediterranean areas. Conclusions There remains very little information on Schistostega pennata on the Iberian Peninsula. Existing data coincide with the ecology of the species, although other niches are exploited in other parts of the world that do not seem to occur in this area. It is important to promote its conservation, given the fragmentation of its populations and habitat requirements. Monitoring and initiation of exhaustive sampling campaigns involving citizen science could be a good way to approach this.

Citizen science platforms such as eBird provide essential spatiotemporal information and big data for the study of birds. The analysis of an extensive 20-year dataset of the distribution of the Eurasian Magpie Pica pica showed that the species is steadily expanding within urbanised areas in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. The occurrence of the species in the eBird checklists in the study area has an average exponential growth rate greater than 20%. The area occupied by the species has multiplied by 40 in the last 20 years, going from 25 to almost 1000 km2. In order to test potential negative impacts of this demographic expansion on potential Magpie prey species, such as other birds, a seasonal study of the Magpie’s diet through pellet analysis showed that its stable diet consists of insects, snails and seeds, while other birds or food from anthropogenic sources does not constitute a significant part of its diet. The combined use of new open-science big data technologies together with classical monitoring and laboratory study offers indispensable tools for the assessment of species distribution and potential spatial management.

Invasive alien species (IAS) can have serious negative impacts on native species in invaded areas. Researchers attempting to measure the impacts of IAS on native species at a landscape level often face challenges though, because the effects of environmental gradients and spatial autocorrelation on population structures are difficult to separate. To evaluate the impacts of IAS, we used spatial filtering and variation partitioning to remove environmental and spatial autocorrelation effects from abundance data for seven native insect species and one IAS, Vespa velutina, on the island of Tsushima, Japan. Here we show that negative correlations among Vespa species persisted after removal of environmental and spatial autocorrelation effects. The fact that alien V. velutina and native Vespa mandarinia japonica showed the strongest negative correlations with other native Vespa species suggested that there were strong competition or/and predation among Vespa species. The ongoing expansion of V. velutina since its incursion indicates that this species may impose strong negative impacts on other Vespa species, but it is possible that the slow expansion of V. velutina to the southern part of Tsushima is due to the presence of other Vespa species that function as a biological barrier. Since most IAS showed spatially structured distributions, especially at the initial stage of the incursion, spatial filtering is a promising tool to evaluate IAS impacts on native species.

The yellow‐legged hornet ( Vespa velutina nigrithorax ) has been identified as a major threat to European entomofauna. Species distribution models have been used to assess its invasiveness risk. No studies were, however, developed specifically for peripheral regions, where unique biodiversity can be threatened by this species. This study aims to address that particular issue by incorporating non‐commonly used drivers and by forecasting regions in Iberian Peninsula where the species has high risk of expansion. Climatic, anthropogenic and land‐use variables were considered. The species potential distribution was assessed using a generalised linear model. Overall, the model predicted the northern regions of the Iberian Peninsula suitable for the species expansion. Only the driest regions at the south are conservatively predicted to not be occupied by the yellow‐legged hornet. Precipitation and temperature have the highest influence in Vespa velutina nigrithorax distribution, with land‐use also playing an important role in its expansion at regional scale. These results highlighted the threat of this species to beekeeping activities. Due to high species richness and endemicity levels, peripheral regions integrated in Biodiversity Hotspots need special attention and control measures.

The introduction of non-native species poses a critical threat to biodiversity in Mediterranean freshwater ecosystems. This study documents the first record of non-native Squalius hybrids in the Ave River (Iberian Peninsula), combining morphological and molecular data to confirm their presence and assess their potential origin. The specimens exhibit hybrid characteristics, with most morphological and meristic traits overlapping those of both S. cephalus and S. squalus. Almost all individuals analysed showed an admixed genomic background for both species, suggesting a hybrid origin likely within the species’ native range before their introduction into Portugal through human-mediated activities, likely related to recreational fishing. Furthermore, molecular data also supports hybridization with the native S. carolitertii, raising conservation concerns given the negative impacts associated with hybridization with non-native species. By combining data from social media and citizen science platforms, we were able to map the rapid expansion of this invasive chub in the Ave River from 2018 until now. Our findings emphasize the urgent need for population control measures, while enhancing monitoring, genetic studies, and increased public awareness to mitigate the impacts of invasive species on Iberian freshwater biodiversity.

We present a dataset that assembles occurrence records of alien tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) in the Iberian Peninsula, a coherent biogeographically unit where introductions of alien species have occurred for millennia. These data have important potential applications for ecological research and management, including the assessment of invasion risks, formulation of preventive and management plans, and research at the biological community level on alien species. This dataset summarizes inventories and data sources on the taxonomy and distribution of alien tetrapods in the Iberia Peninsula, comprising known locations from published literature, expert knowledge and citizen science platforms. An expert-based assessment process allowed the identification of unreliable records (misclassification or natural dispersion from native range), and the classification of species according to their status of reproduction in the wild. Distributional data was harmonized into a common area unit, the 10 × 10 km Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) system (n = 6,152 cells). The year of observation and/or year of publication were also assigned to the records. In total, we assembled 35,940 unique distribution records (UTM × species × Year) for 253 species (6 amphibians, 16 reptiles, 218 birds and 13 mammals), spanning between 1912 and 2020. The species with highest number of distribution records were the Mediterranean painted frog Discoglossus pictus (n = 59 UTM), the pond slider Trachemys scripta (n = 471), the common waxbill Estrilda astrild (n = 1,275) and the house mouse Mus musculus (n = 4,043), for amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, respectively. Most alien species recorded are native to Africa (33%), followed by South America (21%), Asia (19%), North America (12%) and Oceania (10%). Thirty-six species are classified by IUCN as threatened in their native range, namely 2 Critically Endangered (CR), 6 Endangered (EN), 8 Vulnerable (VU), and 20 species Near Threatened (NT). Species maps are provided in DataSet1, as well R code and GIS layers to update them as new records are obtained.

The Padul mammoth finds — On the southernmost record of Mammuthus primigenius in Europe and its southern spread during the Late Pleistocene

During the period 20-8 ka BP, movements of the polar front in the North Atlantic Ocean between the latitudes of Iceland and the Iberian peninsula greatly affected the climate of western Europe. During the Lateglacial, sea-surface temperature changes were particularly marked in the Bay of Biscay. Such migrations of the polar front, which have been shown to be time-transgressive, have been used to explain Lateglacial climatic events in northwestern Europe. A comparative study of Lateglacial and early Holocene records from lacustrine sites in northern and northwestern Spain and the Pyrenees confirms that the Lateglacial climatic amelioration was time-transgressive along the seaboard of western Europe, beginning 500-1000 years earlier in northwestern Spain than in the British Isles. This time-lag is further exaggerated in the vegetational response by migrational lags and edaphic factors. There are marked differences in the nature and chronology of Lateglacial plant successions, not only between southwest and northwest Europe, but particularly between sites in northwestern Spain, the coastal lowlands of the Pays Basque and the Pyrenees. Sites in northwestern Spain, including that of Sanabria Marsh, here published in detail for the first time, show the moderating climatic influence of the Atlantic Ocean throughout the Lateglacial. There, the climatic amelioration began early, perhaps before 14 ka b p . Deciduous oak forest had already begun to develop during Lateglacial times; this observation suggests that the perglacial refugia for these trees lay close to the maritime Atlantic coasts of Spain and Portugal, and not in the Pyrenees as some authors have proposed. After the onset of the Lateglacial climatic amelioration, pine and birch forest became widespread in the Pyrenees but oaks were very sparse or absent. Oak forest only developed there after lOkaBP in the early Holocene. The Younger Dryas episode of cooling can be detected, but only by a small expansion of herbaceous plant communities in some areas and with almost no lowering of the treeline. In contrast, Lateglacial conditions in the Pays Basque appear to have been cold and bleak. Even birch and pine forest was poorly developed and may have disappeared with the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling. Acid heathland with Empetrumand ericaceous plants then developed, to be replaced by oak-hazel forest in the early Holocene. Here, clearly, the influence of cold polar water conditions in the Bay of Biscay was very strong. Pollen diagrams from marine cores in the Bay of Biscay are also reviewed, but low sedimentation rates, bioturbation and differential transport and preservation of pollen make comparison with continental pollen diagrams difficult and correlation only possible in broad terms. Accurate vegetational interpretations are impossible. Palynologists working on archaeological cave and rock shelter sequences in southwest France and northern Spain have claimed to recognize, between 32 and 14 ka BP, a series of interstadial intervals with expansions of temperate trees. Careful consideration of pollen diagrams covering the purported Laugerie and Lascaux interstadials, said to occur between 16 and 20 ka BP (conventionally the maximum period of glacial advance of the last glacial stage), suggests that temperate pollen has percolated down through overlying deposits and been preserved in certain sedimentologically favourable beds. Although widely accepted by archaeologists, these interstadials appear to have no reality and must be rejected. There is no trace of them in the long lacustrine records of Les Echets (Beaulieu & Reille 1984) and Grande Pile (Woillard 1975, 1978). There is thus no good palynological record for 30-16 ka BP from south-west Europe, other than the long pollen sequence from Padul in southern Spain (Pons & Reille 1986).

The European record of the gerbil Myocricetodon (Rodentia, Mammalia) and its bearing on the Messinian salinity crisis

SUMMARYRed-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) populations have significantly declined in the Iberian Peninsula (by > 50% between 1973 and 2002). This decline has been attributed to the drastic changes that have occurred in traditional agricultural landscapes, among other factors. This paper assesses the relationship between landscape change and the changes in areas favourable to partridges. The areas favourable to partridges in Andalusia (southern Spain), and the environmental and land-use factors that determined these areas, were identified for both the 1960s and the 1990s. Land-use changes were analysed both throughout the study area and for areas where favourability for partridges has either improved or worsened during recent decades. Both the location and the factors determining areas favourable to red-legged partridges have changed substantially over recent decades. In the 1960s, areas favourable to partridges were associated mainly with natural vegetation in mountainous areas, whereas, by the 1990s, favourable areas were associated with large low-lying croplands; such change may be attributable to regional land-use changes. The percentage area of the main natural vegetation variables positively correlated to partridge favourability in the 1960s model (mainly pastures and open scrubland) had decreased in areas that had become unfavourable to the species (such as mountain areas), and risen where partridge favourability increased. By the 1990s, the land area favourable to partridges had decreased byc. 10% (c. 6000 km2) in southern Spain, whereas land use unfavourable to partridges markedly increased (> 100%; an increase ofc. 3000 km2). Landscape suitable for partridges has thus become severely impoverished over recent decades in the Iberian Peninsula. Management measures aimed at improving the landscape for farmland birds should be encouraged to conserve red-legged partridge populations in southern Spain.