Jordi Bartolomé

Grazing alone is not enough to maintain landscape diversity in the Montseny Biosphere Reserve

Conservative land-use over the past few decades has converted the Montseny Biosphere Reserve (Spain) from the original open, patchy landscape to almost continuous woodland. Small ruminant grazing is virtually the only major remaining utilisation activity yet little is known about its role in the changing vegetation of the Reserve. This study was undertaken to determine the effects of current grazing practice on its main vegetation components. Three flocks, composed of sheep and goats, that graze yearlong on three separate ranges in the Reserve were selected for study. The ranges represent the wooded slopes and the shrubby upland (altiplano) in the area. Biomass consumption by the flocks was estimated by calculation of normative requirements for observed production and the botanical composition of the livestock diets over a whole annual cycle was determined by micro-histological analysis of the faeces. Production of herbaceous vegetation was determined by clipping sample quadrats, the production of the woody vegetation was derived from previous work in the Reserve. It was found that grazing removed a very small proportion of the dominant Holm oak (Quercus ilex) on the slopes, and a moderate fraction of the shrubby and herbaceous vegetation on the altiplano. Only the heath tree (Erica arborea), an edible shrub in the woodlands, was relatively heavily grazed. It is concluded that grazing alone is not enough to maintain the open, diverse landscape with its many natural values. As in other northern Mediterranean countries, under-utilisation of these woodlands is becoming a serious problem that is also increasing the fire hazard. Maintaining landscape diversity in the region is a complex challenge that land managers should recognise.

Medium-term success of revegetation methods for high-mountain grassland reclamation in the Montseny Biosphere Reserve (NE Spain)

Abstract High mountain dry siliceous grasslands of the Montseny Mountains in NE Spain affected by tourism and grazing were revegetated in 1999. Four revegetation techniques and two commercial seed mixtures were tested in two experiments and compared 7 years after their application. The first experiment evaluated a mixture of seeds pre-grown on turf patches. The second evaluated another seed mixture applied using three different seeding methods: (1) hand sown; (2) hydroseeding (high-pressure spray technique for applying a homogeneous slurry of seed and mulch); and (3) hydroseeding combined with transplantation of a single species extracted from the surrounding natural grassland. The success of revegetation treatments was analyzed in relation to vegetation cover, plant height and density, grass production, floristic composition, species richness and Shannon index. The results indicate that several techniques succeeded in establishing vegetation cover, but none were sufficient to achieve full restoration. Seeding treatments achieved high vegetation cover but did not result in the floristic composition of native grasslands. Plots with the transplantation of a native fescue displayed the highest proportion of native species.

Stomatal density and stomatal index of fossil Buxus from coprolites of extinct Myotragus balearicus Bate (Artiodactyla, Caprinae) as evidence of increased CO2 concentration during the late Holocene

Stomatal density of plants may vary depending on environmental factors, such as CO2 concentration. Under the current atmospheric conditions, it is expected that leaves have different stomatal density than they had hundreds or thousands of years ago, due to the rise in CO2 in the atmosphere. Coprolites of the extinct Myotragus balearicus from Cova Estreta (Pollença, Mallorca), with a radiocarbon age of 3775–3640 cal. bc, have been used to study the diet of this bovid. A significant amount of epidermal fragments of Buxus was found in the faecal material. Three coprolites were used to estimate the stomatal density and stomatal index of Buxus epidermal fragments from this period. Samples of the endangered Buxus balearica, the sole species of Buxus currently present on Mallorca, and samples of the Buxus sempervirens, present in the nearest mainland, were also collected in different locations. Leaves were examined using microscopy to determine and compare the stomatal density and stomatal index between current plant material and coprolite material. The results indicated a higher value for stomatal index (12.71) and stomatal density (297.61 stomata/mm2) in leaves from the coprolites versus leaves of the living B. balearica and B. sempervirens species (7.99 and 227.77 stomata/mm2 respectively). These results could provide a palaeobotanic evidence of a change in atmospheric CO2 concentration since mid-Holocene in the Mediterranean basin.

Contrasting feeding patterns of native red deer and two exotic ungulates in a Mediterranean ecosystem

Abstract Context. Ungulates have been widely introduced in multiple ecosystems throughout the world due to their value as food and for sport hunting. The identification of foraging preferences of exotic and native ungulates living in sympatry is, therefore, becoming increasingly important in order to assess potential impacts of introduced animals on the host ecosystem. Aims. To describe species-specific foraging strategies and infer resource selection overlap between native and exotic ungulates. Methods. We compared the trophic ecology of three sympatric ungulate species living in a Mediterranean landscape: the native Iberian red deer Cervus elaphus hispanicus, and two exotic bovids, the European mouflon Ovis orientalis musimon and the aoudad Ammotragus lervia. We simultaneously determined herbivore diet through analyses of botanical content in faeces and assessed the nutritional content of these diets. Key results. Higher selection of shrubs by deer was sustained throughout the year, while bovids showed seasonal shifts in forage selection. Both bovids displayed a selective dietary strategy directed towards a higher overall nutritional quality than that of deer. Divergent exploitation patterns between the studied cervid and bovids might be related to body mass and physiological adaptations to overcome secondary defence compounds of shrubs, and were largely affected by seasonal changes in the nutritional value of available vegetation. Ecological theory suggests that diet overlap should be greater between similar-sized species. Indeed, both exotics showed similar, sometimes overlapping, dietary patterns that could lead to potential competition in the use of resources. Native red deer preferences only showed some overlap with those of exotic mouflon under constrained summer conditions. Conclusions. Dietary overlap between deer and mouflon and between aoudad and mouflon during limiting summer conditions could entail a potential competitive interaction under more even densities of the study species, since a concurrent habitat overlap between those pairs of species has previously been reported. Implications. The outcomes of our study suggest the need for an integration of habitat and ungulate management. Management actions in Mediterranean rangelands should be directed towards protecting habitat conditions so that biodiversity is enhanced along with the presence of sustainable communities of large herbivores. Management directed towards ungulates should maintain moderate stocking rates and monitor and control introduced and native populations.

Conifer Dispersion on Subalpine Pastures in Northeastern Spain: Characteristics and Implications for Rangeland Management

Abstract Pinus sylvestris L. and Pinus mugo Turra originating from two plantations established during the 1960s are invading subalpine heathlands higher than 1 500 m above sea level in Montseny Natural Park (northeast Spain). Both species are native at a regional scale but may not have been present in the parks subalpine vegetation previously. In addition, Abies alba P. Mill., which is in regression in many areas in Europe, is also colonizing the area from a neighboring natural forest. This invasion appears to be stimulated by a combination of natural and human factors, including differences between vegetation components, climate (i.e., drought periods), changes in land use due to conservation policies (i.e., suppressing fire or grazing practices), the creation of the plantations, and probably the nurse role played by accompanying dwarf shrubs (Calluna vulgaris [L.] Hull and Juniperus communis subsp. nana [Willd.] Syme). We examined the effects of this process in terms of the spatial dispersion and characteristics of the established conifers and deduce implications for the conservation of isolated subalpine pastures in Mediterranean Basin mountains. P. sylvestris was the most successful invading species in this area. The P. mugo invasion is distributed mainly near the plantation. The only native conifer species, A. alba, appears to be colonizing only the eastern slope. The invasion process is related to the diversity and species richness recorded on each slope. Conserving valuable subalpine heathlands at the latitude of the Montseny mountain range implies suppressing propagule pressures from the plantations. The option of removing conifers that are nonnative, at a local scale, must be considered. However, in the case of the native A. alba this option leads to a management conflict between conserving former pastureland and the dispersion of A. alba.

Foraging Behavior of Alberes Cattle in a Mediterranean Forest Ecosystem

Abstract The dietary composition of the semiferal cattle population in the Alberes Natural Park in northeastern Spain was determined four times per year, from June 2002 to February 2004, by microhistological analysis of a total of 120 fecal samples. Woody species, mainly the Quercus and Erica genera, formed the bulk of the diet, reaching 89% of it in winter. However, in spring and summer, the proportion of woody and herbaceous species varied between samples, depending on the habitat where they were collected. The forest samples contained 67% woody species in summer, whereas grassland samples only contained 44%. The results showed that the Alberes cattle population grazed actively in Mediterranean forests and consumed a high proportion of the most combustible species, such as the Erica genus (39% of the epidermal fragments in winter samples). Even when grassland habitat was utilized, in spring and summer, one-third of the diet was from woody species. Some bovines, such as the Alberes cattle breed, can therefore survive year-round in a forest habitat with little forage supplementation, and the consumption of a predominantly woody diet would be expected to reduce forest fire hazards.

Ecological effects of game management: does supplemental feeding affect herbivory pressure on native vegetation?

Abstract Context. Supplemental feeding of large mammalian herbivores is a common management tool mainly aimed at promoting healthy populations and at increasing productivity and trophy sizes. Such management measure may indirectly affect herbivore effects on plant communities through altered foraging patterns. The quantification of the ecological effects of large herbivore management is important for designing holistic management and conservation programs. Aims. Here we aimed at quantifying the ecological effects of supplemental feeding of Iberian red deer, Cervus elaphus hispanicus, on the composition of and on the browsing effects on Mediterranean woody plant community. Methods. An experiment was set up in a hunting rangeland located in central Spain, where female deer were kept in enclosures with either exclusive access to natural forages or with additional ad libitum access to a nutritionally rich concentrate. The experiment also included a control area where deer were absent. Key results. We observed significant differences in browsing impacts among the supplemented, non-supplemented and control areas, and such effect varied for the different plant species. Plant species which nutritional content complemented that of fodder were more highly consumed, for instance, Erica spp., which digestible fibre content is higher and N content lower than that of provided fodder. The presence of deer and the concentrate supplied, instead, did not influence the relative abundances of shrub species. Conclusions. Artificial supplemental feeding provided to ungulates led to increased browsing on plant species which nutritional composition complemented that of the supplement provided. Implications. So as to alleviate herbivory impact on all shrubs, we suggest that composition of supplemental feeding should adjust both to the natural forage availability and quality and to ungulate requirements across seasons.

Predicting herbivore faecal nitrogen using a multispecies near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy calibration

Optimal management of free-ranging herbivores requires the accurate assessment of an animal’s nutritional status. For this purpose ‘near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy’ (NIRS) is very useful, especially when nutritional assessment is done through faecal indicators such as faecal nitrogen (FN). In order to perform an NIRS calibration, the default protocol recommends starting by generating an initial equation based on at least 50–75 samples from the given species. Although this protocol optimises prediction accuracy, it limits the use of NIRS with rare or endangered species where sample sizes are often small. To overcome this limitation we tested a single NIRS equation (i.e., multispecies calibration) to predict FN in herbivores. Firstly, we used five herbivore species with highly contrasting digestive physiologies to build monospecies and multispecies calibrations, namely horse, sheep, Pyrenean chamois, red deer and European rabbit. Secondly, the equation accuracy was evaluated by two procedures using: (1) an external validation with samples from the same species, which were not used in the calibration process; and (2) samples from different ungulate species, specifically Alpine ibex, domestic goat, European mouflon, roe deer and cattle. The multispecies equation was highly accurate in terms of the coefficient of determination for calibration R2 = 0.98, standard error of validation SECV = 0.10, standard error of external validation SEP = 0.12, ratio of performance to deviation RPD = 5.3, and range error of prediction RER = 28.4. The accuracy of the multispecies equation to predict other herbivore species was also satisfactory (R2 > 0.86, SEP < 0.27, RPD > 2.6, and RER > 8.1). Lastly, the agreement between multi- and monospecies calibrations was also confirmed by the Bland-Altman method. In conclusion, our single multispecies equation can be used as a reliable, cost-effective, easy and powerful analytical method to assess FN in a wide range of herbivore species.

Vicuña (Vicugna v. mensalis) herds modify their behaviour after being captured and sheared: implications on conservation and management

Trabajo presentado a la 52 Reunion Cientifica de la SEEP, celebrada en Badajoz del 8 al 12 de abril de 2013.Trabajo presentado a las Jornadas Internacionales de Turismo y Recursos Naturales, celebradas en la Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral (Argentina) del 21 al 22 de septiembre de 2017.Proyecto CGL2006-00974 (BIOSABANA); proyecto CGL2009-07069BOST (ECOPAST); BBVA Foundation proyecto BIOCON 08-061 (PANTEPUI II); CSIC proyecto 200830I258 (Palynology and Paleoecology)PDF de 8 paginas con graficos y figuras a color. Pepe Lozano es maestro del CEIP Talhara en Benacazon. Maria Acosta Bono es maestra del CEIP Clara Campoamor en Bormujos. Mercedes Diaz Fuentes es maestra del EEI Ma Carmen Gutierrez en Espartinas. Esteban Moreno Gomez es director de los recursos WEB del programa El CSIC en la Escuela.Este manual se ha realizado en el marco del proyecto Mintegra: Reactivacion mediante facilitacion de las funciones ecosistemicas en estructuras mineras que afectan a habitats de interes comunitario, financiado a traves de la I Convocatoria de la Fundacion BBVA de Ayudas a Proyectos de Investigacion 2014 dentro del area de Ecologia y Biologia de la Conservacion. Para el desarrollo de parte de los contenidos de este manual tambien se ha contado con la colaboracion del Centro de Edafologia y Biologia Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS-CSIC) y la financiacion por parte de la Comunidad Autonoma de la Region de MurciaTrabajo presentado al 15th Rodens et Spatium: International Conference on Rodent Biology, celebrada en Olomouc (Czech Republic) del 25 al 29 de julio de 2016.The article endeavours to provide an approach to the industrial dynamics of mediumsized Spanish cities. In addition to containing a survey of the conventional economic theories on localised industrial growth, the explanation stresses internal keys specific to each city, such as the possible existence of production systems that can activate virtuous circles of innovation. Evolution and sector structure within the Spanish urban system are therefore analysed, on the basis of business and employment figures from Social Security (2000Los datos presentados han sido generados en el marco del proyecto MINTEGRA, con cargo a la I Convocatoria de Ayudas de la Fundacion BBVA a Proyectos de Investigacion: Area de Ecologia y Biologia de la Conservacion. JA Navarro disfruto de una Beca de Investigacion 4742-5780 de la British Ecological SocietyPoster presentado al Joint meeting of the 33rd International Ethological Conference (IEC) & the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB), celebrado en Newcastle-Gateshead (UK) del 4 al 8 de agosto de 2013.Presentado a la 12th Conference of the European Wildlife Disease Association (EWDA), celebrada en Berlin (Alemania) del 26 al 31 de agosto de 2016.Proyectos BIOCON 08-188/09 y BIOCON 2004-90/05 (Fundacion BBVA); CGL200907069-BOS (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion) CGL-200600974-BOS (Ministerio de Educacion y CienciaThis paper presents the use of Girona 500 AUV as a Hybrid ROV (HROV) to inspect underwater habitats by combining basic teleoperation and automatic way-point following. This duality allows safe movements, when inspecting visually the seabed, together with precise way-point movements, when mapping or reaching the area. Also, the use of a HROV containing its own energy simplifies the management of the umbilical cable, which can be smaller, and integrates all safety measures of an AUV. The Girona 500 AUV has been tested acting as HROV during 3 campaigns at 80 metres depth in a project for evaluating the state of transplanted gorgonians.

Composición de la dieta de las principales especies ganaderas en pastoreo monoespecífico en pajonales altoandinos

Trabajo presentado a la 52 Reunion Cientifica de la SEEP, celebrada en Badajoz del 8 al 12 de abril de 2013.Trabajo presentado a las Jornadas Internacionales de Turismo y Recursos Naturales, celebradas en la Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral (Argentina) del 21 al 22 de septiembre de 2017.Proyecto CGL2006-00974 (BIOSABANA); proyecto CGL2009-07069BOST (ECOPAST); BBVA Foundation proyecto BIOCON 08-061 (PANTEPUI II); CSIC proyecto 200830I258 (Palynology and Paleoecology)PDF de 8 paginas con graficos y figuras a color. Pepe Lozano es maestro del CEIP Talhara en Benacazon. Maria Acosta Bono es maestra del CEIP Clara Campoamor en Bormujos. Mercedes Diaz Fuentes es maestra del EEI Ma Carmen Gutierrez en Espartinas. Esteban Moreno Gomez es director de los recursos WEB del programa El CSIC en la Escuela.Este manual se ha realizado en el marco del proyecto Mintegra: Reactivacion mediante facilitacion de las funciones ecosistemicas en estructuras mineras que afectan a habitats de interes comunitario, financiado a traves de la I Convocatoria de la Fundacion BBVA de Ayudas a Proyectos de Investigacion 2014 dentro del area de Ecologia y Biologia de la Conservacion. Para el desarrollo de parte de los contenidos de este manual tambien se ha contado con la colaboracion del Centro de Edafologia y Biologia Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS-CSIC) y la financiacion por parte de la Comunidad Autonoma de la Region de MurciaTrabajo presentado al 15th Rodens et Spatium: International Conference on Rodent Biology, celebrada en Olomouc (Czech Republic) del 25 al 29 de julio de 2016.The article endeavours to provide an approach to the industrial dynamics of mediumsized Spanish cities. In addition to containing a survey of the conventional economic theories on localised industrial growth, the explanation stresses internal keys specific to each city, such as the possible existence of production systems that can activate virtuous circles of innovation. Evolution and sector structure within the Spanish urban system are therefore analysed, on the basis of business and employment figures from Social Security (2000Los datos presentados han sido generados en el marco del proyecto MINTEGRA, con cargo a la I Convocatoria de Ayudas de la Fundacion BBVA a Proyectos de Investigacion: Area de Ecologia y Biologia de la Conservacion. JA Navarro disfruto de una Beca de Investigacion 4742-5780 de la British Ecological SocietyPoster presentado al Joint meeting of the 33rd International Ethological Conference (IEC) & the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB), celebrado en Newcastle-Gateshead (UK) del 4 al 8 de agosto de 2013.Presentado a la 12th Conference of the European Wildlife Disease Association (EWDA), celebrada en Berlin (Alemania) del 26 al 31 de agosto de 2016.Proyectos BIOCON 08-188/09 y BIOCON 2004-90/05 (Fundacion BBVA); CGL200907069-BOS (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion) CGL-200600974-BOS (Ministerio de Educacion y CienciaThis paper presents the use of Girona 500 AUV as a Hybrid ROV (HROV) to inspect underwater habitats by combining basic teleoperation and automatic way-point following. This duality allows safe movements, when inspecting visually the seabed, together with precise way-point movements, when mapping or reaching the area. Also, the use of a HROV containing its own energy simplifies the management of the umbilical cable, which can be smaller, and integrates all safety measures of an AUV. The Girona 500 AUV has been tested acting as HROV during 3 campaigns at 80 metres depth in a project for evaluating the state of transplanted gorgonians.