Miguel A. Esteve

Habitat Selection by the Spur-thighed Tortoise Testudo graeca in a Multisuccessional Landscape: Implications for Habitat Management

As a result of human activities, natural Mediterranean landscapes (including agro-ecosystems) are characterised by a mosaic-like structure with habitat-patches at different successional stages. These systems have high biodiversity levels and are home to a large number of species protected by European laws whose habitats should be adequately managed. In the present work, we study habitat use from an applied point of view in the spur-thighed tortoise Testudo graeca, an endangered reptile present in semi-arid Mediterranean agro-ecosystems. Results show that, at a landscape scale, the species selects simplified vegetation structures and includes in its home range re-colonisation shrubland and small non-irrigated fields. Within the home range, habitat selection patterns vary and areas with higher vegetation cover and complexity are selected. Detected patterns are discussed in terms of the ecological requirements of the species and with a hierarchical view of resources and conditions. The implications of our findings for habitat management aimed at the conservation of the species are also discussed.

Remote sensing of plant communities as a tool for assessing the condition of semiarid Mediterranean saline wetlands in agricultural catchments

Abstract Semiarid Mediterranean saline wetlands are unique ecosystems sheltering high biodiversity. In the last decades, the expansion of irrigated lands has led to hydrological imbalances in Mediterranean catchments, causing wetland degradation. Vegetation composition assessment is considered an important tool for evaluating wetland ecological condition and can be mapped using remote sensing. This study aims to develop a condition index based on plant community composition suitable for semiarid Mediterranean saline wetlands, as well as to test the applicability of airborne multispectral remote sensors for discriminating plant communities. Characteristic plant communities of 12 wetlands were identified by means of ordination and classification analysis of plant taxa cover percentages obtained through fieldwork sampling. An index for assessing wetland ecological condition was developed based on the relationship between wetland plant community composition and watershed hydrological condition. Selected wetland plant communities were then mapped by means of remote sensing techniques using random forest algorithm for supervised classification of airborne images. Following this methodology, remote sensing served as a tool for wetland condition assessment at a regional scale.

The effect of age and sex on wing morphology and body size of the Bearded Tit Panurus biarmicus in relation to complete moult

In sedentary birds, variation in wing morphology as a result of complete moult during the transition from juvenile to adult plumage is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to characterise sex‐ and age‐related differences in wing morphology resulting from a complete post‐juvenile moult in an isolated, sedentary population of the Bearded Tit Panurus biarmicus at El Hondo Natural Park reedbeds (SE Spain). Variation in wing morphology was evaluated by means of a Size‐Constrained Components Analysis (SCCA) of standardised primary lengths of 66 birds trapped for ringing. Wing traits representing size and shape showed differences among age and sex classes, adults having significantly greater wing sizes than juveniles and males less rounded or convex wings than females. Structural body size also varied significantly among sex classes, females being smaller than males. Sex‐ and age‐specific differences in wing morphology of these Bearded Tits may represent adaptations to the sedentary and colonial behaviour of the local population within constraints imposed by a reedbed microhabitat.

The Use of Multivariate Analysis for the Ecological Characterization of Landscape: the Mula River Watershed, South-east Spain

Ordination and classification techniques have been applied to an integrated study of the ecological characteristics of the Mula River watershed (Murcia, south-east Spain), as environmental background for use and management. These techniques facilitate an objective determination of the main tendencies in environmental variation within the study area, and how this variation may be viewed from ecological and geographical points of view. Moreover, their use permits the delimitation of internally homogeneous environmental units based on their topographic, geologic, vegetation and land use characteristics. A description of six environmental units in the study area was derived using information theory parameters.

Free advanced modeling and remote-sensing techniques for wetland watershed delineation and monitoring

Watershed scale studies focusing on hydrological pressures influencing freshwater ecosystem dynamics are necessary for the establishment of suitable wetland ecological indicators. Enhanced and reproducible methods for watershed modeling and land-cover assessment are thus essential tools for wetland monitoring and management. However, few integrated studies propose advanced open source methodologies for watershed modeling and assessment. In this study, a set of GIS methodological tools was applied and further developed in order to delineate wetland watersheds and map their land-cover changes over time. Watersheds draining to 11 semiarid Mediterranean saline wetlands were delimited and map algebra operations were applied on the digital elevation model in the Campo de Cartagena coastal plain to enhance watershed delimitation. land-use/land-cover maps of wetland watersheds were obtained for years 1987 and 2008 by means of supervised classification of Landsat images. A set of four spectral indices was included in the classification analysis using a combination of bands in order to improve the discrimination of vegetation, water bodies, infrastructure, and bare soil. An iterative classification procedure based on maximum likelihood and random selection of training areas was applied. Contextual information based on automatic image segmentation of Landsat scenes was also included as ancillary layers. Watershed areas obtained ranged from 70 to 17,000 ha and delineation was improved in the Campo de Cartagena coastal plain. The proposed image classification methodology showed high accuracies and improved standard classification techniques. The proposed methodology is based on free and open source tools, which makes it broadly applicable.

Nest sites as a key resource for population persistence: A case study modelling nest occupancy under forestry practices

Natural nest sites are important breeding resource in terms of population dynamics, especially in forest systems where nest trees limit populations or timber harvesting destroys nests. Nest structures usually have a long life and can be reused by breeding pairs across multiple breeding seasons, so studying their dynamics is of relevance for biodiversity conservation. In this study, we develop a dynamic model to evaluate nest site availability and its influence on the breeding settlement of a forest raptor community composed of booted eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus), common buzzard (Buteo buteo) and northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) in a Mediterranean forest ecosystem in southeast Spain. This model approach is also applied to analyse the influence of forestry practices on the dynamics of occupied nests for a simulated period (2010–2050). The simulated scenarios include unmanaged forest and timber harvesting practices of clearcuttings every ten years considering two factors: the age class of trees for clearcutting (40, 50, 60 and 70 years old) and the type of forest management (with or without nest protection). Our simulated results show that the number of breeding pairs is constant during the period without timber harvest, whereas breeding pairs gradually decrease in the scenario of clearcutting trees aged from 70 to 50-years without nest protection, and populations become extinct with the clearcutting of 40-year old trees. Considering the practice of clearcutting and nest protection, nest occupancy can reach the maximum number of occupied nests for the scenarios of cutting 70 and 60-year old trees, and maintain populations without extinction for the scenarios of cutting 40-year old trees. We conclude that nest sites (whether occupied or not) are key resources for increasing the occupancy of the forest raptor community and that nest protection measures buffer the effects of clearcuttings, thus preventing population extinction.

Climatic Suitability Derived from Species Distribution Models Captures Community Responses to an Extreme Drought Episode

The differential responses of co-occurring species in rich communities to climate change—particularly to drought episodes—have been fairly unexplored. Species distribution models (SDMs) are used to assess changes in species suitability under environmental shifts, but whether they can portray population and community responses is largely undetermined, especially in relation to extreme events. Here we studied a shrubland community in SE Spain because this region constitutes an ecotone between the Mediterranean biome and subtropical arid areas, and it has recently suffered its driest hydrological year on record. We used four different modeling algorithms (Mahalanobis distance, GAM, BRT, and MAXENT) to estimate species’ climatic suitability before (1950–2000) and during the extreme drought. For each SDM, we related species’ climatic suitability with their remaining green canopy as a proxy for species resistance to drought. We consistently found a positive correlation between remaining green canopy and species’ climatic suitability before the event. This relationship supports the hypothesis of a higher vulnerability of populations living closer to their species’ limits of aridity tolerance. Contrastingly, climatic suitability during the drought did not correlate with remaining green canopy, likely because the exceptional episode led to almost zero suitability values. Overall, our approach highlights climatic niche modeling as a robust approach to standardizing and comparing the behavior of different co-occurring species facing strong climatic fluctuations. Although many processes contribute to resistance to climatic extremes, the results confirm the relevance of populations’ position in the species’ climatic niche for explaining sensitivity to climate change.