Susana Dias

Prevalence of haematozoan parasites in the White-throated Dipper Cinclus cinclus in southern Europe

Capsule White-throated Dippers from southern Europe were found to be infected by three haemosporidians. Aims To examine the occurrence of blood parasites in dippers in the Iberian Peninsula and to investigate the relationship between prevalence levels, environmental factors and bird fitness. Methods White-throated Dippers were trapped with mist-nets from five montane areas in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Parasites were detected from blood samples by polymerase chain reaction screening. Results About half (51.3%) of 152 dippers showed some kind of infection. The genus Haemoproteus was recorded in 49.3% of the birds, and the genus Leucocytozoon in 19.1%, while Plasmodium was present only in 0.7%. Among the infected birds, 34.6% carried a double infection (Haemoproteus + Leucocytozoon). Prevalence did not differ between gender or age-classes, but it varied between study sites, being significantly higher in mountains with higher precipitation. There was a reduction in body mass owing to double infection in yearling males only. Conclusion This is the first work assessing parasite prevalence in dippers from southern Europe. Infection of dippers by haemosporidians is likely to be related to a study sites climatic envelope.

Effects of burn status and conditioning on colonization of wood by stream macroinvertebrates

Abstract The combination of changing climate and anthropogenic activities is increasing the probability of wildfire around the world. When fires occur in riparian zones, associated tree mortality can add wood directly to streams or wood may fall to the forest floor and remain there for some time before being transported into stream channels. Wood provides critical structure for aquatic macroinvertebrates, so our objectives were to assess the effects of wood burn status, conditioning, and their interaction on macroinvertebrate community composition, taxon and functional diversity, and trait affinities. We conducted a field experiment with pieces of freshly cut wood (length = 10 cm, diameter ≈ 7.5 cm) for which we first manipulated burn status (burned, unburned) and then, conditioned by placing burned and unburned wood directly into streams (no conditioning) or by leaving pieces in streams (water conditioning) or on the forest floor (soil conditioning) for a year before submergence. We used distance-based redundancy analysis to assess community structure by wood treatments and linear mixed-effects modeling to assess effects of wood treatments on taxon and functional diversity and trait affinity. Changes in wood quality resulting from fire may not alter macroinvertebrate community structure. Taxonomic and functional patterns of stream invertebrate colonization did not differ between burned and unburned wood, even after a year of incubation in the stream or on the forest floor. Conditioning status affected taxonomic composition, taxon and functional diversity, and trait affinities of wood invertebrate communities. The terrestrial legacy of soil conditioning was clearly important in structuring macroinvertebrate assemblages. Our results suggest that macroinvertebrate communities may be more sensitive to fire effects on the dynamics of wood input than to effects of fires on the wood itself.

Conservation Status of a Recently Described Endemic Land Snail, Candidula coudensis, from the Iberian Peninsula.

We assessed the distribution, population size and conservation status of Candidula coudensis, a recently described endemic land snail from Portugal. From March 2013 to April 2014, surveys were carried out in the region where the species was described. We found an extent of occurrence larger than originally described, but still quite small (13.5 km2). The species was found mainly in olive groves, although it occurred in a variety of other habitats with limestone soils, including grasslands, scrublands and stone walls. Minimum population estimate ranged from 110,000–311,000 individuals. The main identified potential threats to the species include wildfires, pesticides and quarrying. Following the application of IUCN criteria, we advise a conservation status of either “Least Concern” or “Near-threatened” under criterion D (restricted population).

The Iberian Peninsula is an Area of Infection by Haemoproteus payevskyi and Haemoproteus nucleocondensus for the White-Throated Dipper Cinclus cinclus

Summary. Investigating the spatial distribution of avian blood parasites can shed light on the occurrence of host switching and expansion in new territories, two key factors for which to account when addressing future parasite impacts on vertebrates. We examined the mitochondrial cytochrome b lineages of haemosporidians infecting the white-throated dipper Cinclus cinclus in order to assess their distribution across five mountains in the Central Iberian Peninsula and the possible implications of lineage transmission in that geographical context. Of 71 host individuals, 79.6% were infected with Haemoproteus spp., 0.9% with Plasmodium spp. and 19.5% with Leucocytozoon spp. We identified seven lineages from genus Haemoproteus spp. (four were novel), one lineage of Plasmodium spp. and nine of Leucocytozoon spp. (five previously undescribed). Only two of the Haemoproteus lineages (RW1 and MW1) showed widespread distribution across the study sites whereas the novel lineages each corresponded to a single area. Given the non-migratory behaviour of the host species in the region, our results provide the first proof of LeucocytozoonWW6 lineage transmission within Europe. Furthermore, this study is the first to reveal the transmission in Europe of Haemoproteus payevskyi and Haemoproteus nucleocondensus, corresponding to the identified RW1 and GRW01 lineages respectively. Both findings support the idea that these lineages could be transmitted year-round transcontinentally.

A methodology to assess drought management as applied to six European case studies

Abstract The improvement of future responses to drought requires evaluating past management practices. This article presents a methodology to assess drought management through the analysis of six key policy dimensions. It uses a qualitative approach that combines different sources of information, including both factual data and stakeholders’ perceptions. The assessment is based on a six-case study in Europe having different spatial scales and characteristics, to capture the context-specific nature of response to drought. The results of the assessment help analyze drought management from a risk-management perspective as well as to identify key policy gaps and recommendations.

Genetic Differences Among Iberian White-Throated Dipper Cinclus cinclus Populations Based on the Cytochrome b Sequence

SUMMARY. Although widespread in Europe, the white-throated dipper Cinclus cinclus has a fragmented distribution in the Iberian Peninsula. We investigated whether Iberian dipper populations are genetically differentiable by assessing a fragment of the cytochrome b gene in birds from 11 geographical areas encompassing 48 Iberian rivers. Four population groups North, Centre, East and South were differentiated a priori on the basis of geographical criteria. Genetic differences between these groups explained 35.9% of the total variation. Eight new haplotypes have been recorded for this species. The most abundant haplotype (H3) was shared by 75.8% of the birds and was found in all areas. The second most abundant haplotype (H10, 17.6% of individuals) was present in three areas: two in the southern mountains and one in central Iberia. The third most abundant (H5, 4.8% of birds) occurred only in central Iberia. Southern populations are genetically distinct from the others.

High unexpected genetic diversity of a narrow endemic terrestrial mollusc

The Iberian Peninsula has an extensive record of species displaying strong genetic structure as a result of their survival in isolated pockets throughout the Pleistocene ice ages. We used mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data to analyze phylogeographic patterns in endemic land snails from a valley of central Portugal (Vale da Couda), putatively assigned to Candidula coudensis, that show an exceptionally narrow distributional range. The genetic survey presented here shows the existence of five main mitochondrial lineages in Vale da Couda that do not cluster together suggesting independent evolutionary histories. Our results also indicate a departure from the expectation that species with restricted distributions have low genetic variability. The putative past and contemporary models of geographic distribution of Vale da Couda lineages are compatible with a scenario of species co-existence in more southern locations during the last glacial maximum (LGM) followed by a post-LGM northern dispersal tracking the species optimal thermal, humidity and soil physical conditions.