scholarly journals Factors influencing large-scale distribution of two sister species of pine voles (Microtus lusitanicus and Microtus duodecimcostatus): the importance of spatial autocorrelation

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (12) ◽  
pp. 1227-1240 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Santos ◽  
A. P. Mira ◽  
M. L. Mathias
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Autocorrelation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Relative Effect ◽  
Sister Species ◽  
Spatial Characteristics ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Microtus Duodecimcostatus ◽  
Mediterranean Pine

The Lusitanian pine vole ( Microtus lusitanicus (Gerbe, 1879)) and the Mediterranean pine vole ( Microtus duodecimcostatus de Selys-Longchamps, 1839) are sister species with burrowing habits and a restricted European distribution. Our aim was to assess the relative effect of environmental, soil, and spatial characteristics on the distribution of these species in Portugal, and obtain predicted occurrence maps for each species, particularly to identify areas of sympatry. We used spatial eigenvector mapping (SEVM) to describe the spatial autocorrelation in species data, and we partitioned the variance in species distributions to quantify the relative effects of environmental, soil, and spatial characteristics. The spatial variables explained the major part of variability in both species distributions and were more important than environmental or soil variables. The Lusitanian pine vole occurs in areas outside landscape units of grassland, higher rainfall, frost, and cambisols, with mostly acid soils, lower abundance of litosols, and presence of solonshaks. The Mediterranean pine vole is distributed in grassland areas within intermediate values of soil pH, dominated by litosols and luvisols, and lower rainfall, frost, and cambisols. Our results showed disjunct sympatric areas of small size and a parapatry boundary for the centre of Portugal, suggesting that contact zones are probably narrow.

Body mass dynamics in the Mediterranean pine vole Microtus duodecimcostatus

1998 ◽  
Vol 245 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Paradis ◽  
Xiaoming Wang ◽  
Gerald Guedon ◽  
Henri Croset
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Microtus Duodecimcostatus ◽  
Mediterranean Pine

Assessment of habitat quality in the Mediterranean pine vole (Microtus duodecimcostatus) by the study of survival rates

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1511-1518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Paradis ◽  
Henri Croset
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Population Models ◽  
Apple Orchards ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Open Population ◽  
Asynchronous Control ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Microtus Duodecimcostatus ◽  
Mediterranean Pine

Habitat quality should be usefully defined in a demographic perspective. Survival and fecundity rates are sufficient to allow population persistence in a high-quality habitat but not in a low-quality habitat. The Mediterranean pine vole (Microtus duodecimcostatus) occurs in apple orchards in southern France, but its populations in this habitat are often driven to extinction by chemical control. However, recolonization occurs promptly when control ceases. We tested the hypothesis that meadows surrounding the orchards are high-quality habitats (sources) for the Mediterranean pine vole. We livetrapped four populations, three in apple orchards and one in a meadow. Survival rates were estimated using probabilistic open-population models. Our analysis led us to conclude that meadows are low-quality habitats, particularly since no juveniles survived in this habitat during the main part of the study. Recolonization of chemically controlled patches is probably allowed by asynchronous control among orchards. We further discuss the usefulness of probabilistic open-population models for the investigation of variations in survival rates both within and between populations.

Alexandria, Kom el-Dikka. Fieldwork in the 2019 season

2020 ◽  
pp. 469-496
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Majcherek
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Geometric Design ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Construction Work ◽  
Floor Tiles ◽  
Stone Material ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Late Roman

The report offers an account of archaeological and conservation work carried out at the site. Excavations in the central part of the site (Sector F) were continued for the fourth season in a row. Exploration of remains of early Roman houses led to the discovery of a well preserved multicolored triclinium mosaic floor with a floral and geometric design. A large assemblage of fragments of polychrome marble floor tiles, recorded in the house collapse, showed the scale of importation of decorative stone material from various regions of the Mediterranean. Overlying the early Roman strata was direct evidence of intensive construction work carried out in the vicinity in the form of large-scale kilnworks, supplying lime most probably for the building of the late Roman bath and cistern. Included in the presentation is a brief review of the limited conservation work that was conducted in the complex of late antique auditoria.

scholarly journals Impact of air–sea coupling on the climate change signal over the Iberian Peninsula

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alba de la Vara ◽  
William Cabos ◽  
Dmitry V. Sein ◽  
Claas Teichmann ◽  
Daniela Jacob
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Regional Distribution ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Climate Change Signal ◽  
The North ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn this work we use a regional atmosphere–ocean coupled model (RAOCM) and its stand-alone atmospheric component to gain insight into the impact of atmosphere–ocean coupling on the climate change signal over the Iberian Peninsula (IP). The IP climate is influenced by both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean sea. Complex interactions with the orography take place there and high-resolution models are required to realistically reproduce its current and future climate. We find that under the RCP8.5 scenario, the generalized 2-m air temperature (T2M) increase by the end of the twenty-first century (2070–2099) in the atmospheric-only simulation is tempered by the coupling. The impact of coupling is specially seen in summer, when the warming is stronger. Precipitation shows regionally-dependent changes in winter, whilst a drier climate is found in summer. The coupling generally reduces the magnitude of the changes. Differences in T2M and precipitation between the coupled and uncoupled simulations are caused by changes in the Atlantic large-scale circulation and in the Mediterranean Sea. Additionally, the differences in projected changes of T2M and precipitation with the RAOCM under the RCP8.5 and RCP4.5 scenarios are tackled. Results show that in winter and summer T2M increases less and precipitation changes are of a smaller magnitude with the RCP4.5. Whilst in summer changes present a similar regional distribution in both runs, in winter there are some differences in the NW of the IP due to differences in the North Atlantic circulation. The differences in the climate change signal from the RAOCM and the driving Global Coupled Model show that regionalization has an effect in terms of higher resolution over the land and ocean.

scholarly journals Mediterranean Pine Vole, Microtus duodecimcostatus: A Paradigm of an Opportunistic Breeder

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1639
Author(s):  
Miguel Lao-Pérez ◽  
Diaa Massoud ◽  
Francisca M. Real ◽  
Alicia Hurtado ◽  
Esperanza Ortega ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Functional Regression ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Poplar Plantations ◽  
Microtus Duodecimcostatus ◽  
Mediterranean Pine ◽  
Animal House ◽  
Testis Regression

Most mammalian species of the temperate zones of the Earth reproduce seasonally, existing a non-breeding period in which the gonads of both sexes undergo functional regression. It is widely accepted that photoperiod is the principal environmental cue controlling these seasonal changes, although several exceptions have been described in other mammalian species in which breeding depends on cues such as food or water availability. We studied the circannual reproductive cycle in males of the Mediterranean pine vole, Microtus duodecimcostatus, in the Southeastern Iberian Peninsula. Morphological, hormonal, functional, molecular and transcriptomic analyses were performed. As reported for populations of other species from the same geographic area, male voles captured in wastelands underwent seasonal testis regression in summer whereas, surprisingly, those living either in close poplar plantations or in our animal house reproduced throughout the year, showing that it is the microenvironment of a particular vole subpopulation what determines its reproductive status and that these animals are pure opportunistic, photoperiod-independent breeders. In addition, we show that several molecular pathways, including MAPK, are deregulated and that the testicular “immune privilege” is lost in the inactive testes, providing novel mechanisms linking seasonal testosterone reduction and testis regression.

A Near-Uniform Basin-Wide Sea Level Fluctuation of the Mediterranean Sea

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 338-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ichiro Fukumori ◽  
Dimitris Menemenlis ◽  
Tong Lee
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Level Fluctuation ◽  
Strait Of Gibraltar ◽  
Sea Level Fluctuation ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract A new basin-wide oscillation of the Mediterranean Sea is identified and analyzed using sea level observations from the Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon satellite altimeter and a numerical ocean circulation model. More than 50% of the large-scale, nontidal, and non-pressure-driven variance of sea level can be attributed to this oscillation, which is nearly uniform in phase and amplitude across the entire basin. The oscillation has periods ranging from 10 days to several years and has a magnitude as large as 10 cm. The model suggests that the fluctuations are driven by winds at the Strait of Gibraltar and its neighboring region, including the Alboran Sea and a part of the Atlantic Ocean immediately to the west of the strait. Winds in this region force a net mass flux through the Strait of Gibraltar to which the Mediterranean Sea adjusts almost uniformly across its entire basin with depth-independent pressure perturbations. The wind-driven response can be explained in part by wind setup; a near-stationary balance is established between the along-strait wind in this forcing region and the sea level difference between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The amplitude of this basin-wide wind-driven sea level fluctuation is inversely proportional to the setup region’s depth but is insensitive to its width including that of Gibraltar Strait. The wind-driven fluctuation is coherent with atmospheric pressure over the basin and contributes to the apparent deviation of the Mediterranean Sea from an inverse barometer response.

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