Search Results (284)

Introduction: Fish species represent 25% of all vertebrates across the globe and are one of the most threatened animal groups. At least 40% of the fish fauna occurs in rivers for part of their life cycle. European rivers are home to more than 600 fish species, while also being some of the most impaired and altered ecosystems. Objective: The objective was to assess the vulnerability of freshwater fish communities in European river basins. Methodology: Using RivTool and the CCM2 database, we developed the River Restoration Units (R2Us), a set of spatial units that takes into account river network functioning and allows a higher spatial discretisation than river basins. We developed RivFish, a database about the presence of native freshwater-dependent fish in 1556 Europeans river basins. For this, we collected data from 77 references and validated synonyms and scientific names for 667 species. We used the latest International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessment to define species distributions in European rivers. After intersecting with the R2U layer, we curated and validated species names and spatial occurrence using RivFish. To map the vulnerability of freshwater fish communities, we used the Habitats Directive (HD) and the IUCN datasets. These consider a distinct number of species and assess conservation status differently: the HD evaluated 165 species, while the IUCN evaluated 516 species. The HD data allowed calculating the composite indicator of Conservation Status, whereas the IUCN data enabled calculating the vulnerability index. Results: Both ana-lyses show higher richness in central Europe, particularly in the Danube basin. Spatially, both highlight southern Europe as the area where fish communities have the highest vulnerability. However, the HD analysis also indicates the Danube and the western Atlantic basins as having high vulnerability. The IUCN analysis shows the Anatolian and Mediterranean biogeographical regions as those with the highest vulnerability values. Conclusions: Southern Europe’s higher vulnerability is likely associated with restricted distribution ranges and high levels of endemicity in Mediterranean fish communities. Overall, these findings improve current knowledge and show that input data may be key to effort allocation towards the management and conservation of European freshwater fish communities. Full article

The genus Xylaria (Xylariaceae, Ascomycota) comprises a morphologically and ecologically diverse group of fungi with a predominantly saprobic lifestyle, widely distributed in forest ecosystems worldwide. Despite its global occurrence, its diversity in European Atlantic laurel forests (laurisilva), both insular and continental, remains poorly understood. In this study, we examined more than 80 collections of Xylaria from laurisilva forests in Madeira and the Azores (Portugal), the Canary Islands (Spain), and relict laurel woodlands in mainland Iberia, documenting at least 13 species. Several collections could not be successfully sequenced, suggesting that additional taxa may occur. Among the identified species, eight are described here as new to science and are supported by morphological differences and multilocus phylogenetic analyses. Species delimitation was based on an integrative approach combining detailed morphological observations with phylogenetic inference from ITS, LSU, RPB2, and TUB2 loci. Our results reveal a substantially higher diversity of Xylaria in these ecosystems than previously recognized and confirm the importance of multilocus frameworks for resolving species boundaries, particularly in morphologically cryptic lineages. This study expands the known diversity of Xylaria in Europe and identifies Atlantic laurel forests as important reservoirs of fungal diversity and evolutionary novelty. Full article

The ocean–atmosphere turbulent heat exchange plays a critical role in the energy and moisture budgets of the Tropical Atlantic Ocean (TAO) and in weather and climate forecasts. However, its estimation strongly depends on the choice of bulk parameterization, as direct in situ measurements are sparse. This study evaluates sensible (Hs) and latent (Hl) heat fluxes derived from three bulk parameterization schemes used operationally in models at the Brazilian Center for Weather Forecast and Climate Studies (CPTEC) of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Brazil: the Brazilian Atmospheric Model (BAM), the Modular Ocean Model version 6 (MOM6), and the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Using daily in situ observations from seven Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic (PIRATA) buoys across the TAO during 1997–2023, we computed monthly mean fluxes and compared them against the Coupled Ocean–atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) algorithm version 3.0b (COARE 3.0b) reference. COARE version 3.6 (COARE 3.6) and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) Reanalysis 5th generation (ERA5) data were included as additional benchmarks. All offline schemes were forced with identical buoy data, isolating differences in internal physical assumptions. Hl is approximately one order of magnitude larger than Hs across all sites, and inter-scheme differences are substantially larger for Hl (±50 W∙m⁻²) than for Hs (±5 W∙m⁻²). All schemes reproduce the seasonal cycle linked to the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) migration and trade-wind variability, with correlations generally exceeding 0.8 (p < 0.001) for most buoys. However, systematic magnitude biases remain. The Coordinated Ocean Research Experiments (CORE) bulk formulation implemented in MOM6 (MOM6-CORE) shows high temporal correlation (often r ≈ 1.0) but a persistent negative bias for both Hs and Hl (e.g., B1 Hl bias = −24.0 W∙m⁻²), indicating weaker turbulent exchange relative to COARE 3.0b. BAM overestimates Hs (by 1–3 W∙m⁻²) and underestimates Hl at most northern and southern sites, while the parametrization of the Yonsei University (YSU) implemented in the WRF model (WRF-YSU) amplifies Hs variability intermittently, particularly at the equator (B4). As expected, COARE 3.6 remains the closest to the reference (differences < 1 W∙m⁻² for Hs and <7 W∙m⁻² for Hl; r ≈ 0.99). ERA5 captures temporal variability well (r ≈ 0.7–0.9) but systematically overestimates Hl (positive bias up to +47.6 W∙m⁻² at B7), implying stronger evaporative cooling. Buoy-specific regimes modulate skill. The choice of bulk formulation thus remains a first-order source of uncertainty in turbulent heat flux estimates over the TAO, with direct implications for mixed-layer heat budgets, SST evolution, and coupled ocean–atmosphere variability. MOM6-CORE provides the most consistent performance relative to the COARE reference and emerges as the most robust option for operational applications at CPTEC/INPE. The findings also provide guidance for improving the representation of ocean–atmosphere turbulent exchanges in MONAN (Model for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Prediction), the new Brazilian Earth System Model under development for weather and climate prediction. Full article

The amphi-atlantic rafting crab Plagusia depressa (Brachyura: Plagusiidae) has been recorded for the first time in European continental waters. Three specimens were captured manually in a rocky shore intertidal/subtidal of a beach located in the Gulf of Cádiz (Spain). These specimens were identified using morphological and molecular techniques (DNA barcoding of the 16S and COI genes). The 16S sequence suggests that these specimens are more closely related to African specimens than to those from the Caribbean. However, given the rafting behavior of this species, the specimens recorded in the Gulf of Cádiz may have originated from more distant regions within its distribution range for which molecular data are not available. We present a detailed morphological identification of these specimens and compare them with Plagusia squamosa, which occurs in the nearby Mediterranean Sea. This comparison contributes to clarifying the morphological traits that distinguish the two species. This finding highlights the role of southern Iberian waters in facilitating the introduction and establishment of non-native species. Full article

Nature-based solutions (NBSs) involving tree-based interventions deliver multiple community benefits, yet evidence linking these benefits to underlying socio-ecological vulnerabilities remains limited. This study synthesised metadata from 131 European treescape NBS case studies spanning eight biogeographical regions using reverse-logic, thematic qualitative analysis. Case studies were identified via adapted PRISMA guidelines from open-access repositories, with community benefit themes categorised and mapped spatially across bioregions. The analysis revealed eleven principal community benefit categories and distinct region-specific patterns: Mediterranean interventions primarily mitigated extreme heat and drought vulnerabilities, whilst Alpine projects addressed slope stability and hazard reduction. The Continental and Atlantic regions emphasised social cohesion, recreational access, and the preservation of cultural heritage. The reverse-logic methodology successfully identified underlying socio-ecological vulnerabilities through systematic analysis of observed benefit profiles across diverse European contexts. This approach provides evidence-based guidance for designing location-sensitive treescape NBS that advance environmental research and public health objectives. The findings establish a methodological foundation for future assessments of NBS effectiveness and for refining location-specific treescape interventions that address community vulnerabilities and enhance adaptive capacity. Full article

Invasive marine crustaceans present ecological and socio-economic challenges, particularly where high fecundity, behavioural plasticity, and environmental tolerance limit the effectiveness of conventional control measures. The Atlantic blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, has expanded across the Mediterranean, where it exerts strong predatory pressure on native species and aquaculture resources, yet management efforts rely largely on traditional baited trapping. Drawing on extensive evidence from the global management of the European green crab, Carcinus maenas, we evaluate why conventional trapping has failed to achieve sustained population suppression in invasive brachyuran crabs. We synthesise lessons from green crab control to identify common biological and operational constraints, including rapid compensatory population responses, bycatch, and limited behavioural selectivity. We then examine the potential of semiochemical-based strategies—incorporating olfactory cues—within an integrated pest management (IPM) framework. Semiochemical-enhanced approaches offer the capacity to directly exploit species-specific sensory ecology, improve trap selectivity, and reduce non-target impacts, addressing fundamental limitations of existing methods. We argue that prioritising such IPM, rather than further optimisation of traditional trapping alone, represents the most realistic pathway for long-term mitigation of C. sapidus in the Mediterranean. While eradication remains improbable, strategically deployed semiochemical-based control could substantially enhance suppression efficiency and inform broader invasive species management. Full article

This essay examines the visual culture of what might be termed “the ecology of silver” between 1492 and 1710 in relation to colonialism on both sides of the Atlantic, with particular attention to both its shiny allure and the blind spots that that shininess produces. It focuses on three inter-related areas: depictions of Potosí, the great silver mountain in viceregal Peru; silver’s shine in European elite material culture; and the deployment of silver in celebrating the Spanish monarchy in viceregal Sicily, part of its empire within Europe. Current scholarship on early modern silver bifurcates between historical, political, and anthropological studies of silver’s extraction in the Americas and colonialism on one hand and a celebratory art historical scholarship focused on high-end European silver goods on the other. Scholars have energetically examined its extraction, the global trade in bullion, the rise of capitalism that it fed, and the wars that it fomented and paid for, but they stop short of inquiring into the ends to which silver was deployed within Europe and Asia beyond the naming of the principal ports. Meanwhile, studies of silver in Europe are overwhelmingly tightly drawn and connoisseurial, often with no reference to where the silver came from, let alone the circumstances of its extraction, transport, or even its effects. This split is due partly to a prevalent notion that silver’s value is inherent, objective, and caused by “rarity”; and it is partly due to art history’s unswerving identification with the rich and powerful. Such approaches overlook silver’s remarkable material and alchemical qualities and ignore its capacity to turn grubby profit into charismatic sparkle, which simultaneously drove the ecological and environmental damage and exonerated its profiteers. Early modern silver linked environmental destruction, colonialism, genocide, and coloniality to high culture, making it a particularly relevant topic for art historical analysis in this context. But more than that silver entwined them in complex, convulsive, and transformative ways, turning imperialism, violence and exploitation into beauty, shimmer and cultural sophistication. Hence, this essay insists on the centrality of imperial issues in the Old World as in the New, underscoring colonial dynamics within metropolitan culture while critically examining the work of seduction of art. The paradoxical quality of shine is the lens through which is seen the relation between violent coloniality and the allure and ecology of early modern silver. Full article

Haplosporidium edule is a haplosporidian parasite originally described in the common edible cockle (Cerastoderma edule) along the European Atlantic coast. In this study, we report the first detection of H. edule in the olive-green cockle (Cerastoderma glaucum) from the northern Adriatic Sea, representing both a novel host record and a new geographic occurrence. During a cross-sectional study conducted in May 2019, 90 C. glaucum specimens were collected from three lagoon sites in northeastern Italy. Histological examination of soft tissues revealed haplosporidian developmental stages, including plasmodia, sporoblasts and mature spores, within connective tissues of the mantle, digestive gland, gills and between gonadal tubules in eight individuals from the Goro Lagoon. Molecular characterization based on a fragment of the small subunit ribosomal DNA showed high similarity with the previously published H. edule sequence. Host identification was confirmed through cytochrome c oxidase subunit I barcoding together with morphological and histological analyses. These findings indicate that H. edule has a broader host range than previously recognized. Although prevalence was relatively low, the detection of this parasite in a new host species and geographic area highlights the importance of continued surveillance, particularly in the context of climate change, shellfish translocations and the expansion of aquaculture activities. Full article

This study examines how assessments of coastal extreme sea levels depend on the separability and reconstructability of the astronomical tide in hourly sea-level records. Using a global tide-gauge network, it proposes an ensemble-learning correction framework that integrates a physical-baseline threshold with multi-criteria consistency testing to determine whether machine-learning enhancement is genuinely effective across stations and time windows. The analysis uses hourly records from 528 UHSLC tide gauges, with 31-day short sequences used to reconstruct 180-day sea-level variability. Taking the physical tidal model as the baseline, residuals are corrected using Extremely Randomized Trees, Random Forest, and Gradient Boosting. To avoid false improvement driven solely by error reduction, a hierarchical decision framework is established. Baseline model quality is first screened using NSE and the coefficient of determination, after which mathematical artefacts are identified through diagnostics of peak suppression and variance shrinkage. A five-level classification is then derived from the convergent evidence of twelve performance metrics and four statistical significance tests. The results show a consistent global pattern across all three algorithms. Approximately 57% of stations meet the criterion for genuine improvement, whereas about 42% are associated with an unreliable physical baseline, indicating that the dominant source of failure arises not from the ensemble-learning algorithms themselves, but from spatially varying limitations in the underlying physical baseline. Spatially, the credibility of machine-learning correction is strongly conditioned by baseline quality: stations with effective correction are more continuous along the eastern North Atlantic and European coasts, whereas stations with ineffective correction are more concentrated in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and the marginal seas and archipelagic regions of the western Pacific. These results indicate that the observed spatial heterogeneity primarily reflects geographically varying physical and dynamical conditions that control baseline reliability and residual learnability, rather than a standalone difference in the intrinsic capability of ensemble learning itself. Full article

Accumulation of plastic litter in the marine environment is a pressing global concern. To study this issue, we use the Blue2 Modelling Framework (Blue2MF), an integrated modelling tool developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. Our study uses the Lagrangian model LTRANS-Zlev (LTRANS) in the Blue2MF to simulate the trajectories, distribution, and accumulation of macroplastics in five European marine basins: the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Northwest European Shelf, and Atlantic Southwest European Shelf. By incorporating model-estimated macroplastic inputs from land and estimations of maritime (fishing) sources, we simulate distribution patterns of marine macroplastics between 2016 and 2018. Our study addresses the challenges involved in modelling the spatial distribution and abundances of macroplastics with the LTRANS model and the factors that may condition the estimation of the model accuracy when model results are compared/validated with marine litter observations available. We compare our model results with available observations, achieving a good agreement between predicted and observed macroplastic distributions and abundances and estimating the model accuracy for both beached and floating macroplastics. Our study provides a basis for future forecast runs to evaluate the impact of policy/management options on marine macroplastic pollution in European Seas. Full article

This study documents the presence of two uncommon tetraodontiform fishes and reviews the occurrence of species from this order in Spanish marine waters. Two tetraodontid specimens (Family Tetraodontidae) were caught in the Atlantic waters off the coast of Galicia, northwestern Spain. A specimen of Sphoeroides pachygaster was collected in 2021 off the Costa da Vela, while a specimen of Ephippion guttifer was captured in 2025 in the Ría de Pontevedra, both locations situated in southern Galicia. Morphological analyses, supported by photographic evidence and DNA barcoding, confirmed the preliminary taxonomic identification of the two species. Histological reproductive analysis of the Ephippion guttifer specimen revealed a female in the spawning-capable phase. These findings constitute the first verified record of S. pachygaster and the second of E. guttifer in Galician waters. An updated comprehensive list of tetraodontiform species found in Spanish waters across five geographical demarcations was compiled. Historically, a total of 26 species across five families have been reported in Spanish waters, with 22 in the Canary Islands and 15 in the Spanish Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands. Additionally, a review of the presence of neurotoxic tetrodotoxins (TTXs) or paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) in each species is included, providing an up-to-date overview of a largely unexplored field in European waters. The increasing occurrence of tetraodontiform fishes in Spanish waters provides further evidence of the progressive tropicalization of the Spanish marine environment. Full article

Sea surface salinity (SSS) is a critical climate variable influencing ocean circulation, deep water formation, and the global hydrological cycle. This study evaluates a broad suite of satellite-derived SSS products against in situ measurements collected at 4.5 m depth along a transect conducted in 2021 from western Greenland to Sardinia, spanning the subpolar North Atlantic and western Mediterranean Sea. All satellite products capture the large-scale salinity increase from high latitudes to the Mediterranean and show generally high correlations with in situ data. However, differences exist among specific products and at different latitudes. Multi-mission and optimally interpolated global products exhibit the smallest discrepancies, remaining close to the in situ reference along most of the transect, whereas single-mission Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) and Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) products show larger and more variable differences, especially in dynamically complex or coastal areas. Regional products provide additional insights: the European Space Agency (ESA) CCI-Salinity Northern Hemisphere product and the Barcelona Expert Center Arctic Version 4 dataset are examined near Greenland and the subpolar North Atlantic, while the ESA 4D Mediterranean V3 product performs consistently in the western Mediterranean, highlighting scale and representativeness effects. A simple multi-product ensemble approach reduces product-specific noise and provides a balanced representation across diverse regimes and latitudes. These findings underline persistent regional challenges in satellite SSS retrievals and emphasise the need for more in situ observations and for further development of multi-product approaches. Full article

In this study, using global liner shipping schedules, UNCTAD’s Port Liner Shipping Connectivity Index and Liner Shipping Bilateral Connectivity Index, together with bilateral trade-value data for 2022–2024, we construct a multilayer weighted port-to-port network that explicitly embeds port-level cargo-handling and service organisation capabilities, as well as demand-side routing pressure, into node and edge weights. Building on this network, we apply CONCOR-based structural-equivalence analysis to delineate functionally homogeneous port clusters, and adopt a structural role identification framework that combines multi-indicator connectivity metrics with Rank-Sum Ratio–entropy weighting and Probit-based binning to classify ports into high-efficiency core, bridge-control, and free-form bridge roles, thereby tracing the reconfiguration of cluster-level functional structures before and after the Red Sea crisis. Empirically, the clustering identifies four persistent communities—the Intertropical Maritime Hub Corridor (IMHC), Pacific Rim Mega-Port Agglomeration (PRMPA), Southern Commodity Export Gateway (SCEG), and Euro-Asian Intermodal Chokepoints (EAIC)—and reveals a marked spatial and functional reorganisation between 2022 and 2024. IMHC expands from 96 to 113 ports and SCEG from 33 to 56, whereas EAIC contracts from 27 to 10 nodes as gateway functions are reallocated across clusters, and the combined share of bridge-control and free-form bridge ports increases from 9.6% to 15.5% of all nodes, demonstrating a thicker functional backbone under rerouting pressures. Spatially, IMHC extends from a Mediterranean-centred configuration into tropical, trans-equatorial routes; PRMPA consolidates its role as the densest trans-Pacific belt; SCEG evolves from a commodity-based export gateway into a cross-regional Southern Hemisphere hub; and EAIC reorients from an Atlantic-dominated structure towards Eurasian corridors and emerging bypass routes. Functionally, Singapore, Rotterdam, and Shanghai remain dominant high-efficiency cores, while several Mediterranean and Red Sea ports (e.g., Jeddah, Alexandria) lose centrality as East and Southeast Asian nodes gain prominence; bridge-control functions are increasingly taken up by European and East Asian hubs (e.g., Antwerp, Hamburg, Busan, Kobe), acting as secondary transshipment buffers; and free-form bridge ports such as Manila, Haiphong, and Genoa strengthen their roles as elastic connectors that enhance intra-cluster cohesion and provide redundancy for inter-cluster rerouting. Overall, these patterns show that resilience under the Red Sea crisis is expressed through the cluster-level rebalancing of core–control–bridge roles, suggesting that port managers should prioritise parallel gateways, short-sea and coastal buffers, and sea–land intermodality within clusters when designing capacity expansion, hinterland access, and rerouting strategies. Full article

The European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) is one of the most emblematic coastal fish species in the Northeast Atlantic, with high commercial value for fisheries and aquaculture, and importance for sport and recreational fishing. Despite its socio-economic importance, the Iberian divisions, Cantabrian Sea (8c) and the Atlantic Iberian waters (9a), defined by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), lack stock delimitation data. Moreover, this species is missing basic biological information, a seasonal reproductive fishing ban, and the annual landings in this region are more than double the levels recommended by ICES. To investigate the population structure of D. labrax in these areas, 140 adult individuals (36–51 cm of total length) were collected between January and March 2025 in three locations along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula: Avilés (n = 47), Peniche (n = 48), and Lagos (n = 45). Fish from each location were analyzed for body geometric morphometrics (truss network) and otolith shape contour (Elliptical Fourier Descriptors). Data were evaluated using univariate and multivariate tests to assess spatial differences and reclassification success among locations. Results revealed regional differences using body morphometry and otolith shape analyses. The overall reclassification success was 68% for truss networking, 51% for otolith shape, and 65% when both methods were combined. Despite the observed differences, the absence of clear, isolated populations supports the ICES definition of a single, though not homogeneous, European seabass stock in the Atlantic Iberian coastal waters. Nevertheless, individuals from Avilés exhibited distinctive morphometric patterns and otolith shapes, suggesting possible adaptations to local selective pressures in slightly different environments. Further studies integrating genetic tools, otolith chemistry, parasitic fauna and telemetry analyses, as well as other fish samples from adjacent areas such as the Bay of Biscay, are recommended to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the population structure and migration patterns of this key species in the Atlantic Iberian coastal waters. Full article

The causes of Arctic surface air temperature rise and the corresponding sea ice decline in the early 20th century are still a matter of debate. One hypothesis, considering the major contribution of the internal variability to the early warming event, is the leading one. This study aims to assess the contributions of the Northern Hemisphere’s leading natural variability modes to winter temperature changes in the Arctic during 20th century. Two methodologies were compared to remove externally forced signals from Arctic SAT observations—linear detrending and subtracting the multi-model ensemble mean, thereby isolating internal variability. The study introduces a novel perspective on regional evaluation across four equal-area Arctic sectors (European, Asian, Pacific, and North Atlantic), uncovering a heterogeneous spatial pattern of the Arctic SAT modulation by climate indices. Statistical analysis reveals northern extratropical modes explain 66% (median) of total variance, with dominance of AMO index in HadCRUT5 detrended observations and only 30% with PDO index prominent in observations-CMIP6 residuals. It is revealed that forced-signal removal data outperforms the detrending procedure in isolating unforced internal dynamics. AMO’s susceptibility to external forcings like greenhouse gases/aerosols is also underscored by the results of the study. Future directions advocate dynamic approaches like large initial-condition ensembles prescribing sea surface temperature/sea ice or isolating modes for causal attribution beyond statistical links. Full article