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This work aims to present an historical review of the ecosystem services provided by anadromous fish (i.e., species that migrate from the sea to the river to spawn) throughout Human time, as well as of the main related threats, focusing on the Iberian Peninsula region. Anadromous fish provide important provision, cultural, regulatory and supporting ecosystem services across their distribution range and have been extensively exploited by humans since prehistoric times. In the Iberian Peninsula, sea lamprey, allis and twaite shads, sea trout, Atlantic salmon and European sturgeon were once abundantly present in several river basins covering what is now Portuguese and Spanish territory. These species have suffered a severe decline across their distribution range, mainly due to habitat loss and overexploitation. Considered regal delicacies, these fishes were once a statement on the tables of the highest social classes, a much appreciated bounty for the poorer population and are still an important part of the local gastronomy and economy. Such high economic and cultural interest encouraged intensive fishing. Currently, management efforts are being implemented, pairing habitat rehabilitation (e.g., construction of fish passes in obstacles to migration such as weirs and dams) with sustainable fisheries. Considering the present climate change scenario, these species are bound to endure increased pressures, demanding novel management approaches to ensure population numbers that are able to secure their sustainable exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used a population genomic approach to unravel the population structure, genetic differentiation, and genetic diversity of three widespread wild bee species across the Iberian Peninsula, Andrena agilissima, Andrena flavipes and Lasioglossum malachurum. Our results demonstrated that genetic lineages in the Ebro River valley or near the Pyrenees mountains are different from the rest of Iberia. This relatively congruent pattern across species once more supports the hypothesis of "refugia within refugia" in the Iberian Peninsula. The results for A. flavipes and A. agilissima showed an unexpected pattern of genetic differentiation, with the generalist polylectic A. flavipes having lower levels of genetic diversity (Ho = 0.0807, He = 0.2883) and higher differentiation (FST = 0.5611), while the specialist oligolectic A. agilissima had higher genetic diversity (Ho = 0.2104, He = 0.3282) and lower differentiation values (FST = 0.0957). For L. malachurum, the smallest and the only social species showed the lowest inbreeding coefficient (FIS = 0.1009) and the lowest differentiation level (FST = 0.0663). Overall, our results, suggest that this pattern of population structure and genetic diversity could be explained by the combined role of past climate changes and the life-history traits of the species (i.e., size, sociality and host-plant specialization), supporting the role of the Iberian refugia as a biodiversity hotspot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The threespine stickleback is a freshwater fish listed as endangered in Portugal, near the southern limit of the species global distribution. However, few measures have been proposed aiming at the conservation of this species in suboptimal environments. From existing databases and specific sampling campaigns, we obtained occurrence data of threespine stickleback for a total of 646 sites. The occurrence data, together with 15 environmental macrohabitat predictors, were used to model the potential distribution of the species using an ensemble of species distribution models. Through the results of our final ensemble, we project that the threespine stickleback occurs predominantly at lower stretches of river systems, where sandy substrate is dominant and flow is higher. Within this region, sticklebacks are also more likely to occur in sites with high levels of rainfall in the driest month, thus avoiding locations with high potential for drying during summer. The species also tends to avoid steep slope areas with high levels of annual precipitation. Based on our results, a map of the species probability of occurrence was generated and river sections were categorized into levels according to their importance for the species' conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human‐mediated introductions of species may have profound impacts on native ecosystems. One potential impact with largely unforeseen consequences is the potential admixture of introduced with autochthonous species through hybridization. Throughout the world, bumblebees have been deliberately introduced for crop pollination with known negative impacts on native pollinators. Given the likely allochthonous origin of commercial bumblebees used in Portugal (subspecies Bombus terrestris terrestris and B. t. dalmatinus), our aim was to assess their putative introgression with the native Iberian subspecies B. terrestris lusitanicus. We analysed one mitochondrial gene, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COX1) and genomic data involving thousands of genome‐wide restriction‐site‐associated DNA markers (RAD‐seq). In the mitochondrial COX1 analyses, we detected one relatively common haplotype in commercial bumblebees, also present in wild samples collected nearby the greenhouses where the commercial hives are used. In the RAD‐seq analysis, we found a clear genetic differentiation between native and commercial lineages. Furthermore, we detected candidate hybrids in the wild, as well as putatively escaped commercial bumblebees, some of which being potentially fertile males. Although we cannot assess directly the fitness effects of introgressed alleles, there is a risk of maladaptive allele introgression to the local bumblebee subspecies, which can negatively impact autochthon populations. One immediate recommendation to farmers is for the proper disposal of hive boxes, after their use in greenhouses, so as to minimize the risk of escapees contaminating native populations. On the other hand, the feasibility of using local subspecies B. t. lusitanicus, preferably with local production, should be evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]