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The family Rhinocerotidae, also referred to as 'true rhinoceroses', is one of the multiple perissodactyl lineages that have independently evolved large body sizes, lophodonty (fully developed crests between dental cusps), a simplified anterior dentition, and the molarization of the premolars. During the last decades, descriptions of novel fossil collections, the update of previously published ones, and taxonomic reviews through cladistic analyses have brought to bear a new, comprehensive perspective on the group, significantly increasing its recorded deep-time diversity. This paper reviews the historical development of the study of Rhinocerotidae in the Iberian Peninsula, provides an up-to-date compendium of the regional rhinoceros fossil record by gathering the available references, and presents an updated taxonomic framework. As a result, 27 out of the more than 200 rhinoceros species described in the literature worldwide inhabited the Iberian Peninsula, regionally ranging from the Oligocene to the Late Pleistocene. Their systematics, stratigraphic, and geographical ranges are detailed in the present article and the occurrences and geographical ranges illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of online data aggregator infrastructures has facilitated the accumulation of Digital Accessible Knowledge (DAK) about biodiversity. Despite the vast amount of freely available data records, their usefulness for research depends on completeness of each body of data regarding their spatial, temporal and taxonomic coverage. In this paper, we assess the completeness of DAK about terrestrial mammals distributed across the Iberian Peninsula. We compiled a dataset with all records about mammals occurring in the Iberian Peninsula available in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and in the national atlases from Portugal and Spain. After cleaning the dataset of errors as well as records lacking collection dates or not determined to species level, we assigned all occurrences to a 10-km grid. We assessed inventory completeness by calculating the ratio between observed and expected richness (based on the Chao2 richness index) in each grid cell and classified cells as well-sampled or under-sampled. We evaluated survey coverage of well-sampled cells along four environmental gradients and temporal coverage. Out of 796,283 retrieved records, quality issues led us to remove 616,141 records unfit for this use. The main reason for discarding records was missing collection dates. Only 25.95% cells contained enough records to robustly estimate completeness. The DAK about terrestrial mammals from the Iberian Peninsula was low, and spatially and temporally biased. Out of 5,874 cells holding data, only 620 (9.95%) were classified as well-sampled. Moreover, well-sampled cells were geographically aggregated and reached inventory completeness over the same temporal range. Despite the increasing availability of DAK, its usefulness is still compromised by quality issues and gaps in data. Future work should therefore focus on increasing data quality, in addition to mobilizing unpublished data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a comprehensive review of the Quaternary fossil records of hippopotamuses from the Iberian Peninsula, unveiling biogeographical insights of global significance. The results presented herein include the inference of a delayed arrival of Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus antiquus) populations onto the Iberian Peninsula compared to other European Mediterranean regions, with an estimated age of ca. 1.7 Ma, in contrast to 2.1–2.2 Ma elsewhere. Moreover, we hypothesize the possibility of a short-lived coexistence between H. antiquus and Hippopotamus amphibius, close to the extinction of the former taxon (ca. 0.45 Ma). The local extinction of all hippopotamus populations on the Iberian Peninsula between MIS 5 and 3 is suggested here, mirroring proposals made for the Italian peninsula. Notable aspects of this fossil record include the abundance of specimens, previously undocumented anatomical elements, and partially complete individuals with articulated body segments. The remains analyzed herein also present different ontogenetic stages and sexual dimorphism. Moreover, the presence of specimens displaying paleopathologies provides valuable insights into ethological and paleoecological studies. The exceptional record of at least three events of human exploitation of hippopotamus stands out, with this being a rarity in the broader context of the archaeological and paleontological record of the European continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of the residential function beyond the limits of the urban and developable land in the legislative frameworks has had a distinct and incomplete character. Faced with an identical phenomenon in general, called urban sprawl, the competent governments in this matter within the Iberian Peninsula have opted for a dissimilar assimilation of it, materialized in different legal and instrumental mechanisms. The objective of this paper is to present the different ways of understanding and regulating this new urban model by the Portuguese state government and the regional autonomous governments in Spain. To do this, a comparative analysis is carried out on the criteria for the classification of undeveloped land and a review of the most paradigmatic tools for the management of periurban and rurban development. The works indicate a position that is still indeterminate and, sometimes, contradictory. In spite of this, there is a tendency towards the regulated inclusion of the residential function outside the geographical contexts that have traditionally supported it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of herbicide resistance in weeds has emerged as one of the most serious threats to sustainable food production systems, which necessitates the evaluation of herbicides to determine their efficacy. The first herbicide resistance case in the Iberian Peninsula was reported about 50 years ago, wherein Panicum dichotomiflorum was found to be resistant (R) to atrazine in Spanish maize fields. Since then, herbicide resistance has evolved in 33 weed species, representing a total of 77 single-herbicide-resistance cases in this geographic area: 66 in Spain and 11 in Portugal. Changes in agricultural practices, namely the adoption of non-tillage systems and the increased use of herbicides, led to the selection of weed biotypes resistant to a wide range of herbicides. Nowadays the most important crops in Spain and Portugal (maize, winter cereals, rice, citrus, fruits, and olive orchards) are affected, with biotypes resistant to several mechanisms of action (MoAs), namely: ALS inhibitors (20 species), ACCase inhibitors (8 species), PS II inhibitors (18 species), and synthetic auxin herbicides (3 species). More recently, the fast increase in cases of resistance to the EPSPS-inhibiting herbicide glyphosate has been remarkable, with 11 species already having evolved resistance in the last 10 years in the Iberian Peninsula. The diversity of resistance mechanisms, both target-site and non-target-site, are responsible for the resistance to different MoAs, involving point mutations in the target site and enhanced rates of herbicide detoxification, respectively. More serious are the 13 cases reported with multiple-herbicide resistance, with three cases of resistance to three–four MoAs, and one case of resistance to five MoAs. Future research perspectives should further study the relationship between management strategies and the occurrence of TSR and NTSR resistance, to improve their design, develop monitoring and diagnostic tools for herbicide resistance, and deepen the study of NTSR resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The HSS herbarium database includes 69,397 records of vascular plant taxa, representing 91.1% of the herbarium's specimens as for December, 2019, which are available through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) website (accessible at https://doi.org/10.15468/siye1z). The database represents 4,343 species and 787 infraspecific taxa (530 subspecies, 130 varieties and 127 notho-species or hybrids) of 196 families and 1,164 genera, and 105 type sheets. So far, 97.7% of the databased records are georeferenced (geographic coordinates or MRGS coordinates) and the geographic area with the largest number of specimens is the southwest quadrant of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]