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International audience; For plant–pollinator interactions to occur, the flowering of plants and the flying period of pollinators (i.e. their phenologies) have to overlap. Yet, few models make use of this principle to predict interactions and fewer still are able to compare interaction networks of different sizes. Here, we tackled both challenges using Bayesian structural equation models (SEM), incorporating the effect of phenological overlap in six plant–hoverfly networks. Insect and plant abundances were strong determinants of the number of visits, while phenology overlap alone was not sufficient, but significantly improved model fit. Phenology overlap was a stronger determinant of plant–pollinator interactions in sites where the average overlap was longer and network compartmentalization was weaker, i.e. at higher latitudes. Our approach highlights the advantages of using Bayesian SEMs to compare interaction networks of different sizes along environmental gradients and articulates the various steps needed to do so.

International audience; At evolutionary equilibrium, ecological factors will determine the optimal combination of life-history trait values of an organism. This optimum can be assessed by assuming that the species maximizes some criterion of fitness such as the Malthusian coefficient or lifetime reproductive success depending on the degree of density-dependence. We investigated the impact of the amount of resources and habitat stability on a plant's age at maturity and life span by using an evolutionary optimization model in combination with empirical data. We conducted this study on sea beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima, because of its large variation in life span and age at first reproduction along a latitudinal gradient including considerable ecological variation. We also compared the consequence in our evolutionary model of maximizing either the Malthusian coefficient or the lifetime reproductive success. Both the data analysis and the results of evolutionary modeling pointed to habitat disturbance and resources like length of the growing season as factors negatively related to life span and age at maturity in sea beet. Resource availability had a negative theoretical influence with the Malthusian coefficient as the chosen optimality criterion, while there was no influence in the case of lifetime reproductive success. As suggested by previous theoretical work the final conclusion on what criterion is more adequate depends on the assumptions of how in reality density-dependence restrains population growth. In our case of sea beet data R0 seems to be less appropriate than l.

Beyond the direct influence of climate change on species distribution and phenology, indirect effects may also arise from perturbations in species interactions. Infectious diseases are strong biotic forces that can precipitate population declines and lead to biodiversity loss. It has been shown in forest ecosystems worldwide that at least 10% of trees are vulnerable to extinction and pathogens are increasingly implicated. In Europe, the emerging ash dieback disease caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, commonly called Chalara fraxinea, is causing a severe mortality of common ash trees (Fraxinus excelsior); this is raising concerns for the persistence of this widespread tree, which is both a key component of forest ecosystems and economically important for timber production. Here, we show how the pathogen and climate change may interact to affect the future spatial distribution of the common ash. Using two presence-only models, seven General Circulation Models and four emission scenarios, we show that climate change, by affecting the host and the pathogen separately, may uncouple their spatial distribution to create a mismatch in species interaction and so a lowering of disease transmission. Consequently, as climate change expands the ranges of both species polewards it may alleviate the ash dieback crisis in southern and occidental regions at the same time.

Summary 1 Life span, an essential component of fitness, can be affected by traits such age at first reproduction, as well as by the mortality regime imposed by the environment. In a long-term experiment under controlled conditions, we studied life span in an iteroparous plant species, the sea beet Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima (L.), from 104 wild populations sampled in France, Belgium, Great Britain and the Netherlands. We estimated the intensity of selective pressures on life span and the specific effects of age at first reproduction (first or second year, depending on vernalization requirement) and of environmental disturbance. 2 Mean life span (measured in glasshouse conditions) increases with latitude from about 2 years in inland habitats of south-western France to at least 11 years in north Brittany, before decreasing to about 5 years in the northernmost populations. 3 Comparison of spatial autocorrelograms for life span and cytoplasmic neutral markers showed there is strong selection for life span. 4 Within populations the effect of age at first reproduction on life span proved to be marginal. No causal relationship was detected among populations, although, in the southern part of the study area, a strong association between reproduction in the first year and short life span suggests common selective pressures. 5 Life span appeared to be highly associated with habitat type, as defined by mortality regimes. Populations with the longest-lived individuals occurred in the most stable habitats and populations with the shortest-lived individuals in the most disturbed locations.

International audience; † Background and Aims Knowledge of those traits that vary with latitude should be helpful in predicting how they may evolve locally under climate change. In the sea beet Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima, seed dormancy largely controls the timing of germination, is highly heritable and varies geographically; it is therefore thought to be selected by climate. The aim here was to characterize the variation in seed dormancy among sea beet populations across the French distribution area, as well as the ecological factors in situ that are correlated with and that could therefore select for seed dormancy. The relative importance of genetic inheritance vs. non-genetic variation is also evaluated. † Methods The proportions of dormant seeds from 85 natural populations encompassing different climates over the whole French distribution area were measured under controlled conditions. Germination phenology was observed in a common garden experiment. Dormancy variation of seeds collected in situ was compared with that of seeds collected on plants grown in the greenhouse. † Key Results The proportions of dormant seeds in the greenhouse were highly variable, covering almost the entire range from 0 to 1, and followed a geographical pattern from lower dormancy at high latitudes to high dormancy at low latitudes. The distribution of dormancy was positively correlated with yearly temperatures, especially summer temperatures. Minimum temperatures in winter did not significantly explain the trait variation. The genetic component of the total variation was significant and is probably completed by an important adjustment to the local conditions brought about by maternal adaptive phenotypic plasticity. †Conclusions Dormancy in sea beet could be interpreted as a way to limit summer germination and spread germination over the first autumn and spring or following autumns. This highly heritable trait has the potential to evolve in the relatively near future because of climate change.

In sea beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima), germination occurs in autumn or spring and is mediated by dormancy which can be released by cold or dry periods. Environmental change such as current climate change may require evolutionary response in seasonal timing. Here, we explore the potential for such evolutionary change. Seed dormancy was studied in a composite population based on seeds from all over the species range in France together with several generations of reciprocal crosses. We found high, repeatable variability for dormancy rate among individuals under greenhouse conditions and confirmed its relevance for germination phenology in the field. Our data fitted best with an exclusively maternal determination of the dormancy phenotype. Narrow-sense heritability, h(2) approximately 0.5 in the composite population and approximately 0.4 in the original local populations, was such that rapid evolutionary change in the relative proportions of autumn and spring germination may be possible.

Liparis loeselii is a rare and endangered orchid occurring in Europe and north-east America. Genetic diversity and structure of this species in north-west France and the United Kingdom were investigated using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). Although clonality and autogamy are common in L. loeselii, we found moderate to important variability within populations. We observed a significant genetic differentiation between populations occurring in dune slacks and fens. This may be correlated with leaf shape as dune slack individuals are sometimes treated as the distinct variety L. loeselii var. ovata. Genetic differentiation between populations was generally low suggesting that gene flow can occur over long distances and possibly across the English Channel. These results show that populations from dune slacks and fens should be managed separately and that geographically distant populations may be equivalent.

The vast majority of perennial plants reproduce sexually and vegetatively at the same time. This may lead to important variation among clonal plant populations in their amount of genotypic diversity. In order to verify this assumption, we compare the clonal diversity of 10 natural populations of the aquatic clonal macrophyte Sparganium erectum in France. Diversity was quantified by DNA fingerprinting and allozyme electrophoresis for a sample of 10 shoots per population. Two DNA probes (CA)8 and (TAA)6TA, were selected among 10 synthetic oligonucleotide probes containing simple repeat motifs. Both allozymes and DNA fingerprints revealed different amounts of diversity among populations. Five populations consist of a single genotype, whereas two populations were genetically highly diverse. In four of the monomorphic populations, absence of fingerprints diversity was combined with uniformly heterozygous allozyme loci, suggesting that each population was composed of a single clone. In the highly diverse populations, the level of clonal diversity combined with the allele segregation of the two allozyme loci Lap and Est suggests frequent seedling recruitment. The origin of new genotypes remains unclear but the absence of widespread genotypes together with the discrete distribution of Sparganium erectum populations implies that new genotypes are locally produced through sexual reproduction.