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El proyecto tuvo como objetivo principal reconectar la sociedad con el medio ambiente, promoviendo la conservación de la biodiversidad y enfrentando los desafíos del cambio climático. Específicamente, se centró en aumentar el conocimiento y la conciencia sobre la biodiversidad de los árboles y arbustos ibéricos del género Quercus, fortalecer las habilidades científicas de los estudiantes, mejorar la educación en biodiversidad, desarrollar herramientas para la conservación, fomentar la inserción laboral y el emprendimiento, internacionalizar la docencia universitaria y promover la educación ambiental y la sostenibilidad. Los hitos alcanzados incluyen expediciones de campo para recolectar y documentar muestras vegetales, la integración de estos materiales en prácticas educativas, y el desarrollo de recursos educativos innovadores. La metodología empleada abarcó desde la planificación de las expediciones y recolección de muestras, hasta su análisis en laboratorio e integración en el plan educativo. El equipo multidisciplinar que llevó a cabo el proyecto demostró un compromiso excepcional, logrando un impacto significativo en la investigación y educación en biodiversidad vegetal.

We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for providing helpful comments, and we thank PlantScribe (http://www .plantscribe.com) for editing a final version of the manuscript. We also thank C. Botejara and L. Zamorano for fieldwork support and A. Escudero, B. Martínez, M. Méndez, and S. G. Rabasa for statistical advice. C. Caruso, J. Herrera, and M. Méndez provided valuable comments in early versions of the manuscript. This study was supported by the REMEDINAL project (S-0505/AMB/000355) of Comunidad de Madrid, Spain, and by the CONSOLIDERMONTES project (CSD2008- 00040) of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación., Premise of research. Larger and longer-lived flowers are more frequently pollinated, but they are associated with high maintenance costs due to greater water usage. The Mediterranean climate limits plant reproduction and maximizes resource use efficiency, so smaller and short-lived flowers are potentially advantageous under hot and dry conditions. Methodology. We experimentally evaluated the relationship between the floral longevity of Cistus ladanifer, a large-flowered Mediterranean shrub, and pollination, flower size, and temperature at two different altitudes with contrasting climatic conditions. We hypothesized that flower size and longevity would be reduced in the drier and hotter conditions of the lower-altitude site. In addition, we expected that floral longevity would decrease with experimental pollen deposition, flower size, and temperature. We pollinated and capped flowers to evaluate the variation in floral longevity by comparing actual and potential floral longevity at low and high altitudes. Pivotal results. In agreement with our hypothesis, flower size was observed to increase with altitude, but, contrary to expectations, floral longevity decreased at the high altitude since temperature increased during the flowering time. Floral longevity tended to be short but depended on pollination, such that potential floral longevity was greater than actual floral longevity. Capped flowers lasted longer (1.31 ± 0.65 d) than control (0.95 ± 0.39 d) or hand-pollinated (0.60 ± 0.08 d) flowers. At the high altitude, larger flowers and higher temperatures resulted in a reduction in both the observed and potential floral longevity, but temperature had a differential effect in limiting potential floral longevity. Conclusions. Our experimental survey reported short-lived flowers and limitations in floral longevity when flowers were larger and temperatures were higher. Overall, the results reveal an important effect of temperature on increasing floral maintenance costs, i, Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

Acknowledgments We would like to thank C. Walsh and R. Ochoa-Hueso for advice on bioinformatics and statistical analyses. We also thank M. Martin for revising the English of the manuscript. In addition, we thank J. Owojori for connecting us with our sampling collaborator in Nigeria, A. R. Bamigboye. Funding: M.D.-B. and this project were supported by a 2019 Leonardo Grant for Researchers and Cultural Creators, BBVA Foundation (URBANFUN) and by the BES grant agreement no. LRB17\1019 (MUSGONET). M.D.-B. is also supported by a Ramón y Cajal grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2018-025483-I). N.F. was supported by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation (DEB1556090 and DEB1542653). L.T. acknowledges support from Norway-Baltic collaboration grant EMP442 and Estonian Science Foundation grant PRG632. B.K.S. acknowledges a research award by the Humboldt Foundation and funding from the Australian Research Council (DP190103714). F.A. is supported by ANID FONDECYT 11180538 and 1170995. S.A. is funded by ANID FONDECYT 1170995 and ANID ANILLO ACT192027. F.B. and J.L.M. acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry and FEDER funds for the project AGL2017-85755-R, the i-LINK+ 2018 (LINKA20069) from CSIC, as well as funds from “Fundación Séneca” from Murcia Province (19896/GERM/15). C.P. acknowledges support from the Spanish State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation (2013–2016), award reference AGL201675762-R (AEI/FEDER, UE). M.B. acknowledges support from a Juan de la Cierva Formación grant from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FJCI-2018-036520-I). T.P.M. would like to acknowledge contributions from the National Research Foundation of South Africa and cities involved in the South African survey. Slovenian coauthors were supported by the research project J4-1766 “Methodology approaches in genome-based diversity and ecological plasticity study of truffles from their natural distribution areas” and the Resea, The structure and function of the soil microbiome of urban greenspaces remain largely undetermined. We conducted a global field survey in urban greenspaces and neighboring natural ecosystems across 56 cities from six continents, and found that urban soils are important hotspots for soil bacterial, protist and functional gene diversity, but support highly homogenized microbial communities worldwide. Urban greenspaces had a greater proportion of fast-growing bacteria, algae, amoebae, and fungal pathogens, but a lower proportion of ectomycorrhizal fungi than natural ecosystems. These urban ecosystems also showed higher proportions of genes associated with human pathogens, greenhouse gas emissions, faster nutrient cycling, and more intense abiotic stress than natural environments. City affluence, management practices, and climate were fundamental drivers of urban soil communities. Our work paves the way toward a more comprehensive global-scale perspective on urban greenspaces, which is integral to managing the health of these ecosystems and the well-being of human populations., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

Funding This project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement 702057 (CLIMIFUN), a Large Research Grant from the British Ecological Society (agreement no. LRA17\1193; MUSGONET), and from the European Research Council (ERC grant agreement no. 647038, BIODESERT). M. D. B. was also supported by a Ramón y Cajal grant (RYC2018-025483-I). M.D-B. also acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for the I+D+i project PID2020-115813RA-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. M.D-B. is also supported by a project of the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) and the Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades of the Junta de Andalucía (FEDER Andalucía 2014-2020 Objetivo temático “01 - Refuerzo de la investigación, el desarrollo tecnológico y la innovación”) associated with the research project P20_00879 (ANDABIOMA). FTM acknowledges support from Generalitat Valenciana (CIDEGENT/2018/041). J. Z. H and H. W. H. are financially supported by Australian Research Council (DP210100332). We also thank the project CTM2015-64728-C2-2-R from the Ministry of Science of Spain. C. A. G. and N. E. acknowledge funding by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, funded by the German Research Foundation (FZT 118). TG was financially supported by Slovenian Research Agency (P4-0107, J4-3098 and J4-4547)., Background Little is known about the global distribution and environmental drivers of key microbial functional traits such as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Soils are one of Earth’s largest reservoirs of ARGs, which are integral for soil microbial competition, and have potential implications for plant and human health. Yet, their diversity and global patterns remain poorly described. Here, we analyzed 285 ARGs in soils from 1012 sites across all continents and created the first global atlas with the distributions of topsoil ARGs. Results We show that ARGs peaked in high latitude cold and boreal forests. Climatic seasonality and mobile genetic elements, associated with the transmission of antibiotic resistance, were also key drivers of their global distribution. Dominant ARGs were mainly related to multidrug resistance genes and efflux pump machineries. We further pinpointed the global hotspots of the diversity and proportions of soil ARGs. Conclusions Together, our work provides the foundation for a better understanding of the ecology and global distribution of the environmental soil antibiotic resistome., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

We thank GW Fernandes for allowing research in his property and the use of his facilities for the study. We also thank PHV da Silva and LB Fantecelle for fieldwork assistance. The comments made by three anonymous reviewers significantly improved the manuscript. TJ Guerra, RLC Dayrell, AJ Arruda and AL Teixido received scholarships from CAPES, JVS Messeder received a scholarship from FAPEMIG and FAO Silveira receives research productivity grant from CNPq. Financial support was provided by CAPES, CNPq and FAPEMIG (APQ02317-14)., The extent of specialization/generalization continuum in fruit–frugivore interactions at the individual level remains poorly explored. Here, we investigated the interactions between the Neotropical treelet Miconia irwinii (Melastomataceae) and its avian seed dispersers in Brazilian campo rupestre. We built an individual-based network to derive plant degree of interaction specialization regarding disperser species. Then, we explored how intraspecific variation in interaction niche breadth relates to fruit availability on individual plants in varying densities of fruiting conspecific neighbors, and how these factors affect the quantity of viable seeds dispersed. We predicted broader interaction niche breadths for individuals with larger fruit crops in denser fruiting neighborhoods. The downscaled network included nine bird species and 15 plants, which varied nearly five-fold in their degree of interaction specialization. We found positive effects of crop size on visitation and fruit removal rates, but not on degree of interaction specialization. Conversely, we found that an increase in the density of conspecific fruiting neighbors both increased visitation rate and reduced plant degree of interaction specialization. We suggest that tracking fruit-rich patches by avian frugivore species is the main driver of density-dependent intraspecific variation in plants’ interaction niche breadth. Our study shed some light on the overlooked fitness consequences of intraspecific variation in interaction niches by showing that individuals along the specialization/generalization continuum may have their seed dispersed with similar effectiveness. Our study exemplifies how individual-based networks linking plants to frugivore species that differ in their seed dispersal effectiveness can advance our understanding of intraspecific variation in the outcomes of fruit–frugivore interactions., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

Acknowledgements We are grateful to Dr. Minna Zhang and Dr. Yinong Li from Northeast Normal University, Dr. Xincheng Li from Fudan University, and Dr. Shengen Liu from China Three Gorges University for the valuable feedback and suggestions for the data analysis in the earlier version. M.D-B. is supported by a Ramón y Cajal grant (RYC2018-025483-I), a “Ayuda P.P. 2020. Desarrollo Lineas Investigación Propias (UPO), a project from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2020-115813RA-I00), and a project PAIDI 2020 from the Junta de Andalucía (P20_00879). H.Y.C. is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (32101335), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021M690589), Innovation Project of Young Technological Talents in Changchun City (21QC07), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2412021QD014). J.P.V. is thankful to DST and SERB (Science and Engineering Research Board), India for financial support for plant-microbe interaction research. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government., The environmental factors controlling soil biodiversity along resource gradients remain poorly understood in wet tropical ecosystems. Aboveground biodiversity is expected to be driven by changes in nutrient availability in these ecosystems, however, much less is known about the importance of nutrient availability in driving soil biodiversity. Here, we combined a cross-continental soil survey across tropical regions with a three decades' field experiment adding nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) (100 kg N ha−1y−1 and 100 kg P ha−1y−1) to Hawai'ian tropical forests with contrasting substrate ages (300 and 4,100,000 years) to investigate the influence of nutrient availability to explain the biodiversity of soil bacteria, fungi, protists, invertebrates and key functional genes. We found that soil biodiversity was driven by soil acidification during long-term pedogenesis and across environmental gradients, rather than by nutrient limitations. In fact, our results showed that experimental N additions caused substantial acidification in soils from Hawai'i. These declines in pH were related to large decreases in soil biodiversity from tropical ecosystems in four continents. Moreover, the microbial activity did not change in response to long-term N and P additions. We concluded that environmental filtering drives the biodiversity of multiple soil organisms, and that the acidification effects associated with N additions can further create substantial undesired net negative effects on overall soil biodiversity in naturally tropical acid soils. This knowledge is integral for the understanding and management of soil biodiversity in tropical ecosystems globally., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

Acknowledgements We thank UFMG, UFSJ, CSEC, PPG-ECMVS and CAPES (Financial code 001) for continuous support. TC and FAOS received grants from CNPq (313007/2020-9) and FAPEMIG. We thank D. Negreiros for assistance with Fig. 1, and B. Soares for assistance with PGLS analyses. Data collection by NV was funded by a Davis Trust, Edinburgh University research grant. This study was partially financed by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001. We thank the three anonymous reviewers for their excellent comments, which significantly improved the manuscript., Florivory is an ancient interaction which has rarely been quantified due to a lack of standardized protocols, thus impairing biogeographical and phylogenetic comparisons. We created a global, continuously updated, open-access database comprising 180 species and 64 families to compare floral damage between tropical and temperate plants, to examine the effects of plant traits on floral damage, and to explore the eco-evolutionary dynamics of flower–florivore interactions. Flower damage is widespread across angiosperms, but was two-fold higher in tropical vs temperate species, suggesting stronger fitness impacts in the tropics. Flowers were mostly damaged by chewers, but neither flower color nor symmetry explained differences in florivory. Herbivory and florivory levels were positively correlated within species, even though the richness of the florivore community does not affect florivory levels. We show that florivory impacts plant fitness via multiple pathways and that ignoring this interaction makes it more difficult to obtain a broad understanding of the ecology and evolution of angiosperms. Finally, we propose a standardized protocol for florivory measurements, and identify key research avenues that will help fill persistent knowledge gaps. Florivory is expected to be a central research topic in an epoch characterized by widespread decreases in insect populations that comprise both pollinators and florivores., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

GJFA and SRAG received PhD fellowships, and LFBM received a postdoctoral fellowship from CAPES (20132816), Brazil. TJI is supported by CNPq (309552/2018-4), Brazil., Habitat loss and fragmentation are among the main threats to global biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, major research biases and knowledge shortfalls in some geographical regions, taxonomic groups and responses studied are recurrent in fragmentation-related research. Therefore, detecting these biases and associated gaps is crucial to steer future research efforts and to guide applicable conservation policies. Here we conducted an exhaustive literature review to evaluate biases on fragmentation research across biomes, taxonomic groups, species responses and fragmentation metrics in Brazil. Overall, we analysed 716 papers, comprising a database with 26 taxonomic groups and 1173 cases studied across the six Brazilian biomes. In general, we observed that fragmentation-related research was biogeographically biased towards forest biomes. Specifically, the Atlantic Forest, the most populated and deforested Brazilian biome, comprised the highest number of studies (63%), while non-forest biomes were largely underrepresented. We also detected a high positive relative taxonomic bias for birds and mammals, while many insect taxa were disproportionately underrepresented in the literature. Altogether, assemblage-level species responses (abundance, diversity and richness) comprised 72% of study cases. Moreover, fragment size was clearly the most considered metric in the studies (43%) followed by habitat quality and edge effects. Our findings indicate major information deficits with regard to fragmentation-related research among taxonomic groups and amongst biomes in a megadiverse country. Therefore, we suggest that fragmentation research conducted in Brazil needs to consider undersampled taxa and to be urgently extended to increasingly degraded non-forest biomes in order to avoid inappropriate inferences., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

Acknowledgements FAOS is supported by grants from FAPEMIG and CNPq. RSO is supported by FAPESP (grant 2019/07773-1) and CNPq. TGC is supported by CNPq (307210-2016). CM-P is supported by the Programa de Becas Posdoctorales, DGAPA UNAM. ABR was supported by the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies and US NSF grant DEB-1838327. We thank four anonymous reviewers and P. K. Maruyama for comments that significantly improved the manuscript., Understanding how floral traits affect reproduction is key for understanding genetic diversity, speciation, and trait evolution in the face of global changes and pollinator decline. However, there has not yet been a unified framework to characterize the major trade-offs and axes of floral trait variation. Here, we propose the development of a floral economics spectrum (FES) that incorporates the multiple pathways by which floral traits can be shaped by multiple agents of selection acting on multiple flower functions. For example, while pollinator-mediated selection has been considered the primary factor affecting flower evolution, selection by nonpollinator agents can reinforce or oppose pollinator selection, and, therefore, affect floral trait variation. In addition to pollinators, the FES should consider nonpollinator biotic agents and floral physiological costs, broadening the drivers of floral traits beyond pollinators. We discuss how coordinated evolution and trade-offs among floral traits and between floral and vegetative traits may influence the distribution of floral traits across biomes and lineages, thereby influencing organismal evolution and community assembly., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank three anonymous reviewers and G. Gleiser, J.M. Iriondo and J. Ollerton for providing helpful comments. A.P. Paglia provided statistical advice. We are also grateful to Á. Teijido for fieldwork support., Background and Aims In animal-pollinated plants, direct and indirect selection for large and small flowers in predominantly outcrossing and selfing species, respectively, is a common consequence of pollen limitation (PL). However, many hermaphroditic species show a mixed-mating system known as delayed selfing, which provides reproductive assurance (RA) only when outcrossing is not realized. Although RA is expected to reduce pollinator-mediated selection towards larger flowers, the consequences of delayed selfing for selection on flower size in mixed-mating species remain overlooked. We investigated whether RA weakens selection on flower size in Tuberaria guttata, a mixed-mating annual herb. Methods We related pollinator visitation rates to flower size and measured seed production in emasculated, hand cross-pollinated and intact (control) flowers in three natural populations. For each population, we estimated variation in PL and RA across individuals differing in flower size and phenotypic selection on this trait. Key Results Pollinator visitation increased and RA decreased with flower size in all populations. Increasing RA diminished but did not fully alleviate PL, because of early-acting inbreeding depression. In the least-visited and most pollen-limited population, RA increased seed production by >200 %, intensely counteracting the strong pollinator-mediated selection for larger corollas. In the most-visited population, however, RA increased seed production by an average of only 9 %. This population exhibited the largest fraction of individuals that showed a decrease in seed production due to selfing and the weakest pollinator-mediated selection on flower size. Conclusions The results suggest that the balance between the extent of RA and outcrossing contributes to determine flower size in mixed-mating systems. Pollinator-mediated selection favours larger flowers by increasing outcrossed seeds, but the benefits of RA greatly lessen this effect, especially under sev, Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

Acknowledgments. We thank A. Escudero, J.M. Iriondo, J. Arroyo, P. García-Fayos, A. Sánchez, A. Traveset, S. Karrenberg, J. Ågren, N. Sletvold, A.L. Parachnowitsch, C.M. Caruso, J. Herrera, J. Ollerton, J.F. Scheepens, J. Těšitel and M.A. Rodríguez-Gironés for the comments provided during the first versions of the manuscript. We are also grateful to Y. Valiñani and E. Galisteo for lab assistance and to J.P. González-Varo, J. Güemes, E. Carrió, E. Triano and R. Torices for collecting flower buds for analyses of floral production costs. J. Herrera kindly provided some data of flower size for several Mediterranean species., Flower size is a key trait in the reproductive ecology of animal-pollinated plants. However, pollinator-mediated selection does not always modulate this trait and environmental conditions and/or antagonist interactions may favor smaller flowers. We evaluate the occurrence of a large-flowered family in a hot and dry Mediterranean environment, mediated by a cost-benefit balance and a male–female conflict. Large flowers have sizeable benefits in terms of pollination and reproductive success and pollinators mediate selection through male function, but female fitness is context-dependent. High floral production and maintenance costs and florivore incidence in large flowers limit female function, which counteracts pollinator-mediated selection. Large flowers are highly costly in the Mediterranean and flower size is mediated by a sexual conflict between the benefits of male function and the costs of the female one. However, a short floral longevity, occasional pollen limitation and selection through maleness keep the existence of large flowers in these environments., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

Acknowledgments We thank J. C. Nabout and A. P. Paglia for suggestions on early versions of the manuscript. F. A. O. Silveira receives a research productivity fellowship from CNPq and FAPEMIG (02317-14) and A. L. Teixido receives a PNPD scholarship from CAPES. This paper is part of the M. Sc. thesis of G. V. T. Ribeiro in the Graduate Program of Ecology at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais., Sampling biases permeate ecological research and result in knowledge gaps that have vital consequences for conservation planning. The consequences of knowledge gaps on species identity and distribution (the Wallacean and Linnean shortfalls, respectively) have become apparent recently, but we know little about the extent that research biases and knowledge gaps on traits that influence species’ niches (the Hutchinsonian shortfall) affect conservation policy. To examine whether knowledge of species’ traits based on seed ecology is geographically, phylogenetically, and ecologically biased, we retrieved research data on seed germination, seed dormancy, seed dispersal, seed banks, seed predation, and seed removal from a database of 847 papers, 1648 species, and 5322 cases. Brazil was selected as a model system for megadiverse, undersampled countries. Kernel density maps showed that research was geographically biased towards highly populated sites, with vast areas remaining historically unexplored. We also show that research was clustered into protected areas. We detected a significant positive phylogenetic bias at genus-level, indicating research concentration in few genera and lower relative bias rates for many herbaceous genera. Unexpectedly, information on seed banking was available for only 74 (3.4%) of threatened species, which suggests that information deficits are highest for species with critical needs for ex situ conservation strategies. Tree, fleshy-fruited, and biotic dispersal species were disproportionately overstudied. Our data indicate that information deficits on seed ecology preclude our ability to effectively restore ecosystems and to safeguard endangered species. We call for a systematic improvement of environmental agenda in which policy makers and scientists target sites, clades, and functional groups historically neglected. Lessons from developed countries and collaborative efforts will be important for megadiverse, underdeveloped countries to achiev, Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

Acknowledgments We are grateful to J.F. Scheepens and an anonymous reviewer for providing constructive comments to improve the manuscript. A. Greylak reviewed the English. We also thank Drs. J.C. Moreno and V. Mazimpaka for laboratory assistance. We are also grateful to C. García-Agulló for fieldwork support. M.B. held a collaboration grant at Autónoma University of Madrid, Spain., Larger flowers increase pollinator visit rates and reproductive success, so selection on flower size is usually mediated by pollinators. However, larger flowers involve costs imposed by resource limitation so environmental conditions may also modulate flower size. “Male function” hypothesis entails that the intensity of selection is sex-dependent, being greater through male fitness, whereas female fitness is more limited by resources. In this study we analyse pollinator-mediated phenotypic selection on flower size through both sexes in a large-flowered Mediterranean species, Cistus ladanifer. We experimentally manipulated flower size in two populations, measured its effect on male and female fitness and estimated the strength and direction of phenotypic selection through both sexes and populations. Unmanipulated control flowers received higher pollinator visit rates and dispersed a higher pollen amount than reduced flowers. This translated into selection towards larger flowers through male fitness in both populations. Nevertheless, flower size had little effect on female fitness. Fruit set was high but selection through this component of female function was not significant. Seed number increased in control flowers, especially in one population, where we detected positive selection on flower size. Our results suggest that pollinator-mediated phenotypic selection on flower size in this large-flowered Mediterranean species is especially modulated by male fitness, but flower size adjustment may also be a result of a simultaneous selection through both sexes that, in turn, is dependent of ecological context., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

Acknowledgments Two anonymous reviewers provided constructive comments to improve the manuscript. We thank to F. Castellanos, T.E. Gimeno, T. Izquierdo and A. Lázaro-Nogal for fieldwork support. T.E. Gimeno also provided constructive comments during sampling design. We are also grateful to A. Forner and D. López for logistic support. This study was supported by the REMEDINAL project (S-0505/AMB/000355) of Comunidad de Madrid, Spain, and by CONSOLIDER MONTES project (CSD2008-00040) of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. A.L.T. held a PDI fellowship at Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain., Larger corollas increase the reproductive success of entomophilous plants, but are also associated with increased carbon and water costs, especially under hot and dry conditions. Minimizing floral carbon and water loss by reducing corolla size should be potentially advantageous for plants living in these environments. We quantify maintenance costs of corollas (water and carbon) in large-flowered rockroses (Cistus spp.) in a Mediterranean ecosystem. We performed field studies of two coflowering sympatric Cistus of contrasting corolla size to analyze water costs. Additionally, we used the larger-flowered species (C. ladanifer) to analyze the effects of intraspecific variation in corolla size on floral net carbon exchange and transpiration rates. We also assessed the mean daily percentage of plant water and carbon consumed by corollas by comparing with that of leaves at the time of flowering in C. ladanifer. Temperature and corolla area increased water maintenance costs, following an allometric relationship where transpiration rate per unit of area increased with corolla area. Larger flowers tended to heat less under strong irradiance than smaller ones in both species, especially in C. ladanifer, demonstrating a stronger transpirational cooling effect on larger flowers. In terms of carbon, temperature significantly affected net carbon exchange rates, which were not affected by corolla size. Daily water and carbon expenses of corolla were ca. 50% of those of leaves on an organ surface area basis. Our results suggest that water and carbon maintenance costs of large flowers in the Mediterranean impose significant constraints to corolla size, ecophysiologically favoring smaller-flowered individuals in these ecosystems., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

Acknowledgments A. Traveset and J. M. Iriondo provided constructive comments during earlier versions of the manuscript. We also thank to R. Aceves, E. Barahona, F. Castellanos, C. de Castro, J. Iglesias and H. Lantarón for fieldwork support. We are also grateful to Y. Valiñani and E. Galisteo for lab assistance and Lori J. De Hond for linguistic assistance. This study was supported by CONSOLIDER MONTES project (CSD2008-00040) of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. A.L.T. held a PDI fellowship at Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain. The experiments comply with the current laws of Spain., Large floral displays receive more pollinator visits but involve higher production and maintenance costs. This can result in indirect costs which may negatively affect functions like reproductive output. In this study, we explored the relationship between floral display and indirect costs in two pairs of coflowering sympatric Mediterranean Cistus of contrasting flower size. We hypothesized that: (1) corolla production entails direct costs in dry mass, N and P, (2) corollas entail significant indirect costs in terms of fruit set and seed production, (3) indirect costs increase with floral display, (4) indirect costs are greater in larger-flowered sympatric species, and (5) local climatic conditions influence indirect costs. We compared fruit set and seed production of petal-removed flowers and unmanipulated control flowers and evaluated the influence of mean flower number and mean flower size on relative fruit and seed gain of petal-removed and control flowers. Fruit set and seed production were significantly higher in petal-removed flowers in all the studied species. A positive relationship was found between relative fruit gain and mean individual flower size within species. In one pair of species, fruit gain was higher in the large-flowered species, as was the correlation between fruit gain and mean number of open flowers. In the other pair, the correlation between fruit gain and mean flower size was also higher in the large-flowered species. These results reveal that Mediterranean environments impose significant constraints on floral display, counteracting advantages of large flowers from the pollination point of view with increased indirect costs of such flowers., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

Las plantas zoófilas (i.e. polinizadas por animales) abarcan una enorme diversidad de flores, que varían no sólo en la gama de colores, la forma y el diseño, si no también en el tamaño y el despliegue, la longevidad y el aroma floral. Históricamente, numerosos botánicos y biólogos evolutivos se han interesado en el estudio de los procesos que conducen a tal diversificación (Sprengel 1793; Darwin 1862, 1877; Stebbins 1950, 1970). En general, los científicos de ambas disciplinas acuerdan en conferir a los polinizadores un papel relevante en la evolución de la variabilidad floral observada en la naturaleza. Esta afirmación se apoya en el hecho de que las plantas zoófilas dependen de los polinizadores para reproducirse y son las flores las estructuras diseñadas para tal fin. Las flores juegan un papel crucial en la atracción a los polinizadores ofreciéndoles recompensas energéticas y nutritivas, mientras que éstos favorecen la reproducción transfiriendo el polen entre plantas dentro de las poblaciones. En conjunto, la diversidad taxonómica de polinizadores (insectos, reptiles, aves, mamíferos), que implica una gran diversidad morfológica, funcional y de comportamiento, se ajusta a la diversidad de las variantes florales (revisado en Fenster et al. 2004; ver también Aigner 2005; Smith et al. 2008). Por tanto, los polinizadores tienen un gran potencial de ejercer selección sobre los rasgos de las flores de aquellas plantas que visitan. El despliegue floral, determinado por el número y el tamaño de las flores, es un rasgo clave en la ecología reproductiva de las plantas polinizadas por animales. Este carácter está estrechamente ligado con la atracción de polinizadores, ya que mayores despliegues son detectados más fácilmente y ofrecen menores costes en los recorridos interflorales (Bell 1985; Harder y Barrett 1996; Ohashi y Yahara 2001). Además, las flores más grandes poseen un mayor contenido de recursos para los polinizadores, tales como polen y néctar (J Herrera 1992; J

Acknowledgements We are grateful to Jeff Ollerton for reviewing the English and two anonymous reviewers for providing comments. This study was supported by the REMEDINAL project (S-0505/AMB/000355) of Comunidad de Madrid, Spain, and by CONSOLIDER MONTES project (CSD2008-00040) of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. A.L.T. held a PDI fellowship at Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain., Plants with larger and longer-lived flowers receive more pollinator visits and increase reproductive success, though may also suffer more from antagonistic interactions with animals. Florivores can reduce fruit and seed production, so selection on flower size, floral longevity and/or number of flowers may thus be determined by the relative effects of both pollinators and florivores. In this study flowers of Cistus ladanifer, a large-flowered Mediterranean shrub, were monitored to evaluate the effects of flower size, floral longevity and number of flowers on levels of florivory in four populations. Number of flowers was variable but did not differ among populations. Both flower size and floral longevity of C. ladanifer showed broad variation and significantly differed among populations. Overall, 7% of flowers suffered attack by florivores, which were mainly ants picking the stamens and beetles consuming petals and pollen. Within-populations, larger and longer-lived flowers tended to be affected by florivores more frequently. The low overall incidence of florivores and its lack of between-population variation suggest that florivory may not influence intraspecific variation of these floral traits. However, moderate florivory levels on the largest and longest-lived flowers open the possibility of exerting selection towards smaller and shorter-lived flowers in some of the populations studied., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

Acknowledgements We would like to thank Luis Costa and the forest rangers of Fragas do Eume Natural Park for fieldwork support. We are also grateful to Rosa Menéndez for providing comments, Tatiana Izquierdo for helping with GIS and Lori J. De Hond for linguistic assistance. This research was supported by the Galician Consellería de Medio Ambiente e Desenvolvemento Sostible (project 215/2006) and by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (project CGL2006-07012). FOGGA (Fondo Galego de Garantía Agraria) provided the orthoimages used in the study., Changes in forested landscapes may have important consequences for ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation. In northern Spain, major changes in land use occurred during the second half of the 20th century, but their impacts on forests have not been quantified. We evaluated the dynamics of landscape and forest distribution patterns between 1957 and 2003 in Fragas do Eume Natural Park (northwestern Spain). We used orthoimages and a set of standard landscape metrics to determine transitions between land cover classes and to examine forest distribution patterns. Eucalypt plantations showed the greatest increase in area (197%) over time. Furthermore, transitions to eucalypt plantations were found in all major land cover classes. Forest showed a net decline of 20% in total area and represented 30% of the landscape area in 2003. Forest losses were mainly due to eucalypt plantations and the building of a water reservoir, while forest gains were due to increases in shrubland, meadows and cultivated fields which had been recolonised. Forest patch size and core area decreased, and edge length increased over time. In turn, increases were obtained in mean distance between forest patches, and in adjacency to eucalypt plantations and to a water reservoir. These results suggest an increase in forest fragmentation from 1957 to 2003, as well as a change in the nature of the habitat surrounding forest patches. This study shows that land use changes, mostly from eucalypt plantation intensification, negatively affected forested habitats, although some regeneration was ongoing through ecological succession from land abandonment., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

A pesar de la intensa destrucción sufrida por los bosques de las costas de Europa, hay pocos estudios sobre la fragmentación de estos ecosistemas y sus consecuencias sobre la biodiversidad. El P. N. Fragas do Eume es una de las mejores representaciones de los bosques del litoral atl ántico europeo y tiene importantes poblaciones de helechos ibero-macaronésicos amenazados en sus bosques de ribera. En este trabajo se estudió la distribución de las clases de ocupación del suelo de este parque a partir de imágenes aéreas de los años 2002 y 2003. El bosque en conjunto ocupa el 30% de la superficie y corresponde principalmente a tres parches de gran tamaño. No obstante, la mayoría de los parches son muy pequeños (<10 ha) y tienen escasa o nula superficie no afectada por los factores de borde. En las riberas, la deforestación es menor y el bosque cubre el 76% de la longitud de los cauces. Hay 47 km de bosque de ribera a baja altitud (<400 m) y orientado al N, hábitat óptimo de helechos amenazados. La restauración del bosque en las riberas degradadas debe ser una medida prioritaria para la recuperación de estos helechos., Despite large destruction suffered by the forests of coastal Europe, few studies have examined the fragmentation of these ecosystems and its consequences on biodiversity. Fragas do Eume Natural Park is one of the best remaining forests in the Atlantic coast of Europe and has important populations of threatened Ibero-Macaronesian ferns in its riparian forests. The distribution of land cover classes in this Park was studied by using aerial images from the years 2002 and 2003. The whole forest occupies 30% of the area and is mainly held by three big patches. Nevertheless, most patches are very small (<10 ha) and affected by edge factors. In riversides, deforestation was less intense and 76% of the stream length is covered by forest. North-facing low-altitude (<400 m) riparian forest, optimum habitat for threatened ferns, occupies 47 km of streams. Forest restoration in the damaged riversides must be a priority action to conserve these ferns.