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The ecology of the young stages of allis shad Alosa alosa is poorly documented, although they can be exposed to many pressures during their freshwater phase and their downstream migration. When passing through systems such as the Gironde‐Garonne‐Dordogne watershed (GGD, SW France), they can be subjected to high temperatures and low levels of oxygen (hypoxia). The aim of this work is to assess the tolerance of young Alosa alosa at four ages (c. 10, 30, 60 and 85 days old) by challenging them to different temperatures (18, 22, 26 and 28°C) together with decreasing oxygen saturation levels (from 100% to 30%). Survival of the 10‐day‐old individuals was not influenced by oxy‐thermic conditions, but high stress levels were detected and perhaps this age class was too fragile regarding the constraint of the experimental design. Survival at 30 and at 60 days old was negatively influenced by the highest temperatures tested alone (from 26°C and from 28°C, respectively) but no effect was detected at 85 days old up to 28°C. A combined effect of temperature and oxygen level was highlighted, with heat accelerating survival decrease when associated with oxygen level depletion: essentially, survival was critical (<50%) at 30 days old at temperature ≥22°C together with 30% O2; at 60 days old, at temperature = 28°C with 30% O2; at 85 days old, at temperature ≥26°C with ≤40% O2. Tolerance to oxy‐thermic pressures appeared to be greater among the migratory ages (60 and 85 days old) than among the 30‐day‐old group. Based on environmental data recorded in the GGD system and on our experimental results, an exploratory analysis allowed a discussion of the possible impact of past oxy‐thermic conditions on the local population dynamics between 2005 and 2018. The oxy‐thermic conditions that may affect Alosa alosa at ages when they migrate downstream (60 and 85 days old) were not frequently recorded in this period, except in cases of extreme episodes of heat together with hypoxia that occurred in some years, in summertime in the turbidity maximum zone of the Gironde estuary (particularly in the year 2006). Interestingly, oxy‐thermic conditions that are likely to threaten the 30‐day‐old individuals occurred more frequently in the lower freshwater parts of the GGD system between the years 2005 and 2018. In the context of climate change, a general increase in temperature is predicted, as well as more frequent and severe hypoxic events, therefore we suggest that local Alosa alosa population recruitment could encounter critical oxy‐thermic conditions more frequently in the future if no adaptive management of water resources occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More diverse forests are generally more resistant to insect herbivores. This might be due to positive effects of tree diversity on predation. Although the enemies hypothesis has received conflicting evidence in forest ecosystems.Carabids were sampled by pitfall trapping in a tree diversity experiment, at the centre of plots ranging from one to five tree species mixtures. The composition and vertical structure of the vegetation was assessed at three scales, in the understorey, in the canopy of the experimental plots, and in the surrounding area of each plot.None of the tested vegetation variables had an effect on the species richness of carabids. In contrast, the vegetation compositional diversity at the understorey, canopy and surrounding scales had additive and positive effects on the activity‐density of the carabids.Our findings indicate that more diverse forests can host a higher activity‐density of predatory carabids, as a result of the combined effect of horizontal and vertical vegetation diversity, which might increase both habitat quality and the amount of feeding resources. This highlights the relevance of manipulative tree diversity experiments to identify the ecological filters shaping local carabid communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pheromone traps are widely used for monitoring or managing insect pest populations. However, it is important to know their range of attraction to optimize the setting of pheromone trap networks.We propose an easy method based on the use of pairs of adjacent traps located at decreasing distance from each other. The range of attraction is deduced from the observation of reduced trap capture when the attraction range of two adjacent traps starts overlapping. The relationship between the relative trap capture and the distance between paired traps is fitted with a logistic curve.To empirically test these predictions, we conducted trapping experiments with the beetle Monochamus galloprovincialis, the insect vector of the pine wood nematode. Fifteen pairs of traps separated by 25 to 300 m, in France, and 18 pairs of traps distant from 25 to 400 m, in Portugal, were installed in maritime pine plantation landscapes.In both countries, the relative percentage of capture per trap per week was best fitted by a logistic model with two parameters. The estimated attraction ranges were 92 m (confidence interval = 62–211 m) in France and 123 m (confidence interval = 64–491 m) in Portugal.The interference between paired traps thus provides a simple and robust method for estimating the attraction range of pheromone traps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium circinatum is the causal agent of pitch canker, a destructive disease that threatens natural and planted pine forests around the world. Although pitch canker has caused problems in Spain and Portugal, concerning Europe as a whole, the fungus is not established across the pine distribution area. Its dispersion by wind and/or insect vectors could nevertheless play a role in the colonization of currently uninfected stands. It is therefore crucial to develop monitoring tools for its detection. To this end, we assessed the molecular detection of the pathogen in environmental samples of bark beetles and passive spore traps, collected in two infected Pinus radiata plantations in Basque country, Spain. The spread pattern of F. circinatum was assessed by an experimental design that included insect and spore traps installed at the centre, at the edge and outside the plots. Our results showed that F. circinatum was detected in both types of samples, at almost all collection dates. In both type of samples, positive detections were mainly found at the centre of the plots, a lower proportion at the edge, and very few outside. This suggests that long‐distance dispersion of Fusarium circinatum does not rely on wind spore dispersal neither on insect flight. Our study also shows that molecular methods are a powerful tool to monitor the pathogen in environmental samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]