Papers by Enrique Garcia-barros
Research Square (Research Square), Mar 30, 2021
Context Urbanisation is an environmental lter for many species that leads to community homogenisa... more Context Urbanisation is an environmental lter for many species that leads to community homogenisation, with a few species inhabiting isolated patches (gardens) embedded in the urban landscape. Promoting biodiversity in urban areas requires understanding which and how species traits allow species to survive the urban landscape. Objectives The objective of this study was to assess how species traits and landscape factors combine to allow species functional groups live in the city, by means of the use of suitable patches in the urban landscape. Methods We used butter y count data collected by volunteers in 24 gardens of Barcelona city, for 2018 and 2019. Species were clustered in functional groups according to their traits. We applied a multinomial choice model to test the effect of the landscape on the different functional groups. Results Three functional groups appeared in the city while a fourth, containing most sedentary specialist species, was ltered out. Although the observed groups had similar species richness, abundances varied depending on urban landscape characteristics. Specialist sedentary and medium mobile species were all favoured by patch connectivity; while the presence of mobile generalist species was only enhanced by habitat quality. Our results indicate that butter y communities are more diverse in highly connected gardens. Conclusions Our study highlights the need of contextualised management with actions accounting for the species functional groups, rather than a management focused on general species richness. It evidences that urban landscape planning must focus on improving connectivity inside the city in order to diversify the community composition.
FIGURE 9. Scanning electron microscope photographs of a general view of the egg and the detail of... more FIGURE 9. Scanning electron microscope photographs of a general view of the egg and the detail of the annular zone of the eggs of Cupido minimus (A, B), C. osiris (C, D), and C. lorquinii (E, F). Scale bars 200 (A, C, E) and 20 Μm (B, D, F).
Insect Conservation and Diversity, Feb 27, 2023
Taxa restricted to mountains may be vulnerable to global warming, unless local‐scale topographic ... more Taxa restricted to mountains may be vulnerable to global warming, unless local‐scale topographic variation and conservation actions can protect them against expected changes to the climate. We tested how climate change will affect the 19 mountain‐restricted Erebia species of the Iberian Peninsula, of which 7 are endemic. To examine the scope for local topographic variation to protect against warming, we applied species distribution models (HadGEM2 and MPI) at two spatial scales (10 × 10 and 1 × 1 km) for two representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) in 2050 and 2070. We also superimposed current and future ranges on the protected area (PA) network to identify priority areas for adapting Erebia conservation to climate change. In 10 × 10 km HadGEM2 models, climatically suitable areas for all species decreased in 2050 and 2070 (average −95.7%). Modelled decreases at 1 × 1 km were marginally less drastic (−95.3%), and 14 out of 19 species were still expected to lose their entire climatically favourable range by 2070. The PA network is well located to conserve the species that are expected to retain some climatically suitable areas in 2070. However, we identify 25 separate 10 × 10 km squares where new PAs would help to adapt the network to expected range shifts or contractions by Erebia. Based on our results, adapting the conservation of range‐restricted mountain taxa to projected climate change will require the implementation of complementary in situ and ex situ measures alongside urgent climate change mitigation.
Insect Conservation and Diversity, Jan 17, 2022
Evaluating data quality and inventory completeness must be a preliminary step in any biodiversity... more Evaluating data quality and inventory completeness must be a preliminary step in any biodiversity research, particularly in the case of insects and high biodiversity areas. Yet, this step is often neglected or, at best, assessed only for one insect group, and the degree of congruence of sampling effort ffor different insect groups remains unexplored. We assess the congruence in the spatial distribution of sampling effort for five insect groups (butterflies, caddisflies, dung beetles, moths, and aquatic beetles) in the Iberian Peninsula. We identify well‐surveyed areas for each taxonomic group and examine the degree to which the patterns of sampling effort can be explained by a set of variables related to environmental conditions and accessibility. Irrespective of the general lack of reliable inventories, we found a general but low congruence in the completeness patterns of the different taxa. This suggests that there is not a common geographical pattern in survey effort and that idiosyncratic and contingent factors (mainly the proximity to the workplaces of entomologists) are differentially affecting each group. After many decades of taxonomic and faunistic work, distributional databases of Iberian insects are still in a very preliminary stage, thus limiting our capacity to obtain reliable answers to basic and applied questions. We recommend carrying out long‐term, standardised and well‐designed entomological surveys able to generate a reliable image of the distribution of different insect groups. This will allow us to estimate accurately insect trends and better understand the full extent of global biodiversity loss.
Landscape Ecology, Oct 9, 2021
Context Urbanisation is an environmental filter for many species that leads to community homogeni... more Context Urbanisation is an environmental filter for many species that leads to community homogenisation, with a few species inhabiting isolated patches (e.g. public and private gardens and parks) embedded within the urban landscape. Promoting biodiversity in urban areas requires understanding which species traits allow species to survive the urban landscape. Objectives The objective of this study was to assess how species traits and landscape factors combine to allow species functional groups to live in the city.
Journal of Insect Conservation, Jun 9, 2022
We estimated the potential impact of Global Warming on the species richness of Iberian butterflie... more We estimated the potential impact of Global Warming on the species richness of Iberian butterflies. First, we determined the grid size that maximized the balance between geographic resolution, area coverage and environmental representativeness. Contemporary richness was modelled in several alternative ways that differed in how sampling effort was controlled for, and in whether the non-climatic variables (physiography, lithology, position) were incorporated. The results were extrapolated to four WorldClim scenarios. Richness loss is to be expected for at least 70% of the area, with forecasts from the combined models being only slightly more optimistic than those from the purely climatic ones. Overall, the most intense losses are predicted for areas of highest contemporary species richness, while the potential slightly positive or nearly neutral changes would most often concentrate in cells of low to moderate present richness. The environmental determinants of richness might not be uniform across the geographical range of sampling effort, suggesting the need of additional data from the least intensively surveyed areas. Implications for insect conservation Reassessing richness and its environmental determinants in the area proves necessary for more detailed forecasts of the climate-driven changes in butterfly species richness. The expected future conditions imply widespread losses of regional richness, even under the less severe scenarios. Since the negative impact of warming is expected to be extensive, long term conservation plans should concentrate in the present protected areas of highest richness as these are most likely to represent the last refuges for mountain species.
Insect Conservation and Diversity, Apr 14, 2021
1. Indices of environmental associations such as the Community Temperature Index (CTI) and Commun... more 1. Indices of environmental associations such as the Community Temperature Index (CTI) and Community Precipitation Index (CPI) can be derived from occurrence data to extend the geographic scope or time frame of evidence for responses of insect diversity to global change. 2. We tested whether occurrence records from 1901 to 2016 from the Iberian Peninsula could shed light on butterfly community responses to changes over space and time in the climate; and whether local climatic variation caused by topographic heterogeneity could buffer communities against the effects of climate change. 3. CTI and CPI were closely related to variation in temperature and precipitation across 115 well-sampled 10 km grid squares. However, whereas temperature and precipitation changed systematically from 1901-1979 to 1980-2016, and these changes were positively related to changes in CTI and CPI, community climatic associations did not change significantly over time. Butterfly communities became more associated with closed vegetation, suggesting that land cover changes overshadowed the effects of climate change. 4. Local (1 km) climatic variation generally exceeded change over time at 10 km resolution, and heterogeneity in elevation slowed rates of warming. In turn, spatial variation in climatic conditions dampened butterfly community responses to heating and drying. 5. Occurrence data are limited by their spatial resolution but can inform understanding of insect community responses to global change for regions lacking long-term monitoring data. Our results suggest that local climatic variation accompanying topographic heterogeneity can shield regional butterfly faunas from the impacts of climate change.
Journal of Insect Conservation, Jan 3, 2017
habitat suitability threats were abandonment for E. bazae and P. violetae, trampling for A. zulli... more habitat suitability threats were abandonment for E. bazae and P. violetae, trampling for A. zullichi, and overgrazing for P. golgus. Recovery plans included aspects on legislation, habitat management, precautionary measures (limit new developments and land use changes), research, and public awareness campaigns. Suggested habitat management actions are: (1) support extensive grazing and prevent overgrazing; (2) reduce the effect of trampling by visitors in mountain areas; and (3) woodland and scrub clearing of abandoned areas and pine plantations to improve the quality of grassland habitats.
Ecography, Mar 30, 2021
The high diversity of insects has limited the volume of long-term community data with a high taxo... more The high diversity of insects has limited the volume of long-term community data with a high taxonomic resolution and considerable geographic replications, especially in forests. Therefore, trends and causes of changes are poorly understood. Here we analyse trends in species richness, abundance and biomass of nocturnal macro moths in three quantitative data sets collected over four decades in forests in southern Germany. Two local data sets, one from coppiced oak forests and one from high oak forests included 125K and 48K specimens from 559 and 532 species, respectively. A third regional data set, representing all forest types in the temperate zone of central Europe comprised 735K specimens from 848 species. Generalized additive mixed models revealed temporal declines in species richness (−38%), abundance (−53%) and biomass (−57%) at the regional scale. These were more pronounced in plant host specialists and in dark coloured species. In contrast, the local coppiced oak forests showed an increase, in species richness (+62%), while the high oak forests showed no clear trends. Left and right censoring as well as cross validation confirmed the robustness of the analyses, which led to four conclusions. First, the decline in insects appears in hyper diverse insect groups in forests and affects species richness, abundance and biomass. Second, the pronounced decline in host specialists suggests habitat loss as an important driver of the observed decline. Third, the more severe decline in dark species might be an indication of global warming as a potential driver. Fourth, the trends in coppiced oak forests indicate that maintaining complex and diverse forest ecosystems through active management may be a promising conservation strategy in order to counteract negative trends in biodiversity, alongside rewilding approaches.
Trabajo presentado en el XVIII European Congress of Lepidopterology, celebrado en Blagoevgrad (Bu... more Trabajo presentado en el XVIII European Congress of Lepidopterology, celebrado en Blagoevgrad (Bulgaria) del 29 de julio al 4 de agosto de 2013.
The climatic preferences of the species determine to a large extent their response to climate cha... more The climatic preferences of the species determine to a large extent their response to climate change. Temperature preferences have been shown to play a key role in driving trends in animal populations. However, the relative importance of temperature and precipitation preferences is still poorly understood, particularly in systems where ecological processes are strongly constrained by the amount and timing of rainfall. In this study, we estimated the role played by temperature and precipitation preferences in determining population trends for birds and butterflies in a Mediterranean area. Trends were derived from long-term biodiversity monitoring data and temperature and precipitation preferences were estimated from species distribution data at three different geographical scales. We show that population trends were first and foremost related to precipitation preferences both in birds and in butterflies. Temperature preferences had a weaker effect on population trends, and were significant only in birds. The effect of precipitation on population trends operated in opposite directions in the two groups of species: butterfly species from arid environments and bird species from humid habitats are decreasing most. Our results indicate that, although commonly neglected, water availability is likely an important driver of animal population change in the Mediterranean region, with highly contrasting impacts among taxonomical groups
Scientific Data, 2020
Trait-based analyses explaining the different responses of species and communities to environment... more Trait-based analyses explaining the different responses of species and communities to environmental changes are increasing in frequency. European butterflies are an indicator group that responds rapidly to environmental changes with extensive citizen science contributions to documenting changes of abundance and distribution. Species traits have been used to explain long- and short-term responses to climate, land-use and vegetation changes. Studies are often characterised by limited trait sets being used, with risks that the relative roles of different traits are not fully explored. Butterfly trait information is dispersed amongst various sources and descriptions sometimes differ between sources. We have therefore drawn together multiple information sets to provide a comprehensive trait database covering 542 taxa and 25 traits described by 217 variables and sub-states of the butterflies of Europe and Maghreb (northwest Africa) which should serve for improved trait-based ecological, c...
Insect Conservation and Diversity, 2018
The dynamic analysis of geographical distribution is relevant to identify the processes that unde... more The dynamic analysis of geographical distribution is relevant to identify the processes that underlie any changes of geographical ranges. This is an essential element of both biogeography and conservation biology. Fuzzy logic, in particular the fuzzy concept of favourability for species occurrence, helps to perform a dynamic interpretation of the internal complexity of species ranges. We modelled the distributions of the 222 Iberian butterflies using favourability functions and 92 environmental variables (spatial, climatic, topographic, geological and indicators of human activity). We obtained a significant environmental favourability model for each butterfly. We identified the potential sources and sinks in the distribution area of each butterfly species using their respective favourability and presence–absence maps, considering as sources only those areas with high favourability where the butterfly is present, and sinks only those areas with low favourability where the butterfly i...
Scientific Reports, 2019
The climatic preferences of the species determine to a large extent their response to climate cha... more The climatic preferences of the species determine to a large extent their response to climate change. Temperature preferences have been shown to play a key role in driving trends in animal populations. However, the relative importance of temperature and precipitation preferences is still poorly understood, particularly in systems where ecological processes are strongly constrained by the amount and timing of rainfall. In this study, we estimated the role played by temperature and precipitation preferences in determining population trends for birds and butterflies in a Mediterranean area. Trends were derived from long-term biodiversity monitoring data and temperature and precipitation preferences were estimated from species distribution data at three different geographical scales. We show that population trends were first and foremost related to precipitation preferences both in birds and in butterflies. Temperature preferences had a weaker effect on population trends, and were signi...
Animal Conservation, 2017
The Iberian Peninsula is a major European region of biodiversity, as it harbours more than 30% of... more The Iberian Peninsula is a major European region of biodiversity, as it harbours more than 30% of European endemic species. Despite a number of studies having evaluated the ability of nature reserves to protect certain taxa, there is still a lack of knowledge on how Iberian endemic fauna are represented in these reserves. We detected biodiversity hotspots of Iberian endemicity and evaluated the effectiveness of the Natura 2000 network (N2000) in representing 249 endemic species from eight animal taxonomic groups (amphibians, mammals, freshwater fishes, reptiles, water beetles, butterflies, lacewings and dung beetles). We found that only the 10% of these Iberian endemic species are considered species of community interest (i.e. species included in the Annexes of the Habitats Directive). We conducted gap analyses and null models of representativeness in N2000. Generally, N2000 is effective in its representation of Iberian endemic fauna, although we detected species and few hotspots of...
Diversity and Distributions, 2017
Aim: Species distribution models built with geographically restricted data often fail to capture ... more Aim: Species distribution models built with geographically restricted data often fail to capture the full range of conditions experienced by species across their entire distribution area. Using such models to predict distribution shifts under future environmental change may, therefore, produce biased projections. However, restricted-scale models have the potential to include a larger sample of taxa for which distribution data are available and to provide finer-resolution projections that are better applied to conservation planning than the forecasts of broad-scale models. We examine the circumstances under which the projected shifts in species richness patterns derived from restricted-scale and broad-scale models are most likely to be similar. Location: Europe. Methods: The distribution of butterflies in Finland, Belgium/Netherlands and Spain was modelled based on restricted-scale (local) and broad-scale (continental) distribution and climate data. Both types of models were projected under future climate change scenarios to assess potential changes in species richness. Results: In Finland, species richness was projected to increase strongly based on restricted-scale models and to decrease slightly with broad-scale models. In Belgium/ Netherlands, restricted-scale models projected a larger decrease in richness than | 1405 TITEUX ET al.
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Papers by Enrique Garcia-barros