Phenology and anatomy of the reproductive phase of Abies pinsapo Boiss. (Pinaceae)

Phenology and anatomy of the reproductive phase of Abies pinsapo were studied. Male cones and female cones were differentiated in the autumn, and the dormant microsporangia contained pollen mother cells (PMCs) in the premeiotic stage. The male cones broke dormancy at the end of February when the pollen mother cells began meiosis. Pollen grains were shed at the five-celled stage at the end of April-early May. The female cones broke dormancy in mid-April. Anthesis took place at the end of April. No micropylar-pollination droplet was observed. After pollination the female cones developed quickly. The most important loss of cones occurred during the pollination period. The number of archegonia varied from one to three but two was most common. Fertilization took place at the end of June. The embryos developed during the summer, and seeds were dispersed in autumn. The results are discussed in relation to other conifers.     

Detection and identification of Bartonella sp. in fleas from carnivorous mammals in Andalusia,Spain

A total of 559 fleas representing four species (Pulex irritans, Ctenocephalides felis, Ctenocephalides canis and Spilopsyllus cuniculi) collected on carnivores (five Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus, six European wildcat Felis silvestris, 10 common genet Genetta genetta, three Eurasian badger Meles meles, 22 red fox Vulpes vulpes, 87 dogs and 23 cats) in Andalusia, southern Spain, were distributed in 156 pools of monospecific flea from each carnivore, and tested for Bartonella infection in an assay based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the 16 S–23 S rRNA intergenic spacer region. Twenty‐one samples (13.5%) were positive and the sequence data showed the presence of four different Bartonella species. Bartonella henselae was detected in nine pools of Ctenocephalides felis from cats and dogs and in three pools of Ctenocephalides canis from cats; Bartonella clarridgeiae in Ctenocephalides felis from a cat, and Bartonella alsatica in Spilopsyllus cuniculi from a wildcat. DNA of Bartonella sp., closely related to Bartonella rochalimae, was found in seven pools of Pulex irritans from foxes. This is the first detection of B. alsatica and Bartonella sp. in the Iberian Peninsula. All of these Bartonella species have been implicated as agents of human diseases. The present survey confirms that carnivores are major reservoirs for Bartonella spp.     

Natural,human and spatial constraints to expanding populations of otters in the Iberian Peninsula

Aim To determine the relationships between otter (Lutra lutra) distribution dynamics and environmental and spatial constraints over a 20‐year period. Location Andalusia, southern Iberian Peninsula. Methods We synthesized otter distribution data from three otter surveys (1985, 1995 and 2005) using subcatchment areas defined by hydrological barriers. Subcatchments were characterized by two ‘natural’ (climatic and orographic variables) and two ‘human’ (land use and population density) gradients. In addition, we calculated two contagion variables (the distance to previously occupied subcatchments and the percentage of occupied subcatchments within a 50 km buffer) for consecutively surveyed subcatchments. Results Between 1985 and 2005 the percentage of subcatchments with otters present increased from 42% to 72%. Otters tended to be rare or absent from human‐dominated areas. Anthropogenic gradients were better predictors of otter distribution than natural ones. Human and natural gradients showed strong covariation, but for any value of the natural gradients otters tended to be present in subcatchments with lower human impacts. Colonization of new subcatchments was found to be strongly related to contagion variables and expansion rates were slower than those estimated in other studies. Newly colonized areas tended to be located in areas with intermediate human influence, while repeated absences occurred mainly in areas where human impact was most severe. Main conclusions Our results suggest that recent otter expansion across Andalusia is a reflection of large‐scale improvement in environmental conditions. Otter populations that survived the period of strong and generalized declines appear to be acting as sources from which neighbouring areas are colonized, probably aided by improved water quality and increases in food availability. However, the further expansion of otters into their full original range is likely to be constrained by human‐impacted landscapes.     

Tulips: An Ornamental Crop in the Andalusian Middle Ages

Tulips: An Ornamental Crop in the Andalusian Middle Ages. The authors are working on the project “Crop Flora of al-Andalus,” which aims to recover the crop diversity of the Middle Ages in western Europe during the Islamic period. The documental sources of this study are all the agricultural treatises written in this territory and culture between the 10th and 14th centuries. Al-Andalus was the territory occupied by Islam between the 8th and 15th centuries, varying over time on varying regions on the Iberian Peninsula. In this period, a genuine agricultural revolution took place, as well as the incorporation into the Western world of many Eastern agricultural species. When we focused on the study of ornamental species used in gardens, courtyards, and houses, tulips could be identified in several texts, the main one being the ‘Umda, a botanical work written at the end of the 11th century or beginning of the 12th, probably by the agronomist Abu l-Jayr. Tulips are mentioned in this text 500 years before the first known references to their introduction into Europe, traditionally asserted to be from the Ottoman Empire to Holland via Austria, always in the 16th century. Thus the route of these ornamental bulbs in their passage from East to West must be modified.     

Land use and environmental factors affecting red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) hunting yields in southern Spain

The red-legged partridge is a small game species widely hunted in southern Spain. Its commercial use has important socioeconomic effects in rural areas where other agrarian uses are of marginal importance. The aims of the present work were to identify areas in Andalusia (southern Spain) where game yields for the red-legged partridge reach high values and to establish the environmental and land use factors that determine them. We analysed 32,134 annual hunting reports (HRs) produced by 6,049 game estates during the hunting seasons 1993/1994 to 2001/2002 to estimate the average hunting yields of red-legged partridge in each Andalusian municipality (n=771). We modelled the favourability for obtaining good hunting yields using stepwise logistic regression on a set of climatic, topographical, land use and vegetation variables that were available as digital coverages or tabular data applied to municipalities. Good hunting yields occur mainly in plain areas located in the Guadalquivir valley, at the bottom of Betic Range and in the Betic depressions. Favourable areas are related to highly mechanised, low-elevation areas mainly dedicated to intensive dry crops. The most favourable areas predicted by our model are mainly located in the Guadalquivir valley.     

Risk mapping of illegal poisoning of avian and mammalian predators

Wild predators are targeted if they are perceived to affect game species or domestic animals. Over the last century, the direct persecution of birds of prey and mammalian carnivores has led to their widespread decline, even local extirpations. Many such cases involved the illegal use of poisoned bait. We used 1,305 detected poisoning events and 59 biophysical variables to construct a distribution model of illegal poisoning throughout Andalusia, southern Spain. We chose this region because the largest number of poisoning events recorded in Spain were detected in Andalusia during the period 1990–2005. Our results showed greater incidence of poisoning was correlated with areas of high predator richness and high wild rabbit hunting yields. Thus, we hypothesize that wildlife managers should be able to estimate current and potential poisoning areas using frequency of poisoning events data. Managers can then focus control within those areas identified as conflict zones and establish surveillance schemes that prevent the loss of wildlife within the targeted areas. Our results have potential application in strategic planning for conservation of vulnerable high-profile species such as birds of prey and mammalian carnivores in southern Spain and other regions. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.     

Using crisp and fuzzy modelling to identify favourability hotspots useful to perform gap analysis

In this study, we propose the use of a favourability function to perform Gap Analysis. To exemplify this, we modelled the distribution of terrestrial mammal species in Andalusia (South of Spain) on the basis of their presence/absence on a grid of 10 km × 10 km UTM cells (n = 961). Using logistic regression and 30 variables related with the environment, space and human influence, we obtained probabilities of occurrence for each species in each cell. We computed a crisp favourability index considering the areas as favourable or unfavourable for a species if the probability of occurrence was higher or lower than the species prevalence, respectively. We also used a favourability function and fuzzy logic to level all species to the same threshold of favourability, which allowed to compare and to combine species distributions. Adding up the fuzzy favourability values for each species in each cell we obtained a fuzzy favourability index that we compared with species richness (sum of species in each cell) and with the crisp favourability index. We performed Gap Analysis by overlapping these results with the current reserve network of Andalusia. Gaps were grouped in fewer and bigger zones after applying the favourability indices. Considerations and recommendations for the use of the favourability function to select areas of conservation interest are discussed.     

The Pinus pinea L. woodlands along the coast of South-western Spain: data for a new geobotanical interpretation

The origin and natural range of the Stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) has been questioned for more than a century. In this work, we focus the investigation on one of the most important and controversial regions, viz., the Iberian Peninsula and, specifically, the Huelva and Cadiz populations in Andalusia, one of the most representative population cores. Although some authors maintain that it is an autochthonous Iberian species, most of them consider it to be exotic. From this idea, many works have been done and a sintaxonomic scheme has been created, which is accepted by the majority of the scientific community, not including Pinus pinea, nor its formations, since they are considered as man-induced forest crops. However, Stone has been present for several thousand years in the Iberian Peninsula and in the territory studied, as several paleobotanic and historical data show, proving that Pinus pinea is an autochthonous species of this region. This is a clear consequence to the field of geobotany, since – at least – the Stone pine woodlands from the Iberian Southeast must be considered as communities predominated by an autochthonous species that must be included in the sintaxonomichal schemes. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Exposure to disease agents in the endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)

The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is the most endangered felid species in the world. Lynx populations have decreased dramatically in size and distribution in the last four decades, thus becoming increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic events such as epizooties. From 1989 to 2000, serum samples were obtained from 48 free-ranging lynx captured in the Doñana National Park (DNP, n?=?31) and mountains of Sierra Morena (SM, n?=?17) in southern Spain. Samples were tested for antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii, feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1), feline calicivirus (FCV), feline/canine parvovirus (FPV/CPV), feline coronavirus, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), feline leukaemia virus and canine distemper virus (CDV) and for FeLV p27 antigen, to document baseline exposure levels. Antibodies against T. gondii were detected in 44% of lynx, with a significantly greater prevalence in DNP (61%) than in SM (12%). In DNP, prevalence was significantly higher in adult (81%) than in juvenile and sub-adult (41%) lynx, but no such difference was observed in SM. Low prevalences (≤11%) of minimally positive titres were found for FHV-1, FCV and FPV/CPV. This, combined with the lack of evidence for exposure to CDV, FIV and FeLV, suggests that these lynx populations are naïve and might be vulnerable to a disease outbreak in the future. Because of the reduced size of lynx populations, the documented low level of genetic variation (particularly in the DNP population) coupled with the recently documented state of immune depletion in a majority of necropsied lynx, it is important to better understand the threat and potential impact that disease agents might pose for the conservation of this endangered species. Future surveillance programs must include possible disease reservoir hosts such as domestic cats and dogs and other wild carnivores.