Time to refine the geography of biodiversity hotspots by integrating molecular data: The Mediterranean Basin as a case study

Perret, None Jan; Cobelli, Oceane; Taudière, Adrien; Andrieu, Julien; Aumeeruddy‐Thomas, Yildiz; Souissi, Jamila Ben; Besnard, Guillaume; Casazza, Gabriele; Crochet, Pierre‐André; Decaëns, Thibaud; Denis, Françoise; Géniez, Philippe; Loizides, Michael; Mèdail, Frédéric; Pasqualini, Vanina; Speciale, Claudia; Battesti, Vincent; Chevaldonné, Pierre; Lejeusne, Christophe; Richard, Franck

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110162

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The Mediterranean region can be defined through the superposition of a particular climate range (i.e. the socalled Mediterranean climate, marked by hot and dry summers and relatively mild and humid winters) and a geography comprising a complex mosaic of mountainous, insular, inland, and marine landscapes and seascapes at the intersection of three continents (Africa, Asia and Europe), where since the Neolithic era (one of the places on Earth where it first emerged), humans have significantly impacted ecosystems through agriculture and the domestication of the bio-physical environment, establishing modes of "co-evolution" that extend beyond mere economic and productive goals (Blondel, 2006(Blondel, , 2010Abulafia, 2011;Perret et al, 2023). The diverse and continually evolving cultures of the Mediterranean have played a central role in shaping their landscapes and biotic components over time, and vice-versa.…”

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confidence: 99%

Introduction to the Research Collection “Mediterranean Biocultural Diversity”

Dominguez,

Speciale,

Bentaleb

2024

Hum Ecol

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confidence: 99%

Introduction to the Research Collection “Mediterranean Biocultural Diversity”

Dominguez,

Speciale,

Bentaleb

2024

Hum Ecol

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“…These marine currents determine the main regional biogeographic regions for marine organisms (Perret et al . 2023), and also several genetic barriers for thalassochorous plants. For example, for P. maritimum , De Castro et al .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gone with the waves: the role of sea currents as key dispersal mechanism for Mediterranean coastal and inland plant species

Cuena‐Lombraña,

Fois,

Bacchetta

2024

Plant Biol J

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Thalassochory, the dispersal of propagules through marine currents, is a key long‐distance dispersal (LDD) mechanism with implications for global biogeography and particularly for island colonization. The propagules of coastal plant species are generally assumed to be better adapted for sea dispersal than those of inland plants, but this hypothesis remains largely untested. We conducted experiments on four genera (Juniperus, Daucus, Ferula, and Pancratium) and compared traits among nine species with different habitats and distributions. Our results showed that Juniperus spp. and P. maritimum have strong thalassochorous potential within the Mediterranean Basin. Interestingly, we did not find a clear association on the thalassochorous potential of coastal versus inland species within all the tested genera, apart from P. maritimum compared with the endemic inland P. illyricum. These findings suggest that thalassochory may be a more common dispersal mechanism than previously assumed. The apparently weak link of dispersal syndrome with species ecology broadens the possibility of dispersal by the sea also for inland plants, although considered to be poorly salt‐tolerant. Moreover, our results reveal significant differences in sea dispersal between endemic and widespread species, but do not rule out an important role of thalassochory in shaping the distribution patterns of archipelago endemic flora. The presented method is largely replicable and could be used for further studies with a larger set of species to better delineate trends of sea dispersal syndrome among species with different ecology or dispersal traits.

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“…Despite the high diversity of the spider fauna of Italy (with about 1700 recorded species, Pantini and Isaia 2019 , Nentwig et al 2024 ), urban spider communities in Italy are still poorly documented ( Hansen 1988 , Hansen 1992 , Hansen 1995 , Hansen 1996 , Arnò et al 1998 , Giordano et al 2002 , Pilon et al 2010 , Mammola et al 2018 , Piano et al 2020a , Piano et al 2020b , Ballarin and Petri 2021 ). This lack of knowledge is particularly unfortunate, given the prominent importance of the Italian territory within the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot ( Médail and Quezél 1999 , Perret et al 2023 ). Italy is a country characterised by a rich mosaic of landscapes and high endemism due to its complex climatic, topographic and geological setting ( European Environment Agency 2023 , Nentwig et al 2024 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ground spiders (Chelicerata, Araneae) of an urban green space: intensive sampling in a protected area of Rome (Italy) reveals a high diversity and new records to the Italian territory

Fusco,

Fattorini,

Fortini

et al. 2024

BDJ

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Urbanisation is a rapidly growing global phenomenon leading to habitat destruction, fragmentation and degradation. However, urban areas can offer opportunities for conservation, particularly through the presence of green spaces which can even provide important habitats for imperilled species. Spiders, which play crucial roles in ecosystem functioning, include many species that can successfully exploit urban environments. Placed in the middle of the Mediterranean global biodiversity hotspot, Italy possesses an exceptionally rich spider fauna, yet comprehensive data on urban spider communities are still limited. More information on urban spiders in Italy would be extremely beneficial to support conservation efforts, especially in central and southern Italy, where knowledge on the spider fauna is largely incomplete. The current study focused on the spider diversity of a large protected area (Appia Antica Regional Park) in urban Rome, Italy. A total of 120 spider species belonging to 83 genera and 28 families were identified, with 70 species being new records to the Province of Rome, 39 to the Latium Region and two (Pelecopsis digitulus Bosmans & Abrous, 1992 and Palliduphantes arenicola (Denis, 1964)) to Italy. Forty-one species were recorded during autumn/winter sampling and 107 in spring/summer. The spider fauna recorded from the study area included about 37% of the total spider fauna known from the Province of Rome, 28% of that of the Latium Region and 7% of the entire Italian territory. The most represented families in terms of species richness were Gnaphosidae and Linyphiidae, which accounted for more than 40% of the sampled fauna. Lycosidae were the most abundant family (29% of captured individuals), followed by Zodariidae (16% of captured individuals), Linyphiidae (13% of captured individuals) and Gnaphosidae (7.5% of captured individuals). From a biogeographical point of view, most of the collected species belonged to chorotypes that extend for large areas across Europe and the Mediterranean. The research highlights the role of urban green spaces as refuges for spiders and the importance of arachnological research in urban areas as sources of information on spider biodiversity at larger scales.

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Time to refine the geography of biodiversity hotspots by integrating molecular data: The Mediterranean Basin as a case study

Cited by 6 publications

References 48 publications

Introduction to the Research Collection “Mediterranean Biocultural Diversity”

Introduction to the Research Collection “Mediterranean Biocultural Diversity”

Gone with the waves: the role of sea currents as key dispersal mechanism for Mediterranean coastal and inland plant species

Ground spiders (Chelicerata, Araneae) of an urban green space: intensive sampling in a protected area of Rome (Italy) reveals a high diversity and new records to the Italian territory

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