Salmonids inhabiting Mediterranean rivers are of particular concern for biodiversity conservation, as they are threatened by various stressors, including habitat alterations, overfishing, climate change, and introgressive hybridization with alien species. In the Tiber River basin (Central Italy), genetic introgression phenomena of the native with the non-native hinder the separate analysis of the two species, which are both included in the complex. Little is known about the factors currently limiting the trout populations in this area, particularly with respect to climate change. With the intention of filling this gap, the aims of the current study were to (a) quantify changes in the climate and (b) analyze the distribution, status, and ecology of trout populations, in the context of changing abiotic conditions over the last decades. Fish stock assessments were carried out by electrofishing during three census periods (1998-2004, 2005-2011, and 2012-2018) at 129 sites. The trend over time of meteorological parameters provided evidence for increased air temperature and decreased rainfall. Multivariate analysis of trout densities and environmental data highlighted the close direct correlation of trout abundance with water quality, altitude, and current speed. Climate-induced effects observed over time in the sites where trout were sampled have not yet led to local extinctions or distribution shifts, indicating a marked resilience of trout, probably due to the buffering effect of intrinsic population dynamics. Decreasing body conditions over time and unbalanced age structures support the hypothesis that variations in hydraulic regime and water temperature could overcome these compensatory effects, which may lead to a severe decline in trout populations in the near future. In a climate change context, habitat availability plays a key role in the distribution of cold-water species, which often do not have the possibility to move upstream to reach their thermal optimum because of water scarcity in the upper river stretches.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6457 | DOI Listing |
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol
January 2025
Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA.
Aquatic systems are impacted by temperature fluctuations which can alter the toxicity of pesticides. Increased temperatures related to climate change have elevated pest activity, resulting in an escalation of pesticide use. One such pesticide class, pyrethroids, has replaced the use of several banned pesticides due to its low mammalian toxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Health Res
January 2025
Health Sciences Institute, University for International Integration of the Afro-Brazilian Lusophony, Redenção, Ceará, Brazil.
Climate change poses a significant threat to human health. Long-term climate effects on childhood asthma hospitalizations depend on the population's geographic region. These effects in tropical drylands are not well understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Ecol
January 2025
Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA.
Characterising patterns of genetic diversity including evidence of local adaptation is relevant for predicting and managing species recovering from overexploitation in the face of climate change. Red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) is a species of conservation concern due to recent declines from overharvesting, disease and climate change, resulting in the closure of commercial and recreational fisheries. Using whole-genome resequencing data from 23 populations spanning their entire range (southern Oregon, USA, to Baja California, MEX) we investigated patterns of population connectivity and genotype-environment associations that would reveal local adaptation across the mosaic of coastal environments that define the California Current System (CCS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Ecol
January 2025
Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
Identifying populations at highest risk from climate change is a critical component of conservation efforts. However, vulnerability assessments are usually applied at the species level, even though intraspecific variation in exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity play a crucial role in determining vulnerability. Genomic data can inform intraspecific vulnerability by identifying signatures of local adaptation that reflect population-level variation in sensitivity and adaptive capacity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Bot
January 2025
Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.
Premise: The ability of plants to adapt or acclimate to climate change is inherently linked to their interactions with symbiotic microbes, notably fungi. However, it is unclear whether fungal symbionts from different climates have different impacts on the outcome of plant-fungal interactions, especially under environmental stress.
Methods: We tested three provenances of fungal inoculum (originating from dry, moderate or wet environments) with one host plant genotype exposed to three soil moisture regimes (low, moderate and high).
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