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Climate change is known to affect ecosystems globally, but our knowledge of its impact on large and widespread mammals, and possibly population-specific responses is still sparse. We investigated large-scale and long-term effects of climate change on local population dynamics using the wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) as a model species. Our results show that population increases across Europe are strongly associated with increasingly mild winters, yet with region-specific threshold temperatures for the onset of exponential growth. Additionally, we found that abundant availability of critical food resources, e.g. beech nuts, can outweigh the negative effects of cold winters on population growth of wild boar. Availability of beech nuts is highly variable and highest in years of beech mast which increased in frequency since 1980, according to our data. We conclude that climate change drives population growth of wild boar directly by relaxing the negative effect of cold winters on survival and reproduction, and indirectly by increasing food availability. However, region-specific responses need to be considered in order to fully understand a species' demographic response to climate change.

The Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) is native to Southeast Asia. Since its first detection in 2008 in Europe and North America, it has been a pest to the fruit production industry as it feeds and oviposits on ripening fruit. Here we aim to model the potential geographical distribution of D. suzukii. We performed an extensive literature review to map the current records. In total 517 documented occurrences (96 native and 421 invasive) were identified, spanning 52 countries. Next, we constructed three species distribution models (SDMs) based on occurrence records in: (a) the native range (SDMnative), (b) the invasive range in Europe (SDMEurope), and (c) a global model of all records (SDMglobal). The aim of the models was to investigate whether this species will be able to occupy additional ecological niches beyond its native range and expand its current geographic distribution both globally and in Europe. The SDMs were generated using Maximum Entropy algorithms (Maxent) based on present occurrence records and bioclimatic variables (WorldClim). Predictions of habitat suitability vary greatly depending on origins of occurrence records. According to all models, precipitation and low temperatures were key limiting factors for the distribution of D. suzukii, which suggests that this species requires a humid environment with mild winters in order to establish a permanent population in its invasive range. Several regions in the invasive range, not presently occupied by this species, were predicted highly suitable, especially in northern Europe, suggesting that D. suzukii does not yet occupy its full fundamental niche. Synthesis and applications. Based on these models of potential geographic distribution of the Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii), we show a shift in the ecological niche in Drosophila suzukii populations, emphasizing the importance of using presence, and local environmental data. Further investigation regarding new occurrences is recommended to secure optimal pest management. Despite a continuing expansion, many countries still lack proper surveillance schemes, and we urge policy makers to initiate appropriate management programmes. Based on these models of potential geographic distribution of the Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii), we show a shift in the ecological niche in Drosophila suzukii populations, emphasizing the importance of using presence, and local environmental data. Further investigation regarding new occurrences is recommended to secure optimal pest management. Despite a continuing expansion, many countries still lack proper surveillance schemes, and we urge policy makers to initiate appropriate management programmes.

Early ice-out on lakes or the absence of ice cover can lead to intense water mixing, high turbidity, and changes in nutrient balance and light conditions in the water, which in turn affect the phytoplankton community and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the aquatic environment. This study aimed to evaluate whether the effects of a mild winter on these primary producers are differentiated in two types of eutrophic lakes: phytoplankton-dominated (PDL), with a low proportion of SAV, and macrophyte-dominated (MDL), with extensive benthic vegetation. The physical and chemical parameters of the water, concentration of chlorophyll a , and the biomass of phytoplankton and SAV were investigated in four small eutrophic lakes (Eastern Poland) during the growing season after cold winters (CW) and mild winters (MW). In both types of lakes, the concentrations of soluble and total nitrogen were higher and the values of soluble and total phosphorus were lower after the MW than after the CW. The concentration of chlorophyll a and the phytoplankton biomass were always higher in the PDL than in the MDL, but the increase in both parameters in the vegetation season after the MW was statistically important only in the PDL. A poor underwater light climate was stressful for the SAV in the PDL, but not in the MDL. The MW had negative effects on phytoplankton diversity and the loss of light-demanding macrophytes. However, the biomass of primary producers in the MDL seems to be more resistant to climate warming, in comparison to the PDL. Une fonte de glace précoce ou l'absence de couverture de glace sur les lacs peut entraîner un mélange intense de l'eau, une turbidité élevée et des changements dans l'équilibre nutritif et les conditions de luminosité de l'eau, ce qui à son tour affecte la communauté phytoplanctonique et la végétation aquatique submergée (SAV) dans le milieu aquatique. Cette étude visait à évaluer si les effets d'un hiver doux sur ces producteurs primaires sont différenciés dans deux types de lacs eutrophes : les lacs à dominance phytoplanctonique (PDL), avec une faible proportion de SAV, et les lacs à dominance macrophytique (MDL), à végétation benthique abondante. Les paramètres physiques et chimiques de l'eau, la concentration en chlorophylle a et la biomasse du phytoplancton et du SAV ont été étudiés dans quatre petits lacs eutrophes (Pologne orientale) pendant la saison de croissance après des hivers froids (CW) et doux (MW). Dans les deux types de lacs, les concentrations d'azote dissous et d'azote total étaient plus élevées et les valeurs de phosphore dissous et total étaient plus faibles après le MW qu'après le CW. La concentration de chlorophylle a et la biomasse phytoplanctonique ont toujours été plus élevées dans les PDL que dans les MDL, mais l'augmentation des deux paramètres dans la saison de végétation après le MW n'était statistiquement importante que dans les PDL. Une mauvaise luminosité subaquatique a été stressante pour le SAV dans le PDL, mais pas dans le MDL. Le MW a eu des effets négatifs sur la diversité du phytoplancton et la perte de macrophytes exigeants en lumière. Toutefois, la biomasse des producteurs primaires dans les MDL semble plus résistante au réchauffement climatique que celle dans les PDL.

The use of phase change material (PCM) in buildings has been shown to be a promising method for reducing energy consumption. This study investigates the effectiveness of using PCM in reducing energy consumption in a typical residential building located in Podgorica, Montenegro, a city with mild winters and hot and dry summers. EnergyPlus software was used to simulate the thermal performance of a building with and without the incorporation of PCM. Building models were created in a way to incorporate PCM in form of a panel, and simulations were done with five different types of PCM, five different thicknesses and three different positions (outside, inside and middle of building envelope). The simulations were performed over a one-year period to account for seasonal variations in temperature and humidity. The simulation results indicate that the use of PCM in buildings design can significantly reduce energy consumption in buildings located in climates similar to Podgorica. This approach can also lead to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy consumption. These findings provide valuable insights for building designers and policymakers looking to reduce energy consumption and improve the sustainability of buildings. In conclusion, the results of this study support the use of PCM in building design as an effective strategy for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in buildings. Further research is needed to investigate the cost-effectiveness of using PCM in buildings design and to explore the potential for their widespread implementation.

Landscape-level shifts in plant species distribution and abundance can fundamentally change the ecology of an ecosystem. Such shifts are occurring within mangrove-marsh ecotones, where over the last few decades, relatively mild winters have led to mangrove expansion into areas previously occupied by salt marsh plants. On the Texas (USA) coast of the western Gulf of Mexico, most cases of mangrove expansion have been documented within specific bays or watersheds. Based on this body of relatively small-scale work and broader global patterns of mangrove expansion, we hypothesized that there has been a recent regional-level displacement of salt marshes by mangroves. We classified Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper images using artificial neural networks to quantify black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) expansion and salt marsh (Spartina alterniflora and other grass and forb species) loss over 20 years across the entire Texas coast. Between 1990 and 2010, mangrove area grew by 16.1 km(2), a 74% increase. Concurrently, salt marsh area decreased by 77.8 km(2), a 24% net loss. Only 6% of that loss was attributable to mangrove expansion; most salt marsh was lost due to conversion to tidal flats or water, likely a result of relative sea level rise. Our research confirmed that mangroves are expanding and, in some instances, displacing salt marshes at certain locations. However, this shift is not widespread when analyzed at a larger, regional level. Rather, local, relative sea level rise was indirectly implicated as another important driver causing regional-level salt marsh loss. Climate change is expected to accelerate both sea level rise and mangrove expansion; these mechanisms are likely to interact synergistically and contribute to salt marsh loss.

Woody perennials' reliance on nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) reserves for the resumption of spring growth necessitates an accumulation of NSC prior to dormancy. It is assumed that during dormancy temperature-regulated biological activities gauge the progression of winter and affect the metabolic rates and physiology of NSC reserves. Thus, changes in temperature signal the arrival of spring and determine the amount of reserves available for growth resumption. As woody perennials are dependent on dispersed storage of NSC during spring, they need an integrated remobilization and redistribution for synchronous and effective development of photosynthetic and reproductive organs. However, it is not known how storage compartments interact at the whole plant level, when NSC reserves are mobilized, or how local and distal storage compartments influence the biology of spring growth resumption. The goal of this mini-review is to shift the focus of winter biology from bud-centric to the whole plant. We discuss winter NSC management in the context of climate change with a special emphasis on how projected mild winters may affect the carbon budget, transport, and allocation during winter. We look at three aspects of NSC regulation underlying dormancy (I) the molecular regulation of dormancy (II) temperature dependent winter NSC metabolism, and (III) spring NSC remobilization and redistribution processes.

We examine the fossil weaver ants (Formicidae, Formicine, Oecophyllini) of the early Eocene Okanagan Highlands fossil localities of British Columbia, Canada and Washington, United States of America, naming Eoecophylla quilchenensis n. gen. et sp. from Quilchena (British Columbia), formally transferring Camponotites kraussei Dlussky and Rasnitsyn (Republic, Washington) to the genus Oecophylla Smith, F., and describing but not naming a worker (McAbee, British Columbia), treated as Oecophyllini sp. A. These are the oldest known Oecophyllini (Oecophylla + Eoecophylla) and Oecophylla. Forewing vein stubs of E. quilchenensis and its well-developed hind wing vein M are plesiomorphies; this M is unique within the subfamily, suggesting Oecophyllini is sister to other Formicine. The head shape of O. kraussei n. comb. indicates a close relationship to Oecophylla longiceps Dlussky from Eocene Messel, Germany. The ant Titanomyrma Archibald et al. is also known from the Okanagan Highlands and Messel, consistent with Late Cretaceous/early Paleogene intercontinental dispersal. We discuss possible host plants and trophobionts of these ants. Although Okanagan Highlands localities were cooler than the Paleotropical range of modern Oecophylla, their presence there might be explained by mild winters without significant frost.

We examine the implications for intercontinental dispersal of the extinct ant genus, Titanomyrma Archibald et al. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formiciinae), following the discovery of its first fossil in Eocene temperate upland Canada. Modern Holarctic distributions of plants and animals were in part formed by dispersals across Late Cretaceous through early Eocene Arctic land bridges. Mild winters in a microthermal Arctic would allow taxa today restricted to the tropics by cold intolerance to cross, with episodic hyperthermal events allowing tropical taxa requiring hot climates to cross. Modern ants with the largest queens inhabit low latitudes of high temperature and mild coldest months, whereas those with smaller queens inhabit a wide variety of latitudes and climates. Gigantic and smaller formiciine ants (Titanomyrma and Formicium Westwood) are known from Europe and North America in the Eocene. The new Canadian Titanomyrma inhabited a cooler upland. It is incomplete, indistinctly preserved, and distorted in fossilisation, and so we do not assign it to a species or erect a new one for it. The true size of this fossil is unclear by this distortion: small size would support gigantism in Titanomyrma requiring hot climates and dispersal during hyperthermals; if it was large, it may have been cold-winter intolerant and able to have crossed during any time when the land bridge was present.

The study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of empirical equations (Hargreaves-Samani; HS, Irmak; IR and Dalton; DT) and multivariate linear regression models (MLR1–6) for estimating reference evapotranspiration (ETRef) in different climates of Iran based on the Köppen method including arid desert (Bw), semiarid (Bs), humid with mild winters (C), and humid with severe winters (D). For this purpose, climatic data of 33 meteorological stations during 30 statistical years 1990–2019 were used with a monthly time step. Based on various meteorological data (minimum and maximum temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, extraterrestrial radiation, and vapor pressure deficit), in addition to 6 multivariate linear regression models and three empirical equations were used as MLR1, MLR2, and HS (temperature-based), MLR3 and IR (radiation-based), MLR4, MLR5 and DT (mass transfer-based), and MLR6 (combination-based) were also used to estimate the reference evapotranspiration. The results of these models were compared using the root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), scatter index (SI), determination coefficient (R2), and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) statistical criteria with the evapotranspiration results of the FAO56 Penman-Monteith reference as target data. All MLR models gave better results than empirical equations. The results showed that the simplest regression model (MLR1) based on the minimum and maximum temperature data was more accurate than the empirical equations. The lowest and highest accuracy related to the MLR6 model and HS empirical equation with RMSE was 10.8–15.1 mm month−1 and 22–28.3 mm month−1, respectively. Also, among all the evaluated equations, radiation-based models such as IR in Bw and Bs climates with MAE = 8.01–11.2 mm month−1 had higher accuracy than C and D climates with MAE = 13.44–14.48 mm month−1. In general, the results showed that the ability of regression models was excellent in all climates from Bw to D based on SI < 0.2.

Dense shelf water cascading (DSWC) is a key oceanographic process in transferring energy and matter from continental shelves to deep ocean areas. Although intense DSWC (IDSWC) events have received most attention due to their large impacts, mild DSWC (MDSWC) events are the most frequent in the northwestern Mediterranean and are expected to become more common under climate change. However, their dynamics, particularly in the Cap de Creus Canyon, have been less comprehensively described and compared to strong-winter events. This study investigates MDSWC in the Cap de Creus Canyon during the mild winter of 2021-2022, examining shelf-canyon transports of both dense shelf waters and suspended particulate matter (SPM). Observations from the FARDWO-CCC1 multiplatform cruise in March 2022 revealed the presence of cold, dense, and turbid shelf waters, enriched in dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll a, on the continental shelf adjacent to the canyon. These waters cascaded into the canyon head and progressed further into the canyon along its southern flank to â¼ 390 m depth. Estimated water and SPM transports during this event were 0.7 Sv and 10.sup.5 metric tons (t), respectively, at the continental shelf. Within the canyon, transports were 0.3 Sv and 10.sup.5 metric tons in the upper section, while mid-canyon transports were lower (0.05 Sv and 10.sup.4, respectively), indicating that most dense shelf waters likely remained confined to the shelf area and upper canyon. During this event, dense shelf waters were transported â¼ 30 km from the shelf into the canyon. Our results show that significant transport of dense shelf waters (260 km.sup.3) and suspended sediment can occur in the Cap de Creus Canyon during MDSWC events under mild winters, also contributing significantly to the formation of Western Intermediate Water (WIW) in the canyon. The Mediterranean Sea Physics reanalysis data indicate that the cascading season lasted from late-January to mid-March 2022, with several shallow cascading pulses throughout this period. Peak transport occurred in mid-March associated with an eastern storm, which likely intensified MDSWC in the canyon. Our study reinforces the idea that dense shelf water transports exhibit marked interannual variability, even under mild winters.