When exotic species spread over novel environments, their phenotype will depend on a combination of different processes, including phenotypic plasticity (PP), local adaptation (LA), environmental maternal effects (EME) and genetic drift (GD). Few attempts have been made to simultaneously address the importance of those processes in plant invasion. The present study uses the well-documented inva...

This paper analyses current precipitation rates (PRs) and trends over the Mediterranean Sea region and their response to global climate change scenarios. The analysis uses 0.25° gridded PRs dataset over a 13-year period (1998– 2010) based on remote sensing data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. Future scenarios use the results of six global climate models (GCMs) under four represent...

We performed a transplant experiment to compare the life histories and morphologies of five geographically representative antlion Myrmeleon hyalinus populations along a sharp climatic gradient, from a Mediterranean climate in Israel's north to a desert climate in the south. Larvae were raised in two environmental chambers simulating Mediterranean and desert climates to investigate the extent to...

In the Mediterranean region, climate and land use change are expected to impact on natural and agricultural ecosystems by warming, reduced rainfall, direct degradation of ecosystems and biodiversity loss. Human population growth and socioeconomic changes, notably on the eastern and southern shores, will require increases in food production and put additional pressure on agro-ecosystems and wate...

The Mediterranean coastline is a dynamic and complex system which owes its complexity to its past and present vicissitudes, e.g. complex tectonic history, climatic fluctuations, and prolonged coexistence with human activities. A plant species that is widespread in this habitat is the sea daffodil, Pancratium maritimum (Amaryllidaceae), which is a perennial clonal geophyte of the coastal sands o...

This synopsis focuses on the effects of climate change on Mediterranean seagrasses, and associated communities, and on the contribution of the main species, Posidonia oceanica, to the mitigation of climate change effects through sequestering carbon dioxide. Whilst the regression of seagrass meadows is well documented, generally linked to anthropogenic pressures, global warming could be a cause ...

Given the rapidly growing human population in mediterranean-climate systems, land use may pose a more immediate threat to biodiversity than climate change this century, yet few studies address the relative future impacts of both drivers. We assess spatial and temporal patterns of projected 21(st) century land use and climate change on California sage scrub (CSS), a plant association of consider...

Climate change is undoubtedly the most imminent environmental issue the world is facing today. Climate changes could heavily affect olive oil producing areas, especially in the Mediterranean basin. Olive trees are tougher than vines and can thrive on many different terrains and under various climate conditions. Researchers reported that a key area of Spanish olive oil production in Catalonia ma...

Bryophytes are a group of early land plants, whose specific ecophysiological and biological features, including poikilohydry, sensitivity to moderately high temperature and high dispersal ability, make them ideal candidates for investigating the impact of climate changes. Employing a combined approach of species distribution modelling (SDM) and molecular phylogeography in the temperate moss Hom...

Increasing temperatures and shifting precipitation regimes define the Mediterranean Basin (MB) as one of the world’s most sensitive climate change hot spots. Among various ecological effects, disruptions in the growth-climate response of Mediterranean forest species have been recently observed. Complex topographical and climatological factors, however, may result in contrasting patterns of rece...