The southwestern Balkans have an exceptional level of freshwater fish endemism, with the Ionian freshwater ecoregion recognized as a key biodiversity hotspot there. In this study, we examined how river Fish Assemblage Types (FATs), identified from 175 electrofished river sampling sites, shape the spatial patterns of β-diversity in this ecoregion. Initially, we used bipartite networks to identify areas of distinct fish assembla...

The six6 and vgll3 genes play evolutionarily conserved roles in developmental processes and life history traits across species, including teleosts. Notable differences in genotype and allele frequencies of these genes have been observed between farmed and wild populations of European seabass and gilthead seabream, suggesting potential roles in traits associated with domestication. Here, we hypothesized that genetic variations...

Protecting global biodiversity is one of the most urgent tasks for the coming decades. Area-based conservation is a pillar for preserving ecosystems and species. Strictly protected areas specifically preserve biodiversity and ecosystem processes. The “EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030” targets strict protection for 10% of land area. Here we performed the first analysis of strictly protected areas (as IUCN type Ia, Ib, and II)...

Fire, a frequent disturbance in the Mediterranean, affects pollinator communities. We explored the response of major pollinator guilds to fire severity, across a fire‐severity gradient at different spatial scales. We show that the abundance of all pollinator groups responded to fire severity, and that bees and beetles showed in addition a significant species‐diversity response. Bees, sawflies, and wasps responded to fire sever...

Aim To project the potential E uropean distribution of seven broad habitat categories (needle‐leaved, broad‐leaved, mixed and mediterranean forest, urban, grassland and cropland) in order to assess effects of land use, climate change and increase in CO 2 on predicted habitat changes up to the year 2050. Location E urope. Method We modelled the response of European vegetation to changes in land use, climate and CO 2 by combinin...

Aim To examine the way in which ‘area’ and ‘habitat diversity’ interact in shaping species richness and to find a simple and valid way to express this interaction. Location The Natura 2000 network of terrestrial protected areas in Greece, covering approximately 16% of the national territory. Methods We used the Natura 2000 framework, which provides a classification scheme for natural habitat types, to quantify habitat heteroge...

We analysed the dynamics of a plant–pollinator interaction network of a scrub community surveyed over four consecutive years. Species composition within the annual networks showed high temporal variation. Temporal dynamics were also evident in the topology of the network, as interactions among plants and pollinators did not remain constant through time. This change involved both the number and the identity of interacting partn...