Benjamín Juan Gómez-Moliner

Although once considered uncommon, there is growing evidence of widespread senescence in wildlife populations. However, few studies have examined the traits involved, inter-sexual differences, and environmental correlates of age-specific performance in raptors. We studied age-specific reproductive performance and actuarial senescence (decrease in survival probability with age) in a peregrine falcon population monitored for 21 years. We analysed changes with age in the number of offspring produced and incubation start date. We also inspected variation in lifespan and breeding lifespan (number of breeding occasions in a lifetime). In every case, we assessed associations between variations in traits and age, sex, recruitment age, and environmental conditions (cumulative rainfall during breeding season) experienced upon the first breeding attempt. We found scarce evidence for reproductive senescence. Only the incubation start date in females, which was delayed after approximately 8 cy (calendar years), suggested reproductive senescence in our study population. Regarding actuarial senescence, our data did not support it as we only found evidence of higher juvenile mortality. Furthermore, expected lifespan in peregrines recruited at 2 cy was associated with conditions experienced upon the first breeding attempt. The lifespan and breeding career of individuals recruited as yearlings and experiencing low rainfall upon first breeding did not significantly differ from those recruited as adults. However, those recruited as yearlings and experiencing poor environmental conditions upon the first breeding attempt showed reduced lifespan and breeding lifespan.

Aim: Our aim was to assess the evolutionary history of the land snail genus Xerocrassa on the Balearic Islands with a molecular phylogeny. We investigated how the main palaeogeographical events and climate changes which occurred in the Western Mediterranean basin influenced the current diversity and distribution of the genus within the archipelago.Location: The Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean.Methods: A dataset of 2540‐bp DNA sequences was generated from one nuclear and two mitochondrial gene fragments obtained from 170 specimens representing 112 populations. Applying maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic methods and a Bayesian molecular clock, we examined the evolutionary history of the genus Xerocrassa. We also used genetic‐based species delimitation models to clarify the taxonomy of the genus in the archipelago.Results: We provide the first molecular phylogeny of the endemic Xerocrassa of the Balearic Islands. The monophyly of several currently recognized species was not supported. The genus colonized the archipelago in a single event during the Messinian salinity crisis (5.96–5.33 Ma) from the eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. The hypothesis of a relatively recent origin for the evolutionary diversification within the group was supported by molecular clock analyses. Allopatric speciation occurred after the isolation of the Pityusic and Gymnesic island systems. Moreover, most of the extant species are the result of within‐island speciation events.Main conclusions: Historical biogeographical reconstruction strongly supports the hypothesis of Messinian salinity crisis as the colonization period of the Balearic Islands for Xerocrassa. Major climate changes experienced in the Western Mediterranean basin during the Plio‐Pleistocene influenced the within‐island speciation processes postulated for Xerocrassa. The high morphological diversity in the genus represents 11 species and a strong phylogeographical structure within the main islands.

Species discovery and validation methods were used to delimit the species of a cryptic species complex. Species boundaries were inferred from multiple lines of evidence arising from mitochondrial and nuclearDNAsequencing and ecological niche modelling. Phylogenetic relationships among species were assessed by Bayesian inference and maximum‐likelihood procedures. The approach was applied to the terrestrial gastropod genusPyramidula. By examining 211 specimens collected from the Western Palaearctic region, we here identified nine putative species for this region. So far, descriptions of the morphospecies of this genus had been based exclusively on shell characters. Hence, we also studied the variation of shell characters to assess their utility to differentiate the species defined and to examine whether shell shape inPyramidulais influenced by environmental factors. Our findings indicate that although shell characters serve to discriminate between some putative species, they are not sufficient as unique taxonomic characters and other lines of evidence are needed. According to our ecological niche modelling results, shell shape may be influenced by environmental factors.