Miguel Clavero

Estación Biológica de Doñana- CSIC · Conservation Biology

As the number of introduced species keeps increasing unabatedly, identifying and prioritising current and potential Invasive Alien Species (IAS) has become essential to manage them. Horizon Scanning (HS), defined as an exploration of potential threats, is considered a fundamental component of IAS management. By combining scientific knowledge on tax...

The cover image is based on the Original Article Invaders they are a‐changing: A recent, unexpected surge of invasive loaches in Catalonia, by Miguel Clavero et al., https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.14051.

1. Risk analyses for invasive species often assume that the characteristics of future invaders will resemble those already successful, but these features may change. 2. Here, we use data from more than 3,500 fish sampling events, sequencing of mitochondrial and nuclear genes and analyses of several traits describing non-native fish to describe the...

Historical information is needed to describe in a robust manner long-term changes in the distribution of organisms, although it is in general scarce or contained in non-scientific sources. Gazetteers (or geographical dictionaries) constitute a potential source of historical species records, which has not been accurately explored yet. The dictionary...

Long-term information on species trends is needed to accurately assess the magnitude of biodiversity change. Mining wildlife records from historical documents is a promising option to describe past species distributions and estimate conservation baselines. However, historical species records have multiple biases, and ignoring them can produce disto...

The network of roads is continuing to expand across the globe, and, as a result, is causing millions of wildlife fatalities. Wildlife-vehicle collisions can have an enormous impact on biodiversity. Therefore, providing an accurate assessment of the number of fatalities is essential for understanding the population impact-ing biased by a number of f...

Long-term approaches are needed to accurately assess the magnitude of biodiversity change. Mining historical documents that include wildlife citations is a promising approach to describe past species distributions and derive conservation baselines. However, historical species records have multiple biases (just as contemporary ones) and ignoring the...

Reference conditions are necessary to assess the conservation status of species, understand their declines, and manage their recovery. Historical documents offer large amounts of records of a wide variety of species, which may be used to generate reference baselines on the historical distribution range of species. We collected information on the Ib...

The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is one of the most widely distributed felids in the world. However, most of its populations started to decline a few millennia ago. Historical declines have been especially severe in Europe, and particularly in Western Europe, from where the species disappeared in the last few centuries. Here, we analyze the genome of...

Humans have introduced species out of their native areas for millennia, and characterising these historical introductions can provide insights into the long‐term progress of invasion processes. Here, archival sources and other historical documents are used to describe the motivations, negotiations and actions leading to fish and crayfish introducti...

Documenting and understanding long‐term biodiversity change is limited by the availability of historical data, particularly from periods preceding major anthropogenic changes associated to the industrial revolution. We mined the information of a standardized historical survey developed in 628 localities across Spain between 1574 and 1582 (Relacione...

Populations inhabiting the periphery of species distribution ranges may experience suboptimal environmental conditions and higher vulnerability to anthropogenic pressures. Disentangling the role of natural and human-related factors and the relationships among them in these marginal areas is thus key to understand and prevent species declines and ra...

River damming promotes profound changes in aquatic biodiversity, including the facilitation of biological invasions, with subsequent impacts on native communities. The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is a generalist aquatic predator that often incorporates new prey types when they become available. We studied the short‐ and long‐term effects of river...

The Atlantic blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) has rapidly invaded coastal environments in the western Mediterranean, but there is no consistent assessment of its impacts yet. We use interviews and long-term data series in the Ebro Delta (NE Spain) to: i) characterise the evolution of the blue crab invasion; and ii) identify its impacts. The blue cra...

Las invasiones biológicas son una de las mayores causas de pérdida de biodiversidad. Para paliar los impactos de las especies exóticas invasoras (EEIs) que suponen una amenaza grave, se creó el Catálogo Español de Especies Exóticas Invasoras, una herramienta dinámica en su creación, pero rígida en su aplicación. Aunque sujeto a continuas modificaci...

The widely invasive North American pumpkinseed sunfish, Lepomis gibbosus , is currently established in desert rivers in Morocco. The success of pumpkinseed in novel ecosystems has been associated with its generalist diet, but this trait remains unevaluated in arid regions. Desert rivers are harsh environments with limited water and prey availabilit...

Se presenta una lista actualizada de las especies exóticas que se encuentran en etapa de establecimiento o de propagación de la invasión en aguas continentales de la península ibérica. La lista está basada en la evaluación sistemática de los datos en colaboración con un amplio equipo de expertos de España y Portugal. Esta lista de actualización es...

An updated list is presented of the alien species in the establishment or spread invasion stage in in-land waters at the Iberian Peninsula. The list is based on a systematic assessment of information in collaboration with a wide expert team from Spain and Portugal. This updated list is an important tool supporting the implementation of the IAS Regu...

An updated list is presented of the alien species in the transport or introduction invasion stage in inland waters of the Iberian Peninsula. The list is based on a systematic assessment of information in collaboration with a wide expert team from Spain and Portugal. This list is an important tool to support the implementation of the IAS Regulation,...

• The knowledge and awareness that the general public has about aquatic invertebrates is often poor, even when they are highly threatened. The frequent lack of popular names and the unattractiveness of the scientific ones may be among the factors hindering the knowledge of these organisms and, consequently, the awareness of their conservation statu...

El objetivo de este documento es proveer las herramientas necesarias para que el diseño de los seguimientos ambientales, la toma de datos y su posterior gestión garanticen la extracción de conclusiones robustas sobre la efectividad de las medidas de mitigación del efecto fragmentador de las vías de transporte. El uso de esas herramientas hará posib...

We describe the variability in the composition of fish communities in the Ebro Delta (NE Iberian Peninsula) and report the habitat preferences of the most common species. The Ebro Delta is a large coastal wetland that has been intensively modified, mainly for rice cultivation involving the input of a large amount of low-conductivity waters into an...

Following wildfires, salvage logging is applied for silvicultural, safety or even aesthetic reasons. Such operations impact on biological legacies, impair natural vegetation recovery and may affect several animal species that depend on vegetation structure and specific plant resources. Rodents, such as wood and Algerian mice, use vegetation cover a...

In April 1998 the dam of the Aznalcóllar mine tailings pond in the surroundings of the Doñana National Park (Southwestern Spain) was broken, discharging into the Guadiamar River 6 hm³ of toxic mud and acidic water with high concentrations of heavy metals and arsenic. As consequence, 60 km of the river were defaunated. First signs of the Eurasian ot...

Barriers associated to human infrastructure are a widespread impact in freshwater ecosystems worldwide, disrupting connectivity along river networks and key processes. Restoration of connectivity has risen in the last decade, with thousands of dams, weirs and culverts removed. Spatial optimisation methods can help inform decision on what barriers t...

• Patterns of genetic diversity in invasive populations can be modulated by a range of factors acting at different stages of the invasion process, including the genetic composition of the source population(s), the introduction history (e.g. propagule pressure), the environmental suitability of recipient areas, and the features of secondary introduc...

Extinction risk is often associated with intrinsic species traits such as larger size, higher trophic level, narrower habitat niche or smaller distribution area. Despite this, fast extinctions can also occur in species that apparently do not exhibit any of these traits. The Andalusian Buttonquail (Turnix sylvaticus sylvaticus) is a critically endan...

The red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) (hereafter RSC), native to the southern United States and north-eastern Mexico, is currently the most widely distributed crayfish globally as well as one of the invasive species with most devastating impacts on freshwater ecosystems. Reconstructing the introduction routes of invasive species and identify...

Understanding the breeding cycle of wildlife is essential to afford conservation strategies. This is especially important for barely studied species and urgent for those at serious risk of extinction. The Andalusian Buttonquail is an endangered endemic of the Western Mediterranean, confined to a cultivated strip in the Moroccan Atlantic coast. We p...

Flexible management of exploited invasive species is needed when population control is unfeasible to avoid societal opposition and legal setbacks. Conservation conflicts arise frequently in the management of non-native invasive species (NIS) when such species provide socioeconomic benefits and have negative environmental impacts (van Wilgen & Rich...

This supplementary material shows the invasion history of the red swamp crayfish in each of the 40 countries where it is present, a list of references and methodology used for the literature search in the review: Oficialdegui, F.J., Sánchez, M.I. & Clavero, M. One century away from home: how the red swamp crayfish took over the world. Rev Fish Bio...

In order to update the IUCN Red List of all freshwater fish species inhabiting the Maghreb region, comprehensive knowledge of their respective geographic ranges is essential. Here we present site-scale distribution records derived from all known sources for native and alien freshwater fish species distributed in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Correc...

One of the biggest challenges in understanding and managing biological invasions is the identification of the routes of introduction. This information is often incomplete because of unnoticed, unreported and, sometimes, illegal translocations. Reports on the introduction of the red swamp crayfish ( Procambarus clarkii ) into Europe describe that it...

The identification of research questions with high relevance for biodiversity conservation is an important step towards designing more effective policies and management actions, and to better allocate funding among alternative conservation options. However, the identification of priority questions may be influenced by regional differences in biodiv...

• Understanding how introduced species succeed and become widely distributed within non‐native areas is critical to reduce the threats posed by them. Our goal was to reconstruct the main invasion routes and invasion dynamics of a global freshwater invader, the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, through the analysis of its genetic variability...

In a recent comment, Muller (Nature 566, 315-317) argues in favour of hydropower projects because its capacity of reducing greenhouse gasses emissions (GHG) through the shrinkage of wetlands’ extent, while contributing to production of ‘green energy’. We argue Muller´s arguments that advocate for accelerating the decline of natural wetlands through...

The last populations of threatened taxa usually survive in low-impacted areas, whose protection and management is critical for its conservation. However, they can also be located in humanized and highly dynamic areas, whose management can be extremely challenging. The Andalusian buttonquail (Turnix sylvaticus sylvaticus) is the critically endangere...

There is growing evidence that two Lynx species were present in Spain until recent times: the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) in Mediterranean areas and the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in the Atlantic and Alpine ones. The recent presence of the Eurasian lynx is mainly deduced from stories and news about fierce animals known as “lobos cervales” or “tigre...

Rodent populations respond quickly to changes in habitat structure and composition resulting from disturbances such as wildfires. Rodents may recolonise burnt areas from individuals that survived the wildfire in ‘internal refuges’ orfrom the surrounding unburnt area (i.e. external colonisation). With the aim of assessing the relative role of both h...

Rodent populations respond quickly to changes in habitat structure and composition resulting from disturbances such as wildfires. Rodents may recolonise burnt areas from individuals that survived the wildfire in ‘internal refuges’ orfrom the surrounding unburnt area (i.e. external colonisation). With the aim of assessing the relative role of both h...

Co-extinctions are increasingly recognized as one of the major processes leading to the global biodiversity crisis, but there is still limited scientific evidence on the magnitude of potential impacts and causal mechanisms responsible for the decline of affiliate (dependent) species. Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida), one of the most threaten...

1. Despite advances in conservation efforts within Europe during recent decades, assessments highlight a need for adequate financing mechanisms to support the Natura 2000 network; the centrepiece of the EU´s Biodiversity Strategy. Besides the need for greater investment (currently only covering a fifth of the estimated cost of the network), better...

Montane biota is vulnerable to climate change, especially in the case of relict species in environmentally extreme areas. The Dades trout Salmo multipunctata is a relict species from the Draa basin, on the southern slopes of the High Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Apart from its genetic and morphological singularity almost nothing is known about this sp...

1. Effective prevention and control of invasive species generally relies on a comprehensive , coherent and representative list of species that enables resources to be used optimally. European Union (EU) Regulation 1143/2014 on invasive alien species (IAS) aims to control or eradicate priority species, and to manage pathways to prevent the introduct...

Community-level climate change indicators have been proposed to appraise the impact of global warming on community composition. However, non-climate factors may also critically influence species distribution and biological community assembly. The aim of this paper was to study how fire–vegetation dynamics can modify our ability to predict the impac...

Community-based climate change indicators have been proposed to reflect the impacts of global warming on community composition. However, factors other than climate, e.g. habitat characteristics or fire disturbance, may also have a critical influence in the distribution of species and the assembly of biological communities. Here we investigated how...

Effects of the distance from the burnt area perimeter on the recovery of rodent populations and on seed removal by rodents after wildfire

Historical species records offer an excellent opportunity to test the predictive ability of range forecasts under climate change, but researchers often consider that historical records are scarce and unreliable, besides the datasets collected by renowned naturalists. Here, we demonstrate the relevance of biodiversity records generated through citiz...

The mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus, a cyprinodontiform species native to the Atlantic coast of North America, was apparently introduced to southern Iberian Peninsula in the early 1970s, if not earlier. Until now, the Barbate marshes constituted the southern limit of the species in the Iberian Peninsula. However, a fish mortality event promoted by...

La única población andaluza de fartet (Aphanius iberus) se encuentra en el tramo medio-bajo de la cuenca del río Adra, límite meridional en la distribución de este endemismo ibérico. La especie ha sufrido importantes reducciones poblacionales durante la última década debido a una creciente presión antropogénica. En este trabajo mostramos algunas me...

Trophic plasticity has been suggested to contribute greatly to the success of non-native species in recipient communities. Diet generalists are more likely to utilize a wide range of prey resources in novel ecosystems, and this may favor their establishment and spread. The pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus), one of the most successful invaders...

The high levels of human demands of resources—from food to space and energy—are one of the main drivers of global change and are causing large negative impacts on ecosystems functioning worldwide (Vitousek et al. 1997). Global change components range from climate change to habitat destruction, species invasions, pollution and eutrophication. Althou...

The EU has made significant conservation efforts in the last two decades, guided by the Birds and Habitats Directives, currently under evaluation. Despite these efforts a large proportion of priority species are still in unfavourable condition and continue declining. For this reason, a thoughtful review of the implementation of conservation efforts...

Mediterranean coastal wetlands have been extensively eliminated and degraded by human activities. Salinity regimes are one of the main abiotic factors structuring biological communities in coastal wetlands and can be disrupted outflows from irrigated fields, especially through dilution. Here, we analyse patterns in salinity regimes as well as their...