Samuel Prieto-Benítez

Ciemat-Centro Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales Y Tecnológicas | CIEMAT

Background and aims: Within-population genetic and phenotypic variation play a key role in the development of adaptive responses to environmental change. Between-population variation is also an essential element to assess the evolutionary potential of species in response to changes in environmental conditions. In this context, common garden experi...

Increasing surface ozone is a main concern for crop production in the Global Change framework, especially in the Mediterranean basin where climate conditions favor its photochemical formation. Meanwhile, increasing common crop diseases, such as yellow rust, one of the most important pathogens affecting global wheat production has been detected in t...

Citation: Torres, E.; García-Fernández, A.; Iñigo, D.; Lara-Romero, C.; Morente-López, J.; Prieto-Benítez, S.; Rubio Teso, M.L.; Iriondo, J.M. Facilitated adaptation as a conservation tool in the present climate change context: A methodological guide. Plants 2023, 12, 1258. https://doi. Abstract: Climate change poses a novel threat to biodiversity...

Climate warming is recognized as a factor that threatens plant species in Mediterranean mountains. Tropospheric ozone (O3) should also be considered as another relevant stress factor for these ecosystems since current levels chronically exceed thresholds for plant protection in these areas. The main aim of the present study was to study the sensiti...

Current climate change may impede species to evolutionary adapt quickly enough to environmental changes, threatening their survival. In keystone populations, it may be necessary to consider the introduction of adaptive alleles through assisted gene flow. Considering that flowering time is a crucial trait in plant response to global warming, the obj...

In the present framework of global warming, it is unclear whether evolutionary adaptation can happen quick enough to preserve the persistence of many species. Specifically, we lack knowledge about the adaptive potential of the different populations in relation to the various constraints that may hamper particular adaptations. There is evidence indi...

Ozone (O3) effects on the visual attraction traits (color, perception and area) of petals are described for Erodium paularense, an endangered plant species. Plants were exposed to three O3 treatments: charcoal-filtered air (CFA), ambient (NFA) and ambient + 40 nL L􀀀1 O3 (FU+) in open-top chambers. Changes in color were measured by spectral reflecta...

Visual and olfactory floral signals play key roles in plant-pollinator interactions. In recent decades, studies investigating the evolution of either of these signals have increased considerably. However, there are large gaps in our understanding of whether or not these two cue modalities evolve in a concerted manner. Here, we characterized the vis...

Many species cannot either migrate or adapt at the rate of temperature increases due to climate warming. Therefore, they need active conservation strategies to avoid extinction. Facilitated adaptation actions, such assisted gene flow, aim at the increase of the evolutionary resilience of species affected by global change. In elevational gradients,...

In the context of climate change, populations are increasingly being subjected to the extreme selective pressures that define environmental marginality. The determination of the evolutionary value and adaptive potential of marginal populations is still a challenge of great relevance and has direct implications on biodiversity conservation. To face...

At the end of September 2020, in Navalonguilla, Ávila, an adult specimen of Meloe (Treiodous) autumnalis autumnalis Olivier, 1792, was found. It was already known that M. autumnalis was present in the neighboring provinces of Salamanca and Madrid. The species is not very frequent, suggesting a clear population regression by diverse authors. In view...

The evolutionary potential of populations inhabiting marginal areas has been extensively debated and directly affects their conservation value. Gene flow is one of the main factors influencing selection, adaptive potential and thus, local adaptation processes in marginal areas. The effects of differential gene flow provenance are still not well und...

Las aproximaciones genéticas son esenciales en los estudios de biología de conservación relacionados con las plantas. La evaluación de factores como la diversidad genética y su impacto en la conservación, los niveles de endogamia o el flujo genético han permitido conocer mejor el estado de las poblaciones amenazadas y adecuar las acciones de manejo...

Fig. 2. Frequency distribution of number of fly families acting as pollinators per Ceropegia taxon.

Ceropegia L. (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae) comprises more than 200 species, all characterized by complex pitfall flowers. The deceptive flowers are myiophilous and pollinated predominantly by small flies from different families. It has been suggested that floral scent cues, that mimic food sources or oviposition sites, play an important role for a...

Nursery pollination interactions are widespread between Caryophyllaceae species and the pollinating-seed predator Hadena moths (Noctuidae). A previous revision of this system was based mainly on widely distributed species in the north and center of Europe. However, there was no information from the Mediterranean region, one of the global diversific...

Flower scents are complex blends of volatile compounds often shaped by selection pressures exerted by mutualistic and antagonistic interaction partners, but also by phylogenetic constraints. So far, little is known about the relative effect of selection and phylogenetic signal on scent patterns, and no study to date analyzed the phylogenetic signal...

Background and Aims Traits related to flower advertisement and reward sometimes vary in a circadian way, reflecting phenotypic specialization. However, specialized flowers are not necessarily restricted to specialized pollinators. This is the case of most Silene species, typically associated with diurnal or nocturnal syndromes of pollination but us...

The composition of flower scent and the timing of emission are crucial for chemical communication between plants and their pollinators; hence, they are key traits for the characterization of pollination syndromes. In many plants, however, plants are assigned to a syndrome based on inexpensive to measure flower traits, such as color, time of flower...