Anthropogenic habitat fragmentation has altered the distribution and population sizes in many organisms worldwide. For this reason, understanding the demographic and genetic consequences of this process is necessary to predict the fate of populations and establish management practices aimed to ensure their viability. In this study, we analyse whether the spatial configuration of remnant semi-natural habitat patches within a chronically fragmented landscape has shaped the patterns of genetic diversity and structure in the habitat-specialist esparto...

The complexity of animal life histories makes it difficult to predict the consequences of climate change on their populations. In this paper, we show, for the first time, that longer summer drought episodes, such as those predicted for the dry Mediterranean region under climate change, may bias insect population sex ratio. Many Mediterranean organisms, like the weevil Curculio elephas, become active again after summer drought. This insect depends on late summer rainfall to soften the...

The study of the factors structuring genetic variation can help to infer the neutral and adaptive processes shaping the demographic and evolutionary trajectories of natural populations. Here, we analyse the role of isolation-by distance (IBD), isolation-by-resistance (IBR, defined by landscape composition), and isolation by environment (IBE, estimated as habitat and elevation dissimilarity) in structuring genetic variation of 25 blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) populations. We typed 1385 individuals at 26 microsatellite loci classified in two groups...