Background: Gene flow and adaptive divergence are key aspects of metapopulation dynamics and ecological speciation. Long-distance dispersal is hard to detect and few studies estimate dispersal in combination with adaptive divergence. The aim of this study was to investigate effective long-distance dispersal and adaptive divergence in the fen orchid (Liparis loeselii (L.) Rich.). We used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP)-based assignment tests to quantify effective long-distance dispersal at two different regions in Northwest Europe. In...

Explaining the large-scale diversity of soil organisms that drive biogeochemical processes—and their responses to environmental change—is critical. However, identifying consistent drivers of belowground diversity and abundance for some soil organisms at large spatial scales remains problematic. Here we investigate a major guild, the ectomycorrhizal fungi, across European forests at a spatial scale and resolution that is—to our knowledge—unprecedented, to explore key biotic and abiotic predictors of ectomycorrhizal diversity and to identify dominant responses and thresholds...

In recent decades there have been an increasing number of outbreaks of the European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) in Europe. A large amount of sanitary felling has taken place, with significant economic and ecological consequences. In order to anticipate such large-scale outbreaks, an effective monitoring system should be set up. One important aspect of monitoring is the decision on which pheromone to use. We suggest a framework for selecting an effective pheromone with few...

Species occupying habitats subjected to frequent natural and/or anthropogenic changes are a challenge for conservation management. We studied one such species, Viola uliginosa, an endangered perennial wetland species typically inhabiting sporadically flooded meadows alongside rivers/lakes. In order to estimate genomic diversity, population structure and history, we sampled five sites in Finland, three in Estonia, and one each in Slovenia, Belarus, and Poland using genomic SNP data with double-digest restriction site associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-seq). We...

The monitoring of seasonal radial growth of woody plants addresses the ultimate question of when, how, and why trees grow. Assessing the growth dynamics is important to quantify the effect of environmental drivers and understand how woody species will deal with the ongoing climatic changes. One of the crucial steps in the analyses of seasonal radial growth is to model the dynamics of xylem and phloem formation based on increment measurements on samples taken at...

The chamois Rupicapra spp. is the most abundant mountain ungulate of Europe and the Near East, where it occurs as two species, the Northern chamois R. rupicapra and the Southern chamois R. pyrenaica. Here, we provide a state-of-the-art overview of research trends and the most challenging issues in chamois research and conservation, focusing on taxonomy and systematics, genetics, life history, ecology and behavior, physiology and disease, management, and conservation. Research on Rupicapra has a longstanding...

To provide the most comprehensive picture of species phylogeny and phylogeography of European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), we analysed mtDNA control region (610 bp) of 1469 samples of roe deer from Central and Eastern Europe and included in the analyses an additional 1,541 mtDNA sequences from GenBank from other regions of the continent. We detected two mtDNA lineages of the species: European and Siberian (an introgression of C. pygargus mtDNA into C. capreolus). The Siberian...

Organisms face numerous environmental stressors, which can affect developmental precision. Developmental instability can be used as an efficient and reliable bioindicator of environmental stressors and individual health. However, little information is available about effects of interspecific interactions on occurrence of developmental instability. We analyzed fluctuating asymmetry in two sympatric lizard species (Iberolacerta horvathi and Podarcis muralis), which exhibit a competitive interaction, to determine potential effects of altitude, interspecific competition and urbanization on a set of...

We sampled the abundance of males and females in the agricultural landscape in Slovenia. We selected 10 locations in the central part of Slovenia, five of which were closer than 200 m from the forest edge and five of which were more than 200 m from the forest edge. We collected SWD adults in three habitat types per location from the end of June until the end of October 2020. Also the actual distance is...

Carnivores tend to exhibit a lack of (or less pronounced) genetic structure at continental scales in both a geographic and temporal sense using various mitochondrial DNA markers on modern and/or ancient specimens. This tends to confound the identification of refugial areas and post-glacial colonization patterns in this group. In this study we used Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS) to reconstruct the phylogeographic history of a widespread carnivore, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), in Europe by investigating broad-scale patterns...