This study determines the diversity of pollen morphotypes of Atriplex halimus (Amaranthaceae) along a large-scale climatic gradient. Occurrences of 10 pollen grain shapes were quantified at seven climates across a humid-to-hyperarid gradient. We discuss how the evolutionary effects of climate gradients on pollen morphology and variability in dryland induce a high level of specialization to maximize trade-offs between adaptation to severe ecological conditions and pollination efficiency.

In an era of environmental crises, conservation and management strategies need a new generation of applied ecologists. Here, we stimulate the next generation of applied ecologists to acquire a pragmatic mentality of problems solvers in real contexts, using the wide arsenal of concepts, approaches and techniques available in the project management (PM) arena and using a road map based on the main steps of the conservation project cycle.

It is not only the climate that is changing. We are now also observing a global biological change. Here we revise the overwhelming evidence that these changes affect not only individual species but also simplify the structure of entire food webs, threatening long-term community persistence. We must take urgent action to protect the integrity of natural food webs, or we might rapidly push entire ecosystems outside their safe zones.