Data on roof renovation and photovoltaic energy production including energy storage in existing residential buildings.

This data article refers to the paper "Optimizing photovoltaic electric generation and roof insulation in existing residential buildings" [1]. The reported data deal with roof retrofit in different types of existing residential buildings (single-family, multi-family and apartment complex) located in Milan (Northern Italy). The study focus on the optimization of envelope insulation and photovoltaic (PV) energy production associated with different building geometries, initial insulation level, roof constructions, and materials. The data linked within this article relate to the modelled building energy consumption, renewable production, potential energy savings, and costs. Data refer to two main scenarios: refurbishment (roof in need of replacement and insulation) and re-roofing (energy intervention for roof improvement). Data allow to visualize energy consumption before and after the optimization, selected insulation level and material, costs and PV renewable production (with and without energy storage). The reduction of energy consumption can be visualized for each building type and scenario. Further data is available on CO2 emissions, envelope, materials, and systems.

A parsimonious mechanistic model of reproductive and vegetative growth in fruit trees predicts consequences of fruit thinning and branch pruning.

Productivity of fruit tree crops depends on the interaction between plant physiology, environmental conditions and agricultural practices. We develop a mechanistic model of fruit tree crops that reliable simulates the dynamics of variables of interest for growers and consequences of agricultural practices while relying on a minimal number of inputs and parameters. The temporal dynamics of carbon content in the different organs (i.e., shoots-S, roots-R and fruits-F) are the result of photosynthesis by S, nutrient supply by R, respiration by S, R and F, competition among different organs, photoperiod and initial system conditions partially controlled by cultural practices. We calibrate model parameters and evaluate model predictions using unpublished data from a peach (Prunus persica) experimental orchard with trees subjected to different levels of branch pruning and fruit thinning. Fiinally, we evaluate the consequences of different combinations of pruning and thinning intensities within a multi-criteria analysis. The predictions are in good agreement with the experimental measurements and for the different conditions (pruning and thinning). Our simulations indicate that thinning and pruning practices actually used by growers provide the best compromise between total shoot production, which impacts next year's abundance of shoots and fruits, and current year's fruit production in terms of quantity (yield) and quality (average fruit size). This suggests that growers are not only interested in maximizing current year's yield but also in its quality and its durability. The present work provides for modelers a system of equations based on acknowledged principles of plant science easily modifiable for different purposes. For horticulturists, it gives insights on the potentialities of pruning and thinning. For ecologists, it provides a transparent quantitative framework that can be coupled with biotic and abiotic stressors.

Protection reveals density-dependent dynamics in fish populations: A case study in the central Mediterranean.

Casting light on how the interaction between protection and density dependence affects fish population dynamics is critical for understanding the effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs). We developed a framework based on nonparametric statistics, model selection and multi-model inference to contrast alternative hypotheses about the effect of density dependence on demographic dynamics under protected and unprotected conditions. We trialed it using a 12-year long time series of white seabream (Diplodus sargus sargus) population density within the no-take zone of Torre Guaceto MPA (Italy) and at two nearby unprotected locations. Then, we showed how the demographic models obtained can be used to assess the consequences of protection on population viability. Population dynamics were significantly influenced by fish density within the MPA and at one of the unprotected locations, where demography is possibly driven by directional recruitment subsidy from the MPA. The comparison of population growth rates within and outside the MPA suggests that in unprotected conditions the fishery may remove a fraction between 40 and 70% of the population each year. The population viability analysis pointed out that, while the probability that the population becomes depleted (i.e. undergoes a local, temporary quasi-extinction) is high in unprotected locations, it is negligible within the no-take zone of the MPA.

Environmental and economic data on energy efficiency measures for residential buildings.

This data article refers to the paper "Environmental and economic implications of energy efficiency in new residential buildings: a multi-criteria selection approach" [1]. The reported data deal with energy efficiency measures for residential buildings. This paper provides environmental and economic data related to envelope, appliances, and system measures. The calculations of the embodied energy associated with different building parts are included in the provided data. Available data relate to investment costs, lifetime, payback, net present value, embodied and operational energy, CO2 emissions, electricity and gas savings derived for each different energy efficiency measure. These data can be used to select the most suitable measures for residential buildings.

Understanding large-scale, long-term larval connectivity patterns: The case of the Northern Line Islands in the Central Pacific Ocean.

Protecting key hotspots of marine biodiversity is essential to maintain ecosystem services at large spatial scales. Protected areas serve not only as sources of propagules colonizing other habitats, but also as receptors, thus acting as protected nurseries. To quantify the geographical extent and the temporal persistence of ecological benefits resulting from protection, we investigate larval connectivity within a remote archipelago, characterized by a strong spatial gradient of human impact from pristine to heavily exploited: the Northern Line Islands (NLIs), including part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRI-MNM). Larvae are described as passive Lagrangian particles transported by oceanic currents obtained from a oceanographic reanalysis. We compare different simulation schemes and compute connectivity measures (larval exchange probabilities and minimum/average larval dispersal distances from target islands). To explore the role of PRI-MNM in protecting marine organisms with pelagic larval stages, we drive millions of individual-based simulations for various Pelagic Larval Durations (PLDs), in all release seasons, and over a two-decades time horizon (1991-2010). We find that connectivity in the NLIs is spatially asymmetric and displays significant intra- and inter-annual variations. The islands belonging to PRI-MNM act more as sinks than sources of larvae, and connectivity is higher during the winter-spring period. In multi-annual analyses, yearly averaged southward connectivity significantly and negatively correlates with climatological anomalies (El Niño). This points out a possible system fragility and susceptibility to global warming. Quantitative assessments of large-scale, long-term marine connectivity patterns help understand region-specific, ecologically relevant interactions between islands. This is fundamental for devising scientifically-based protection strategies, which must be space- and time-varying to cope with the challenges posed by the concurrent pressures of human exploitation and global climate change.

Population genomics meet Lagrangian simulations: Oceanographic patterns and long larval duration ensure connectivity among Paracentrotus lividus populations in the Adriatic and Ionian seas.

Connectivity between populations influences both their dynamics and the genetic structuring of species. In this study, we explored connectivity patterns of a marine species with long-distance dispersal, the edible common sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, focusing mainly on the Adriatic-Ionian basins (Central Mediterranean). We applied a multidisciplinary approach integrating population genomics, based on 1,122 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained from 2b-RAD in 275 samples, with Lagrangian simulations performed with a biophysical model of larval dispersal. We detected genetic homogeneity among eight population samples collected in the focal Adriatic-Ionian area, whereas weak but significant differentiation was found with respect to two samples from the Western Mediterranean (France and Tunisia). This result was not affected by the few putative outlier loci identified in our dataset. Lagrangian simulations found a significant potential for larval exchange among the eight Adriatic-Ionian locations, supporting the hypothesis of connectivity of P. lividus populations in this area. A peculiar pattern emerged from the comparison of our results with those obtained from published P. lividus cytochrome b (cytb) sequences, the latter revealing genetic differentiation in the same geographic area despite a smaller sample size and a lower power to detect differences. The comparison with studies conducted using nuclear markers on other species with similar pelagic larval durations in the same Adriatic-Ionian locations indicates species-specific differences in genetic connectivity patterns and warns against generalizing single-species results to the entire community of rocky shore habitats.

Looking for hotspots of marine metacommunity connectivity: a methodological framework.

Seascape connectivity critically affects the spatiotemporal dynamics of marine metacommunities. Understanding how connectivity patterns emerge from physically and biologically-mediated interactions is therefore crucial to conserve marine ecosystem functions and biodiversity. Here, we develop a set of biophysical models to explore connectivity in assemblages of species belonging to a typical Mediterranean community (Posidonia oceanica meadows) and characterized by different dispersing traits. We propose a novel methodological framework to synthesize species-specific results into a set of community connectivity metrics and show that spatiotemporal variation in magnitude and direction of the connections, as well as interspecific differences in dispersing traits, are key factors structuring community connectivity. We eventually demonstrate how these metrics can be used to characterize the functional role of each marine area in determining patterns of community connectivity at the basin level and to support marine conservation planning.

A global viability assessment of the European eel.

The global European eel (Anguilla anguilla) stock is critically endangered according to the IUCN, and the European Commission has urged the development of conservation plans aimed to ensure its viability. However, the complex life cycle of this panmictic species, which reproduces in the open ocean but spends most of its prereproductive life in continental waters (thus embracing a huge geographic range and a variety of habitat types), makes it difficult to assess the long-term effectiveness of conservation measures. The interplay between local and global stressors raises intriguing cross-scale conservation challenges that require a comprehensive modelling approach to be addressed. We developed a full life cycle model of the global European eel stock, encompassing both the oceanic and the continental phases of eel's life, and explicitly allowing for spatial heterogeneity in vital rates, availability of suitable habitat and settlement potential via a metapopulation approach. We calibrated the model against a long-term time series of global European eel catches and used it to hindcast the dynamics of the stock in the past and project it over the 21st century under different management scenarios. Although our analysis relies on a number of inevitable simplifying assumptions and on data that may not embrace the whole range of variation in population dynamics at the small spatiotemporal scale, our hindcast is consistent with the general pattern of decline of the stock over recent decades. The results of our projections suggest that (i) habitat loss played a major role in the European eel decline; (ii) the viability of the global stock is at risk if appropriate protection measures are not implemented; (iii) the recovery of spawner escapement requires that fishing mortality is significantly reduced; and (iv) the recovery of recruitment might not be feasible if reproductive output is not enhanced.

Fishery-induced selection for slow somatic growth in European eel.

Both theoretical and experimental studies have shown that fishing mortality can induce adaptive responses in body growth rates of fishes in the opposite direction of natural selection. We compared body growth rates in European eel (Anguilla anguilla) from three Mediterranean stocks subject to different fishing pressure. Results are consistent with the hypotheses that i) fast-growing individuals are more likely to survive until sexual maturity than slow-growing ones under natural conditions (no fishing) and ii) fishing can select for slow-growing individuals by removing fast-growing ones. Although the possibility of human-induced evolution seems remote for a panmictic species like such as the European eel, further research is desirable to assess the implications of the intensive exploitation on this critically endangered fish.

Assessing dispersal patterns of fish propagules from an effective mediterranean marine protected area.

Successfully enforced marine protected areas (MPAs) have been widely demonstrated to allow, within their boundaries, the recovery of exploited species and beyond their boundaries, the spillover of juvenile and adult fish. Little evidence is available about the so-called 'recruitment subsidy', the augmented production of propagules (i.e. eggs and larvae) due to the increased abundance of large-sized spawners hosted within effective MPAs. Once emitted, propagules can be locally retained and/or exported elsewhere. Patterns of propagule retention and/or export from MPAs have been little investigated, especially in the Mediterranean. This study investigated the potential for propagule production and retention/export from a Mediterranean MPA (Torre Guaceto, SW Adriatic Sea) using the white sea bream, Diplodus sargus sargus, as a model species. A multidisciplinary approach was used combining 1) spatial distribution patterns of individuals (post-settlers and adults) assessed through visual census within Torre Guaceto MPA and in northern and southern unprotected areas, 2) Lagrangian simulations of dispersal based on an oceanographic model of the region and data on early life-history traits of the species (spawning date, pelagic larval duration) and 3) a preliminary genetic study using microsatellite loci. Results show that the MPA hosts higher densities of larger-sized spawners than outside areas, potentially guaranteeing higher propagule production. Model simulations and field observation suggest that larval retention within and long-distance dispersal across MPA boundaries allow the replenishment of the MPA and of exploited populations up to 100 km down-current (southward) from the MPA. This pattern partially agrees with the high genetic homogeneity found in the entire study area (no differences in genetic composition and diversity indices), suggesting a high gene flow. By contributing to a better understanding of propagule dispersal patterns, these findings provide crucial information for the design of MPAs and MPA networks effective to replenish fish stocks and enhance fisheries in unprotected areas.

Intra-specific scaling of natural mortality in fish: the paradigmatic case of the European eel.

Identifying factors and processes influencing natural mortality is fundamental to the understanding of population dynamics. Metabolic theory of ecology and experimental studies at the cross-species level suggest the existence of general patterns linking natural mortality to body mass and temperature. However, there is scant evidence that similar relationships also hold at the intra-specific scale, possibly because of the relatively narrow range of sizes and temperatures experienced by most species and the effect of local adaptation, which can obscure links between temperature and vital rates. In this sense, the European eel Anguilla anguilla, a panmictic species with a wide distribution range, provides a paradigmatic case. We compiled data published in the past 30 years on eel mortality during the continental phase of the life cycle for 15 eel stocks and calibrated a general model for mortality, considering the effects of body mass, temperature, stock density and gender. Estimated activation energy (E = 1.2 eV) was at the upper extreme reported for metabolic reactions. Estimated mortality rates (ranging between 0.02 year(-1) at 8°C, low density and 0.47 year(-1) at 18°C, high density for a body mass of 100 g) were appreciably lower than those of most fishes, most likely due to the exceptionally low energy-consuming metabolism of eel.