Reproductive strategies for specific populations are closely related to environmental factors. Consequently, they are fundamental for conservation plans and the management of threatened habitats like salt marshes. From this viewpoint, germination strategy under different temperatures and salt conditions, voltammetric parameters and molecular analysis were performed and compared in six Halocnemum populations (four of H. cruciatum and two of H. strobilaceum) growing on Mediterranean (Balearic, Tyrrenic and Adriatic) and Red Sea coasts to establish the relation to environmental variables. Significant interpopulation differences were found in all the evaluated parameters. The Mediterranean populations showed a variable opportunistic germination strategy that was directly related to the drought period length at the studied sites. Consequently, potential environmental predictors of seed response were identified. The most noteworthy were bioclimate, soil texture, continentality index, winter temperatures and summer precipitations. Additionally, voltammetric parameters were evidenced as indicators of maternal plant stress levels and, thus, as potential determinants of future seed responses. The phylogenetic analyses showed a split into two species that did not correspond to germination response. The phylogeographic analyses showed interpopulation differences in haplotype composition for H. cruciatum, but not for H. strobilaceum. In conclusion, the tight connection between seed responses and the ecological parameters of natural populations as an adaptation for successful seedling emergence was proved regardless of its phylogenetic relations.

Foraminiferal assemblages preserved within salt-marsh sediment can provide an accurate and precise means to reconstruct relative sea level due to a strong relationship with elevation, which can be quantified using a transfer function. We collected a set of surface samples from two salt marshes in the Morbihan Golfe, France to determine foraminiferal distribution patterns. Dominant taxa included Jadammina macrescens, Trochammina inflata, Haplophragmoides spp. and Miliammina fusca. We developed a foraminifera-based transfer function using a modern training set of 36 samples and 23 species. The strong relationship between observed and predicted values (r2jack = 0.7) indicated that foraminiferal distribution is primarily controlled by elevation with respect to the tidal frame and precise reconstructions of former sea level are possible (RMSEPjack = 0.07 m). The application of the transfer function to a short salt-marsh core (0.32 m) allowed the reconstruction of former sea levels, which were placed in a chronological framework using short-lived radionuclides (210Pb and 137Cs). The agreement between the foraminifera-based sea level curve and the Brest tide-gauge record confirms the reliability of transfer function estimates and the validity of this methodology to extend sea level reconstructions back into the pre-instrumental period. Both instrumental and microfossil records suggest an acceleration of sea level rise during the 20th century.

Neohelice granulata is a crab found in salt marshes and mangroves of the south and south-eastern Atlantic coast of South America. Reproductive biology was studied by taking samples for two years at two salt marshes—‘Prainha’ and ‘Ilha’—in the estuarine region of Patos Lagoon (southern Brazil). Ovigerous females were found most of the year in both salt marshes with average CW ranging from 18.5 (Prainha) to 22.8 mm (Ilha). A significant linear relationship was found between log(CW) and log(number of eggs). Average size at the onset of maturation was 14.9 and 14 mm at Prainha, for males and females, respectively, while at Ilha it was 18.2 and 16.8 mm, for males and females, respectively. Results provided evidence of significant differences in reproductive traits between populations of the two salt marshes. Differences are likely related to the higher organic matter content found in the sediment from Ilha.