The Mediterranean is expected to be one of the most prominent and vulnerable climate change “hotspots” of the twenty-first century, and the physical mechanisms underlying this finding are still not clear. Furthermore, complex interactions and feedbacks involving ocean–atmosphere–land–biogeochemical processes play a prominent role in modulating the climate and environment of the Mediterranean region on a range of spatial and temporal scales. Therefore, it is critical to provide robust climate change information for use in vulnerability–impact–adaptation assessment studies considering the Mediterranean as a fully coupled environmental system. The Mediterranean Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (Med-CORDEX) initiative aims at coordinating the Mediterranean climate modeling community toward the development of fully coupled regional climate simulations, improving all relevant components of the system from atmosphere and ocean dynamics to land surface, hydrology, and biogeochemical processes. The primary goals of Med-CORDEX are to improve understanding of past climate variability and trends and to provide more accurate and reliable future projections, assessing in a quantitative and robust way the added value of using high-resolution and coupled regional climate models. The coordination activities and the scientific outcomes of Med-CORDEX can produce an important framework to foster the development of regional Earth system models in several key regions worldwide.

Increasing levels of anthropogenic noise interferes with the acoustic communication of birds. Adaptive shifts in song characteristics (frequency and amplitude) and in the spatial and temporal patterns of singing behavior in the face of noise pollution have been documented. We provide evidence for another response, increased time spent singing, in a successful suburban bird, the serin Serinus serinus. Serins increased the proportion of time spent singing at posts in relation to changes in noise levels both in space and in time up to a threshold at approximately 70 dBA, whereas time spent at singing posts was not related to noise levels. This response could be related to the characteristics of the serin's song (high pitch and presumably low metabolic and neuromuscular costs) that would reduce the relative effectiveness of song shifts. However, vocal activity decreased sharply above the 70 dBA threshold, suggesting that this strategy is costly. Because singing time may trade off with vigilance time, our data suggest that bird populations in noisy city environments may face an increased challenge for survival compared with quiet areas, even for species whose song characteristics reduce the interference of urban noise with acoustic communication.

Through the use of the climatic classification of Köppen–Trewartha (K‐T), the ability to reproduce the current climate of Europe has been shown for an ensemble of 15 regional climate model simulations nested in six global climate models. Depending on the simulation, between 55.4 and 81.3% of the grid points are in agreement with observations regarding the location of climate types in current climate simulations (1971–2000). In this respect, the result of the ensemble of 15 simulations is better than that of any individual model, with 83.5% of the grid points in agreement with observations. K‐T classification has also been used to analyse the projected climate change over the 21^st century under the SRES‐A1B emissions scenario. It was found that 22.3% of the grid points in the domain change their climate by the period 2021–2050 compared to current climate and 48.1% change by 2061–2090. The climate shifts affecting the biggest extensions are projected in Central Europe and Fennoscandia, but other smaller areas suffer more intense changes which potentially are more dangerous to vegetation and ecosystems. Generally, these changes occur at a sustained rate throughout the century, reaching speeds of up to 90 × 10³ km² decade⁻¹ in the retreat or expansion of some climates.