SUMMARY: Growth, energy content, ingestion and respiration rates and energetic efficiencies were measured in the larvae of two marine fish (Solea senegalensis and Sparus aurata) whose eggs have a similar diameter (approximately 1mm) and energy content (approximately 1J), but whose larvae reach a quite different mass after the first month of life. Experiments were carried out in populations reared under the same conditions in the laboratory during the first month after hatching. Solea senegalensis grow from hatching to the start of metamorphosis (approximately day 14) at twice the rate of Sparus aurata (specific growth rate for Solea senegalensis 0.25μgday−1; specific growth rate for Sparus aurata 0.12μgday−1). The tissues in Solea senegalensis larvae accumulated energetic reserves that were used during metamorphosis, which occurred during the third week after hatching. Ingestion and respiration rates differed in the two species during the experimental period. Although Solea senegalensis continued eating during metamorphosis, the specific ingestion rates decreased during the process. Nevertheless, no great differences in specific ingestion rates and rates of oxygen consumption were observed when comparing the same larval mass range. Larvae of both species showed an allometric relationship between respiration rate and biomass. The energetic efficiencies calculated in the present study denoted different metabolic patterns in each species. In Solea senegalensis, the energy used for growth increased progressively during the larval (pelagic) period and then, from the first signs of metamorphic transformation, remained almost constant. In this species, the energy allocated to growth was greater than that allocated to metabolic processes. Sparus aurata invested less energy in growth than in metabolic processes and displayed a constant energy allocation throughout the experimental period. During the first month after hatching, Solea senegalensis always allocated more energy for growth than did Sparus aurata.

The Andalusian International University held a workshop entitled Temporary wetlands’ future in drylands under the projected global change scenario in March 2020 in Baeza, Spain, with 26 participants from 10 countries. The workshop objectives were to promote international cooperation and scientific exchange on the conservation and protection of temporary wetlands. The participants highlighted the extreme conditions that temporary and permanent wetlands, ponds, and shallow lakes are currently facing and predicted a dismal future for these systems due to climate change. To foster a holistic view of these ecosystems, the workshop included wetland watersheds. It was concluded that the main threats are those affecting water quality and quantity as well as egg-seed banks, species population dynamics, and food webs. The inherent characteristics of waterbodies in drylands, including high resilience and resistance to harsh conditions, are already negatively impacted by direct human actions and climate change. Another threat is the time lag between scientific warnings about threats and the social and political concern leading to mitigating actions. Thus, more effective actions to protect and conserve temporary wetlands are essential. Research networks could help stimulate the necessary conservation actions, but the global recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic will pose a challenge as economies are burdened with urgent expenditure. This special issue of the journal Inland Waters is the outcome of the workshop presentations and is composed of the ensuing papers on wetlands in drylands.

Policy documents across the globe call for citizen engagement to fight climate change emergencies and build more sustainable societies. They also recognize the key role of formal and non-formal education in preparing citizens to address those challenges. However, there is a need to identify appropriate instruments to evaluate the impact of educational interventions on people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, which are essential components of the action competence required to become environmental citizens and agents of change. The aim of this paper is to investigate the potential of the Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ) to evaluate different educational interventions aimed at increasing environmental citizenship. It presents three sub-studies from Spain, Belgium, and Sweden using the SCQ with varying contexts, duration, and target groups yet sharing common pedagogical features in the interventions. Pre-intervention scores indicate a common pattern of high sustainability knowingness, moderate sustainability attitudes, and lower sustainability behaviors in the three dimensions (environmental, social and economic) of sustainability consciousness, and a positive impact on sustainability behavior after the intervention. These findings are especially significant when compared to previous studies. We therefore conclude that the SCQ is useful for detecting the effects of learning interventions of varying designs and contexts that address environmental citizenship. The results are discussed in terms of key pedagogical features of the educational interventions, and the appropriateness and sensitivity of the instrument in detecting changes in the intended direction. It concludes with implications for research and practice and suggestions for future lines of work.