The concept of climate variability facilitating adaptive radiation supported by the “Court Jester” hypothesis is disputed by the “Red Queen” one, but the prevalence of one or the other might be scale-dependent. We report on a detailed, comprehensive phylo-geographic study on the ∼4 kb mtDNA sequence in underground blind mole rats of the family Spalacidae (or subfamily Spalacinae) from the East Mediterranean steppes. Our study aimed at testing the presence of periodicities in branching patterns on a constructed phylogenetic tree and at searching for congruence between branching events, tectonic history and paleoclimates. In contrast to the strong support for the majority of the branching events on the tree, the absence of support in a few instances indicates that network-like evolution could exist in spalacids. In our tree, robust support was given, in concordance with paleontological data, for the separation of spalacids from muroid rodents during the first half of the Miocene when open, grass-dominated habitats were established. Marine barriers formed between Anatolia and the Balkans could have facilitated the separation of the lineage “Spalax” from the lineage “Nannospalax” and of the clade “leucodon” from the clade “xanthodon”. The separation of the clade “ehrenbergi” occurred during the late stages of the tectonically induced uplift of the Anatolian high plateaus and mountains, whereas the separation of the clade “vasvarii” took place when the rapidly uplifting Taurus mountain range prevented the Mediterranean rainfalls from reaching the Central Anatolian Plateau. The separation of Spalax antiquus and S. graecus occurred when the southeastern Carpathians were uplifted. Despite the role played by tectonic events, branching events that show periodicity corresponding to 400-kyr and 100-kyr eccentricity bands illuminate the important role of orbital fluctuations on adaptive radiation in spalacids. At the given scale, our results supports the “Court Jester” hypothesis over the “Red Queen” one.

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Scarce Palaeogene sediment remnants in the Eastern Alps and Western Carpathians are interpreted as remains of a continuous forearc basin. New apatite fission-track geochronological data corroborate mild Paleocene–Eocene exhumation and relief formation in the Eastern Alps. Palinspastic restoration and nine palaeogeographical maps of the Eastern Alps and Western Carpathians ranging from the Paleocene to the Late Oligocene epoch illustrate west to east migration of subsidence in the forearc basin. Subsidence isochrons indicate that oblique subduction of the European plate below the Adriatic plate was responsible for forearc basin migration at a rate of 8 mm a −1 . The Periadriatic Lineament was formed as a result of shearing by oblique subduction. The Neogene to recent Sumatra forearc basin is an analogue for the evolution of the East Alpine–West Carpathian forearc basin.

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of climatic factors (i.e. monthly mean temperature and total precipitation) on radial growth (earlywood width, latewood width, and total ringwidth) and on latewood stable carbon isotope composition in a pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) stand in northeastern Hungary. Earlywood widths showed the weakest common variance and lack of statistically significant relationship to monthly precipitation and temperature. Latewood width showed the strongest common chronological signal. Correlation analysis with the monthly climate series pointed out the strongest positive/negative correlation with June precipitation for latewood width/stable carbon isotope ratio. These parameters shared the strongest climatic response also for seasonal scale since the highest correlation coefficients, 0.49 and -0.62 for latewood width and stable carbon isotope ratio, respectively, were obtained for both with a 10-month precipitation total (from previous November to current August of the growing season). A combined parameter, derived as difference between latewood width and stable carbon isotope indices showed improved statistical relationship compared to the hydroclimatic calibration target both for local and regional spatial scales. Spatial correlation analysis indicated that the hydroclimatic signal encoded in these moisture sensitive tree-ring parameters from Bakta Forest is expected to be representative for the northeastern Carpathians and for the large part of the Great Hungarian Plain. In addition, the hydroclimatic signal of latewood width chronology was compared to three independent records. Results showed that neither the strength nor the rank of the similarity of the local hydroclimate signals were stable throughout the past two centuries. Future palaeo(hydro)climatological efforts targeting the Carpathian(-Balkan) region are recommended to track carefully the spatial domains for which a given, local, proxy-derived hydroclimate reconstruction might provide useful information.

Based on the sediment budget of the Eastern, Swiss and Western Alps since the Oligocene the regional tectonic evolution has been identified as the dominant factor. It is superimposed on the influence of both regional and global climate change and global sea-level change. During late Pliocene and Pleistocene times, climate became the dominant factor because of cyclic glaciations. The early post-collisional history of the Alps is characterized by a doubling of sediment discharge rates around the Rupelian/Chattian boundary. This increase is attributed to isostatic re-adjustment either after largescale thermal reorganization of the lithosphere related to slab break-off, or to crustal thickening as continental crust became subducted. From Middle Oligocene to Late Miocene times, the overall trend of sediment discharge rates in the entire Alps was modified only during relatively short-lived phases. These are characterized by an increase in Aquitanian (ca. 23-21 Ma) and late Burdigalian times (ca. 18-16.4 Ma), and a decrease in early to middle Burdigalian (21-19 Ma) and Langhian to . An important, still ongoing period of uplift, reflected by rapidly increasing sediment discharge rates, started in latest Miocene times in the Swiss and Western Alps and affected the Eastern Alps some 2 million years later. The reason for this uplift is not clear, but deep-seated lithospheric processes appear to be likely.