CHECKLIST OF MACRO-INVERTEBRATES OF THE SPECIAL CONSERVA-TION AREA “POGGI DI PRATA” (GROSSETO, CENTRAL ITALY)THROUGH A CITIZEN-SCIENCE AND EXPERT-BASED APPROACH

The assessment of species composition in a certain area may become outdated over time due to community dynamics including species range expansion, but also to local extinctions, species introductions and taxonomic redefinition. Therefore, updated checklists are required for animal conservation and management. Exhaustive checklists of invertebrate species may be challenging, as species determination often requires the analysis by specialists, but they are fundamental for local conservation practices. In this work, we provided an annotated preliminary checklist of invertebrates of the Special Conservation Area “Poggi di Prata” (province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany), detected through field samplings with experts, and a permanent Bioblitz set out on an online citizen-science platform (iNaturalist.org). The final dataset(1898-2020)included 329records of 282 species (217insects, 34gastropods, 30arachnids and 1 chilopod). Most records were uploaded on iNaturalist (about 56.5%), others came from observations or sampling collections(37%) and were determined by specialists. Only the remaining 6.5% of records came from published studies. Three species were protected by the Habitat Directive, 15 by the Tuscan Regional Law. We also detected two endemic or near-endemic taxa of this area: the beetle Paramaurops diecki massetanus and the land snail Marmorana saxetana. The unexpected (Italian southernmost) record of Gaurotes virginea needs to be deepened. Furthermore, 12 alien species, including insects affecting human economy and wellness (e.g., Rhinchophorous ferrugineus, Aedes albopictus, Halyomorpha halys, Dryocosmus kuriphilus and Cydalima perspectalis), were also detected. With our work, we confirmed that citizen-science platforms (e.g. iNaturalist) are valuable tools, complementary to field-work by specialists, to map local biodiversity and they may help to improve biogeographical knowledge.

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Community dynamics in highland watersheds

10.1093/oso/9780198736868.003.0006 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Dean Jacobsen ◽

Olivier Dangles

Keyword(s):

High Altitude ◽

Community Dynamics ◽

Community Organization ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Central Process ◽

Spatial Variables ◽

Research Areas ◽

Local Extinctions ◽

Metacommunity Dynamics ◽

Natural Communities

Chapter 6 presents the interaction between space and time in determining the organization of natural communities in high altitude heterogeneous waterscapes. After explaining why high altitude waters represent suitable models for examining metacommunity organization, the chapter focuses on dispersal—a central process to allow colonization and establishment of populations in remote localities and to counter local extinctions. Community organization patterns are then described for a variety of organisms living in high altitude waters, from microbes to invertebrates to fish and birds. These patterns reveal that both environmental and spatial variables are generally involved in species assembling. Examples of studies on directional spatial processes (e.g. through wind and water flow), waterscape genetics, and temporal variability (synchrony/asynchrony) are highlighted as promising research areas to increase the current knowledge on high altitude metacommunity dynamics.

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Workflow of Digital Field Mapping and Drone-Aided Survey for the Identification and Characterization of Capable Faults: The Case of a Normal Fault System in the Monte Nerone Area (Northern Apennines, Italy)

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information ◽

10.3390/ijgi9110616 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. 616

Author(s):

Mauro De Donatis ◽

Mauro Alberti ◽

Mattia Cipicchia ◽

Nelson Muñoz Guerrero ◽

Giulio F. Pappafico ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Italy ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Normal Fault ◽

Field Work ◽

Digital Data ◽

Fault System ◽

Seismic Profiles ◽

Postgraduate Students ◽

Recent Earthquakes

Field work on the search and characterization of ground effects of a historical earthquake (i.e., the Cagli earthquake in 1781) was carried out using terrestrial and aerial digital tools. The method of capturing, organizing, storing, and elaborating digital data is described herein, proposing a possible workflow starting from pre-field project organization, through reiteration of field and intermediate laboratory work, to final interpretation and synthesis. The case of one of the most important seismic events in the area of the northern Umbria–Marche Apennines provided the opportunity to test the method with both postgraduate students and researchers. The main result of this work was the mapping of a capable normal fault system with a great number of observations, as well as a large amount of data, from difficult outcrop areas. A GIS map and a three-dimensional (3D) model, with the integration of subsurface data (i.e., seismic profiles and recent earthquake distribution information), allowed for a new interpretation of an extensional tectonic regime of this Apennines sector, similar to one of the southernmost areas of central Italy where recent earthquakes occurred on 2016.

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Biotic rescaling reveals importance of species interactions for variation in biodiversity responses to climate change

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2003377117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (37) ◽

pp. 22858-22865 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Vigdis Vandvik ◽

Olav Skarpaas ◽

Kari Klanderud ◽

Richard J. Telford ◽

Aud H. Halbritter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Species Interactions ◽

Community Dynamics ◽

Biotic Interactions ◽

Plant Interactions ◽

Climate Gradients ◽

Climate Change Responses ◽

Local Extinctions ◽

Future Work ◽

Underlying Processes

Generality in understanding biodiversity responses to climate change has been hampered by substantial variation in the rates and even directions of response to a given change in climate. We propose that such context dependencies can be clarified by rescaling climate gradients in terms of the underlying biological processes, with biotic interactions as a particularly important process. We tested this rescaling approach in a replicated field experiment where entire montane grassland communities were transplanted in the direction of expected temperature and/or precipitation change. In line with earlier work, we found considerable variation across sites in community dynamics in response to climate change. However, these complex context dependencies could be substantially reduced or eliminated by rescaling climate drivers in terms of proxies of plant−plant interactions. Specifically, bryophytes limited colonization by new species into local communities, whereas the cover of those colonists, along with bryophytes, were the primary drivers of local extinctions. These specific interactions are relatively understudied, suggesting important directions for future work in similar systems. More generally, the success of our approach in explaining and simplifying landscape-level variation in climate change responses suggests that developing and testing proxies for relevant underlying processes could be a fruitful direction for building more general models of biodiversity response to climate change.

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Check-list of Vertebrates in the “Tenuta dei Massimi” nature reserve (Rome, central Italy) with some remarks on local conservation priorities

Natural History Sciences ◽

10.4081/nhs.2014.23 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 25 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Corrado Battisti

Keyword(s):

Nature Reserve ◽

Central Italy ◽

Conservation Priorities ◽

Check List ◽

Local Conservation ◽

Mosaic Landscape ◽

Data Set ◽

Species Of Conservation Concern ◽

Bibliographic Data ◽

Conservation Concern

We reported a complete check-list of Vertebrates for the “Tenuta dei Massimi” nature reserve, a protected area well representing a remnant agro-forest heterogeneous mosaic landscape of the “Campagna Romana”. Data were obtained from a large original and bibliographic data-set on a large time-span (1991-2012). This reserve represents an area with a high value of species richness when compared to the surrounding metropolitan areas, also including a large number of species of conservation concern at different scales. We obtained evidences for the occurrence of 141 species (one fish, six amphibians, 12 reptiles, 101 birds, 21 mammals). Among them, some species are of conservation concern at European, regional or local scale. Further research should be focused on a set of fragmentation-sensitive species to verify the long-term viability of their local small populations [e.g. Hyla intermedia Boulenger, 1882, Bufo lineatus Ninni, 1879, Muscardinus avellanarius (Linnaeus, 1758), Sorex samniticus Altobello, 1926)].

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The land snail fauna of a South American rainforest biodiversity hotspot: the Panguana conservation area in the Peruvian Amazon

Journal of Molluscan Studies ◽

10.1093/mollus/eyz014 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 85 (3) ◽

pp. 311-318

Author(s):

Birte Wendebourg ◽

Bernhard Hausdorf

Keyword(s):

Distinct Group ◽

Land Snail ◽

Global Scale ◽

Land Snails ◽

Snail Species ◽

South American ◽

Conservation Area ◽

Additional Species ◽

Synanthropic Species ◽

Very High

Abstract We investigated the land snail fauna of the Panguana conservation area on the western rim of the Amazonas basin in Peru. A total of 2,322 individuals assigned to 65 land snail species were collected in 32 plots. Ten additional species were found in collections made on previous expeditions to Panguana. On the basis of available data, Panguana is the most species rich locality for land snails in South America. The species density of 75 land snail species in c. 2 km2 of rather homogeneous rainforest is also high on a global scale. The land snail fauna of Panguana is characterized by a very high proportion of species belonging to the carnivorous family Scolodontidae, many of which are likely to be new to science. The fauna includes seven species that are new records for Peru, and the species Hirtudiscus sp., Xenodiscula venezuelensis, Geostilbia aperta, Guppya gundlachii and Thysanophora plagioptycha represent genera not previously recorded from the country. The synanthropic species Allopeas gracile, Opeas hannense, Subulina octona, Geostilbia aperta and Gastrocopta servilis form an ecologically distinct group that occurs mainly in sites strongly modified by humans. The presence of these species on the margin of the Amazon rainforest is evidence of the ongoing homogenization of the global fauna.

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Early Medieval Fortifications near Rome

Papers of the British School at Rome ◽

10.1017/s006824620000725x ◽

1964 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 89-122

Author(s):

A. W. Lawrence

Keyword(s):

Middle Ages ◽

Local Development ◽

Central Italy ◽

Field Work ◽

Relevant Information ◽

North Central ◽

The North ◽

Key Sites ◽

Natural Decay ◽

Work Done

The few scholars who have specialised upon military architecture in Italy have, very naturally, concentrated their attention on the spectacular work of the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, chiefly in Apulia and Sicily, to a lesser extent in the North; Central Italy as a whole, has been neglected, and particularly the neighbourhood of Rome. There alone can the unimpressive fortresses of the early middle ages be seen in abundance, most of them untouched except by natural decay, because they were not rebuilt when their obsolescence became recognised, but abandoned—in a large number of instances, so documents imply, during the fourteenth century. This article is an attempt to trace the course of local development down to 1300, as shown mainly at certain key-sites. The argument rests on a basis of combined archaeological and documentary evidence; the former is limited by the amount of field-work done by my predecessors or by myself, the latter I have derived entirely from the regional historians of the past hundred years. Investigation of sites not yet reported, and of documents not yet searched for relevant information, should eventually lead to a more precise chronology than is now feasible.

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GLOBIL: WWF's Global Observation and Biodiversity Information Portal

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprsarchives-xl-7-w3-511-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol XL-7/W3 ◽

pp. 511-514 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. C. Shapiro ◽

L. Nijsten ◽

S Schmitt ◽

P Tibaldeschi

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Spatial Data ◽

Warning System ◽

Large Data ◽

Monitoring And Evaluation ◽

Local Conservation ◽

Conservation Area ◽

Ecosystem Monitoring ◽

Information Portal ◽

Biodiversity Information

Despite ever increasing availability of satellite imagery and spatial data, conservation managers, decision makers and planners are often unable to analyze data without special knowledge or software. WWF is bridging this gap by putting extensive spatial data into an easy to use online mapping environment, to allow visualization, manipulation and analysis of large data sets by any user. Consistent, reliable and repeatable ecosystem monitoring information for priority eco-regions is needed to increase transparency in WWF’s global conservation work, to measure conservation impact, and to provide communications with the general public and organization members. Currently, much of this monitoring and evaluation data is isolated, incompatible, or inaccessible and not readily usable or available for those without specialized software or knowledge. Launched in 2013 by WWF Netherlands and WWF Germany, the Global Observation and Biodiversity Information Portal (GLOBIL) is WWF’s new platform to unite, centralize, standardize and visualize geo-spatial data and information from more than 150 active GIS users worldwide via cloud-based ArcGIS Online. GLOBIL is increasing transparency, providing baseline data for monitoring and evaluation while communicating impacts and conservation successes to the public. GLOBIL is currently being used in the worldwide marine campaign as an advocacy tool for establishing more marine protected areas, and a monitoring interface to track the progress towards ocean protection goals. In the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation area, local partners are using the platform to monitor land cover changes, barriers to species migrations, potential human-wildlife conflict and local conservation impacts in vast wildlife corridor. In East Africa, an early warning system is providing conservation practitioners with real-time alerts of threats particularly to protected areas and World Heritage Sites by industrial extractive activities. And for globally consistent baseline ecosystem monitoring, MODIS-derived data are being combined with local information to provide visible advocacy for conservation. As GLOBIL is built up through the WWF network, the worldwide organization is able to provide open access to its data on biodiversity and remote sensing, spatial analysis and projects to support goal setting, monitoring and evaluation, and fundraising activities.

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Rediscovery of the enigmatic forest racer snake, Dendrophidion boshelli Dunn, 1944 (Serpentes, Colubridae): actions for the conservation of a critically endangered species

Neotropical Biology and Conservation ◽

10.3897/neotropical.14.e39572 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 577-589

Author(s):

Julian Andrés Rojas-Morales ◽

Mateo Marín-Martínez ◽

Juan Camilo Zuluaga-Isaza

Keyword(s):

Legal Status ◽

Local Level ◽

Original Description ◽

Critically Endangered ◽

Morphological Data ◽

Local Conservation ◽

Conservation Area ◽

Hydroelectric Project ◽

Critically Endangered Species ◽

Magdalena River

Dendrophidion boshelli is a poorly known and endemic snake species from the Middle Magdalena river valley in Colombia. It was described in 1944 based on a single specimen from the municipality of Caparrapí, department of Cundinamarca. Since the original description, only three additional specimens have been established. As part of the results of a herpetological monitoring in the Miel I Hydroelectric project, department of Caldas-Colombia, three additional specimens of D. boshelli were found in 2014–2015. The specimens represent the second known population of the species. We presented morphological data and pholidosis; description of the coloration in life, and a description of the habitat. Recently, D. boshelli was included as a Critically Endangered (CR) species in the Red Book of Reptiles of Colombia, and the IUCN Redlist. For this reason, to promote the local conservation of this and other endemic and threatened species in the Miel I area, we suggested some actions at the local level, such as establishing a conservation area with legal status in the Middle Manso River basin, which is a tributary of the Miel I Hydroelectric project.

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Mycodiversity of Nature Reserves in Central Italy

Acta Mycologica ◽

10.5586/am.2007.001 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 5-19 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Elena Salerni ◽

Claudia Perini

Keyword(s):

Rare Species ◽

Central Italy ◽

Nature Reserves ◽

Habitat Directive

Seven nature reserves situated in the province of Arezzo (Tuscany, Central Italy), presenting various habitats, plants and animals of comunitary interest according to the Habitat Directive, have been observed from a myco-floristic viewpoint. A synthesis of the results on fungal investigations is given. Interesting the finding of rare species such as Ramariopsis pulchella and Mycena diosma.

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The diverse visages of Geoheritage in Mexico City: Knowing your place, knowing your risks

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-6650 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Marie-Noelle Guilbaud ◽

Naara López Velásquez ◽

José Alfredo Járquin Rojas ◽

María del Pilar Ortega-Larrocea ◽

Silke Cram ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Debris Flows ◽

Large City ◽

Opportunity To Learn ◽

Field Work ◽

Capital City ◽

Southeastern Part ◽

Conservation Area ◽

Wide Range ◽

A Chain ◽

The City

Geological elements in cities are usually damaged and invisible to their inhabitants, despite the wide range of benefits they provide to them. In particular, they offer them an opportunity to learn about their geological setting (= sense of place) and be aware of associated risks (= sense of risk). Such geoheritage comes in different forms that ought to be identified and described precisely in order to be preserved and used. The gigantic capital city of Mexico is settled in a paleolake basin embedded in&#160;a diverse volcanic landscape. City inhabitants face numerous hazards (floods, landslides, debris flows, subsidence, earthquakes, drought, fires) that create high risks with combined natural&#160;and&#160;anthropogenic&#160;causes due to uncontrolled city growth. The&#160;geoheritage of the city is mostly formed by monogenetic (one-event) volcanoes&#160;that are an important&#160;resource for geoconservation and geoeducation. We present two case studies that were investigated by students near their homes, which was a strategy employed during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow them to undertake field work. The first study area is a popular neighborhood (Lomas de Padierna) that was rooted in the&#160;1970s on basaltic lavas from the ca. AD200 Xitle cone. In this highly urbanized area, the geological nature is only visible as&#160;sparse&#160;vertical outcrops along streets and&#160;small&#160;surface exposures in private gardens and road central reservations. Such sites are seldom maintained by the locals who rarely recognize their value. Debris flows during rain storms cause a chronic hazard. The second area consists of a chain of several cones, a dome and a tuff ring (Sierra Santa Catarina) located in the southeastern part of the basin, that conserves elements of the native fauna and flora. Depicted in the great landscape paintings of the Mexico basin made in the 19th century, mining activities and illegal settlements have severely degraded this site since the 1970s, even after the creation of a protected area in 1994 and a conservation area in 2003. Enhanced cone erosion causes frequent landslides affecting settlements. Data on the age and eruptive style of these volcanoes is surprisingly limited, given their importance for hazard assessment.This work reveals the diverse visages of geoheritage in a large city, showing their low level of scientific knowledge and public appreciation, which account for their pronounced degree of degradation. Hence, the memory of past geological events, awareness of impending hazards, and vital mineral and organic resources are disappearing quickly, further increasing the risks faced by the city.&#160; The vulnerability of people to hazards can be linked to their poor knowledge of their environment. The dissemination of information on local geosites may be highly valuable to raise environmental awareness and reduce risks. In this respect, we plan to make and distribute leaflets to local schools and community centers.

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