Breeding ornithical communities in the Natural Reserve “Monte Soratte” (Central Italy): composition and structure.

During the 2019 breeding period we carried out a bird atlas for a small coastal natural reserve (Torre Flavia wetland, Special Protection Area IT6030020, central Italy), comparing quantitative data of spatial occurrences with records from an analogous study carried out in 2005. From 2005 to 2019 some water-related species increased their frequency of occurrence (Fulica atra, significantly). Among the reed and rush-bed species, Acrocephalus scirpaceus spatially increased and Cisticola juncidis decreased significantly. Among ecotonal, synanthropic and open habitat species, we registered a significant increase of Chloris chloris. A decreasing trend of Passer italiae, Saxicola torquatus, Emberiza calandra, although not significant, may be probably linked to regional or continental factors. Both causes at local (reedbed expansion, rushbed reduction, water-level management) and at larger scale (decline in their continental range) can explain the observed changes in spatial occurrences during this medium-long temporal range. Local atlases can be quick tools useful to drive management strategies in remnant wetlands.

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Does the crested porcupine select coppice forest? Habitat preference and activity patterns of a large rodent in the Lago di Vico Natural Reserve

Mammalia ◽

10.1515/mammalia-2020-0143 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Giulia Luzi ◽

Emiliano Mori ◽

Giuseppe Puddu ◽

Marzio Zapparoli

Keyword(s):

Sampling Design ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Central Italy ◽

Moon Phases ◽

Natural Reserve ◽

Forested Areas ◽

Crested Porcupine ◽

Coppice Forest ◽

Landscape Patches ◽

Agro Forestry

Abstract The crested porcupine Hystrix cristata L. is a large rodent, which mainly occurs in agro-forestry ecosystems in Italy. In this study, we modelled the occupancy of this species in forest ecosystems, to identify environmental characteristics affecting its presence. The study was conducted at Lago di Vico Natural Reserve (Latium, Central Italy) in 2018–2019. The sampling design included a 1 km2 grid, where 263 detections were recorded at 39 out of 57 camera-trap points. Dendroauxometric data were collected at each site as covariates in the statistical models. According to our best occupancy model, the crested porcupine mostly occurs in habitats not totally covered by forests, but composed by mixed landscape patches both for the land use (crops, woods) and for the coverage (forested areas, open areas, bushes). We also analysed activity rhythms of the crested porcupine across seasons and in relation to the moon phases. The analysis of 543 videos showed that crested porcupine is strictly nocturnal throughout the year and avoided bright nights, despite the local absence of potential predators.

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Composition and structure of the invertebrate fauna in littoral sandy shores of Lake Bracciano (Central Italy) and water quality monitoring

Limnetica ◽

10.23818/limn.11.10 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 17-27

Author(s):

L. Mastrantuono

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Central Italy ◽

Water Quality Monitoring ◽

Quality Monitoring ◽

Invertebrate Fauna ◽

Sandy Shores ◽

Composition And Structure

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Gonipterus scutellatus s. l. in Montecristo Island (Tuscany): should its first introduction to the Palearctic region be backdated to the 19th century? (Coleoptera Curculionidae)

Bollettino della Società Entomologica Italiana ◽

10.4081/bollettinosei.2012.19 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 19-22 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Giuseppe Mazza ◽

Piero Abbazzi ◽

Luciana Andriolo ◽

Alberto Francesco Inghilesi ◽

Giorgio Marziaj ◽

...

Keyword(s):

19Th Century ◽

Central Italy ◽

Natural Reserve ◽

Palearctic Region ◽

The 19Th Century ◽

First Time

Abstract - A population of Gonipterus scutellatus sensu lato (Coleoptera Curculionidae), a pest of Eucalyptus spp., was found on February 2011, for the first time in Tuscany, in the Integral Natural Reserve of Montecristo Island (Central Italy) as the possible result of a late 19thcentury introduction on eucalyptus trees from Australia.Riassunto - Gonipterus scutellatus s. l. nell’isola di Montecristo (Toscana): il suo arrivo nella regione Paleartica dovrebbe essere retrodatato al XIX secolo? (Coleoptera Curculionidae). Gonipterus scutellatus s. l. (Coleoptera Curculionidae), un insetto dannoso per varie specie di Eucalyptus, è stato trovato, per la prima volta in Toscana, nel Febbraio 2011, nella Riserva Naturale Statale Integrale di Montecristo, isola del Parco Nazionale dell’Arcipelago Toscano. L’introduzione di questa specie potrebbe risalire alla fine del XIX secolo, con l’importazione di piante di Eucalyptus direttamente dall’Australia.

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The Red Alien vs. the Blue Destructor: The Eradication of Cherax destructor by Procambarus clarkii in Latium (Central Italy)

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d10040126 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 126 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Giuseppe Mazza ◽

Massimiliano Scalici ◽

Alberto Inghilesi ◽

Laura Aquiloni ◽

Tobia Pretto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Positive Result ◽

Procambarus Clarkii ◽

Central Italy ◽

Ecosystem Restoration ◽

Restoration Project ◽

Cherax Destructor ◽

Baited Traps ◽

Natural Reserve ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

First Time

Cherax destructor is a crayfish endemic to south-eastern Australia and one of the last alien crayfish to be introduced in Italy. In the Laghi di Ninfa Natural Reserve (Latium region, Central Italy), the species was probably introduced in 1999, but only reported for the first time in 2008. Nearby this area, the most widespread alien crayfish is the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii. In the Natural Reserve, between 2008 and 2013 and during spring and summer, crayfish sampling was carried out with baited traps to assess the distribution of C. destructor and its possible relationship with P. clarkii. Cherax destructor was first recorded in 2008; few P. clarkii were detected in the cultivation ponds where C. destructor was present in 2012 and 2013. Moreover, crayfish plague analyses evidenced a positive result in two out of the 12 sampled P. clarkii. Cherax destructor is now completely absent from the Natural Reserve, while P. clarkii has spread in the area and was probably responsible for this eradication since C. destructor is vulnerable to crayfish plague which was also detected in the area. An ecosystem restoration project in the area favoured the spread of. P. clarkii; the implications of this intervention are discussed.

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Sea salt aerosol groundwater salinization in the Litorale Romano Natural Reserve (Rome, Central Italy)

Environmental Earth Sciences ◽

10.1007/s12665-014-3704-9 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 73 (8) ◽

pp. 4179-4190 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Fabio Manca ◽

Giuseppe Capelli ◽

Paola Tuccimei

Keyword(s):

Central Italy ◽

Sea Salt ◽

Groundwater Salinization ◽

Sea Salt Aerosol ◽

Natural Reserve

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Composition and Structure of Phosphate-Rich Parietal Crusts and Nodules in Monte Corchia Cave, Alpi Apuane (Central Italy)

Frontiers in Earth Science ◽

10.3389/feart.2021.673109 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Leonardo Piccini ◽

Alessia Nannoni ◽

Pilario Costagliola ◽

Mario Paolieri ◽

Chiara Vigiani

Keyword(s):

Central Italy ◽

Chemical Deposition ◽

Chemical Precipitation ◽

Rock Weathering ◽

Cave System ◽

Composition And Structure ◽

The World ◽

Cave Environment ◽

The Common

Cave environment allows long-term processes of rock weathering and chemical deposition that cannot occur on Earth surface directly exposed to meteoric and external biochemical agents. Apart from the common carbonate speleothems, chemical precipitation from infiltration water can also produce phosphate-rich formations usually occurring as parietal dark crusts or spheroidal nodules. Despite the potential purposes of these kind of deposits as paleoenvironmental proxies, they have been still poorly investigated by cave scientists. Monte Corchia cave (NW Tuscany, Central Italy) is one of the most studied caves in the world, particularly for paleoclimate reconstructions from calcite speleothems. Several samples of parietal formations were collected in relict phreatic and epiphreatic passages at different altitudinal levels that reflect different evolutionary stages of this large cave system. Samples were analyzed by diffractometry and SEM-EDS possibly revealing the occurrence of hydroxyapatite or fluorapatite mixed with Fe/Mn incrustations and allogenic clastic particles. Crusts often cover the entire section of relict phreatic or epiphreatic passages and can be related to precipitation during waterfilled phases. Phosphate nodules are almost entirely composed by hydroxyapatite or fluoroapatite and could be the result of long-term chemical (or bio-chemical) precipitation in air-filled environments.

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