A comparison of the diet of urban and forest great tits in a Mediterranean habitat

The low breeding performance and body condition of nestling passerine birds in urban environments has been attributed to the poor quality and low abundance of food in these settings. However, detailed data on prey provided by parents to their chicks in the urban habitat is scarce. Here we used video cameras set in nest boxes to compare the diet of urban and forest great tits Parus major when provisioning their chicks in a Mediterranean area. We additionally analysed brood size and fledgling success. Breeding success of urban great tits was lower than that of forest birds. Urban parents displayed a lower average hourly feeding rate per nestling than forest parents. Among the three prey item categories, the percentage of spiders did not vary according to habitat. However, the percentage of caterpillars delivered to the nest by great tit parents was higher in the forest than in the urban habitat while the percentage of ‘other’ prey showed a reverse pattern. ‘Other’ prey were mainly adult butterflies and wasps in the urban habitat. Our paper adds to the view that the low feeding rates and scarcity of caterpillars in urban environments may be the underlying cause constraining the growth of great tit nestlings in these areas.

Dittrichia viscosa: Native-Non Native Invader

Dittrichia viscosa (L.) Greuter is a shrub native to the Mediterranean, however, declared as a very invasive species in Australia and North America. Environmental (climatic) and socio-economic (land abandonment) changes can trigger different adaptive mechanisms and cause changes in species behavior, influencing invasion dynamics. Motivated by the recently noticed change of D. viscosa behavior in its native Mediterranean habitat, we discuss the invasion properties, its behavior in the native habitat and new areas, and its management options. We review the species’ adverse effects and its positive ecosystem services in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment framework. In this review, we provide information on the phytochemical properties of D. viscosa and highlight its potential use in ecological agriculture, phytopharmacy, and medicine. The presented data is useful for developing effective management of this contentious species, with emphasis on mitigating environmental and economic damages, especially in agriculture. The final aim is to achieve a balanced ecosystem, providing a high level of possible services (provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting).

Coexistence of the reef-building coral Cladocora caespitosa and the canopy-forming alga Treptacantha ballesterosii: Description of a new Mediterranean habitat

Shallow Mediterranean rocky environments are usually dominated by macroalgae, but the stony colonial zooxan­thellate coral Cladocora caespitosa is able to build extensive banks in some particular areas. Although zooxanthellate corals and benthic macroalgae are expected to compete for light and space when overlapping in the same habitat, there is previous evidence that C. Caespitosa and Mediterranean macroalgae do not suffer from competitive exclusion when living together. Here we characterize a new and unique Mediterranean habitat where the reef-building coral C. Caespitosa and erect seaweeds of the order Fucales (Cystoseira s.l.) coexist. In this new habitat C. Caespitosa reaches 34% cover and densities of Cystoseira s.l. (mainly Treptacantha ballesterosii) are much higher than values reported from other sites. Interestingly, abundances of T. Ballesterosii and C. Caespitosa show a positive relationship, suggesting that some kind of facilitation mechanism is taking place. These findings challenge the theory of competitive exclusion between corals and macroalgae and launch a wide array of possible open discussions on coral-macroalgae interactions.

Fungal Diversity in the Mediterranean Area

The Special Issue entitled “Fungal Diversity in the Mediterranean Area” aimed at highlighting the role of various organisms in the Mediterranean habitat. The role of fungi at the root and phyllosphere level; the biodiversity in small island territories and the sea; rare forms of fungi never previously found; the commercial, food, and therapeutic value of some ascomycetes and basidiomycetes; the diversity related to fungi associated with galls on plants; and the important role of culture collection for the ex situ conservation of fungal biodiversity are the topics dealt with in this Special Issue.

Land management by bird community analysis: comparison among mapping methods for the zonation of a mediterranean habitat

Management algorithms of protected areas are widely used to identify potential networks of natural reserves that meet pre-established ecological requirements, such as a specific habitat percentage or a specific number of populations, while minimizing the related costs. Here we present a comparison of priority conservation maps of a protected area in central Italy, generated using different methods (i.e., Marxan, Marxan with Zones, Zonation, and directly overlapping the bird data with the vegetation type in the study area), based on an eight-year data set describing bird communities in the Circeo National Park. The generated maps can be used as a starting point when working with stakeholders involved in the management of this area. Our cartographic comparison illustrated that in the majority of the cases priority areas overlapped (the proportion of overlap was greater than 80% of the area size), affirming that the methods are equivalent. However, there were also divergent cases (the proportion of overlap was 0% of the area size), suggesting differential sensitivities of the four compared methods.