Pub Date : 2016-10-01DOI: 10.1080/11250003.2016.1259360
G. Tessa, C. Delforno, P. Govindarajulu, N. Tissot, C. Miaud, F. Andreone
Abstract The American bullfrog, native to the eastern half of North America including southern Quebec, is considered one of the most invasive species in the world. It has been introduced in America, Asia and Europe, mainly for food purposes. A study on the age and body size of this species was carried out on individuals obtained from four introduced populations (one from Western Canada and three from France), using the skeletochronological method. Adults did not differ between sexes in mean body size or mean age, with the exception of one population in France where males were younger than females. Several differences in the mean age and body size were observed, with the individuals from the population in Canada exhibiting the highest values for both sexes. The scarcity of studies in the native range prevents the comparison of introduced versus native populations, and we focus on comparisons between introduced populations.
{"title":"Age and body size in four introduced populations of the American bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus (Ranidae)","authors":"G. Tessa, C. Delforno, P. Govindarajulu, N. Tissot, C. Miaud, F. Andreone","doi":"10.1080/11250003.2016.1259360","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2016.1259360","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The American bullfrog, native to the eastern half of North America including southern Quebec, is considered one of the most invasive species in the world. It has been introduced in America, Asia and Europe, mainly for food purposes. A study on the age and body size of this species was carried out on individuals obtained from four introduced populations (one from Western Canada and three from France), using the skeletochronological method. Adults did not differ between sexes in mean body size or mean age, with the exception of one population in France where males were younger than females. Several differences in the mean age and body size were observed, with the individuals from the population in Canada exhibiting the highest values for both sexes. The scarcity of studies in the native range prevents the comparison of introduced versus native populations, and we focus on comparisons between introduced populations.","PeriodicalId":14615,"journal":{"name":"Italian Journal of Zoology","volume":"43 1","pages":"497 - 502"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88370650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-10-01DOI: 10.1080/11250003.2016.1251981
M. Marra, M. Bertolino, M. Pansini, S. Giacobbe, R. Manconi, R. Pronzato
Abstract The paper focuses on the long-term taxonomic composition and distribution of the shallow-water sponge fauna from the meromictic–anchialine coastal basin Faro Lake (Southern Italy), comparing recent qualitative field data with literature data over a 50-year period. The Faro Lake shallow water currently hosts 24 conspicuous species of Porifera belonging to 21 genera, 18 families, eight orders, three subclasses and two classes, i.e. Demospongiae (23) and Calcarea (one). The comparison between the present and past status of the sponge fauna showed a high turnover, with 15 new colonizers and only nine persistent species. Thirteen species reported in the literature are missing, suggesting the occurrence of remarkable changes in the faunal composition during the last 50 years. The analysis of the geographic distribution of each species allowed us to outline the prevalent North Atlantic affinity of the sponge community. Worthy of note is the new record of the alien calcareous sponge Paraleucilla magna of cryptogenic origin.
{"title":"Long-term turnover of the sponge fauna in Faro Lake (North-East Sicily, Mediterranean Sea)","authors":"M. Marra, M. Bertolino, M. Pansini, S. Giacobbe, R. Manconi, R. Pronzato","doi":"10.1080/11250003.2016.1251981","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2016.1251981","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The paper focuses on the long-term taxonomic composition and distribution of the shallow-water sponge fauna from the meromictic–anchialine coastal basin Faro Lake (Southern Italy), comparing recent qualitative field data with literature data over a 50-year period. The Faro Lake shallow water currently hosts 24 conspicuous species of Porifera belonging to 21 genera, 18 families, eight orders, three subclasses and two classes, i.e. Demospongiae (23) and Calcarea (one). The comparison between the present and past status of the sponge fauna showed a high turnover, with 15 new colonizers and only nine persistent species. Thirteen species reported in the literature are missing, suggesting the occurrence of remarkable changes in the faunal composition during the last 50 years. The analysis of the geographic distribution of each species allowed us to outline the prevalent North Atlantic affinity of the sponge community. Worthy of note is the new record of the alien calcareous sponge Paraleucilla magna of cryptogenic origin.","PeriodicalId":14615,"journal":{"name":"Italian Journal of Zoology","volume":"46 1","pages":"579 - 588"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76713459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-10-01DOI: 10.1080/11250003.2016.1237562
L. Ozella, M. Cecchetti, D. Pessani
Abstract Feral cats (Felis catus) are considered to be one of main successful invasive species of island ecosystems. The introduced cats often negatively affect seabird populations due to the lack of anti-predatory strategies resulting from the absence of mammalian terrestrial predators during their evolutionary development. Linosa Island hosts the second largest colony of Scopoli’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) of the species. In this study, we estimated the number of cats on Linosa Island and we evaluated their diet using a non-invasive method: scat analysis. Scat collection took place in the northern part of the island in the Scopoli’s shearwater colony, where a feral cat colony lives permanently. We analysed a total of 188 cat scats, collected during the different stages of the shearwater breeding period. Introduced mammals were the most frequent preys: wild rabbits and black rats occurred in scats with the same frequency (28.72%). Birds were the second most frequent prey category found, primarily represented by the seabird Scopoli’s shearwater (16.49%). The cats’ diet varied seasonally in relation to prey availability and accessibility: shearwaters were mainly preyed upon during spring when they exhibited the greatest vocal activity and spent the most time out of their nests. Regarding the biomass, mammals were the dominant prey, and wild rabbits were the most consumed species. However, Scopoli’s shearwater represented approximately one-third of the total biomass consumed. Consequently, the management of feral cats living in proximity of the seabird colony is strongly required, and the increase of “trap-neuter-release” (TNR) programmes is necessary in order to avoid uncontrolled gains in the cat population on Linosa Island. Since the cats have a crucial role in controlling the rat population (the main threat for shearwaters), before planning management strategies, the complex inter-relationship that exists between species must be taken into account.
{"title":"Diet of feral cats during the Scopoli’s shearwater breeding season on Linosa Island, Mediterranean Sea","authors":"L. Ozella, M. Cecchetti, D. Pessani","doi":"10.1080/11250003.2016.1237562","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2016.1237562","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Feral cats (Felis catus) are considered to be one of main successful invasive species of island ecosystems. The introduced cats often negatively affect seabird populations due to the lack of anti-predatory strategies resulting from the absence of mammalian terrestrial predators during their evolutionary development. Linosa Island hosts the second largest colony of Scopoli’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) of the species. In this study, we estimated the number of cats on Linosa Island and we evaluated their diet using a non-invasive method: scat analysis. Scat collection took place in the northern part of the island in the Scopoli’s shearwater colony, where a feral cat colony lives permanently. We analysed a total of 188 cat scats, collected during the different stages of the shearwater breeding period. Introduced mammals were the most frequent preys: wild rabbits and black rats occurred in scats with the same frequency (28.72%). Birds were the second most frequent prey category found, primarily represented by the seabird Scopoli’s shearwater (16.49%). The cats’ diet varied seasonally in relation to prey availability and accessibility: shearwaters were mainly preyed upon during spring when they exhibited the greatest vocal activity and spent the most time out of their nests. Regarding the biomass, mammals were the dominant prey, and wild rabbits were the most consumed species. However, Scopoli’s shearwater represented approximately one-third of the total biomass consumed. Consequently, the management of feral cats living in proximity of the seabird colony is strongly required, and the increase of “trap-neuter-release” (TNR) programmes is necessary in order to avoid uncontrolled gains in the cat population on Linosa Island. Since the cats have a crucial role in controlling the rat population (the main threat for shearwaters), before planning management strategies, the complex inter-relationship that exists between species must be taken into account.","PeriodicalId":14615,"journal":{"name":"Italian Journal of Zoology","volume":"33 1","pages":"589 - 599"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73825357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-09-30DOI: 10.1080/11250003.2016.1223759
Sergio Vitale, M. Arculeo, A. Vaz, G. Giusto, S. Gancitano, S. Ragonese
Abstract During spring–summer 2013, 23 specimens of the Lessepsian Fistularia commersonii Rüppell, 1838 were studied through occasional catches by artisanal and coastal trawler fisheries in the South of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea). The total lengths (TL, cm, without filament) and weight (W, g) ranged between 69.0 and 104.0 cm and 155 and 798 g, respectively. The estimated sex-combined parameters of the length–weight relationship (k = 9*10–9; b = 3.6) suggested a positive allometry. All pairs of sagittae were examined under a stereomicroscope and the age estimated by counting the complete translucent zones, both as whole and thin sections, with ages from 3 to 5 years. Growth parameters (von Bertalanffy Growth Function: L∞ = 101.4; K = 0.52; A0 = 0) were similar to those reported in the literature using vertebra readings. Some conceptual aspects were taken into account in the potential differences in growth rate between the nowadays-established Mediterranean specimens and the native Indo–Pacific ones.
{"title":"Otolith-based age and growth of the Lessepsian species Fistularia commersonii (Osteichtyes: Fistulariidae) in South of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea)","authors":"Sergio Vitale, M. Arculeo, A. Vaz, G. Giusto, S. Gancitano, S. Ragonese","doi":"10.1080/11250003.2016.1223759","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2016.1223759","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract During spring–summer 2013, 23 specimens of the Lessepsian Fistularia commersonii Rüppell, 1838 were studied through occasional catches by artisanal and coastal trawler fisheries in the South of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea). The total lengths (TL, cm, without filament) and weight (W, g) ranged between 69.0 and 104.0 cm and 155 and 798 g, respectively. The estimated sex-combined parameters of the length–weight relationship (k = 9*10–9; b = 3.6) suggested a positive allometry. All pairs of sagittae were examined under a stereomicroscope and the age estimated by counting the complete translucent zones, both as whole and thin sections, with ages from 3 to 5 years. Growth parameters (von Bertalanffy Growth Function: L∞ = 101.4; K = 0.52; A0 = 0) were similar to those reported in the literature using vertebra readings. Some conceptual aspects were taken into account in the potential differences in growth rate between the nowadays-established Mediterranean specimens and the native Indo–Pacific ones.","PeriodicalId":14615,"journal":{"name":"Italian Journal of Zoology","volume":"122 1","pages":"490 - 496"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72702292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-09-13DOI: 10.1080/11250003.2016.1223186
M. Gobbi, M. Brambilla
Abstract Spatial autocorrelation is a common feature of ecological data and can be found in the distribution pattern of many species or in the diversity of many species assemblages. The presence of spatial autocorrelation in species distribution along primary successions on recently deglaciated terrains has been largely overlooked until now, despite its potential consequences for comparisons between glacier forelands. Here, we investigated the occurrence of spatial autocorrelation at different spatial scales in the distribution and diversity of ground beetles and spiders along glacier forelands. We found positive spatial autocorrelation in patterns of occurrence of most species and in patterns of species assemblages diversity at spatial scales representing single (< 3 km) or adjacent valleys (< 7 km), whereas at a larger spatial scales (0–30 km) such positive spatial autocorrelation disappeared. We concluded that spatial autocorrelation could be a key issue for studies investigating distribution of arthropods, including in glacier forelands, in order to perform more robust analysis and to avoid misinterpretation of species distribution in relation to the glacier retreat and other environmental characteristics.
{"title":"Patterns of spatial autocorrelation in the distribution and diversity of carabid beetles and spiders along Alpine glacier forelands","authors":"M. Gobbi, M. Brambilla","doi":"10.1080/11250003.2016.1223186","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2016.1223186","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Spatial autocorrelation is a common feature of ecological data and can be found in the distribution pattern of many species or in the diversity of many species assemblages. The presence of spatial autocorrelation in species distribution along primary successions on recently deglaciated terrains has been largely overlooked until now, despite its potential consequences for comparisons between glacier forelands. Here, we investigated the occurrence of spatial autocorrelation at different spatial scales in the distribution and diversity of ground beetles and spiders along glacier forelands. We found positive spatial autocorrelation in patterns of occurrence of most species and in patterns of species assemblages diversity at spatial scales representing single (< 3 km) or adjacent valleys (< 7 km), whereas at a larger spatial scales (0–30 km) such positive spatial autocorrelation disappeared. We concluded that spatial autocorrelation could be a key issue for studies investigating distribution of arthropods, including in glacier forelands, in order to perform more robust analysis and to avoid misinterpretation of species distribution in relation to the glacier retreat and other environmental characteristics.","PeriodicalId":14615,"journal":{"name":"Italian Journal of Zoology","volume":"31 1","pages":"600 - 605"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81246692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-09-09DOI: 10.1080/11250003.2016.1222558
G. Messina, R. Gatti, S. Sciandrello, B. Lombardo
Abstract Because of their biological and ecological characteristics terrestrial isopods are considered as bioindicators of ecosystem health and several studies have shown that their distribution and abundance are influenced by environmental factors, such as weather, soil texture, composition and vegetation structure. However, few quantitative data are available on the relationship between single species of terrestrial isopods, meteorological variables and coastal zonation. This study aims to clarify relationships between terrestrial isopod populations, coastal zones and weather conditions of a protected area in Sicily. The terrestrial isopods were sampled using pitfall traps, and we verified the association between each species abundance and three different (lower, medium and upper) coastal zones. Furthermore, we analyzed correlations between isopod abundances and meteorological conditions (temperature and precipitation). The results showed a close relationship between some isopod species and coastal zone types, as well as a positive correlation of most of the species abundances with temperature and a negative one with precipitation.
{"title":"The influence of coastal zonation and meteorological variables on terrestrial isopod populations: a case study in western Sicily (Italy)","authors":"G. Messina, R. Gatti, S. Sciandrello, B. Lombardo","doi":"10.1080/11250003.2016.1222558","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2016.1222558","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Because of their biological and ecological characteristics terrestrial isopods are considered as bioindicators of ecosystem health and several studies have shown that their distribution and abundance are influenced by environmental factors, such as weather, soil texture, composition and vegetation structure. However, few quantitative data are available on the relationship between single species of terrestrial isopods, meteorological variables and coastal zonation. This study aims to clarify relationships between terrestrial isopod populations, coastal zones and weather conditions of a protected area in Sicily. The terrestrial isopods were sampled using pitfall traps, and we verified the association between each species abundance and three different (lower, medium and upper) coastal zones. Furthermore, we analyzed correlations between isopod abundances and meteorological conditions (temperature and precipitation). The results showed a close relationship between some isopod species and coastal zone types, as well as a positive correlation of most of the species abundances with temperature and a negative one with precipitation.","PeriodicalId":14615,"journal":{"name":"Italian Journal of Zoology","volume":"118 1","pages":"571 - 578"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77404321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-09-07DOI: 10.1080/11250003.2016.1222638
J. Wang, T. L. Wang, S. Fu, S. Brauth, J. Cui
Abstract Hearing sensitivity affects survival and reproduction in animals that communicate vocally. The Chinese tiger frog exhibits sexual dimorphism in body size, reflecting the evolution of mating behaviour and life-history strategies. In this study, we recorded auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) to determine hearing sensitivity in both female and male frogs. We also compared male and female hearing characteristics with the shape of the tympanic membrane in light of previous studies showing that smaller middle ear cavities improve hearing sensitivity. We found that ABR thresholds differ significantly between males and females, with the greatest sensitivities in both sexes at frequencies close to the dominant frequency of male calls. ABR thresholds were significantly lower in females compared to males for frequencies in the 0.9–1.3 kHz range and at 1.6 kHz. The tympanic membrane diameter was significantly smaller in females (5.94 ± 0.87 mm) than in males (6.71 ± 0.49 mm). Our results indicate that sexual selection has in all likelihood differentially affected male and female hearing sensitivity as well as the shape of the tympanic membrane in frogs.
{"title":"Auditory brainstem responses in the Chinese tiger frog Hoplobatrachus chinensis (Osbeck, 1765) (Anura: Dicroglossidae) reveal sexually dimorphic hearing sensitivity","authors":"J. Wang, T. L. Wang, S. Fu, S. Brauth, J. Cui","doi":"10.1080/11250003.2016.1222638","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2016.1222638","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Hearing sensitivity affects survival and reproduction in animals that communicate vocally. The Chinese tiger frog exhibits sexual dimorphism in body size, reflecting the evolution of mating behaviour and life-history strategies. In this study, we recorded auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) to determine hearing sensitivity in both female and male frogs. We also compared male and female hearing characteristics with the shape of the tympanic membrane in light of previous studies showing that smaller middle ear cavities improve hearing sensitivity. We found that ABR thresholds differ significantly between males and females, with the greatest sensitivities in both sexes at frequencies close to the dominant frequency of male calls. ABR thresholds were significantly lower in females compared to males for frequencies in the 0.9–1.3 kHz range and at 1.6 kHz. The tympanic membrane diameter was significantly smaller in females (5.94 ± 0.87 mm) than in males (6.71 ± 0.49 mm). Our results indicate that sexual selection has in all likelihood differentially affected male and female hearing sensitivity as well as the shape of the tympanic membrane in frogs.","PeriodicalId":14615,"journal":{"name":"Italian Journal of Zoology","volume":"1 1","pages":"482 - 489"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77144341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-07-02DOI: 10.1080/11250003.2016.1223610
F. Boero
Zoology is disappearing from university curricula in first-world countries (whatever this means). New generations of biologists are illiterate in biodiversity, due to a mismatch between their initial expectations and what is proposed to them as “modern biology”. Almost invariably, young specimens of our species are attracted by living beings, especially animals. This tendency is reinforced by a myriad of TV programs about nature. Biology is synonymous with natural history, implying the exploration of secluded places, while looking for still unknown creatures. This is what pushed me towards biology; I made my thesis in a tuna trap, with a crew of rough fishermen, then spent long periods in places ranging from Papua New Guinea to California, and found many previously unknown species (and genera, and families), diving in shark-infested waters, exploring marine caves and following the seasons of the sea along vertical rocky cliffs from the surface to 30 m depth. Now, regular biology students spend their lives in the laboratory and see the world through the graphs of sophisticated machines. If they encounter animals, they do not know what they are by just looking at them, and the only chance they have to give them a name is to grind them, extract some sequences and match them with online databases. E. coli and C. elegans are more or less the same thing, together with Arabidopsis and D. melanogaster, a distant relative of the zebrafish! In some Italian universities, however, zoology is still taught, even if the hours dedicated to it are decreasing year after year. Francesca Strano, one of our students at the University of Salento, made her master thesis on a new species of pterobranch that we found some time ago in a marine cave. I had never seen a pterobranch before, and that was the first time a member of this class had been found in Italian waters, the second finding in the Mediterranean Sea. Francesca followed the life cycle of this beast, and studied the architecture of its nervous system, but the most important result was that she had stumbled into a species unknown to science, right in our backyard! Valerio Micaroni works at his master thesis in our new marine laboratory, the Mare Outpost at Tricase Porto. I gave him a very difficult task: produce an all-species inventory of the local fauna. He is in the water every day, and brings stuff to the lab, where he tries to give names to specimens, and to elucidate their life cycles, just as Francesca did with her pterobranch. Not easy at all, since most of the knowledge is frozen in outdated monographs, and knowledgeable living beings are rapidly disappearing. Francesca and Valerio are having great fun and spend all their time in studying their beasts; there is nothing else they want to do. The fishermen and the children of the village admire their passion and help them in their studies. The ocean literacy of the people of Tricase Porto is increasing and they come to the Outpost with their observation
{"title":"Teaching zoology in the age of machines","authors":"F. Boero","doi":"10.1080/11250003.2016.1223610","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2016.1223610","url":null,"abstract":"Zoology is disappearing from university curricula in first-world countries (whatever this means). New generations of biologists are illiterate in biodiversity, due to a mismatch between their initial expectations and what is proposed to them as “modern biology”. Almost invariably, young specimens of our species are attracted by living beings, especially animals. This tendency is reinforced by a myriad of TV programs about nature. Biology is synonymous with natural history, implying the exploration of secluded places, while looking for still unknown creatures. This is what pushed me towards biology; I made my thesis in a tuna trap, with a crew of rough fishermen, then spent long periods in places ranging from Papua New Guinea to California, and found many previously unknown species (and genera, and families), diving in shark-infested waters, exploring marine caves and following the seasons of the sea along vertical rocky cliffs from the surface to 30 m depth. Now, regular biology students spend their lives in the laboratory and see the world through the graphs of sophisticated machines. If they encounter animals, they do not know what they are by just looking at them, and the only chance they have to give them a name is to grind them, extract some sequences and match them with online databases. E. coli and C. elegans are more or less the same thing, together with Arabidopsis and D. melanogaster, a distant relative of the zebrafish! In some Italian universities, however, zoology is still taught, even if the hours dedicated to it are decreasing year after year. Francesca Strano, one of our students at the University of Salento, made her master thesis on a new species of pterobranch that we found some time ago in a marine cave. I had never seen a pterobranch before, and that was the first time a member of this class had been found in Italian waters, the second finding in the Mediterranean Sea. Francesca followed the life cycle of this beast, and studied the architecture of its nervous system, but the most important result was that she had stumbled into a species unknown to science, right in our backyard! Valerio Micaroni works at his master thesis in our new marine laboratory, the Mare Outpost at Tricase Porto. I gave him a very difficult task: produce an all-species inventory of the local fauna. He is in the water every day, and brings stuff to the lab, where he tries to give names to specimens, and to elucidate their life cycles, just as Francesca did with her pterobranch. Not easy at all, since most of the knowledge is frozen in outdated monographs, and knowledgeable living beings are rapidly disappearing. Francesca and Valerio are having great fun and spend all their time in studying their beasts; there is nothing else they want to do. The fishermen and the children of the village admire their passion and help them in their studies. The ocean literacy of the people of Tricase Porto is increasing and they come to the Outpost with their observation","PeriodicalId":14615,"journal":{"name":"Italian Journal of Zoology","volume":"86 1","pages":"283 - 284"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76156392","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-07-02DOI: 10.1080/11250003.2016.1212937
E. Mori, F. Mazzetto, M. Menchetti, N. Bodino, E. Grasso, P. Sposimo
ABSTRACT All of the published studies but one about the diet of the Eurasian scops owl Otus scops, a nocturnal raptor of conservation concern, were carried out during the breeding period, just before or immediately after the chicks fledged. The species is a trans-Saharian migrant with few resident populations in Europe. Orthoptera make up the staple of its diet in summer. In this study, we investigated the diet of scops owls on the island of Pianosa after the breeding period through the analysis of pellets. A total of 327 fragments belonging to at least 14 taxa were identified from 56 pellets collected after the breeding period, between late August and March. By frequency, invertebrates constituted 80.00% of the diet, with Coleoptera being the most represented order (62.35% of the total diet) and Orthoptera poorly represented (8.24%). Vertebrates included two bird species, three small mammals and the Moorish gecko. Although the meal-to-pellet interval for scops owls is unknown, we suggest that the bank vole, which is not recorded on any Italian island, and possibly the wild mice, may have been preyed upon in nearby areas, before a migratory movement towards a warm area (e.g. Pianosa) occurred.
{"title":"Feeding ecology of the scops owl, Otus scops (Aves: Strigiformes), in the island of Pianosa (Tuscan Archipelago, Central Italy) outside the breeding period","authors":"E. Mori, F. Mazzetto, M. Menchetti, N. Bodino, E. Grasso, P. Sposimo","doi":"10.1080/11250003.2016.1212937","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2016.1212937","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT All of the published studies but one about the diet of the Eurasian scops owl Otus scops, a nocturnal raptor of conservation concern, were carried out during the breeding period, just before or immediately after the chicks fledged. The species is a trans-Saharian migrant with few resident populations in Europe. Orthoptera make up the staple of its diet in summer. In this study, we investigated the diet of scops owls on the island of Pianosa after the breeding period through the analysis of pellets. A total of 327 fragments belonging to at least 14 taxa were identified from 56 pellets collected after the breeding period, between late August and March. By frequency, invertebrates constituted 80.00% of the diet, with Coleoptera being the most represented order (62.35% of the total diet) and Orthoptera poorly represented (8.24%). Vertebrates included two bird species, three small mammals and the Moorish gecko. Although the meal-to-pellet interval for scops owls is unknown, we suggest that the bank vole, which is not recorded on any Italian island, and possibly the wild mice, may have been preyed upon in nearby areas, before a migratory movement towards a warm area (e.g. Pianosa) occurred.","PeriodicalId":14615,"journal":{"name":"Italian Journal of Zoology","volume":"138 1","pages":"417 - 422"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82609828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2016-07-02DOI: 10.1080/11250003.2016.1211766
A. Zauli, E. Maurizi, G. Carpaneto, S. Chiari, E. Merivee, G. Svensson, A. Di Giulio
Abstract This work provides the first morphological analysis (both at gross and fine level) of the antennal structures in the genus Elater (Coleoptera, Elateridae). The typology, number and distribution patterns of the antennal sensilla in the rare saproxylic Elater ferrugineus (both male and female) were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The serrate antennae of E. ferrugineus consisted of a scape, a pedicel, and nine flattened flagellomeres. Overall, 10 types of sensilla were identified according to their morphological features: one type of sensilla chaetica (Ch), one type of Böhm sensilla (Bo), three types of sensilla trichodea (Tr.1–3), two types of sensilla basiconica (Ba.1–2), one type of sensilla styloconica (St), one type of grooved peg sensilla (Gp) and one type of sensilla campaniformia (Ca). A marked sexual dimorphism was found at both gross and fine scale. The male antenna was bigger (8.6 mm) than the female one (7.0 mm) and carried one type of sensilla trichodea (Tr.2) absent in female antennae possibly responsible for reception of the female-emitted sex pheromone. The female antenna carried a higher number of sensilla (~ 9800) than the male one did (~7,000), with more abundant sensilla chaetica (Ch) and basiconica (Ba.1 and Ba.2).
{"title":"Scanning electron microscopy analysis of the antennal sensilla in the rare saproxylic beetle Elater ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Elateridae)","authors":"A. Zauli, E. Maurizi, G. Carpaneto, S. Chiari, E. Merivee, G. Svensson, A. Di Giulio","doi":"10.1080/11250003.2016.1211766","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/11250003.2016.1211766","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This work provides the first morphological analysis (both at gross and fine level) of the antennal structures in the genus Elater (Coleoptera, Elateridae). The typology, number and distribution patterns of the antennal sensilla in the rare saproxylic Elater ferrugineus (both male and female) were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The serrate antennae of E. ferrugineus consisted of a scape, a pedicel, and nine flattened flagellomeres. Overall, 10 types of sensilla were identified according to their morphological features: one type of sensilla chaetica (Ch), one type of Böhm sensilla (Bo), three types of sensilla trichodea (Tr.1–3), two types of sensilla basiconica (Ba.1–2), one type of sensilla styloconica (St), one type of grooved peg sensilla (Gp) and one type of sensilla campaniformia (Ca). A marked sexual dimorphism was found at both gross and fine scale. The male antenna was bigger (8.6 mm) than the female one (7.0 mm) and carried one type of sensilla trichodea (Tr.2) absent in female antennae possibly responsible for reception of the female-emitted sex pheromone. The female antenna carried a higher number of sensilla (~ 9800) than the male one did (~7,000), with more abundant sensilla chaetica (Ch) and basiconica (Ba.1 and Ba.2).","PeriodicalId":14615,"journal":{"name":"Italian Journal of Zoology","volume":"42 1","pages":"338 - 350"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72779270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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