“LA BECCACCIA IN ITALIA: APPROFONDIMENTI SUL RUOLO DELL’ITALIA NELLA STRATEGIA MIGRATORIA E DI SVERNAMENTO PER LA SPECIE”

La presente ricerca ha lo scopo di apportare nuovi dati della fenologia delle popolazioni di beccaccia che sostano durante i mesi invernali in Italia o che utilizzano la nostra penisola come area di migrazione e di sosta per raggiungere altri paesi.Fonte principale delle analisi è il database nazionale di inanellamento delle catture e ricatture della specie messo a disposizione dal Centro Nazionale di Inanellamento (ISPRA). Lo studio degli individui catturati, marcati con anello alfanumerico unico e rilasciati, dopo aver raccolto importanti dati biometrici, permette di ottenere informazioni della fenologia della specie sul territorio italiano nei mesi post-riproduttivi; di studiare i trend delle popolazioni per un lungo arco di tempo (1950-2012) e di analizzare importanti fattori demografici (sex-ratio/age ratio); le ricatture di individui permettono di tracciare gli spostamenti, di delineare le probabili rotte di migrazione (flyways) e di identificare le area di nidificazione e origine delle popolazioni che svernano in Italia. In sinergia con i dati di inanellamento è stata utilizzata la radiotelemetria satellitare per approfondire alcuni aspetti specifici delle tempistiche con cui la specie affronta il ritorno verso i quartieri di riproduzione. Tre approfondimenti che si discostano leggermente dal tema centrale di questo lavoro hanno meritato una particolare attenzione visto le scarse informazioni per la specie: l’identificazione di variabili morfologiche per il riconoscimento del sesso in individui catturati durante l’ inanellamento ; approfondimento sull'alimentazione in inverno; il problema dell'avvelenamento da piombo o saturnismo nella specie e l’impatto che questo potrebbe avere sia sulla popolazione di beccaccia sia su quella dei consumatori abituali di questo limicolo come fonte di alimentazione ; il ruolo ecologico della specie per il trasporto di lieviti alimentari

Lead ammunition residues in the meat of hunted woodcock: a potential health risk to consumers

Wild meat often retains metallic particles originating from the ammunition fired by hunters. Since ammunition are traditionally lead (Pb)-based, the consumption of game meat may entail the ingestion of Pb embedded in tissues. To assess the related risks to human health, information is needed on the number, dimension and spatial distribution of Pb particles embedded in popular quarry species. In this study, we focused on the Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), a medium-sized bird intensively hunted across its range. We X-rayed 59 carcasses of woodcock shot by Italian hunters in Ukraine. To check the ammunition types and evaluate the mean weight of the embedded gunshot, we excised a sample of 62 whole pellets from 20 birds. Ammunition residues were found in 57 of the 59 woodcock (96.6%). Radiographs revealed 215 whole pellets and 125 fragmentation centres in 51 (mean = 3.64) and in 48 birds (mean = 2.14), respectively. Most fragmentation centres (75.7%) contained tiny particles (<1 mm). The overall estimated Pb load ranged from 45 to 52 mg/100 g wet weight, most of which (84.6%) in edible parts. The number of embedded pellets per unit of body mass (1.21/100 g of body weight) was higher in comparison with other bird species and also with woodcock shot in the UK, presumably owing to the hunting methods adopted by Italian hunters. The quantity and characteristics of ammunition residues we found suggest that game meat consumers are exposed to a relevant Pb assumption

One hundred and fifty years of ornithology in Sicily, with an unknown manuscript by Joseph Whitaker

A new complete check-list of Birds of Sicily is presented in this paper, with a comparison with previous lists for a period of one hundred and fifty years. Further, an unknown manuscript by Joseph Whitaker “Birds of Sicily”, dated back to ca. 1920, has been transcribed and is here presented integrally. Thus, lists of birds here presented have been separated as follows: i) Doderlein (1869–1874); ii) Whitaker (1920); iii) Iapichino &amp; Massa (1989), Lo Valvo et al. (1993) iv) Corso (2005), Ientile &amp; Massa (2008); v) 2010–2020: Massa et al. (2015) and personal observations; vi) long-term trend: personal observations. Overall, 437 species are listed. Out of 283 species regularly present in Sicily, over the long period here considered of one hundred and fifty years, 75 (26.5) resulted to maintain stable populations, 35 (12.4%) resulted increasing, 12 (4.2%) very increasing, 75 (26.5%) with declining populations, 34 (12%) with very declining populations and 11 (3.9%) became extinct. Further, 41 species (14.5%) showed a population trend different from the previous ones, that we classified as fluctuating. We discuss about seventy representatives of the previous categories

A review of constraints and solutions for collecting raptor samples and contextual data for a European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility

The COST Action ‘European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility’ (ERBFacility) aims to develop pan-European raptor biomonitoring in support of better chemicals management in Europe, using raptors as sentinel species. This presents a significant challenge involving a range of constraints that must be identified and addressed. The aims of this study were to: (1) carry out a comprehensive review of the constraints that may limit the gathering in the field of raptor samples and contextual data, and assess their relative importance across Europe; and (2) identify and discuss possible solutions to the key constraints that were identified. We applied a participatory approach to identify constraints and to discuss feasible solutions. Thirty-one constraints were identified, which were divided into four categories: legal, methodological, spatial coverage, and skills constraints. To assess the importance of the constraints and their possible solutions, we collected information through scientific workshops and by distributing a questionnaire to stakeholders in all the countries involved in ERBFacility. We obtained 74 answers to the questionnaire, from 24 of the 39 COST participating countries. The most important constraints identified were related to the collection of complex contextual data about sources of contamination, and the low number of existing raptor population national/regional monitoring schemes and ecological studies that could provide raptor samples. Legal constraints, such as permits to allow the collection of invasive samples, and skills constraints, such as the lack of expertise to practice necropsies, were also highlighted. Here, we present solutions for all the constraints identified, thus suggesting the feasibility of establishing a long-term European Raptor Sampling Programme as a key element of the planned European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility.This paper is based on work from COST Action European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility (COST Action CA16224) supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology), including a grant for a short-term scientific mission awarded to the lead author. COST is funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union. Silvia Espín was financially supported by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación postdoctoral contract, IJCI-2017-34653).Peer reviewe

A review of constraints and solutions for collecting raptor samples and contextual data for a European raptor biomonitoring facility

The COST Action ‘European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility’ (ERBFacility) aims to develop pan-European raptor biomonitoring in support of better chemicals management in Europe, using raptors as sentinel species. This presents a significant challenge involving a range of constraints that must be identified and addressed. The aims of this study were to: (1) carry out a comprehensive review of the constraints that may limit the gathering in the field of raptor samples and contextual data, and assess their relative importance across Europe; and (2) identify and discuss possible solutions to the key constraints that were identified. We applied a participatory approach to identify constraints and to discuss feasible solutions. Thirty-one constraints were identified, which were divided into four categories: legal, methodological, spatial coverage, and skills constraints. To assess the importance of the constraints and their possible solutions, we collected information through scientific workshops and by distributing a questionnaire to stakeholders in all the countries involved in ERBFacility. We obtained 74 answers to the questionnaire, from 24 of the 39 COST participating countries. The most important constraints identified were related to the collection of complex contextual data about sources of contamination, and the low number of existing raptor population national/regional monitoring schemes and ecological studies that could provide raptor samples. Legal constraints, such as permits to allow the collection of invasive samples, and skills constraints, such as the lack of expertise to practice necropsies, were also highlighted. Here, we present solutions for all the constraints identified, thus suggesting the feasibility of establishing a long-term European Raptor Sampling Programme as a key element of the planned European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility

Tracking data highlight the importance of human-induced mortality for large migratory birds at a flyway scale

Human-induced direct mortality affects huge numbers of birds each year, threatening hundreds of species worldwide. Tracking technologies can be an important tool to investigate temporal and spatial patterns of bird mortality as well as their drivers. We compiled 1704 mortality records from tracking studies across the African-Eurasian flyway for 45 species, including raptors, storks, and cranes, covering the period from 2003 to 2021. Our results show a higher frequency of human-induced causes of mortality than natural causes across taxonomic groups, geographical areas, and age classes. Moreover, we found that the frequency of human-induced mortality remained stable over the study period. From the human-induced mortality events with a known cause (n = 637), three main causes were identified: electrocution (40.5 %), illegal killing (21.7 %), and poisoning (16.3 %). Additionally, combined energy infrastructure-related mortality (i.e., electrocution, power line collision, and wind-farm collision) represented 49 % of all human-induced mortality events. Using a random forest model, the main predictors of human-induced mortality were found to be taxonomic group, geographic location (latitude and longitude), and human footprint index value at the location of mortality. Despite conservation efforts, human drivers of bird mortality in the African-Eurasian flyway do not appear to have declined over the last 15 years for the studied group of species. Results suggest that stronger conservation actions to address these threats across the flyway can reduce their impacts on species. In particular, projected future development of energy infrastructure is a representative example where application of planning, operation, and mitigation measures can enhance bird conservation

Preliminary data on Montagu’s Harrier, Circus pygargus, population in Lazio

From 2003 to 2007, we monitored a Montagu’s Harrier population in Central Italy (Lazio). We studied the trend of this population to evaluate the decreasing productivity affecting these small colonies. We found that in this area the dependence to nest in cereal crops exposed the species to the threat of harvesting activity. We undertook a conservation plan purchasing part of the crops where the nests were located to allow the survival of nestlings