Long-term monitoring for the surveillance of the conservation status of Tursiops truncatus in an EU Natura2000 site in the Mediterranean Sea. A pilot study in the Tuscan Archipelago

A pilot study, using the dataset from the research network ‘FLT Med Net’, which regularly monitors transborder regions in the Mediterranean Sea using ferries as platform for systematic surveys, was undertaken to assess common bottlenose dolphin range and population trends within the Natura 2000 EU marine site “Tutela del Tursiops truncatus”. The site was recently designated by the Tuscany Region (Italy) within the requirement of the EU Habitats Directive. In order to evaluate the conservation status of bottlenose dolphin according to the surveillance scheme of the Directive, two six-year periods (2007-2012; 2013-2018) were compared to assess trends in distribution-occurrence (range); Sightings Per Unit of Effort and Density (population). In total, 18146 NM were surveyed along two fixed transects, recording 90 sightings of Tursiops truncatus and a total of 268 specimens. Between the two periods, slight but not statistically significant differences were assessed, with decreasing trend in range and population  of the species; no variation was detected in mean group sizes. Travelling was the most common behaviour, and juveniles were present in 20% of the sightings, concentrated during spring and summer. The consistent FLT Med Net dataset was found to be appropriate to evaluate important parameters for the assessment of trends in the conservation status of Tursiops truncatus at the Natura2000 site scale.

Maturation signatures of conventional dendritic cell subtypes in COVID‐19 suggest direct viral sensing

Growing evidence suggests that conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) undergo aberrant maturation in COVID-19, which negatively affects T-cell activation. The presence of effector T cells in patients with mild disease and dysfunctional T cells in severely ill patients suggests that adequate T-cell responses limit disease severity. Understanding how cDCs cope with SARS-CoV-2 can help elucidate how protective immune responses are generated. Here, we report that cDC2 subtypes exhibit similar infection-induced gene signatures, with the upregulation of interferon-stimulated genes and interleukin (IL)-6 signaling pathways. Furthermore, comparison of cDCs between patients with severe and mild disease showed severely ill patients to exhibit profound downregulation of genes encoding molecules involved in antigen presentation, such as MHCII, TAP, and costimulatory proteins, whereas we observed the opposite for proinflammatory molecules, such as complement and coagulation factors. Thus, as disease severity increases, cDC2s exhibit enhanced inflammatory properties and lose antigen presentation capacity. Moreover, DC3s showed upregulation of anti-apoptotic genes and accumulated during infection. Direct exposure of cDC2s to the virus in vitro recapitulated the activation profile observed in vivo. Our findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 interacts directly with cDC2s and implements an efficient immune escape mechanism that correlates with disease severity by downregulating crucial molecules required for T-cell activation

Author Correction: Floating macrolitter leaked from Europe into the ocean (Nature Sustainability, (2021), 4, 6, (474-483), 10.1038/s41893-021-00722-6)

During the preparation of the Supplementary Data spreadsheet “S. Data 3_Regression data,” the mean and median confidence intervals (CI) of FML (items yr−1) were misplaced in relation to their corresponding river names. The Supplementary Data file has now been updated in the HTML version of the article. This update does not alter the results or conclusions of this article.Correction to: Nature Sustainability https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00722-6, published online 10 June 2021. During the preparation of the Supplementary Data spreadsheet “S. Data 3_Regression data,” the mean and median confidence intervals (CI) of FML (items yr−1) were misplaced in relation to their corresponding river names. The Supplementary Data file has now been updated in the HTML version of the article. This update does not alter the results or conclusions of this article.Peer reviewe

Floating macro litter in European rivers - top items

The JRC exploratory project RIMMEL provides information about litter, mainly plastic waste, entering the European Seas through river systems. RIMMEL has collected data on riverine floating macro litter inputs to the sea. Data acquisition was based on the Riverine Litter Observation Network (RiLON) activities, which collected data from rivers in the European marine basins over a period of one year (September 2016 – September 2017). Data was collected by visual observations and documented with the JRC Floating Litter Monitoring Application for mobile devices, allowing a harmonized reporting, compatible with the MSFD Master List of Categories for Litter Items. This report includes the Top Items lists of riverine floating macro litter, based on the total amount of litter items identified during RiLON activities and ranked by abundance. Top Items lists have been elaborated considering the whole database for the European Seas and further detailed for each individual European regional sea: Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and North-East Atlantic. The North-East Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea regions showed similar litter categories in their Top 20 Items. These two regions provided most of the available data, influencing the general Top Items list. In the Black Sea and Baltic Sea regions, where data availability was limited, the Top Items lists showed more differences among the different regions. Overall, the general Top Items list for the European Seas showed a predominance of plastic item categories (artificial polymer materials). As a whole, plastic items made up to 80.8% of all objects, with plastic and polystyrene fragments comprising 45% of the identified items in the database. Additionally, Single Use Plastics such as bottles, cover/packaging and bags were also ranked among the most frequently found floating litter. The similarities in the Top 10 and Top 20 items for the different regions, and the appearance of Single Use Plastics scoring high in the ranking, support the need for common actions against plastic pollution at EU level.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource

Recruitment of Banksia spp. in an anthropogenically disturbed mediterranean climate type woodland in Western Australia

Introduction Banksia woodland is the characteristic mediterranean type vegetation of the sand plains of the Swan Coastal Plain in the Perth region of Western Australia. Once extensive in the past the woodlands are nowadays severely fragmented and threatened by a variety of perturbations including weeds, fire and seed predation. Conservation and management of the woodlands depends very much upon the knowledge of past land use, type of original vegetation, frequency and magnitude of significant disturbances and surrounding land-use. The results of a long-term study in the Kings Park bushland, comparing vegetation differences between the 1939 and 1999, showed that there have been substantial changes in the composition and structure of the woodland. In term of tree species, the most significant trends have been a decrease in Banksia spp. Aim The research reported in this thesis aims for an understanding of the features and different stages of Banksia spp. recruitment in an environment such as the Kings Park bushland urban remnant. The final objective of this study is to assess if recruitment of Banksia spp. is affected by the perturbations mentioned above, ultimately influencing bushland conservation. Materials &Methods The study was conducted both in urban bushland and in suburban areas in the Perth region. Several of the experiments and investigations on some specific stages of recruitment also included other species dominant in the bushland. The stages of recruitment investigated are: seed production and dispersal, seed germination and seedling establishment, seed predation. Results In the Perth region B. attenuata and B. menziesii have a small degree of serotiny, the two species release seeds at different times of the year - B. attenuata from Summer to Autumn and B. menziesii from Spring to Summer. In post- fire conditions seed release is more synchronised than for unburned trees but the amount of seed released depends on the timing of the fire. Fires in early Summer lead to mass release of B. menziesii seeds and destruction of immature seeds of B. attenuata. Later fires destroy B. menziesii seed that has been shed on to the soil but synchronises release of B. attenuata seed. Of the investigated locations Kings Park, and Ridge State Forest, have higher level of pre-dispersal seed predation compared to other locations. The post-dispersal surveys and experiment, both in inter-fire and post-fire environment show that in Kings Park in Winter, approximately 75% of the banksia seeds were consumed. Moreover, Banksia seed predation is not related to the density of seeds. Presence of leaf litter, weeds and plant material in the experimental unit reduced predation values. Most of the germination occurred on sandy soil, while presence of weeds and of a thick layer of leaf litter reduced germination numbers for the Banksia species. In post-fire conditions seedlings are also associated with “burn residuals” (accumulation of burned litter and ash). Most of the seeds that were sown in the soil and had germinated died. Conclusion This project confirmed and quantified the decrease of banksia individuals (which until now was only assumed) over time and lack of their recruitment. Seed predation, both before and after seed release greatly affects banksia seed availability in Kings Park. Furthermore unfavourable sites for germination such as a thick layer of leaf litter and weeds are a great obstacle for establishment of large seeded species such as Banksia. Other dominant species, such as Allocasuarina fraseriana, Acacia saligna and Dryandra sessilis1 on the contrary do not seem to reduce their recruitment potential as predation (or removal) is not conspicuous and the various substrata do not reduce the ratio between the number of germinants and seedlings that survive. In order to boost banksia recruitment a number of management actions could be taken. In particular weeds and thick layers of leaf litter must be removed and a sandy soil substratum should be arranged especially in the areas where, even in the presence of banksia trees, the number of seedlings is low. Predation must be reduced, in particular through removal of pests

Dalla “conservation introduction” al rafforzamento della popolazione (il caso di Cyperus polystachyus Rottb.)

Cyperus polystachyus Rottb. è una specie rara e gravemente minacciata di estinzione; in Europa è segnalata unicamente ad Ischia e nel Lazio a Tor Caldara (TC) a sud di Roma. Le liste rosse nazionali e regionali per il Lazio (1997), attribuiscono alla specie lo status CR (gravemente minacciata). La specie è considerata un relitto termofilo e in entrambe le località le popolazioni sembrerebbero in declino. Fin dal 1700 le aree umide intorno ai due siti sono state bonificate e questo ha ridotto l’areale di rinnovazione della specie. Nel 2008 il germoplasma dal sito di TC (dove la specie ha un comportamento annuale) è stato traslocato all’interno dell’Area Protetta di Decima-Malafede (RM) a seguito di un progetto congiunto tra l’Orto Botanico di Roma, ISPRA e RomaNatura. Il nuovo sito, all’interno dell’areale naturale di dispersione, è stato scelto non solo per le sue caratteristiche ecologiche, ma anche perché costituisce una barriera ecologica contro l’improbabile espansione della popolazione traslocata (una piccola area umida all’interno di un bosco a sua volta circondato da coltivi). A due anni dalla traslocazione le piante hanno auto-prodotto la terza generazione di semi vitali. Nel 2007 la stazione più consistente della popolazione originaria di TC ha subito un depauperamento (pari al 70%, misurato attraverso la banca semi del suolo) a causa di una captazione idrica e relativo prosciugamento estivo dello stagno intorno al quale la specie si riproduceva. Per questo motivo, nel 2010, plantule originate dai semi raccolti dalla popolazione traslocata, sono state piantate nel sito originale di TC, rafforzando così la popolazione originaria. Di contro, per l’assenza di un impegno di lungo termine per il suo mantenimento all’interno dell’Area Protetta, la stazione traslocata si è impoverita rispetto agli anni passati

Cyperus polystachyus Rottb.

scheda descrittiva di Cyperus polystachyus Rottb., una specie a rischio estinzion

Cyperus polystachyus Rottb., salvaguardia e strategie di conservazione del germoplasma di una specie “gravemente minacciata”.

POSTE

Landscape Diversity as a Screening Tool to Assess Agroecosystems Sustainability; Preliminary Study in Central Italy

Modernization of agricultural activities has strongly modified agricultural landscapes. Intensive agriculture, with the increased use of inorganic fertiliser and density of livestock, affects water quality discharging nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in water bodies. Nutrients in rivers, subsequently, are excellent indicators to assess sustainability/ land-use intensity in agroecosystems. Landscape, however, is a dynamic system and is the product of interaction amongst the natural environment and human activities, including farming which is a main driving force. At present not much has been investigated on the predictive role of landscape on land-use intensity. Aim of this study is to determine if, in Italian agroecosystem, landscape complexity can be related to land-use intensity. Indexes of landscape complexity (i.e. edge density, number of patches, Shannon’s diversity index, Interspersion-Juxtaposition index) derived by processing Corine Land Cover data (level IV, 1:25.000) of Lazio Region, were related with landuse intensity (values of compounds of nitrogen and phosphorus and other parameters found in rivers monitored in accordance to European Directives on Waste Water). Results demonstrate that some landscape indexes were related to some environment parameters. Consequently landscape complexity, with further investigation, could be an efficient screening tool, at large scale, to assess water quality and ultimately agroecosystems sustainability in the absence of monitoring stations

LO STUDIO DELLA BANCA SEMI DEL SUOLO, PER LA CONSERVAZIONE INTEGRATA DI SPECIE RARE: UN CASO SPERIMENTALE

La banca semi del suolo è una delle componenti biotiche contenute all’interno del suolo, il suo ruolo e la sua funzionalità sono fondamentali per il rinnovamento delle specie. L’analisi della capacità e del valore della banca semi del suolo è fondamentale per la conservazione delle specie rare.Cyperus polystachyus Rottb. è una specie CR (liste rosse di Conti et al., 1997) presente in Europa solo in due siti, ad Ischia e nella riserva di Tor Caldara (Rm). In quest’ultimo sito la stazione più popolata ha subito uno sconvolgimento ecologico causato da un sbilanciamento idrico a carico di un “laghetto” una volta perenne ora diventato temporaneo. Dall’analisi del numero di semi conservati nel suolo è emerso che a seguito del prosciugamento estivo del “laghetto” la quantità di semi si è ridotta di più dell’ 80%. Considerato il comportamento annuale della pianta e la forma transitoria di stoccaggio nel suolo di semi si è ritenuto opportuno realizzare un rafforzamento sperimentale della popolazione. In un’area del laghetto dove non sono mai stati rilevati individui di questa specie è stata realizzata una reintroduzione, attraverso la piantumazione di plantule di C. polystachyus e l’apporto di semi alla banca del suolo. La prima dispersione della nuova generazione di semi è avvenuta con successo. Questo risultato, però, potrebbe essere stocastico e la realizzazione di un impianto di reintroduzione permanente è necessario per la futura conservazione della specie