Fire disturbance disrupts co-occurrence patterns of terrestrial vertebrates in Mediterranean woodlands

This paper uses null model analysis to explore the pattern of species co-occurrence of terrestrial vertebrate fauna in fire-prone, mixed evergreen oak woodlands. Location: The Erico-Quercion ilicis of the Mediterranean belt (50-800 m a.s.l.) in the Madonie mountain range, a regional park in northern Sicily (37°50′ N, 14°05′ E), Italy. Methods: The stratified sampling of vertebrates in a secondary succession of recent burned areas (BA, 1-2 years old), intermediate burned areas (INT, 4-10 years old) and ancient burned areas (CNB, > 50 years old), plus forest fragments left within burned areas (FF, 1-2 years old) permitted the comparison of patterns of species co-occurrence using a set of separate presence/absence matrices. First, the breeding avifauna derived from standardized point counts was analysed using Stone & Roberts'C-score, and by a null model algorithm (fixed/equiprobable). Secondly, the analysis was repeated using all vertebrate species recorded in the succession. Results: Sixty-five species were recorded in the 2-year study period in the four sample treatments. Birds were found to make up the largest component (63%) of the recorded assemblage. The BA treatment had the lowest species richness, followed in order by the small, medium and large FFs, and then by the CNBs. For both analyses (birds and total vertebrates), the C-scores were quite small and not significantly different from those that could be expected by chance in the BA and INT burned areas; this indicates a random co-occurrence among vertebrates of those assemblages. Contrariwise, for both analyses in the CNBs, the C-scores were large and significantly different from the simulated indices, thereby indicating a non-random co-occurrence pattern (segregation) of vertebrates in the undisturbed woodlands. In addition, C-score values for the surviving FFs show a significant aggregation of species. Main conclusions: The null model analyses highlighted a new aspect of fire disturbance in Mediterranean woodland ecosystems: the disruption in patterns of co-occurrence in the terrestrial vertebrate community. Wildfire alters community organization, inducing, for at least 10 years, a random aggregate of species. Communities re-assemble themselves, showing the occurrence of species segregation at least 50 years after fire. © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Great tit (Parus major) breeding in fire-prone oak woods: differential effects of post-fire conditions on reproductive stages

Wildfires negatively affect the overall reproductive success of several woodland avian species, but there is scarce information about which stages of the nesting cycle are specifically affected. We conducted a 3-year study to identify the effects of fire on the reproductive parameters of the great tit (Parus major) and the survival of its nests at different stages of the nesting cycle. We recorded the occupancy rate, clutch and brood size, hatching, fledging and nesting success in nest boxes placed on study plots with different post-fire age. By examining the post-fire succession, we analysed the survival of eggs and nestlings under predation risks. As the forest matured after a wildfire, tits occupied more nest boxes and laid more eggs that suffered less predation than in earlier successional stages. Although the incubation fate improved at each step of succession, the conditions to fully raise nestlings seemed to be suitable only in the oldest woods. Our findings indicate that the population dynamics of a reputed generalist avian species may be affected by fire. Furthermore, the effects of wildfires on stage-specific reproductive parameters show that an avian species that inhabits woodlands regains its full productivity only when its habitat has completely recovered from fire

Exploitation competition between hole-nesters (Muscardinus avellanarius, Mammalia and Parus caeruleus, Aves) in Mediterranean woodlands

Data from a long-term study (1993-2003) using artificial nest-boxes, were analysed to examine competition for nesting between blue tit Parus caeruleus and common dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius in Sicily. Occupation rates and the reproductive biology of the blue tit in sample woodlots outside the distribution area of the common dormouse were used as a control in sample areas where the two species were syntopic. A selection test showed that the two species, when living in syntopy, actively chose the small nest-boxes, thus overlapping in the use of the same spatial resource. The experimental exclusion of the common dormouse from nest-boxes caused an increase of blue tit occupation rate. Once the effect of nest-box density was removed, complementary density changes between the two species clearly appeared. The population cycle of both species in the areas of syntopy showed a swinging pattern, i.e. in areas or during years of common dormouse high abundance few blue tits bred and vice versa. The abundance of the blue tit was affected not only by common dormouse abundance, but also by some habitat and climate variables. Blue tits had low breeding success and a high percentage of nest failure (38% in syntopy vs 3% in control areas), owing to nest destruction and predation by common dormouse, as well as probably also by other rodents (23%) and Martes martes (15%). Another experiment, using stuffed models, showed that the blue tit recognized the common dormouse as an enemy, and behaved as if confronted by a competitor or predator species to protect their nests. © 2005 The Zoological Society of London

Dal mare al museo. Il recupero di uno scheletro di stenella striata, Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen 1833)

In 2021, the Museum of Zoology “P. Doderlein” of the University of Palermo acquired a new specimen, the complete skeleton of Stenella coeruleoalba, a striped dolphin stranded in 2018 in Marinella di Selinunte, Castelvetrano (Sicily, Southern Italy). The project herein described is the result of a collaboration among the Bio-Reconstruction Laboratory of the IAS-CNR of Capo Granitola, the IZS of Palermo, the company Naturaliter and the Museum of Zoology “P. Doderlein”. In Natural History Museums, cetaceans are an excellent tool to facilitate scientific dissemination aimed at the conservation of marine biodiversity. The work herein described is presented as an example of good practices in recovering a cetacean carcass that can otherwise be an expensive waste to manage

Diversità e struttura dell’avifauna in una successione post incendio di bosco meso-mediterraneo

In questo lavoro sono state analizzate la ricchezza specifica, il turn-over e la struttura della comunità di uccelli in una successione secondaria da incendio (Erico-Quercion ilicis) nel Parco Regionale delle Madonie (Sicilia). Nelle primavere del 2002 e 2003 sono stati effettuati censimenti mediante punti d’ascolto in 6 aree campione di 100 ha bruciate tra il 1993 e il 2001, e in 4 settori di controllo situati in boschi non percorsi dal fuoco rispettivamente da 25 e 50 anni. Nella serie post incendio sono state censite complessivamente 33 specie di uccelli. La ricchezza specifica aumentava bruscamente nei primi 10 anni e raggiungeva un plateau 25-30 anni dopo l’incendio, mentre il turn-over delle specie diminuiva con il procedere della successione temporale. Nei primi stadi della successione, il turn-over dipendeva sostanzialmente dalla ricolonizzazione da parte delle specie tipiche della macchia in rigenerazione. Le comunità di uccelli presenti nei diversi stadi della successione non costituivano aggregati casuali, ma ognuna era annidata nella successiva: tutti gli stadi della successione ospitavano cioè un sottoinsieme omogeneo ed ordinato di specie che aveva la sua espressione più completa nello stadio vegetazionale più evoluto. In conclusione, questo studio dimostra che gran parte delle specie nidificanti nelle formazioni boschive meso-mediterranee possiede un elevato grado di resilienza e resistenza all’incendio e che sono necessari almeno 25 anni per ristabilire le condizioni tipiche dell’habitat non disturbato

Carnosinases, Their Substrates and Diseases

Carnosinases are Xaa-His dipeptidases that play diverse functions throughout all kingdoms of life. Human isoforms of carnosinase (CN1 and CN2) under appropriate conditions catalyze the hydrolysis of the dipeptides carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) and homocarnosine (γ-aminobutyryl-L-histidine). Alterations of serum carnosinase (CN1) activity has been associated with several pathological conditions, such as neurological disorders, chronic diseases and cancer. For this reason the use of carnosinase levels as a biomarker in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been questioned. The hydrolysis of imidazole-related dipeptides in prokaryotes and eukaryotes is also catalyzed by aminoacyl-histidine dipeptidases like PepD (EC 3.4.13.3), PepV (EC 3.4.13.19) and anserinase (EC 3.4.13.5). The review deals with the structure and function of this class of enzymes in physiological and pathological conditions. The main substrates of these enzymes, i.e., carnosine, homocarnosine and anserine (β-alanyl-3-methyl-L-histidine) will also be described