Tapinoma nigerrimum as safeguard for Italian myrmecofauna against Argentine ant

Asthma is the most common chronic disease in pediatrics.Most data on the prevalence of childhood allergic diseasescome from the International Study of Asthma and Allergiesin Childhood (ISAAC) phase II held in 1995 and phase III from2002. ISAAC created a methodology for studying two agegroups 6---7 and 13---14 years old.1In 2002, according to thedata gathered in the phase III of ISAAC, the prevalence ofasthma among Portuguese children from 6 to 7 years old was9.4%, 29.1% for rhinitis and 28.1% for wheezing.2In the last decade, little information on the prevalenceof childhood asthma and rhinitis in Portugal has been docu-mented, and to the best of our knowledge, none in Coimbra.In 2002, 5 centers from 5 Portuguese cities joined the ISAACproject: Lisbon, Oporto, Coimbra, Portimão and Funchal.The Coimbra research center only studied 13---14 years oldadolescents.2The district of Coimbra, with a total area of 3974 km2,is located in central Portugal and has 434,311 inhabitants.Coimbra is the biggest city in the central region, and the 6thlargest in Portugal

The implementation of the European Landscape Convention in Spain and Italy: a critical analysis of Andalusian and Tuscan case studies

El proceso de desarrollo y aprobación del Convenio Europeo del Paisaje ha incrementado el interés en la cuestión paisajística, introduciendo nuevos conceptos que han influido, entre otras cuestiones, en la planificación y el proyecto del territorio. En este escenario es fundamental la cuestión de los instrumentos innovadores de carácter multisectorial e integrado para la práctica de un enfoque holístico en la planificación del territorio, y en particular de los espacios abiertos. Desde este punto de vista, este artículo trata de indagar en las posibilidades que puede ofrecer la planificación en materia de paisaje, con referencias al contexto toscano y andaluz.The European Landscape Convention development and approval process has been followed by an increasing interest on landscape, introducing new concepts that have influenced, among other topics, the ones of spatial planning and territory project. In this scenario, the development of innovative tools based on multisectoral qualities and integrated views is an important task that needs to be developed in order to practice a holistic focus in spatial planning, and particularly in the planning of open spaces. According to this, the present research inquires into the possibilities that planning may offer in the landscape framework, referring specially to Tuscan and Andalusian contexts

La aplicación del Convenio Europeo del Paisaje en España e Italia: Un análisis crítico de los casos andaluz y toscano.

The European Landscape Convention development and approval process has been followed by an increasing interest on landscape, introducing new concepts that have influenced, among other topics, the ones of spatial planning and territory project.In this scenario, the development of innovative tools based on multisectoral qualities and integrated views is an important task that needs to be developed in order to practice a holistic focus in spatial planning, and particularly in the planning of open spaces.According to this, the present research inquires into the possibilities that planning may offer in the landscape framework, referring specially to Tuscan and Andalusian contexts.El proceso de desarrollo y aprobación del Convenio Europeo del Paisaje ha incrementado el interés en la cuestión paisajística, introduciendo nuevos conceptos que han influido, entre otras cuestiones, en la planificación y el proyecto del territorio.En este escenario es fundamental la cuestión de los instrumentos innovadores de carácter multisectorial e integrado para la práctica de un enfoque holístico en la planificación del territorio, y en particular de los espacios abiertos.Desde este punto de vista, este artículo trata de indagar en las posibilidades que puede ofrecer la planificación en materia de paisaje, con referencias al contexto toscano y andaluz

La Fattoria Medicea di Cascine di Tavola a Prato

The Medici’s Farm of Cascine di Tavola, commissioned by Lorenzo Il Magnifico in 1477, and the set of agro-environmental areas functional to it, have over time been configured as an extraordinary unitary system of agro-environmental and cultural-landscape value and of exemplary relevance as a model of co-evolutionary man-nature management of the territory. Starting from this legacy – and also from the improper management and interventions of which it was subject in the second half of the nineteenth century – the research seeks to retain the genealogy and identity of this heritage, identifying, both in terms of analysis and design scenario, the conditions for a realistic process of regeneration not only of the cultural heritage that characterizes it but also of its territorial “framing” function and as a tool for “socio-ecological” innovation and sustainable local planning and development

L’analyse de la structure de communauté à l’aide de modèles nuls révèle que la qualité de la parcelle influence la conservation de peuplements aviens complexes dans les habitats méditerranéens

The bird communities of the Presidential Estate of Castelporziano (Rome, Italy) were studied to determine their structure in a set of different natural habitats. This study area presents a complex ecosystem, formed by a mosaic of different habitats and their ecotones, having a high biodiversity level. Wetlands housed the highest number of bird species followed by oak forests. Bird communities of Castelporziano are characterized by high degrees of richness and complexity. Null model analyses revealed that the bird community was not randomly organized by Randomization Algorithm 2 (thus denoting that the generalist-specialist nature of the species reduced ecological similarity) nor by Randomization Algorithm 3 and Randomization Algorithm 4 (thus denoting that the types of resources utilized did not reduce ecological similarity). Based on this study, we will not only focus on conservation levels of single habitats for Mediterranean birds, but also modify the classical approach of ‘fragmentation biology’ with a new approach where the natural quality of all patches is evaluated with appropriate statistical toolsLes peuplements aviens de l'État Présidentiel de Castelporziano (Rome, Italie) ont été étudiés afin de déterminer leur structure dans une série de divers habitats naturels. La zone d'étude se présente comme un écosystème complexe, formé par une mosaïque d'habitats différents et de leurs écotones, possédant un haut niveau de biodiversité. Les zones humides hébergent le plus grand nombre d'espèces d'oiseaux, suivies par les forêts de chênes. Les peuplements aviens de Castelporziano sont caractérisés par de hauts degrés de richesse et de complexité. Les analyses par modèles nuls ont montré que la communauté avienne n'est pas organisée au hasard et ceci tant par l'algorithme de randomisation 2 (dénotant ainsi la nature généraliste-spécialiste de la similarité écologique réduite des espèces) que par les algorithmes de randomisation 3 et 4 (dénotant ainsi que les types de ressources utilisées ne réduisent pas la similarité écologique). Sur la base de cette étude nous insistons non seulement sur les niveaux de conservation des habitats isolés pour les oiseaux méditerranéens mais nous modifions également l'approche classique de la "biologie de la fragmentation" en une nouvelle approche où la qualité naturelle des parcelles est évaluée à l'aide d'outils statistiques appropriés

A new exception to the dominance-discovery trade-off rule in ant communities

Interspecific competition is one of the main factor shaping ant community structure. The “dominance-discovery trade-off’’, an inverse relationship between interference and exploitative competitive ability, is thought to be a fundamental mechanism facilitating coexistence of ants. Despite its widely acceptance in literature, this trade-off appears to be broken in several cases and needs further investigations. Thus, the aim of the present study was to detect the presence/absence of the dominance-discovery trade-off in Mediterranean ant communities. Samplings were conducted inside the Presidential Estate of Castelporziano (Rome, Italy) and seven sampling sites were selected according to their vegetation structure. In each site, baiting was conducted to assess two behavioural indices for each species: the monopolization index and the discovery ability index. Correlation analyses showed no evidence for the existence of a dominance-discovery trade-off. Furthermore, a positive correlation between the two indices was detected in some of the sampling sites. The dominance-discovery trade-off seems therefore to be just one of the possible mechanisms facilitating species coexistence in ant communities