Endurance and parthood

This is a work in analytic metaphysics, which addresses a cluster of interrelated issues at the interface of mereology and persistence over time. In particular, it outlines a defence of a version of Endurance Theory according to which every enduring object is either a mereological simple or a mere sum of mereological simples. It includes, among other things, a proposal of a new way of framing the debate between Endurance Theory and Four-Dimensionalism, a defence of Endurance Theory over Four-Dimensionalism, arguments against the existence of compound substances, and a defence of a traditional metaphysical atomism according to which all objects are ultimately made up of microscopic simples

Una teoria della modalità senza mondi possibili.

L'obiettivo di questo lavoro è la costruzione di una teoria della modalità capace di ridurre le nozioni modali a nozioni più fondamentali e di spiegare quali caratteri del mondo rendono veri certi truth-bearer modalizzati. Nella prima parte offro una disamina delle teorie corrispondentiste della verità e della teoria dei truth-maker, al termine della quale opto per una versione della concezione realista della verità libera da impegni ontologici particolari. Nella seconda parte discuto le teorie della modalità proposte negli ultimi decenni, mettendone in luce le carenze. Nella terza parte propongo una teoria della modalità basata sull'idea che un truth-bearer è necessariamente vero se e solo se è vero in virtù degli oggetti su cui verte. Nella quarta parte delineo una metafisica tropista che faccia da sfondo alla teoria della modalità proposta. In particolare, sostengo la tesi secondo cui un individuo è identico a un'istanza della sua sorta ultimativa e ne discuto le implicazioni per alcune questioni ontologiche generali riguardanti, ad esempio, la composizione mereologica degli oggetti. Per finire, in appendice discuto alcuni problemi particolari, come le comparazioni transmondane e la supervenienza

Priority monism and essentiality of fundamentality: a reply to Steinberg

Steinberg has recently proposed an argument against Schaffer’s priority monism. The argument assumes the principle of Necessity of Monism, which states that if priority monism is true, then it is necessarily true. In this paper, I argue that Steinberg’s objection can be eluded by giving up Necessity of Monism for an alternative principle, that I call Essentiality of Fundamentality, and that such a principle is to be preferred to Necessity of Monism on other grounds as well

Checklist of macro-invertebrates of the special conservation area “Poggi di prata”(Grosseto, Central Italy) through a citizen-science and expert-based approach

The assessment of species composition in a certain area may become outdated over time due to community dynamics including species range expansion, but also to local extinctions, species introductions and taxonomic redefinition. Therefore, updated checklists are required for animal conservation and management. Exhaustive checklists of invertebrate species may be challenging, as species determination often requires the analysis by specialists, but they are fundamental for local conservation practices. In this work, we provided an annotated preliminary checklist of invertebrates of the Special Conservation Area “Poggi di Prata” (province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany), detected through field samplings with experts, and a permanent Bioblitz set out on an online citizen-science platform (iNaturalist.org). The final dataset (1898-2020) included 329 records of 282 species (217 insects, 34 gastropods, 30 arachnids and 1 chilopod). Most records were uploaded on iNaturalist (about 56.5%), others came from observations or sampling collections (37%) and were determined by specialists. Only the remaining 6.5% of records came from published studies. Three species were protected by the Habitat Directive, 15 by the Tuscan Regional Law. We also detected two endemic or near-endemic taxa of this area: the beetle Paramaurops diecki massetanus and the land snail Marmorana saxetana. The unexpected (Italian southernmost) record of Gaurotes virginea needs to be deepened. Furthermore, 12 alien species, including insects affecting human economy and wellness (e.g., Rhinchophorous ferrugineus, Aedes albopictus, Halyomorpha halys, Dryocosmus kuriphilus and Cydalima perspectalis), were also detected. With our work, we confirmed that citizen-science platforms (e.g. iNaturalist) are valuable tools, complementary to field-work by specialists, to map local biodiversity and they may help to improve biogeographical knowledge

Backdating systematic shell ornament making in Europe to 45,000 years ago.

Personal ornaments are commonly linked to the emergence of symbolic behavior. Although their presence in Africa dates back to the Middle Stone Age, evidence of ornament manufacturing in Eurasia are sporadically observed in Middle Palaeolithic contexts, and until now, large-scale diffusion has been well documented only since the Upper Palaeolithic. Nevertheless, little is known during the period between ca. 50,000 and 40,000 years ago (ka), when modern humans colonized Eurasia replacing existing hominin populations such as the Neandertals, and a variety of “transitional” and/or early Upper Palaeolithic cultures emerged. Here, we present shell ornaments from the Uluzzian site of Grotta del Cavallo in Italy, southern Europe. Our results show evidence of a local production of shell beads for ornamental purposes as well as a trend toward higher homogeneity in tusk bead shape and size over time. The temporal interval of the layers of interest (45–40 ka) makes Cavallo the earliest known shell ornament making context in Europe

BIOBLITZ 2013-2014 OASI DI SAN FELICE

The growing interest in emerging environmental crisis has increased the level of public attention and the willingness to take part in participatory science projects, commonly defined with the term \u201cCitizen Science\u201d. This phenomenon can be recorded globally in many national contexts, with a prevalence in anglophone and more industrialized countries. In the biodiversity sector, the growing demand for public involvement has been declined in many different ways, with solutions aimed at providing cognitive and participatory tools. Among these, one of the best known is the BioBlitz: a 24-hour event held in a specific place with the aim of listing as many living species as possible. This work presents the data collected during the first two BioBlitzes organized by the Maremma Natural History Museum in 2013 and 2014. Both were made in the area of the \u200b\u200b San Felice Oasis, near the terminal part of the San Leopoldo ditch. During the BioBlitz, data collected attested the presence of 627 different taxonomic entities, of which 527 were identified at the level of species and 12 at the level of subspecies. The rest were identified at higher taxonomic levels. Eleven alien species, one endemic species, 33 species protected by national and international laws and / or directives and 13 species at risk of extinction were identified