Primi risultati di un censimento di pipistrelli mediante catture notturne in Sardegna

The preliminary results of a study of non-troglophilous Sardinian bats, carried out after nocturnal capture with mist-nets, along the course of the rivers, are reported here. The paper describes the method of capture in 25 different places and reviews the 8 species of non troglophilous bats caught

Il controllo delle zanzare malarigene dai pipistrellai alle bat-box

The control of the malarial mosquitoes using Bat-Bo

A New species of long-eared bat (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from Sardinia (Italy)

We describe a new species of long eared bat, genus Plecotus, from the island of Sardinia (Italy). The new species is clearly distinguishable from other European Plecotus species by its mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene (4.1–9.6 % sequence divergence) as well as by a unique combination of morphological characters such as brownish colour of dorsal pelage, a relatively large thumb and thumb claw, an almost cylindrical form of the penis and the characteristic shape of the baculum. The most important morphological diagnostic characters is a relatively long (≥18mm) and wide (≥6mm) tragus. The new species is currently known from three localities on Sardinia. In addition to the new species we discovered a lineage of P. auritus, which is substantially differentiated from continental P. auritus at subspecific level (1.2–2.7 % of sequence divergence of the 16S rRNA gene). The existence of these two endemic bat taxa on Sardinia highlights the island’s importance in the conservation of the European bat community

Primi dati sui pipistrelli dell'area mineraria Montevecchio-Ingurtosu (Guspini-Arbus, Sardegna Sud-Occidentale)

A study in the mining area of Montevecchio-Ingurtosu, in territory of Guspini and Arbus (South western Sardinia), found 8 species of bats were present: Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Myotis myotis, Myotis capaccinii, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Pipistrellus kuhlii, Hypsugo savii, Tadarida teniotis, 17 roosts were localized, 11 in subterranean cavities and 6 in building

Indagine biometrica sul “grande <i>Myotis</i>” (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) della Grotta Sa Rocca Ulari (Borutta) e di altre località della Sardegna

Vengono sottoposti ad analisi biometrica numerosi esemplari di "grande Myotis" della Grotta Sa Rocca Ulari (Borutta) e di altre località della Sardegna. I dati vengono confrontati con quelli di Myotis myotis e Myotis blythii di altre località italiane. I risultati consentono di escludere la presenza in Sardegna di Myotis blythii e indicano una maggiore affinità delle popolazioni sarde a Myotis myotis, con una leggera differenziazione che potrebbe confermare la similitudine con la specie del nord Africa ipotizzata in altri studi recenti

Molecular Identification of Italian Mouse-eared Bats (genus Myotis)

Despite the fact that the genus Myotis (Mouse-Eared bats) is one of the most investigated microchiropteran groups, recent molecular studies highlighted the presence of several cryptic species with substantial implications for ecological and conservation issues. Our dataset includes 55 coxI sequences from 11 morphologically-identified Italian Mouse-Eared bats species. We applied an integrated approach comparing data from a traditional morphological identification and molecular variability in a fragment of the mitochondrial coxI gene (DNA barcoding). Our results clearly show a strong coherence between the two identification approaches for almost all of the examined species, and revealed interesting patterns of intraspecific variability within the species M. nattereri. Finally, we successfully tested the efficacy of our identification method on undetermined individuals sampled in the field

Miniere e pipistrelli in Sardegna

Attualmente sono note in Sardegna 89 cavità minerarie che ospitano pipistrelli nel loro interno; esse costituiscono il 27 % di tutte le cavità sotterranee studiate. Le specie di pipistrelli sino ad oggi segnalate in miniera o grotte di miniera sono 8: Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Rhinolophus mehelyi, Rhinolophus euryale, Myotis myotis, Myotis capaccinii, Myotis emarginatus, Miniopterus schreibersii. Di queste, le specie più frequentemente riscontrate sono il Rhinolophus ferrumequinum e il Rhinolophus hipposideros. Particolarmente importanti risultano essere 9 miniere perché nel loro interno ospitano colonie nursery, cioè di riproduzione, ubicate prevalentemente nella provincia di Cagliari. Si esaminano le problematiche di chiusura delle miniere dismesse e di tutela dei pipistrelli

Modélisation des transformations pour l'évolution de modèles multidimensionnels

La modélisation et l'entreposage des données ont constitué, depuis plus d'une décennie, une problématique de recherche pour laquelle différentes approches ont été proposées. Ces approches se focalisent sur des aspects statiques de l'entrepôt de données. Or, l'évolution du système d'information qui alimente un entrepôt peut avoir un impact sur ce dernier et peut conduire, par conséquent, à l'évolution de son modèle multidimensionnel. Dans ce contexte évolutif, nous proposons une démarche dirigée par les modèles pour automatiser la propagation de l'évolution du modèle de la source de données relationnelle vers l'entrepôt. Cette démarche est fondée sur deux modèles d'évolution ainsi qu'un ensemble de règles de transformation formalisées en Query/View/Transformation. Nous développons un prototype logiciel nommé DWE (« Data Warehouse Evolution ») qui supporte cette démarche

Integrated Operational Taxonomic Units (IOTUs) in Echolocating Bats: A Bridge between Molecular and Traditional Taxonomy

Background: Nowadays, molecular techniques are widespread tools for the identification of biological entities. However, until very few years ago, their application to taxonomy provoked intense debates between traditional and molecular taxonomists. To prevent every kind of disagreement, it is essential to standardize taxonomic definitions. Along these lines, we introduced the concept of Integrated Operational Taxonomic Unit (IOTU). IOTUs come from the concept of Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) and paralleled the Molecular Operational Taxonomic Unit (MOTU). The latter is largely used as a standard in many molecular-based works (even if not always explicitly formalized). However, while MOTUs are assigned solely on molecular variation criteria, IOTUs are identified from patterns of molecular variation that are supported by at least one more taxonomic characteristic. Methodology/Principal Findings: We tested the use of IOTUs on the widest DNA barcoding dataset of Italian echolocating bats species ever assembled (i.e. 31 species, 209 samples). We identified 31 molecular entities, 26 of which corresponded to the morphologically assigned species, two MOTUs and three IOTUs. Interestingly, we found three IOTUs in Myotis nattereri, one of which is a newly described lineage found only in central and southern Italy. In addition, we found a level of molecular variability within four vespertilionid species deserving further analyses. According to our scheme two of them (i.e. M. bechsteinii and Plecotus auritus) should be ranked as unconfirmed candidate species (UCS). Conclusions/Significance: From a systematic point of view, IOTUs are more informative than the general concept of OTUs and the more recent MOTUs. According to information content, IOTUs are closer to species, although it is important to underline that IOTUs are not species. Overall, the use of a more precise panel of taxonomic entities increases the clarity in the systematic field and has the potential to fill the gaps between modern and traditional taxonomy

Phylogeography of Sardinian Cave Salamanders (Genus Hydromantes) Is Mainly Determined by Geomorphology

Detecting the factors that determine the interruption of gene flow between populations is key to understanding how speciation occurs. In this context, caves are an excellent system for studying processes of colonization, differentiation and speciation, since they represent discrete geographical units often with known geological histories. Here, we asked whether discontinuous calcareous areas and cave systems represent major barriers to gene flow within and among the five species of Sardinian cave salamanders (genus Hydromantes) and whether intraspecific genetic structure parallels geographic distance within and among caves. We generated mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences from 184 individuals representing 48 populations, and used a Bayesian phylogeographic approach to infer possible areas of cladogenesis for these species and reconstruct historical and current dispersal routes among distinct populations. Our results show deep genetic divergence within and among all Sardinian cave salamander species, which can mostly be attributed to the effects of mountains and discontinuities in major calcareous areas and cave systems acting as barriers to gene flow. While these salamander species can also occur outside caves, our results indicate that there is a very poor dispersal of these species between separate cave systems