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My web surfing through my co-learners BioAreas confirmed the Mediterranean Basin as a jewel box of biodiversity! Next to the country that I already knew to be very rich in biodiversity, such as Spain (Tania’s BA), Portugal (JCRocha’s – Diana Brito’s BA) and Greece (Alexandra’s -Iris’s BA), I was pleased to find out other areas that I not imagined so beautiful and interesting. The nature and landscape of Montenegro were a nice surprise (Marija’s BioArea)! The course also gave me the opportunity to explore the biodiversity and its threaths in farther places such us Colombia (Marley Gomez’s-Diana Lopez’s) and Suriname (Angelique’s BA). Country of Northern Europe even if generally less rich in species have their specificities too.
Nature always know how to surprise us :-)

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View of Italian protected areas

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Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi

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The Barn Owl (Tyto alba): a threatened species with an important role as bioindicator!

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Italian Sparrow (Passer italiae)

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A success story: the eradication of Hottentot-fig and Rats from Tavolara Island, Sardinia (Italy)

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A success story: the eradication of Hottentot-fig and Rats from Tavolara Island, Sardinia (Italy)

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Now the island is free of invasive rodents!

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Conservation success - Tavolara Island Italy - Island Conservation

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Traditional Tuna Fishing in the Mediterranean Basin

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Traditional Tuna Fishing in the Mediterranean Basin

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Scientific studies, collections and educational activities at the Natural History Museum of Ferrara

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Scientific studies, collections and educational activities at the Natural History Museum of Ferrara

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Watch this nice video :)

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Dietro le quinte: la ricerca nel Museo di Storia Naturale di Ferrara

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"Overexploitation  refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource"

Main forms of overexploitation in Italy:
- Overfishing  and illegal fishing https://www.lettera43.it/it/articoli/scienza-e-tech/2018/07/14/pesca-sovrapesca-overfishing-strascico-wwf/221679/; https://www.ft.com/content/3e6bc7be-ea6c-11e0-b0f5-00144feab49a; https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/world/europe/26iht-tuna.4.7646491.html
- Poaching, mainly concerning Migratory bird hunting.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415300482; https://www.komitee.de/en/actions-and-projects/italy/nets-traps-and-snares/affected-species; https://www.komitee.de/en/actions-and-projects/italy/nets-traps-and-snares/affected-species

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Guardie WWF Polizia Provinciale BS -  Un giorno di bracconaggio

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Many species of plants, animals, and other organisms become invasive with serious negative impacts on native species and natural habitats.
Considering the list of 100 World’s Worst Invasive Alien Species, some species are already widespread in Italy and also particular problematic: Aedes albopictus, Myocastor coypus, Trachemys scripta elegans, Rana catesbeiana, Eichhornia crassipes. Other species of the 100 cited are present in the italian peninsula but not overly disturbing for now.
Nevertheless other invasive species are demaging our ecosystems: Procambarus clarkii, Clarias gariepinus, Silurus glanis, Sciurus carolinensis, Vespa velutina, Psittacula krameri, Ailanthus altissima, Robinia pseudoacacia, Amorpha fruticosa, Gleditsia triacanthos, Opuntia ficus-indica, Carpobrotus edulis...

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"List of invasive species in Italy" on Revolvy.com

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List of invasive species in Italy Many species of plants, animals, and other organisms are considered invasive species in Italy.

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Alien species represent a threat for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and generate elevated economic and healthy costs. Italy counts 3000 terrestrial alien species of which 1645 animals and 1440 plants. Vertebrate species introduced by man cause extremely relevant impacts. Among the invertebrates, 1300 allochtonous species of which 1220 terrestrial and 156 of both animal and plant species of freshwater habitats. Mostly arthropods of which 90 % are insects. Exotic species of plants have increased in only 5 years from 1050 to 1440 species. In freshwater and marine ecosystems 186 allochtonous species have been recorded along the Italian coast of which 55 plants and 131 animals.
https://www.iucn.org/content/alien-species-threat-italy

Some literature about...
List of alien plants: http://issg.org/database/species/search.asp?st=sss&sn=&rn=Italy&ri=19402&hci=-1&ei=-1&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN
Alien species along the italian coasts: http://www.biologia.uniba.it/evo-amb/PhD_programs/publication/pdf/Corr_alien/2.%202010%20Occhipinti%20et%20al.%20NIS%20along%20Italian%20coasts%20BiolInv.pdf
Alien insects in Italy: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3835043/

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Alien Species In Italy · iNaturalist.org

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List of non-native vertebrates species in Italy

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Habitat fragmentation: focus on the effects of roads

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Habitat fragmentation: focus on the effects of roads

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Read about LIFE STRADE, an european Life project regarding road mortality: http://www.lifestrade.it/index.php/en/the-road-kill-issue/road-mortality
Read about wildlife road mortality in a plain landscape of the Po Valley (province of Ferrara). I am a coauthor! Last year we monitored  two different roads to determine the number of animals killed by road vehicles...
http://storianaturale.comune.fe.it/modules/core/lib/d.php?c=xzBCQ
The natural history museum of Ferrara collects observations about the roadkills in the Delta Po area with the help of the citizens through the project "Delta Road Kill" https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/delta-road-kill-animali-investiti-sulle-strade-del-delta-del-po

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Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation in Italy

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Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation in Italy

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"Italy is a densely populated country, where most of the land is actively used by its human population.
Habitat fragmentation, unanimously considered as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity conservation, is due to a variety of factors related to land use changes, such as urban sprawl, increasing of transport infrastructures, and the intensification of agriculture and forestry practices."
https://www.aidic.it/cet/13/32/009.pdf; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258642440_Landscape_fragmentation_in_Italy_Indices_implementation_to_support_territorial_policies

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Deepening consequences of climate change...

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Deepening consequences of climate change...

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Agriculture at risk: https://www.cmcc.it/article/agriculture-at-risk-the-potential-impacts-of-climate-change
Weather scenarios:
https://www.cmcc.it/article/come-cambiera-il-clima-in-italia
Economic impacts:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228243821_Economic_Impacts_of_Climate_Change_in_Italy_and_the_Mediterranean_Updating_the_Evidence
Health deseases and strategies for prevention: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/260380/WHO-FWC-PHE-EPE-15.52-eng.pdf;jsessionid=CDBFA7377988176E5B6EE7EBE9CB3261?sequence=1
Impacts on biodiversity:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237071750_The_likely_impact_of_climate_change_on_the_biodiversity_of_Italian_forests; https://www.wsl.ch/staff/niklaus.zimmermann/papers/BiolCons_dAmen_2011.pdf; https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/change-in-species-diversity-as/change-in-species-diversity-as-1

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Climate Change related vulnerabilities in Italy

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Climate Change related vulnerabilities in Italy

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How climate change is affecting Italy? A sad summary: goodbye glaciers, flooded cities, more extreme weather, forget wines and other crops, vanishing of biodiversity...and probably some other impredictable events!
https://www.thelocal.it/20151201/five-ways-climate-change-is-affecting-italy

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Italia in un clima che cambia. Tutto su cambiamento climatico, vulnerabilità e strategie di adattamento per tutti i paesi europei.

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- Vertebrates: 6 Regionally Extinct, 161 (138 terrestrial and 23 marine)Threatened, corresponding to 28% of the species assessed. Overall the populations of Italian vertebrates are declining, more in the marine than in the terrestrial environment
- Dragonflies: 1 Regionally Extinct, 10 Threatened, corresponding to 10.9% of the species assessed;  overall the populations of Italian dragonflies and damselflies are declining.
- Butterflies: 1 Regionally Extinct, 18 Threatened, corresponding to 6.3% of the species assessed. The majority of Italian butterflies populations are stable.
- Vascular Plant: 1 Regionally Extinct, 172 Threatened.
Access the link to more details about Red List of Italian Species

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Italy, a country with a high species richness...but why?

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Italy, a country with a high species richness...but why?

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Italy is one of the richest country in Europe regarding biodiversity, together with other countries looking on the Mediterranean Basin such us Spain, Croatia or Greece.
View here species richness comparison for different taxa
https://biodiversity.europa.eu/topics/species
....But why?!
Within the European context Italy shows a high environmental heterogeneity, due to:
- Central position in the Meditarranean basin (hot spot)
- Marked latitudinal gradient
- Biogeographic and bioclimate settings
- Complex geomorphology (orography- altitudinal gradient)
- Long history of human land use
All these factors contribute to habitat diversity spreading to species richness!

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- Nocturnal birds of prey (little owl, scops owl, long-eared owl, barn owl) and Diurnal birds of prey (kestrel, buzzard, hawk) share the same food, such as small mammals, small birds, lizard and insects, but they hunt at different time during the day!
Their different habits are also reflected in their anatomy.

- Tiger mosquito, native to the tropical areas of Southeast Asia and imported in the past through the international travel, is now a competitor of European mosquito (Culex). Tiger mosquitos spawn in puddles, manholes or any other wet box, while the European mosquitos need of more water to lay eggs, deposing in trenches, ponds or similar. Tiger mosquitos are more active during the day, especially in the morning, on the contrary native mosquitos are often crepuscular.
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes_albopictus; http://www.epicentro.iss.it/zanzara

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Example of lowland forest food web http://www.roveretoest.it/ecologia/reti_alimentari_nel_bosco.html; http://imparareconlageografia.blogspot.com/2014/06/elementi-del-paesaggio-la-vegetazione.html
Example of wetland food web
http://anglotedesco.blogspot.com/2012/11/linquinamento-che-ci-fa-stupidi.html

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European hare, belonging to the rabbit family, is a typical mammal of this rural zone. Normally shy animals, hares live in simple nests built near tranches, or other repaired areas, in the countryside. They are twilight animals, able jumper and runner that live solitary, feeding of herbaceous plants, fungus and fruits.
Do you know the idiom Mad as a March Hare? :) Click here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_as_a_March_hare
Italian sparrow, is a typical italian species in decline during the last years. It was very common both in urban areas and in farmlands but unfortunately the populations are decreasing and now it is considereded a vulnerable species! Largerly sedentary,
sparrows build their nests in holes in buildings or other structures; they are made of grass and other soft materials.
The diet includes seeds, soft buds, fruit, insects, spiders and any food scraps from humans.
https://ebird.org/species/itaspa1?siteLanguage=en_US;  https://www.hbw.com/species/italian-sparrow-passer-italiae

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An ectoparasites widespread in the countryside near the Po river is the ticks, especially during the spring season! https://www.terminix.com/pest-control/ticks/life-cycle
Another pests of wetland areas in Italy and particularly in our plain, completely drained in the past, are mosquitos (Culex).
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culex
Ticks and mosquitos are in their turn potential vectors of other parasites!
There are also a lot of parasites affecting plants such as aphids, mildews, ascomycetes, chocineals and other insects.

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The Padanian plain where I live is dominated by farmlands and it doesn't host large predators as is the case of other regions.
Despite this we have some high level consumers...
Focusing on birds, an example is Barn owl, a typical bird of prey of the Po valley.  The owl is gluttonous of voles and shrews even if it also hunts bats, other small birds, lizards, amphibians and insects! Other most common birds of prey in my area are buzzards, kestrels and long-eared owls.
The plain is optimal for their hunting with its extensive open fields!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_owl
About 100 Km from Ferrara, in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennine, a greater carnivour is repopulating the mountains and their valleys: the Italian Wolf!
It is a nocturnal hunter which feeds primarily on medium sized animals such as Chamois, Roe Deer, and Wild Boar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_wolf; https://animalcorner.co.uk/animals/italian-wolf

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Io non ho paura del lupo: Il progetto di crowdfunding

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The Museum of Natural History of Ferrara was solemnly inaugurated in 1872.
The exhibition itinerary is divided in three main parts:
- The ground floor
The room is devoted to the story of the ancient collections of the Museum: how embalmed animals arrived to the Museum's showcases in the past and how they reach them nowadays.
The ground floor also hosts a didactic room for the labs.
- Ambiente Terra
The exhibit has an ecological approach. It shows the techniques to study the animal populations and communities and the geological and biological evolution. A large semicircular showcase depicts the biodiversity in the province of Ferrara, from the urban center up to the coast of the sea.
- The "classical" museum
Here we have many showcases that exhibit arthropods, expecially insects and crustaceans, other invertebrates such as molluscs and sea-stars, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, as a tool to communicate the enormous diversity of life on the Earth.

The museum also hosts some ornithological, herpetological and entomological collections.
OFFICIAL WEB SITE: http://storianaturale.comune.fe.it/

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Grey Wolves in Yellowstone National Park

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Grey Wolves in Yellowstone National Park

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Exploring Biodiversity.
STEP 1. ACTIVATE YOUR PRIOR KNOWLEDGE - assess the problem
Come up with possible reasons for the decision to reintroduce grey wolves into the National Park.
3. The wolves were brought in because the increased elk population was overgrazing the deciduous, woody species such as aspen and cottowood.

ANSWER CONFIRMED
Topic 2.1 Predator-Pray relationship. The elk population increased causing degradation of the environment, endangering the elk population itself. The reintroduction of wolves modified the food chain, restoring the ecological balance!

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Preservation of Biodiversity: the precious role of Protected Areas

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Preservation of Biodiversity: the precious role of Protected Areas

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"Let's Protect Nature,
the Inheritance of the Future"
http://www.parks.it/Eindex.php

Some numbers...
- 24 National Parks
-134 Regional Parks
- 30 Marine Protected Areas
- 2613 Nature 2000 sites

21.54% Land Area Protected
8.79% Marine Area Protected

References:
https://www.lastampa.it/2013/12/11/scienza/biodiversit-in-italia-i-numeri-delle-aree-protette-scheda-sl1EmkIDAZ6Y8P0p1zZsUO/pagina.html, http://www.minambiente.it/pagina/sic-zsc-e-zps-italia, http://www.minambiente.it/pagina/aree-naturali-protette, https://www.protectedplanet.net/country/IT

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Of the total number of species assessed in the country around 11% are considered threatened (critically endagered, endagered or vulnerable) and at least 10% are Near Threatened!
Many of these species are endemic to Europe and are found nowhere else in the world.
Species that are considered threatened are found mostly in wetlands, forests, rocky areas and shrublands, habitats that require particular attention to maintain their sensitive species.
https://www.greenme.it/informarsi/natura-a-biodiversita/12673-ecosistemi-biodiversita-italia-ispra

NUMBER OF SPECIES THREATENED - IUCN CLASSIFICATION:
- 32 species CR
- 67 EN
- 105 VU

Some percentages...
10% of Mammals
5% of Reptiles
22% of the Amphibian
16% of freshwater fishes
4% Dragonflies and 7% of Butterflies
10% of vascular plants
39% of Molluscs
7% of Beetles

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Biodiversity in Danger: the impact of human activities

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Biodiversity in Danger: the impact of human activities

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Despite of Italy hosts approx. 65.700 species, a large proportion of them are continually threatened by human impacts and activities!
Major biodiversity threats come from  industrial pollution, intensive agriculture and farming, excessive urbanisation, overfishing and overhunting, introduction of alien species.
All these activities are responsible for habitat loss,  fragmentation and degradation, soil consumption, changing in water flow patterns, chemical and physical alteration of soil, water and atmosphere, climate change!

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Italy is a volcanically active country, containing the only active volcanoes in mainland Europe. The volcanism is mainly due to the tectonic movements between the Eurasian Plate and the African Plate.

We distinguish three different type of volcanoes, illustrated in the image below: active, dormant or extinct.
EXPLORE ITALY'S VOLCANOES!
http://www.italysvolcanoes.com

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Geology of Italy part 1: Mountain ranges  

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Geology of Italy part 1: Mountain ranges  

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Italy hosts two main mountain ranges: the Alps and the Apennines.
The ALPS, the largest European mountain range, rises in the northernmost extremity of Italy, defining the geographical boundary and crossing the following regions:  Liguria, Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy, Trentino Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia.
The APENNINES runs across Italy from north to south, passing through Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, Lazio, Abruzzo, Campania, Basilicata, Umbria and Molise.

You can see the heights peaks and prominences here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountains_of_Italy

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A Biodiversity Hotspot  in the Mediterranean Basin

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A Biodiversity Hotspot  in the Mediterranean Basin

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Italy is among the European Country reachest in Biodiversity with about 58.000 animal species and 7.000 vascular plants!
The peninsula includes some areas with exceptionally high density of species: the Tyrrhenian Islands, the Apennines and the Maritime-Ligurian Alps.
More generally Italy is part of the Mediterranean Basin hotspot with a lot of endemic species: the 16% of the flora and the 10% of the fauna.

References: http://www.isprambiente.gov.it/it/temi/biodiversita; http://www.isprambiente.gov.it/en/archive/news-and-other-events/ispra-news/year-2015/may/biodiversity-in-italy

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A variegate Country: Geology and Climate

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A variegate Country: Geology and Climate

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Due to its geomorphological complexity Italy hosts an incredible variety of habitats – hills and mountains, lakes, flood plains, marshes and coastal areas, islands and small archipelagos.
In addition, thanks also to its considerable development in latitude the peninsula encompasses 6 different climate regions, contributing to increase the diversity of italian ecosystems and landscape.

More information about Italian Geology here: http://www.dst.uniroma1.it/sciterra/sezioni/doglioni/Publ_download/AnIntroductiontoItalianGeology.pdf

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Guardiamo insieme questo video...

L'Italia si trova all'interno della zona climatica temperata.

L'Italia, a causa della presenza di due catene montuose (Alpi e Appennini), dei tre mari e della sua forma allungata, è divisa in sei diverse regioni climatiche.

Vediamo le regioni climatiche con le foto.
LA MAPPA
Per ripassare guardiamo questa mappa

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Guardiamo insieme questo video... L'Italia si trova all'interno della zona climatica temperata. L'Italia, a causa della presenza di due catene montuose (Alpi e Appennini), dei tre mari e della sua forma allungata, è divisa in sei diverse regioni climatiche. Vediamo le regioni climatiche con le foto.

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Italy is an European peninsula, located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea.
It covers an area of 301.340 km2 and with around 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth-most populous EU member state and the most populous country in Southern Europe.