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Data collected from 2000 to 2010 on a predator–prey system in eastern Tuscany (central Italy) were used to investigate the relative impact of human harvest and natural predation by wolves (Canis lupus) on the local populations of their main prey: wild boar (Sus scrofa) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). We estimated the percent composition of wolf diet from scat analysis (n = 2,150) and converted it into ingested biomass and number of killed individuals by quantifying the energy requirement of the resident wolf pack based on the field metabolic rate formula. Moreover, we collected data on hunting bags, and investigating the age/weight class preferences of both wolves and hunters compared their impacts on the two ungulate populations. In both prey species, losses due to hunting resulted to be eight to nine times higher than those due to wolf predation. In terms of number of individuals removed per year, the wild boar was the main prey species for wolves (mean ± SD: 83 ± 23) and the most harvested by hunters (mean ± SD: 609 ± 241). Wolves targeted the intermediate weight class (10–35 kg) in wild boar and showed no preference for a specific class of roe deer, while hunters targeted the largest classes in both species. The combined removal by hunters and wolf predation did not exceed the recruitment of both ungulate populations. We can therefore argue that a top‐down force is unlikely to contrast the population growth of the two ungulate species in Central Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diet of suburban foxes has been studied by analysing 200 scats collected monthly between July 2016 and July 2017, along fixed itineraries around two villages in central Italy. A significant seasonal variation in the diet was found. Fruits (berries) and coleopterans prevailed in the warm months and were replaced by feral domestic cats (mostly kittens) in the cold ones. The local overwhelming importance of the domestic cat in diet confirms the opportunistic feeding behaviour of red foxes, which may switch their diet towards easily accessible food categories, when preferred items are poorly available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which investigates the impact of wolf and its diet on the prey community in a recolonization area of the Western Alps, the Grand Paradiso National Park (GPNP), Italy. Every wolf scat detected were collected to analyze the diet of wolves while wild ungulates population were obtained and Alpine ibex and Alpine chamois were censed by block counts in the study conducted from May 2007 to April 2009. Scat-content analysis and 138 carcasses of ungulates consumed by wolves were taken into account to determine species, age, and gender of consumed animals. Results in the study confirmed wild ungulates as staple prey of wolves and found differences between prey-category proportions consumed by wolves and the relative abundances of prey.

Leuctridae is the richest stonefly family on the European continent, with many species of Leuctra often coexisting in sympatry in the same lotic environment. In this work we studied the life cycle and feeding habits of two species, Leuctra fusca and L. hippopus, coexisting in a small Italian Apennine stream. The life cycles of the two species are non-overlapping, i.e., periods of nymphal growth and adult emergence are separated. Nymphs of both species feed mainly on detritus, but quantities of coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) and diatoms are also ingested. Larger nymphs of both species ingest more CPOM and fewer diatoms. This suggests a similar trophic behaviour through their development. For example, they act as collector-gatherers in their earlier instars and as collector-gatherers or as shredders in their later instars (© 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diet and inter- and intraspecific interactions of two shallow-water skates, Raja brachyura and R. miraletus, caught at depths between 30 and 162 m during trawl surveys carried out in 2005 and 2006 in the seas surrounding Sardinia (central-western Mediterranean), were analysed. The low values of Levin and Shannon indexes (Bi = 0.37 and 0.42, respectively, for the former, and H' = 1.31 and 1.62, respectively, for the latter) showed that these two species are specialized predators. An ontogenetic analysis of the diets of three size groups showed that they adopted similar trophic habits. Young R. brachyura specimens (Bi = 0.27; H' = 1.05) feed mainly on Crustacea (% IRI = 74) (mainly Mysidiacea and Amphipoda Gammaridea), which were replaced in the diet of medium-large specimens principally by Osteichthyes (mainly Gymnammodytes cicerelus). Multidimensional scaling analysis indicated a high level of intraspecific competition between medium and large individuals. In R. miraletus, Crustacea represented the main prey in all size groups (% IRI = 99.5, 99.6, and 88, respectively). Amphipoda Gammaridea were the predominant prey for small individuals, and were replaced in medium and large specimens by decapods. Low levels of interspecific competition were generally found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shapes of juveniles of nine species of the family Sparidae ( Diplodus annularis, Diplodus puntazzo, Diplodus sargus, Diplodus vulgaris, Lithognathus mormyrus, Pagellus acarne, Sarpa salpa, Sparus aurata, Spondyliosoma cantharus), collected in the tide channel of the Caprolace Lagoon (Central Tyrrhenian Sea—Italy) were studied using geometric morphometry. These species have different ecologies. The trophic ecology of each species, reported as TROPH values, are related to shape. For the first time the relationship between shape and trophic ecology in sparids was studied in a quantitative way giving an ecomorphological meaning to the shape differences. Mean shapes of carnivorous, omnivorous and herbivorous fish were extracted, analyzed and found to be unique. Strict herbivores such as Sarpa salpa have a small mouth gap; omnivores such as the four species of the genus Diplodus have a higher body (discoidal) and a caudal peduncle shorter and higher; carnivorous species such as Lithognathus mormyrus, possess a relatively larger head region, a larger mouth gap, a longer body and a caudal peduncle longer and narrower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large part of the Italian population doesn't receive adequate information and support on how to maintain oral health. In this observational, cross-sectional, pilot study, we investigated how some lifestyle-related variables affect oral diseases and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children attending public-school summer services in Milan. A survey that included questions on children's oral disease, OHRQoL and lifestyle-related factors (feeding habits, oral hygiene protective behaviors, dental coaching and socio-economic and educational status), was administered to the children's caregivers. Data from 296 surveys were analyzed to assess the protective/negative effect of each variable on oral disease and OHRQoL. With respect to disease, the "never" consumption of fruit juice, the use of fluoride toothpaste, higher educational qualification and ISEE (equivalent family income) of those who filled out the form, resulted protective factors. Regarding OHRQoL, the "never" assumption/use of tea bottle, sugared pacifier and fruit juice as well as the use of fluoride toothpaste, a higher educational qualification and ISEE of those who filled out the form, resulted to have protective effects. In conclusion, protective behaviors and socio-economic status affect oral disease and OHRQoL in children of Milan.