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A new endemic gecko of the genus Hemidactylus is described from Socotra Island (Yemen). It is a rupicolous species characterized by: medium-large size (SVL up to 60 mm), back with large trihedral, raised, strongly keeled tubercles intermixed with small granular scales, males with 6-10 preanal pores arranged in two short rows separated by 2-3 scales. In East Africa, Arabia, the Middle East and India the only other tuberculated Hemidactylus with preanal pores arranged on two separate rows is the Somali H. granchii Lanza, 1978, which differs for the comparatively deeper and shorter head, the nostril separated from the first upper labial, less preanal pores, less upper and lower labials, more tubercles at midbody and more lamellae under the inner toe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repatriations and translocations are among the most frequent actions deployed for conservation of amphibians all over the world. However, very few studies have analysed the effectiveness of these actions. The aims of this study were i) to measure the success of repatriations of Rana latastei carried out within a conservation project in Lombardy (Northern Italy) from 1999 to 2001, and ii) to analyse how the environmental factors affected repatriation success. Eighteen ponds were surveyed from February to April 2006, for an overall of 45 field surveys. Each pond was carefully checked for frogs and egg masses. We classified each pond as newly excavated or pre-existing according to habitat management actions and we measured 16 variables concerning micro- and macro-habitat characteristics, human disturbance and presence of predators. Rana latastei was found in 33.3% of monitored sites and the repatriation outcome of tadpole release did not differ between newly excavated and non managed ponds. Habitat variables influenced the success of repatriations, which increased in sites with higher percentage of woodlands. Finally, repatriation outcome was also negatively influenced by human disturbance and predator occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the population trends of the Italian Sparrow Passer italiae in six urban areas of northern Italy from 1996 to 2006. Researchers counted birds at six sampling sites at altitudes ranging between 42 and 262 meters. They recorded each building in order to assess the effect of building characteristics on Sparrow abundance. According to them, urban Italian Sparrow populations have undergone a significant decline in recent years, They cited the possible causes of the decline of Italian Sparrows.

We describe the behavioral adaptations of a population of Hermann's tortoise to the climate of a northern sector of its range, and to a wooded biotope that is uncommon for the species. The activity, the home range, and the thermal relations along the daily and the yearly cycle are described. In contrast to other populations that have bimodal activity peaking in spring and in autumn, the tortoises in our study area had unimodal seasonal activity that can be related to lower summer temperatures. Home range size, 7.4 ha for females and 4.6 ha for males in our study area, was from three to seven times larger than that of all other populations. The large home range, and the low population density of the tortoises in our study area, may be due to food scarcity in the wooded habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Density dependence is a common feature in the dynamics of animal populations. Availability of food resources critical to immunity is likely to be one of the mechanisms mediating the effect of population density on individual fitness. The ability to mount an immune response to an antigen is also affected by levels of immunosuppressive hormones associated with reproduction or mediating the response to ecological and social stress. We assessed variation in condition and intensity of humoral immune response to a T-cell-dependent antigen in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) by experimentally altering population density before immunisation. Consistent with our prediction, males had lower humoral immunocompetence in the breeding than in the non-breeding season. Contrary to our expectation, males did not show enhanced immunocompetence and females showed depressed humoral immune response under experimentally lowered population density. Variation of immune response in relation to population density depended on sex, with females but not males showing lower immune response under experimentally reduced density. We conclude that humoral immunity of bank voles was affected by reproduction and social environment rather than by population density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a study which evaluated the influence of environmental and density-dependent factors on the reproduction of Little Egrets in Camargue, France. Factors that affect the reproduction of the species; Methodology of the study; Results and discussion; Conclusion.

Estimates the survival rates, natal dispersal and age at first breeding of little egrets Egretta garzetta breeding in the Camargue in southern France. Estimates of survival and probability of resighting; Breeding of a substantial proportion of birds at age one; Higher proportion of philopatric individuals among birds first observed breeding at age one.

We describe an unknown mode of solar-assisted egg development in the crab plover Dromas ardeola, a shorebird that breeds in self-excavated burrows. The insulating properties of the nest burrow and the intense solar radiation allowed egg development at near-optimal temperature (35.2°C±0.2) and humidity (60.2%±4.4), allowing a very low incubation attendance by the parent birds (28.3% of time, with recesses lasting up to 58 h). Crab plovers did not abandon completely parental incubation, possibly because of the need to turn their egg, and because the slight warming provided by parents (0.8°C) may improve hatching. This is the first case of solar assisted incubation in a species unrelated to the Megapodiidae, the only birds known to develop their eggs without contact incubation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The taxonomy of gazelles (Bovidae: Antilopinae) has been debated at length. Many of the species and subspecies were historically discriminated mostly on subtle and individually variable phenotypic differences, often on the basis of few, sometimes controversial museum specimens or captive individuals of uncertain origin. The resulting taxonomic confusion is particularly evident for insular populations, which often show slight phenotypic variations. We systematically review and update the past and present distribution of insular gazelles in the circum-Arabian seas, using the literature and reliable websites. Moreover, in light of the available genetic information, we discuss the taxonomic status of four endemic taxa, two of dwarf size. One or more gazelle species are or were present on 45 islands. The archaeozoological and historical data support an anthropochorous origin of most of these populations as a meat source. Lately, food supplied gazelles have been introduced for cultural reasons on many islands of the Persian Gulf. The nine molecularly studied insular populations show low genetic differentiation from their mainland relatives, which suggests their recent origin. Considering the limited genetic differentiation from the geographically closest continental population, we reassign Nanger soemmerringii debeauxi to the nominotypical subspecies. We advocate phenotypic plasticity, triggered by scarce food resources, as the most likely cause of dwarfism in the gazelles of Dahlak and Farasan archipelagos of the Red Sea. We stress the need to avoid unnecessary taxonomic proliferation before deep integrative research has been carried out, and we highlight the importance of research on phenotypic plasticity in insular gazelles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermittent incubation in birds is currently interpreted as the result of trade-offs between the needs of the embryo and those of the parents. However, the low nest attendance in some species is still puzzling. We studied the Crab Plover ( Dromas ardeola), a tropical burrow nesting shorebird with very low incubation constancy (less than 55%) due to frequent recesses from incubation (on average 5 recesses/h), mostly spent in the colony area without any apparent function. We aimed to test whether such unusual incubation rhythm can be partly explained by the need to scan for approaching predators. Data collected at Dahret Island (Eritrea) between 2006 and 2014 support the antipredatory function of the incubation rhythm: (1) many recesses on the colony surface were so short (50% less than 37 s in the hotter periods) that a thermoregulatory function can be dismissed; (2) adults on the colony surface responded to approaching predators with alarm calls that drove most incubating Crab Plovers to run out of the burrows and to escape in flocks; (3) sound intensity sharply decreased inside burrows, which explains the delayed escape observed for 9% of the incubating birds; (4) the delayed exit when predators were still in the colony area rules out their permanence inside burrows as an alternative antipredatory strategy; (5) after the visit of a predator, adults restarted incubation with very short in-bouts (2 min on average) apparently in order to scan frequently for approaching predators. We discuss how burrow nesting, alarm calls, and the antipredatory reactions of adults (escape into or out of the burrows, flock flight, mobbing) and chicks (escape into burrows) might have favoured colonial breeding in Crab Plovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Purple Heron is a species of conservation concern in Europe, mainly threatened by the progressive degradation and reduction of wetlands. For future conservation practices, it is of pivotal importance to gather detailed knowledge of its habitat preferences. In June 2018, a nestling of Purple Heron from a sub-Alpine Lake in Northern Italy was equipped with a GPS/GSM device. Habitat selection during the post-fledging period (mid-July to mid-October) was analysed by superimposing the GPS locations to a fine-grained field-based map, discerning 14 habitat classes as well as narrow (<2 m) and wide (≥2 m) ditches. The contours of the home range were defined as the 99% kernel calculated on all the gathered locations, which were successively sub selected only retaining 2,017 locations representing the position of the bird every hour and all day long. Within the home range, the habitat availability was estimated by generating 10,000 random distributions of the locations. We firstly verified whether wide ditches were more frequently used by the heron if compared to narrow ones. Eventually, we calculated the ratio between the number of true and random locations falling into the different habitat classes, obtaining a series of class-specific selection ratios. We found a significant preference towards wide ditches compared to narrow ones. Freshly renewed reedbeds and cattail beds were strongly favoured, while high-bearing sedges and Black Alder were also significantly preferred but with lower indices. All the remaining habitats, including mature reedbeds, were significantly avoided. Our results reinforce the indication that the protection of minor landscape elements as ditches and small patches of wet habitats may be of pivotal importance to foster the long-term conservation of bird communities linked to the residual wetlands of the sub-Alpine belt [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spreading of invasive species in new continents can vary from slow and limited diffusion to fast colonisations over vast new areas. We studied the sacred ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus along a 31-year period, from 1989 to 2019, with particular attention to the first area of release in NW Italy. We collected data on species distribution through observations by citizen science projects, population density by transects with distance method, breeding censuses at colonies, and post breeding censuses at roosts. The birds counted at winter roosts in NW Italy increased from a few tens up to 10,880 individuals in 2019. Sacred ibises started breeding in 1989, with a single nest in north-western Italy. The number of breeders remained very low until 2006, when both overwintering and breeding sacred ibises started to increase exponentially and expand their range throughout northern Italy with isolated breeding cases in central Italy. In 2019, the number of nests had increased to 1249 nests in 31 colonies. In NW Italy, the density of foraging birds averaged 3.9 ind./km2 in winter and 1.5 ind./km2 in the breeding period, with a mean size of the foraging groups of 8.9 and 2.1 birds respectively. Direct field observations and species distribution models (SDM) showed that foraging habitats were mainly rice fields and wetlands. A SDM applied to the whole Italian peninsula plus Sardinia and Sicily showed that the variables best related to the SDM were land class (rice fields and wetlands), altitude, and the temperature seasonality. The areas favourable for species expansion encompass all the plains of Northern Italy, and several areas of Tuscany, Latium, Sardinia, and Apulia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of alien water frogs is perhaps one of the most underestimated herpetological conservation issues in Europe. The identification of distinct species is highly challenging at the phenotypic level, and artificial syntopy between various taxa and lineages may lead to diverse outcomes, including hybridisation and local extinction. In central Italy the native synklepton of Pelophylax bergeri (the parental taxon) and P. kl. (klepton) hispanicus (the hybridogenetic hybrid, which clonally transmits the genome of an extinct ridibundus-like taxon) is present. Until recently, data regarding the presence of alien water frogs in central Italy was scarce, and no alien taxa have been reported for Tuscany. In this study, four distinct non-native Pelophylax lineages have been identified via molecular analysis in the Cecina and Arno river basins and ascribed to the Marsh frog group (P. ridibundus sensu lato). Alien Pelophylax ridibundus, P. kurtmuelleri, and P. cf. bedriagae sensu stricto currently appear to be widespread in the Cecina basin. Furthermore, evidence of hybridisation with autochthonous taxa has been suggested by genetic analyses in four out of eight sampling localities. With a view to evaluate urgent conservation strategies, a greater sampling effort is required to assess the actual distribution and ecology of the alien lineages, and further research is necessary to measure their impact on the native hybridogenetic system of the central-southern Italian pool frogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Danakil Depression of northeastern Africa is among the harshest environments on Earth. Yet, despite extreme aridity, this desert region hosts the endemic cichlid genus Danakilia. As currently recognized, the genus includes at least two populations of Danakilia franchettii from groundwater springs feeding Lake Afrera (Ethiopia), one population of Danakilia dinicolai from volcanic Lake Abaeded, and three recently discovered riverine populations (Eritrea) of uncertain taxonomic status. Here, we analyse the variation in shape of the body and lower pharyngeal jaw of all known populations, using a geometric morphometrics approach. We investigate whether body and lower pharyngeal jaw shape, two evolutionarily important traits in cichlids, vary within and between Danakilia populations; whether patterns of variation in these traits are consistent with local adaptation (genetic or plastic) or a neutral model of variation in geographical space; and whether these traits show consistent patterns of covariation that might result from pleiotropy or linkage. We found that shape variation between the Afrera and the Abaeded samples confirms current taxonomy. We observed a sharp separation of the southern Afrera populations from all northern populations for both traits, with a less pronounced separation among the northern populations, and a deeper body in some populations compared with the more elongated shape of other riverine populations. Significant variation between all populations is not easily explained by phenotypic plasticity, suggesting that populations might be on independent, possibly neutral or quasi-neutral, evolutionary trajectories and constitute separate, highly vulnerable units deserving of conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of targeting ecological and evolutionary processes in reserve design has been widely acknowledged in the literature but rarely implemented on islands. Using Socotran reptiles as models, we aim to relate richness of widespread and restricted-range species directly with landscape variables and to compare the impact of setting conservation targets for lineages versus species. Socotra Island is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, containing high levels of endemism in relation to its area, especially of reptiles, the vertebrates with the most comprehensive available genetic data. We predicted the occurrences of reptile species using distribution models and used a novel approach to interpolate maps of spatial phylogenetic patterns. Patterns of intra and interspecifc diversity and differences between spatial outputs of lineage and species richness were related to eco-geographic variables. We evaluated differences in target achievement for each conservation unit within protected areas (PAs) under the current Zoning Plan (ZP) using gap and reserve design analyses. Although intraspecific richness was strongly correlated with interspecific richness, differences in their spatial distribution reached ~30% in some areas. Differences were more pronounced for wide-ranging than restricted-range taxa. Gap analysis indicates that most conservation units are under-represented in sanctuaries and that intra and interspecific richness were significantly higher outside PAs. This work will guide local-scale conservation planning as the ZP is due to be re-evaluated. This is one of the few studies on islands using genetic data from an entire class of vertebrates to incorporate lineage diversity in reserve design. This study provides an alternative methodological framework for supporting the use of landscape and genetic tools in reserve design, circumventing the use of phylogenetic distances and deterministic spatial interpolation of lineage diversity that can be widely applied to other systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]