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With this study we investigated the accumulation of potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Zn), six indicators (28, 52, 101, 138, 153, 180) of non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (Σ6 NDL-PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and microplastics in S. quadrata (edible part) collected from two sampling sites (1 and 2) from the Arno River Basin (Central Italy). A risk assessment of the implications for human health was also performed. Levels of potentially toxic elements in gastropods from site 2 were slightly higher and the Σ6 NDL-PCB concentration was significantly higher (7.32ngg−1vs. 3.07ngg−1) compared to site 1 due to higher anthropogenic pressures. The concentration of chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, and benzo(a)pyrene was below the limit of quantification (0.5μgkg−1). Benzo[a]anthracene was detected in gastropods from both sites (0.5 ± 0.02μgkg−1 and 0.7 ± 0.02μgkg−1 from site 1 and 2, respectively). The microplastics frequency (mainly polyethylene terephthalate) differed significantly between the sites (site 1, 0.8 ± 1.30; site 2, 1 ± 0.37 items/specimen). All contaminant levels were compliant with international regulatory limits and guidelines. Incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) values for As, Cd, Cr, and Pb were far below the safety values of 1 × 10–4. Similarly, the ILCR values from the Monte Carlo simulation model were all within the safety region of 1 × 10–4 and 1 × 10–6. Findings from the health risk assessment indicated no adverse effects for human health from any of the contaminants analysed here, except for microplastics for which no limits or legislation are currently in force.

Anglers can be significant vectors for non-native species (NNS) in freshwater ecosystems, and monitoring their behaviour can be a useful way to counteract biological invasions. However, anglers may be unwilling to reveal their real behaviour in conventional surveys. In this study, the Randomised Response Technique (RRT) and the Bean Method (BM) survey technique were compared using direct questions to obtain frequency estimates of four angler behaviours that may affect NNS management in freshwater ecosystems: angling without a license, release of macroinvertebrates in the environment, use of fish bait and unauthorised fish restocking. Higher estimates were obtained from responses to RRT than BM questions, and BM provided contradictory results. Use of the RRT is recommended in those human dimension studies that explore angler behaviour as a vector for aquatic invasions.

Inland waters are highly vulnerable to the introduction and spread of non-native species, due to heavy human use of aquatic ecosystems and the natural linkages among streams and lakes. This is particularly noticeable in freshwater fish communities. To better evaluate how these communities are affected by non-native species introductions, we conducted a fine scale analysis of the changes in Italian freshwater fish assemblages after species introduction. For this analysis, we collected information on fish species present in 44 basins. The present Italian freshwater fish fauna is composed of 48 native and 41 established introduced species, while a further 15 introduced species were reported but not yet considered naturalized. The changes of the fish assemblages mostly took place in the last two centuries and have increased recently, with nearly 60% of the species introduced in the last three decades. The number of species introduced per basin ranged from 0 to 35 (mean 10.85 ± 7.77 species/basin), and in ten basins the number of species introduced is now equal to the number of native species or even higher. In the past, introduced species mainly originated from America, but in last decades, an increase of introductions from other parts of Europe and Asia was recorded. Our results show that basins already rich in native species tend to get even richer as a consequence of the establishment of introduced species. This confirms the trend toward a biotic homogenization of ecosystems even at a local scale, due to an increase in the human-mediated spread of generalist species. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Author(s): Vanni, Stefano; Nocita, Annamaria; Innocenti, Gianna; Cianfanelli, Simone | Abstract: A record of the gobiid Orsinigobius punctatissimus (Canestrini, 1864) from the springs of the Gorizia Karst (Italy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia) is reported, extending the eastern limit of the geographic distribution of the species. This goby lives in threatened spring habitats, and has recently become rarer. However, although O. punctatissimus is listed in the Italian Red List of threatened species as “Critically Endangered” (CR), the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of threatened species classifies it as “Near Threatened” (NT). Despite its risk of extinction, the species is not included in the annexes of the Habitat Directive (EU Directive 92/43/EEC) or other international wildlife protection conventions. Information is given on the taxonomy, distribution, biology and conservation of the species.

Rule violation is critical for biological conservation worldwide. Conventional questionnaires are not suitable to survey these violations and specialized questioning techniques that preserve respondents’ privacy, like the forced-response RRT, have been increasingly adopted by conservationists. However, most of these approaches do not measure multinomial answers and conservationists need a specialized questioning technique for real-world settings where non-compliance could occur in different forms. We developed a multidimensional, statistically-efficient, RRT which is suitable for multinomial answers (mRRT) and which allows researchers to test for respondents’ noncompliance during completion. Then, we applied it to measure the frequency of the various forms of illegal restocking of European catfish from specialized anglers in Italy, developing an operational code for the statistical software R. A total of 75 questionnaires were administered at a large fishing fair in Northern Italy, in winter 2018. Our questionnaires were easily compiled and the multinomial model revealed that around 6% of respondents had moved catfish across public freshwater bodies and private ponds. Future studies should better address their characteristics, and the mRRT could allow for modeling the effect of co-variates over restocking behavior. The multinomial mRRT could be adopted to measure many forms of rule violation in conservation that could take different forms, like various forms of fish restocking or different modes of wildlife persecution.

Italian freshwater ecosystems were strongly affected by biological invasions during the last few decades. Recreational angling contributed to this, through the widespread use of invasive alien species for fish restocking. To date, no research is available about the psychological and structural determinants of deliberate fish restocking in Italy. This work aims to fill this research gap, through structured questionnaires administered to a sample of recreational anglers (n = 276) in the Arno river basin (Central Italy). A predictive model for fish restocking, based on a quasi-binomial logistic regression, was fit and multi-model inference was drawn, to highlight the most significant predictors. Respondents, who expected that most anglers practiced restocking and who believed restocking could create closer fishing spots, were more prone to illegally restock fish. Our findings indicate that expectations about illegal fish restocking might exist among specialized segments of anglers. Targeted communication campaigns must be enforced as soon as possible to change them. Furthermore, fish restocking is supposed to reduce the travel costs for angling: future research about this is needed to model invasion hotspots.

In recent years, policy-makers have sought the development of appropriate tools to prevent and manage introductions of invasive species. However, these tools are not well suited for introductions of non-target species that are unknowingly released alongside intentionally-introduced species. The most compelling example of such invasion is arguably the topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva, a small cyprinid species originating from East Asia. A combination of sociological, economical and biological factors has fuelled their rapid invasion since the 1960s; 32 countries (from Central Asia to North Africa) have been invaded in less than 50 years. Based on a combination of monitoring surveys (2535 populations sampled) and literature reviews, this paper aims to quantify and characterise important invasion parameters, such as pathways of introduction, time between introduction and detection, lag phase and plasticity of life history traits. Every decade, five new countries have reported P. parva introduction, mainly resulting from the movement of Chinese carps for fish farming. The mean detection period after first introduction was 4 years, a duration insufficient to prevent their pan-continental invasion. High phenotypic plasticity in fitness related traits such as growth, early maturity, fecundity, reproductive behaviour and the ability to cope with novel pathogens has predisposed P. parva to being a strong invader. The Pseudorasbora parva invasion has provided quantitative data for the development of 1) early warning systems across different spatial scales; 2) rapid eradication programmes prior to natural spread in open systems and 3) sound risk assessments with emphasis on plasticity of life history traits.

The influence of some environmental parameters, i.e. dissolved oxygen, water temperature, Ca concentration, pH, conductibility, on populations of the river bullhead, Cottus gobio, in Northern Apennines (Tuscany) has been considered. The bullhead seemed to prefer waters with low levels of calcium. The Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) showed congruent results and highlighted the role of calcium concentration and pH levels in determining suitable habitats for C. gobio (overall correct classification: 84.1%). The influence of calcium concentration in the water is not only critical in the definition of the presence/absence pattern, but clearly had a negative effect on the growth of C. gobio. The distribution pattern linked to the geological substrate composition of the studied area was confirmed by the distribuition of the C. gobio in two other areas in Northern Italy (the Orobie and the Maritime Alps).

The location of type material of the Italian freshwater goby Gobius fluviatilis var. nigricans Canestrini, 1867 was previously unknown. However, syntypes of this taxon have been identified now in the Museo Universitario di Storia Naturale e della Strumentazione Scientifica, Modena, Italy. Also this material is the type series of Gobius avernensis, described by Canestrini in 1868. Vestigial predorsal squamation in Padogobius nigricans is noted.

0000-0001-8628-0514 WOS: 000325182400014 Mediterranean-climate regions (med-regions) are global hotspots of endemism facing mounting environmental threats associated with human-related activities, including the ecological impacts associated with non-native species introductions. We review freshwater fish introductions across med-regions to evaluate the influences of non-native fishes on the biogeography of taxonomic and functional diversity. Our synthesis revealed that 136 freshwater fish species (26 families, 13 orders) have been introduced into med-regions globally. These introductions, and local extirpations, have increased taxonomic and functional faunal similarity among regions by an average of 7.5% (4.6-11.4%; Jaccard) and 7.2% (1.4-14.0%; Bray-Curtis), respectively. Faunal homogenisation was highest in Chile and the western Med Basin, whereas sw Cape and the Aegean Sea drainages showed slight differentiation (decrease in faunal similarity) over time. At present, fish faunas of different med-regions have widespread species in common (e.g. Gambusia holbrooki, Cyprinus carpio, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Carassius auratus, and Micropterus salmoides) which are typically large-bodied, non-migratory, have higher physiological tolerance, and display fast population growth rates. Our findings suggest that intentional and accidental introductions of freshwater fish have dissolved dispersal barriers and significantly changed the present-day biogeography of med-regions across the globe. Conservation challenges in med-regions include understanding the ecosystem consequences of non-native species introductions at macro-ecological scales. DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion BiologyDepartment of Science & Technology (India); David and Elaine Potter Foundation; Spanish Ministry of ScienceSpanish Government [CGL2009-12877-C02-01, Consolider-Ingenio 2010 CSD2009-00065]; Czech Ministry of Culture [DKRVO2012, DKRVO 2013/14, 00023272]; Czech Ministry of Culture (National Museum) SMM acknowledges the financial support of the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology and the David and Elaine Potter Foundation during his PhD studies. EGB acknowledges funding support from the Spanish Ministry of Science (projects CGL2009-12877-C02-01 and Consolider-Ingenio 2010 CSD2009-00065). DLM acknowledges Dr Stephen Beatty (Murdoch University) for his work on the fishes of south-western Australia. RS. acknowledges support from the Czech Ministry of Culture (DKRVO2012 and DKRVO 2013/14, National Museum, 00023272). The authors thank Nicolas Poulet (ONEMA) for providing data on French Mediterranean river systems, Meta Povz and Predag Simonovic for providing data on Adriatic river systems, and Sergio Zerunian and Massimo Lorenzoni for providing data on Italian river systems.

The paper provides a list of the non-indigenous animal species occurring today in Italian inland waters. Xenodiversity was found to amount to 112 species (64 invertebrates and 48 vertebrates), which contribute for about 2% to the inland-water fauna in Italy. Northern and central regions are most affected, and Asia, North America, and the rest of Europe are the main donor continents. The large majority of non-indigenous species entered Italy as a direct or indirect effect of human intervention. A difference between invertebrates and vertebrates was found for their mode of arrival (unintentional for invertebrates and intentional for vertebrates). Accidental transport, in association with both fish (for aquaculture or stock enhancement) and crops, has been the main vector of invertebrate introductions, whereas vertebrates were mostly released for stocking purposes. Overall stock enhancement (47.92%) and culture (37.5%) prevailed over the other pathways. Seventeen and 7 species of our list are included among the 100 worst invasive species of Europe (DAISIE) and of the world (IUCN), respectively. For some (but not all) non-indigenous species recorded in Italy the multilevel impact exerted on the recipient communities and ecosystems is known, even if rarely quantified, but knowledge on their chronic impact is still missing. Additional research is needed to provide criteria for prioritizing intervention against well established invaders and identify which new potential invader should be targeted as “unwanted”.