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Biodiversity and ecology of Tuscan malacocoenoses with particular reference to the effects of human impact
Get PDFFor the most part, there is no doubt that human impact on biodiversity has been negative: habitat loss and degradation, pollution, overexploitation, and introduction of invasive species had played significant roles in biodiversity decline. However, human impact on Earth is not always so detrimental and its effects are not the same for all taxa. The aim of this thesis was to assess the anthropogenic impact on one of the most endangered and often unnoticed groups - terrestrial molluscs - firstly focusing on natural and then urban context. In Chapter I, effects of forest age as a surrogate for forest continuity on land snail richness and composition in Tuscan evergreen and deciduous woods were assessed. Chapter II explored the role of dispersal and local environment in urban land snail assemblages comparing different human-made habitat types in three cities in central Italy (Grosseto, Siena and Arezzo). Finally the link between man and urban environment has been further elaborated in Chapter III, where a fully synanthropic land snail species (Papillifera papillaris) has been used to assess athmosferic pollution from human activities, especially vehicular traffic, in the urban area of Siena. Concerning results obtained, Chapter I revealed that successional age as surrogate for forest continuity parameter seemed not to be a key factor in controlling land snail species richness and abundances but habitat structure more than forest age was the factor mostly involved in affecting communities; furthermore, no difference was found between evergreen and deciduous oak litter in terms of land snail richness, abundance and diversity. Focusing on urban environment, Chapter II demonstrated that cities can show relatively high land snail richness with values comparable to natural areas. After having accounted and later removed spatial structures influence, urban gradient effect turned out to be the principal component structuring urban land snail assemblages. This finding proved a likely human-mediated transport, which enhances dispersal abilities of organisms normally considered scarcely mobile. However, no establishment there would be in the absence of suitable microhabitat conditions. In particular, “vegetation cover” and “distance from the city centre” were the environmental variables that explained most of the variation in species composition. In Chapter III, results elected Papillifera papillaris a promising species to monitor the metal distribution and bioavailability in urban environments and to evaluate the possible transfer of pollutants to higher levels in food chains. Mollusc soft tissues showed very low concentrations of lithophile elements, and much higher concentrations of anthropogenic metals such as Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn while excreta and traditional biomonitors such as mosses were the matrices most involved in lithophile contamination. Surprisingly, Papillifera papillaris tissues showed extreme Mn values. These concentations, for their magnitude, have no comparison with those reported in literature for other species of terrestrial gastropods. Excreta showed a high concentration of Pb, demonstrating the scarce bioavailability and absorption of this element and probably its limited impact on urban food chains
From citizen science to science education: the experiences of the Natural History Museum of Accademia dei Fisiocritici (MUSNAF) about teaching and learning biodiversity
No full textAs citizen science expands, it is becoming increasingly important to consider its potential to foster education and learning opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for public trust to be strengthened, especially concerning collective awareness of biodiversity and its role for sustainable development. In 2020 the Natural History Museum of Accademia dei Fisiocritici promoted citizen science that allowed the Museum to interact with the public, and people to reconnect with nature without leaving home. The inaugural project was "CLIC! Snails and Slugs in Cities", the first Italian crowdsourcing research dedicated to the monitoring of land molluscs in urban environments; CLIC! was followed by “AIDA Animal Intruders Inside Home”. These monitoring projects could help researchers understand the mechanisms of the spread of alien species and the effects of climate change, also empowering and informing learners. Non-formal school education was also used to promote outdoor activities to bring students closer to the environment of their neighborhoods; friendly open-access apps (iNaturalist and Seek) were used to identify biodiversity through image recognition technology. In this sense, educational outdoor itineraries promote skills developing such as understanding of environment as a complex system and supporting “scientific literacy”. Museum offers were recently implemented with Siena BiodiverCity, an education and research project to enhance biodiversity in Siena and promote its conservation through an inclusive approach. A 24-hour BioBlitz took place to start a participative census of urban biodiversity, thanks to the collaboration between citizens and experts. Training sessions were organized with theoretical and field data collection activities. Good practice operations for urban regeneration were also promoted. Finally, the “Biodiversity Desk”, a service to offer free consultations and identification of natural vouchers, is going to be launched. "Siena BiodiverCity" is a model that can be replicated in other cities for a different nature-based education experience
Non marine molluscs of Monte Argentario [I molluschi terrestri e d'acqua dolce del Monte Argentario]
No full textKnowledge about land and freshwater molluscs of Monte Argentario is quite limited: only 41 species are known from the literature. New research carried out between 2011 and 2015 and data previously collected by M. Bodon (Genua) and F. Giusti (Siena) increased the number to 64 species (9 freshwater and 55 land molluscs). The malacofauna of Monte Argentario generally has good conservation status and low xenodiversity. Only two sub-endemic snails (Oxychilus majori and Marmorana saxetana) can be considered species of conservation concern, since despite being locally common, their limited distribution represents a risk factor. All the other species show a variably wide distribution and are not globally threatened, though some are uncommon or rare on Monte Argentario. Freshwater species, such as Bythinella sp., Galba truncatula, Planorbis moquini and Ancylus fluviatilis are apparently very rare despite the availability of suitable aquatic environments. Some land species are extremely localized and may be limited to one or a few sites. Some of the latter are typical of mesophilic environments currently rare along the Tuscan coast and on the Tuscan Archipelago (Argna biplicata, Vertigo angustior, Vertigo pygmaea, Merdigera obscura, Clausilia cruciata and Euconulus fulvus) or are confined to particular habitats, such as garrigues on rocky calcareous outcrops (Rupestrella philippii and Marmorana saxetana)
Figure 10 in A small slug from a tropical greenhouse reveals a new rathouisiid lineage with triaulic tritrematic genitalia (Gastropoda: Systellommatophora)
No full textFigure 10. Illustrations of the genitalia of Rathouisia sinensis and their legend published by Rathouis (1885).Published as part of Manganelli, Giuseppe, Lesicki, Andrzej, Benocci, Andrea, Barbato, Debora, Miserocchi, Danio, Pieńkowska, Joanna R. & Giusti, Folco, 2023, A small slug from a tropical greenhouse reveals a new rathouisiid lineage with triaulic tritrematic genitalia (Gastropoda: Systellommatophora), pp. 76-103 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 197 (1) on page 91, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac054, http://zenodo.org/record/747413
The biogeography of non-marine molluscs in the Tuscan Archipelago reveals combined effects of current eco-geographical drivers and paleogeography
No full textWe investigated the role of present (Recent) and historical (Pleistocene, i.e., Wurmian Last Glacial Maximum) eco-geographical variables on the richness and diversity of non-marine molluscs in the Tuscan Archipelago, as well as inter-island faunal dissimilarity and relationships with source pools (Sardinia and Corsica, Tuscany). The association between species richness and present and historical eco-geographical variables were assessed with Spearman's rank correlation test, while faunal dissimilarity both between islands and with their source pools was analyzed through beta-diversity partitioning (SOrensen index and its nestedness and turnover component) with UPGMA clustering tested with a multiscale bootstrap procedure. Non-metric multidimensional scaling in RGB color space was also used. Multiple regressions on distance matrices were then applied to explain assemblage composition between islands. Analyses were performed on all species and on all species except aliens. The overall framework showed the combined effects of current eco-geographical and paleogeographical imprints on non-marine malacofauna in the Tuscan Archipelago. However, excluding aliens, differences in species spatial turnover showed a clear correlation with Pleistocene inter-island distances, evidence of stronger historical biogeographical relationships between islands. This may indicate that widespread native species established their distribution during the Pleistocene, while alien species spread into the Tuscan Archipelago through stochastic and human-mediated dispersion events in recent times. Interestingly, Giglio's relationships do not agree with the most accepted paleogeographical model, suggesting that this island might have been connected to the Tuscan mainland during the Wurmian Last Glacial Maximum. An in-depth revision of the paleogeographic framework of the northern Tyrrhenian is therefore called for
Figure 11 in A small slug from a tropical greenhouse reveals a new rathouisiid lineage with triaulic tritrematic genitalia (Gastropoda: Systellommatophora)
No full textFigure 11. Genitalia of Rathouisia sinensis from Nandaheyuan, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, M. Wu leg. 21.9.2021 (FGC 51209): A, general view; B, distal male genitalia. See Morphological study for explanation of abbreviations.Published as part of Manganelli, Giuseppe, Lesicki, Andrzej, Benocci, Andrea, Barbato, Debora, Miserocchi, Danio, Pieńkowska, Joanna R. & Giusti, Folco, 2023, A small slug from a tropical greenhouse reveals a new rathouisiid lineage with triaulic tritrematic genitalia (Gastropoda: Systellommatophora), pp. 76-103 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 197 (1) on page 92, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac054, http://zenodo.org/record/747413
A small slug from a tropical greenhouse reveals a new rathouisiid lineage with triaulic tritrematic genitalia (Gastropoda: Systellommatophora)
Get PDFManganelli, Giuseppe, Lesicki, Andrzej, Benocci, Andrea, Barbato, Debora, Miserocchi, Danio, Pieńkowska, Joanna R., Giusti, Folco (2023): A small slug from a tropical greenhouse reveals a new rathouisiid lineage with triaulic tritrematic genitalia (Gastropoda: Systellommatophora). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 197 (1): 76-103, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac054, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac05
Aciculid land snails (Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda, Cyclophoroidea) from the Zanclean (early Pliocene) of Balze di Caspreno (central Italy)
No full textFive species of aciculids are reported herein from the Zanclean (early Pliocene) of Baize di Caspreno (Tuscany, central Italy): one belongs to the genus Acicula Hartmann, 1821, three to Platyla Moquin-Tandon, 1856 and one to Renea Nevill, 1880. Statistical analysis (PCA and RDA) was performed on ten shell variables to test the taxonomic assignment of four of the taxa, in order to compare them with relevant recent species. Caspreno Acicula differs from similar taxa by virtue of its more evident external peristomal varix, smaller size and lower HID ratio; RDA confirmed its distinction from other congeners: it is therefore assigned to a new species: Acicula kadolskyi n. sp. The largest taxon, Caspreno Platyla, represented by only a few very fragmentary shells, is tentatively assigned to P. dupuyi (Paladilhe, 1868) by virtue of shell size and shape and structure of the external peristomal varix. The other two taxa of Caspreno Platyla are assigned to P. gracilis (Clessin, 1877) and P. similis (Reinhardt, 1880); RDA confirmed that no significant statistical difference exists between recent and fossil populations of the two species. Caspreno Renea, represented by only very fragmentary shells, is tentatively identified as R. veneta (Pirona, 1865) due to its conical shape and dense ribbing. This conclusion is not supported by RDA, possibly due to the fragmentary state of the material which made it impossible to measure some important shell variables. Apart from A. kadolskyi n. sp., the other species are still extant. Two of these (P. gracilis and R. cf veneta) are reported for the first time as fossils and the other two (P. cf dupuyi and P. similis)for the first time from the Pliocene of central Italy, although one of them (P. cf dupuyi) had previously been recorded from the Fossil Forest of Dunarobba, based on misidentified material of P. similis
Hypnophila zirjensis n. sp., a new azecid land snail from the Croatian island of žirje (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Orthurethra)
No full textHypnophila zirjensis n. sp. is decribed from the Island of Zirje (Sibenik Archipelago, Croatia). The new species is characterized by shell and genital features, which distinguish it from the other Balkan species. These characters match those of species occurring in the western Mediterranean region making the new species very interesting from a biogeographical point of view
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