1,720,976 research outputs found
Fattori Influenzanti La Distribuzione Del Daino (Dama Dama) In un'Area Dell'Appennino Settentrionale
No full textPva (Population Viability Analysis) On A Re-Introduced Population Of Red-Legged Partridge In Central Italy
No full textUsing harvest data to predict habitat-population relationship of the wild boar Sus scrofa in Northern Italy
No full textSelection of wild ungulates by wolves Canis lupus (L. 1758) in an area of the Northern Apennines (North Italy)
No full textWe investigated the patterns of wild ungulate selection by wolves in an 860 km 2 study area of the Northern Apennines (North Italy), in order to detect seasonal variation in wolf diet and changes of feeding habits in relation to the increased abundance of wild ungulates. From June 2007 to May 2008 we collected wolf scats and recorded the signs of presence of wild ungulate species along 25 transects, representative of the different habitat types within the study area. We analysed the scats to identify the main food items used by wolves in each season and we compared the proportions of biomass of wild ungulate species in the diet (use) to those calculated from the signs of presence (availability). We recorded significant seasonal changes in wolf feeding habits, but the main food items were wild ungulates, mainly wild boars, and medium-sized mammals. Livestock (sheep, goats, and calves) were used only in summer and early autumn, during the grazing period, in small quantities. Comparing the current diet of wolves to that recorded in the past in the same study area highlighted significant differences for wild ungulates and livestock, the former being more used nowadays and the latter less. Our study showed that, in the Northern Apennines, the feeding behaviour of wolves has evolved towards a greater use of wild prey, so reducing the impact on livestock and consequently wolf-human conflicts. Moreover, predation by wolves was directed towards the most abundant species of wild ungulates. © 2012 Copyright 2011 Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica dell'Università, Firenze, Italia
Population density of pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in relation to habitat characteristics and management in northern Italy
No full textStato attuale della presenza di ungulati selvatici nel territorio appenninico della provincia di Alessandria.
No full textStruttura e dinamica della popolazione di Capriolo (Capreolus capreolus) nella riserva naturale Bosco di Vanzago
No full textThe reintroduction of Grey (Perdix perdix) and Red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) in Tuscany, C. Italy: an attempt at success evaluation
No full textModeling a Red deer population reintroduced in an area of Northern Apennines (N-Italy)
No full textAt the beginning of the past Century only two remnant populations of red deer (Cervus elaphus) were present in Italy : one in the Eastern Alps (Monastero and Venosta valleys) and the other in the Po Plain near the coast of Adriatic Sea (Mesola Forest). The present Alpine population was originated by immigration from Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia (Central and Eastern Alps) and by reintroductions (Western Alps), whereas in the Apennines red deer was reintroduced since 1960-70. At present Apennine populations are fragmented and isolated even if an increasing trend of density and occupied range was recorded. We monitored from 2002 to 2012 a protected population of red deer reintroduced in late eighties in the hilly and mountainous areas of the Piacenza province (Northern Apennines), in order to detect changes
of population size and range, and to formulate a model of habitat suitability for the prediction of future expansion of population. We carried out counts of roaring males in September of each year and collected systematic observations all year round to define population structure and
reproductive success. We used species locations, to define yearly ranges and core areas by Kernel Analyses (KA) at 99% and 50%, curve fit regression to detect trend of the population and its range, and Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) to model habitat suitability and potential range. For ENFA we subdivided the study area in 4-km2 cells and in each cell we measured the altimetry, exposure, slope, and land use variables; the cells where at least one observation was collected in the study period were considered as presence ones. Finally we carried out Population Viability Analyses (PVA) to predict population trend and to explore the
harvesting possibility. Deer population showed a slow increasing trend (from 4 roaring males in 2002 to 70 in 2012). Only KA50% resulted in a low increasing trend (F=13.78; df=1; P=0.014; R2=0.73). ENFA showed a global marginality of 0.53 and a tolerance of 0.71. The main variables positively related to the marginality were broad-leaved and conifer forests, pastures, East aspect, altitudes from 1000 to 1800 m a.s.l., and slopes between 10° and 30°. The model provided a habitat suitability map that defined a potential red deer range of 580 km2 (22.4% of the Piacenza province). K-Fold cross validation and ROC curves showed a high predictive power of the model (Rho=0. 96; P<0.0001; AUC=0.99; P<0.0001). PVAs showed an increasing trend of the population without harvest from 300 to 900 individuals in 30 years (survival probability=1), an increase with a harvest equal to 5% (from 300 to 825 individuals;
survival probability=0.99), and a stability but with a low survival probability (0.63) with a harvest equal to10%. Red deer is an important big game species and it has a high conservation value being a selected prey by wolves; however if populations reach high densities they can
have a heavy impact on agriculture causing damages in particular on vineyards and orchards. Consequently it is important to maintain populations at sustainable densities by a slight harvesting
Rana dalmatina and Rana latastei: habitat selection, fluctuation in egg clutch deposition and response to exceptional floods in northern Italy
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