Search

Background: In the past decades, the abandonment of traditional land use practices has determined landscape changes inducing reforestation dynamics. This phenomenon can be contrasted with rewilding practices, i.e. , the reintroduction of animals that may promote the recovery of landscape diversity. In this study, we explore the dynamics of expansion of two reintroduced populations of wild ungulates, Italian roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus italicus ) and red deer ( Cervus elaphus ), assessing their contribution in the recovery of landscape diversity., Methods: By using direct and indirect information on the two species, collected by nocturnal and diurnal surveys and camera trapping, we modelled a habitat suitability map, and estimated the density and distribution of the populations. We also performed a land use changes analysis, combining the presence of wild ungulates and livestock., Results and Discussion: We demonstrated that deer dispersed gradually from their release location, increasing in population size, and this occurred in the entire study area. Moreover, we show that areas with lower grazing density are significantly affected by forest encroachment. A possible interpretation of this result could be that wild grazers (roe deer and red deer) prefer semi-open areas surrounded by the forest. This, in association with other factors, such as domestic grazing, could be one of the main responsible in maintaining landscape mosaic typical of the Apennine mountain, confirming the value of grazers as a landscape management tool. Moreover, we show the possibility to conserve through reintroduction the vulnerable C.c. italicus ., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2022 Rivieccio et al.)

Background: The Eurasian otter ( Lutra lutra ) underwent a strong decline in large areas of the Central-Western part of its distribution range, during the second half of the twentieth century. In Italy, only residual fragmented nuclei survive in the Central-Southern part of the peninsula. Nowadays, the otter is one of the most endangered mammals in Italy, and increasing the knowledge about the ecology of this species is a key step in defining fitting management strategies. Here we provide information about the diet of otter on the Agri river system, one of the most important presence sites in Italy, to understand both the species' food requirements and the impact on fish communities., Methods: DNA metabarcoding and High Throughput Sequencing were used on DNA extracted from spraints. We amplified DNA with a primer set for vertebrates, focusing efforts on the bulk of the otter's diet (fishes and amphibians)., Results: Our findings showed that the diet of the otter was dominated by cyprinids (97.77%, and 99.14% of fishes), while amphibians represented 0.85% of the sequences analyzed. Results are in general accordance with previous studies based on morphological characterization; however, molecular analyses allow the resolving of some morphological uncertainties. Although the study area offers a very wide range of available prey, the diet of the otters shows marked selectivity. We highlighted a variation in prey consumed, in accordance with the typology of water system (i.e., river, lake, tributary). Some of the preys found in the diet were alien species introduced by man for sport fishing. Our findings could help define strategies useful for the conservation of the otter population in Southern Italy, suggesting management actions directed at avoiding fish community alterations through illegal stockings without severe controls on their taxonomic status. These introductions could result in a general reduction in the diversity of the otter's preys, affecting its predatory behavior., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2020 Buglione et al.)