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When selecting a breeding site, individuals can use social information to reduce the uncertainty regarding habitat quality. In particular, individuals from several bird species tend to reuse nests previously occupied by competitors. Re-occupying nests previously used by conspecifics or heterospecifics could result from exploiting social information by copying competitors’ choice (the ‘social information’ hypothesis). Alternatively, it could allow fulfilling the needs for a comfortable nest substrate (e.g. by improving thermal insulation or reducing egg breakage risks) at low costs, regardless of previous occupancy (the ‘comfort’ hypothesis). Here, we aimed to determine which of these two mechanisms triggered the preference for old conspecific nest material in a secondary cavity-nesting raptor which does not add lining materials to its nest, the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni). Using an experimental design forcing settling lesser kestrels to choose between two adjacent nestboxes containing different substrates, we detected a strong preference for comfortable substrates (peat moss, or conspecific or European roller old nest material) over uncomfortable mineral substrate, especially when the comfortable substrate also provided social information about previous nest use by a competitor. Despite the apparent absence of preference when directly comparing settlement patterns in comfortable substrates with and without social information, early-settling individuals favoured the substrate with social information, while late-settling ones favoured the substrate without social information. This could reflect intraspecific competition avoidance by late arriving individuals that may be competitively inferior compared to early arriving ones. This hypothesis is supported by a later laying date of young (up to two years old) breeders compared to older ones in our population. Our findings suggest that both comfort seeking and social information use explain preference for previously used nest cavities, and that nest site choices may depend on individual competitive abilities and experience.

This paper reports the results of the BioBlitz organized by the Maremma Natural History Museum in May 2015 within the “Torrente Trasubbie” Site of Regional Importance. This activity is part of the public involvement events for the collection of scientific data that the Museum organizes on a regular basis. During BioBlitz 2015, data collected attested the presence of 652 different taxonomic entities, 562 of which were identified at the species level and 32 at the subspecies level. The remaining were identified at higher taxonomic levels. Thirteen alien and 4 endemic species were identified. Fifty-three species protected by international or national laws and 17 endangered species were detected in the area. SIR Trasubbie is an extremely interesting area from a naturalistic point of view, but extremely vulnerable for its high dynamism linked to the torrential regime of the homonymous stream and susceptible to changes in land use in the surrounding areas. The data collected confirm the high importance of this portion of territory at the level of both habitat and individual species. The data collected in collaboration with members of the public assume an even greater value, as an activity carried out by the local community.

In recent decades, many natural history museums in Europe have integrated their traditional functions with new ways of interacting with visitors and local communities. In particular, the need to adapt their mission according to the changes in modern society has led them to develop initiatives aiming at an active involvement of the public in scientific research. This is one of the inspiring principles of Citizen Science. BioBlitz are among the most popular activities dedicated to biodiversity in this field. In line with the inspiring principles of this cultural revolution, since 2012 the Maremma Natural History Museum organized public participation initiatives for the collection of biodiversity data. We hereby report the main results of the BioBlitz 2018 organized by the Maremma Natural History Museum in the Talamone area, located in thesouthern portion of the Uccellina Hills. Four hundred and ninety-eight taxa were sampled and identified, 447 of which at the level of species and 10 at the level of subspecies; the remaining refer to higher taxonomic levels. 31 protected species and 10 endangered species were found in the area; moreover, 6 alien species and one endemic species were detected. The main feature that distinguished BioBlitz 2018 to others conducted in previous years was the large number of participants. The data collected increased the scientific knowledge of the southern portion of the Maremma Regional Park, less known than other areas of the same protected area.

The growing interest in emerging environmental crisis has increased the level of public attention and the willingness to take part in participatory science projects, commonly defined with the term “Citizen Science”. This phenomenon can be recorded globally in many national contexts, with a prevalence in anglophone and more industrialized countries. In the biodiversity sector, the growing demand for public involvement has been declined in many different ways, with solutions aimed at providing cognitive and participatory tools. Among these, one of the best known is the BioBlitz: a 24-hour event held in a specific place with the aim of listing as many living species as possible. This work presents the data collected during the first two BioBlitzes organized by the Maremma Natural History Museum in 2013 and 2014. Both were made in the area of the San Felice Oasis, near the terminal part of the San Leopoldo ditch. During the BioBlitz, data collected attested the presence of 616 different taxonomic entities, of which 507 were identified at the level of species and 22 at the level of subspecies. The rest were identified at higher taxonomic levels. Eleven alien species, one endemic species, 33 species protected by national and international laws and / or directives and 9 species at risk of extinction were identified.

Telemetry triangulation is commonly used for obtaining location estimates of animals in the filed. Although this technique provides only an estimate of the animal’s true position, most authors do not report the error associated with the radio-telemetry location. We show the results of estimating error in a radio-telemetry study of roe deer in a hilly environment in central Italy. Ten VHF radio-collars were hidden in the study area by an external field operator and five field workers involved in the collection of the data were asked to locate the transmitters. The position of the radio-collars was changed three times, thus generating thirty different locations. Radio-locations were obtained using standard triangulation from settled receiving stations. We estimated linear and angular errors associated with the radio-telemetry technique, we tested the experience effect of the filed workers and the topography effect of the study area on linear and angular errors. Furthermore, we quantified the proportion of estimated locations not correctly associated with the habitat types. The mean linear and angular errors were respectively 42.9 m and 12.6°. For both linear and angular errors, no differences were detected among field operators and between the expert and not expert field operators. The linear error was strongly related to the angular error and to the mean distance between the transmitter and the receiving stations. The angular error was negatively related to the slope of transmitters. The assignation of an erroneous habitat occurred on 22.7% of the times. This study is aimed to emphasize the importance of reporting radio-telemetry error in studies were triangulation technique is used.