Censimento dell'occhione Burhinus oedicnemus in un'area steppico cerealicola della Sicilia Meridionale

Diversità e struttura dell’avifauna in una successione post incendio di bosco meso-mediterraneo

In questo lavoro sono state analizzate la ricchezza specifica, il turn-over e la struttura della comunità di uccelli in una successione secondaria da incendio (Erico-Quercion ilicis) nel Parco Regionale delle Madonie (Sicilia). Nelle primavere del 2002 e 2003 sono stati effettuati censimenti mediante punti d’ascolto in 6 aree campione di 100 ha bruciate tra il 1993 e il 2001, e in 4 settori di controllo situati in boschi non percorsi dal fuoco rispettivamente da 25 e 50 anni. Nella serie post incendio sono state censite complessivamente 33 specie di uccelli. La ricchezza specifica aumentava bruscamente nei primi 10 anni e raggiungeva un plateau 25-30 anni dopo l’incendio, mentre il turn-ove…

Epinephelus sicanus (Doderlein, 1882) (Perciformes: Serranidae: Epinephelinae), a valid species of grouper from the Mediterranean Sea

During the editing of the paper “In memory of Pietro Doderlein” (Massa et al. 2018), consulting Doderlein’s bibliography, and highlighting some interesting documents and the material preserved in the Museum of Zoology of the University of Palermo (MZPA) (today named after Doderlein), a taxonomic anomaly was noticed about a grouper collected more than one hundred years ago. The aim of the present statement is to prove that the name Cerna sicana Doderlein, 1882 (presently as Epinephelus sicanus [Doderlein, 1882]) should be considered a valid species unless it is demonstrated that it is a synonym of another valid species. In 1882 Doderlein described Cerna sicana from a single specimen (Fig. 1)…

Great tit (Parus major) breeding in fire-prone oak woods: differential effects of post-fire conditions on reproductive stages

Wildfires negatively affect the overall reproductive success of several woodland avian species, but there is scarce information about which stages of the nesting cycle are specifically affected. We conducted a 3-year study to identify the effects of fire on the reproductive parameters of the great tit (Parus major) and the survival of its nests at different stages of the nesting cycle. We recorded the occupancy rate, clutch and brood size, hatching, fledging and nesting success in nest boxes placed on study plots with different post-fire age. By examining the post-fire succession, we analysed the survival of eggs and nestlings under predation risks. As the forest matured after a wildfire, …

Dal mare al museo. Il recupero di uno scheletro di stenella striata, Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen 1833)

In 2021, the Museum of Zoology “P. Doderlein” of the University of Palermo acquired a new specimen, the complete skeleton of Stenella coeruleoalba, a striped dolphin stranded in 2018 in Marinella di Selinunte, Castelvetrano (Sicily, Southern Italy). The project herein described is the result of a collaboration among the Bio-Reconstruction Laboratory of the IAS-CNR of Capo Granitola, the IZS of Palermo, the company Naturaliter and the Museum of Zoology “P. Doderlein”. In Natural History Museums, cetaceans are an excellent tool to facilitate scientific dissemination aimed at the conservation of marine biodiversity. The work herein described is presented as an example of good practices in reco…

ABITUDINI ALIMENTARI DI Tyto alba LEGATE ALL’USO DEL SUOLO

Studio preliminare su Barbagianni, Tyto alba: abitudini alimentari legate all'uso del suolo

Fire disturbance disrupts co-occurrence patterns of terrestrial vertebrates in Mediterranean woodlands

Aim  This paper uses null model analysis to explore the pattern of species co-occurrence of terrestrial vertebrate fauna in fire-prone, mixed evergreen oak woodlands. Location  The Erico–Quercion ilicis of the Mediterranean belt (50–800 m a.s.l.) in the Madonie mountain range, a regional park in northern Sicily (37°50′ N, 14°05′ E), Italy. Methods  The stratified sampling of vertebrates in a secondary succession of recent burned areas (BA, 1–2 years old), intermediate burned areas (INT, 4–10 years old) and ancient burned areas (CNB, > 50 years old), plus forest fragments left within burned areas (FF, 1–2 years old) permitted the comparison of patterns of species co-occurrence using a set of…

Exploitation competition between hole‐nesters ( Muscardinus avellanarius , Mammalia and Parus caeruleus , Aves) in Mediterranean woodlands

Data from a long-term study (1993-2003) using artificial nest-boxes, were analysed to examine competition for nesting between blue tit Parus caeruleus and common dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius in Sicily. Occupation rates and the reproductive biology of the blue tit in sample woodlots outside the distribution area of the common dormouse were used as a control in sample areas where the two species were syntopic. A selection test showed that the two species, when living in syntopy, actively chose the small nest-boxes, thus overlapping in the use of the same spatial resource. The experimental exclusion of the common dormouse from nest-boxes caused an increase of blue tit occupation rate. Onc…

Insolito comportamento alimentare in Picchio muratore Sitta europaea

THE ROLE OF THE MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY “P. DODERLEIN” ON HISTORICAL RECONSTRUCTION OF MARINE INVASIVE SPECIES

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"Pietro Doderlein" Museo di zoologia