Matteo Dal Zotto

Invasive alien species are a recognised threat to biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and human well-being. Management efforts often prioritise ecological and economic outcomes, neglecting the implications of control methods on animal welfare. We investigated the perceived impacts on animal welfare of different lethal and non-lethal methods to control invasive slider turtles Trachemys scripta in Europe. We elicited the opinions of a group of 24 herpetologists, turtle caretakers, veterinarians and welfare experts, combining the Five Domains welfare framework with a formal structured elicitation approach. Experts generally agreed that welfare impacts in traps or transport would be mostly minor, but could increase with time of exposure, turtle densities and inadequate protocols. For captive containment post-capture, concerns included inadequate diets and habitats, disease and behavioural concerns, although the latter were particularly uncertain. For lethal methods, lethal injection and properly executed shooting were judged to cause no or mild suffering only. Self-expressed confidence in the elicited estimates was relatively high, but decreased for higher impact levels, longer timeframes and less-known welfare domains such as behavioural concerns. Future research would refine welfare assessment models, particularly for the evaluation of cumulative impacts across different methods and multiple affected individuals. However, in a field as multifaceted as animal welfare, some degree of expert interpretation will likely always be necessary to guide policy: structured expert elicitation can help formalise current knowledge and make those interpretations more transparent.

Costa Rica is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, hosting almost 4% of all known mammals. Although the local mammals have undoubtedly been more investigated than those of other Central American countries, some regions still appear poorly known to date, such as the Nicoya Peninsula, NW Costa Rica. Our research focuses on the Karen Mogensen Wildlife Refuge, an important component of the Nicoya Peninsula Biological Corridor. This investigation represents the first comprehensive study of mammals of this area, with the aims to provide baseline information on the mammal community and tourism management. The investigation during a 6-year period (2018–2023) revealed the presence of 60 species, belonging to 50 genera, 23 families, and 8 orders, indicating a high species richness of the area. Among these, we highlight the occurrence of the globally Vulnerable Alouatta palliata and Cebus imitator and the Near Threatened Leopardus wiedii and Vampyrum spectrum , along with the recently recognised Lontra annectens , whose status is still Not Evaluated. The influence of tourism on activity patterns of mammals was also investigated. Using camera trapping, 13 species were detected in 537 trap-days and divided based on functional traits. No evidence of impacts caused by the presence of tourists was found on these species. This suggests that the current conservation policies of the Wildlife Refuge appear to be incorporating ecotourism in a wise and thoughtful manner. The information gathered will be a useful tool for the development and implementation of conservation strategies and actions at the local scale in the near future.

Lepidodactylus lugubris (Duméril & Bibron, 1836) is a parthenogenetic gekkonid originally distributed in southeast Asia but introduced to numerous countries worldwide. Its geographic range is expanding in several tropical regions due to anthropogenic activities. Here we report the first presence data for this species from the Reserva Natural Absoluta Cabo Blanco in northwestern Costa Rica. Our in‑situ observation provides evidence that the geographic range of L. lugubris is expanding northwards along the Pacific slope of Costa Rica and, more generally, of Central America.

Forestry management can shape the structure of habitat types and have important biological consequences on the composition of biodiversity. This study focused on Momotus lessonii and Eumomota superciliosa, two potential bioindicators of local and wide scale tropical forest alterations. The study took place in the Karen Mogensen Wildlife Refuge (Costa Rica), a protected area characterized by two main forest habitats where the two species coexist, i.e., primary moist and second-growth dry forest. A distance sampling method was used to obtain density estimates for each species. A spot mapping approach showed an apparent partitioning of the two species at the site. The Kilometric Abundance Index (KAI) and statistical analyses revealed significant differences between the two habitats, i.e., E. superciliosa tended to be more abundant and preferred the dry forest, whilst M. lessonii favored moist environments. The development of arid and semi-arid environments characterized by open areas will probably lead to a numerical increase in E. superciliosa with a consequent expansion, while the decline of moister and homogeneously forested environments will likely affect negatively M. lessonii. We argue that these birds will act as bioindicators of local and global environmental changes, and their monitoring will enable appropriate forest management decisions for conservation purposes.

Our aim was to investigate the among-populations diversity of prey composition in Eurasian Reed Warblers’ diets via their droppings, both to assess the ecological validity of this sampling method and to test whether the prey species most abundant in fecal samples were also the most present in the Italian study site. We collected fecal samples at four sites throughout Italy, for a total of 144 samples. Within reedbeds, the breeding habitat of the Eurasian Reed Warbler, we also collected arthropods by carrying out entomological sweepings at one of the study sites. Within the fecal samples, we identified dozens of prey species, belonging mainly to Araneae, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and Aphidoidea taxa, whose compositions were not statistically different among sites. The commonest prey species were Coleoptera in the droppings (68.5%) and Diptera in the reedbeds (31.3%), although the latter was less numerous in the fecal samples. The diets of different Italian populations of Eurasian Reed Warbler emerging from our study underline a strong Coleopteran presence, without differences across Italy. Fecal samples appear to be an exhaustive method to study variation in Eurasian Reed Warbler diet and its ecological importance; however, although potential caveats do exist, such as the possible under-representation of Diptera.

The present study aimed at assessing the habitat preferences of the most widespread and abundant ungulate in Italy, the roe deer, in the Vallevecchia protected area (Venice). This area has been the object of naturalistic management and continuous environmental improvements in the last decades. Currently, the area is characterized by a high habitat heterogeneity, including deciduous woodlands, pine forests, wetlands, and farmlands. The study was carried out during the summers of 2017 and 2020. Data were collected along standardized transects, and the geo-localized records were divided into the corresponding habitats to calculate the Jacobs Index. In addition, chi-square test was applied, with the calculation of Pearson residuals to estimate the significance of associations to the habitats. The analyses show that in Vallevecchia the roe deer prefers woods and permanent meadows. Conversely, this ungulate avoids pine forests, wetlands and farmlands, despite their potential as sources of food and shelter. In line with other studies on agroforestry systems, wooded areas were most likely preferred because they provide shelter from disturbing factors and thermal stress, while meadows were likely chosen for trophic reasons. In this respect, we point out that in the studied area the preference for meadows was most likely due also to the availability of sprouts all year round, deriving from the constant mowing activities implemented in this habitat. In addition, our investigation underlines that the roe deer normally avoids maize and wheat crops, in accordance with similar studies. Moreover, the analyses highlight the preference for farmlands only if woods and grasslands are not present in the adjoining areas. Conversely, the proximity of these habitats results in a low impact on crops. In addition to encouraging the enforcement of current management actions in Vallevecchia, our results represent a contribution to a more effective management of the roe deer in agroforestry systems, aimed at limiting its impact in anthropized contexts and at achieving the conditions for a better coexistence of this deer with human activities.