COVID-19 could accelerate the decline in recreational hunting: A natural experiment from Northern Italy.

Although many studies highlighted the potential of COVID-19 to reshape existing models of wildlife management, empirical research on this topic has been scarce, particularly in Europe. We investigated the potential of COVID-19 pandemic to accelerate the ongoing decline in an aging population of recreational hunters in Italy. Namely, we modelled spatiotemporal trends between 2011 and 2021 in the number of recreational hunters in 50 Italian provinces with a varying incidence of COVID-19, and temporally delayed waves of infection.

Dangerous neighbours: Birds and bird-eating bats sharing tree cavities.

Mounting evidence indicates the non-consumptive effects of predators significantly impact prey physiology, ecology and behaviour. Passerine birds experience adverse effects on nesting and reproductive success when in proximity to predators. Fear of predators is context-dependent and influenced by hunting habitats and foraging strategies.

Physiological stress response to urbanisation differs between native and invasive squirrel species.

Novel pressures derived from urbanisation can alter native habitats and ultimately impact wildlife. Coping with such human-driven changes might induce shifts in species phenotypic traits, such as physiological responses to anthropogenic stressors. Preadaptation to face those challenges has been suggested to favour settlement and spread of invasive alien species in urbanised areas which, consequently, might respond differently than ecologically similar native species to stressors posed by urbanisation.

Climate is changing, are European bats too? A multispecies analysis of trends in body size.

Animal size, a trait sensitive to spatial and temporal variables, is a key element in ecological and evolutionary dynamics. In the context of climate change, there is evidence that some bat species are increasing their body size via phenotypic responses to higher temperatures at maternity roosts. To test the generality of this response, we conducted a >20-year study examining body size changes in 15 bat species in Italy, analysing data from 4393 individual bats captured since 1995.

Use of infrared thermography to detect reactions to stressful events: does animal personality matter?

The study of the relationship between animal stress and personality for free-ranging animals is limited and provides contrasting results. The perception of stressors by an individual may vary due to its personality, and certain personality traits may help individuals to better cope with them. Using non-invasive infrared thermography (IRT), we investigated the link between physiological and behavioral components expressed during an acute stress event by free-ranging Fremont's squirrels (Tamiasciurus fremonti).

Native species exhibit physiological habituation to invaders: a reason for hope.

Animals cope with environmental perturbations through the stress response, a set of behavioural and physiological responses aimed to maintain and/or return to homeostasis and enhance fitness. Vertebrate neuroendocrine axis activation in response to environmental stressors can result in the secretion of glucocorticoids (GCs), whose acute increases may be adaptive, while chronic elevation may be detrimental. Invasive grey squirrels () act as a stressor eliciting elevation of GCs in native red squirrels ().

Living on the edge: morphological and behavioral adaptations to a marginal high-elevation habitat in an arboreal mammal.

Habitats are characterized by different local environmental conditions that influence both behavior and morphology of species, which can result in habitat-dependent phenotypic differences among animals living in heterogeneous environments. We studied 3 alpine populations of Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), 1 living in a marginal high-elevation habitat at the edge of the species' altitudinal distribution, and 2 occurring in higher-quality habitats. Here, we investigated whether squirrels living in the marginal area differed in 2 morphological parameters (body size and body mass) and/or in the expression of 4 personality traits estimated with an open field test and a mirror image stimulation test (activity, exploration, activity-exploration, and social tendency).

Lost and found: Helminths infecting invasive raccoons introduced to Italy.

North American raccoons (Procyon lotor) have been introduced to several European countries, where they may represent a sanitary threat as hosts of several pathogens such as the zoonotic ascarid Baylisascaris procyonis. We carried out parasitological analysis on raccoons introduced to Italy to verify whether the species had carried along B. procyonis or any other gastro-intestinal helminths that may threaten humans, livestock or native wildlife.

Camera Trapping to Assess Status and Composition of Mammal Communities in a Biodiversity Hotspot in Myanmar.

Tropical forests comprise a critically impacted habitat, and it is known that altered forests host a lower diversity of mammal communities. In this study, we investigated the mammal communities of two areas in Myanmar with similar environmental conditions but with great differences in habitat degradation and human disturbance. The main goal was to understand the status and composition of these communities in an understudied area like Myanmar at a broad scale.

Personality traits, sex and food abundance shape space use in an arboreal mammal.

Animal space use is affected by spatio-temporal variation in food availability and/or population density and varies among individuals. This inter-individual variation in spacing behaviour can be further influenced by sex, body condition, social dominance, and by the animal's personality. We used capture-mark-recapture and radio-tracking to examine the relationship between space use and personality in Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) in three conifer forests in the Italian Alps.

Complex relationships between physiological stress and endoparasite infections in natural populations.

Short-term elevation of glucocorticoids (GCs) is one of the major physiological mechanisms by which vertebrates cope with challenging environmental or social factors (stressors). However, when exposure to stressors occurs repeatedly or over a prolonged period of time, animals may experience chronic elevation of GCs, which reduces the immune response efficiency and can lead to higher intensity of parasitic infection. Here, we used invasive gray squirrels introduced in Northern Italy and their 2 most prevalent gastrointestinal parasites, the nematode and coccidia of the genus , as a model to investigate relationships among macroparasite infection and concentrations of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs), an integrated measure of circulating GCs.

Hydrogen isotopes reveal evidence of migration of Miniopterus schreibersii in Europe.

Background: The Schreiber's bat, Miniopterus schreibersii, is adapted to long-distance flight, yet long distance movements have only been recorded sporadically using capture-mark-recapture. In this study, we used the hydrogen isotopic composition of 208 wing and 335 fur specimens from across the species' European range to test the hypothesis that the species migrates over long distances.

Results: After obtaining the hydrogen isotopic composition (δH) of each sample, we performed geographic assignment tests by comparing the δH of samples with the δH of sampling sites.

Relationships between personality traits and the physiological stress response in a wild mammal.

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are involved in the regulation of an animal's energetic state. Under stressful situations, they are part of the neuroendocrine response to cope with environmental challenges. Animals react to aversive stimuli also through behavioral responses, defined as coping styles.

Spillover of an alien parasite reduces expression of costly behaviour in native host species.

Understanding the effects of invasive alien species (IAS) on native host-parasite relationships is of importance for enhancing ecological theory and IAS management. When IAS and their parasite(s) invade a guild, the effects of interspecific resource competition and/or parasite-mediated competition can alter existing native host-parasite relationships and the dependent biological traits such as native species' behaviour. We used a natural experiment of populations of native red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris that were colonized by the alien grey squirrel Sciurus carolinensis, comparing repeated measurements of red squirrel parasite infection and personality with those taken in sites where only the native species occurred.

Interspecific competition affects the expression of personality-traits in natural populations.

Competition between animal species can cause niche partitioning and shape an individual's phenotype, including its behaviour. However, little is known about effects of interspecific competition on personality, the among-individual variation in behaviour that is consistent across different spatial and temporal contexts. We investigated whether alien grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) influenced the expression of personality traits in native red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris).

Stress in biological invasions: Introduced invasive grey squirrels increase physiological stress in native Eurasian red squirrels.

Invasive alien species can cause extinction of native species through processes including predation, interspecific competition for resources or disease-mediated competition. Increases in stress hormones in vertebrates may be associated with these processes and contribute to the decline in survival or reproduction of the native species. Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) have gone extinct across much of the British Isles and parts of Northern Italy following the introduction of North American invasive grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis).

Preventing species invasion: A role for integrative taxonomy?

Integrative taxonomy, a multi-disciplinary approach adding modern techniques to traditional morphology-based methods (e.g. molecular and morphological criteria), can play an important role in bioinvasion research to identify introduced taxa, discover pathways of introduction and inform authorities to control and prevent future introductions.

Biodiversity threats from outside to inside: effects of alien grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) on helminth community of native red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris).

Biological invasions are among the major causes of biodiversity loss worldwide, and parasites carried or acquired by invaders may represent an added threat to native species. We compared gastrointestinal helminth communities of native Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) in the presence and absence of introduced Eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) to detect alterations induced by the alien species. In particular, we investigated whether spillover of a North American nematode Strongyloides robustus occurs and whether prevalence of a local parasite Trypanoxyuris sciuri in red squirrels is affected by grey squirrel presence.

What story does geographic separation of insular bats tell? A case study on Sardinian rhinolophids.

Competition may lead to changes in a species' environmental niche in areas of sympatry and shifts in the niche of weaker competitors to occupy areas where stronger ones are rarer. Although mainland Mediterranean (Rhinolophus euryale) and Mehely's (R. mehelyi) horseshoe bats mitigate competition by habitat partitioning, this may not be true on resource-limited systems such as islands.

Macroparasite fauna of alien grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis): composition, variability and implications for native species.

Introduced hosts populations may benefit of an "enemy release" through impoverishment of parasite communities made of both few imported species and few acquired local ones. Moreover, closely related competing native hosts can be affected by acquiring introduced taxa (spillover) and by increased transmission risk of native parasites (spillback). We determined the macroparasite fauna of invasive grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in Italy to detect any diversity loss, introduction of novel parasites or acquisition of local ones, and analysed variation in parasite burdens to identify factors that may increase transmission risk for native red squirrels (S.

Ljungan virus and an adenovirus in Italian squirrel populations.

We report Ljungan virus infection in Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) for the first time, and extend the known distribution of adenoviruses in both native red squirrels and alien gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) to southern Europe.

Phylogeography and postglacial recolonization of Europe by Rhinolophus hipposideros: evidence from multiple genetic markers.

The demographic history of Rhinolophus hipposideros (lesser horseshoe bat) was reconstructed across its European, North African and Middle-Eastern distribution prior to, during and following the most recent glaciations by generating and analysing a multimarker data set. This data set consisted of an X-linked nuclear intron (Bgn; 543 bp), mitochondrial DNA (cytb-tRNA-control region; 1630 bp) and eight variable microsatellite loci for up to 373 individuals from 86 localities. Using this data set of diverse markers, it was possible to determine the species' demography at three temporal stages.

Macroparasite community of the Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris): poor species richness and diversity.

The Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is the only naturally occurring tree squirrel throughout its range. We aim at improving current knowledge on its macroparasite fauna, expecting that it will have a poor parasite diversity because in species that have no sympatric congeners parasite richness should be lower than in hosts sharing their range with several closely related species, where host-switching events and lateral transmission are promoted. We examined gastro-intestinal helminth and ectoparasite communities (excluding mites) of, respectively, 147 and 311 red squirrel roadkills collected in four biogeographic regions in Italy and France.

Integrated operational taxonomic units (IOTUs) in echolocating bats: a bridge between molecular and traditional taxonomy.

Background: Nowadays, molecular techniques are widespread tools for the identification of biological entities. However, until very few years ago, their application to taxonomy provoked intense debates between traditional and molecular taxonomists. To prevent every kind of disagreement, it is essential to standardize taxonomic definitions.