Publications by authors named "Stefano Casari"
In light of the dramatic decline in amphibian biodiversity, new cost-efficient tools to rapidly monitor species abundance and population genetic diversity in space and time are urgently needed. It has been amply demonstrated that the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) for single-species detection and characterization of community composition can increase the precision of amphibian monitoring compared to traditional (observational) approaches. However, it has been suggested that the efficiency and accuracy of the eDNA approach could be further improved by more timely sampling; in addition, the quality of genetic diversity data derived from the same DNA has been confirmed in other vertebrate taxa, but not amphibians.
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- The illegal trade in tortoises has been a significant threat to their populations for years, but new DNA typing techniques are now enabling better tracking of their geographic origins.
- Researchers developed a microsatellite marker panel to help identify the genetic structure of Mediterranean land tortoises and to assist in locating confiscated individuals in recovery centers.
- The study found six major genetic clusters corresponding to different regions and was able to trace about 70% of confiscated tortoises back to specific geographic areas, highlighting the effectiveness of these genetic tools in wildlife conservation efforts.