Jacopo Cerri

Università degli Studi di Sassari | UNISS · Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria

Over the last few decades, Oral Rabies Vaccinations (ORV) has eliminated sylvatic rabies from most of Central and Western Europe. Despite this success, they will probably be needed in the near future, due to the expansion of native and invasive reservoirs. It is unclear if they still work, at this time when many countries have an abundant wild boar...

Invasive alien species could generate a multitude of impacts towards native species. The introduction and spread of Vespa velutina in Europe is raising concern for the conservation of insect’s biodiversity, including wasps due to predation, competition or a combination of these two mechanisms. Nevertheless, most evidence for negative effects on oth...

The Asian yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina) has been invading Italy since 2013, and it was subjected to management programs to counter its spread and raise awareness about its impacts. We administered a questionnaire to a sample of 358 beekeepers in Italy, asking them about their sources of information on V. velutina and their perception of its...

Usutu virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne virus belonging to the family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus. Natural transmission cycle of USUV involves mosquitoes and birds, so humans and other mammals are considered incidental hosts. In this study, USUV infection was diagnosed in all wild blackbirds, collected from July to September 2018 in a wildlife re...

English - The gray wolf (Canis lupus) expanded its distribution in Europe over the last few decades. To better understand the extent to which wolves could re-occupy their historical range, nowadays including anthropized landscapes, it is important to test if and how anthropization can affect fitness-related traits in this species. We modeled how an...

Usutu virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne virus belonging to the family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus. Natural transmission cycle of USUV involves mosquitoes and birds, so humans and other mammals are considered incidental hosts. In this study, USUV infection was diagnosed in all wild blackbirds, collected from July to September 2018 in a wildlife re...

Blacklists of invasive alien species (IAS) are a popular tool for managing and preventing biological invasions. Moreover, blacklists also have the potential to make the general public more curious about biological invasions, usually by benefiting from media coverage and providing accessible examples of IAS. We have tested if the implementation of t...

Collisions with vehicles are a major cause of wildlife mortality. During the COVID‐19 pandemic, many countries enforced lockdowns that reduced vehicular traffic and consequently wildlife‐vehicle collisions. However, no study has yet explored how traffic‐related mortality declined across multiple species of wildlife, leaving doubts about the species...

Invasive mosquitoes are an emerging ecological and sanitary issue. Many factors have been suggested as drivers or barriers to their control, still no study quantified their influence over mosquito management by local authorities, nor their interplay with local economic conditions.We assessed how multiple environmental, sanitary, and socio-economic...

Plastics are extremely useful, but their mismanagement has affected the environment and our health. Rethinking the development and use of plastics is central to the circular economy paradigm, to provide less harmful options for the environment. Thus, more types of plastic packaging are available, but each reflects diverse circular economy strategie...

Over the last 40 years the gray wolf (Canis lupus) re-colonized its historical range in Italy increasing human-predator interactions. However, temporal and spatial trends in wolf mortality, including direct and indirect persecution, were never summarized. This study aims to fill this gap by focusing on the situation of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna re...

Over the last 40 years the gray wolf (Canis lupus) re-colonized its historical range in Italy increasing human-predator interactions. However, temporal and spatial trends in wolf mortality, including direct and indirect persecution, were never summarized. This study aims to fill this gap by focusing on the situation of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna re...

Collisions with vehicles are a major anthropogenic cause of mortality for wildlife, with conservation and evolutionary implications. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries worldwide enforced lockdowns which importantly reduced traffic, and therefore had unprecedented consequences for global wildlife populations. We modeled how the two lockdow...

Marine recreational fisheries are an integral part of Mediterranean and Black Sea coastal life and are commonly practiced throughout the region. However, despite their ubiquity and potential socio-economic contribution, recreational fisheries are a data-poor sector. Data collection programmes to monitor their impact are limited and can vary widely...

SARS-­CoV-­2, the virus that caused the COVID-­19 pandemic, is genomically similar to a SARS-­like beta-­ coronavirus found in Asian rhinolophid bats. This evolutionary relationship impressed the global media, which then em phasised bats as key actors in the spillover that resulted in the pandemic. In this study, we highlight changes in the traditi...

Further information on the Mincio Park and the “Valli del Mincio” Special Protection Area are reported. In the collection of photos inserted is possible to visualize both domestic and wild mammalian predators present in the study site, signs left by rabbits and red foxes (e.g., diggings, fox scats), predation events on rabbits by foxes, visitor-rab...

This document provides a reproducible example on how survey data were analysed. The study included the administration of questionnaires to visitors of the Mincio regional Park, either as paper-and-pencil or as online questionnaires

Complete questionnaire in English language

Where introduced, the European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus is considered among the most destructive and invasive species. To date, research focused mostly on populations of wild rabbit, whereas little is known on feral domestic rabbit populations. In this work, we reported the establishment of two self-sustaining populations of feral rabbits in It...

Compensation programs are an important tool for mitigating conflicts between farmers and large predators. However, they present significant weaknesses and faults. For years, the EU has been prioritizing programs for the prevention of damage caused by large carnivores, rather than compensation programs, introducing compulsory compensation for the pu...

In this work a mathematical model is built in order to validate on theoretical grounds field study results on a three-species system made of two prey, of which one is native and another one invasive, together with a native predator. Specifically, our results mathematically describe the negative effect on the native European hare after the introduct...

Conservationists measuring noncompliance with measures limiting the exploitation of natural resources often ask sensitive questions. However, respondents may distort their answers due to the risk of sanctions, taboos or social norms. Specialized Questioning Techniques (SQTs) can encourage honest answering through protecting re-spondent's privacy by...

Invasive species are a growing driver of change across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems but spatially-explicit information is seldom available for supporting management actions and decision making. Here we conceived and tested a new participatory method to map the distribution of three invasive species (Callinectes sapidus, Procambarus clarkii an...

The Asian yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina) has been invading Italy since 2013, and it was subjected to management projects aimed at counteracting its spread and raising awareness about its impacts.In autumn 2019, we administered an on-line questionnaire to a convenience sample of 358 beekeepers in Italy. The questionnaire asked them about thei...

Alien species invasion could lead to the replacement of native species with similar ecological requirements. Vespa velutina is an invasive hornet recently established in Europe, that is raising concern due to the associated economic and ecological impacts toward managed and wild pollinators besides to the potential competition and replacement of na...

Socioeconomic changes characterizing the last 70 years changed human-wildlife relationships and diminished activities such as recreational hunting. However, little research has tested whether the same changes also increased other behaviors, such as volunteering for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that focus on protecting animals. We modeled t...

Aquatic Invasive species (AIS) are a growing driver of change across marine and freshwater ecosystems but spatially-explicit information is seldom available for supporting management actions and decision making. Here we conceived and tested a new participatory method to map the distribution of three invasive species (Callinectes sapidus, Procambaru...

Conservationists measuring noncompliance with rules about the exploitation of natural resources often need to ask sensitive questions. However, respondents can introduce bias through distorting their answers to direct questions, due to social norms and/or the risk of legal sanctions. Specialized Questioning Techniques (SQTs) are often a more suitab...

The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) is becoming widespread in Europe, where it can transmit some major arboviruses, including Chikungunya and Dengue. While surveillance initiatives are being implemented and harmonized between states, the spread of A.albopictus is outrunning them and cost-effective surveillance tools are needed. In this stud...

Blacklists of invasive alien species are a popular tool to manage and prevent biological invasions. Furthermore, by providing accessible examples of invasive alien species and by having a certain media resonance, they can in principle raise the awareness and make laypeople curious towards this topic. However, no study ever tested for this side-effe...

Biological invasions are a major driver of global change and the target of many public policies. However, we still do not know whether they attract the interest of laypeople. We modeled the temporal evolution of on-line searches about general terms regarding invasive alien species in Italy, on Wikipedia and Google. Wikipedia pages about biological...

The Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) has become invasive in Central and Northern Italy, where it affects prey-predator dynamics between native species. Although many different studies explored survival rates and the density of cottontails in North America, no information is available for its invasive range. Between December 2003 and Octob...

Artificial wildlife feeding might contribute to the successful establishment of some invasive alien species, like the Eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) in Europe and the UK. Reducing squirrel feeding at urban parks can be important to reduce squirrel populations while avoiding social conflicts. From April to October 2018, we conducted in...

Marine bioinvasions require integrating monitoring tools with other complementary strategies. In this study, we collected information about the invasive alien crab Callinectes sapidus in Italy, Croatia and Montenegro, by means of online questionnaires administered to recreational fishers (n = 797). Our records matched the current distribution of th...

Following coronavirus COVID-19 epidemic, global media and the Internet started mentioning bats as key actors in the spillover. This depiction often misinterprets scientific evidence about the relationship between bats and SARS-CoV-2, and may contribute to increase bat persecution worldwide if not accompanied by sufficiently clear explanations. More...

Following coronavirus COVID-19 epidemic, global media and the Internet started mentioning bats as key actors in the spillover. This depiction often misinterprets scientific evidence about the relationship between bats and SARS-CoV-2, and may contribute to increase bat persecution worldwide if not accompanied by sufficiently clear explanations. More...

Eradication of invasive alien species is a form of pest control linked to biodiversity conservation , which usually involves animal killing. Squirrels are prominent among invasive alien species in Italy, with four species introduced. Three of them are included within the list of alien species of European concern, and their eradication and control i...

Here, we investigate the recent spatio-temporal dynamics of the bluefish Pomatomus saltatrix, a warm water species, which is considered to have conquered the northern Mediterranean coasts due to climate warming. Capitalizing two independent surveys carried out through online questionnaires and vis-à-vis interviews, we accessed the ecological knowle...

The European Union (EU) has recently adopted a regulation on invasive alien species that foresees the possibility of developing lists of species of National Concern. We developed a prioritisation process for alien mammals already established in Italy, but not yet included in the EU list (n = 6 species) and a systematic horizon-scanning procedure to...

Marine bioinvasions require integrating monitoring tools with other complementary strategies. In this study, we collected information about the invasive Callinectes sapidus in Italy, Croatia and Montenegro, by means of online questionnaires administered to recreational fishers (n = 797). Our records matched the current distribution of the species:...

In postmodern societies socioeconomic changes characterizing the last decades shifted value orientations and attitudes towards wildlife, diminishing consumptive uses of wildlife, such as recreational hunting or fishing. However, no study has tested yet whether the same forces of modernization also increased non-consumptive uses of wildlife. We adop...

The Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) has become invasive in Central and Northern Italy, where it affects prey-predator dynamics between native species. Although many different studies explored survival rates and the density of cottontails in North America, no information is available for its invasive range. Between December 2003 and Octob...

Approaching large ungulates at protected areas is dangerous both for visitors and the animals. To promote the use of safe distances, conservationists need to be sure about which factors influence the acceptability of human- wildlife encounters. In summer 2018, we recruited a sample of 202 visitors at the Gran Paradiso National Park (Italy). They ev...

Climate change and biological invasions are rapidly reshuffling species distribution, restructuring the biological communities of many ecosystems worldwide. Tracking these transformations in the marine environment is crucial, but our understanding of climate change effects and invasive species dynamics is often hampered by the practical challenge o...

Purpose: Surveys measuring consumers' preferences for sustainable food might suffer from socially desirable responding. Social desirability stems in part from social norms about sustainable lifestyles, when respondents need approval from others and when privacy is not guaranteed during survey completion. While various studies showed this phenomenon...

Marine recreational fishers accumulate a vast amount of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) during their fishing activity that can be of paramount importance for monitoring how climate change affects the structure of biological communities. Here, we accessed the LEK of recreational anglers and recreational spearfishers to investigate the increase in t...

Approaching large ungulates at protected areas is dangerous both for visitors and the animals. Nudging interventions can mitigate this issue, but conservationists need to be sure about which factors influence the acceptability of human-wildlife encounters, to design them. In summer 2018, we recruited a sample of visitors (n = 205) at the Gran Parad...

During the last few decades native European hares (Lepus europaeus) have declined in Central and Northern Italy. Despite this trend having multiple causes, it was hypothesized that invasive Eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) contributed to the decline through apparent competition and disease transmission. In this research we explored wheth...

Determining the distribution of invasive species and tracing back their spatio-temporal dynamics is crucial to feed early warning systems, risk assessments and to mitigate impacts through management actions. However, in the marine environment, this task can be particularly problematic because historical data are often missing and biological invasio...

BACKGROUND: Eradication of invasive alien species is a form of pest control linked to biodiversity conservation that usually involves killing animals. Squirrels are prominent among invasive alien species in Italy with four species introduced. Three of them are included within the list of alien species of European concern and their eradication and c...

Marine recreational fishers accumulate a vast amount of local ecological knowledge(LEK) during their fishing activity that can be of paramount importance for monitoring how climate change affects fish assemblages. We assessed LEK of recreational fishers to investigate the increase in the abundance of five northward expanding indigenous thermophilic...

The EU regulation on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species (IAS) is based on the core concept of "IAS of EU concern": species to be targeted for action. Besides the existing, and continuously being updated, European list, Italy is developing its own national list. Here we describe the process of deve...