Anna Grazia Frassanito’s scientific contributions

Among large-sized mammals, the wild boar Sus scrofa is the main agricultural pest in Mediterranean countries. Despite being a widely studied species, its physiological adaptability requires a high number of research works assessing its ecology in different habitat types. Furthermore, little is known about ecology of the wild boar at the southernmost limits of its distribution range. We studied home range size, habitat selection and activity rhythms of female wild boar in a protected area of Southern Italy, at the limits of its distribution range. Population density was also assessed through drive counts. We monitored GPS collar-tagged, adult wild boar for at least 6 months. Female family groups selected deciduous woodland throughout the year, whereas scrubland and cultivations were selected only during the summer. Locations of wild boar were much closer to the forest edge than expected by chance alone. Throughout the year, female wild boar were mostly active between dusk and dawn with no significant inter-seasonal differences in the activity time; diurnal activity occurred principally in winter and spring. Wild boar were more active in the darkest nights, while their activity decreased in the full moon nights, possibly to limit encounters with the main predator, the grey wolf Canis lupus.

Il crescente interesse per le materie ambientali e la necessità di gestione delle risorse naturali ha determinato, negli ultimi anni, un incremento degli sforzi di ricerca dedicati soprattutto alle specie più emblematiche, quelle più minacciate di estinzione e quelle di maggiore interesse conservazionistico e/o venatorio. Tra le specie ricorrenti in queste categorie vi sono i Mammiferi, la cui biologia ed ecologia sono state oggetto di ricerca mirata e di opportuni approfondimenti. L’Ente Parco Nazionale dell’Alta Murgia (PNAM), dal 2004, ha investito ingenti risorse, anche umane, per descrivere le comunità di Mammiferi distribuite nel territorio del Parco. Ai Progetti di studio del cinghiale e del lupo, condotti continuativamente sin dalla nascita dell’area protetta, sono stati aggiunti, negli ultimi anni, alcuni specifici su mesocarnivori e chirotteri. L’applicazione di tecniche di raccolta dati standardizzate e trasversali hanno permesso di archiviare un’importante mole di dati di presenza che consente, oggi, di descrivere al meglio lo status di alcune specie di mammiferi nel PNAM. Partendo da questi dati e integrandoli agli obiettivi del Progetto “Allupo”, finanziato da Fondazione con il Sud e dal PNAM, è stato possibile redigere il volume “I Mammiferi del Parco Nazionale dell’Alta Murgia – Chiroptera, Lagomorpha, Rodentia, Carnivora, Cetartiodactyla” con l’ambizioso obiettivo di riportare tutte le informazioni ad oggi disponibili su questi taxa. Il volume è opera di diversi autori che, in base alle loro competenze, hanno lavorato negli anni nei diversi ambiti di progetto condotti dall’Ente Parco. Nonostante gli sforzi per uniformare i testi e le schede, in relazione alla differente specializzazione degli autori, il volume apparirà certamente disomogeneo nello stile e nell’ordine in cui sono trattati i diversi argomenti. Nel volume sono riportare tutte le specie rinvenute nell’area Parco e appartenenti agli ordini Chiroptera, Lagomorpha, Rodentia, Carnivora, Cetartiodactyla, con l’eccezione dell’ordine dei Rodentia che annovera altre specie presenti nel Parco, qui non trattate. In tal senso si auspica il completamento dell’opera con un secondo volume riguardante Rodentia e Eulipotyphla. Dopo un inquadramento dell’area Parco, ciascuna specie è stata trattata singolarmente con una scheda che include, nell’ordine riportato: – Nome Scientifico – Tassonomia e Descrizione – Distribuzione e Habitat – Ecologia e Comportamento – Stato di Conservazione e minacce – Presenza e Stato di Conservazione nel PNAM. Per alcune specie, inoltre, sono state realizzate mappe di idoneità ambientale che forniscono una sintesi delle relazioni che intercorrono tra ambiente e popolazioni animali. È doveroso, infine, ringraziare i colleghi e gli amici che, negli anni, con passione e dovizia, direttamente e indirettamente, hanno collaborato alla redazione del volume, attraverso una proficua collaborazione, il confronto e l’arricchimento.

In the four years of surveys on migration of raptors (2016-19) we have used two operators located along the southern portion of the National Park. Sampling effort in the four years was different, but in any case, pentads monitoring scheme was used to cover a longer period of time (March to May, August to Octo- ber). Total number of species contacted in spring was 21, while in autumn it was 20 with observations of high conservation interest by species such as Neophron percnopterus and Falco eleonorae.

Background: So far, studies of avian space use are mostly realized in 2D, with the vertical dimension ignored. We propose here a new, relatively simple and computationally reasonable method for the estimation of volumetric (i.e. 3D) avian home ranges. Methods: Through accurate GPS data-loggers, we collected 25,405 GPS points on Lesser Kestrels' (Falco naumanni) space use during the nestling period in one main colony in Italy. We applied our 3D home range estimator to the whole GPS dataset, and also separately to diurnal and nocturnal GPS points. Results: The 3D colony home range resulted equal to 28.12 km³. By considering daytime and night-time separately, the volumetric home ranges resulted considerably different. Conclusions: Our 3D home range estimator, because of its intuitive and straightforward properties, can easily capitalize on the datasets offered by modern biotelemetry (data-loggers, light detection and LIDAR sensors) and enhance conservation strategies for mitigating anthropogenic impacts on bird species. Its applications embrace, but are not limited to, more accurate estimates of collision risk with power lines, aircrafts and wind farms, and increased knowledge of birds' space requirements in order to persist in their distribution areas.

We present here the first report about Lesser Kestrels' flight height behaviour and potential collision risk with wind farms and power lines in two colonies (Gravina in Puglia and Altamura; Apulia, Italy) that present the highest density of Lesser Kestrels worldwide in urban areas. Using accurate GPS data-loggers on nine Lesser Kestrels, we collected data on flight activities during the nestling period. The tracked Lesser Kestrels spent 50% of the monitoring time at heights above ground level (AGL) lower than 41 m, and 75% of time below 98 m AGL. Flight heights resulted not significantly different between the two colonies. Instead, at night Lesser Kestrels resulted to fly a t significantly lower altitudes than in the daytime. Our findings, although preliminary, underline the potential collision risk with power lines and wind farms at night in the Lesser Kestrels' colony of Gravina in Puglia. Instead, collision risk resulted negligible during the daytime for both colonies. We conclude that the disappearing of pseudo-steppes in the study area is forcing Lesser Kestrels to flight also at night for foraging purposes during the breading season, which in turn leads to an increased risk of collision with power lines and wind farms.

Il volume raccoglie le informazioni su distribuzione, ecologia e stato di conservazione di 7 specie di anfibi e di 16 specie di rettili che vivono nel Sito Natura 2000 Murgia Alta. L'area indagata, in accordo con quanto in uso per la redazione di atlanti distributivi erpetologici e faunistici in genere, è stata suddivisa in base al reticolo UTM 10x10 km. I dati di presenza di ogni singola specie sono stati riferiti a una maglia di 5 km di lato, ottenuta dalla suddivisione di ciascun quadrato UTM 10 x10 km in quattro quadranti, denominati secondo i punti cardinali (es: UTM XF13NO, WF95SE, ecc.).

Steppe habitats are considered to be of great interest in terms of biodiversity conservation, specially for birds, with many rare and endangered species breeding in these habitats. The conversion to crops or other forms of cultivation, is universally recognised as the major threat for the conservation of these habitats and their biodiversity. During the 20th century, particularly in the Mediterranean basin, large areas of natural steppe habitats were plowed, causing a large decline in many bird species. Nowadays, although the economical and social context has deeply changed, many areas of steppe habitats are facing the same threat. In this paper we analysed the effects of different landscape mosaics of crops and steppes on breeding birds in the Alta Murgia National Park, one of the most important steppe areas in Italy. Specifically, we tested the effect of some landscape metrics, descriptive of crops-steppes spatial arrangement, on five Alaudidae species: Calandra lark, Skylark, Greater short-toed lark, Woodlark and Crested lark. Analysis were carried out using MaxEnt.The analyses did not find substantial differences between steppe and cropland, which would seem to be equally suitable habitats for these species. With the only exception of Greater short-toed lark, which shows a degree of ecological plasticity, all other species show a strong preference for landscapes with a high degree of connectivity and low fragmentation. Our results seem to suggest that the co-presence of crops and steppes, if the fragmentation degree at landscape scale is low, does not negatively affect the presence and abundance of steppe species, and represents a highly suitable habitat that can support nationally-important populations of endangered species such as the Calandra lark.

The density of the Stone-curlew in the Alta Murgia National Park during the breeding season 2013. The estimated density was equal to 11 ind/Km², with a minimum number of individuals between 164 and 172. The values of abundance of the species appear to be adversely affected by the height of the sward that is found mainly in the arable land with cereals, in pseudosteppe and uncultivated land, while in arable leguminous this parameter seems to affect positively the values of abundance. Currently one of the factors of threat are to be highlighted in the changes of land use, from arable crops to irrigated tree crops.