Corrado Battisti

Marine litter in Mediterranean sandy littorals: Spatial distribution patterns along central Italy coastal dunes

Sandy shores are generally considered important sinks for marine litter and the presence of this litter may represent a serious threat to biotic communities and dune integrity mostly due to cleaning activities carried out through mechanical equipment. In spring (April-May) 2012 we sampled 153 2×2m random plots to assess the spatial distribution patterns of litter on Central Italy sandy shores. We analysed the relationship between the presence of litter and coastal dune habitats along the sea-inland gradient. Our results showed that the most frequent litter items were plastic and polystyrene. Differences of marine litter spatial distribution were found between upper beach and fore dune habitats and fixed dune habitats: embryo dune and mobile dune habitats show the highest frequency of litter, but, surprisingly, marine litter did not impact fixed dune habitats, these possibly acting as a natural barrier protecting the inner part of the coast from marine litter dispersion.

The cotton buds beach: Marine litter assessment along the Tyrrhenian coast of central Italy following the marine strategy framework directive criteria

We assessed the annual accumulation rates of beach litter on the Tyrrhenian coast of central Italy, providing the characterization of litter following European standardized guidelines. Three different sites of a beach were sampled seasonally from spring 2014 to winter 2015. A total of 31,739 items were removed and classified into 103 categories. Plastic represented the majority (94.4%) of the collected items. We detected temporal and spatial differences in the abundance and composition of litter between seasons and between sites. Furthermore, we found that plastic cotton bud sticks composed >30% of the total amount of litter and, together with plastic and polystyrene pieces, made up >70% of the total items. Finally, our results led us to propose that the most effective strategy to reduce litter pollution is to devise specific management procedures focusing on the most abundant items.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS AND CASE STUDIES: Searching the Conditioning Factors Explaining the (In)Effectiveness of Protected Areas Management: A Case Study Using a SWOT Approach

Based on long-term fieldwork, we report a descriptive SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis performed by a public agency that manages a protected area (PA) system in a densely populated area (Rome, central Italy) to highlight the core limits in this PAs management effectiveness. The key result of the analysis is that the limits of the management effectiveness and the obstacle in setting improvement strategies can be basically derived from the hierarchical command-and-control government approach and from the adopted management model. The main hindrance to the implementation of a multilevel collaborative management appears to be the “institutional stickiness” of the managing public agency in shifting from its hierarchical government approach to a governance one. Having observed the presence of operational gaps among the best solutions in the scholarly mainstream, the governing capability of the managing authority, and what happens in the field, we suggest that an answer to aligning these factors could be the creation of more fluid conditions for bottom–up initiatives—for instance, by monitoring the multibenefits of PAs for local communities or by making available to the public the economic evaluation of public goods.

Plastisphere in action: evidence for an interaction between expanded polystyrene and dunal plants

Among the many threats that can be recorded on sandy beaches, plastic litter represents a serious problem for these complex and endangered ecosystems. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is increasingly abundant as a form of plastic litter in natural environments, particularly along shores and waterways. Nevertheless, despite the great number of scientific articles concerning the impact of litter on animal species, there are still no research focusing on the interaction between this type of beach litter and other biodiversity components. In this work, we reported the first evidence of interactions between EPS and living plants along a sandy beach of Tyrrhenian central Italy. We sampled 540 EPS items, mainly deriving from fishery activities (>75%). We obtained evidence for an interaction between EPS and plants: about 5% of items resulted perforated or have roots of three species (Phragmites australis, Spartina versicolor, Anthemis maritima). Apparently, we did not observed a relationship between plants and EPS items size. More research is needed to assess if the plant assemblage growing on EPS is random or if peculiar substrate exerts some sort of selection on the plant community.

Coypu (Myocastor coypus) in a Mediterranean remnant wetland: a pilot study of a yearly cycle with management implications

Following an apparent increase of local population density of coypu (Myocastor coypus) in a Mediterranean remnant wetland, we developed a pilot study aimed to evaluate a specific control program. Inside the study area, we performed three transects per month from August 2008 to July 2009, grouping data in bimonthly periods. The water level in the study area showed a maximum in December–January, significantly decreasing from late spring to summer and significantly increasing from late summer to winter. Sampled individuals mainly occurred in Phragmites reed beds and in rush beds (dominance of Carex sp., Juncus sp. Bolboschoenus sp.). The index of mean relative density of coypu individuals ranged between 1.40 (February–March) and 5.72 (October–November) with an evident increase in late summer–autumn. During this period, mean density of runways was higher in reed beds than in rush beds, with differences tending to significance. In summer, the network of channels in reed beds, locally used for fishery farm, may maintain a water level suitable for the coypu. These results (preference for reed beds and increase of coypu density in late summer–autumn) should be considered when coypu populations are under control program, at least in the Mediterranean region where there is a scarcity of available data.

Measuring non-biological diversity using commonly used metrics: Strengths, weaknesses and caveats for their application in beach litter management

Due to increasing worldwide anthropogenic pressure and in order to promote adequate environmental conservation strategies, quantification of non-biological diversity, such as considering marine and beach litter, is becoming increasingly useful. Information on beach litter in terms of richness and diversity may have a consistent influence regarding the evaluation of its pressure and impact on coastal ecosystems. Highlighted are strengths, weaknesses and caveats concerning the use of uni- and bi-variate diversity metrics applied to a class of man-made non-biological objects periodically accumulated on the beaches. Two case studies show evidence that the application of diversity metrics on non-biological objects may have different implications. In absence of a universal and standardized non-biological taxonomy, it is important to be cautious when comparing values obtained from non-living assemblages, in particular if different sites, time or operators are considered. Moreover, different indices provide different information. Therefore, users should pay particular attention on the application of diversity metrics, addressing specific research questions and avoiding automatic calculation of redundant and “magic” indices.

Mammal road-killing from a Mediterranean area in central Italy: evidence from an atlas dataset

The dataset available from the compilation of the atlas of mammals of the Province of Rome was used in order to analyze patterns of road-kill. Western hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), coypu (Myocastor coypus), brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and medium-sized mustelids were over-represented in the road-killed sub-data set. The spatial coverage (=the ratio between the number of occupied cells from a given species and the total atlas sample cells) of road-killed species was statistically higher than the spatial coverage of the non-road-killed species. Body size of the mammal species did not influence its likelihood of being killed along roads. Our data did corroborate findings by previous research indicating that road-killed species are characterized by peculiar behavioural and ecological traits (e.g., habitat generalists such as red fox and brown rat) or referred to landscape scale for their dynamics and vagility (wide-ranging landscape mosaic species such as red fox and mustelids). Normalizing data, we also observed a higher road-killing impact on carnivores when compared to herbivores. Atlas dataset, although providing some interesting information on road-kill pattern for studies carried out at a landscape/regional scale, could not be used for a careful analysis of the ecological correlates of road-killing in mammals because of their largely heterogeneous nature.

Applying abundance/biomass comparisons on a small mammal assemblage from Barn owl ( Tyto alba ) pellets (Mount Soratte, central Italy): a cautionary note

Abundance/biomass comparisons (or ABC curves) allow to obtain information on the level of (anthropogenic or natural) disturbance that may sensu lato affect specific communities. In order to verify the general validity of the ABC curves, we applied these comparisons to a small mammal dataset obtained by a sample of Barn owl (Tyto alba) pellets collected in a nature reserve of central Italy (Monte Soratte). From 43 pellets, we obtained 111 individuals belonging to 11 shrews and rodents species. Microtus savii, Apodemus sylvaticus, and Apodemus flavicollis were the species most frequently preyed upon by owls. Indices such as absolute (and normalized) species richness and Shannon–Wiener diversity consistently showed higher values than those obtained in similar studies in central Italy, highlighting the complex structure of this assemblage occurring in a landscape with low anthropization. From ABC curves, abundance was slightly lower than biomass, even though differences between paired cumulative frequencies were not significant. This pattern suggests that the small mammal community in our study area features a low level of disturbance. Nevertheless, whereas in undisturbed assemblages a higher biomass in ABC curves indicate a higher frequency of larger species at higher trophic level, in small mammal assemblages such as those revealed by owl pellets, large-sized species are herbivorous, synanthropic and typical of disturbed habitats. Accordingly, we caution that in disturbed habitats an increase of small mammals with high body mass may results in ABC curves with biomass higher than abundance. Our results therefore suggest that there might be relevant exceptions to the general patterns so far developed for ABC curves.

Problem Solving and Decision-Making in Project Management of Problematic Wildlife: A Review of Some Approaches and Conceptual Tools

When managing problem wildlife, we need to make decisions aimed to solve crises among factors of pressure (e.g. exotic species or communities), impacted targets (populations, communities, ecosystems, processes) and political and social pressures. These crises happen in multi-complex organizational, socio-ecological systems, often characterized from high uncertainty. Now, a large number of interdisciplinary conceptual tools, criteria and approaches, belonging to the problem-solving and decision-making arenas, is now available for practitioners and managers that work on conservation projects. In this review, we selected some of the more recent tools and approaches including them in a single project framework (the IUCN cycle used for nature reserve planning), spanning all from the analysis of the context (both in project teams and in real world), to the planning stage until the monitoring phase. We encourage practitioners to use these innovative tools and approaches in their projects that are focused on problematic wildlife.

An Unexpected Consequence of Plastic Litter Clean-Up on Beaches: Too Much Sand Might Be Removed

We removed plastic meso- and macro-litter (PML) during a beach clean-up practice on a protected Mediterranean sandy beach in central Italy from the high tide line to a berm half-way up the beach and from the berm to a sand dune the rest of the way up the beach. Plastic fragments, cotton buds, and expanded polystyrene (EPS) fragments were the most common categories constituting about 90% of total abundance. We separated sand from PML and found that the weight of the sand was about 14% of the total weight removed. Although our data may be affected by local factors, they have general implications for management actions. Environmental practitioners who develop projects in beach cleaning should pay attention when removing PML since a significant amount of sand could be unintentionally removed resulting in unnecessary material in landfills or other disposal, and over time potentially could significantly affect sandy beaches.