The Sand Martin Riparia riparia is a trans-Saharan migrant species, whose populations are declining throughout Europe. We present the results of a multiple year study on a breeding population of Sand Martins along the River Po in Northern Italy through ringing breeding birds at nesting colonies (2002-2014). There was a trend for the abundance of the studied population to fluctuate. Recapture data were analysed to obtain apparent survival probabilities which differed between the sexes, but not between years. No apparent relationship was found between survival and three different meteo-climatic indices (North Atlantic Oscillation, Sahel rainfall and Lake Chad rainfall). During the 1980s and 1990s, winter survival was positively correlated with rainfall in the winter quarters. Although rainfall in the winter quarters has been more stable during the past 15 years, Sand Martin populations are still decreasing. Our findings suggest that the relationship with rainfall no longer holds, and that current population declines may be unrelated to climate in the winter quarters.

Colonial waterbirds, a major biodiversity element occurring in the core of ultra-anthropized Europe, are ideal indicators of the wellness of inland wetlands. Nonetheless, there is a critical knowledge gap in their trend and population status. We present an uninterrupted 47 years-long dataset of the breeding populations of 12 species of colonial waterbirds (Ardeidae, Phalacrocoracidae, Plataleidae, Threskiornitidae) throughout a 58,000 km2 agricultural region in the higher Po basin (NW Italy). A trained team of collaborators censused with standardized field techniques the number of nests of each species at 419 colonies in the 1972–2018 period, summing up a total of 236,316 records. Data cleaning and standardization were performed for each census year, ensuring robust and consistent data. This dataset is among the largest ever collected for a guild of European vertebrates. It has already been used to describe the factors influencing population trends, and still offers opportunities to explore a wide range of key ecological processes such as biological invasions, global change consequences and biodiversity impact of agricultural practices.

No abstract

[In order to contribute to the knowledge of the spatio-temporal progression of post-nuptial migration of birds across the Italian Alps, we present in detail the results of the analysis carried out for 69 species (4 non-Passeriformes; 65 Passeriformes) of the 191 ringed within the Progetto Alpi. Data were collected in 40 ringing stations located in different habitats and at different altitudes (mountain passes, slopes and valley floors) and active in the post-breeding migratory period (1 August - 30 November). Among these, those (n=15) with continuous activity (at least one month) and known sampling effort (daily capture effort described as product of net area in square meters by operating time in hours) were selected. Data from the 6 stations that operated continuously over the years (2001-2017) and with standardised capture effort were used for trend analyses. Species covered refer to those with more than 100 birds ringed within the first eight hours after sunrise (excluding local retraps). Species accounts contain detailed data from datasets from all stations participating in the Alps Project (1997-2017)].   [Article in Italian]