Modelling the Potential Spread of the Red-billed Leiothrix Leiothrix lutea in Italy Capsule: The introduced Red-billed Leiothrix can greatly expand its range in Italy, with many regions being at high risk of invasion due to their high habitat suitability. Aims: To assess the environmental variables affecting the distribution of the Red-billed Leiothrix during the invasion process, and to predict the potential distribution of the species in Italy. Methods: We retrieved 548 occurrence data from Liguria (Northern Italy), Tuscany and Latium (Central Italy) using the Ornitho.it portal, a citizen science-based resource. We used species distribution models to assess the most important climatic and landscape variables for the presence of the species and to generate a countrywide habitat suitability map. Results: Leiothrix distribution was jointly affected by climatic and landscape variables, being related to precipitation seasonality, percentage cover of agricultural areas, and annual precipitation. Habitat suitability for the Leiothrix was highest at intermediate levels of precipitation seasonality, decreased with the amount of agricultural areas, and increased with annual precipitation. The results of species distribution models were highly consistent across regions. The areas with the highest suitability for the species occurred in a strip spanning the northern and western sides of Italy, particularly in regions with a Mediterranean climate. Conclusion: Broad areas of Italy have a high risk of invasion by the Red-billed Leiothrix. We provide fine-grained information on the magnitude of habitat suitability over the Italian peninsula.

Global change is expected to have complex effects on the distribution and transmission patterns of zoonotic parasites. Modelling habitat suitability for parasites with complex life cycles is essential to further our understanding of how disease systems respond to environmental changes, and to make spatial predictions of their future distributions. However, the limited availability of high quality occurrence data with high spatial resolution often constrains these investigations. Using 449 reliable occurrence records for Echinococcus multilocularis from across Europe published over the last 35 years, we modelled habitat suitability for this parasite, the aetiological agent of alveolar echinococcosis, in order to describe its environmental niche, predict its current and future distribution under three global change scenarios, and quantify the probability of occurrence for each European country. Using a machine learning approach, we developed large-scale (25 × 25 km) species distribution models based on seven sets of predictors, each set representing a distinct biological hypothesis supported by current knowledge of the autecology of the parasite. The best-supported hypothesis included climatic, orographic and land-use/land-cover variables such as the temperature of the coldest quarter, forest cover, urban cover and the precipitation seasonality. Future projections suggested the appearance of highly suitable areas for E. multilocularis towards northern latitudes and in the whole Alpine region under all scenarios, while decreases in habitat suitability were predicted for central Europe.Our spatially explicit predictions of habitat suitability shed light on the complex responses of parasites to ongoing global changes.

The vegetarian diet of many herbivorous mammals is supplemented with proteins of animal origin, especially in young individuals and in breeding females, to provide key proteins necessary for both growth and breeding. Among porcupine species, only the Cape porcupine ( Hystrix africaeaustralis ) has been observed to consume carrion flesh. From June to August 2019, a pigeon carcass was placed together with corn in 7 study settlements and near 2 monitored capture-traps, in order to assess the carrion flesh feeding habits of the crested porcupine ( Hystrix cristata ) . Scavenging behaviour was recorded on four occasions. All the recorded individuals were adults and at least one was female. This demonstrates that the crested porcupine occasionally does eat flesh. Such evidence raises important questions concerning the relationship between feeding habits and the physiological needs of this herbivorous rodent.

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This work presents the first assessment of the birds of the Entella river (Genoa, Liguria), a small wetland embedded in an urbanized matrix. Data were collected through standardized in situ censuses from April 2012 to June 2017 and integrated with historical and recent data from other verified sources. A total of 278 species are known from the site; 53 species (19.06%) breed in the area, whereas 62 (22.30%) species are vagrant and 81 species (29.14%) are included in the Annex I of the Birds Directive (79/409/CEE). We determined the following indices: NP/P ratio = 1.48, O.V.I. (Ornithological Value Index) = 20.53. In-depth data are provided for vagrant species and for species of conservation concern, to prioritize conservation efforts. The results underline the importance of the Entella river as a local biodiversity hotspot and suggest a possible role of the area as a stepping stone in the regional ecological network. The study highlights a dichotomy between urbanization and high bird diversity in the area and acts as a first step towards its conservation and implementation.