The Italian roe deer is classified as "vulnerable" in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, as the few specimens of this endemism may have a high risk of extinction. Conservation efforts for the Italian roe deer cannot prescind from the study of the feeding habits of the taxon. Therefore, in the present study, the spring diet composition of the Italian roe deer from two protected areas was estimated by using the micro-histological technique of faecal analysis. Univariate measures of alpha and beta diversity were computed to assess spatial differences in diet composition between the sites. A total of 79 different species of plants were identified, with few species (mainly woody plants) comprising over a quarter of the diet. The most consumed species were Rubia peregrina, Quercus suber and Osyris alba in Site 1, and Q. cerris, Carpinus betulus and Crataegus monogyna in Site 2. Alpha diversity analysis showed that diet composition was quite rich and diverse in both sites, with nearly all the shared species eaten to an equal extent. Moreover, the values of alpha diversity indices were not significantly different between the sites. The degree of dietary overlap ranged from "low" to "high", as most of the identified plants were unshared, whereas the consumption of some shared plants differed between the sites. In conclusion, our results showed that that this subspecies of Capreolus is capable of exhibiting both a generalist and an opportunistic behaviour in relation of food resource availability.

In this research, the diet composition and feeding selection of the Italian hare were evaluated and compared in two sites of Haute-Corse region localised in the territories of Tallone and Aleria. The present study is the first considering feeding selection of Lepus corsicanus. The considered period ranged from June to October. Quadrat method was used to assess plant frequency, while diet composition was determined by microhistological analysis of faecal pellets collected monthly. Grasses represented the basis of the diet, with frequencies around 50% in both study areas, followed by non-leguminous forbs with an incidence of 29% in Aleria and over 31% in Tallone. Leguminous forbs and shrubs complemented its diet. Poaceae resulted to be the most preferred and selected family in the diet in both sites. In the diet, we observed 79 species, but only a few of them were in percentages greater than 5%. The most utilised species in the diet were Brachypodium sylvaticum, Briza maxima, and Trifolium angustifolium in Aleria and Digitaria sanguinalis, Briza maxima, and Daucus carota in Tallone. Our study evidenced that in the considered areas, characterised also in the dry period by wide plant diversity, the Italian hare behaved as generalist. Significant differences in the diet composition and in the diversity index between the two sites showed the adaptability of the Italian hare to different habitats and the influence of the vegetation on feeding habits of the species.

The present study was aimed to deepen the knowledge on diet and on feeding preferences of the Italian roe deer. The research was carried on in the Castelporziano Presidential Estate, a protected area of Latium coast. Quadrat method was used to assess plant frequency, whereas diet composition was determined by fecal micro-histological analysis. A total of 143 plant species were identified in the site and 109 of them were found in the feces of the Capreolus capreolus italicus. All over the year, most of the taxa were ingested in low percentages (≤5%) and the most utilized plant species were Quercus suber, Prunus spinosa, Rubia peregrina, and Crateaegus monogyna. Fagaceae and Rosaceae plant families represented the bulk of the diet and were positively selected. In addition, a positive selection on Fabaceae and Oleaceae families was found in wet season but not in dry one. In both periods the Italian roe deer showed a positive selection for deciduous woody plants and evergreen woody plants, instead avoided wild forbs and wild graminoids. Our results confirmed that this subspecies behaved as a generalist highly selective feeder.

This study was focused on the diet and feeding behaviour of Lepus corsicanus in two protected coastal areas of Latium, Castelporziano Presidential Estate (CPE) and Circeo National Park (CNP). Plant frequency was assessed by the quadrat method, while diet composition was determined by microhistological analysis of faecal samples. Over the year, the Italian hare fed on 185 of the 229 plant species identified in vegetation, with most of them ingested in low percentages (≤1%). During the dry season (DS), in both areas, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Cynodon dactylon, and Avena fatua were among the most consumed species. In the wet season (WS) the most common plant species in diet were B. sylvaticum, Poa trivialis, and Carex distachya in CPE and Dactylis glomerata, Cynosurus echinatus, and Spartium junceum in CNP. In both sites, considering the annual selection of life forms, grasses and leguminous forbs were preferred, while non-leguminous forbs and shrubs were used less than expected according to their availability. ANOSIM analysis showed significant differences between sites in DS and WS diets. Our study evidenced that the Italian hare behaved as generalist, revealing its capability for exploiting several plant species and to adapt its diet preferences to space-time variation of food availability.