Paolo Agnelli - Università degli Studi di Firenze (University of Florence) (original) (raw)

Papers by Paolo Agnelli

Hystrix-italian Journal of Mammalogy, 2017

Combining genetic, morphological and geographical data, we re-evaluate Sciurus meridionalis , Luc... more Combining genetic, morphological and geographical data, we re-evaluate Sciurus meridionalis , Lucifero 1907 as a tree squirrel species. The species, previously considered a subspecies of the Eurasian red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris , is endemic to South Italy with a disjunct distribution with respect to S. vulgaris . The new species has a typical, monomorphic coat colour characterized by a white ventral fur and a very dark-brown to blackish fur on the back, sides and tail. Specimens of S. meridionalis have a larger hind foot length and weigh about 35% more than live-caught S. vulgaris from northern Italy. S. meridionalis is larger than S. vulgaris specimens from three other regions in Italy for mandible length, skull width and skull (condylobasal) length, and principal component scores indicate significant shape differences of specimens from the Calabria population ( S. meridionalis ) compared to all other specimens ( S. vulgaris ). These morphological differences are further support...

Note su un esemplare di Gorilla di pianura orientale, Gorilla beringei graueri (Matschie, 1914) conservato al Museo di Storia Naturale dell'Università di Firenze, 2015

La recente revisione della collezione primatologica della Sezione Zoologica del Museo di Storia N... more La recente revisione della collezione primatologica della Sezione Zoologica del Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze, La Specola (Veracini et al., 2010), ha riportato all'attenzione una pelle di un esemplare di maschio adulto di Gorilla beringei Matschie, 1903 (fig. 1) che era rimasta non determinata dal suo arrivo in museo. La pelle risale al 1932 anno in cui l'esemplare fu donato all'allora Museo Nazionale di Etnologia e Antropologia di Firenze dall'esploratore italiano Attilio Gatti. Dopo l'analisi morfologica della pelle e

Tra mito, aneddoti e racconti di viaggio giunsero così in Europa le prime descrizioni delle scimm... more Tra mito, aneddoti e racconti di viaggio giunsero così in Europa le prime descrizioni delle scimmie antropomorfe. Un vero scimpanzè in carne ed ossa arrivò solo intorno al XVII secolo e la somiglianza di queste grandi scimmie con gli esseri umani scatenò da subito contrastanti sentimenti d'attrazione e soggezione, fascino e preoccupazione. Altri primati erano già noti nel mondo occidentale fin dall'antichità, ma creature così simili a noi ci ponevano in evidente continuità con il resto del mondo naturale, o meglio dentro di esso, mettendo in crisi il nostro tentativo di differenziarci dagli altri animali e di confermare la nostra sovranità sul pianeta. Oggi sappiamo che non siamo così unici ma che condividiamo molti aspetti con i nostri cugini primati. Osservarli, tentare di capirli e rispettarli è il modo migliore per entrare in contatto profondo con la nostra natura

First data on the winter diet of the polecat, Mustela putorius (Carnivora, Mustelidae) in Italy

Mammalia, 1996

Biodiversity and Conservation, 2019

Preserving species within protected areas (PAs) does not guarantee adequate levels of protection ... more Preserving species within protected areas (PAs) does not guarantee adequate levels of protection if not coupled with conservation of functional connectivity for a target species. We propose an analytical framework to assess the effectiveness of PAs in preserving habitat and functional connectivity for mobile vertebrates. We implemented it in central Italy by using as a case study a bat species (common noctule, Nyctalus noctula) to: (i) determine suitable areas by means of Species Distribution Models (SDMs); (ii) identify potential commuting corridors through a functional connectivity analysis; (iii) develop a new tool to rank corridors according to their functional irreplaceability; (iv) implement a gap analysis on both suitable areas and functional corridors; and (v) propose management recommendations for the conservation of N. noctula. The SDM output and a set of proxies of commuting routes were used to build a resistance layer for the connectivity analysis. The resulting functional corridors were ranked according to their isolation (distance to other corridors and to suitable areas) to obtain an irreplaceability index, with isolated corridors scoring high values. The PA effectiveness assessed by overlapping the PA map with the SDM and the ranked functional corridors highlighted that PAs cover just a small portion of suitable sites (20.3%) and functional corridors for the species (20.8%). The irreplaceability index allowed us to identify those areas inside and outside the PAs that critical for persistence of the species in question require immediate protection regimes. The approach we present could be easily extended to other taxa and offers sound insight on how to promote the conservation at landscape scale.

ToscoBAT, il database dei Chirotteri nelle grotte della Toscana

Additional file 1 of Hydrogen isotopes reveal evidence of migration of Miniopterus schreibersii in Europe

Additional file 1. Summary of sampling sites and result outputs.

Sorer minuhis

In the course of a small mammal survey 100 barn owl (qro alba Scop.) pellets and 50 fox (Mdpes d ... more In the course of a small mammal survey 100 barn owl (qro alba Scop.) pellets and 50 fox (Mdpes d p e s L.) scats were collected at "Villa Demidoff Park " (Florence, Italy) during six weekly samp1in.p in the spring. Scat and pellet analvses were compared in order to point out advantages and disadvantages of these techniques as a tool in small mammal surveys. Key words: Small mammal survey; Mcfpes vufpes; Tyro alba. RIASSUNTO In uno studio sul popolamento di piccoli mammiferi nel "Parco di Villa Demidofr (Firenze, Italia) realizzato durante il periodo primaverile, sono state analizzate 100 borre di barbagianni (rito alba Scop.) e 50 Ceci di volpe (Vidpes vzilpes L.), raccolte nel corso di sei campionamenti a frequenza settimanale. Queste due metodologie sono state messe a confronto evidenziandone applicabilita ' e funzionalità come strumento di indagine per il rilevamento di piccoli mammiferi. Parole chiave: Rilevamento di piccoli mammiferi; Vidpes idpes; Tvfo alba...

Barbastella, 2017

Seven species of bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) have been identified in the fossil assemblage from t... more Seven species of bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) have been identified in the fossil assemblage from the Grotta dei Pipistrelli (Sortino, Sicily, Italy): Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, R. euryale, R. mehelyi, Myotis myotis, M. blythii, M. capaccinii and Miniopterus schreibersii. All the recognized species are presently part of the Italian bat fauna; currently, they occur in Sicily and probably still live in the cave today. In Sicily, fossils of Chiroptera are poorly known and this work is the second study of a Pleistocene bats assemblage. In this paper, the first instance of R. euryale in Sicily, and of M. myotis and M. blythii for the central Mediterranean islands from Pleistocene are reported.

Body size of Italian greater horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) increased over one century and a half: a response to climate change?

Mammalian Biology, 2021

Variation in body size is thought as one of the main responses to climate change, yet studies exp... more Variation in body size is thought as one of the main responses to climate change, yet studies exploring the existence of this pattern are limited by the scarcity of long temporal datasets. Bats are promising candidates for the occurrence of climate-driven changes in body size because their life cycle is highly sensitive to ambient temperature. Although a reduction in body size would adaptively imply more efficient heat dissipation under a climate change scenario, dehydration caused by heatwaves would in fact be limited by a larger body size, so either responses may be predicted. An increasing body size over time might also be the consequence of a longer growth season secured by a warmer climate. On such bases, we tested the hypothesis that body size varied in the bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum from Italian populations between 1869 and 2005 by examining forearm length (FAL) in 78 spatially independent specimens, and found that FAL increased over that period. We also ruled out that bod...

Mammalian Biology, 2019

In recent years, many cryptic species of bats have been discovered thanks to the application of m... more In recent years, many cryptic species of bats have been discovered thanks to the application of molecular techniques. The several long-eared bat species (genus Plecotus) occurring in Europe show a marked morphological similarity and occur in sympatry, so that when confusion may arise, molecular approaches have prime importance to establish the actual specific identity. Italy represents a diversity hotspot for bats in Europe, hosting 35 species among which four Plecotus species. In this study we report on the first confirmed record of the Balkan's long-eared bat Plecotus kolombatovici for peninsular Italy, review previous unconfirmed records and analyse the species' potential distribution in the country using a modelling approach. The species' potential distribution is strongly associated with warm 2 summer temperatures and relatively high winter precipitations, typical of Mediterranean climate. The modelling exercise we did highlights that P. kolombatovici may occur in much of the Italian territory, including the Tyrrhenian coast and on many islands that border it. We therefore argue that P. kolombatovici presence has been so far overlooked due to the morphological resemblance of this species with the grey long-eared bat P. austriacus. Comprehensive surveys are needed to ascertain the actual distribution and establish the conservation status in Italy of this poorly known species to adopt effective legal and practical conservation measures.

Impatto sugli ecosistemi e sugli esseri viventi delle sostanze sintetiche utilizzate nella profilassi antizanzara

Every year public administrations, private companies and individuals perform repeated treatments ... more Every year public administrations, private companies and individuals perform repeated treatments with pesticides to fight the presence of mosquitoes and other insects considered harmful in anthropized areas. Therefore, large quantities of pesticides are widely spread in the urban environment, both indoor and outdoor. These activities can cause damage to environments and to human health. The authors of this report, researchers from various disciplines, have decided to unify data separately processed and published during meetings, conferences and workshops on this delicate subject. The different effects on the several elements of ecological communities of most commonly used substances were analysed, together with time and space persistence and other chemical and physical characteristics, to facilitate identifing potential risks for aquatic, amphibian and terrestrial ecosystems.

Un pipistrello per amico: il progetto di divulgazione e di ricerca del Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Università di Firenze

“Being a Bat’s Friend”. A Spread of Knowledge and Research Project by the Museum of Natural History, University of Florence (Italy)

Hystrix

The project "BAT BOX: Be a Bat's Friend" was launched in 2006 with the aim of sprea... more The project "BAT BOX: Be a Bat's Friend" was launched in 2006 with the aim of spreading correct information about the ecological role of bats, rehabilitating their image and fostering the involvement of the public in conservation actions. A wooden, single-chamber bat box was designed and produced at low cost. Through collaboration with Coop, to date ca. 25000 bat boxes have been sold over much of the country at cost price. Private citizens, institutions and associations installed and monitored the boxes using a standard form for the collection of data. The sale of a range of project-related merchandising articles has raised funds used for bat research and conservation projects. Conferences, public meetings, school lessons, papers and an informative brochure helped to spread the aims of the project. In 2010, Disney Italia produced a new brochure and the educational comic strip "Donald Duck and Kiro the Bat". The monitoring of bat boxes showed a progressive inc...

Journal of Biogeography, 2013

Aim Bats are promising candidates for studying morphometric responses to anthropogenic climate or... more Aim Bats are promising candidates for studying morphometric responses to anthropogenic climate or land-use changes. We assessed whether the cranial size of a common bat (Pipistrellus kuhlii) had changed between 1875 and 2007. We formulated the following hypotheses: (1) if heat loss is an important reaction to climate change, body size will have decreased in response to the increased temperatures, because small bats have a larger surface-to-volume ratio and dissipate heat more effectively; (2) if water loss is the main driver, body size will have increased in response to the temperature increase, because larger bats will lose water more slowly through a reduced surface-to-volume ratio; (3) the energetic benefits provided by urbanization (food concentration at street lamps, warmer maternity roosts in buildings) will lead to a general body size increase in P. kuhlii; and (4) because street lamps impair moth antipredatory manoeuvres, cranial size may have selectively increased as an adaptive response to handle larger prey (moths) in artificially illuminated sites. Ours is the first study to assess temporal trends in bat body size over more than a century and to relate them to urbanization. Location Mainland Italy. Methods We used traditional morphometrics to compare seven variables of skull size in 117 museum specimens (75 female, 42 male). Results Cranial size increased after 1950, but this change was not paralleled by an increase in body size, measured as forearm length. This selective increase matched a rapid increase in electric public illumination in Italy. Main conclusions Street lights are crucial foraging sites for P. kuhlii. The directional change that we found in cranial size might represent microevolutionary adaptive tracking of a sudden shift in food size, making more profitable prey available.

Where and at What Time? Multiple Roost use and Emergence Time in Greater Horseshoe Bats ( Rhinolophus ferrumequinum )

Acta Chiropterologica, 2013

One of the largest nursery colonies of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum in Italy occurs in the Natural P... more One of the largest nursery colonies of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum in Italy occurs in the Natural Park of Migliarino San Rossore Massaciuccoli, Tuscany, with the species roosting in several buildings. We identified various roosts used by R. ferrumequinum within the park and investigated their microclimatic parameters (temperature, relative humidity and daily temperature excursion). We monitored roost use for one year and found it not only to be influenced by season and the microclimatic conditions of different roosts, but also by occasional stress conditions such as disturbance by predators. We also studied nightly emergence behavior, specifically we considered how this is influenced by climatic (temperature, relative humidity and evening light intensity) and demographic (presence of pups, subadults and colony size) parameters. The colony always performed a pre-emergence behavior and we found that its onset occurred earlier at higher temperatures, lower evening light intensity, in larger colonies and in the presence of pups. High temperature and low evening light intensity also resulted in a longer nightly emergence, which was also identified in larger colonies and when subadults were present. This study highlights the importance of the conservation of multiple roosts within the distribution range of R. ferrumequinum nurseries. Additionally, we demonstrated how certain climatic and demographic factors influence both pre-emergence and emergence behavior.

“Be a Bat’s Friend” & Walt Disney: Love at First Ultrasound!

ABSTRACT- A first report on the feeding habits of a mainland population of the pine marten (Marte... more ABSTRACT- A first report on the feeding habits of a mainland population of the pine marten (Martes martes) in Italy is presented here. The winter food of this carnivore in Western Alps (altitude 1800-2500 m a.s.1.) is described, using stomach analysis. Both volume and frequency of occurrence of different food items were quantified. Mammals and wild fruits represent the main food categories. The presence of the small mammal species in the diet is discussed. Key words: Martes nzartes, Winter diet, Western Alps. RIASSUNTO- Note sulla dieta invernale della martora Martes Martes L. in Val Gressoney (Alpi occidentali italiane)- Lc abitudini alimentari della martora (Martes martes) nell'Italia peninsulare vengono descritte per la prima volta sulla base del contenuto stomacale di 9 esemplari provenienti dalle Alpi occidentali (fascia

What Story Does Geographic Separation of Insular Bats Tell? A Case Study on Sardinian Rhinolophids

SEE PROFILE All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate,... more SEE PROFILE All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.