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Studies on flora and fauna in
various ecosystems. Basic research is carried also out
with the aim of providing information and tools for
the conservation of biodiversity and for the
protection and sustainable management of natural
heritage. In particular, the etho-ecological aspects
of various species, population dynamics, interactions
between species and in relation to the physical
environment are analysed. The investigations are
carried out in accordance with the Habitats Directive
of the European Union 92/43EEC (D.P.R. 357/97), the
Italian laws D.lgs.157/92, LR 3/1994, LR 56/2000, and
with the European Union Directive 2010/63/EU (Italian
law D.lgs. 26/2014) or the European Union Directive
86/609/EEC (Italian law D.lgs. 116/92). For the
aforementioned purposes, the Ethoikos Foundation
collaborates with research institutes and
universities, both Italian and foreign, also through
collaboration agreements for shared projects,
scholarships, doctorates, curricular internships and
post-graduate training. In 2018-2019 the foundation
was part of the Steering Committee of the Master's
Degree course in Environmental and Behavioral
Biology, University of Florence.
Investigations
Ethology and genetics of the
mustelid population in southern Tuscany -
Monitoring with radiotracking and camera traps.
Investigations on the use of space and habitat,
activity rhythms, diet, parental relationships,
distribution and population density.
Study of the distribution of the
marten (Martes martes) on the island of Elba
and the effect of its coexistence with the domestic
cat and man.
Source-sink dynamics in
populations of terrestrial micromammals -
Information on the diversity and species richness of
micromammals in a sample area of central Italy and
study of demographic parameters, distribution, spatial
activity, and social organization of each population,
also in relation to forest management.
Earth HoloGenome Initiative
- Collection of coupled genomic and metagenomic data
of animal populations living at the northern and
southern extremes of the distribution of the studied
species, in order to understand the hologenomic means
of adaptation to climate change in zones of expansion
and contraction. Project coordinated by the
Universities of Exeter and Copenhagen.
EU Snapshot Project -
Data collection on European mammals through the
coordinated and standardised use of camera traps.
Study promoted by Euromammals and Max Plank Institute
of Animal Behaviour.
National monitoring of the
Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) -
Data collection in order to obtain indications on the
conservation status of the species protected by
national and international regulations (Appendix III
of the Bern Convention, Annex IV of the Habitats
Directive 92/43/EEC, Italian law Annex D of
Presidential Decree 357/97) and in relation to the
quality of the forest habitat. Project carried out in
collaboration with ATIt – Italian Theriological
Association.
Spatial behaviour project of the
Mus domesticus - The Regione Autonoma
della Sardegna, Department of Environmental
Protection, drawing on POR FESR 2014-2020 Measure
6.5.1 funds, has planned interventions for the
eradication of the house mouse from the environments
of the Piana, Cavalli and Reulino, in the Marine
Protected Area of Tavolara - Punta Coda Cavallo, where
more than half of the existing population of
Mediterranean shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan)
breeds. Within this program, the Fondazione
Ethoikos has undertaken, the study of the
spatial behaviour of the species Mus domesticus,
with its own funds, in order to acquire greater
knowledge of the ecological and ethological aspects of
the insular populations of the rodents in question.
This basic information may also be useful for optimal
planning of the eradication intervention. This
investigation is carried out in collaboration with the
Marine Protected Area of Tavolara - Punta Coda
Cavallo.
Ethology and psychobiology of
micromammals - Study on the personality of
terrestrial micromammals, evaluating the profile of
emotionality, locomotor activity, neophilia and
cognitive performance in animals captured in the La
Selva forest in the province of Siena. The animals are
housed in a temporary structure set up within the
study area, for the time necessary to carry out the
tests (approximately 10 days) and subsequently
released back to the capture sites.
Ornithological studies -
Reproductive dynamics of swallow colonies in the La
Selva forest– Radicondoli (Si), in relation to
variations in climate and food resources. In the same
forest, study on various species of diurnal and
nocturnal birds of prey, on the distribution of their
breeding territories and variations in density over
time, also to obtain indirect information on predatory
pressure on micromammals and small passerines.
Check list of fauna and flora in
the "La Selva" forest and museum collection -
Data collection on the fauna within the "La Selva"
forest - Radicondoli (Si). The checklist includes 1039
species. The electronic archive (http://ethoikos.myspecies.info),
is hosted on the Scratchpads platform, a data
management system specifically created to publish and
share biodiversity data. This tool is supported, among
others, by the Natural History Museum and the Natural
Environment Research Council. To date, approximately
1400 photos of animals observed within the “La Selva”
Forest have been published on the site assigned to
Ethoikos. The list is organised in an interactive
taxonomic tree, with detailed collection data
organised accordingly to the Darwin core standard
for sharing data on biodiversity. The flora checklist
is also continuously updated with taxonomic and field
checks. To date, over 400 plant species have been
recorded.
Published work
•
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Seasonal Fluctuations of
Wood Mouse Populations in Fields Surrounded by
Woodlands. Animals 2023. DOI:
10.3390/ani13122017
• Anomalous coloration in European
pine marten Martes martes in Elba Island, Central
Italy. Ecology and Evolution. 2022 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8980
• Adverse weather conditions reduce
food availability and increase glucocorticoid
metabolite levels in barn swallow nestlings. Wildlife
Biology 2021 DOI: 10.2981/wlb.00747
• Spatial behaviour of yellow-necked
wood mouse Apodemus flavicollis in two
sub-Mediterranean oak coppice stands. Mammal Research.
2021 DOI: 10.1007/s13364-020-00538-3
• Difficulty in visual sex
identification: a case study on bank voles. Mammalia
2019 DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2017-0170
• Faecal corticosterone metabolite
assessment in socially housed male and female Wistar
rats. Endocrine connections 2018-01 DOI: 10.1530/ec-17-0338
• Multiple captures as indicator of
social tolerance in a guild of terrestrial rodents.
Mammalian Biology 2018. DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2018.07.001
• Habitat selection of European pine
marten in Central Italy: from a tree dependent to a
generalist species. Mammal Research 2018 DOI: 10.1007/s13364-018-0374-0
• Seasonal cravings: plant food
preferences of syntopic small mammals. Ethology
Ecology & Evolution 2018 DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2017.1310141
• Acorn choice by small mammals in a
Mediterranean deciduous oak forest. Ethology Ecology
& Evolution 2017 DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2015.1089326
• Seasonal spatial behaviour of pine
marten Martes martes in a deciduous oak forest of
central Italy. Mammal Research 2016 DOI: 10.1007/s13364-016-0278-9
• Effects of forest management on
density and survival in three forest rodent species.
Forest Ecology and Management 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2016.10.014
• Genetic relatedness affects
socio-spatial organization in a solitary carnivore,
the European pine marten. Hystrix, the Italian Journal
of Mammalogy. 2016 DOI: doi.org/10.4404/histrix-27.2.11433
• Maternal
exposure to environmental enrichment before and during
gestation influences behaviour of rat offspring in a
sex-specific manner. Physiology & behavior 2016-05
DOI:10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.05.010
• Field identification of Apodemus
flavicollis and Apodemus sylvaticus: a quantitative
comparison of different biometric measurements.
Mammalia 2016 DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2014-0051
• Morphological measurements of pine
marten in central Italy. Hystrix, the Italian Journal
of Mammalogy 2014 DOI: 10.4404/hystrix-25.2-10258
• Evaluation of three indirect
methods for surveying European pine marten in a
forested area of central Italy. Hystrix, the Italian
Journal of Mammalogy 2012 DOI: 10.4404/hystrix-23.2-7099
• Characterization of nine
microsatellite loci in the European polecat Mustela
putorius. Conservation Genetics Resources 2012 DOI:
10.1007/s12686-012-9669-7
• Estimation of population density
of European pine marten in central Italy using camera
trapping. Mammal Research 2011. DOI: 10.1007/s13364-011-0055-8
• Characterization of 13 polymorphic
microsatellite loci in the European pine marten Martes
martes. Conservation Genetics Resources 2010 DOI: 10.1007/s12686-010-9282-6
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