Research Topic: Adaptations to Subterranean Environments

Research Topic: Adaptations to Subterranean Environments

We are pleased to inform that the collection of articles published in the research topic “Adaptations to Subterranean Environments” edited by Dr. Lunghi, Prof. Niemiller and Dr. Bilandzija is now available as ebook. You can download the pdf for free from this link.

We collected 13 papers, 8 research articles and 5 reviewes. Below our editorial.

Title: Adaptations to Subterranean Environments

Editors: Enrico Lunghi, Matthew Niemiller, Helena Bilandzija

Journal: Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution

Special issue book

Special issue book

We are pleased to inform that the collection of articles published in the special issue “Cave Communities: From the Surface Border to the Deep Darkness” edited by Dr. Manenti and Dr. Lunghi is now available as a book. You can download the pdf for free from the link below.

Title: Cave Communities: From the Surface Border to the Deep Darkness

Editors: Raoul Manenti and Enrico Lunghi

Journal: Diversity

New review article on Speleomantes behaviour published in Animals

New review article on Speleomantes behaviour published in Animals

In this article we performed a review aiming to define the state-of-the-art of researches published on the behabviour of Speleomantes cave salamanders, and we provided insights for future researches aiming to fill the current knowledge gap.

Title: Recent Advances in the Behavioral Ecology of European Plethodontid Salamanders

Authors: Andrea Costa , Enrico Lunghi, Giacomo Rosa, Sebastiano Salvidio

Journal: Animals

Link to the article Recent Advances in the Behavioral Ecology of European Plethodontid Salamanders

New review article published in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society on behaviour of subterranean species

New review article published in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society on behaviour of subterranean species

In this article we performed a review of research papers in which experiments or description of specific behavioural trait were performed in cave species. Data was then analysed to assess the convergent evolution of such behavioral traits, and to infer on the role that behavioural adjustments may have during the colonization of subterranean environments.

Title:

Behavioural adjustments enable the colonization of subterranean environments

Authors: Enrico Lunghi , Stefano Mammola, Alejandro Martínez, Thomas Hesselberg

Journal: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

Link to the article Behavioural adjustments enable the colonization of subterranean environments

New article published in Animals on foraging behaviour of Speleomantes

New article published in Animals on foraging behaviour of Speleomantes

In this article we performed a fine-scale analysis of the gut contents obtained from all Speleomantes species, including hybrids. Identifying prey with higher taxonomic resolution and considering their ecology, we were able to infer on potential foraging behaviour of these salamanders, paving the way for future studies to test these new hypotheses.

Title:

Inferring on Speleomantes Foraging Behavior from Gut Contents Examination

Authors: Fabio Cianferoni, Enrico Lunghi

Journal: Animals

Link to the article Inferring on Speleomantes Foraging Behavior from Gut Contents Examination

Special Issue: Predator-Prey Interactions in Amphibians and Reptiles

New article published in Animals on the monitoring of Speleomantes sarrabusensis

New article published in Animals on the monitoring of Speleomantes sarrabusensis

In this article we provided the data deriving from two monitoring scheme interesting four populations (three epigeous and one from artificial springs) of the Sette Fratelli cave salamander Speleomantes sarrabusensis.

Title: Species diversity and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in Sardinia, Italy

Authors: Roberto Cogoni, Milos Di Gregorio, Fabio Cianferoni, Enrico Lunghi

Journal: Animals

Link to the article Monitoring of the Endangered Cave Salamander Speleomantes sarrabusensis

Special Issue: Salamanders: Distribution, Diversity, and Conservation

New article published in Acta Herpetologica on distribution of Sardinian herpetofauna

New article published in Acta Herpetologica on distribution of Sardinian herpetofauna

In this article we show an updated database on the distribution of herp species in Sardegna, with an analysis on the environmental variables that promote higher species abundance.

Title: Species diversity and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in Sardinia, Italy

Authors: Claudia Corti, Marta Biaggini, Valeria Nulchis, Roberto Cogoni, Ilaria Maria Cossu, Salvatore Frau, Manuela Mulargia, Enrico Lunghi, Lara Bassu

Journal: Acta Herpetologica

Link to the article Species diversity and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in Sardinia, Italy

New article published in Scientific Reports on the trophic niche of Speleomantes italicus

New article published in Scientific Reports on the trophic niche of Speleomantes italicus

In this article we investigated the trophic niche of multiple populations of the Italian cave salamander, Speleomantes italicus, throughout a year. We found a discrepancy in the foraging activity of the populations located in different areas, and temporal and spatial variability in the body condition of individuals. Our study highlighted a remarkably high spatial and temporal divergence in the trophic habits of conspecific populations.

Title: The trophic niche of subterranean populations of Speleomantes italicus

Authors: Enrico Lunghi, Fabio Cianferoni, Claudia Corti, Yahui Zhao, Raoul Manenti, Gentile Francesco Ficetola and Giorgio Mancinelli

Journal: Scientific Reports

Link to the article: The trophic niche of subterranean populations of Speleomantes italicus

New article published in Natural History Sciences on the first observation of Golden jackal in Tuscany

New article published in Natural History Sciences on the first observation of Golden jackal in Tuscany

In this article we report the first observations of the Golden jackal on the Tuscan Apennines (Italy).

Title: The golden jackal Canis aureus L. 1758 (Carnivora: Canidae) on the Tuscan Apennines

Authors: Bacci Francesco and Enrico Lunghi

Journal: Natural History Sciences

Link to the article: The golden jackal Canis aureus L. 1758 (Carnivora: Canidae) on the Tuscan Apennines