The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) presents validated and verified national checklists of introduced (alien) and invasive alien species at the country, territory, and associated island level. Checklists are living entities, especially for biological invasions given the growing nature of the problem. GRIIS checklists are based on a published methodology and supported by the Integrated Publishing Tool that jointly enable ongoing improvements and updates to expand their taxonomic coverage and completeness. Phase 1 of the project focused on developing validated and verified checklists of countries that are Party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Phase 2 aimed to achieve global coverage including non-party countries and all overseas territories of countries, e.g. those of the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom. All kingdoms of organisms occurring in all environments and systems are covered. Checklists are reviewed and verified by networks of country or species experts. Verified checklists/ species records, as well as those under review, are presented on the online GRIIS website (www.griis.org) in addition to being published through the GBIF Integrated Publishing Tool.
Exposure to pesticides is among the most far-reaching threats to raptors, but comprehensive analyses of the timing, spatial trends, species affected, and pesticides involved is lacking. Such knowledge is critical to target conservation action.We collated data on raptor poisoning across 22 European countries encompassing 3,196 incidents and affecting 4,437 poisoned raptors of 37 species between 1996 and 2016. The most commonly poisoned raptors were obligate or facultative scavengers. Together, buzzards, eagles, vultures, and kites accounted for 85% of victims. Common Buzzard (46% of 4,437 raptors), Eurasian Griffon (12%), White-tailed Eagle (9%), Red Kite (7%), and Marsh Harrier (5%) were the most frequent casualties. Nine species and 6% of all casualties have an imperiled global status; 17 are globally declining. Proportionally most obligate scavengers were poisoned in the Mediterranean, most facultative scavengers in North-west, Central and Eastern Europe. Fifty parent compound pesticides and 9 metabolic byproducts were detected. Carbofuran and aldicarb were reported in respectively 38% and 9.7% of poisoned raptors and over half of those after their bans. Of 1,584 raptors poisoned with carbofuran as a single substance, 88% were categorized as facultative scavengers. Poisoning peaked in March-April with 37% of 3,566 poisonings of known date. Most facultative scavengers were killed in those months, while poisoning of obligate scavengers, rodent feeders, and other raptors peaked in August, January and March-July, respectively. The victims of carbofuran and alphachloralose peaked in March-April, and those of aldicarb, parathion, and cholinesterase inhibitors in Jun-Aug.The results demonstrate the widespread extent of raptor exposure to pesticides in Europe, which suggests that there may be implications for reduction of ecosystem services in addition to the affected individuals and population status. A broader range of species than anticipated may be affected by poisoning, including non-scavenging species; monitoring of their poisoning may serve as early warning indicators.
The saproxylic beetle, Cucujus cinnaberinus, has received increasing research attention in Europe since the adoption of the Habitats Directive and establishment of the Natura 2000 network. The history of the species has been investigated as well as the influence of abiotic and biotic variables on the distribution of C. cinnaberinus in Slovenia which is at the limit of its range and also terra typica for the species. The species was first described in 1763 by Joannes A. Scopoli in Carniola, a duchy of the Habsburg Monarchy. Today, most of the territory of Carniola is situated within Slovenia. C. cinnaberinus is particularly common in the eastern part of the country, but very scarce in the mountainous western part. According to historical and recent distribution patterns of C. cinnaberinus in the former Carniolan territory, the region of Ribnica-Kočevje in southern Slovenia is proposed as the most probable type locality of the species. Although the bulk of the C. cinnaberinus population in Slovenia is confined to the lowlands, the species has been found up to 1095 m a.s.l., albeit at a much lower abundance due to the influence of climate and forest structure. Although C. cinnaberinus is a quite an opportunistic species regarding host tree selection, it has been shown to exhibit a preference for Tilia, Populus and Robinia. It is suspected that the high abundance of C. cinnaberinus in lowland floodplain forests is due to the recent human-induced increase in preferred fast-growing and short-lived host trees, i.e. the planting of poplar trees and spread of invasive Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) after the 1960s. In contrast, in montane forests, preferred host trees (e.g. Tilia) represent < 1 % of all growing stock. Although montane C. cinnaberinus populations are rare, they could still be important for the conservation of the species, since montane habitats cover the largest area within the species' distribution range.
Na 32 km2 velikem območju ob Savi med Krškim in Jesenicami na Dolenjskem je bila leta 2008 opravljena inventarizacija avifavne z namenom naravovarstvenega ovrednotenja območja. V pokrajinskih tipih gozd, kmetijska kulturna krajina in mozaik smo na skupaj 25,3 km transektov popisali ptice dvakrat. Posebej smo popisali ptice vodnih teles raziskovanega območja – ptice rečne struge s poudarkom na ciljnih vrstah vodomcu Alcedo atthis in malem martincu Actitis hypoleucos – ter ptice drugih vodnih teles (gramoznici, mrtvica). Skupaj smo registrirali 132 vrst ptic, med katerimi je bilo 88 gnezdilk. Petnajst gnezdilk je uvrščenih v Prilogo 1 Direktive 79/409/EGS o ohranjanju prosto živečih ptic. Kvalifikacijskim kriterijem za opredelitev IBA/SPA Sava med Krškim in Jesenicami na Dolenjskem – (1) vrste dosegajo na območju več kot 1% nacionalne populacije, (2) vrste so zastopane na območju z najmanj dvema paroma, pri čemer je celotna nacionalna populacija večja od pet parov, in (3) vrsta je lahko kvalifikacijska le na petih najpomembnejših območjih v dani evropski regiji (Slovenija) – so ustrezale 3 vrste, kvakač Nycticorax nycticorax, črni škarnik Milvus migrans in vodomec Alcedo atthis. Območje ob Savi med Krškim in Jesenicami na Dolenjskem kot predlagano novo IBA/SPA je edino za kvakača in črnega škarnika kot kvalifikacijski vrsti ter četrto najboljše območje za vodomca v državi.
Capsule: Territory monitoring using playback of calls is a reliable approach for assessing population trends of Tawny Owls Strix aluco, particularly when human resources are limited or survey areas are difficult to access.Aims: To explore whether response calls of Tawny Owls towards broadcast conspecific and heterospecific male owl playback calls would provide similar estimates of population size and trends over time as nest-box monitoring.Methods: Between 1998 and 2017, Tawny Owls were monitored in a predominantly forested area of central Slovenia. Throughout the year, territories were monitored using a playback protocol comprising silent listening during five minutes before and after ten minutes of broadcasting male Tawny Owl. Seasonal variation in response rate was examined and results from the playback method were compared to data on occupancy rate of nest-boxes.Results: Territory monitoring using playback calls showed a similar direction of population trends as nest-box monitoring but a different population dynamics pattern. The overall response rate in occupied territories to conspecific playback calls at first visits was 70%. This was significantly higher than for heterospecific playback calls and the frequency of spontaneous vocalizations. The response rate to conspecific playback calls when including two visits rose to nearly 90%. There was no difference in response rate between seasons. The average time to respond to conspecific playback calls was five minutes.Conclusions: Compared to nest-box monitoring of breeding pairs, territory monitoring of breeding and non-breeding Tawny Owls using playback provides a robust and cost-effective method for monitoring. We recommend conducting territory monitoring between January and May during the breeding season, with two visits to each site using conspecific playback of territorial male hoot calls using the 5 + 10 + 5 minutes protocol.
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