Razorbills <i>Alca torda</i> in Italian Seas: A Massive Irruption of Historical Relevance and Role of Social Network Monitoring
Reporting on uncommon wide animal movements could help in depicting potential carry-over effects at the population level, particularly in an era of rapid climate and environmental changes. The razorbill (<i>Alca torda</i>, Linnaeus 1758) is a regular passage migrant and winter visitor to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/4/656 |
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| author | Rosario Balestrieri Roberto Vento Andrea Viviano Emiliano Mori Claudia Gili Flavio Monti |
| author_facet | Rosario Balestrieri Roberto Vento Andrea Viviano Emiliano Mori Claudia Gili Flavio Monti |
| author_sort | Rosario Balestrieri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Reporting on uncommon wide animal movements could help in depicting potential carry-over effects at the population level, particularly in an era of rapid climate and environmental changes. The razorbill (<i>Alca torda</i>, Linnaeus 1758) is a regular passage migrant and winter visitor to Italian seas, but with sporadic presences usually involving small numbers of individuals. Irruptions have been occasionally documented, with the last records of an unusually large number dating back to 1982. However, in the past, irruptions have only been locally reported and poorly described. Here we report on an unprecedented massive irruption of hundreds of razorbills which occurred in the central Mediterranean Sea in November-December 2022. Using citizen science platforms and photos/videos shared on social networking sites (SNSs), we estimated the relative magnitude of the irruption and described the spatial distribution of birds at sea, as well as report cases of stranded individuals. We collected a total of 267 records, both from Italy and from neighboring countries. We also discuss the likely factors affecting razorbill irruption and stress the importance of open social platforms and data sharing to aid in the early detection and estimation of such events at a wide-scale, as well as for the monitoring of the mortality of the irrupted species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:15:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-427f9b2e8d89410dacd7749a5929cc79 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:15:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-427f9b2e8d89410dacd7749a5929cc792023-11-16T18:39:42ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-02-0113465610.3390/ani13040656Razorbills <i>Alca torda</i> in Italian Seas: A Massive Irruption of Historical Relevance and Role of Social Network MonitoringRosario Balestrieri0Roberto Vento1Andrea Viviano2Emiliano Mori3Claudia Gili4Flavio Monti5Dipartimento Conservazione Animali Marini e Public Engagement, Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn”, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare, Università di Palermo, Via Archirafi 22, 90123 Palermo, ItalyConsiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche, Istituto Di Ricerca Sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, ItalyConsiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche, Istituto Di Ricerca Sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, ItalyDipartimento Conservazione Animali Marini e Public Engagement, Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn”, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, ItalyDepartment of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Via Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, ItalyReporting on uncommon wide animal movements could help in depicting potential carry-over effects at the population level, particularly in an era of rapid climate and environmental changes. The razorbill (<i>Alca torda</i>, Linnaeus 1758) is a regular passage migrant and winter visitor to Italian seas, but with sporadic presences usually involving small numbers of individuals. Irruptions have been occasionally documented, with the last records of an unusually large number dating back to 1982. However, in the past, irruptions have only been locally reported and poorly described. Here we report on an unprecedented massive irruption of hundreds of razorbills which occurred in the central Mediterranean Sea in November-December 2022. Using citizen science platforms and photos/videos shared on social networking sites (SNSs), we estimated the relative magnitude of the irruption and described the spatial distribution of birds at sea, as well as report cases of stranded individuals. We collected a total of 267 records, both from Italy and from neighboring countries. We also discuss the likely factors affecting razorbill irruption and stress the importance of open social platforms and data sharing to aid in the early detection and estimation of such events at a wide-scale, as well as for the monitoring of the mortality of the irrupted species.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/4/656aukscitizen scienceirruptionItalyMediterranean seasrazorbill |
| spellingShingle | Rosario Balestrieri Roberto Vento Andrea Viviano Emiliano Mori Claudia Gili Flavio Monti Razorbills <i>Alca torda</i> in Italian Seas: A Massive Irruption of Historical Relevance and Role of Social Network Monitoring Animals auks citizen science irruption Italy Mediterranean seas razorbill |
| title | Razorbills <i>Alca torda</i> in Italian Seas: A Massive Irruption of Historical Relevance and Role of Social Network Monitoring |
| title_full | Razorbills <i>Alca torda</i> in Italian Seas: A Massive Irruption of Historical Relevance and Role of Social Network Monitoring |
| title_fullStr | Razorbills <i>Alca torda</i> in Italian Seas: A Massive Irruption of Historical Relevance and Role of Social Network Monitoring |
| title_full_unstemmed | Razorbills <i>Alca torda</i> in Italian Seas: A Massive Irruption of Historical Relevance and Role of Social Network Monitoring |
| title_short | Razorbills <i>Alca torda</i> in Italian Seas: A Massive Irruption of Historical Relevance and Role of Social Network Monitoring |
| title_sort | razorbills i alca torda i in italian seas a massive irruption of historical relevance and role of social network monitoring |
| topic | auks citizen science irruption Italy Mediterranean seas razorbill |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/4/656 |
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