Current Status of and Threats to Sicilian Turtles
Based on the critical review of the literature published in the last 22 years, an attempt was made to evaluate the current knowledge gap on the distribution and status of the native Testudines taxa occurring in Sicily (namely <i>Caretta caretta</i>, <i>Emys trinacris</i>, and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/10/798 |
| _version_ | 1797473743938781184 |
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| author | Luca Vecchioni Marco Arculeo Melita Vamberger Federico Marrone |
| author_facet | Luca Vecchioni Marco Arculeo Melita Vamberger Federico Marrone |
| author_sort | Luca Vecchioni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Based on the critical review of the literature published in the last 22 years, an attempt was made to evaluate the current knowledge gap on the distribution and status of the native Testudines taxa occurring in Sicily (namely <i>Caretta caretta</i>, <i>Emys trinacris</i>, and <i>Testudo hermanni hermanni</i>), as well as the available knowledge of the only non-native species with putative viable populations occurring on the island, i.e., <i>Trachemys scripta</i>. Summarizing the current information, all of the Testudines species occurring in Sicily showed a fragmented and incompletely-known distribution, and only scarce data are available about their phenology. Moreover, despite their inclusion of international and national laws (Bern Convention, CITES, Habitat directive), all three native species are facing several threats (e.g., habitat alteration, the occurrence of invasive species, parasite spillover) leading to a reduction of their populations on the island. Future monitoring programs on the island should be enhanced, with an emphasis on those taxa in decline. Moreover, involve Citizen Science programs should also be implemented in order to increase the awareness of non-experts and facilitate the monitoring task. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:21:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c7dd810662f74ea99ffe811495788dbd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:21:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-c7dd810662f74ea99ffe811495788dbd2023-11-23T23:47:51ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182022-09-01141079810.3390/d14100798Current Status of and Threats to Sicilian TurtlesLuca Vecchioni0Marco Arculeo1Melita Vamberger2Federico Marrone3Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 18, 90123 Palermo, ItalyDepartment of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 18, 90123 Palermo, ItalySenckenberg Dresden, Museum für Tierkunde, Königsbrücker Landstr. 159, 01109 Dresden, GermanyDepartment of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 18, 90123 Palermo, ItalyBased on the critical review of the literature published in the last 22 years, an attempt was made to evaluate the current knowledge gap on the distribution and status of the native Testudines taxa occurring in Sicily (namely <i>Caretta caretta</i>, <i>Emys trinacris</i>, and <i>Testudo hermanni hermanni</i>), as well as the available knowledge of the only non-native species with putative viable populations occurring on the island, i.e., <i>Trachemys scripta</i>. Summarizing the current information, all of the Testudines species occurring in Sicily showed a fragmented and incompletely-known distribution, and only scarce data are available about their phenology. Moreover, despite their inclusion of international and national laws (Bern Convention, CITES, Habitat directive), all three native species are facing several threats (e.g., habitat alteration, the occurrence of invasive species, parasite spillover) leading to a reduction of their populations on the island. Future monitoring programs on the island should be enhanced, with an emphasis on those taxa in decline. Moreover, involve Citizen Science programs should also be implemented in order to increase the awareness of non-experts and facilitate the monitoring task.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/10/798<i>Caretta caretta</i><i>Emys trinacris</i><i>Testudo hermanni</i><i>Trachemys scripta</i>Sicilybiological invasions |
| spellingShingle | Luca Vecchioni Marco Arculeo Melita Vamberger Federico Marrone Current Status of and Threats to Sicilian Turtles Diversity <i>Caretta caretta</i> <i>Emys trinacris</i> <i>Testudo hermanni</i> <i>Trachemys scripta</i> Sicily biological invasions |
| title | Current Status of and Threats to Sicilian Turtles |
| title_full | Current Status of and Threats to Sicilian Turtles |
| title_fullStr | Current Status of and Threats to Sicilian Turtles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Current Status of and Threats to Sicilian Turtles |
| title_short | Current Status of and Threats to Sicilian Turtles |
| title_sort | current status of and threats to sicilian turtles |
| topic | <i>Caretta caretta</i> <i>Emys trinacris</i> <i>Testudo hermanni</i> <i>Trachemys scripta</i> Sicily biological invasions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/10/798 |
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