Evidence of tutoring in the development of subsong in newly-fledged Meyer's Parrots Poicephalus meyeri

Subsongs are vocal trials uttered by young birds to practice songs. Among songbirds, subsongs are displayed by individuals in their first year of life. Studies on Zebra Finches Poephila guttata suggest that the juveniles learn their songs from a vocal tutor, their father. In this study we examine the subsongs in six captive-born Meyer's Parrots Poicephalus meyeri, from fledging time to weaning. Recordings of songs from chicks and fathers were analyzed for similarities in frequency and time parameters. With age, the subsongs of the chicks became more similar to the vocalizations of the fathers with 20% similarity rating in the first week after fledging to 100% at weaning time. Moreover, fledged chicks were exposed to a wide range of stimuli from several species of parrots breeding pairs caged nearby but chicks exclusively learned their fathers' songs. Our data support the hypothesis that Meyer's Parrots are vocal learners and use their father as their tutor

Clinical Features, Cardiovascular Risk Profile, and Therapeutic Trajectories of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Candidate for Oral Semaglutide Therapy in the Italian Specialist Care

Introduction: This study aimed to address therapeutic inertia in the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D) by investigating the potential of early treatment with oral semaglutide. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between October 2021 and April 2022 among specialists treating individuals with T2D. A scientific committee designed a data collection form covering demographics, cardiovascular risk, glucose control metrics, ongoing therapies, and physician judgments on treatment appropriateness. Participants completed anonymous patient questionnaires reflecting routine clinical encounters. The preferred therapeutic regimen for each patient was also identified. Results: The analysis was conducted on 4449 patients initiating oral semaglutide. The population had a relatively short disease duration (42%  60% of patients, and more often than sitagliptin or empagliflozin. Conclusion: The study supports the potential of early implementation of oral semaglutide as a strategy to overcome therapeutic inertia and enhance T2D management

Relationships between native and alien vascular flora and landscape complexity in the province of Padova (North Italy)

Landscape complexity is the basis of species diversity at regional scale. The arrangement of ecosystems in a landscape mosaic in space and time changes as a result of human pressure. This landscape mosaic may either be simplified or complicated by urbanization. Therefore, human pressure has a multi-faceted influence on richness and composition of vascular species. In this study, we investigated the relationships between landscape complexity and native and alien vascular flora in the entire province of Padova, North Italy (2,144 km2), over an atlas map composed by 81 squares of 25 km2. The data, presence or absence of vascular species in each square, have been collected over several years, through excursions conducted by experienced botanists and have been recently stored in a geospatial vector database. Landscape complexity was calculated with the Shannon diversity index, using the proportion of the first level Corine Land Cover types. Each square was partitioned into subsets of landscape types identified through a hierarchical agglomerative clustering with Corine Land Cover proportions. Then, we performed an IndVal analysis to assess the degree of association of each species to each subset. We used the LecoS plugin for the QGIS geographical information system to calculate the landscape metrics and the R software for the statistical analyses. The alien flora showed a pattern of distribution similar to the native flora. As expected, the species richness in the hilly semi-natural areas was higher than in the agricultural-based urban plain. In the plain, species richness increased with increasing cover of artificial surfaces and decreased with increasing cover of agricultural areas. Landscape complexity has proven to be a good predictor of changes in the species richness. About fifty species were associated to some of these landscape types. The occurrence of some species at local scale was a reliable indicator of larger scale landscape patterns. The variety of ecological attitudes of the alien species was one of the reasons for their widespread distribution regardless the landscape type. Landscape complexity was an additional determinant factor, which did not discriminate between native and alien species. We conclude that in the province of Padova distributional data of plants obtained from flora atlases at good resolutions help the identification of landscape emergent properties

Hierarchies and Dominance Behaviors in European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis galloitalica) Hatchlings in a Controlled Environment

Few species of reptiles are known to establish stable social structures and among these, chelonians provided scarce and conflicting results. Moreover, studies on turtles are usually performed on adult individuals. In this study, we checked whether and when hatchlings of the European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis galloitalica) established stable hierarchical structures in their first year of life, whether hierarchies were stable in time and how steady they were. We also verified whether social ranks were associated to the individuals’ size. We observed dyadic interactions daily within three small groups of turtles reared in a controlled environment for seven months. After two months, the hatchlings started to interact and progressively established stable hierarchical structures. However, the effectiveness of the three types of observed aggressive behaviors in reversing social ranks was low and the resulting hierarchies were flat. We did not find a significant effect of the turtles’ size on their interactions’ outcome and hierarchy structure. Our results provide clear evidence of the development and the characteristics of social behaviors in young reptiles in captivity. This study could be a starting point for investigating social structures in wild populations.</jats:p

Hierarchies and Dominance Behaviors in European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis galloitalica) Hatchlings in a Controlled Environment

Few species of reptiles are known to establish stable social structures and among these, chelonians provided scarce and conflicting results. Moreover, studies on turtles are usually performed on adult individuals. In this study, we checked whether and when hatchlings of the European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis galloitalica) established stable hierarchical structures in their first year of life, whether hierarchies were stable in time and how steady they were. We also verified whether social ranks were associated to the individuals&rsquo; size. We observed dyadic interactions daily within three small groups of turtles reared in a controlled environment for seven months. After two months, the hatchlings started to interact and progressively established stable hierarchical structures. However, the effectiveness of the three types of observed aggressive behaviors in reversing social ranks was low and the resulting hierarchies were flat. We did not find a significant effect of the turtles&rsquo; size on their interactions&rsquo; outcome and hierarchy structure. Our results provide clear evidence of the development and the characteristics of social behaviors in young reptiles in captivity. This study could be a starting point for investigating social structures in wild populations

Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 9

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, exclusions, and status changes for Italy or for Italian administrative regions. Furthermore, three new combinations are proposed. Nomenclatural and distribution updates published elsewhere are provided as Suppl. material 1.</jats:p