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Rosa Termine

  • Biodiversity Journal, 8 (1): 113-118 - MONOGRAPH

    Rosa Termine
    Breeding of Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis C.L. Brehm, 1831 (Aves Podicipedidae) in the SCI and SPA ITA060002 “Lago di Pergusa” (Sicily, Italy)

    ABSTRACT
    On 2015 breeding season, we censused a high number of Podiceps nigricollis C.L. Brehm, 1831 (Aves Podicipedidae), breeding in the SCI and SPA ITA060002 “Lago di Pergusa”, including the Nature Reserve “Lago di Pergusa”. After 1950 the breeding records of the P. nigricollis in Italy were of approximately twenty and relative to a few pairs. Since 2010, in the Lake Pergusa, the P. nigricollis has changed its status from “migratory, overwintering and irregular breeder” to “regular breeder”. In 2010, and more regularly in 2012–2015, there are in fact documented breeding attempts with relative offspring. This Lake has so far counted the largest number of breeding pairs for Sicily and Italy. We point therefore to the importance of this protected natural area as a breeding site for the P. nigricollis.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 15 (2): 277-300 - MONOGRAPH

    Giuseppe Rannisi, Paolo Galasso, Andrea Cusmano, Rosa Termine, Manuel Andrea Zafarana, Renzo Ientile & Salvatore Surdo
    Colonies of herons and other allied waterbirds breeding in Sicily, 2007-2022
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2024.15.2.277.300

    ABSTRACT
    We describe the results of the first regional census of herons and other colonial waterbirds, including Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo, Little Bitterns Ixobrychus minutus, Black-crowned Night Herons Nycticorax nycticorax, Squacco Herons Ardeola ralloides, Western Cattle Herons Bubulcus ibis, Grey Herons Ardea cinerea, Purple Herons Ardea purpurea and Little Egrets Egretta garzetta, carried out throughout Sicily from 2007 to 2022. We also collected data about Great Egrets Casmerodius alba and other waterbird species in Ardeidae colonies without any breeding evidence, as Eurasian Spoonbills Platalea leucorodia and Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus. Collected data highlighted a regional widespread increase of the numbers in known colonies and nests of each species, especially of Bubulcus ibis that showed a sharp increase in number from 30 nests recorded for the whole region in 2007 up to 530 nests in 2022, mainly concentrated in eastern Sicily, in the province of Catania. Also A. ralloides, N. nycticorax and E. garzetta showed a positive trend with an increase in the number of colonized locations and nests recorded, with A. ralloides occupying the most of the Sicilian colonies with at least few pairs. On the other hand, A. cinerea showed a slight negative trend, with 45 nests recorded in 2007 and only 31 in 2022, at the end of the study; A. purpurea is an irregular breeder with an oscillating and unpredictable trend related to only 1–4 ascertained pairs maximum for the whole region. Despite the P. carbo is a regular breeding species in Sicily, it has not showed any sign of expansion in the last decade, remaining confined to a few historical locations near the Simeto River and Lentini Lake. All data here presented are related to the minimum and ascertained numbers of colonies and counted nests. Small colonies may not have been counted in some unmonitored locations, often inaccessible. It is highly recommended, in the near future, the creation of a coordinated survey network that would improve and make the census more in-depth and better standardized.

  • Biodiversity Journal, 11 (2): 639-646

    Rosa Termine & Giuseppe Fabrizio Turrisi
    Amphibians and Reptiles of the Nature Reserve of Pergusa Lake (Enna, Italy), emphasizing Sicilian endemisms
    https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2020.11.2.639.646

    ABSTRACT
    A brief survey on the herpetofauna of the Nature Reserve of Pergusa Lake (Enna, Italy) is provided, highlighting the Sicilian endemic taxa. For this protected area, it is confirmed the presence of 12 species, 4 Amphibians and 8 Reptiles, with two strictly Sicilian endemic taxa: Bufotes siculus (Stöck, Sicilia, Belfiore, Buckley, Lo Brutto, Lo Valvo et Arculeo, 2008), and Emys trinacris Fritz, Fattizzo, Guicking, Tripepi, Pennisi, Lenk, Joger et Wink, 2005, and the siculo-maltese Discoglossus pictus pictus Otth, 1837. Data on the habitat preference and other aspects of ecology and conservation of the recognized species are provided. The research especially confirms the ecological and conservation importance of the protected area for the endemic Bufotes siculus and Emys trinacris due to their significant populations.