A5021169648- Plant and animal studies
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Insect and Pesticide Research
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Plant Reproductive Biology
- Insect behavior and control techniques
- Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Animal and Plant Science Education
- Horticultural and Viticultural Research
- Plant Physiology and Cultivation Studies
- Plant Ecology and Soil Science
- Urban Agriculture and Sustainability
- Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Morphological variations and asymmetry
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- Plant biochemistry and biosynthesis
- Botanical Research and Chemistry
- Urban Planning and Valuation
- Diptera species taxonomy and behavior
- Flowering Plant Growth and Cultivation
University of Milano-Bicocca
2019-2025
University of Palermo
2023
University of Milan
2019-2023
Institute of Entomology
2016-2022
Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre
2016-2022
Czech Academy of Sciences
2016-2022
University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
2016-2022
Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
2022
Marine Research Centre
2022
University of Pavia
2014-2017
Hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) are among the most important pollinators, although they attract less attention than bees. They usually thought to be rather opportunistic flower visitors, previous studied demonstrated that show colour preferences and their nectar feeding is affected by morphological constraints related morphology. Despite growing appreciation of hoverflies other non-bee insects as there a lack community-wide studies visitation syrphids. The aim this paper provide detailed...
Abstract Urbanization gradients influence both landscape and climate provide opportunity for understanding how plants pollinators respond to artificially driven environmental transitions, a relevant aspect the ecosystem service of pollination. Here, we investigated several aspects pollination along an urbanization gradient in climate. We quantified wild hoverfly bee abundances with trapping, standing crop nectar spectrophotometer, pollen transported by flower visitors DNA metabarcoding, 40...
Habitat fragmentation is modifying landscapes and the distribution of floral resources, possibly shaping pollinator resource acquisition, which an issue global concern for health urbanization sustainability. Here, in different urban parks contrasting terms local features surrounding matrix, we aimed to clarify how flower availability shape bumblebee foraging dynamics by characterizing several components: nutritional content plant composition collected pollen pellets, trip length...
Urban afforestation is increasingly regarded as a key strategy for fostering biodiversity to restore and enhance the ecosystem services needed counteract effects of climate change in built-up areas. In Italy, several experimental projects have been launched part National Recovery Resilience Plan (NRRP), focusing on cities or metropolitan areas such Milan, Rome, Pistoia Campobasso. These follow multidisciplinary approach, integrating botanists, foresters, urban planners, landscape architects...
ABSTRACT Motivation Pollinators play a crucial role in maintaining Earth's terrestrial biodiversity. However, rapid human‐induced environmental changes are compromising the long‐term persistence of plant‐pollinator interactions. Unfortunately, we lack robust, generalisable data capturing how communities structured across space and time. Here, present EuPPollNet (European Plant‐Pollinator Networks) database, fully open European‐level database containing harmonised taxonomic on interactions...
Abstract Species extinctions undermine ecosystem functioning, with the loss of a small subset functionally important species having disproportionate impact. However, little is known about effects on plant-pollinator interactions. We addressed this issue in field experiment by removing plant highest visitation frequency, then measuring impact removal flower visitation, pollinator effectiveness and insect foraging several sites. Our results show that total decreased exponentially after 1–4...
The area sourrounding the Mediterranean basin is recognised as a major biodiversity hotspot for bees, and Italy amongst European countries with highest bee species richness. Detailed knowledge of distribution crucial understanding biology designing tailored conservation strategies, but still insufficient in southern countries, especially Italy. We report recent finds 48 that yield significant novelties Italian fauna. Eight species, namely Andrena confinis Stöckhert, Anthidiellum breviusculum...
Plants often grow in clusters of various sizes and have a variable number flowers per inflorescence. This small-scale spatial clustering affects insect foraging strategies plant reproductive success. In our study, we aimed to determine how visitation rate behaviour pollinators depend on the size multiple plants using Dracocephalum moldavica (Lamiaceae) as target species. We measured flower by observations insects visiting single with different numbers flowers. Detailed data within were...
Abstract Cold‐adapted species are expected to have reached their largest distribution range during a part of the Ice Ages whereas postglacial warming has led contracting toward high‐latitude and high‐altitude areas. This resulted in an extant allopatric populations possibly trait differentiations (selected or not) even speciation. Assessing inter‐refugium differentiation speciation remains challenging for such organisms because sampling difficulties (several populations) disagreements on...
Abstract Ecological network theory hypothesizes that the structuring of species interactions can convey stability to system. Investigating how these structures react loss is fundamental for understanding disassembly or their robustness. However, this topic has mainly been studied in‐silico so far. Here, in an experimental manipulation, we sequentially removed four generalist plants from real plant–pollinator networks. We explored effects on, and drivers of, interaction disappearance,...
Plant biodiversity is crucial to satisfy the trophic needs of pollinators, mainly through nectar and pollen rewards. However, a few studies have been directed ascertain intraspecific variation chemical features nutritional value floral rewards in relation alteration landscapes due human activities. In this study, by using an existing scenario land use gradients as open air laboratory, we tested nutrient profiles along urbanization agriculture intensity, focusing on sugar, aminoacids...
The way pollinators gather resources may play a key role for buffering their population declines. Social like bumblebees could adjust foraging after significant workforce reductions to keep provisions the colony optimal, especially in terms of pollen diversity and quantity. To test what effects reduction causes on pollen, commercially-acquired colonies bumblebee Bombus terrestris were allowed forage field they experimentally manipulated by removing half number workers. For each bumblebee,...
Abstract Species range expansions are crucial for understanding niche formation and the interaction with environment. Here, we studied bumblebee Bombus haematurus Kriechbaumer, 1870, a species historically distributed from northern Serbia through Iran which has very recently started expanding northwestward into Central Europe without human‐mediated dispersal (i.e., it is natural spread). After updating global distribution of this species, investigated if shifts took place during expansion...
The way urbanization shapes the intraspecific variation of pollinator functional traits is little understood. However, this topic relevant for investigating ecosystem services and health. Here, we studied how affects workers in two bumblebee species (Bombus terrestris B. pascuorum) sampled 37 sites along a gradient North Italy (an area 1800 km2 including metropolitan context Milan other surrounding capital districts). Namely, investigated effect land use composition, configuration, air...
Biodiversity, ecosystem services and farming are inextricably linked. Peri-urban agricultural landscapes host wild species, provide essential services, benefit citizens of nearby towns. We investigated the environmental management factors that influence avian communities, pollinating insects two key (pollination nature-based recreation) along an urban-natural gradient dominated by areas (vineyards, apple orchards grasslands) in northern Italy. Flower visiting-insects were mainly affected...
Polyploidisation has played an important role in plant diversification, and variation ploidy level may be found not only between species of the same genus, but also within a single species. Although establishing adaptive significance polyploidy to explain geographic distribution cytotypes is challenging, occurrence different ecological niches suggest genome duplication. We studied across entire range endemic Erysimum mediohispanicum (Brassicaceae). For that, we have used climate variables,...
Despite its global importance for the maintenance of healthy ecosystems and contribution in providing economic benefits to human society, clade Anthophila is severe decline worldwide. In this context, counteracting Apoidea fundamental importance. Honey bee density beekeeping are believed negatively impact wild populations, mostly through competition food sources. study, interspecific trophic was investigated using still seldom exploited approach a palynological analysis combined with...