Ricerc@Sapienza

The Mediterranean Red List assessment is a review of the conservation status at regional level of approximately 6,000 species of animals and plants. This report summarizes the results for a key group of Mediterranean biodiversity: saproxylic beetles. Despite their key role in the ecosystem´s health and food chain, saproxylic beetles are still largely misunderstood and the current information gaps on these species´ population status, trends, and distribution are a reflection on how little we still know about them.

One aim of the MIPP Project (http://www.lifemipp.eu) was to develop non-invasive monitoring methods
for selected saproxylic beetles. In this paper, a method is proposed for monitoring the larvae of Osmoderma
eremita in their natural habitat (i.e. hollow trees), using a conservation detection dog (CDD). Wood mould
sampling (WMS), the standard method to detect hermit beetles and other saproxylic insects inside tree hollows,
is time-consuming and exposes the target species and the whole saproxylic communities to some risks.

Osmoderma eremita (Scopoli, 1763) is a saproxylic scarab beetle protected by the Habitats Directive in the
European Union. The present paper is part of a special issue on monitoring of saproxylic beetles protected
in Europe and starts with a revision of the current knowledge on systematics, ecology, ethology and conservation
of O. eremita and its allied species, followed by experimental tests of different methods for monitoring
its populations. Two methods were compared in several localities of central Italy: (1) the widely used

Cerambyx cerdo is a longhorn beetle widely distributed in southern and central Europe. This saproxylic beetle is generally associated with oak forests where there are mature or partially dead and sun-exposed trees. Its populations are currently threatened by forest practices such as the removal of partially dead trees and the decline in the number of old oak trees situated in open or semi-open landscapes. Thus, C. cerdo has been included in Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive.

Rosalia alpina (Linnaeus, 1758) is a large longhorn beetle (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) which is protected by the Habitats Directive and which typically inhabits beech forests characterised by the presence of mature, dead (or moribund) and sun-exposed trees. A revision of the current knowledge on systematics, ecology and conservation of R. alpina is reported. The research was carried out as part of the LIFE MIPP project which aims to find a standard monitoring method for saproxylic beetles protected in Europe.

Global change imposes rapid assessments to obtain reliable and updated distribution data to implement conservation measures. This task is undoubtedly unaffordable for numerous invertebrate species, both in terms of time and economic resources, because they are often elusive, detectable life stages are present for a restricted time and ecological data are scarce. Citizen science might be able to provide a large number of records and these data might facilitate the evaluation of extinction risks.

The implementation of conservation actions requires a reliable assessment of presence and/or abundance of targeted species. This is particularly difficult for rare and elusive species. In this study the use of bottle traps and the effects of two potential baits in relation to height in the trees were tested to detect presence and assess abundance of stag beetles (Lucanidae) and flower chafers (Scarabaeidae, Cetoniinae), an important component of forest biodiversity. The study was carried out in a flood-plain forest of northern Italy.