In this work, we analyse the role of climatic constraints in shaping the distribution of alien plant species along the elevation gradient in the European Alps. Alien species occurrence was recorded in 278 plots located beside rivers, from 100 to 2,100 m a.s.l. Climate variables were calculated from the data recorded by 145 meteorological stations and interpolated by a multiple regression approach. Both richness and occurrence of aliens were modelled. In particular, relationships between the occurrence of alien plants and (1) elevation or (2) the climatic variables, were tested by applying generalised linear models and generalised linear mixed models; the model parameters obtained were used to estimate upper elevation limits of alien occurrence and their related climate values. Sixty-eight alien species were encountered, the majority (71%) invasive in Italy and worldwide. A steep decrease in alien species richness with elevation was found, with the probability of alien species occurrence decreasing by half for each 100 m increase in elevation. Minimal adequate models based on (1) non-transformed climatic variables and (2) derived PCA values, confirmed that occurrence of alien plant species along the elevation gradient was positively related to the minimum temperature, the mean temperature and the heat sum for the spring season, rather than to the incidence of absolute minimum temperature and frost days, as usually assumed. Although further experimental analyses are needed, these results support the hypothesis that, referring to climate factors, elevation limits along rivers are mainly established by low spring temperatures which operate at the level of population viability rather than plant survival.

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The embryonic and post embryonic development of , the main vector of grapevine Flavescence dorée, was studied under laboratory conditions, at constant temperatures (T=15°, 18°, 20°, 22°, 24°, 27°, and 29°C). The data obtained were fitted to the equation of Brière, and the model was validated against independent field data. The minimum cardinal temperature for eggs ranged from 18° to 20°C, the duration of egg hatching was minimum at T = 24°C, egg hatchability was optimum at 22°C, and very few eggs hatched at T ≥ 27°C. The duration of post embryonic development clearly shortened as the temperature increased, both overall and within the same life stage, almost half reducing itself from 18° to 29°C. Within the same temperature tested, the early instars took less time to moult compared to the late ones. The data obtained provided a significant fit with the equation of Brière. Validation was satisfactory, particularly concerning 3 rd instar nymphs and adults, which are the key life instars for targeting IPM strategies. The model proposed could be used to predict the development of ! in Northwestern Italy for IPM purposes.

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Introduction Historically, leishmaniasis in Italy was constrained to areas with Mediterranean climate. In the last 20 years, sand fly vectors ( Phlebotomus perniciosus ), cases of canine leishmaniasis (CanL) and cases of human visceral leishmaniasis (VL) have been observed in Northern Italian regions, traditionally classified as cold areas unsuitable for sand fly survival. Aim We aim to evaluate through a One-Health approach the risk of endemic transmission of Leishmania infantum in the Piedmont Region, Northern Italy. Methods We collected environmental, entomological, animal, and human data. We applied a geostatistical binomial model to map the probability of P. perniciosus presence in the study area, using selected environmental parameters as predictors. We evaluated the spatial relationship between the probability of P. perniciosus presence and the geographical distribution of CanL and VL cases observed between 1999 and 2013. Results Between 1999 and 2003, 142 sampling sets (17%) out of 839 resulted positive for P. perniciosus . Elevation, degree of slope, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and summer temperatures were associated with positive sampling sets. During the study period, 164 (13.6%) of Piedmont municipalities reported at least one autochthonous case of CanL, while 89 VL cases were observed in 54 municipalities (4.5%). We observed an association between municipalities affected by autochthonous CanL cases and the estimated probability of P. perniciosus presence (Odds Ratio for 10% increase of probability: 2.66; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 2.16–3.37). We found that human VL incident cases were positively associated with the probability of the municipality of residence of being endemic for CanL (Incidence Rate Ratio for 10% increase of probability: 1.49; 95% CI 1.02–2.16). Conclusions Using a One-Health approach, we quantified the spatial association between the distribution of P. perniciosus, municipalities endemic for CanL and incident cases of human VL, suggesting that the disease has become endemic in the Piedmont region.