A Red List of Italian Saproxylic Beetles: taxonomic overview, ecological features and conservation issues (Coleoptera)

Abstract

The main objectives of this review are: 1) the compilation and updating of a reference database for Italian saproxylic beetles, useful to assess the trend of their populations and communities in the next decades; 2) the identification of the major threats involving the known Italian species of saproxylic beetles; 3) the evaluation of the extinction risk for all known Italian species of saproxylic beetles; 4) the organization of an expert network for studying and continuous updating of all known species of saproxylic beetle species in Italy; 5) the creation of a baseline for future evaluations of the trends in biodiversity conservation in Italy; 6) the assignment of ecological categories to all the Italian saproxylic beetles, useful for the aims of future researches on their communities and on forest environments. The assessments of extinction risk are based on the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria and the most updated guidelines. The assessments have been carried out by experts covering different regions of Italy, and have been evaluated according to the IUCN standards. All the beetles whose larval biology is sufficiently well known as to be considered saproxylic have been included in the Red List, either the autochthonous species (native or possibly native to Italy) or a few allochthonous species recently introduced or probably introduced to Italy in historic times. The entire national range of each saproxylic beetle species was evaluated, including large and small islands; for most species, the main parameters considered for evaluation were the extent of their geographical occurrence in Italy, and the number of known sites of presence. 2049 saproxylic beetle species (belonging to 66 families) have been listed, assigned to a trophic category (Table 3) and 97% of them have been assessed. On the whole, threatened species (VU + EN + CR) are 421 (Fig. 6), corresponding to 21 % of the 1988 assessed species; only two species are formally recognized to be probably Regionally Extinct in Italy in recent times. Little less than 65% of the Italian saproxylic beetles are not currently threatened with extinction, although their populations are probably declining. In forest environments, the main threats are habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution due to the use of pesticide against forest pests, and habitat simplification due to economic forest management. In coastal environments, the main threats are due to massive touristic exploitation such as the excess of urbanization and infrastructures along the seashore, and the complete removal of woody materials as tree trunks stranded on the beaches, because this kind of intervention is considered an aesthetic amelioration of seaside resorts. The number of species whose populations may become impoverished by direct harvest (only a few of large forest beetles frequently collected by insect traders) is very small and almost negligible. The Red List is a fundamental tool for the identification of conservation priorities, but it is not a list of priorities on its own. O...

Guidelines for the monitoring of Morimus asper funereus and Morimus asper asper

“…Morimus asper is a silvicolous, xylophagous and saproxylic species, its main habitat being deciduous and mixed forests (Jurc et al 2008, Carpaneto et al 2015. The species lives mainly in old-growth forests or well-structured woodlands, with a medium-high density of dead wood (Trizzino et al 2013, Bărbuceanu et al 2015.…”

“…In the third national report under the Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, the overall assessment of the conservation status for M. funereus was "favourable" (Genovesi et al 2014). This taxon is listed as a species in the IUCN Red List of Italy (Audisio et al 2014, Carpaneto et al 2015. It is included in the category Vulnerable (VU) by the IUCN Red List of Italy with the same status being given to the species in 1996 on a global scale (World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996).…”

Guidelines for the monitoring of Cerambyx cerdo

“…Viable populations of C. cerdo can also be found in tree avenues or parks (Buse et al 2007, Carpaneto et al 2015. Colonised trees can be identified by visible holes made by the larvae on the trunk or thick branches (Müller 2001).…”

Beetles “in red”: are the endangered flat bark beetles Cucujus cinnaberinus and C. haematodes chemically protected? (Coleoptera: Cucujidae)

“…The European species C. cinnaberinus (Scopoli, 1763) is strictly protected and enclosed in Annexes II and IV of the EU Habitats Directive 92/43, with the aim of maintaining existing populations. It has been classified as "near threatened" in Europe by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) organisation and "vulnerable" in Italy (Carpaneto et al 2015). Recently, there have been reports on the role of Cucujus cinnaberinus and Clinidium canaliculatum as possible biodiversity indicators.…”

“…Another related species, C. haematodes Erichson, 1845, is even more at risk ("endangered" in Carpaneto et al 2015), and is currently very rare in Europe, apart from in Calabria.…”