Even worms matter: cave habitat restoration for a planarian species increased environmental suitability but not abundance

Abstract

Invertebrates living in underground environments often have unusual and sometimes unique adaptations and occupy narrow ranges, but there is a lack of knowledge about most micro-endemic cave-dwelling invertebrate species. An illustrative case is that of the flatworm Dendrocoelum italicum, the first survey of which was performed 79 years after its description. The survey revealed that the underground stream supplying water to the pool from which the species was first described had been diverted into a pipe for human use, thus severely reducing the available habitat for the species. Here we describe the results of what we believe is the first habitat restoration action performed in a cave habitat for the conservation of a flatworm. The water-diverting structure was removed, with the involvement of local protected area administrators, citizens and volunteers from local organizations. The intervention resulted in the restoration of a large, stable pool inside the cave, thus creating an optimal habitat for this threatened planarian, with increased availability of prey and a stable population. This report of habitat restoration for a neglected invertebrate offers insights for the protection of other micro-endemic species.

The good, the bad and the ugly of COVID-19 lockdown effects on wildlife conservation: Insights from the first European locked down country

“…Due to the limited time of lockdowns and the likely rebound of activities that will follow, it is however unlikely that these effects will last long. Generally overlooked before and along the crisis ( Manenti et al, 2019 ), the negative trends of invertebrates incur the risk of going largely unnoticed afterwards. Specific surveys and further research should be performed to address the population status of key aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, such as pollinators and freshwater insects ( Seibold et al, 2019 ; van Klink et al, 2020 ).…”

Value-conflicts in the conservation of a native species: a case study based on the endangered white-clawed crayfish in Europe

“…The involvement of communities and stakeholders need informed consent: and this can be reached only by providing people not just with transparent communication on the project-including the spatial and temporal distribution of its costs and benefits-but also with the appropriate ecological framework to process the given information. Even conservation actions for disregarded invertebrate species like worms are possible if adequate educational activities are provided to people (Manenti et al 2019b).…”

Not Only Environmental Conditions but Also Human Awareness Matters: A Successful Post-Crayfish Plague Reintroduction of the White-Clawed Crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) in Northern Italy

“…Each step, from habitat assessment to dissemination activities and continued monitoring, has had a key role in the reintroduction of white-clawed crayfish. In our case study, as for most conservation programs and policies (Chazdon et al, 2017;Manenti et al, 2019a), the aim was to reverse the impacts of human actions. For this reason, a substantial part of both preliminary actions and monitoring activities were directed toward preventing the detrimental actions of stakeholders living near the reintroduction site.…”