PeerJ Award Winners at 21st Italian Congress of Ornithology

The Italian Ornithological Congress (Convegno Italiano di Ornitologia, CIO) is organized by CISO-Centro Italiano Studi Ornitologici, the association of Italian ornithologists, together with local ornithological groups and institutions. It is usually held every two years, continuously shifting places and local organizers throughout the country. The last one took place in Varese, between 5 and 9 September, and was co-organized by GIO (Gruppo Insubrico di Ornitologia) and Università dell’Insubria (https://www.cio2023varese.it/en/home/). This congress edition set new records in terms of number of participants (305) and contributions (95 oral talks and 137 posters, including many from foreign countries). and according to participants it established a new benchmark also in terms of scientific quality of the contributions presented. Many parallel sessions and symposia covered a lot of ‘hot’ topics, spanning from migration and diseases to farmland birds, global change, behaviour, mountain birds, ecotoxicology, systematics, urbanization and movement ecology. Particular emphasis was also given to cutting edge techniques under rapid development, including those within the fields of bioacoustics and remote sensing.

Giacomo Assandri, Organising Board.

Riccardo Alba PhD Student at the University of Turin, Italy.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests?

I’ve always been fascinated by nature and birds in particular since when I was a young kid. I’m a passionate birdwatcher who likes to travel and take photos of wildlife. After high school, I got a bachelor degree in Natural Sciences and then a master degree in Environmental Biology with two theses on the mountain bird community of the mountain treeline and the breeding ecology of the Northern Wheatear in the Alps.

What first interested you in this field of research?

I got into mountain ecology since the bachelor and then never left this research topic until now. My supervisor Dan Chamberlain surely played a role in making me passionate but I’m also fascinated by these extreme environments such as the Alps and the species they host.

Can you briefly explain the research you presented at CIO 2023?

The study that I presented at XXI CIO 2023 was about the high-elevation habitat of the Alps during the post-breeding migration. This is the first study that assesses the habitat use of mountains by birds during autumn migration in the whole Europe. Although mountain chains are generally regarded as ecological barriers by migrants, we found that actually a high number of species (104 species, 22% of Italian terrestrial avifauna) use mountains during the autumn migration as fueling or stopover sites. We found that the treeline ecotone was the one with the highest abundance and diversity of birds and that birds selected for east- and southeast- oriented slopes in the morning to optimize foraging and reduce costs of thermoregulation. This study contributes to the knowledge of mountain biodiversity which is less studied compared to lower elevations, and especially outside the breeding season, with potential consequences on protected areas.

What are your next steps?

This is the last year of my PhD, I’m carrying on other studies always tied to mountain bird communities such as the role of avalanches and ski-pistes in affecting the bird communities of the Italian Alps. I hope that in the future I will have the opportunity to keep working on these topics and bring my contribution in deepening the knowledge of mountain ecology and the conservation of these incredible environments.

Sofia Bolumar Roda PhD Student at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA), Spain.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests?

I’ve been interested in seabirds since the beginning of my university career. I completed my Bachelor in Natural Sciences at the Univerisity of Turin where I had the opportunity to graduate with a thesis on Cory’s Shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) moult thanks to the mentorship of Letizia Campioni from the Istituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada (ISPA) of Lisbon. That experience prepared me for my Master since my acquired skills in the ornithology field and data analysis allowed me to participate in an Erasmus+ program at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA) in Mallorca Island where I actually work. During my Master in Environmental Biology at the University of Turin I developed an interest in movement ecology and I graduated with a thesis on Storm-petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus) habitat selection in collaboration with the Animal Demography and Ecology group of IMEDEA.

What first interested you in this field of research?

I’ve always been a passionate ornithologist but in particular seabirds fascinated me for their capacity of exploit both land, water and air. Thanks to the opportunity to work with seabirds as a field assistant in different breeding colonies of Scopoli’s Shearwaters and Storm-petrels across the Mediterranean I could understand more about marine birds and their ecology. In particular I’ve developed an interest for their spatial distribution since this information is crucial for the protection of endangered seabirds.

Can you briefly explain the research you presented at CIO 2023?

In the study we presented we studied Cory’s Shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) breeding in Selvagem Grande island (Madeira Archipelago, Portugal). We analyzed the occurrence and the group composition of colony attenders as well as the time and progress of their moult by examining Shearwaters between June and September of 2013 and 2014. The moult pattern of sabbatical and 8-10 year-old immatures (close to recruitment) was compared pairwise with that of successful breeders, whereas immatures of all ages were analysed separately. Overall, our study shows that colony attendance by adult and immature non-breeders is a widespread behavioural strategy in this population. In general, colony attenders showed a consistent pattern of moult schedule with body feather renewal occurring in all groups and in correspondence with the time shearwaters are ashore thus suggesting a possible relationship with thermoregulation.

What are your next steps?

Currently my research is at the intersection of movement ecology of marine birds and oceanography. I’m indeed focussing on how environmental variables could affect their distribution at sea during their breeding period. In a climate change framework, it is of primary importance to identify priority conservation areas and diversity hot-spots for seabirds. In this context, I would like to provide in the future a knowledge about the environmental requirements of marine species to contribute to the impact of anthropogenic activities.