After a sharp and large decline of otter populations, a genera1 recovery has been noted in recentyears in severa1 European countries. This positive trend has occurred also in Italy, although otterdistribution is still limited to the southern regions and the species is considered as endangered. Anincrease in the numbers of otters found dead in Italy has been recently recorded, due likely toincreasing population sizes. Dead specimens can provide valuable data on health status ofpopulations (leve1 of contaminants in individuals, evidence of infectious, metabolic or nutritionaldiseases, body conditions, dental health), reproductive success, biometric parameters, risk factorsand causes of death, and can aid biologists and managers in setting conservation strategies andimproving long-term monitoring. However, no attempts to improve carcasses recovery and to gethigh standard (trough adequate protocols and a specialized team) in otter post-mortem examinationswas done unti1 now in Italy. The ongoing RECAL project intended to fill these gaps in Italy,bringing together otter ecologists and anatomo-pathologists. A multi-disciplinary team has begun towork on carcasses collected in the core area of otter distribution in Italy (Cilento and Vallo di DianoNational Park). Preliminary data obtained fiom necropsy cases have underlined the usefulness of acorrect carcass preservation and a timely necropsy for meaningful interpretation of pathologicallesions, as well as the importante of the application of a standardized procedures in orda to gatherwide-range and in-depth data to be shared with otter ecologists of other European countries.[...]

The RECAL project in Italy: a multi-disciplinary approach for research on otters’ health status and ecology by post-mortem analyses

DELLA SALDA, Leonardo;PALMIERI, CHIARA;
2010-01-01

Abstract

After a sharp and large decline of otter populations, a genera1 recovery has been noted in recentyears in severa1 European countries. This positive trend has occurred also in Italy, although otterdistribution is still limited to the southern regions and the species is considered as endangered. Anincrease in the numbers of otters found dead in Italy has been recently recorded, due likely toincreasing population sizes. Dead specimens can provide valuable data on health status ofpopulations (leve1 of contaminants in individuals, evidence of infectious, metabolic or nutritionaldiseases, body conditions, dental health), reproductive success, biometric parameters, risk factorsand causes of death, and can aid biologists and managers in setting conservation strategies andimproving long-term monitoring. However, no attempts to improve carcasses recovery and to gethigh standard (trough adequate protocols and a specialized team) in otter post-mortem examinationswas done unti1 now in Italy. The ongoing RECAL project intended to fill these gaps in Italy,bringing together otter ecologists and anatomo-pathologists. A multi-disciplinary team has begun towork on carcasses collected in the core area of otter distribution in Italy (Cilento and Vallo di DianoNational Park). Preliminary data obtained fiom necropsy cases have underlined the usefulness of acorrect carcass preservation and a timely necropsy for meaningful interpretation of pathologicallesions, as well as the importante of the application of a standardized procedures in orda to gatherwide-range and in-depth data to be shared with otter ecologists of other European countries.[...]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11575/13030
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