Birds of Gelsari and Lentini Marshes, Special Protection Area for the Protection and Maintenance of Aquatic Avifauna in Central Mediterranean
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See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330074778 Birds of Gelsari and Lentini marshes, special protection area for the protection and maintenance of aquatic avifauna in central Mediterranean Article in Ocean & Coastal Management · March 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.12.010 CITATIONS READS 0 97 4 authors, including: Roberto De Pietro Renzo Ientile University of Catania 3 PUBLICATIONS 18 CITATIONS 28 PUBLICATIONS 27 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Giorgio Sabella University of Catania 59 PUBLICATIONS 189 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: A Revision of Chilean Brachyglutini View project Measuring bird-watchers preferences: a Sicilian case of study View project All content following this page was uploaded by Roberto De Pietro on 01 December 2019. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Ocean and Coastal Management 169 (2019) 96–103 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ocean and Coastal Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman Birds of Gelsari and Lentini marshes, special protection area for the T protection and maintenance of aquatic avifauna in central Mediterranean ∗ Roberto De Pietroa, Renzo Ientileb, Stefania Pucciac, Giorgio Sabellad, a Via Messina, 223, 95129 Catania, Italy b CUTGANA (Centro Universitario per la Tutela e la Gestione degli Ambienti Naturali e degli Agroecosistemi), University of Catania, via Santa Sofia 98, 95123 Catania, Italy c Via Mascalucia, 5, 95125 Catania, Italy d Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Section Animal Biology, via Androne 81, 95124 Catania, Italy ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Gelsari and Lentini marshes are two large wetlands extending along the southern coast of the Gulf of Catania, in Water birds Sicily (Italy), which have always been studied extensively by naturalists of the past for their undisputed en- Wetlands vironmental value. The draining works of these areas, which have occurred in the last century, has led to a loss of Environmental management interest for the marshes, which were considered lost from the naturalistic point of view. Thus, the scientific Sicily studies ceased and, in particular, stopped the recording of avifauna data. In more recent times, the temporary breakdown of pumping stations, that occurred from 2008 to 2010, has enabled the marshes to take back a natural hydrological regime for a period of a few years, short but enough to make habitats of community interest and for an extremely important birdlife to reappear. Therefore, a monitoring activity has been started, allowing collecting in systematic way information on species present between 2010 and 2016. The aim of this work is to make known the situation regarding the presence of birds in recent years and compare it with what is available from historical data and to highlight its value, despite the anthropic pressure to which the area is subject. Finally, management proposals are put forward, aimed at fulfilling the full potential of this important site. 1. Introduction Italy (Gariboldi et al., 2000) and also in Europe (Grimmett and Jones, 1989). These wetlands, in addition to being a stopover point for mi- Eastern Sicily, due to its central position in the Mediterranean, is a gratory birds, often maintain significant populations of nesting or natural bridge between Africa and continental Europe, playing a stra- overwintering birds (Massa and Iapichino, 1998). tegic role for the birds during migration, as has long been shown This paper shows the history of two extended marshes mainly within (Moreau, 1953; Casement, 1966); in particular, the sector located in the the province of Siracusa, which, since the 1920s and 1950s, respectively, provinces of Catania, Siracusa, Ragusa and Caltanissetta, this is because are annually dried up by a regional Reclamation Consortium of Sicily, the of the presence of large water-rich plains throughout the year, offering reason being to obtain cultivable surfaces, through two pumping stations many chances of rest and refreshment to the wide migratory flow of which drain the waters and discharge them into the sea. Thanks to the birds in transit. However, a massive process of environmental trans- breakdown of the draining pumps, in recent years the area has returned formation has affected these areas, much like the rest of Sicily, mainly to floodwater, regaining its characteristics of wetland and attracting in the last century, between 1920 and 1950, causing a drastic reduction important contingents of birds (De Pietro, 2011; De Pietro and De Pietro, of the wetlands, whose total land mass, across the entire island, has thus 2012). The aim of this work is to show the framework of the presence of dropped from about 100,000 ha recorded in 1865, to 47,174 ha re- birds recorded in recent years and to compare it with that available from clamation in the early 1930s (Rallo and Pandolfi, 1988), to approxi- the historical data. The work also highlights the value of the area, despite mately 5,000, in the present day. the enormous anthropic pressure under which it has been subject, and The surviving wetlands, due to their richness in terms of species and the potential role that it could take if a management model with a nat- number of hosted birds, ranks today among the most interesting sites in uralistic orientation were to be applied. ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (R. De Pietro), [email protected] (R. Ientile), [email protected] (S. Puccia), [email protected] (G. Sabella). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.12.010 Received 11 August 2018; Received in revised form 16 November 2018; Accepted 11 December 2018 0964-5691/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. R. De Pietro et al. Ocean and Coastal Management 169 (2019) 96–103 collected by conducting censuses periodically. The observations were conducted between 2010 and the 2016. A total of 53 visits were made, on average 15 per year. The on-site in- spections have been concentrated in the winter months and in the spring; at this time of year, the marshes, fed by rainwater, showed normal levels, during the period of the breakdown of draining pumps, and strongly reduced levels with highly altered dynamics of variation, during the period of reactivation of the plants. Observations were car- ried out using 10× binoculars and a 20–60× birdwatching telescope; many of the sightings have been documented taking photos with digital cameras equipped with telephoto lenses. A full list of known species has been drawn up. The nomenclature and the systematic order adopted are those reported by del Hoyo and Collar (2014, 2016). It has been specified if the presence of species is “historical”, or antecedent to the environmental change made by man during the nineteenth century, and/or “current”. Besides the available scientific literature, the catalogues of major Fig. 1. Location map of the study area. Sicilian bird collections have been consulted: Priolo (Priolo and Di Palma, 1995), Whitaker (Lo Valvo and Massa, 2000), Trischitta (Di 2. Area of study Palma et al., 1989), Baglieri (Grasso and Ientile, 1997), Baglieri and Benanti (Grasso and Ientile, 1999). Gelsari and Lentini are two marshy areas extending along the eastern Table 1 lists the all species recorded. The species of main con- Sicilian coast, on the border between the province of Catania and servational concern are also highlighted; in this case the benchmark Siracusa, near the final stretch of San Leonardo river, in the munici- adopted has been the inclusion of species in Annex I of the Birds Di- palities of Carlentini (Siracusa), Augusta (Siracusa) and Catania (Fig. 1). rective (2009/147/EC). A large part of Lentini is below sea level, while Gelsari is slightly above. Although the current hydrological contributions play a lesser role 4. Species list results and discussion than in the past (following the construction of hydraulic works designed to remove part of the water supply from the flooded watercourses and It is only right to make it clear that the outcome of this survey is to hill areas), in the winter months, these marshes, if no water drainage be regarded as not sufficient to give a comprehensive framework ofthe activities are carried out, reach a maximum depth of just over one meter ornithological value of this site, for the following reasons. Historical and extend for no less than 600 ha; the marshes therefore account for a information found is fragmentary and also non-exhaustive, because no surface that represents more than 10% of all wetlands in Sicily. Under on-site systematic research has been carried out despite the fact that the such conditions Gelsari and Lentini marshes tend to configure in much wetland complex is of international importance, as many naturalists the same way as the original ones. This can be seen from Fig. 2a–c, which have testified in past centuries (Lilford, 1875; Lopriore, 1901; Jany, compare the surfaces that the marshes occupied at the beginning of the 1959). last century with those of recent times in the absence of water pumping. The current framework of the presence of birds, instead, is strongly The importance of the environmental transformations that hap- conditioned by the artificial water control and, more generally, bythe pened from 2008 to 2010, due to the breakdown of the draining pumps, absence of an environmental protection regime. It should be noted in has led to the recognition of a special protection zone, through the this connection that during the study period, on several occasions, has updating, collated in 2013, of the existing SPA “Biviere di Lentini, tratto been observed harassment both direct (hunting) and indirect (agri- mediano e foce del fiume Simeto e area antistante la foce” ITA070029 cultural and livestock activities) against avifauna, which is detrimental (De Pietro, 2016).