THE RESEARCH AC T IVI T IES A T T HE MU SE O T RI D E NT I NO D I SCIE NZ E ReportReport 2008-2009 2008-2009 N A TU RA L I THE RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AT THE MUSEO TRIDENTINO DI SCIENZE NATURALI Report 2008-2009 The research acTiviTies aT THE MUSEO TRIDeNTiNO Di SCIENZe NaTURALi repOrT 2008-2009 Museo TridenTino di scienze naTurali President Giuliano castelli Director Michele lanzinger MTsn research report 2008-2009 © 2010 Museo Tridentino di scienze naturali, Via calepina 14, 38122 Trento, italy Managing editor Valeria lencioni Editorial committee Marco avanzini, costantino Bonomi, Marco cantonati, Giampaolo dalmeri, Valeria lencioni, Paolo Pedrini, Francesco rovero Editorial assistant Maria chiara deflorian Cover and layout design roberto nova Printing Tipografia Esperia Srl - Lavis (TN) isBn 978-88-531-0011-5 The research acTiviTies aT THE MUSEO TRIDeNTiNO Di SCIENZe NaTURALi repOrT 2008-2009 5 Preface ParT 1 7 1. The research of the Museo Tridentino di scienze naturali 11 2. The research programmes 12 Programme 1r ecology and biodiversity of mountain ecosystems in relation to environmental and climate change 12 Programme 2r documenting and conserving nature 13 Programme 3r Plant conservation: seedbanking and plant translocation 13 Programme 4r Tropical Biodiversity 14 Programme 5r earth sciences 14 Programme 6r alpine Prehistory 15 3. The research staff and activities 21 4. The scientific collections 25 5. The main results and projects ParT 2 57 appendix 1: The research staff 85 appendix 2: research projects, high education and teaching 95 appendix 3: Publications 113 appendix 4: collaborations: the research national network 117 appendix 5: collaborations: the research international network Preface Fully developed as natural history museum since the beginning of the 1900, the Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali (MTSN) over the past decade has developed a new cultural approach through innovative exhibitions and public programs which prompted a wider interpretation of its strictly naturalistic in- stitutional scope. Nowadays the museum manages, besides the head centre 1r in Trento, a whole network of centers for scientific dissemination, established during the last 70 years: Botanical Alpine Garden on Viotte di Monte Bon- done, Museum on the Bronze Age at the Lago di Ledro, Arco Arboretum, Glaciology Museum “J. Payer”, Aeronautic Museum “G. Caproni” in Trento, Bosco Caproni at Arco, Udzungwa Ecological Monitoring Centre (Tanzania) and Lymnological Field Station at the Lago di Tovel. 2r The MTSN has grown and evolved over time, and specifically in 2008-2009 thirty new people were employed in the permanent staff. Since 2009 it com- prises more than sixty employees of which seven curators heads of scientific sections (Botany, Limnology and Phychology, Invertebrate Zoology and Hyd- robiology, Vertebrate Zoology, Tropical Biodiversity, Prehistory and Geology) and five technicians involved in the research and conservation activities plus 3r seven cultural mediators and a plethora of more than thirty “unstructured” collaborators (Ph.D. students, postdoctoral fellows, research assistants and visitor researchers). In the biennium 2008-2009 the MTSN promoted and participated even with a role of coordinator to several research projects in collaboration with local research institutes such as the Edmund Mach Foun- 4r dation, the Kessler Foundation, the University of Trento and the Centre of Integrative Biology in response to the Trento Province’s demands. In particu- lar, within the projects ACE-SAP and OPENLOC, both financed on the 2008 grant of the Province, the cooperation with all these research centers have been strengthened. In the last two years also the national and international collaborations with other museums and research institutes increased, also 5r thanks to the activation of innovative large-scale research programmes in Asia and Africa in the fields of biodiversity and adaptation to climate change, sustainable development, environmental education. Quantitative indicators of such activities are reported in this document, with a focus on the main re- sults obtained in 2008-2009 published in scientific journals. The implementa- tion of MTSN’s collections thanks to these researches contributes to increase 6r the relevance of such results (at present about 5 millions of specimens/items are preserved at the museum). Furthermore, in these last two years, the 450 m2 surface of permanent gallery have been renovated, devoting the major part of exhibits to the field of nature and biodiversity with special regards to the research activities of the MTSN and other local institutes, providing the diffusion of scientific data to the public in form of easily accessible contents. The total renovation of the museum and its relocation in a new building (ex- Michelin area) will be in 2012. It will change its name into Museo delle Sci- enze (Science Museum, MUSE), and it will be the first museum in Italy that harmoniously blends nature, science and technology, including also basic contemporary ethical and social issues. This has been requiring a consider- able strategic and managerial effort that involves all the MTSN’s staff, being the major challenge for the next future. In conclusion, I am grateful to all the personnel who contributed with constant care, dedication, enthusiasm and professionalism to the performance of the MTSN, included the administrative employers. A special mention to the Auton- omous Province of Trento for its financial support to our research programmes and to all the sponsors who support our activities in the last two years. Michele Lanzinger Director of the Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali 5 The research Of THE MUseO TriDentino 1 Di scienze NaturaLi The research of the MTsn The Museo TridenTino di scienze naTurali (Trento Natural Science Museum, MTSN) traces back its origin in the mid XIX century. Since then it has evolved into a modern museum, addressing research, visitor interpreta- tion and education. Research at MTSN is articulated into two mainstream ar- 1r eas: a multidisciplinary investigation of nature and an interest for science in- terpretation, education and training, based on the interconnection between nature science and society. Environmental research focuses on the Alpine region, and aims at attaining both local and global relevance, trying to be effective, integrated and useful 2r to the local community and research area but also strategically placed at Euro- pean level in key research networks, valuing international research cooperation and participation to consortia and competitive projects, delivering research products relevant at global level. Education research continuously develops new means to raise awareness of 3r the alpine environment, promoting the sustainable use of its resources, nec- essary to grant an environmentally friendly development of the local society, highlighting local assets and natural heritage, promoting public understanding of science. This is a key role that will be further enhanced in view of the future opening of the new science museum of Trentino, Museo delle Scienze (Science 4r Museum, MUSE). In this context the role of new museum will be to investigate and explain the environment with the scientific method, addressing the challenges posed by the modern times and promoting the value of science, innovation and sustainable development. 5r The present and future research activities of the MTSN includes: investigate the alpine geodynamic system, its endogenous and exog- enous processes, in order to clarify the active forces, its evolution, the biological component, the first human settlements and their evolution in 6r relation to geography and climate; promote a biodiversity database built on museum collections and field records as part of long standing monitoring and research activities; improve our understanding of local plant and animal life and ecosystem functioning both aquatic and terrestrial, focusing on indicator species and adaptive potential; produce distribution maps of priority species and habitats, to develop interpretation and prediction models that take into account global change, in order to develop local management plans for forestry, agri- culture, hunting and fishing; investigate global change through proxy data derived from limnology, analysing sediments, karst, hypogeous water tables; interconnect science with society to promote local assets and natural heritage on solid scientific grounds; on a wider scope educate and inspire the general public in an open discussion on nature science and sustainable development; actively engage with European museums in a benchmarking analysis to better define the research mission of the new museum (MUSE). 9 2 The research prOgrammes The research activities at MTsn: report 2008-2009 The research activities of MTSN are grouped in six general Programmes (1R-6R) accounting each a variable number projects and involving each different Section of the museum. A brief description of these Programmes is given. 1r Programme 1r ecology and biodiversiTy of MounTain ecosysTeMs in relaTion To environMenTal and cliMaTe change 2r In the framework of the Programme 1, research activities on the biodiversity of ter- restrial and freshwater ecosystems of mountain areas in Italy and abroad are carried out in collaboration with regional, national, and international outstanding research institutes. These investigations are mostly fundamental research, devoted to eco- systems and to organisms (from morphology to physiology, genetics