BIOBLITZ 2018 PARCO REGIONALE DELLA MAREMMA

In recent decades, many natural history museums in Europe have integrated their traditional functions with new ways of interacting with visitors and local communities. In particular, the need to adapt their mission according to the changes in modern society has led them to develop initiatives aiming at an active involvement of the public in scientific research. This is one of the inspiring principles of Citizen Science. BioBlitz are among the most popular activities dedicated to biodiversity in this field. In line with the inspiring principles of this cultural revolution, since 2012 the Maremma Natural History Museum organized public participation initiatives for the collection of biodiversity data. We hereby report the main results of the BioBlitz 2018 organized by the Maremma Natural History Museum in the Talamone area, located in the southern portion of the Uccellina Hills. Four hundred and ninety-eight taxa were sampled and identified, 447 of which at the level of species and 10 at the level of subspecies; the remaining refer to higher taxonomic levels. 31 protected species and 10 endangered species were found in the area; moreover, 6 alien species and one endemic species were detected. The main feature that distinguished BioBlitz 2018 to others conducted in previous years was the large number of participants. The data collected increased the scientific knowledge of the southern portion of the Maremma Regional Park, less known than other areas of the same protected area.