Randomized clinical trial on the effects of a computerized cognitive training for pediatric patients with acquired brain injury or congenital malformation.

Both acquired injuries and congenital malformations often cause lifelong disabilities in children, with a significant impact on cognitive abilities. Remote computerized cognitive training (CCT) may be delivered in ecological settings to favour rehabilitation continuity. This randomized clinical trial (RCT) evaluated the efficacy of an 8-week multi-domain, home-based CCT in a sample of patients aged 11-16 years with non-progressive acquired brain injury (ABI), brain tumor (BT) and congenital brain malformation (CBM). Following a stepped-wedge research design, patients were randomized into two groups: Training-first group, which started the CCT immediately after baseline assessment and Waiting-first group, which started the CCT after a period of time comparable to that required by the training (8 weeks). Post-training and long-term (6 months) changes were assessed. Both groups improved on visual-spatial working memory after the CCT, with benefits maintained after 6 months, while no other changes in cognitive or psychological measures were found. These findings suggest that a multi-domain CCT can generate benefits in visual-spatial working memory, in accordance with data from extant literature reporting that computer games heavily engage visuo-spatial abilities. We speculate that is tapping on the same cognitive ability with a prolonged training that may generate the greatest change after a CCT.

The Intriguing Biogeographic Pattern of the Italian Wall Lizard Podarcis siculus (Squamata: Lacertidae) in the Tuscan Archipelago Reveals the Existence of a New Ancient Insular Clade.

The Tuscan Archipelago is one of the most ancient and ecologically heterogeneous island systems in the Mediterranean. The biodiversity of these islands was strongly shaped by the Pliocene and Pleistocene sea regressions and transgression, resulting in different waves of colonization and isolation of species coming from the mainland. The Italian wall lizard, Podarcis siculus, is present on the following islands of the Tuscan Archipelago: Elba, Giglio, Giannutri, Capraia, Montecristo and Cerboli. The species in the area displays a relatively high morphological variability that in the past led to the description of several subspecies. In this study, both the genetic and morphological diversity of P. siculus of the Tuscan Archipelago were investigated. Specifically, the meristic characters and the dorsal pattern were analyzed, while the genetic relationships among these populations were explored with mtDNA and microsatellite nuclear markers to reconstruct the colonization history of the Archipelago. Our results converge in the identification of at least two different waves of colonization in the Archipelago: Elba, and the populations of Cerboli and Montecristo probably originate from historical introductions from mainland Tuscany, while those of Giglio and Capraia are surviving populations of an ancient lineage which colonized the Tuscan Archipelago during the Pliocene and which shares a common ancestry with the P. siculus populations of south-eastern Italy. Giannutri perhaps represents an interesting case of hybridization between the populations from mainland Tuscany and the Giglio-Capraia clade. Based on the high phenotypic and molecular distinctiveness of this ancient clade, these populations should be treated as distinct units deserving conservation and management efforts as well as further investigation to assess their taxonomic status.

Remote cognitive training for children with congenital brain malformation or genetic syndrome: a scoping review.

Increased attention is arising on the delivery of remote cognitive interventions, which allow performing exercises in everyday settings, favouring rehabilitation continuity. The present study offers an overview of remote cognitive training programs for children with congenital brain malformation or genetic syndrome affecting the central nervous system, included in papers published in the time period 2011-2021. A total of 13 records was found and discussed including efficacy studies, feasibility studies and study protocols. Many studies have focused on a specific diagnosis, such as cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, while no or little evidence has been gathered on more rare diseases or brain malformations. Interventions were found to generate benefits on some cognitive functions, but problems with adherence were highlighted, especially due to excessive cognitive load from the training or clinical comorbidities. Conclusions remain tentative due to heterogeneity in training, study and patients characteristics, and methodological limitations of studies.

Detection of Testudinid alphaherpesvirus, Chlamydia spp., Mycoplasma spp., and Salmonella spp. in free­ranging and rescued Italian Testudo hermanni hermanni.

Testudo hermanni is included as near­threatened in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while T. hermanni hermanni is considered endangered in the Italian Red List. Appropriate management of smuggled or seized wild individuals is recommended before their reintroduction into the wild. Accordingly, a health monitoring study was carried out. During 2014­2016, 133 oral swabs and 121 cloacal swabs were collected from a total of approximately 180 free­ranging and rescued T. hermanni hermanni from eight different Italian regions to investigate the presence of DNA of Testudinid alphaherpesvirus (TeAHV), Chlamydia spp. and Mycoplasma spp. in the oral cavity, and Salmonella spp. isolates in the cloaca. Mycoplasma spp. was detected in 52 out of 87 (59.77%) of rescued and in 1 out of 46 free­ranging (2.17%) individuals; 33 out of 53 (62.26%) Mycoplasma spp. positive samples were typed as M. agassizii by PCR. Salmonella spp. was isolated from 45 out of 121 (37.19%) cloacal swabs, typed into 14 serovars, and characterized for complete antimicrobial susceptibility. A significantly different distribution of Salmonella spp. isolates was found in 2016 in comparison with 2014 and 2015, without any difference between free­ranging and rescued tortoises. All the tested tortoises were negative for TeAHV and Chlamydia spp. These results are considered a baseline information critical to monitor the dynamics of these microorganisms in free­ranging and rescued populations of T. h. hermanni, and to correctly approach the management of rescued animals and possible relocation programs.

Unveiling a hotspot of genetic diversity in southern Italy for the endangered Hermann's tortoise Testudo hermanni.

BACKGROUND: Hotspots of intraspecific genetic diversity represent invaluable resources for species to cope with environmental changes, and their identification is increasingly recognized as a major goal of conservation ecology research. However, even for iconic and endangered species, conservation strategies are often planned without thorough information on the geographic patterns of genetic variation. Here, we investigated the spatial patterns of genetic variation of the endangered Hermann's tortoise Testudo hermanni in the Italian Peninsula by genotyping 174 individuals at 7 microsatellite loci, with the aim to contribute to planning effective conservation strategies. RESULTS: Ordination-based and Bayesian clustering analyses consistently identified three main genetic clusters, one spread in the central and northern part of the peninsula, and two restricted to southern Italy and Sicily, respectively. The highest levels of genetic diversity were found in populations of the southern cluster and, in particular, at the northern edges of its distribution (He > 0.6, Ar > 2.8 ), that correspond to areas of putative secondary contact and admixture between distinct lineages. Our results clearly identify a hotspot of genetic diversity for the Hermann's tortoise in southern Italy. CONCLUSION: We inferred the evolutionary history and the spatial patterns of genetic variation of the Hermann's tortoise in the Italian Peninsula. We identified three main genetic clusters along the peninsula and a hotspot of intraspecific diversity in southern Italy. Our results underline the urgent need for conservation actions to warrant the long-term persistence of viable tortoise populations in this area. Furthrmore, these data add further evidence to the role of southern Italy as a biodiversity hotspot for temperate fauna, claiming for higher consideration of this area in large scale conservation programs.

The trophic niche of subterranean populations of Speleomantes italicus.

The determination of a species trophic niche can clarify its functional role within a food web and how prey resources are used in relation with the spatial and temporal variability of environmental conditions. This information may result particularly useful for the implementation of conservation plans of endangered species having a cryptic behaviour or living in places difficult to be surveyed. Here we present the first long-term study on the trophic niche of the Italian cave salamander Speleomantes italicus, a strictly protected facultative cave species that seasonally exploits surface environments (e.g., forested areas) as well as both natural and artificial subterranean environments. We analysed the diet variation of six populations of S. italicus inhabiting natural caves, surveyed 24 times in a full year. During the surveys, all sampled individuals were subjected to stomach flushing and the ingested prey were identified and enumerated; furthermore, salamanders' body condition was also evaluated. The results of the analyses provided the first comprehensive, year-round assessment of the diet for a Speleomantes species. Remarkable divergences in terms of trophic niche and body condition were observed between the studied populations. We found a discrepancy in the foraging activity of the populations located in different areas; specifically, the individuals that experienced sub-optimal microclimatic conditions poorly performed in foraging. Furthermore, we found temporal and spatial variability in the body condition of individuals. Our study highlighted a remarkably high spatial and temporal divergence in the trophic habits of conspecific populations, a feature that may represent one of the major factors promoting the variability of multiple population traits.

The Trophic Niche of Two Sympatric Species of Salamanders (Plethodontidae and Salamandridae) from Italy.

The trophic niche of a species is one of the fundamental traits of species biology. The ideal trophic niche of a species is realized in the absence of interspecific competition, targeting the most profitable and easy-to-handle food resources. However, when a competitor is present, species adopt different strategies to reduce competition and promote coexistence. In this study, we assessed the potential mechanisms that allow the coexistence of two generalist salamanders: the Italian cave salamander (Speleomantes italicus) and the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra). We surveyed, in April 2021, a forested area of Emilia-Romagna (Italy) during rainy nights. Analyzing the stomach contents of the captured individuals, we obtained information on the trophic niche of these two sympatric populations. Comparing our results with those of previous studies, we found that the two species did not modify their trophic niche, but that alternative mechanisms allowed their coexistence. Specifically, different prey preferences and predator metabolisms were likely the major factors allowing reduced competition between these two generalist predators.

Body Processing in Children and Adolescents with Traumatic Brain Injury: An Exploratory Study.

Dysfunctions in body processing have been documented in adults with brain damage, while limited information is available for children. This study aimed to investigate body processing in children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI) (N = 33), compared to peers with typical development. Two well-known computerized body-representation paradigms, namely Visual Body Recognition and Visuo-spatial Imagery, were administered. Through the first paradigm, the body inversion and composite illusion effects were tested with a matching to sample task as measures of configural and holistic processing of others' bodies, respectively. The second paradigm investigated with a laterality judgement task the ability to perform first-person and object-based mental spatial transformations of own body and external objects, respectively. Body stimuli did not convey any emotional contents or symbolic meanings. Patients with TBI had difficulties with mental transformations of both body and object stimuli, displaying deficits in motor and visual imagery abilities, not limited to body processing. Therefore, cognitive rehabilitation of body processing in TBI might benefit from the inclusion of both general training on visuo-spatial abilities and specific exercises aimed at boosting visual body perception and motor imagery.

Capture-mark-recapture data on the strictly protected Speleomantes italicus.

This data set collects capture-mark-recapture data, biometric data, and stomach contents of seven populations of the Italian cave salamander (Speleomantes italicus), one of the strictly protected European plethodontid species endemic to mainland Italy. We monitored six subterranean populations inside caves, and one fully epigean population living in a forest, surveying a total area of >5200 m2 . Data collection was performed 24 times throughout a year for each of the subterranean populations, and seven times in late winter-early spring for the epigean population. Salamanders were individually identified using two different marking methods: subcutaneous injection of visual implant elastomers (VIE) and photographic recognition of the dorsal pattern. Overall, the data set contains information on 1283 captured salamanders, corresponding to 783 different individuals and 500 recapture events. This type of data can be used to assess the species detection probability and to estimate the size of the populations, which are fundamental parameters for the assessment of its conservation status. Captured salamanders were weighed using a digital scale and photographed next to a reference ruler to perform post hoc measurements. This allows to assess the potential variation of the body condition of individuals through the time, and the potential divergences between conspecific populations. Furthermore, repeated measurements of recaptured individuals can allow to evaluate the seasonal growth rates of Speleomantes. Before their release, the salamanders underwent stomach flushing, a non-invasive technique that allows us to investigate the food residues in the salamanders' stomach. In 951 salamanders, we were able to recognize a total of 7077 consumed prey items belonging to 37 different prey categories (i.e., order level or lower), completing the information on the consumed prey for the entire Speleomantes genus. Data on consumed prey can be used to assess potential divergences between populations or between individuals of different ages/sexes, but also to assess the potential trophic specialization of individuals. The distinctiveness of this data set is that, by combining the capture-mark-recapture data with those on the diet of individuals, it allows to perform detailed studies on the consistency of individuals' food preference over time, an analysis that has never been performed on these salamanders. We release the data set into the public domain under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC-BY). When you use this data in your publication, we request that you cite this data paper; if you are using the whole data set related to the entire project, please cite all the related papers. If this data set will be an important part of the data analyzed in your study, you should consider discussing a collaboration with the data set contact person. If you plan to use data from the European plethodontid salamanders trophic niche project, please contact the contact person to find out if similar analyses are already underway or if unpublished updates are available.

Virtual-Reality Performance-Based Assessment of Cognitive Functions in Adult Patients With Acquired Brain Injury: A Scoping Review.

Individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) commonly present with impairments in cognitive abilities. As these competencies seem to be predictive of patients' abilities to reintegrate into the everyday settings, it is crucial to assess them properly. However, previous research has indicated that patients may perform relatively well on standard tests of cognitive functioning, but may nonetheless encounter significant difficulties in organizing and executing everyday tasks. In order to overcome this issue, virtual reality (VR) methods have been introduced in clinical practice with the aim of creating assessments that simulate real-world activities and thus, provide a clearer picture of patients' functioning in everyday settings. This review offers an overview of VR assessment tools described in the scientific literature between 2010 and 2019. Overall, 38 relevant records describing 31 different tools were found. Among these tools, 16 assessed executive functions and prospective memory, while the other 15 assessed visuo-spatial abilities. Although promising results have been reported, our analysis indicated that about half of the tools deliver tasks that differ from everyday activities, thus limiting the generalizability of patients' performance to the real-world. Moreover, a variety of methodological shortfalls related to study Internal and External Validity have been highlighted, which hamper the possibility of drawing definite recommendations on tool choice. These limitations suggest the importance of putting considerable efforts into the improvement or development of VR tools for patients with ABI for both research and clinical purposes, considering the great potential of this form of assessment.

Assessing Stress Response in Lizards from Agroecosystems with Different Management Practices.

Despite the importance of reptiles in agroecosystems, little is known about the effects of agricultural intensification and pesticide use on these animals. We compared antioxidant and haematological biomarkers in the wild Italian wall lizards Podarcis siculus from three olive groves representing a gradient of management intensity. Lizards from the conventional grove showed induced antioxidant defences relative to those from the organic field. However, this induction did not avoid the occurrence of oxidative stress in males from intensively managed olive groves, who showed TBARS levels 58%-133% higher than males from the other sites. Haematological responses also suggested increased stress in females from the intensively managed olive groves, with a heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio 5.3 to 14.8-fold higher than in the other sites. The observed stress responses of lizards along the studied gradient of agricultural management suggest their potential usefulness as non-destructive biomarkers to environmental stressors associated with agricultural intensification.

Adapting intervention approaches to new contexts: Three case studies of international adaptation of the Teen Online Problem Solving (TOPS) program.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE: To describe the process of adapting the evidence-based Teen Online Problem Solving (TOPS) program, a telehealth problem-solving treatment addressing executive function and behavior regulation challenges in adolescents with traumatic brain injury, in Italy, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Research Method/Design: We describe the process of adapting and translating the TOPS program in 3 case studies with unique methods and samples. In Italy, 14 parents of adolescents with TBI participated in focus groups, and 2 adolescents with TBI and their parents and 2 physicians provided input on the resulting translation. In New Zealand, an independent Maori cultural advisor reviewed the content, and 6 adolescent-parent dyads and 2 health professionals completed the 10 modules independently over a five-week period to inform adaptation. In the United Kingdom, a team of neuropsychologists and a parent of an adolescent with ABI reviewed and adapted the content through successive iterations. RESULTS: In Italy, suggested changes included greater emphasis on nonverbal communication and clearer examples of inappropriate problem-solving responses. In New Zealand, parents and adolescents rated the program as acceptable and helpful. Suggestions included incorporating familiar Maori settings, integrating religion, and developing videos with New Zealand adolescents. In the United Kingdom, iterative refinements focused on adapting TOPS for other acquired brain injuries and reflecting cross-national differences (e.g., drinking age). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: These 3 case studies suggest that programs such as TOPS developed in 1 cultural context can be broadly acceptable in other contexts, with adaptations focusing on tailoring to reflect the unique cultural and linguistic setting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Updating salamander datasets with phenotypic and stomach content information for two mainland Speleomantes.

European plethodontid salamanders (genus Speleomantes; formerly Hydromantes) are a group of eight strictly protected amphibian species which are sensitive to human-induced environmental changes. Long-term monitoring is highly recommended to evaluate their status and to assess potential threats. Here we used two low-impact methodologies to build up a large dataset on two mainland Speleomantes species (S. strinatii and S. ambrosii), which represents an update to two previously published datasets, but also includes several new populations. Specifically, we provide a set of 851 high quality images and a table gathering stomach contents recognized from 560 salamanders. This dataset offers the opportunity to analyse phenotypic traits and stomach contents of eight populations belonging to two Speleomantes species. Furthermore, the data collection performed over different periods allows to expand the potential analyses through a wide temporal scale, allowing long-term studies.

Mapping the geographic origin of captive and confiscated Hermann's tortoises: A genetic toolkit for conservation and forensic analyses.

The illegal trade has been threatening tortoise populations worldwide for decades. Nowadays, however, DNA typing and forensic genetic approaches allow us to investigate the geographic origin of confiscated animals and to relocate them into the wild, providing that suitable molecular tools and reference data are available. Here we assess the suitability of a small panel of microsatellite markers to investigate patterns of illegal translocations and to assist forensic genetic applications in the endangered Mediterranean land tortoise Testudo hermanni hermanni. Specific allelic ladders were created for each locus and tested on several reference samples. We used the microsatellite panel to (i) increase our understanding of the population genetic structure in wild populations with new data from previously unsampled geographic areas (overall 461 wild individuals from 28 sampling sites); (ii) detect the presence of non-native individuals in wild populations; and (iii) identify the most likely geographic area of origin of 458 confiscated individuals hosted in Italian seizure and recovery centers. Our analysis initially identified six major genetic clusters corresponding to different geographic macro-areas along the Mediterranean range. Long-distance migrants among wild populations, due to translocations, were found and removed from the reference database. Assignment tests allowed us to allocate approximately 70 % of confiscated individuals of unknown origin to one of the six Mediterranean macro-areas. Most of the assigned tortoises belonged to the genetic cluster corresponding to the area where the respective captivity center was located. However, we also found evidence of long-distance origins of confiscated individuals, especially in centers along the Adriatic coast and facing the Balkan regions, a well-known source of illegally traded individuals. Our results clearly show that the microsatellite panel and the reference dataset can play a beneficial role in reintroduction and repatriation projects when confiscated individuals need to be re-assigned to their respective macro-area of origin before release, and can assist future forensic genetic applications in detecting the illegal trade and possession of Testudo hermanni individuals.

The post hoc measurement as a safe and reliable method to age and size plethodontid salamanders.

The worldwide biodiversity crisis with the resulting need to increase species protection has led researchers to pursue and select survey methods that guarantee the best quality of data and produce the least negative effects on wild animals. Plethodontids are the most diverse family of salamanders; all species are very sensitive to human handling and noninvasive, but accurate, measurement methods are needed to reduce researchers' impact. Here, we tested the reliability of a noninvasive post hoc method in estimating the snout-vent length (SVL) from photographs showing salamanders' dorsal view. The correlation between the estimated snout-vent length (SVLe) and the conventional SVL was high (R 2 m  = .81), and no significant difference occurred between operators with different experience. Finally, we list the numerous advantages for the use of SVLe in terms of data quality and in reducing the stress caused to wild animals.

Cerebellar Damage Affects Contextual Priors for Action Prediction in Patients with Childhood Brain Tumor.

Predictive coding accounts of action perception sustain that kinematics information is compared with contextual top-down predictions (i.e., priors) to understand actions in conditions of perceptual ambiguity. It has been previously shown that the cerebellum contributes to motor simulation of observed actions. Here, we tested the hypothesis that a specific contribution of the cerebellum to action perception is to provide contextual priors that guide the sampling of perceptual kinematic information. To this aim, we compared the performance of 42 patients with childhood brain tumor affecting infratentorial (ITT) or supratentorial (STT) areas with that of peers with typical development in an action prediction task. First, participants were exposed to videos depicting a child performing different reaching-to-grasp actions, which were associated with contextual cues in a probabilistic fashion. Then, they were presented with shortened versions of the same videos and asked to infer the action outcome; since kinematics was ambiguous, we expected their responses would be biased toward the previously learned contextual priors. We found that patients with brain tumor were impaired in predicting actions when compared to healthy controls. However, STT patients presented a reliable probabilistic effect, while ITT patients, who had cerebellar damage, did not rely on contextual priors in predicting actions. Furthermore, we found an association between the use of contextual priors and the ability to infer others' mental states as assessed by a standardized test. These results suggest that the cerebellum provides contextual priors to understand others' actions and this predictive function might underlie complex social cognition abilities.

Photographic database of the European cave salamanders, genus Hydromantes.

European Hydromantes are a group of eight salamander species often occurring in subterranean habitats, which are a difficult environment to explore. All Hydromantes are strictly protected species and thus, low-impact methodologies to study these salamanders are strongly needed. Here we used a photographic technique to produce a large dataset of European Hydromantes, providing standardised pictures of 1,052 individuals belonging to the eight species, including hybrids as well. With our methodology we were able to reduce the handling time of individuals, and produce high quality pictures useful to investigate multiple life traits of these endangered species. Furthermore, the standardised photos provided here can be used for future comparisons of individuals from the surveyed populations.

Interspecific and interpopulation variation in individual diet specialization: Do environmental factors have a role?

Individual diet specialization (IS) has important community- and population-level implications and its ecological drivers are actively investigated. Here, to test the hypothesis that local environmental conditions may influence IS in wild populations, we analyzed the stomach contents of 395 individuals from eight populations of five allopatric species of European cave salamanders (genus Hydromantes). We assessed whether their degree of individual diet specialization (1) scaled positively with the respective niche widths, in agreement with Van Valen's niche variation hypothesis (NVH), and (2) could be predicted by satellite-derived climatic and vegetation characteristics of the sites where the populations live. Consistent with the NVH, the degree of individual diet specialization increased with the populations' total niche width. Furthermore, two variables describing local nonarboreal vegetation cover and habitat heterogeneity successfully predicted the variation in individual specialization across the eight populations. Climatic factors had a generally low predictive power, with individual specialization in low- and high-elevation populations showing contrasting patterns of co-variation with air temperature in the warmest quarter of the year. However, independently from elevation, specialization peaked under conditions of high nonarboreal vegetation cover and high precipitation regimes. We discussed the results against two mutually nonexclusive scenarios hypothesizing different mechanisms linking environmental factors to salamanders' trophic strategy at an individual and population level. We concluded that satellite-derived climatic and vegetation variables to date generally adopted to model Grinnellian niches might also be useful in predicting spatial variations in dietary habits of populations, that is, their Eltonian niches.

Effectiveness of Computerized Cognitive Training Programs (CCTP) with Game-like Features in Children with or without Neuropsychological Disorders: a Meta-Analytic Investigation.

Computerized cognitive training programs (CCTP) are based on the assumption that cognitive abilities may be boosted by repetitively performing challenging tasks. The integration of game-like features in these programs, associated with the goal of amusing or rewarding participants, may contribute to generate cognitive benefits. Indeed, reinforcement contingencies have been reported to produce positive effects on performance and motivation, especially in children. This meta-analysis was aimed at providing a quantitative summary of the effectiveness of CCTP with game-like features in school-aged children with typical and atypical development. A total of 24 studies, with the cognitive and behavioral outcome data of 1547 participants, were selected for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses were performed to identify the sources of the observed methodological heterogeneity. A robust variance estimation model, after removal of study outliers, yielded a small-to-moderate significant effect size. Final results pointed out smaller but more precise estimate effect sizes according to methodological aspects related to cognitive domain of outcomes, standardization of measures and type of control applied. Alongside supporting the use of CCTP for rehabilitating cognitive functions, the present results shed light on how different methodological choices are able to shape research findings in the field of children's cognitive rehabilitation.

Cave morphology, microclimate and abundance of five cave predators from the Monte Albo (Sardinia, Italy).

BACKGROUND: Systematic data collection on species and their exploited environments is of key importance for conservation studies. Within the less-known environments, the subterranean ones are neither easy to be studied, nor to be explored. Subterranean environments house a wide number of specialised organisms, many of which show high sensitivity to habitat alteration. Despite the undeniable importance to monitor the status of the subterranean biodiversity, standardised methodologies to record biotic and abiotic data in these environments are still not fully adopted, impeding therefore the creation of comparable datasets useful for monitoring the ecological condition in the subterranean environments and for conservation assessment of related species. NEW INFORMATION: In this work we describe a methodology allowing the collection of standardised abiotic and biotic data in subterranean environments. To show this, we created a large dataset including information on environmental features (morphology and microclimate) and abundance of five predators (one salamander, three spiders and one snail) occurring in seven caves of the Monte Albo (Sardinia, Italy), an important biodiversity hotspot. We performed 77 surveys on 5,748 m2 of subterranean environments througout a year, recording 1,695 observations of the five cave predators. The fine-scale data collection adopted in our methodology allowed us to record detailed information related to both morphology and microclimate of the cave inner environment. Furthermore, this method allows us to account for species-imperfect detection when recording presence/abundance data.