Occurrence and patterns of nutritional traits and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sea cucumber (Holothuria polii) tissues: benefits and risk for human health

Objectives The paper evaluated the benefit and risk for human health associated with consumption of sea cucumber H. polii from Italian coasts (Central Mediterranean Sea). Materials and Methods body wall-BW, internal tunic-ITu, muscle bands-MB, alimentary canal-AC, gonad-Gd and respiratory tree-RT of H. polii were analyzed for proximate composition. Moreover, aminoacids, fatty acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined with HPLC UV/Vis, GC-FID and GC-MS, respectively. Results Differences in the contents of Total Aminoacids (TAA) occurred based on tissue and sex, with AC and MB of female and Gd of male showing higher contents (range 47.8 -60.2 g/kg ww). Glycine and glutamic acid were the most abundant. Polyunsaturated (PUFA) was the major class of fatty acids and Arachidonic and Eicosapentaenoic (EPA) acids were the predominant PUFA. n-3 PUFA showed higher content in Gd, AC and RT indicating a higher quality. A favorable n-3/n-6 in the range 1.04-1.67 was observed. PAHs showed values ranged from 23 to 207 µg/kg ww with the highest levels in Gd-AC tissues and the lower in BW. Benzo[a]Pyrene, the most toxic compound, was detected in all tissues, of both sexes, at levels of 1.5-18 µg/Kg ww. Conclusion All tissues of H. polii, although with differences among them, are valuable food and can contribute for a healthy diet. Excess Cancer risk (CR) values for Gd and AC tissues, were above the considerable CR threshold of one in ten thousand established by USEPA, for high ingestion rate of these seafood.

Studies on water resources salinization along the Italian coast: 30 years of work

The population density on the Italian coasts is twice the national average. Numerous urban, economic, and productive settlements lie along the coast, which in many areas have altered the natural characteristics of the territory. Moreover, recent climate change studies forecast large impacts on the hydrologic cycle in the Mediterranean. Thus, in the next years, coastal water resources will be gradually more stressed. This in turn may result in a progressive salinization, which is a widespread and worrying phenomenon worldwide. In this paper, the historical and geographical distribution of peer-review studies focusing on the salinization of water resources along the Italian coasts will be critically discussed.

Characteristics and coastal effects of a destructive marine storm in the Gulf of Naples (southern Italy)

Destructive marine storms bring large waves and unusually high surges of water to coastal areas, resulting in significant damages and economic loss. This study analyses the characteristics of a destructive marine storm on the strongly inhabited coastal area of Gulf of Naples, along the Italian coasts of the Tyrrhenian Sea. This is highly vulnerable to marine storms due to the accelerated relative sea level rise trend and the increased anthropogenic impact on the coastal area. The marine storm, which occurred on 28 December 2020, was analyzed through an unstructured wind–wave coupled model that takes into account the main marine weather components of the coastal setup. The model, validated with in situ data, allowed the establishment of threshold values for the most significant marine and atmospheric parameters (i.e., wind intensity and duration) beyond which an event can produce destructive effects. Finally, a first assessment of the return period of this event was evaluated using local press reports on damage to urban furniture and port infrastructures.

Biochemical Characterization of Cassiopea andromeda (Forsskål, 1775), Another Red Sea Jellyfish in the Western Mediterranean Sea

Increasing frequency of native jellyfish proliferations and massive appearance of non-indigenous jellyfish species recently concur to impact Mediterranean coastal ecosystems and human activities at sea. Nonetheless, jellyfish biomass may represent an exploitable novel resource to coastal communities, with reference to its potential use in the pharmaceutical, nutritional, and nutraceutical Blue Growth sectors. The zooxanthellate jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda, Forsskål, 1775 (Cnidaria, Rhizostomeae) entered the Levant Sea through the Suez Canal and spread towards the Western Mediterranean to reach Malta, Tunisia, and recently also the Italian coasts. Here we report on the biochemical characterization and antioxidant activity of C. andromeda specimens with a discussion on their relative biological activities. The biochemical characterization of the aqueous (PBS) and hydroalcoholic (80% ethanol) soluble components of C. andromeda were performed for whole jellyfish, as well as separately for umbrella and oral arms. The insoluble components were hydrolyzed by sequential enzymatic digestion with pepsin and collagenase. The composition and antioxidant activity of the insoluble and enzymatically digestible fractions were not affected by the pre-extraction types, resulting into collagen- and non-collagen-derived peptides with antioxidant activity. Both soluble compounds and hydrolyzed fractions were characterized for the content of proteins, phenolic compounds, and lipids. The presence of compounds coming from the endosymbiont zooxanthellae was also detected. The notable yield and the considerable antioxidant activity detected make this species worthy of further study for its potential biotechnological sustainable exploitation.

Filling the gap on Italian records of an invasive species

Callinectes sapidus is considered one of the worst invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea. After its first observation in 1948, the species has colonized several Mediterranean areas. In this work, we report the first records of the species in Latium and Campania (northern-central and central Tyrrhenian Sea respectively), filling a gap in its distribution along the Italian coasts. We also provide a review of Italian records.

Characteristics and coastal effects of a destructive marine storm in the Gulf of Naples (Southern Italy)

Destructive marine storm bring large waves and unusually high surges of water to coastal areas, resulting in significant damages and economic loss. In this study it is examined the characteristics of a destructive marine storm on the strongly inhabited coastal area of Naples Gulf, along the Italian coasts of the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is highly vulnerable to marine storms due to the accelerated relative sea level rise trend and the increased anthropogenic impact on the coastal area. The marine storm, occurred on the 28th December 2020, was analysed through an unstructured wind-wave coupled model that takes into account the main weather-marine components of the coastal setup. The model, validated with in-situ data allowed to establish threshold values for the most significant marine and atmospheric parameters (i.e., wind intensity and duration) beyond which an event can produce destructive effects. Finally, a first assessment of the return period of this event was evaluated using local press reports on damage on urban furniture and port infrastructures.

Italian Tsunami Effects Database (ITED): The First Database of Tsunami Effects Observed Along the Italian Coasts

Traditional tsunami catalogues are conceived as a collection of tsunamis classified by the generating cause, providing a general description of the effects observed for each tsunami. Those catalogues, even if they provide fundamental information, are not suitable for producing an exhaustive picture of the geographical distribution of the tsunami effects. In this paper we introduce the new Italian Tsunami Effects Database (ITED), a collection of evidence documenting the effects along the Italian coasts from historical times to present. The database comes forth the Euro-Mediterranean Tsunami Catalogue (EMTC) and focusses on the effects of tsunamis observed along the Italian coasts providing descriptive and quantitative information for each OP. The information reported in ITED does not only concern the effects produced by Italian tsunamis, but also those effects produced by tsunamis originated outside the Italian territory. ITED contains 318 OPs, related to 73 Italian tsunamis and to four tsunamis which occurred outside Italy. The database can be accessed through a WebApp that displays for each OP the description of effects, quantitative data (run-up, inundation, withdrawal, etc.) and tsunami intensity with the corresponding bibliographic references. The database also provides the tsunami intensity distribution along time (tsunami-history) for each site, allowing the end user to know how a place has been affected by tsunamis over the time. The information contained in ITED makes this database a useful tool to understand how tsunamis have affected the Italian territory and emphasizes the importance of studying the tsunami hazard along the Italian coasts.

A comparison between sea-bottom gravity and satellite altimeter-derived gravity in coastal environments: A case study of the Gulf of Manfredonia (SW Adriatic Sea)

<p>In this study, we present a comparative analysis between two types of gravity data used in geophysical applications: satellite altimeter-derived gravity and sea-bottom gravity.</p><p>It is largely known that the marine gravity field derived from satellite altimetry in coastal areas is generally biased by signals back-scattered from the nearby land. As a result, the derived gravity anomalies are mostly unreliable for geophysical and geological interpretations of near-shore environments.</p><p>To quantify the errors generated by the land-reflected signals and to verify the goodness of the geologic models inferred from gravity, we compared two different altimetry models with sea-bottom gravity measurements acquired along the Italian coasts from the early 50s to the late 80s.</p><p>We focused on the Gulf of Manfredonia, located in the SE sector of the Adriatic Sea, where: (i) two different sea-bottom gravity surveys have been conducted over the years, (ii) the bathymetry is particularly flat, and (iii) seismic data revealed a prominent carbonate ridge covered by hundreds of meters of Oligocene-Quaternary sediments.</p><p>Gravity field derivatives have been used to enhance both: (i) deep geological contacts, and (ii) coastal noise. The analyses outlined a “ringing-noise effect” which causes the altimeter signal degradation up to 17 km from the coast.</p><p>Differences between the observed gravity and the gravity calculated from a geological model constrained by seismic, showed that all datasets register approximately the same patterns, associated with the Gondola Fault Zone, a major structural discontinuity traversing roughly E-W the investigated area.</p><p>This study highlights the importance of implementing gravity anomalies derived from satellite-altimetry with high-resolution near-shore data, such as the sea-bottom gravity measurements available around the Italian coasts. Such analysis may have significant applications in studying the link between onshore and offshore geological structures in transitional areas.</p>