Organism responses to habitat fragmentation in two shallow-water brackish environments: the Goro Lagoon (Adriatic Sea) and the Padrongiano Delta (Tyrrhenian Sea)

2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (7) ◽  
pp. 1309-1317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Munari
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Adriatic Sea ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Benthic Fauna ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Musculista Senhousia ◽  
Invertebrate Population ◽  
Complex Manner

Habitat fragmentation from natural or human-mediated causes is a common phenomenon in terrestrial and aquatic environments. In this study, the effects of varying the size of habitat patches on the abundance of benthic invertebrates inhabiting date mussel (Musculista senhousia) patches was studied at two different transition environments, the Goro Lagoon (Adriatic Sea) and the Padrongiano Delta (Tyrrhenian Sea). Benthic fauna responded to habitat patchiness in a complex manner that varied according to habitat type, taxon and animal body size (small: 0.5–2.0 mm; large >2 mm). Small invertebrates were mostly polychaetes, nemertea, amphipods and isopods. Large invertebrates were mostly large polychaetes, bivalves, gastropods and crabs. Invertebrate population size and diversity seemed to be maximized in landscapes that include both small and large patches of mussel beds ‘embedded’ in a continuous matrix. Musculista senhousia patches served as a critical refuge and foraging habitat for many species. Patchy and continuous areas may promote the persistence of organisms with different life histories, especially in environments like those studied where mussel patches represent the only structural refuge available.

Plastic litter in aquatic environments of Maremma Regional Park (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy): Contribution by the Ombrone river and levels in marine sediments

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 366-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristiana Guerranti ◽  
Susanna Cannas ◽  
Costanza Scopetani ◽  
Paolo Fastelli ◽  
Alessandra Cincinelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea

scholarly journals Current knowledge on the crustal properties of Italy

1994 ◽  
Vol 37 (5 Sup.) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Morelli
Keyword(s):  
Adriatic Sea ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Gravity Data ◽  
Maximum Depth ◽  
Gravity Models ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Po Plain ◽  
Reflection Seismic ◽  
Adriatic Plate ◽  
The North

The recent advances in experimental petrography together with the information derived from the super-deep drilling projects have provided additional constraints for the interpretation of refraction and reflection seismic data. These constraints can also be used in the interpretation of magnetic and gravity data to resolve nonuniqueness. In this study, we re-interpret the magnetic and gravity data of the Italian peninsula and neighbouring areas. In view of the constraints mentioned above, it is now possible to find an agreement between the seismic and gravity models of the Central Alps. By taking into account the overall crustal thickness, we have recognized the existence of three types of Moho: 1) European which extends to the north and west of the peninsula and in the Corsican-Sardinian block. Its margin was the foreland in the Alpine Orogeny and it was the ramp on which European and Adriatic mantle and crustal slices were overthrusted. This additional load caused bending and deepening and the Moho which now lies beneath the Adriatic plate reaching a maximum depth of approximately 75 km. 2) Adriatic (or African) which lies beneath the Po plain, the Apennines and the Adriatic Sea. The average depth of the Moho is about 30-35 km below the Po plain and the Adriatic Sea and it increases toward the Alps and the Tyrrhenian Sea (acting as foreland along this margin). The maximum depth (50 km) is reached in Calabria. 3) Pery-Tyrrhenian. This is an oceanic or thinned continental crust type of Moho. It borders the oceanic Moho of the Tyrrhenian Sea and it acquires a transitional character in the Ligurian and Provençal basins (<15 km thickness) while further thickening occurs toward the East where the Adriatic plate is overthrusted. In addition, the interpretation of the heat flow data appears to confirm the origin of this Moho and its geodynamic allocation.

Marine alien Mollusca in Italy: a critical review and state of the knowledge

2012 ◽  
Vol 92 (6) ◽  
pp. 1357-1365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Crocetta
Keyword(s):  
Critical Review ◽  
Adriatic Sea ◽  
First Record ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Ionian Sea ◽  
Northern Adriatic Sea ◽  
Northern Adriatic ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Molluscan Species

The state of the knowledge about the marine alien molluscan species from Italy is provided based on a critical review of records compiled from an extensive literature survey and from unpublished data obtained from 2005 to 2010. Based on the IUCN definition of ‘alien’, 35 molluscan taxa (18 Gastropoda, 16 Bivalvia and 1 Cephalopoda) are reported here, for each of which the following data (collected up to December 2010) are provided: published and unpublished records from the coastal and offshore territorial seawaters of Italy, including lagoons, within the 14 biogeographical sea divisions covering the Italian shores, date of first record, most plausible vector(s) of introduction and establishment status. The southern Ionian Sea, the northern Adriatic Sea and the eastern-central Tyrrhenian Sea resulted to be the areas most affected by alien molluscan introductions. The rate of records of new alien species (evaluated on the basis of live findings) is quite uniform over five decades, with six to eight species recorded per decade. The analysis of the vectors showed shipping/maritime transport to be the most common vector of introduction (40%), followed by trade (24%). Nineteen alien molluscan species (54%) were considered as established in Italy.

Warming up for cold water: influence of habitat type on thermoregulatory tactics in a semi-aquatic snake

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 525-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radika Michniewicz ◽  
Fabien Aubret
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Muscle Function ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Behavioural Thermoregulation ◽  
Foraging Success ◽  
Sharp Drop ◽  
Performance Time

AbstractIn ectotherms, thermal acclimation and behavioural thermoregulation have evolved to match organismal performance with local or temporary thermal conditions. In semi-aquatic species, however, this matching encompasses a trade-off: organisms that thermoregulate close to optimal muscle function on land will inevitably depart from that optimum when entering water, a medium that may differ drastically in temperature. With regard to predator evasion and foraging success, how do semi-aquatic ectotherms deal with such a challenge? We experimentally raised young semi-aquatic Tiger snakes in either terrestrial or semi-aquatic environments over 11 months. When tested in a standardised enclosure, young snakes raised in a semi-aquatic environment selected slightly, but significantly higher mean body temperatures than their terrestrially raised siblings (respectively 30.3°C versus 29.5°C). The former allowed their body temperature to remain higher than 32°C for twice as long as the latter group (4.4 hours vs 2.1 hours). Locomotor performances (swimming speed) were, unsurprisingly, strongly linked to body temperature. Entering water with a higher body temperature (30°C versus 19°C) delayed a sharp drop in locomotor performances, and thus lengthened maximum performance time. We hypothesise that young snakes, by allowing their body temperature to reach above their usual optimum body temperature, may delay the drop in locomotor efficiency in case of foraging opportunity or in order to escape a predator.

scholarly journals Changes in ventilation of the Mediterranean Sea during the past 25 year

Ocean Science ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Schneider ◽  
T. Tanhua ◽  
W. Roether ◽  
R. Steinfeldt
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Adriatic Sea ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Deep Water Formation ◽  
Technical Problems ◽  
Water Formation ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Transient Tracer

Abstract. Significant changes in the overturning circulation of the Mediterranean Sea has been observed during the last few decades, the most prominent phenomena being the Eastern Mediterranean Transient (EMT) in the early 1990s and the Western Mediterranean Transition (WMT) during the mid-2000s. During both of these events unusually large amounts of deep water were formed, and in the case of the EMT, the deep water formation area shifted from the Adriatic to the Aegean Sea. Here we synthesize a unique collection of transient tracer (CFC-12, SF6 and tritium) data from nine cruises conducted between 1987 and 2011 and use these data to determine temporal variability of Mediterranean ventilation. We also discuss biases and technical problems with transient tracer-based ages arising from their different input histories over time; particularly in the case of time-dependent ventilation. We observe a period of low ventilation in the deep eastern (Levantine) basin after it was ventilated by the EMT so that the age of the deep water is increasing with time. In the Ionian Sea, on the other hand, we see evidence of increased ventilation after year 2001, indicating the restarted deep water formation in the Adriatic Sea. This is also reflected in the increasing age of the Cretan Sea deep water and decreasing age of Adriatic Sea deep water since the end of the 1980s. In the western Mediterranean deep basin we see the massive input of recently ventilated waters during the WMT. This signal is not yet apparent in the Tyrrhenian Sea, where the ventilation seems to be fairly constant since the EMT. Also the western Alboran Sea does not show any temporal trends in ventilation.

scholarly journals The Cost for Biodiversity: Records of Ciliate–Nematode Epibiosis with the Description of Three New Suctorian Species

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Baldrighi ◽  
Igor Dovgal ◽  
Daniela Zeppilli ◽  
Alie Abibulaeva ◽  
Claire Michelet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
French Guiana ◽  
Adriatic Sea ◽  
New Records ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Marine Systems ◽  
Gulf Of Naples ◽  
Mangrove System ◽  
Pockmark Field ◽  
Three New Species ◽  
The Cost

Epibiosis is a common phenomenon in marine systems. In marine environments, ciliates are among the most common organisms adopting an epibiotic habitus and nematodes have been frequently reported as their basibionts. In the present study, we report several new records of peritrich and suctorian ciliates-nematode association worldwide: from a deep-sea pockmark field in the NW Madagascar margin (Indian Ocean), from a shallow vent area in the Gulf of Naples (Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian Sea), in a MPA area in the Gulf of Trieste (Mediterranean, Adriatic Sea), from a mangrove system in French Guiana (South America, Atlantic Ocean), and from the Maldivian Archipelago. In addition, three new species of Suctorea from the Secca delle Fumose shallow vent area (Gulf of Naples) were described: Loricophrya susannae n. sp., Thecacineta fumosae n. sp. and Acinetopsis lynni n. sp. In the light of these new records and data from the existing literature, we discuss the suctorian–nematode epibiosis relationship as a lever to biodiversity.

scholarly journals Syntopic Cystoseira taxa support different molluscan assemblages in the Gulf of Naples (southern Tyrrhenian Sea)

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (11) ◽  
pp. 1561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Chiarore ◽  
Iacopo Bertocci ◽  
Sara Fioretti ◽  
Angela Meccariello ◽  
Giuseppe Saccone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Fauna ◽  
Shannon Index ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Brown Macroalgae ◽  
Gulf Of Naples ◽  
Invertebrate Biodiversity ◽  
Southern Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
June July ◽  
Shed Light

Brown macroalgae belonging to the genus Cystoseira (Fucales: Sargassaceae) are canopy-forming organisms the recent decline of which at a basin and local scale has been widely documented, which urgently calls for research to fill knowledge gaps and support new and effective measures for protection. We, hereby, characterised the molluscan assemblages associated with three Cystoseira taxa (C. amentacea, C. compressa and C. crinita) from Ischia Island (Italy, Tyrrhenian Sea), and tested whether different congeneric taxa may syntopically support a different biota. In particular, these assemblages were compared among three Cystoseira species, between two times of sampling (June–July 2015 and June–July 2016), and among six sites in terms of multivariate structure (identity and relative abundances of constituting taxa combined, and presence–absence composition), as well as for synthetic measures of diversity, including the total richness of taxa, the exponential Shannon index and the reciprocal Simpson index. In total, 24736 molluscan individuals were collected, overall belonging to 52 taxa. The majority of the identified species included micrograzers and filter feeders, which is in agreement with similar previous studies. The composition of associated molluscan assemblages, which was mainly represented by juvenile individuals, differed among the three Cystoseira species, suggesting that even congeneric taxa do not support an analogous benthic fauna. The present findings have shed light on the molluscan biota associated with Cystoseira taxa in the Gulf of Naples and strengthened the importance of such habitat-forming macroalgae in structuring the local infralittoral invertebrate biodiversity and as a nursery for species-specific associated molluscs.

scholarly journals Unsupervised Bayesian reconstruction of individual life histories from otolith signatures: case study of Sr:Ca transects of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) otoliths

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronan Fablet ◽  
Françoise Daverat ◽  
Hélène De Pontual
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Anguilla Anguilla ◽  
Unsupervised Classification ◽  
European Eel ◽  
Otolith Growth ◽  
Individual Life ◽  
Growth Axis

The reconstruction of individual life histories from chemical otolith measures is stated as an unsupervised signal-processing issue embedded in a Bayesian framework. This computational methodology was applied to a set of 192 European eel (Anguilla anguilla) otoliths. It provided a robust and unsupervised analysis of the individual chronologies of habitat use (either river, estuary, or coastal) from Sr:Ca measures acquired along an otolith growth axis. Links between Sr:Ca values and habitat, age, and season and the likelihood of the transitions from one habitat type to another were modelled. Major movement characteristics such as age at transition between habitats and time spent in each habitat were estimated. As a straightforward output, an unsupervised classification of habitat use patterns showed great variability. Using a hidden Markov model, 37 patterns of habitat use were found, with 20 different patterns accounting for 90% of the sample. In accordance with literature, residence behaviour was observed (28% of the eels). However, about 72% changed habitat once or several times, mainly before age 4. The potential application of this method to any other measures taken along an otolith growth axis to reconstruct individual chronologies gives a new insight in life history tactics analysis.

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