Cadmium, lead and metallothionein contents in cultivated mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from the Gulf of Naples (Southern Italy)

Blooms of the toxic dinoflagellates Ostreopsis have become common along rocky shores of the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to health problems for beach-goers, Ostreopsis toxins may accumulate in benthic marine animals used for human consumption, which however at times have shown signals of stress and even mortality. In order to elucidate the actual relationships between Ostreopsis and benthic invertebrates, we exposed mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis and sea urchins Paracentrotus lividus from the Gulf of Naples to cultures and natural material of O. cf. ovata and assessed feeding and adverse effects on the animals, along with their acquired toxicity. Mussels exposed to O. cf. ovata for 24 hours filtered the microalgae at different rates, depending on both mussel size and microalgal density, and became weakly toxic in some cases. Under longer exposure most animals died and all survivors were toxic. Detoxification of a naturally toxic mussel populations from an area affected by O. cf. ovata blooms took more than two weeks. Sea urchins fed with the red alga Asparagopsis taxiformis epiphytised by O. cf. ovata did not show damages and became mildly toxic in some cases. However, the direct exposure of sea urchins to O. cf. ovata cultures caused the partial or total loss of the spines in a density-dependent way, with the death of the animals at the highest microalgal concentrations. Milder effects were registered with sonicated cultures or toxin extracts. Our results indicate that the balance between toxicity and animal health in these invertebrates depends on the mode and intensity of exposure to the toxic microalga, while the response varies between the two species but also within the same species. This scenario matches the variety of responses of benthic populations recorded in the natural environment in areas affected by O. cf. ovata blooms.

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Persistent contaminants in dolphins: an indication of chemical pollution in the Mediterranean Sea

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1995.0700 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 32 (9-10) ◽

pp. 331-340 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

N. Cardellicchio

Keyword(s):

Southern Italy ◽

Chemical Pollution ◽

Similar Species ◽

Chlorinated Pesticides ◽

Stenella Coeruleoalba ◽

Pollution Accumulation ◽

Cadmium Lead ◽

Immune Defences ◽

Lethal Doses ◽

Persistent Contaminants

Concentrations of metals (mercury and methylmercury, selenium, cadmium, lead), chlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated byphenyls (PCB) have been determined in tissues and organs of Stenella coeruleoalba dolphins beached along the Adriatic and Ionian coasts of Apulia (Southern Italy). The results obtained confirm that in Mediterranean dolphins the accumulation of contaminants is higher than in similar species living in the Atlantic. Therefore cetaceans can be considered “organisms indicating pollution”. Accumulation is influenced by factors such as diet, age and sex. Reproduction plays a fundamental role in the elimination of toxic compounds in females. Correlation between contamination and death has not been found; however it is clear that pollutants at sub-lethal doses have neuro-toxic effects, increase stress and alter immune defences, leaving the organism at a greater risk from disease.

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New morpho-bathymetric data on marine hazard in the offshore of Gulf of Naples (Southern Italy)

Natural Hazards ◽

10.1007/s11069-021-05161-2 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Gemma Aiello ◽

Marco Sacchi

Keyword(s):

Southern Italy ◽

Gulf Of Naples ◽

Bathymetric Data

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Seismic and acoustic detection of a bolide airburst in the Gulf of Naples (southern Italy)

Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres ◽

10.1029/2005jb004254 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 111 (B10) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Luca D'Auria ◽

Enrica Marotta ◽

Marcello Martini ◽

Patrizia Ricciolino

Keyword(s):

Southern Italy ◽

Acoustic Detection ◽

Gulf Of Naples

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New seismological insights from the analyses of historical and recent earthquakes at Ischia Island (Southern Italy)

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-12975 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Stefano Carlino ◽

Vincenzo Convertito ◽

Anna Tramelli ◽

Vincenzo De Novellis ◽

Nicola Alessandro Pino

Keyword(s):

Southern Italy ◽

Historical Earthquakes ◽

Maximum Magnitude ◽

Seismogenic Structure ◽

Gulf Of Naples ◽

Tectonic Earthquakes ◽

Recent Earthquakes ◽

Peculiar Case ◽

Island Of Ischia ◽

Northern Sector

We report here a first comparative analysis between recent and historical earthquakes, occurred in the island of Ischia (Southern Italy), which produced heavy damages and thousands of fatalities. The island of Ischia is located in the Gulf of Naples, and represents a peculiar case of resurgent caldera in which volcano-tectonic earthquakes, with low magnitude, have generated large damages and catastrophic effects, as is the case for the 4 March 1881 (Imax8-9 MCS) and the 28 July 1883 (Imax10-11 MCS) events. Both the earthquakes struck the northern area of the island, similarly to the recent 21 August 2017 earthquake. The results allowed us to assess the location, as well as the possible dimension and the related maximum magnitude of the seismogenic structure, located in the northern sector of the island, and responsible of damaging earthquakes. Our results also provide an additional framework to interpret mechanisms leading to earthquakes associated with dynamics of calderas.&#160;

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Ultrastructural studies on Cymbomonas tetramitiformis (Prasinophyceae). I. General structure, scale microstructure, and ontogeny

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b03-055 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 81 (7) ◽

pp. 657-671 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Øjvind Moestrup ◽

Isao Inouye ◽

Terumitsu Hori

Keyword(s):

Southern Italy ◽

Cell Structure ◽

General Structure ◽

Flagellar Apparatus ◽

Scale Structure ◽

Gulf Of Naples ◽

Ultrastructural Studies ◽

Short Period ◽

Characteristic Scales ◽

Scale Types

The marine prasinophycean flagellate Cymbomonas tetramitiformis has been established in culture from Japan and Australia and is examined in detail by electron microscopy. The results are described as a series of reports, the first of which deals with the general cell structure and the structure and morphogenesis of the organic scales that cover the surface of the cell and the flagella. The cell produces seven types of organic scales, all of which are manufactured in the cisternae of the Golgi apparatus. Two scale types are deposited on the cell body and cover the cell in three close-fitting layers, two types are confined to the flagellar pit region, and three types cover the flagellar surfaces. Cymbomonas is quadriflagellate and closely related to another quadriflagellate, Pyramimonas, in scale structure and scale ontogeny. It differs markedly in cell symmetry, swimming behavior, and in details of the flagellar apparatus. The flagellar end of the cell with the flagellar pit is surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped rim, which is very different from the usually four-lobed anterior end of Pyramimonas. Cymbomonas also shows resemblance in scale structure to members of the order Mamiellales, notably Mamiella, and to the phycoma-producing genera Pterosperma and Halosphaera. The Japanese isolate of Cymbomonas formed cysts for a short period, and the cyst appears to be homologous with the so-called phycoma stage of Pterosperma and Halosphaera. Since two chloroplasts were seen in the cysts, the cysts probably arise as a result of sexual reproduction. Concomitant with the presence of cysts in the culture, tiny uniflagellate cells were also present, and they probably represent gametes. Cymbomonas was described from the Adriatic in 1913 and was not reported again anywhere until 1986 and 1987 when Throndsen refound it in the Gulf of Naples in southern Italy. It has subsequently been found in large parts of the world and is now readily recognized by its characteristic scales and mode of swimming. It is often common but does not appear to form blooms.Key words: Prasinophyceae, marine nanoplankton, ultrastructure, Cymbomonas.

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