scholarly journals Distribution of the Mediterranean ribbed limpet Patella ferruginea Gmelin, 1791 along the Ligurian coast and implications for conservation actions

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 496
Author(s):  
MARIA PAOLA FERRANTI ◽  
DAVIDE MONTEGGIA ◽  
VALENTINA ASNAGHI ◽  
ALESSANDRO DAGNINO ◽  
FEDERICO GAINO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Small Populations ◽  
Ecological Network ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Patella Ferruginea ◽  
Ligurian Coast ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
North Western

Patella ferruginea is an endemic limpet of the Western Mediterranean Sea, presently considered the most threatened marine macroinvertebrate in the region and included in several international conservation directives. Its populations were widespread throughout the Western Mediterranean in the late Pleistocene (Tyrrhenian period), still largely distributed until the 19th century and presently confined into small populations in few restricted areas due to human harvesting for food and baits, construction of coastal infrastructures and the effects of seawater pollution. In particular, the species was reported as presently missing in the whole of the Italian continental coasts and measures are in progress to reintroduce the species through translocation and reproduction in controlled conditions along the Ligurian coasts (North-western Mediterranean).Recent surveys along the Ligurian coasts, performed to assess the most suitable sites for reintroduction, allowed the discovery of 32 specimens of this endemic limpet, considered disappeared in the area. These findings shed new light on the ability of natural dispersion of the species, the relevance of the measures set in place to restore the presently rarefied populations and provide hints for the selection and management of sites within the Natura 2000 Ecological network.

scholarly journals Foraging dives of sperm whales in the north-western Mediterranean Sea

2012 ◽  
Vol 92 (8) ◽  
pp. 1799-1808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Gannier ◽  
Estelle Petiau ◽  
Violaine Dulau ◽  
Luke Rendell
Keyword(s):  
Prey Capture ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
The North ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Single Animal ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Passive Acoustic ◽  
North Western

Oceanic odontocetes rely on echolocation to forage on pelagic or benthic prey, but their feeding ecology is difficult to study. We studied sperm whale foraging dives during summer in the north-western Mediterranean, using visual and passive acoustic observations. Clicking and creaking activities were recorded during dives of focal whales, at distances <3000 m using a towed hydrophone and DAT recorder. A total of 52 sperm whales were recorded over at least one full dive cycle. Data were obtained for 156 complete dives in total, including sequences of up to nine consecutive dives. Various dive and environmental variables were entered in multiple linear regression and principal components analysis, as well as estimated mass of whales. Creak rate was 0.80 creak/minute on average, with moderate variance. Bigger whales tended to dive longer at greater depths (as suggested by ascent durations), and emitted more creaks during a dive: 20.2 creaks/dive on average for individuals <24 tons, compared to 25.6 creaks/dive for animals >24 tons of estimated mass. For individual whales, creak rates did not vary significantly with size (range 0.78–0.80 creak/minute), but decreased with time of the day, and increased for shorter foraging phases. For different dives, higher creak rates were also observed earlier in the day, and linked to shorter foraging phases and surface durations. Although the exact significance of creak emissions (i.e. foraging attempt or prey capture) is not precisely determined, creak rates may be reliably used to quantify sperm whale foraging when single animal dives can be followed acoustically.

scholarly journals Balneola vulgaris gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of the phylum Bacteroidetes from the north-western Mediterranean Sea

2006 ◽  
Vol 56 (8) ◽  
pp. 1883-1887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Urios ◽  
Hélène Agogué ◽  
Françoise Lesongeur ◽  
Erko Stackebrandt ◽  
Philippe Lebaron
Keyword(s):  
16S Rrna ◽  
16S Rrna Gene ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Gene Sequence ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
16S Rrna Gene Sequence ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Rrna Gene Sequence ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
North Western

A novel aerobic, Gram-negative bacterium, named 13IX/A01/164T, was isolated from surface waters in the coastal north-western Mediterranean Sea. Cells were motile, straight rods, 2.5 μm long and 0.2 μm wide, and formed orange colonies on marine agar medium. The G+C content of the genomic DNA of strain 13IX/A01/164T was 42 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence placed the strain in the phylum Bacteroidetes within the family Crenotrichaceae. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison and physiological and biochemical characteristics, this isolate represents a novel species of a new genus, for which the name Balneola vulgaris gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Balneola vulgaris is 13IX/A01/164T (=DSM 17893T=CIP 109092T=OOB 256T).

Food of striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba, in the Ligurian Sea

1993 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Würtz ◽  
D. Marrale
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Ligurian Sea ◽  
Stenella Coeruleoalba ◽  
Striped Dolphin ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Bony Fishes ◽  
Food Species ◽  
Ligurian Coast

The stomachsof 23 striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen, 1833, Cetacea), stranded along the Ligurian coast (western Mediterranean Sea), contained 32 species of cephalopods, crustaceans and fishes, totalling an estimated 2,723 prey specimens representing about 36 kg in weight. Cephalopods and bony fishes were equally important in the diet (50%). Todarodes sagittatus (34.5%) and Micromesistius poutassou (25.9%) were found to be the most important food species. Other species belonging to six cephalopod families, three crustacean families and nine bony fish families, contributed to the diet with variable numbers, weights, and occurrences, demonstrating the opportunistic character of striped dolphin feeding.

scholarly journals The impact of Saharan dust on the particulate export in the water column of the North Western Mediterranean Sea

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 809-826 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Ternon ◽  
C. Guieu ◽  
M.-D. Loÿe-Pilot ◽  
N. Leblond ◽  
E. Bosc ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Deposition ◽  
Mass Flux ◽  
Total Mass ◽  
Spring Bloom ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Saharan Dust ◽  
The North ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Total Mass Flux ◽  
North Western

Abstract. Simultaneous measurements of atmospheric deposition and of sinking particles at 200 and 1000 m depth, were performed in the Ligurian Sea (North-Western Mediterranean) between 2003 and 2007, along with phytoplanktonic activity derived from satellite images. Atmospheric deposition of Saharan dust particles was very irregular and confirmed the importance of sporadic high magnitude events over the annual average (11.4 g m−2 yr−1 for the 4 years). The average marine total mass flux was 31 g m−2 yr−1, the larger fraction being the lithogenic one (~37%). The marine total mass flux displayed a seasonal pattern with a maximum in winter, occurring before the onset of the spring bloom. The highest POC fluxes did not occur during the spring bloom nor could they be directly related to any noticeable increase in the surface phytoplanktonic biomass. Over the 4 years of the study, the strongest POC fluxes were concomitant with large increases of the lithogenic marine flux, which had originated from either recent Saharan fallout events (February 2004 and August 2005), from "old" Saharan dust "stored" in the upper water column layer (March 2003 and February 2005), or alternatively from lithogenic material originating from Ligurian riverine flooding (December 2003, Arno, Roya and Var rivers). Those associated export fluxes defined as "lithogenic events", are believed to result from a combination of forcing (winter mixing or Saharan events, in particular extreme ones), biological (zooplankton) activity, and also organic-mineral aggregation inducing a ballast effect. By fertilising the surface layer, mixed Saharan dust events were shown to be able to induce "lithogenic events" during the stratification period. These events would be more efficient in transferring POC to the deeper layers than the spring bloom itself. The extreme Saharan event of February 2004 exported ~45% of the total annual POC, compared to an average of ~25% for the bloom period. This emphasises the role played by these "lithogenic events", and in particular those that are induced by the more extreme Saharan events, in the carbon export efficiency in the North-western Mediterranean Sea.

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