scholarly journals Vector-borne nematode diseases in pets and humans in the Mediterranean Basin: An update

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1630-1643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Djamel Tahir ◽  
Bernard Davoust ◽  
Philippe Parola
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
One Health ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Parasitic Nematodes ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in humans and animals. The scale of VBDs is increasing worldwide, including in the Mediterranean Basin, a region exposed to climate changes. Indeed, weather conditions may influence the abundance and distribution of vectors. The vector-borne nematode diseases of dogs and cats, such as dirofilariosis, onchocercosis, thelaziosis, Cercopithifilaria, and Acanthocheilonema infections, are some of these vectorized diseases, several of which are zoonoses. They are all caused by parasitic nematodes transmitted by arthropods, including mosquitoes (Dirofilaria spp.), black flies (Onchocerca lupi), drosophilids (Thelazia callipaeda), ticks (Acanthocheilonema dracunculoides and Cercopithifilaria bainae), and fleas and lice (Acanthocheilonema reconditum). The control and prevention of these infections and diseases require a multidisciplinary approach based on strengthening collaboration between the different actors in the fields of health, research, sociology, economics, governments and citizens, to improve human, animal, and ecosystem health. This is the concept of "one health." The review aimed to provide a general update on the spatial and temporal distribution of vector-borne nematodes diseases affecting companion animals and humans, as well as the vectors involved in the Mediterranean area. Simultaneously, certain epidemiological parameters, diagnosis, treatment, and control of these diseases based on the "one health" concept will also be discussed.

scholarly journals Saharan Hot and Dry Sirocco Winds Drive Extreme Fire Events in Mediterranean Tunisia (North Africa)

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiraz Belhadj-Khedher ◽  
Taoufik El-Melki ◽  
Florent Mouillot
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Fire Hazard ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Summer Drought ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Extreme Fire

With hot and dry summers, the Mediterranean basin is affected by recurrent fires. While drought is the major driver of the seasonal and inter-annual fire distribution in its northern and mildest climate conditions, some extreme fire events are also linked to extreme winds or heat waves. The southern part of the Mediterranean basin is located at the driest range of the Mediterranean bioclimate and is influenced by Saharan atmospheric circulations, leading to extreme hot and dry episodes, called Sirocco, and potentially acting as a major contributor to fire hazard. The recently created fire database for Tunisia was used to investigate the ±10-day pre- and post-fire timeframe of daily weather conditions associated with fire events over the 1985–2006 period. Positive anomalies in minimum and maximum temperatures, negative anomalies in air relative humidity, and a preferential south-eastern wind during fire events were identified, which were characteristic of Sirocco winds. +7 °C anomalies in air temperature and −30% in relative air humidity were the critical thresholds for the most extreme fire conditions. In addition, meteorological anomalies started two days before fire events and lasted for three days after for large fires >400 ha, which suggests that the duration of the Sirocco event is linked with fire duration and final fire size. Lastly, the yearly number of intense Sirocco events better explained the inter-annual variability of burned area over the 1950–2006 period than summer drought based on Standardized Precipitation Evaporation Index (SPEI) indices.

scholarly journals The MEDWATERICE project: Towards a sustainable water use in Mediterranean rice-based agro-ecosystems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arianna Facchi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Social Sustainability ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Irrigation District ◽  
Private Companies ◽  
Irrigation Methods ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Surface Drip Irrigation

<p>In the Mediterranean basin, rice is cultivated over an area of 1,300,000 hectares. The most important rice-producing countries are Italy and Spain in Europe (72% of the EU production; 345,000 ha), and Egypt and Turkey among the extra-EU countries (almost totality of the production; 789,000 ha). Traditionally, rice is grown under continuous flooding; thus, it requires more water than non-ponded crops. On the other hand, rice is strategic for food security in some countries such as Egypt, and human consumption in the whole Mediterranean is steadily increasing.</p><p>The MEDWATERICE project (PRIMA-Section 2-2018; https://www.medwaterice.org/), which started in April 2019, aims to explore the sustainability of innovative rice irrigation methods and technologies in the Mediterranean basin, in order to reduce rice water use and environmental impacts, and to extend rice cultivation outside of traditional paddy areas to meet the growing demand. The MEDWATERICE consortium includes universities, research centres and private companies operating in the Mediterranean area (IT, ES, PT, EG, TR, IL). Case studies (CSs) are implemented in pilot farms of the countries involved in the project. Tested alternative irrigation methods and technologies adopted in each CS are being tailored to local conditions using a participatory action research approach through the establishment of Stake-Holder Panels in each country, which include regional authorities, water managers, farmers’ associations and consultants, and private companies of the rice production chain. Irrigation strategies experimented in the pilot farms and compared to the continuous flooding (considered as the ‘reference’ irrigation method in all CSs), are: dry seeding and delayed flooding, alternate wetting and drying, lengthening of drying periods, reduction in irrigation inflow/outflow, hybrid irrigation, multi-nozzle sprinkler irrigation, surface and sub-surface drip irrigation, and waste-water reuse through sub-surface drip irrigation. For each irrigation solution, innovative technologies and the most appropriate rice varieties and agronomic practices are tested to minimize impacts of irrigation water reduction on yield quantity and quality. Data collected at the farm level are extrapolated to the irrigation district level to support water management decisions and policies. Indicators for quantitative assessment of environmental, economic and social sustainability of the irrigation options are also being defined. Outcomes produced by MEDWATERICE are expected to generate knowledge on how to improve sustainability of rice production in the countries of the Mediterranean area, with particular attention to the adoption of water-saving techniques.</p><p>During the conference, approaches and methodologies adopted and developed within the project, and results obtained so far will be presented, with particular attention to the experimentation conducted in the pilot farms, to the methods for the upscaling the achievements to the irrigation district scale, and to the set of indicators for quantifying economic, environmental and social sustainability of irrigation methods and technologies currently under definition.</p>

scholarly journals Climatic Uncertainty in the Mediterranean Basin and Its Possible Relevance to Important Economic Sectors

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Haim Kutiel
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
The World ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

The Mediterranean Basin is among the densest populated regions of the world with forecasts for a further population increase in the coming decades. Agriculture and tourism are two main economic activities of this region. Both activities depend highly on climate and weather conditions. Climate and weather in turn, present a large variability both in space and in time which results in different uncertainty types. Any change in weather and or climate conditions in the coming decades due to climate change may increase this uncertainty. Temporal uncertainty is discussed in detail and different ways of how to exhibit it are presented with examples from various locations in the Mediterranean basin. Forecasted increased uncertainty may in turn increase future challenges for long term planning and managing of agriculture and tourism in that part of the world.

Archaeological Survey in the Mediterranean Basin: A Review of Recent Research

1982 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen L. Dyson
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Archaeological Survey ◽  
World War ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

The aim of this article is to describe and discuss the use of archaeological survey in the Mediterranean area during recent decades. Emphasis will be placed on research conducted since World War II, and I will concentrate primarily on Greece and the Western Mediterranean. In this context, surveys centering on later prehistoric and historic periods will receive most attention. Note that even within these areas of concentration, this article cannot claim to be exhaustive. It is my intention to discuss the highlights of this rapidly developing field.

scholarly journals Comparison of two different sea-salt aerosol schemes as implemented in air quality models applied to the Mediterranean Basin

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 30999-31038
Author(s):  
P. Jimenez-Guerrero ◽  
O. Jorba ◽  
M. T. Pay ◽  
J. P. Montavez ◽  
S. Jerez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dry Deposition ◽  
Wet Deposition ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Sea Salt ◽  
Target Area ◽  
Transport Models ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Abstract. A number of attempts have been made to incorporate sea-salt aerosols (SSA) source functions in chemistry transport models with varying results according to the complexity of the scheme considered. This contribution compares the inclusion of two different SSA algorithms in two chemistry transport models: CMAQ and CHIMERE. The main goal is to examine the differences in average SSA mass and composition and to study the seasonality of the prediction of SSA when applied to the Mediterranean area with high resolution in a reference year. Dry and wet deposition schemes are also analyzed to better understand the differences observed between both models in the target area. The applied emission algorithm in CHIMERE uses a semi-empirical formulation which obtains the surface emission rate of SSA as a function of the surface wind speed cubed and particle size. The emission parameterization included within CMAQ is somehow more sophisticated, since fluxes of SSA are corrected with relative humidity. In order to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, the participating algorithms as implemented in the chemistry transport models were evaluated against AOD measurements from Aeronet and available surface measurements in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean area, showing biases around −0.003 and −1.2 μg m−3, respectively. The results indicate that both models represent accurately the patterns and dynamics of SSA and its non-uniform behavior in the Mediterranean basin, showing a strong seasonality. The levels of SSA vary strongly across the Western and the Eastern Mediterranean, reproducing CHIMERE higher annual levels in the Aegean Sea (12 μg m−3) and CMAQ in the Gulf of Lion (9 μg m−3). The large difference found for the ratio PM2.5/total SSA in CMAQ and CHIMERE is also investigated. The dry and wet removal rates are very similar for both models despite the different schemes implemented. Dry deposition essentially follows the surface drag stress patterns, meanwhile wet deposition is more scattered over the continent. CMAQ tends to provide larger amounts of SSA dry deposition over the Northern Mediterranean (0.7–1.0 g m−2 yr−1), meanwhile the Southeastern Mediterranean accounts for the maximum annual dry deposition in the CHIMERE model (0.9–1.5 g m−2 yr−1). The wet deposition is dominated by the accumulation mode and is strongly correlated to the precipitation patterns, showing CMAQ a higher wet deposition/total deposition ratio over coastal mountain chains. The results of both models constitute a step towards increasing the understanding of the SSA dynamics in a complex area as the Mediterranean.

scholarly journals Some Reports of Paratethyan Ostracods from the Central Mediterranean Area

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Temani R
Keyword(s):  
Brackish Water ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Messinian Salinity Crisis ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Marine Fauna ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Uppermost Miocene stratigraphic sections have been sampled in Sicily and eastern Tunisia. Some of the stratigraphic levels contained in them are related to the continentalization phase (“Lago Mare”) of the Mediterranean Basin, which occurred at the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Within these levels, ostracod associations reflecting fresh or brackish water environments are reported here for the first time. Species considered to be Paratethyan in affinity lived in these environments. The discovery, both in Sicily and Tunisia, of species such as C agrigentina, A propinqua, and M. punctate, suggests that the Sicilian Channel did not prevent the migration of the non-marine fauna from NW to SE in the Paleomediterranean area during the Post Evaporitic Phase

Wildfires

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Lloret ◽  
Josep Piñol
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Mediterranean Ecosystems ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
Burnt Area ◽  
Forested Area ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Fire is currently recognized as one of the major natural hazards of the Mediterranean basin. In an average year the total burnt area in the whole basin is around 600,000 hectares, the product of approximately 50,000 fires. The estimated annual cost is around 775 million Euros (FAO 2001). Official data on casualties due to fires are often not available, but, for example, seventy-nine people have been killed directly by fire in Portugal since 1966 and fifty in Catalonia (northeast Spain) since 1970. Fire is commonly considered to be a key component of the dynamics of Mediterranean ecosystems (Chapters 7 and 23). Long dry periods, usually in summer, and vegetation assemblages that produce large amounts of standing branches and debris, are the main factors promoting the propagation of fires. These characteristics are common to other regions of the world with a similar climate and vegetation structure including California, central Chile, South Africa, and south-western Australia. Fire is a common occurrence and a significant natural hazard in all these regions. Although initially a natural phenomenon, during the course of the Holocene human activity has become an increasingly powerful driver of fires (Chapter 9). Prevention of wildfires is now one of the top priorities of the forestry and environmental agencies across the Mediterranean region because of the huge extent of the burned surface area, the high expenditure on both fire prevention and fire fighting, and the impacts in terms of both human life and property. The development of models to investigate the relative roles of extreme weather conditions and fire suppression policies in the generation of large fires is a key area of research (Piñol et al. 2007). The pattern of fire occurrence is not uniform across the Mediterranean basin and orders of magnitude differences appear. When standardized to the forested area of each country, the average burnt area exceeds 103 ha per 103 km2 per year in Greece, Israel, Italy, Algeria, Portugal, and Spain. This means that, on average, more than 1 per cent of the forested area is burnt in these countries each year.

scholarly journals Preliminary objective regionalization of the Mediterranean basin derived from surface-wave tomography

1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. Martínez ◽  
X. Lana ◽  
J. Badal ◽  
J. A. Canas ◽  
L. Pujades
Keyword(s):  
Group Velocity ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Group Velocity Dispersion ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Wave Tomography ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Homogeneous Regions ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

An objective regionalization of the Mediterranean basin is derived from a tomographic study based on the fundamental mode of Rayleigh waves. The database is formed by seismic wavetrains recorded at very-broadband stations belonging to MedNet and other cooperative stations, located in the Mediterranean area. The data treatment consists of application of spectral filtering techniques aimed to determine path-averaged group velocities, computation of local group velocity maps for some periods and classification of the studied area in several homogeneous regions according to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Average Linkage (AL) algorithms. Finally, the group velocity dispersion curves representing each homogeneous region are compared and possible correlation between these regions and seismotectonic and structural characteristics are discussed.

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