scholarly journals Filling the gap on Italian records of an invasive species

2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-104
Author(s):  
Francesco Tiralongo ◽  
Guido Villani ◽  
Roberto Arciprete ◽  
Emanuele Mancini

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.

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deniz Ayas ◽  
Gulsemin Sen Agılkaya ◽  
Ali Rıza Kosker ◽  
Mustafa Durmus ◽  
Yılmaz Ucar ◽  
...  

Check List ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-495
Author(s):  
Emanuele Mancini ◽  
Francesco Tiralongo ◽  
Daniele Ventura ◽  
Andrea Bonifazi

Ophelia roscoffensis Augener, 1910 is an opheliid worm identifiable by the number of anterior abranchiate chaetigers and the number of the gill pairs. Although it was already reported in the Mediterranean Sea, it has never been found in the Italian waters. This study represents the first record of Ophelia roscoffensis in the Italian waters. A total of 18 specimens were collected along the coast of Civitavecchia (Tyrrhenian Sea) in a Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile bed at a depth of 7 m.


Check List ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-130
Author(s):  
Emanuele Mancini ◽  
Francesco Tiralongo ◽  
Daniele Ventura ◽  
Andrea Bonifazi

Goniadella bobrezkii (Annenkova, 1929) is a small goniadid worm identifiable by the number of anterior uniramous parapodia and by the position of the posterior spine-like notochetae arising dorsal to dorsal cirri. Although it was already reported in the Mediterranean Sea, it has never been found in the Italian waters. This study represents the first generic and specific record of G. bobrezkii along Italian coasts. A total of 25 specimens were collected in a Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile bed, depth of 7 m, off Civitavecchia (Rome).


2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (5) ◽  
pp. 1003-1009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Bittau ◽  
Mattia Leone ◽  
Adrien Gannier ◽  
Alexandre Gannier ◽  
Renata Manconi

Sowerby's beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens) was previously known in the Mediterranean Sea from a single live stranding of two individuals in the French Riviera. We report here on two live sightings in the western Mediterranean, central-western Tyrrhenian Sea off eastern Corsica (Montecristo Trough) and off eastern Sardinia (Caprera Canyon) in 2010 and 2012, respectively. In both cases single individuals, possibly the same individual, occurred within groups of Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) suggesting inter-specific interactions. Based on our close observations of mixed-species groups of Sowerby's and Cuvier's beaked whales, we hypothesize that some previous long-distance sightings of beaked whales in the Mediterranean may not be reliably attributed to Z. cavirostris. The present sightings and previous live stranding indicate that the western Mediterranean Sea is the easternmost marginal area of M. bidens within the North Atlantic geographic range. Notes on behaviour are also provided.


Author(s):  
P. Rinelli

The first finding of the brittle star Amphiura securigera (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) in the Tyrrhenian Sea is reported. According to literature data, biotopic and edaphic features of the bottom indicate that this species preferentially lives in detritic mud-free biotopes characterized by good water circulation. Present data show that in the Mediterranean Sea A. securigera extends its bathymetric range as far as the circalittoral and upper bathyal floors.


Author(s):  
ANGELO BONANNO ◽  
MARCO BARRA ◽  
ANDREA DE FELICE ◽  
MARIANNA GIANNOULAKI ◽  
MAGDALENA IGLESIAS ◽  
...  

Differences in acoustic estimates of small pelagic fish biomass, due to data acquisition during daytime and nighttime surveys, have been recognized for many years as a problem in acoustic surveys. In the absence of a single rule for all species and for all locations, some expert groups identified specific time intervals for acoustic data acquisition in relation to the schooling behavior of the target species. In the Mediterranean Sea, the research groups working in the MEDIAS (Mediterranean International Acoustic Survey) agreed on the importance that acoustic sampling are conducted only during day-time. Only when available time does not permit to complete the survey during daytime, data collection might be extended. In this case, working on data collected during both daytime and nighttime, a bias may occur in the biomass estimates. In order to evaluate and correct such bias, specific experiments were performed in some geographical sub-areas of the Mediterranean Sea. The data analysis allowed the estimation of a mean correction factor for the Strait of Sicily, where five surveys were carried out in different years. The correction factor was estimated also for the Adriatic Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea and Northern Spain; the observed variability among areas highlighted the importance of the spatial and temporal coverage of the survey area in order to obtain reliable estimates of the correction factor. Further studies are necessary to improve the interpretation of the obtained estimates in relation to area-related peculiarities such as zooplankton composition and abundance along with small pelagic fish community structure. 


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birthe Zäncker ◽  
Michael Cunliffe ◽  
Anja Engel

Abstract. The sea surface microlayer (SML) represents the boundary layer at the air-sea interface. Microbial eukaryotes in the SML potentially influence air-sea gas exchange directly by taking up and producing gases, and indirectly by excreting and degrading organic matter, which may modify the viscoelastic properties of the SML. However, little is known about the controlling factors that influence microbial eukaryote community composition in the SML. We studied the composition of the microbial community, transparent exopolymer particles and polysaccharides in the SML during the PEACETIME cruise along a west-east transect in the Mediterranean Sea, covering the western basin, Tyrrhenian Sea and Ionian Sea. At the stations located in the Ionian Sea, fungi were found in high relative abundances determined by 18S sequencing efforts, making up a significant proportion of the sequences recovered. At the same time, bacterial and phytoplankton counts were decreasing from west to east, while transparent exopolymer particle (TEP) abundance and total carbohydrate (TCHO) concentrations remained the same between Mediterranean basins. Thus, the presence of substrates for fungi, such as Cladosporium known to take up phytoplankton-derived polysaccharides, in combination with decreased substrate competition by bacteria suggests that fungi could be thriving in the neuston of the Ionian Sea.


Ocean Science ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Schneider ◽  
T. Tanhua ◽  
W. Roether ◽  
R. Steinfeldt

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.


Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Lampert ◽  
Ran Berzak ◽  
Nadav Davidovich ◽  
Arik Diamant ◽  
Nir Stern ◽  
...  

Viruses are among the most abundant and diverse biological components in the marine environment. In finfish, viruses are key drivers of host diversity and population dynamics, and therefore, their effect on the marine environment is far-reaching. Viral encephalopathy and retinopathy (VER) is a disease caused by the marine nervous necrosis virus (NNV), which is recognized as one of the main infectious threats for marine aquaculture worldwide. For over 140 years, the Suez Canal has acted as a conduit for the invasion of Red Sea marine species into the Mediterranean Sea. In 2016–2017, we evaluated the prevalence of NNV in two indigenous Mediterranean species, the round sardinella (Sardinella aurita) and the white steenbras (Lithognathus mormyrus) versus two Lessepsian species, the Randall’s threadfin bream (Nemipterus randalli) and the Lessepsian lizardfish (Saurida lessepsianus). A molecular method was used to detect NNV in all four fish species tested. In N. randalli, a relatively newly established invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea, the prevalence was significantly higher than in both indigenous species. In S. lessepsianus, prevalence varied considerably between years. While the factors that influence the effective establishment of invasive species are poorly understood, we suggest that the susceptibility of a given invasive fish species to locally acquired viral pathogens such as NVV may be important, in terms of both its successful establishment in its newly adopted environment and its role as a reservoir ‘host’ in the new area.


Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4766 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-357
Author(s):  
CRISTINA MAZZIOTTI ◽  
MARCO LEZZI

Records of the cumacean genus Iphinoe from Italian coasts are reported with relevant data on the habitat, morphology and geographical distribution of each species. Seven Iphinoe species from the Italian coasts were recorded and are presented here with their own distributional ranges; the description of a new species, Iphinoe daphne n. sp. is also given.                Our results extend the known distribution of some species to new areas of the Mediterranean Sea and suggest that the species Iphinoe adriatica Bâcescu, 1988 can be considered as a nomen dubium, while the presence of I. trispinosa along the Italian coast is doubtful.Finally, a dichotomous key for all Mediterranean Iphinoe species is provided. 


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