Species identification of the psammophilous tenebrionid beetles Phaleria acuminata Juster, 1852 and Phaleria bimaculata (Linnaeus, 1767) from central Mediterranean beaches: geometric morphometrics and molecular insights from species to population level
Dominating global arid environments, from desert to coastal dunes, most Tenebrionidae are highly specific in their habitat preferences and display limited dispersal potential, thus exhibiting a remarkable degree of regional genetic and morphological differentiation. The tenebrionid genus Phaleria is speciose and widely distributed, with P. acuminata and P. bimaculata having a wide Mediterranean distribution, with numerous morphological differentiations at population level, often described as different taxa of doubtful taxonomical significance. In order to investigate the variability of the central Mediterranean populations of P. bimaculata and P. acuminata and to compare the results obtaine…
ROLE OF SICILY AND CIRCUM-SICILIAN ISLANDS AS RECIPIENT AND DONOR AREA FOR ALIEN MARINE MACROPHYTES IN THE CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN SEA
The spread of alien species is an ongoing phenomenon which is widely recognized as a major threat to biodiversity at all levels. The particularly high rate of alien introductions to the Mediterranean Sea has been mainly fuelled by the opening of the Suez Canal, by shipping, aquaculture and by a rising trend in seawater temperature. As far as marine macrophytes are concerned, a total of 134 species have been listed as possible aliens in the Mediterranean Sea. Among the possible pathways of introduction, shipping is considered the dominant vector of unintentional species introduction in coastal marine systems worldwide. Traversing the Strait of Sicily, the chief passageway from south to north…
Jellyfish blooms perception in Mediterranean finfish aquaculture
7 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables, supplemental material https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.11.005
Modeling Macroalgal Forest Distribution at Mediterranean Scale: Present Status, Drivers of Changes and Insights for Conservation and Management
Macroalgal forests are one of the most productive and valuable marine ecosystems, but yet strongly exposed to fragmentation and loss. Detailed large-scale information on their distribution is largely lacking, hindering conservation initiatives. In this study, a systematic effort to combine spatial data on Cystoseira C. Agardh canopies (Fucales, Phaeophyta) was carried out to develop a Habitat Suitability Model (HSM) at Mediterranean scale, providing critical tools to improve site prioritization for their management, restoration and protection. A georeferenced database on the occurrence of 20 Cystoseira species was produced collecting all the available information from published and grey lit…
Unpublished Mediterranean records of marine alien and cryptogenic species
Este artículo contiene 18 páginas, 4 figuras.
The late Pleistocene origin of the Italian and Maltese populations of Potamon fluviatile (Malacostraca: Decapoda): insights from an expanded sampling of molecular data
Evidence available for most inland water and terrestrial organisms highlights the significant role played by southern Italy, Sicily and the Maltese islands as refuges during Pleistocene climatic fluctuations. However, to date, the hypothesis that these areas may have acted as Pleistocene refugia for the freshwater crab Potamon fluviatile has not been explicitly tested, and a recent origin of local P. fluviatile populations was proposed on the basis of a small set of analysed molecular data. We have thus expanded the currently available data set on the population genetic structure of P. fluviatile through dedicated samplings in Sicily (Italy, 18 specimens), the Maltese Islands (Malta, 15 spe…
Genome analysis of the monoclonal marbled crayfish reveals genetic separation over a short evolutionary timescale
The marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) represents a very recently evolved parthenogenetic freshwater crayfish species that has invaded diverse habitats in Europe and in Madagascar. However, population genetic analyses have been hindered by the homogeneous genetic structure of the population and the lack of suitable tools for data analysis. We have used whole-genome sequencing to characterize reference specimens from various known wild populations. In parallel, we established a whole-genome sequencing data analysis pipeline for the population genetic analysis of nearly monoclonal genomes. Our results provide evidence for systematic genetic differences between geographically separated …
Citizen and scientists work together to monitor marine alien macrophytes
The introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) is an ongoing phenomenon which has been pointed out as a major threat to biodiversity at different levels (Wallentinus, Nyberg 2007, Katsanevakis et al. 2014, Vergés et al. 2016). NIS may in time become invasive (Invasive Alien Species “IAS”) and may cause biodiversity loss and ecosystem service changes (Brunel et al. 2013, Giakoumi 2014, Vergés et al. 2016). The Mediterranean Sea is an important hotspot for marine NIS (ca. 1,000 such species recorded to date, Zenetos et al. 2012, Galil et al. 2015, Verlaque et al. 2015). To reduce the risk of future IAS introduction and to better understand their invasive po- tential and spread dynamics, mon…
Citizen and scientsts work together to monitor marine alien species in Sicilian waters (central Mediterranean)
We report on the experience of two citizen science projects: the Project “Caulerpa cylindracea – Egadi Islands” and the Project “Invasive Algae”, included within the “Seawatchers” platform. The first one, sponsored by the STEBICEF Department of the University of Palermo and by the Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area (MPA), aims at creating a database on the spread dynamics of C. cylindracea within the Egadi Islands MPA. The second one, coordinated by the Institute of Marine Sciences of Barcelona (CSIC, Spain), collects data on 10 marine invasive alien species. The results of these projects highlighted the important role that citizen science campaigns can have as early-warning systems. We al…
The first confirmed record of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 (Decapoda, Brachyura) from Maltese waters
The invasive portunid species Callinectes sapidus is hereby recorded for the first time from Maltese waters, thus updating the known distribution of this decapod of Atlantic origin within the Mediterranean. Potential introduction pathways of the species to Maltese waters are discussed.
New body metrics to determine asteroid size and weight directly in the field
Asteroids are an important group of predators in many marine ecosystems. The measure of body size is crucial in studying asteroid biology as this variable affects both prey selection and predation impact. Current field techniques for estimating asteroid size (i.e. total length TL, total weight TW) include the measure of correlated variables, such us the central disk (CD) and arm length (AL). However, these variables are often time-consuming and require a direct handling of the organism. We tested the accuracy of new asteroid body metrics, the arm height (AH) or arm width (AW), to rapidly estimate body size in asteroids. AH and AW were measured in three of the most common Mediterranean aster…
Much can change in a year: The massawan mantis shrimp, erugosquilla massavensis (Kossmann, 1880) in sicily, Italy
A flourishing population of the Massawan mantis shrimp, Erugosquilla massavensis, an Erythraean species, is recorded off Sicily, Italy, one year after the very first specimen was collected off the eastern coast of the island. The species is already established as a minor, albeit valuable, fishery resource. Once its population increases, however, it may compete with the native Mediterranean spot-tail mantis shrimp, Squilla mantis. This article presents the results of a joint effort between members of the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale of Comiso and local fishermen to monitor non-indigenous species in Sicilian waters.
DNA taxonomy of the potamid freshwater crabs from Northern Africa (Decapoda, Potamidae)
The Mediterranean area, from southern Balkans to western Maghreb, is inhabited by the Potamon subgenus Euthelphusa, with three currently recognised species. The Maghrebian species P. (E.) algeriense is isolated from other Potamon species by the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert, and nearly no molecular data are currently available for this taxon. Present study investigated the mtDNA and nuDNA diversity in Potamon algeriense s.l. with the aims of exploring its molecular diversity pattern throughout its known distribution range, and testing the possible presence of cryptic taxa currently lumped under this binomen. The phylogenetic and DNA taxonomy analyses showed the presence of two wel…
Mediterranean identities - environment, society, culture
The Mediterranean Sea, one of the most complex marine ecosystems, is inhabited by a rich and diverse biota which is disproportionate to its dimensions. It is cur‐ rently affected by different pressures, mainly driven by human activities such as cli‐ mate change and bioinvasions. This Sea, also due to its geographic position (wedged between the temperate climate of central Europe and the arid climate of northern Africa), seems to be one of the regions most susceptible to global climate change. The increased rates of introduction and spread of marine alien species may represent a supplementary stress factor to Mediterranean marine native biota already challenged by climatic abnormalities. The…
DNA Taxonomy Confirms the Identity of the Widely-Disjunct Mediterranean and Atlantic Populations of the Tufted Ghost Crab Ocypode cursor (Crustacea: Decapoda: Ocypodidae)
The distribution area of the tufted ghost crab Ocypode cursor includes two widely separate sub-areas, i.e. the tropical and subtropical Atlantic coasts of Africa and Macaronesia, and the central-eastern Mediterranean basin. The current disjunct distribution of the species is possibly the remnant of a previous wider and continuous distribution area that was fragmented during the Pleistocene, with the disappearance of the species from the temperate Atlantic Ocean and the western Mediterranean basin, and its survival in the warmer areas of the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. Such disjunction is thus compatible with an ancient isolation between the Mediterranean and Atlantic populat…
The Synergistic Impacts of Anthropogenic Stressors and COVID-19 on Aquaculture: A Current Global Perspective
13 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables.-- This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License
The potential of antimicrobial peptides isolated from freshwater crayfish species in new drug development: A review
Abstract The much-publicised increased resistance of pathogenic bacteria to conventional antibiotics has focused research effort on the characterization of new antimicrobial drugs. In this context, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) extracted from animals are considered a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics. In recent years, freshwater crayfish species have emerged as an important source of bioactive compounds. In fact, these invertebrates rely on an innate immune system based on cellular responses and on the production of important effectors in the haemolymph, such as AMPs, which are produced and stored in granules in haemocytes and released after stimulation. These effectors are …
Morphological variability in and distributional data on phaleria bimaculata populations from islands of the central mediterranean area
This study aimed to collect new taxonomic and distribution data on Phaleria bimaculata (L.) (Coleoptera Tenebrionidae) from Sicily (southern Italy), the circum-Sicilian islands and the Maltese archipelago. Particular attention was paid to the diagnostic morphological features observed in the populations sampled, focusing on the subspecies Phaleria bimaculata marcuzzii Aliquò. P. bimaculata individuals were collected from 20 different locations, of which 2 were located in the Sicilian mainland, 9 in circum-Sicilian islands and 9 in the Maltese Islands. In addition, four Phaleria acuminata Kuster populations were also recorded along southern Sicilian shores. The two Phaleria species were neve…
First occurrence of the needle-spined urchin Diadema setosum (Leske, 1778) (Echinodermata, Diadematidae) in the southern Mediterranean Sea
The first occurrence of Diadema setosum in the southern Mediterranean waters is recorded from the shores of Libya and Egypt, through the input by citizens’ science. The expansion of this invasive sea urchin in the Mediterranean basin is briefly discussed.
Stress and immune response to bacterial LPS in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816).
The immune system of the sea urchin species Paracentrotus lividus is highly complex and, as yet, poorly understood. P. lividus coelomocytes mediate immune response through phagocytosis and encapsulation of non-self particles, in addition to the production of antimicrobial molecules. Despite this understanding, details of exactly how these processes occur and the mechanisms which drive them are still in need of clarification. In this study, we show how the bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) is able to induce a stress response which increases the levels of the heat shock proteins HSP70 and HSP90 only a few hours after treatment. This study also shows that LPS treatment increases the expressi…
Bridging the knowledge gap on the distribution and typology of vermetid bioconstructions along the Maltese coastline : an updated assessment
In the Maltese Islands, insufficient attention has been paid to vermetid reefs, endemic Mediterranean bioconstructions widely distributed along the southern part of the basin. As a result, this is a largely-overlooked coastal ecosystem despite the multitude of ecosystem services it provides. The perennial urban development in the Maltese Islands calls for the adoption of urgent action to protect coastal habitats, in particular bioconstructions that increase biodiversity and contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change. The objective of our study was to extensively document the presence and typology of the vermetid reef ecosystems along the coast of Malta and Gozo, assessing the oc…
New Mediterranean Marine biodiversity records (December, 2013)
M. Bilecenoglu [et al.]