0000000000327560
AUTHOR
Gianguzza P
CHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE INVASIVE ALGA CAULERPA TAXIFOLIA VAR. DISTICHOPHYLLA FROM SICILIAN COASTS
Biological invasions by non-indigenous species have been widely recognized among the most important threats to the integrity of Mediterranean ecosystems, often resulting in huge economic and societal impacts. The success of non-indigenous macrophytes in the new range may be due to a variety of factors such as their vegetative reproductive strategy and synthesis of toxic compounds. These toxic compounds may influence native consumers by reducing their performance with negative implications for their overall grazing activity and, ultimately, for their ability to control the spread of the invasive algae in the new area. In particular, the invasive algae Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agardh (Ct)…
Distribution patterns of the parrotfish Sparisoma cretense in the Plemmirio’s MPA
Marine protected areas (MPAs), when designated correctly and managed well, provide a plethora of conservation benefits for current and future generations (i.e. increased habitat heterogeneity at the seascape level, increased abundance of threatened species and habitats, and maintenance of a full range of genotypes). The distribution pattern of an important target species from the Mediterranean Sea, the parrotfish Sparisoma cretense, was determined in the Plemmirio MPA (Siracuse, Italy) during summer of 2014. Sampling was carried out by means of underwater visual census techniques at two different depth (0/10 m and 10/20 m respectively) at four sampling sites within the reserve boundaries an…
Land and sea joint - The educational project Terramare
Today, the global financial and economical crisis has made evident the inner relationship between environmental degradation and social needs. Throughout the Mediterranean Sea the consequences of the new shift in the geopolitical order and the cultural conflicts confronting is a first result of disadvantages and environmental crisis with a continuum growth of environmental disorder and difficulties on manage territories. In this contest, the foundation “Fondazione con il Sud” promotes project for Sustainable Development and Environmental Education to empower citizen to live sustainably in an environmentally conscious manner and to promote cultural integration. The "Terramare" project is prop…
A comparative study of the mollusc communities of a Mediterranean saltwork (Marsala, Western Sicily.
Saltworks are peculiar artificial ecosystems and holds great interest for basic research. In fact the cooling vat (the first pond of the evaporating series) is a good example of a relatively closed area and can be considered an excellent in the field open-air laboratory, namely a mesocosm reproducing a simplified model of the natural condition of hyperaline lagoons. The aim of the present work was to analyse the structure, composition and distribution of molluscan assemblages and to identify the faunistic relationships between the cooling vat and the neighbouring basin of Stagnone di Marsala, beside considering exchanges between saltwork, Stagnone di Marsala and sea, on soft- bottom, covere…
Slight differences in community structure and biodiversity of fish associated to a Cymodocea nodosa meadow in a shallow CO2 vent
Naturally acidified environments are used to test ecological hypotheses about the effects of ocean acidification on complex communities. Here, we used a shallow Mediterranean CO2 vent to study the coastal fish assemblages associated to Cymodocea nodosa seagrass meadows, long-term exposed to high pCO2 / low pH conditions. In particular, by using underwater visual census method, we assessed the structure and the biodiversity of fish assemblages living in a low pH site and in two control sites, in two periods of the year featured by dissimilar seagrass structure. The aim of this study was to test the effect of different pH on fish assemblages mediated by the habitat-forming structural species …