0000000000329394
AUTHOR
Francesco Placenti
Different key roles of mesoscale oceanographic structures and ocean bathymetry in shaping larval fish distribution pattern: A case study in Sicilian waters in summer 2009
Fish larvae data collected in year 2009 were used to examine the effects of particular environmental conditions on the structure of larvalassemblages in two oligotrophic Mediterranean areas (the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea and the Strait of Sicily). For this purpose, relationships with environmental variables (temperature, salinity and fluorescence), zooplankton biomass, water circulation and bathymetry are discussed. Hydrodynamic conditions resulted very differently between two study areas. The Southern Tyrrhenian Sea was characterized by moderate shallow circulation compared to the Strait of Sicily. In this framework, distribution pattern of larval density in the Tyrrhenian Sea was mainly dri…
Living Coccolithophores from the Gulf of Sirte (Southern Mediterranean Sea) during the summer of 2008
The Gulf of Sirte is a largely unexplored area in the southernmost Mediterranean Sea.We are presenting here 2008 summer data on the distribution pattern of living coccolithophores, a main phytoplankton calcifying group, in 105 samples from 20 stations. The survey includes coastal and offshore stations, enabling us to provide indications on the dynamics of phytoplankton productivity in relation to oceanographic processes. The total coccosphere concentrations show higher values in the offshore stations and lower ones for coastal sites. Umbellosphaera tenuis, Emiliania huxleyi, Florisphaera profunda, Syracosphaera pulchra HOL (Calyptrosphaera oblonga) and Rhabdosphaera spp. dominate the assemb…
Distribution of rare earth elements in marine sediments from the Strait of Sicily (western Mediterranean Sea): Evidence of phosphogypsum waste contamination
Concentrations of rare earth elements (REE), Y, Th and Sc were recently determined in marine sediments collected using a box corer along two onshore–offshore transects located in the Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea). The REE + Y were enriched in offshore fine-grained sediments where clay minerals are abundant, whereas the REE + Y contents were lower in onshore coarse-grained sediments with high carbonate fractions. Considering this distribution trend, the onshore sediments in front of the southwestern Sicilian coast represent an anomaly with high REE + Y concentrations (mean value 163.4 lg g 1) associated to high Th concentrations (mean value 7.9 lg g 1). Plot of shale-normalized REE + …
Inferring Population Structure from Early Life Stage: The Case of the European Anchovy in the Sicilian and Maltese Shelves
The European anchovy is an important fishing resource in the Sicilian Channel that supports a high recruitment success variability. The presence of two spawning areas, the drifting of the larvae along the currents and the different oceanographic conditions within the region suggest the presence of different larvae subpopulations. Morphometric and biochemical approaches have been used to analyze the differences among larvae collected. The amino acid composition discriminates two larval groups closely related to the spawning regions: Adventure Bank and the shelf between the South of Sicily and Malta. In addition, there are morphometric and growth differences between recently hatched larvae in…
Coupling Lagrangian simulation models and remote sensing to explore the environmental effect on larval growth rate: The Mediterranean case study of round sardinella (Sardinella aurita) early life stages
The relationship between environmental conditions and early life-history traits of Sardinella aurita are investigated using material collected in two sites of the Central Mediterranean Sea. Individual mean daily growth during the planktonic phase has been determined by using otolith microstructure analysis, while Lagrangian simulation models allowed to estimate the daily position in space and time of each specimen from the hatching to the catch. Generalized Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs) have been implemented to explore the impact of environmental conditions at time t, t-1 day and t-2 days on the mean daily growth rate occurring at time t. Spatial analysis evidenced a wide dispersion of eggs…
Persistent and Emerging Organic Pollutants in the Marine Coastal Environment of the Gulf of Milazzo (Southern Italy): Human Health Risk Assessment
The Gulf of Milazzo (north-eastern Sicily) has been recognized as Italian Site of National Interest (SNI; areas characterized by high level of contamination with potential effects on human health) in 2005 because of its high level of pollution. In this study we measured the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and polyBrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) in seawater and sediments sampled from the Gulf of Milazzo in order to assess (i) the environmental status of contamination, and (ii) cancer and non-cancer human health risk potentially due to dermal absorption from contaminated seawater and/or ingestion of contaminated fish. Particularly, …