0000000000365852
AUTHOR
Maurizio Pinna
Searching for the competitive ability of the alien seagrass Halophila stipulacea with the autochthonous species Cymodocea nodosa
The tropical seagrass Halophila stipulacea (Forsskål) Ascherson, 1867 entered in the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal more than 100 years ago. In coastal-marine ecosystems the spatial niche of H. stipulacea is often overlapped with that of native Mediterranean Sea seagrasses and therefore it might out-compete them. Aiming to better understand its invasiveness potential, we monitored a Southern Mediterranean shallow coastal-marine water habitat from August 2010 to August 2011, where H. stipulacea co-occurred with the native seagrass Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson, 1870. Besides, the year-round dynamics of H. stipulacea was also monitored in four periods. To test the hypothesis th…
Acquatina Lagoon: a model ecosystem to study community patterns
Acquatina is a small lagoon ecosystem (0.45 km2) located on the Adriatic coast only 5 km north of Lecce (Italy). The lagoon has a freshwater input in the northern part and a connection with the sea at the south edge, being characterised by a latitudinal gradient of salinity and an internal patchiness of habitats. Here, we have used the lagoons as a model to study the influence of these sources of variation on the spatial distribution of macrobenthis and fish fauna, using both taxonomic and on taxonomic descriptors. Results showed a non random distribution of both species and functional traits of macroinvertebrate and fish fauna within the lagoon, despite the relatively small surface area. S…
Distribution of Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla (Sonder) Verlaque, Huisman & Procaccini in the Mediterranean Sea
The Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla (Sonder) Verlaque, Huisman & Procaccini has been reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea along the coast of South Turkey. This NIS is actively expanding into the Eastern and Western Mediterranean Sea. In this paper, we present an overview of the current distribution of this alga in the Mediterranean Sea, based on relevant scientific publications, grey literature and personal observations. New records from the Sicilian coast (Italy) are also reported. Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla was found over a wide range of environmental conditions (depth, light and substratum), suggesting a broad ecolog…