0000000000502107
AUTHOR
A Tomasello
Descriptors of Posidonia oceanica meadows: Use and application
This work benefited partly from the financial support of the European program ΓNTERREG IIIA Corsica, Sardinia. Tuscany
Large-scale Posidonia oceanica restoration in a Site of National Interest using an innovative bio-plastic transplant system
Along the Italian coasts there are many areas affected by industrial activities defined as "Sites of National Interest" (SNI), which require urgent and effective remediation and restoration actions. In the framework of TETIDE project (PON01_03112 www.progettotetide.it)a restoration program was developed in SNI Priolo(Sicily) in response to a dramatic decline and regression of Posidonia oceanicameadow, caused byseveral years of petrochemical industries dumping. In particular, a large scale P. oceanicarestoration plan was carried out in four steps: (1) habitat selection, by calculation of the Preliminary Transplant Suitability Index (PTSI); (2) field assessments and test-transplanting, to eva…
Signs of local adaptation by genetic selection and isolation promoted by extreme temperature and salinity in the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica
Adaptation to local conditions is known to occur in seagrasses; however, knowledge of the genetic basis underlying this phenomenon remains scarce. Here, we analysed Posidonia oceanica from six sites within and around the Stagnone di Marsala, a semi-enclosed coastal lagoon where salinity and temperature exceed the generally described tolerance thresholds of the species. Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were measured and plant samples were collected for the assessment of morphology, flowering rate and for screening genome-wide polymorphisms using double digest restriction-site-associated DNA sequencing. Results demonstrated more extreme SSTs and salinity levels inside the lagoon than the outer…
Detection and mapping of "blue carbon" reservoir storage in Posidonia oceanica dead matte in front of an extensive industrial area
The endemic Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica is the only marine phanerogam able to form matte, a biogenic structure representing important long-term “blue carbon” reservoir. Natural and/or anthropogenic factors can lead to the formation of a regressive structure, called “dead matte”, resulting from the disappearance of living shoots in the upper part of the matte. In the framework of TETIDE project (PON01_03112, www.progettotetide.it) a multiple sensors acoustic survey -multibeam sonar (MBS), side scan sonar (SSS), sub-bottom profiler (SBP) -was carried out in a portion of the Gulf of Augusta (Sicily, Southern Ionian Sea). The aim of investigation was to estimate the extent of dead…
Study on Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile roots growing on different substrata by isto-anatomical and micro-morphological analysis
Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile grows on different substratum types, ranging from sand, which is easily penetrable by the roots, to rock, in which they are able to enter through crevices (1). In this study a survey was carried out on roots of plagiotropic rhizomes growing on sand (matte), and rock (dolonstone and calcarenite), to assess difference in morphological and anatomical features. In particular, for each substratum, nine rhizomes were randomly sampled by scuba diver at 10 meters of depth. In each rhizome histological and morphometric data (2, 3) were recorded on roots up to the second lateral order. Roots on rock were isolated from their substratum by chemical dissolution. Data analy…
References growth charts: a new practical tool for comparing Posidonia oceanic growth patterns accounting for age and depth
Over the past three decades an increasing amount of dating records dealing with Posidonia oceanica growth performance was incorporated into a variety of studies, from which a dualistic nature of the factors influencing seagrass growth arose. A large amount of literature focused on the role of exogenous factors in explaining rhizome growth variations, while only few studies invoked the importance of endogenous factors in driving growth. A particular attention was paid on the confounding role of shoot age, as endogenous factor, when the effect of exogenous variables on growth performance is analyzed. Shoot age confounding implies serious interpretation problems, since it is difficult to disti…