Assessing the effect of chromium pollution on benthic foraminiferal community: morphological vs. environmental metabarcoding approaches

The purpose of this experimental study is to assess the impact of different concentrations of chromium (Cr) through time on the diversity of cultured benthic foraminifera combining two morphological approaches for the identification of living specimens that are Rose Bengal (RB) staining and CellTracker Green (CTG) labelling as well as environmental DNA and RNA metabarcoding. Seven tanks/aquaria with different concentrations of Cr in water, namely 100 ppt, 1 ppb, 10 ppb, 100 ppb, 1 ppm and 10 ppm plus the control were used. A mesocosm was extracted from each tank at pre-established time (1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks 6 weeks and 8 weeks). Morphological analyses produced 6 datasets based on staini…

The response of cultured meiofaunal and benthic foraminiferal communities to lead exposure: Results from mesocosm experiments

Lead (Pb) has been regarded as a very toxic element that poses a serious threat to biota. A mesocosm experiment is performed to assess the influence of Pb on meiofaunal (metazoans within 45-500 µm) and benthic foraminiferal (protozoans) communities. To this end, sediments bearing such communities are incubated in mesocosms, exposed to different levels of Pb in seawater, and monitored for up to eight weeks. Concentrations of Pb below 1 ppm in water do not promote a significant increase of this metal in sediments. Relatively high concentrations of Pb seem to affect meiofaunal and benthic foraminiferal communities by reducing their richness or diversity, and the abundance of the most sensitive…

Climatic and environmental changes of the last 10 kyr in the central Mediterranean. A study of a core collected in the Gulf of Termini (Sicily, Italy)

Applicabilità del metodo GALDIT per la valutazione della vulnerabilità di acquiferi costieri siciliani

Environmental Metal Pollution Considered as Noise: Effects on the Spatial Distribution of Benthic Foraminifera in two Coastal Marine Areas of Sicily (Southern Italy)

We analyze the spatial distributions of two groups of benthic foraminifera (Adelosina spp. + Quinqueloculina spp. and Elphidium spp.), along Sicilian coast, and their correlation with six different heavy metals, responsible for the pollution. Samples were collected inside the Gulf of Palermo, which has a high level of pollution due to heavy metals, and along the coast of Lampedusa island (Sicily Channel, Southern Mediterranean), which is characterized by unpolluted sea waters. Because of the environmental pollution we find: (i) an anticorrelated spatial behaviour between the two groups of benthic foraminifera analyzed; (ii) an anticorrelated (correlated) spatial behaviour between the first …

Environmental reconstruction of Trapani saltmarsh (southwestern Sicily) during the last 80 years. An integrated approach by using benthic foraminiferal assemblages and metal concentrations

SEA-LEVEL AND CLIMATIC CHANGES DURING THELAST 41,000 YEARS IN THE OUTER SHELF OF THE SOUTHERN TYRRHENIAN SEA: EVIDENCE FROM FORAMINIFERA AND SEISMOSTRATIGRAPHIC ANALYSIS.

Caratterizzazione chimica ed isotopica della carota MSK-C4 (Tirreno Meridionale)

Ritrovamento di macroforaminiferi appartenenti al genere Amphistegina nei sedimenti attuali lungo le coste delle isole Pelagie (Italia Meridionale).

Ricostruzione paleoclimatica degli ultimi 11.200 anni tramite lo studio di una carota di sedimento prelevata nell’offshore del Golfo di Palermo (Tirreno Meridionale)

Il presente lavoro riguarda lo studio di una carota di sedimento della lunghezza di 196 cm, prelevata nell’offshore del Golfo di Palermo (Tirreno Meridionale) ad una profondità di 990 m durante la campagna oceanografica PUMA 09 (MaGIC 2009). La carota è stata campionata ogni 2 cm e su ciascun campione sono state effettuate analisi sedimentologiche, micropaleontologiche (foraminiferi planctonici) e geochimiche (δ13C e δ18O). Le analisi degli isotopi stabili sono state effettuate sui gusci di Globigerinoides ruber. Le analisi granulometriche hanno evidenziato che i sedimenti sono costituiti da argille e argille siltose di colore grigio-bruno, con percentuali di fango superiori al 90%, mentre …

Quantitative identification, distribution and source apportionment of anthropogenic trace metals in marine sediment of Milazzo gulf (N-E Sicily): preliminary results

Foraminiferi bentonici, metalli pesanti e radioattività - ARPAVIEW

“Hidden invaders” conquer the Sicily Channel and knock on the door of the Western Mediterranean sea

Abstract This study updates the current distribution, range expansion and establishment status of the non-indigenous species Amphistegina lobifera Larsen, 1976 and other foraminifera that are cryptogenic in the Sicily Channel. Prior to this study, amphisteginids were reported from the Levantine Basin, the Central Mediterranean (Tunisia, Malta, Pelagian islands) and the southern Adriatic Sea. Here, we provide new records documenting a north-western expansion in the Central Mediterranean. In summer-autumn 2017 and spring-summer 2018, we collected algae and sediment samples from shallow coastal habitats along the shores of the Maltese archipelago, southern and north-western Sicily, Pantelleria…

Dati preliminari sulle associazioni a Foraminiferi Bentonici del Golfo di Priolo (Sr) - Sicilia Sud-Orientale

Reconstructing Bioinvasion Dynamics Through Micropaleontologic Analysis Highlights the Role of Temperature Change as a Driver of Alien Foraminifera Invasion

Invasive alien species threaten biodiversity and ecosystem structure and functioning, but incomplete assessments of their origins and temporal trends impair our ability to understand the relative importance of different factors driving invasion success. Continuous time-series are needed to assess invasion dynamics, but such data are usually difficult to obtain, especially in the case of small-sized taxa that may remain undetected for several decades. In this study, we show how micropaleontologic analysis of sedimentary cores coupled with radiometric dating can be used to date the first arrival and to reconstruct temporal trends of foraminiferal species, focusing on the alien Amphistegina lo…

The use of bioindicators (Posidonia oceanica and benthic foraminifera) to evaluate metal pollution in a complex ecological system: marine coastal environment.

Paleoenvironmental and climatic changes during the last 25 ky along a W-E transect across the Mediterranean Sea.

Classificazione sistematica e distribuzione dei foraminiferi bentonici recenti nei sedimenti marini delle coste siciliane.

First colonization of the genus Amphistegina and other alien benthic foraminifera in the Pelagian Islands and in the south-eastern Sicily (central Mediterranean Sea)

Distribution of Heavy Metals in Marine Sediments of Palermo Gulf (Sicily, Italy)

Concentrations of Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn have been measured, by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, in the fine fraction (<63 μm) of surface sediments collected in 30 sites in the Palermo Gulf (Sicily, Italy) in order to assess the levels and the spatial distribution of these elements. Enrichment factors calculated with respect to clean areas have been considered to discriminate between levels due to background or to pollution contributions. The sampling stations, which form a grid inside these areas, are characterized by geographic proximity and by the presence of pollution sources. Ratio matching technique along with hierarchical clustering, minimum spanning tree and principal component a…

Variazioni climatiche ed ambientali degli ultimi 10.000 anni: studio preliminare di una carota prelevata nel Golfo di Termini Imerese (Sicilia Settentrionale)

ASPRACOAST: A model of integrated coastal zone management of the eastern part of the Gulf of Palermo (Sicily, Italy)

Distribution of Cr and Pb in artificial sea water and their sorption in marine sediments: an example from experimental mesocosms

The uptake of two heavy metals (chromium and lead) in sediments in experimental mesocosms under exposure to different metal concentrations was evaluated by monitoring their concentrations over time both in seawater and in sediment. Two separate experiments under laboratory-controlled conditions were carried out for the two metals. Sediments were collected from a protected natural area characterized by low anthropic influence and were placed in mesocosms that were housed in aquaria each with seawater at a different metal concentration. At pre-established time intervals, seawater and sediment samples were collected from each mesocosm for chemical analyses. Quantification of chromium and lead …

A geophysical and geochemical approach for seawater intrusion assessment in the Acquedolci coastal aquifer (Northern Sicily)

Vertical electrical sounding (VES’) surveys and chemical analyses of groundwater have been executed in the coastal plain of Acquedolci (Northern Sicily), with the aim to circumscribe seawater intrusion phenomena. This urbanized area is representative of a more general problem interesting most of Mediterranean littoral areas, where intensive overdraft favors a heavy seawater intrusion through the coastline. Aquifer resistivity seems decisively to be conditioned by the chlorine and magnesium content in the main aquifer of the region. Schlumberger VES’, together with piezometric and chemical–physical information of groundwater, allowed us to perform hydrogeological and geophysical elaborations…

Applicability of GALDIT assessing vulnerability model in Sicily coastal aquifers.

Inquinamento da metalli pesanti in ambiente marino in correlazione con la distribuzione dei foraminiferi bentonici

Ricostruzione paleoclimatica degli ultimi 16.000 anni nella carota MSK12-C1 (Tirreno Meridionale)

Benthic foraminiferal response to trace element pollution. The case study of the Gulf of Milazzo, NE Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea).

The response of benthic foraminiferal assemblages to trace element pollution in the marine sediments of the Gulf of Milazzo (north-eastern Sicily) was investigated. Since the 1960s, this coastal area has been a preferred site for the development of two small marinas and a commercial harbour as well as for heavy industry. Forty samples collected in the uppermost 3-4 cm of an undisturbed layer of sediment in the littoral environment were used for this benthic foraminiferal analysis. The enrichment factors (EFs) of selected trace elements (As, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) were also calculated. Changes both in benthic foraminiferal assemblages and in some trace elements concentrations have pr…

Advances in contamination risk setting of aquifers: the karst Nebrodi region (Sicily)

Heavy metals in the fine fraction of coastal sediments from Gulf of Palermo.

Benthic foraminifera assemblages in coastal marine ecosystem and relationship with metal distribution. A spatial study along Sicilian coasts.

Ricostruzioni paleoecologiche e paleoclimatiche degli ultimi 36.800 anni tramite foraminiferi bentonici e planctonici nei sedimenti di piattaforma continentale del Golfo di Termini (Tirreno meridionale).

A GEOREFERENCE DATABASE AND A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR PALERMO PLAIN AND GULF (WESTERN SICILY): AQUIFERS AND MARINE ENVIRONMENTS

Influence of waste water in marine ecosystem: preliminary data on benthic foraminifera assemblages and metal concentration in marine sediments

Organismi unicellulari "spie" dell'inquinamento dell'ambiente marino.

CLASSIFICATION AND TAXONOMY OF MODERN BENTHIC SHELF FORAMINIFERA OF THE CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Benthic foraminifera as indicators of relative sea-level fluctuations: Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstruction of a Holocene marine succession (Calabria, south-eastern Tyrrhenian Sea)

This study presents the results of an integrated stratigraphic analysis conducted on a marine gravity core (MSK-12 C4) recovered from the outer continental shelf (82 mwater depth) of western Calabria, ~2.6 km, NE of Capo Vaticano (Eastern Tyrrhenian margin). The gravity core MSK-12 C4 recovered a stratigraphic succession of 4.18 m beneath the seafloor representing the last ~11.1 ka. Sedimentological analysis, micropaleontological quantitative analysis on benthic foraminiferal assemblages, tephrostratigraphy, sequence stratigraphic analysis of high resolution reflection seismic data recorded in the core site area and AMS 14C absolute age determinations allowed reconstructing the marine recor…

Neogene planktonic foraminiferal turnover in the Mediterranean area

Dating of a sediment core in the Palermo Bay (Sicily, Italy)

An extensive study of sediment cores in the Palermo Bay has been carried during the last two years. Main goal of the research was to study the environmental pollution of the area, using foraminifers as an environmental indicator.

Environmental evolution of the last 55 years of the Gulf of Palermo (Sicily, Italy). An integrated study of marine core sediments

Preliminary data on correlations between aberrant benthic foraminifera and metal concentrations in sediments from Palermo and Termini gulfs (Sicily)

Response of benthic foraminifera to heavy metal contamination in marine sediments (Sicilian coasts, Mediterranean sea)

To examine the suitability of benthic foraminifera and their test deformations as bioindicators of pollution in coastal marine environments, we studied foraminifera and metal concentrations in 72 marine sediment samples, collected from the inner shelf along the Sicilian coast (Gulfs of Palermo and Termini) and on the south-eastern coast of Lampedusa Island. These areas are characterised by different environmental conditions. On the basis of pollution sources and foraminiferal assemblages, we recognised different zones in the Gulf of Palermo. The most polluted zones showed high metal concentrations, and low diversity of benthic foraminifera with species typical of stressed environments. By c…

Assessing the effect of mercury pollution on cultured benthic foraminifera using DNA metabarcoding and morphological approaches

Heavy metals such as mercury (Hg) occur in ecosystems from both natural sources and human activities, with large variations in concentrations and pose a significant health hazard through bioaccumulation and biomagnification. The aim of this experimental study is to assess the impact of different concentrations of Hg through time on the diversity of cultured benthic foraminifera. Tanks with concentrations of Hg up to 100 ppm were considered. Mesocosms containing 1-cm-thick sediment from each tank were subsampled at pre-established time intervals for geochemical (Hg content), morphological and molecular analyses. Morphological analyses were based on both Rose Bengal and the CellTracker Green …

Reconstruction of the environmental evolution of a Sicilian saltmarsh (Italy)

The present study deals with the reconstruction of the environmental evolution of a Trapani saltmarsh (southwestern Sicily, Italy) by combining different analytical approaches such as metal content evaluation, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry, and benthic foraminifera identification. A 41 cm core was collected in the sediments of a Trapani saltmarsh (southwestern Sicily, Italy) at a water depth of about 50 cm. Different time intervals were recognized, each characterized by peculiar features that testify different environmental conditions. In particular, the bottom layers of the sediment core (41–28 cm) comprised the lowest amount of mud fraction, only some selected met…

The first colonization of the Genus Amphistegina and other exotic benthic foraminifera of the Pelagian Islands and south-eastern Sicily (central Mediterranean Sea)

Abstract A detailed study of the marine sediments collected on the inner shelf of some of the selected areas of the central Mediterranean Sea has been carried out in order to verify the presence of exotic benthic foraminiferal species. Since 2000, the coastal marine environments of the Pelagian Islands and of Sicily (central Mediterranean) have been increasingly colonized by exotic species (i.e. fishes and algae) originating both from the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea. The studied areas (Pelagian Islands and SE Sicily) are located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, they represent an ideal place to understand how exotic species, coming from different Oceans, may have coloniz…

Assessing the effect of mercury pollution on cultured benthic foraminifera community using morphological and eDNA metabarcoding approaches

Mercury (Hg) is a highly toxic element for living organisms and is known to bioaccumulate and biomagnify. Here, we analyze the response of benthic foraminifera communities cultured in mesocosm and exposed to different concentrations of Hg. Standard morphological analyses and environmental DNA metabarcoding show evidence that Hg pollution has detrimental effects on benthic foraminifera. The molecular analysis provides a more complete view of foraminiferal communities including the soft-walled single-chambered monothalamiids and small-sized hard-shelled rotaliids and textulariids than the morphological one. Among these taxa that are typically overlooked in morphological studies we found poten…

Nuove metodologie per la valutazione dello stato di inquinamento dell'ambiente marino

Dating of a Sediment Core by 210Pbex Method and Pb Pollution Chronology in the Palermo Gulf (Italy)

Within a more general study on marine sediments in the Gulf of Palermo (Sicily, Italy), the 210Pbex dating method (using a model with constant sedimentation rate) has been applied to one sediment core. The main goal of the research was to study the Pb pollution chronology. Dating of the core has allowed evaluating the time evolution of the gulf lead concentrations. Specific activities of 137Cs have also been measured in the sediment core sections as an independent confirmation of the chronology derived by the 210Pbex method. The time scale has then been used to correlate lead concentrations in core sections to estimated lead emissions in air due to gasoline combustion. A good correlation be…

Parametri oceanografici ed ambientali delle acque marino-costiere del Golfo di Palermo

Relationship among anthropogenic pollution, benthic foraminifera assemblages and their morphological deformations from marine sediments of the Sicilian coast (Southern Italy)

Relazione tra le associazioni a foraminiferi bentonici e l'inquinamento da elementi in traccia nel Golfo di Milazzo, N-E Sicilia (Tirreno Meridionale)

Ricostruzione paleoambientale e paleoclimatica mediante foraminiferi bentonici di un settore dell'offshore di Capo Vaticano (Tirreno Meridionale)

Influenza degli inquinanti nella distribuzione dei foraminiferi nei sedimenti marini (Progetto Aspracoast)

Sea-level changes during the last 41,000 years in the outer shelf of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea: Evidence from benthic foraminifera and seismostratigraphic analysis

Abstract An integrated high resolution study based both on a seismostratigraphic approach and on a sedimentary core (VIB 10), collected in the outer shelf (127 m depth) from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Gulf of Termini, Sicily), provides new data about climatic, eustatic and paleoenvironmental changes during the last ∼41,000 years. The results based on the interpretation of a seismic profile, on benthic foraminifera assemblages and on δ18O records, allowed recognition of two drastic sea-level falls during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the Younger Dryas (YD). The short deglacial event, between LGM and YD, known as Bolling/Allerod, played an important role in the sea-level rise that prod…

Anthropogenic impact and environmental evolution of the last 55 years of the Gulf of Palermo (Sicily, Italy)

Benthic foraminifera as an innovative proxy for pollution monitoring, impact and risk assessment of marine ecosystems: experimental studies to evaluate the effect of trace element and oil pollutions