Search results for " MPA"
showing 8 items of 8 documents
Volatiles in pantellerite magmas: A case study of the Green Tuff Plinian eruption (Island of Pantelleria, Italy)
2013
Abstract The Green Tuff (GT) Plinian eruption, the largest in magnitude at Pantelleria, erupted 3 to 7 km3 DRE of pantellerite magma and a small volume of trachyte. Fifty-nine anorthoclase-hosted melt inclusions from the two basal pumice members were analyzed by FT-IR spectroscopy in order to assess the pre-eruptive H2O content in the pantellerite melt. Microanalytical methods were used to determine major element, Cl, F and S contents. Melt inclusions and glassy groundmasses have a nearly homogeneous pantelleritic composition (peralkaline index = 1.9-2.2) and variable water contents ranging from 1.4 to as high as 4.2 wt %, i.e. much higher than the 1.4 wt % of earlier published studies. The…
Can MPS's protect sea urchin stocks?
2017
Sea urchins have long attracted attention from scientists worldwide for their ecological role in coastal areas. Entire communities structures associated to kelp beds and related ecosystem functions were found to strictly depend on grazing by urchins. Sea urchins, in addition, have been used as a food resource by humans since prehistory, and presently they are one of the important sea food (both exploited from the wild and in part obtained from aquaculture) consumed in many regions, but also exported-imported through the world. In the Mediterranean sea, the purple sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck) exerts a key ecological as a main regulator of the structure of coastal communities. A…
Distribution patterns of the parrotfish Sparisoma cretense in the Plemmirio’s MPA
2016
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…
NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES AND MARINE PROTECTED AREAS
2018
The introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) has been pointed out as a major threat to biodiversity. NIS may in time become invasive (i.e. invasive alien species “IAS”) and may cause biodiversity loss and ecosystem service changes. In the Mediterranean Sea, due to multiple human-borne stressors, the number of recorded NIS has currently reached a number around 1000 NIS. Sicily and its surrounding islands, also including a high number of Marine Protected Area (MPAs), as a consequence of their geographic position and the intense maritime traffic volumes, including fisheries and recreational fleets that foster the introduction of marine alien species, is a region particularly vulnerable and …
DISTRIBUTION AND CONSERVATION NEEDS OF A NEGLECTED ECOSYSTEM: THE MEDITERRANEAN VERMETID REEF
2014
Vermetid reefs are a key intertidal habitat in the Mediterranean. Despite recent evidence of local extinction in the Eastern Mediterranean, their role as habitat engineers and the high numbers of ecosystem services they provide, vermetid reefs are among the least known marine habitats of the Mediterranean. Here we present a literature-based study to assess for the first time their distribution inside the basin and provide evidence of a general lack of protection at Mediterranean scale.
The project DINAUTIS: an ecosystem approach to assess effects of recreational boating noise on Marine Protected Areas
2009
Anthropogenic noise, generated by recreational and commercial boating, affects ecological responses of marine species particularly where the noise is chronic like coastal areas largely exploited by tourism. To date, most research to seek direct relationships between noise and ecological responses of biota is based on laboratory experiments, while scant information is available from at whole-of-ecosystem level from the wild. DINAUTIS is a project designed to study the multi-level ecological response of marine biota subjected to chronic noise and the effect of some “by product” of recreational boating (e.g. PAH contamination). Thus, in the present study, we report on different aspects studied…
Effects of Caulerpa cylindracea on marine biodiversity
2017
The Mediterranean sea is an important hotspot for alien species. Following habitat loss, Invasive Alien Species (IAS) are considered to be amongst the most serious threats to biodiversity and natural ecosystem functioning. Among the IAS recorded in the Mediterranean sea, Caulerpa cylindracea Sonder, introduced from Australia and New Caledonia, has raised serious concern due to its negative impact on native communities. We provide some observations on the effects of the presence of C. cylindracea on the communities living along the coasts of the Island of Favignana (Egadi Islands, Marine Protected Areas).
Effects of NIS on Mediterranean marine ecosystems: the case study of Egadi Island MPA (Sicily, Tyrrhenian Sea)
2018
Habitat modification and loss, climate change and the introduction of Non-Indigenous Species (NIS, i.e. organisms introduced outside of their natural, past or present, range and outside of their natural dispersal potential) are considered to be the main threats to Mediterranean marine biodiversity and natural ecosystem functioning. NIS may become invasive (IAS = Invasive Alien Species) and may have significant environmental, socio-economic and human health impacts. The Mediterranean Sea is one of the major hotspots for NIS introductions, with the total for these species having almost reached the 1,000 figure (equivalent to ca. 6% of the total flora and fauna). NIS are entering the Mediterra…