Search results for " alien species"

ANREDERA CORDIFOLIA (TEN.) STEENIS (Basellaceae): STATUS IN ITALIA E SUA ESPANSIONE IN SICILIA OCCIDENTALE

2016

In questa nota si fornisce un quadro aggiornato sui casi di naturalizzazione di Anredera cordifolia in Sicilia e sul suo status invasivo a livello nazionale. Questa xenofita viene inoltre segnalata per la prima volta per le province di Agrigento, Palermo e Trapani.

Monitoring the invasion of an exotic tree (Ailanthus altissima) (Mill.) Swingle with Landsat satellite time series imagery in urban forest.

2015

In the Mediterranean area, one the most threat tree to various ecosystems is Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle. This is an aggressive invasive species common in natural and semi-natural habitat. Monitoring and mapping of invasive species is an important information for the conservation and management of ecosystems. The study of distribution and diffusion of invasive species are useful to assess their environmental impacts, formulate effective control strategies, and forecast potential spread. The main target of this work is to examine the feasibility of mapping the expansion of A. altissima using remote sensing techniques in a highly complex urban forest setting. Remote sensing has been a…

ARE MARINE PROTECTED AREAS (MPAs) EFFECTIVE IN PROTECTING FROM INVASIVE SPECIES? THE CASE STUDY OF CAULERPA CYLINDRACEA SONDER (CAULERPALES, CHLOROPH…

2019

The main purpose of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is biodiversity conservation. The effects that invasive species have on MPAs, and vice versa, are still not completely known, even though their assessment is crucial for MPA management and conservation purposes. In this respect, monitoring plans are essential and the involvement of citizen scientists may be fundamental. Our experience of Caulerpa cylindracea Sonder 1845 monitoring within the Egadi Islands MPA highlighted that the alga is widespread within the MPA, mainly at Favignana Island, also threatening valuable habitats such as vermetid reef and coralligenous formations. Moreover, Favignana is the island of the Aegadian archipelago mos…

ALIEN SPECIES: FRIEND OR ENEMY OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH?

2017

Eco-physiological response of two marine bivalves to acute exposition to commercial Bt-based pesticide

2013

Microbial products based on the entomopathogenic bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are among the most common biopesticides used worldwide to suppress insect pests in forests, horticulture and agricultural crops. Some of the effects of commercial Bt have been recorded for terrestrial and freshwater non-target organisms but little research is available on marine fauna. Nevertheless, due to the contiguity of agro-ecosystems and coastal habitats, marine fauna may be highly influenced by this control method. We studied the effect of a commercial Bt product on the physiological and ecological responses and the energy budget of two of the most frequent marine intertidal bivalves in the Mediter…

The first confirmed record of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 (Decapoda, Brachyura) from Maltese waters

2022

The invasive portunid species Callinectes sapidus is hereby recorded for the first time from Maltese waters, thus updating the known distribution of this decapod of Atlantic origin within the Mediterranean. Potential introduction pathways of the species to Maltese waters are discussed.

Co-existing with the alien: evidence for environmental control on trophic interactions between a native (Atherina boyeri) and a non-indigenous fish s…

2022

Biological invasions are a widespread problem worldwide, as invasive non-indigenous species (NIS) may affect native populations through direct (e. g., predation) or indirect (e.g., competition) trophic interactions, leading to changes in the food web structure. The trophic relationships of the invasive eastern mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki and the native big-scale sand smelt Atherina boyeri coexisting in three Mediterranean coastal ponds characterized by different trophic statuses (from oligotrophic to hypereutrophic) were assessed in spring through isotopic niche analysis and Bayesian mixing models. The two fish relied on the distinctive trophic pathways in the different ponds, with the …

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Conservation of Plant Diversity

2013

First record of the invasive crab Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards) at Pianosa Island: the second goal reached by the innovative Marine Citizen Scie…

2020

This study represents the second scientific goal reached by the operating Project Team and the first record of the cryptogenic species Pec gbbe H Milne Edwards, at Pianosa Island October During a Scuba survey, almost specimens of P gbbe were recorded up to a depth of m and analyzed, according to some indicators such as health state, sex, morphology, and parameters such as temperature, covering of algal species, type of rocky bottom This tropical Atlantic grapsid crab is considered as the most invasive decapod currently expanding its distribution in the Mediterranean Sea.

Searching for the competitive ability of the alien seagrass Halophila stipulacea with the autochthonous species Cymodocea nodosa

2023

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…