Search results for "Central Mediterranean"
showing 10 items of 32 documents
An updated checklist of Recent ostracods (Crustacea: Ostracoda) from inland waters of Sicily and adjacent small islands with notes on their distribut…
2020
Because of its position in the middle of the Mediterranea Sea and a complex geological history that has promoted repeated waves of biological colonization, Sicily (Southern Italy) is of particular interest from a biogeographical perspective. A number of previous investigations, dating back as far as the end of the 19th century, have contributed to gather information about the occurrence of Recent non-marine ostracods in Sicily, making this region one of the most intensively studied areas of the Central Mediterranean. Published data on ostracod distributions have been integrated through an extensive field survey on mainland Sicily and surrounding small islands and archipelagos. Altogether, 2…
Species identification of the psammophilous tenebrionid beetles Phaleria acuminata Juster, 1852 and Phaleria bimaculata (Linnaeus, 1767) from central…
2013
Dominating global arid environments, from desert to coastal dunes, most Tenebrionidae are highly specific in their habitat preferences and display limited dispersal potential, thus exhibiting a remarkable degree of regional genetic and morphological differentiation. The tenebrionid genus Phaleria is speciose and widely distributed, with P. acuminata and P. bimaculata having a wide Mediterranean distribution, with numerous morphological differentiations at population level, often described as different taxa of doubtful taxonomical significance. In order to investigate the variability of the central Mediterranean populations of P. bimaculata and P. acuminata and to compare the results obtaine…
Neogene to Quaternary evolution of the Calabrian Subduction System, (Central Mediterranean)
2009
We construct an ESE striking to WNW geological cross-section across the Calabrian Subduction System (Central Mediterranean) using seismic near vertical profiles and field data. The interpreted profiles were time-to-depth converted, merged and translated in a geological section stretching from the Marsili Oceanic Basin (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea) to the Ionian accretionary complex . Moving toward the east, the resulting section through the Paola, Amantea, and Crati basins, the Coastal Chain and Sila Massif and Crotone basin. The maximum elongation of these basins change progressively moving toward the east: from NNW in the Paola to NS in the Crati to the NNE in the Crotone basins. Data we pres…
Nuovi dati biologici e geonemici su Lehmannia melitensis (Lessona & Pollonera, 1882) e Ambigolimax valentianus (A. Férussac, 1823) (Gastropoda: Limac…
2018
Nuovi dati biologici e geonemici sono riportati per Lehmannia melitensis (Lessona & Pollonera, 1882) e Ambigolimax valentianus (A. Férussac, 1823). In particolare, vengono fornite nuove località siciliane di L. melitensis mentre A. valentianus viene segnalato per la prima volta nelle isole italiane di Sardegna, Sicilia e Pantelleria e nell’isola maltese di Gozo. Le due specie, a volte simili nella morfologia esterna, si distinguono con certezza solo attraverso l’esame degli organi genitali. New records from Sicily are provided for Lehmannia melitensis (Lessona & Pollonera, 1882). Ambigolimax valentianus (A. Férussac, 1823) is recorded for the first time from the italian islands of S…
Millenial-scale paleoenviromental changes in the central Mediterranean during the Last Interglacial: comparison with European and North Atlantic reco…
2010
Abstract The environment of the central Mediterranean Sea is investigated on the basis of high-resolution planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil data (mean sampling resolutions of about 80 and 160 yr, respectively). MIS 5 is characterized by warm, oligotrophic and stratified waters, while coccolithophore communities developed a vertical zonation that, in today's oceans, is typical of the low-latitude gyres. The temperate-subtropical configuration of planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil assemblages is repeatedly transformed into a temperate-subpolar one during the suborbital cooling episodes C25-C18. A comparison with European pollen sequences and North Atlantic cor…
Physiological stress indicators in the plasma of Scyliorhinus canicula captured by botto trawling at two depths.
2022
The quantification of capture-related physiological stress is an important factor when assessing the potential for post-release survival in sharks that are incidentally captured. In the absence of these biological data and when the post-release fate is unknown, effective management plans cannot be formulated and may lead to highly susceptible shark populations being overfished. Here, we measured the levels of lactate, glucose, alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST), Ca2+, Na+ K+,Cl - Mg 2+ and Pi in the plasma of mature and immature lesser spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula, herein dogfish) which were incidentally captured at two depths (shallow: 50-200 m, an…
“Hidden invaders” conquer the Sicily Channel and knock on the door of the Western Mediterranean sea
2019
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…
Unlocking human trafficking and smuggling/trade networks between Libya and Italy
2016
The essay deals with the flux of migrants from Libya to Italy as put forward and organized by a network of criminal organizations. Their modus operandi is analyzed.
HIGH-RESOLUTION PALAEONVIRONMENTAL RECONSTRUCTION OF ODP HOLE 963D (SICILY CHANNEL) DURING THE LAST DEGLACIATION BASED ON CALCAREOUS NANNOFOSSILS
2004
Abstract A palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Hole 963D (Sicily Channel) has been obtained on the basis of quantitative abundance fluctuations in the calcareous nannofossil assemblages. The studied hole is characterized by a very high sedimentary resolution and covers the last ca. 20 kyr. A new palaeoclimatic curve, based on the Gephyrocapsa muellerae/Upper Photic Zone (UPZ) group ratio, permitted the detection of the rapid climatic fluctuations that characterized the last deglaciation. Cold water masses occupied the Sicily Channel during the glacial period and the Younger Dryas, whereas they were generally warm during the Bolling–Allerod and the Holocene. An…
YTTRIUM AND REE SIGNATURE RECOGNIZED IN CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN SEA (ODP SITE 963) DURING THE MIS 6 – MIS 5 TRANSITION
2010
The Mediterranean Sea acts as a miniature ocean with the development of its own conveyor belt. It constitutes an ideal location to study and forecast how the marine environment responds to rapid climatic change. Here we present a palaeoenvironmental study carried out on the sediments of ODP Site 963, recovered in the Sicily Channel, the sill which divides the western from the eastern Mediterranean basin. We focused on the transition between the penultimate glacial (MIS 6) and the last interglacial (MIS 5), between approximately 130 and 115 kyr BP. A novel approach is proposed, taking into account centennial-scale geochemical data on major elements, selected trace elements, and yttrium and R…