Search results for "Crustacea"

Growth and reproduction of the deep-water rose shrimp, Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) (Decapoda, Penaeidae), in the southern Tyrrhenian sea.

2014

From June 2006 to May 2007, monthly samples of Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) were collected on land from the landings of two different, although contiguous, fishing grounds exploited by the bottom trawl fisheries of the two fishing harbours of Terrasini and Porticello, located on the north-western coast of Sicily. Carapace length (CL) of the female and male deep-water rose shrimp in Terrasini ranged from 9 to 32 mm and 13 to 26 mm, respectively, whereas in Porticello the length ranged from 8 to 31 mm and 13 to 26 mm, respectively. The Von Bertalanffy Growth Function parameters for Terrasini females and males were CLoo = 38.5 mm, K = 0.65 year(-1) and CL infinity = 32.5 mm, K = 0.85…

Effect of the presence of the shore crab, Carcinus maenas, on the burrowing behaviour and clearance rate of the common cockle, Cerastoderma edule

2011

Bivalves demonstrate various morphological and behavioural adaptations to reduce the risk of being attacked by predators. This paper examines how the presence of the crab Carcinus maenas (L.), a natural predator of the cockle Cerastoderma edule (L.), affects its burrowing depth and clearance or feeding rate. Cockles were placed in experimental tanks and treated with three levels of predatory disturbance: (1) unfed crab loose inside the tank, (2) unfed crab inside a cage suspended in the water column and (3) no crab present. Cockles’ burrowing depth was measured in two sediment types: mud and sand. Cockles burrowed more deeply in treatments with no crabs. Burrowing depth in sand was signific…

On the occurrence and distribution of Calanipeda aquaedulcis Kritschagin, 1873 (Copepoda, Calanoida, Pseudodiaptomidae) in Sicily, Italy, with some n…

2019

The only population of the pseudodiaptomid copepod Calanipeda aquaedulcis Kritschagin, 1873 to date reported to occur in Sicily disappeared at the beginning of the XXI century due to deep environmental changes which affected the single site (Lake Biviere di Gela) known for this species on the island. In that site C. aquaedulcis is now replaced by Copidodiaptomus numidicus (Gurney, 1909), a diaptomid copepod whose distribution has been greatly increasing since the second half of the last century. In the present note, the occurrence of C. aquaedulcis in 12 novel water bodies spread throughout Sicily is reported, and some environmental data on the sites where the species was collected are prov…

Aquaculture effects on some physical and chemical properties of the water column: A meta-analysis

2007

More than 30 peer-reviewed articles (1980–2005) were analysed using meta-analytical reviewing techniques, and about 340 study cases were used to test whether aquaculture facilities had any effects on physical and chemical variables. The analysis tested differences between experimental conditions vs. chosen-by-author controls. Across all study cases, cultivated organisms (fish, shrimps and bivalves) did not have any clear effects on the water temperature and salinity. Dissolved oxygen also was found to be unaffected by aquaculture practices. On the other hand, crowding led to significant pH variations, which was more accentuated in shrimp (d+ = 0.66;P 0.05).Water transparency and turbidity w…

Seagrass detritus as marine macroinvertebrates attractor

2022

Seagrasses colonise coastal areas worldwide. Despite their high primary production, a considerable proportion becomes detritus that can be used as food, physical habitat and occasional or permanent shelter by several benthic macroinvertebrates. In turn, macroinvertebrates can contribute to regulating seagrass decomposition, and represent an important trophic link between primary producers and higher consumers. Nonetheless, several factors could modify colonizer responses to this habitat. In this study, we tested if colonisation of the seagrass detritus of Zostera noltei Hornemann, 1832 was related to substrate availability rather than food and whether the colonising assemblages were similar…

A century of research on micro-organisms from the inland waters of the largest mediterranean island

2022

The first studies on the micro-organisms inhabiting Sicilian inland waters date back to the middle of the XIX century. However, these were based on single samples and mainly addressed at compiling faunistic and floristic inventories. It was in the first decades of the XX century that the first methodical studies were performed, which focussed on assessing microbial diversity in saline and hypersaline inland waters. Studies on plankton dynamics in ponds and reservoirs of the island started at the beginning of the 1980s and, since the end of the 1990s, temporary waters have also been intensively sampled, especially as regards phytoplankton and micro-crustaceans. These intensified sampling eff…

The role of spatial and environmental factors as determinants of large branchiopod distribution in Tunisian temporary ponds

2015

Do invasive macroalgae influence biodiversity and abundance of Amphipod Crustaceans ?

2013

Amphipods are an essential element of the food web in marine coastal environments, and represent a good indicator of the health of the ecosystems. The composition of amphipod assemblage is often linked to algal coverage, in which the benthic species find refuge from predators and a great availability of food resources. Within the management and conservation of natural environments, one of the main problems is currently represented by the invasion of non-indigenous species, which modifies native communities. This research compares the amphipod fauna associated with Asparagopsis taxiformis (Delile) Trevisan de Saint-Léon, a non-indigenous red macroalga widely distributed along the west coast …

Chitosan Film Functionalized with Grape Seed Oil—Preliminary Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity

2022

Although the fishing and wine industries undoubtedly contribute significantly to the economy, they also generate large waste streams with considerable repercussions on both economic and environmental levels. Scientific literature has shown products can be extracted from these streams which have properties of interest to the cosmetics, pharmaceutical and food industries. Antimicrobial activity is undoubtedly among the most interesting of these properties, and particularly useful in the production of food packaging to increase the shelf life of food products. In this study, film for food packaging was produced for the first time using chitosan extracted from the exoskeletons of red shrimp (Ar…

Quantification of sexual dimorphism in Asellus aquaticus (Crustacea: Isopoda) using outline approaches

2002

A marked sexual dimorphism is often observed in arthropods species in which males perform precopulatory mate guarding. It is generally thought to reflect the influence of sexual selection. Until now, sexual dimorphisms associated with mate guarding have mainly been qualitatively described. However, assessing the effects of sexual selection on sexual dimorphims requires a preliminary quantitative assessment of differences in morphology between sexes. Using Fourier analyses, we tested if morphological dimorphisms could be quantitatively assessed in the isopod Asellus aquaticus. In addition, we checked whether sexual dimorphism in shape was exclusively related to mate guarding through consider…