Search results for "Diving"

Shallow-water benthic hydroids from the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean)

2013

Forty species of benthic hydroids, belonging to 15 families and 21 genera, were found in a collection, obtained by SCUBA diving, from the Maltese Islands. Paradoxically for the well studied Mediterranean region, the hydroid fauna of these islands is virtually unexplored. Of 40 species, 33 were identified to species level, with 28 of them reported for the first time for the study area. Hydractinia monocarpa is recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, and a presumed new species of the genus Clytia has been found. The most speciose families are Campanulariidae with 10 species (25%), Aglaopheniidae with six species (15%) and Sertulariidae with five species (12%). Aglaophenia and Cl…

Can recreational scuba divers alter natural gross sedimentation rate? A case study from a Mediterranean deep cave

2010

Abstract Di Franco, A., Ferruzza, G., Baiata, P., Chemello, R., and Milazzo, M. 2010. Can recreational scuba divers alter natural gross sedimentation rate? A case study from a Mediterranean deep cave. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 871–874. Submarine caves are environments with features distinguishing them from other littoral habitats but, despite their ecological importance, their response to anthropogenic disturbance has been seldom verified. One potential threat affecting natural communities within caves is represented by recreational scuba diving. Divers' disturbance within marine caves is mainly related to physical contacts and increased sediment resuspension potentially affecti…

Effects of recreational scuba diving on Mediterranean fishes: evidence of involuntary feeding?

2013

Despite a large body of literature assessing the impacts of recreational scuba diving on marine habitats, little attention has been paid to the potentially harmful effects this has on fishes. The aim of this study was the assessment of the immediate response of different fish species to divers’ activities. A decrease of fishes’ natural diffidence towards divers is shown, probably due to an enhanced availability of their prey as a result of divers’ contacts with the substrate.

Sudden death in water: Diagnostic challenges

2016

Abstract The authors report a case of sudden death in a breath-holding diver and highlight the forensic diagnostic difficulties in opining the cause of sudden death in water. The autopsy showed increased thickness of the left ventricular wall with a distinct pattern of concentric hypertrophy, evident particularly in the subaortic interventricular septum. Histological examination revealed diffuse interstitial fibrosis and associated findings of multifocal myocyte disarray especially evident in the subaortic interventricular septum. The analysis and discussion of this case made it possible to attribute sudden death to a lethal arrhythmia following myocyte disarray and hypoxia caused by breath…

The effects of recreational Paracentrotus lividus fishing on distribution patterns of sea urchins at Ustica Island MPA (Western Mediterranean, Italy)

2006

This study evaluated the effects of recreational Paracentrotus lividus fishing on average density and size of this edible sea urchin, and its indirect effects on Arbacia lixula on barren substrates of Ustica Island MPA (SW Italy, Mediterranean Sea). Size, single and pooled species densities, density of large individuals (>40 mm long) and small individuals (<20 mm long) of the two species were estimated by scuba diving in autumn 2003, spring and summer 2004 at two sites impacted by P. lividus fishing (Punta Cavazzi and Pagliaro, take zone C) and one control (Cala Sidoti, no take zone). Two samplings were performed in each season. We found that reduced densities of P. lividus and A. lixula oc…

Scuba diver behaviour and its effects on the biota of a Mediterranean marine protected area

2009

The effects of diving activity in different Mediterranean subtidal habitats are scarcely known. This study evaluates diver behaviour (for example time spent in each habitat), use (contacts made with the substrate) and immediate effects of diver contact on benthic species in a marine protected area (MPA) in Sicily. Over a two-year period, intentions of 105 divers were observed within seven subtidal habitats: algae on horizontal substrate, algae on vertical substrate, Posidonia oceanica, encrusted walls, caves, sand and pebbles. Divers selected a habitat in proportion to its availability along the scuba trail. On average, each diver made 2.52 contacts every seven minutes, and no differences w…

Developing a scuba trail vulnerability index (STVI): a case study from a Mediterranean MPA

2008

Scuba diving is now one of the major form of commercial use of marine protected areas (MPAs) around the world and the control of its potential impacts on the marine environment represents a fundamental key to manage this recreational activity in highly dived areas. A potential tool to tackle such issues has been thought to be the definition of a value of recreational carrying capacity of an area, but this approach has been rarely considered management-effective. Therefore, the first step for effectively managing scuba-diving should be ‘bottom-up’: characterizing the benthic communities potentially affected by diving and evaluating their vulnerability. Aim of this paper is to propose a tool …

Kerguelen, un archipel sous haute surveillance

2016

Avec ses c&ocirc;tes d&eacute;coup&eacute;es et sans cesse battues par les vents, les Kerguelen sont rest&eacute;es longtemps inaccessibles aux biologistes marins. Si sa situation g&eacute;ographique et son isolement exceptionnels rendent cet archipel particuli&egrave;rement vuln&eacute;rable aux changements climatiques, ils en font aussi un laboratoire id&eacute;al pour en &eacute;tudier les effets&hellip;

ROAD -Robotic Assisted Diving: physiology of diving

2014

Guida subacquea per apneisti non vedenti

2012

Modular and removable structure, variable in height, to be fixed/anchored to the bottom of the swimming pool/tank through sliding tracks suitable for the two cables located at both sides of the swimming-pool along the same modules.On the one hand, the diving guide was designed to allow blind divers to move inside the pool autonomously and safely, without the help of instructors even when more than one diver is present in the pool/lane. On the other hand, the diving guide can be stretched to reach various lengths when needed.