Search results for "ERT"
showing 10 items of 21537 documents
Environmental factors influencing the spatio-temporal distribution of Carybdea marsupialis (Lineo, 1978, Cubozoa) in South-Western Mediterranean coas…
2017
21 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, supporting information 10.1371/journal.pone.0181611.s001, 10.1371/journal.pone.0181611.s002, 10.1371/journal.pone.0181611.s003, 10.1371/journal.pone.0181611.s004, 10.1371/journal.pone.0181611.s005, 10.1371/journal.pone.0181611.s006
A formal classification of the Lygeum spartum vegetation of the Mediterranean Region
2019
Aims: We examined all available literature and some unpublished data on the We examined all available literature and some unpublished data on the grasslands dominated by Lygeum spartum from Southern Europe and North Africa to produce a formalised classification of this vegetation and to identify the main factors determining its plant species composition. Location: Mediterranean Basin and Iberian Peninsula. Methods: We used a dataset of 728 releves, which were resampled to reduce unbalanced sampling effort, resulting in a dataset of 568 releves and 846 taxa. We classified the plots by TWINSPAN, interpreted the resulting pools, and used them to develop formal definitions of phytosociological …
Fruit production and quality evaluation of four litchi cultivars (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) grown in Mediterranean climate
2017
Introduction - The agronomic and qualitative responses of the litchi fruit (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) grown in Mediterranean climate are not yet studied. In this study, yield components, physico-chemical and sensory traits of four commercial litchi cultivars were recorded over two productive seasons. Materials and methods - Fruits of the cvs Tai So, Wai Chee, Brewster and Kwai Mai were collected at commercial maturity stage and subjected to productive (yield, efficiency, number of fruits, crop load), analytical (fruit weight, transversal diameter, longitudinal diameter, moisture, total soluble solid content (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), TSS/TA ratio, seed weight, peel weight, percentage of …
Effects of marine noise pollution on Mediterranean fishes and invertebrates: A review.
2020
International audience; Marine noise pollution (MNP) can cause a multitude of impacts on many organisms, but information is often scattered and general outcomes difficult to assess. We have reviewed the literature on MNP impacts on Mediterranean fish and invertebrates. Both chronic and acute MNP produced by various human activities - e.g. maritime traffic, pile driving, air guns - were found to cause detectable effects on intra-specific communication, vital processes, physiology, behavioral patterns, health status and survival. These effects on individuals can extend to inducing population- and ecosystem-wide alterations, especially when MNP impacts functionally important species, such as k…
Unveiling the diet of the thermophilic starfish Ophidiaster ophidianus (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) combining visual observation and stable isotopes a…
2020
The starfish Ophidiaster ophidianus is an Atlanto-Mediterranean species protected under the EU’s Habitat Directive. Despite the wide distribution and the current range of expansion of this thermophilic species in the northern Mediterranean Sea, nothing is known about its diet. Using field observations and δ13C and δ15N Stable Isotopes Analysis (SIA), the feeding habits of O. ophidianus were explored in two Mediterranean rocky reef areas located in the southern Tyrrhenian (Ustica Island, Italy) and the eastern Adriatic Sea (Molunat, Croatia). According to field observations, O. ophidianus preys mainly on crustose coralline algae (CCA) and the keratose sponge Ircinia variabilis in both areas.…
Properties of New Strawberry Lines Compared with Well-Known Cultivars in Winter Planting System Conditions
2017
In Southern Italy and Sicily, strawberry cultivation is dominated by international cultivars such as ‘Candonga Sabrosa’, ‘Florida Fortuna’, ‘Sabrina’ and ‘Sant Andreas’. The primary objective of our study was to compare the field performance of two experimental lines and four established cultivars in a Sicilian representative strawberry production area. The second objective was to compare the fruits physic-chemical nutraceutical characteristics of these genotypes in response to different postharvest fruit storage temperatures. A supporting genetic analysis, via SSR markers, was also performed in order to establish genotype correlations. Our study confirmed the high result of ‘Florida Fortun…
Tropical CO2 seeps reveal the impact of ocean acidification on coral reef invertebrate recruitment
2017
Rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations are causing ocean acidification by reducing seawater pH and carbonate saturation levels. Laboratory studies have demonstrated that many larval and juvenile marine invertebrates are vulnerable to these changes in surface ocean chemistry, but challenges remain in predicting effects at community and ecosystem levels. We investigated the effect of ocean acidification on invertebrate recruitment at two coral reef CO2 seeps in Papua New Guinea. Invertebrate communities differed significantly between 'reference' (median pH7.97, 8.00), 'high CO2' (median pH7.77, 7.79), and 'extreme CO2' (median pH7.32, 7.68) conditions at each reef. There were also significant …
Recruitment patterns in an intertidal species with low dispersal ability: the reef-building Dendropoma cristatum (Biondi, 1859) (Mollusca: Gastropoda)
2016
In the Mediterranean, the gastropod Dendropoma cristatum (sin. D. petraeum (Monterosato, 1884)) is the primary builder of the vermetid reef, an intertidal bioconstruction of exceptional ecological importance. Despite awareness of the need for conservation of this key species, the biology of D. cristatum remains poorly understood. The recruitment of D. cristatum deserves particular attention because the absence of a planktonic larval stage limits its dispersal ability. We examined the temporal pattern of recruitment during the breeding season of D. cristatum from June to September in 2013. Specifically, we compared the two portions of the vermetid reef (i.e. the inner edge and the outer edge…
Differential endozoochory of aquatic invertebrates by two duck species in shallow lakes
2017
Abstract Animal vectors are essential for the movement of invertebrate resting eggs between water bodies. However, differences in habitat preferences and feeding behaviour between bird species may result in variations in the dispersal of invertebrates via these birds, even if the different bird species live in the same lake. To test such effects, faecal samples from Anas platyrhynchos (collected in autumn and spring) and Tadorna tadorna (collected in spring) were cultured in water at 20° C and 12 L: 12 D conditions in order to quantify the resting eggs which could be internally transported by these birds. One half of each faecal sample was initially cultured at a conductivity of 0.6 mS cm −…
Does trait-based joint species distribution modelling reveal the signature of competition in stream macroinvertebrate communities?
2021
1. The occupancy and abundance of species are jointly driven by local factors, such as environmental characteristics and biotic interactions, and regional‐scale factors, such as dispersal and climate. Recently, it has been shown that biotic interactions shape species occupancies and abundances beyond local extents. However, for small ectothermic animals, particularly for those occurring in freshwater environments, the importance of biotic interactions remains understudied. Species‐to‐species associations from joint species distribution models (i.e. species associations while controlling for environmental characteristics) are increasingly used to draw hypotheses of which species possibly sho…