Search results for "Fauna"
showing 10 items of 513 documents
Palaeozoogeographical connections of the Devonian vertebrate communities of the Baltica Province. Part II. Late Devonian
2010
Abstract Late Devonian vertebrate communities within the Baltica zoogeographical Province are analysed for intra- and interprovincial connections. Components within the category of provincial endemics are used to assign the communities to a particular zoogeographical province. Marine and continental, presumably freshwater types of vertebrate dispersal are outlined. During the Late Devonian marine dispersal is displayed by ptyctodonts, struniiforms, and some dipnoans, and continental dispersal by psammosteids, acanthodians, and some arthrodires. Isolation of communities is reflected by predominance of local and provincial endemics; the majority of polydemics and cosmopolitans records wider c…
The rodents of the Pirro Nord fauna (Foggia, Southern Italy)
2013
The rodent fauna of various fissure fillings of the Pirro Nord karstic complex are examined here. They have been collected during several field caingns starting from the 70’s until 2006 and are here examined in a comprehensive matter. Hundreds of specimens of arvicolids, murids and, in much lower amount, Glirids have been recovered from several of these fissures. They belong to the species Allophaiomys ex gr. ruffoi, Myodes sp. Apodemus flavicollis and Muscardinus sp.
Long-Term Observations of Soil Mesofauna
2010
General problems connected with planning, sampling, and data processing of long-term research of soil mesofauna are discussed, based on two case studies: (i) the Bremen study of predatory mites (Gamasina) covering 20 years of secondary succession on a ruderal site in northern Germany and (ii) the Mazsalaca study of the effects of climate warming on Collembola of coniferous stands in the North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve, Latvia, covering 11 years. The findings from both sites are embedded in an array of environmental data. The results from Bremen document the asynchrony of different biota in successional dynamics. The long-lasting increase of the species numbers of soil predatory mites (Gamas…
Gliridae from the late Oligocene of the province of Teruel (Spain)
2020
The Calatayud-Teruel Basin is one of the richest areas of Spain, when fossil mammals are concerned. Around the village of Montalban many lower Oligocene fossil mammal localities are known and several upper Oligocene localities with rich micromammal faunas are present between the villages of Vivel del Rio Martin and Martin del Rio. Previous papers on these upper Oligocene localities were dedicated to the Cricetidae and to the zapodid Plesiosminthus , in this work we describe the fauna of Gliridae, composed of the genera Gliravus , Butseloglis , Peridyromys , Microdyromys and Paraglis . Among these the latter genus is very poorly represented. Microdyromys is of special importance becaus…
Sediment characteristics and macrofauna distribution along a human-modified inlet in the Gulf of Oristano (Sardinia, Italy)
2007
We studied the spatial variability and within-year temporal changes in hydrological features, grain size composition and chemical characteristics of sediments, as well as macrofaunal assemblages, along a heavily modified inlet in the Gulf of Oristano (western Sardinia, Italy). The inlet connects the Cabras lagoon to the gulf through a series of convoluted creeks and man-made structures, including a dam and fish barriers built in the last three decades. Sediments were muddy and mainly composed of the "non-sortable" fraction (i.e., < 8 mu m particle size) in all four areas investigated: Lagoon, Creeks, Channel and Seaward. Along the inlet, however, the ratio between the < 8 mu mn and the 8-64…
Effects of aquaculture waste feeds and antibiotics on marine benthic ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea
2022
Intensive aquaculture is an important source of organic waste and antibiotics into the marine environment. Yet, their impacts on benthic marine ecosystems are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the ecological impacts of fish feed waste alone and in combination with three different antibiotics (i.e., oxytetracycline, florfenicol and flumequine) in benthic ecosystems of the Mediterranean Sea by performing a field experiment. We assessed the fate of the antibiotics in the sediment and their accumulation in wild fauna after two weeks of exposure. Moreover, we investigated the impact of the feed waste alone and in combination with the antibiotics on sediment physico-chemical properties, on…
Sediment features, macrozoobenthic assemblages and trophic relationships (δ13C and δ15N analysis) following a dystrophic event with anoxia and sulphi…
2007
Macrozoobenthic assemblages and stable carbon (delta C-13) and nitrogen (delta N-15) isotope values of various primary producers (macroalgae and angiosperms) and consumers (macroinvertebrate filter/suspension feeders, deposit feeders, detritivores/omnivores and carnivores and fishes) were studied in the Santa Giusta lagoon (Sardinia, Italy) before (spring) and after (autumn) a dystrophic event which occurred in the summer of 2004. A few days after the dystrophy, the physico-chemical characteristics of sediments and macrozoobenthic assemblages were also investigated. In the latter occasion, high total organic carbon (3.9%) and organic matter (15.9%) contents of surface sediments went togethe…
Uptake of organic xenobiotics by benthic invertebrates from sediment contaminated by the pulp and paper industry
2007
Abstract Uptake of pulp and paper mill-derived pollutants by benthic invertebrates from sediment in Southern Lake Saimaa, eastern Finland, was studied. Two groups of benthic invertebrates (Diptera and Oligochaeta) were analyzed for their concentrations of resin acids (RAs), chlorophenolics (CPs) and β -sitosterol. The samples were collected 1 and 3 km downstream from the mill. In laboratory experiments Chironomus plumosus (a dipteran) and Lumbriculus variegatus (oligochaete) were exposed for 14 d to sediments collected from the same locations. The concentrations of RAs, CPs and β -sitosterol were higher in the areas downstream from the mill than those in the upstream reference area in both …
Long-term response of marine benthic fauna to thin-layer capping with powdered activated carbon in the Grenland fjords, Norway
2021
The Grenland fjords in Norway have a long history of contamination by large emissions of dioxins and mercury. As a possible sediment remediation method in situ, thin-layer capping with powdered activated carbon (AC) mixed with clay was applied at two test sites at 30 m and 95 m depth in the Grenland fjords. This study presents long-term effects of the AC treatment on the benthic community structure, i.e. nine years after capping. Capping with AC significantly reduced the number of species, their abundance and biomass at the two test sites, compared to uncapped reference sites. At the more shallow site, the dominant brittle star species Amphiura filiformis disappeared shortly after capping a…
Bottom-Up Control of Macrobenthic Communities in a Guanotrophic Coastal System
2015
Soft bottom macrobenthic communities were studied seasonally in three coastal ponds (Marinello ponds, Italy) at increasing distances from a gull (Larus michahellis) colony to in- vestigate the effect of seabird-induced eutrophication (i.e. guanotrophication) on macro- benthic fauna.We hypothesized that enhanced nutrient concentration and organic load caused by guano input significantly alter the trophic and sedimentological condition of ponds, affecting benthic fauna through a bottom-up control. The influence of a set of envi- ronmental features on macrobenthic assemblages was also tested. Overall, the lowest macrobenthic abundances and functional group diversity were found in deeper sites,…