Search results for "Mediterranean Region."
showing 10 items of 210 documents
Assessing persistent organic pollutants (POPS) in the sicily island atmosphere, mediterranean, using PUF disk passive air samplers
2016
In this study, PUF disk passive air samplers were deployed at eight sites, during two sampling periods, on the Island of Sicily in the Mediterranean basin. Samples were screened for a number of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (n = 28 congeners), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) (n = 16 compounds), and polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs n = 28) using GC-MS. PCB concentrations in air ranged ~10-300 pg m-3. The PCB pattern was dominated by lower to middle molecular weight PCBs (Cl3-5) and PCB-28 and PCB-52 were the most abundant congeners. α- and γ-Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) concentrations in air were relatively high ~420 ± 320 (50-1000) an…
DESCRIPTION AND MORPHOMETRICAL VARIABILITY OF A NEW SPECIES OF LIGOPHORUS AND OF LIGOPHORUS CHABAUDI (MONOGENEA: DACTYLOGYRIDAE) ON MUGIL CEPHALUS (T…
2006
A comparative morphological study of specimens of Ligophorus spp. from Mugil cephalus in western Mediterranean and the Black Sea localities has been carried out, indicating the presence of 2 distinct forms, i.e., Ligophorus chabaudi and Ligophorus cephali n. sp. A detailed description of the latter and an up-to-date redescription of L. chabaudi are provided. The existence of these 2 morphological species was additionally supported by principal component analysis based on 19 metric characters of 87 specimens arranged in samples defined by parasite species and geographical locality. The analysis indicated consistent differences between species but not between localities; this pattern was well…
Two Rare Northern Entoloma Species Observed in Sicily under Exceptionally Cold Weather Conditions
2011
The biology and ecology of manyEntolomaspecies is still poorly known as well as their geographical distribution. In Italy, there are no studies on the influence of weather on fungal abundance and richness and our knowledge on the ecology and distribution ofEntolomaspecies needs to be improved. The discovery of twoEntolomaspecies in Sicily (southern Italy), reported in the literature as belonging to the habitat of north European countries, was the basis leading to the assumption that anomalous climatic conditions could stimulate the growth of northern entolomas in the southernmost Mediterranean regions. The results of this study show that the presence of northernEntolomaspecies in Sicily is …
Isoëtes sabatina (IsoëtaceaeLycopodiophyta), a new aquatic species from central Italy
2013
The new species Isoetes sabatina is described and illustrated. Morphological, anatomical, and ecological characters are given. It differs from the similar I. echinospora by several characters, such as megaspore ornamentation and size, microspore size, velum extension and form, and also for its ecology. A table showing the main differential characters of the new species compared with those of the other European aquatic species is presented. So far, the species is known from a single locality (Bracciano Lake, central Italy), having a peculiar ecology and within the Mediterranean bioclimate.
Toxic cyanobacterial blooms in reservoirs under a semiarid Mediterranean climate: the magnification of a problem
2007
Sicilian reservoirs constitute the most important water resources available on the island. During summer 2001, the intense water utilization of Lake Arancio reservoir reduced the water level significantly. This coincided with the formation of intense blooms formed by the microcystin-producing cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa. During summer 2003, Lake Arancio was continuously filled and the vertical stratification of the water column was maintained, resulting in 5-6 fold lower cell numbers of Microcystis aeruginosa. For both years a significant linear relationship between microcystin net production and Microcysytis cell division was observed, implying that Microcystis cell numbers can b…
Plant-ant interaction in xerophilous ephemeral vegetation of S.E. Sardinia.
2003
Frequency and abundance of annual plants have been measured in 40 square plots, 0.36 m2 each, settled in an area of approximately 5 ha at the foothill of the Sarrabus massif, in S.E. Sardinia. 20 plots were randomly distributed at less than 5 m from the ant nests, further 20 at more than 30 m from the ants nests. The results showed a significantly lower plant density next to the ant nests, together with an higher species richness. Far from the nests, plots resulted dominated by relatively few species with a patchy distribution, while next to the nests the distribution of frequencies resulted more homogeneous. It is suggested that harvesting ants may contribute to the small-scale regulation …
Origin and evolution of the Mediterranean dry grasslands.
2007
In the Mediterranean region, three main structural types of dry grasslands can be recognized: those dominated by perennial caespitose grasses (wintergreen perennial dry grasslands, Lygeo-Stipetea), those dominated by thermoxerophilous therophytes (ephemeral dry grasslands, Tuberarietea guttatae), those dominated by chamaephytes, thistles and relatively small hemicryptophytes (summergreen perennial dry grasslands, Festuco-Brometea). All three kinds are commonly represented all over the Mediterranean territories, especially in the dry most areas. Relevant physiognomic, adaptive and floristic differences are featuring the three mentioned typologies. Lygeo-Stipetea and Festuco-Brometea may grad…
Microbial communities of the Mediterranean rocky shore: ecology and biotechnological potential of the sea‐land transition
2019
Microbial communities from harsh environments hold great promise as sources of biotechnologically relevant strains and compounds. In the present work, we have characterized the microorganisms from the supralittoral and splash zone in three different rocky locations of the Western Mediterranean coast, a tough environment characterized by high levels of irradiation and large temperature and salinity fluctuations. We have retrieved a complete view of the ecology and functional aspects of these communities and assessed the biotechnological potential of the cultivable microorganisms. All three locations displayed very similar taxonomic profiles, with the genus Rubrobacter and the families Xenoco…
Long-term no-tillage application increases soil organic carbon, nitrous oxide emissions and faba bean (Vicia faba L.) yields under rain-fed Mediterra…
2018
The introduction of legumes into crop sequences and the reduction of tillage intensity are both proposed as agronomic practices to mitigate the soil degradation and negative impact of agriculture on the environment. However, the joint effects of these practices on nitrous oxide (NO) and ammonia (NH) emissions from soil remain unclear, particularly concerning semiarid Mediterranean areas. In the frame of a long-term field experiment (23 years), a 2-year study was performed on the faba bean (Vicia faba L.) to evaluate the effects of the long-term use of no tillage (NT) compared to conventional tillage (CT) on yield and NO and NH emissions from a Vertisol in a semiarid Mediterranean environmen…
Damipipecolin and damituricin, novel bioactive bromopyrrole alkaloids from the Mediterranean sponge Axinella damicornis
2007
Two new bromopyrrole alkaloids, damipipecolin (1) and damituricin (2), have been isolated from the Mediterranean sponge Axinella damicornis, and their structures established through spectroscopic methods. Compounds 1 and 2 extend the structural variety of the so far known pyrrole alkaloids; in these compounds, the 4-bromopyrrole 2-carboxylic acid is directly condensed with a non-protein cyclic alpha-amino acid, the (2R, 4R)-trans-4-hydroxypipecolic acid and (2R, 4R)-cis-N,N'-dimethyl-4-hydroxyproline (D-turicine) in 1 and 2, respectively. Compounds 1 and 2 were found to display a modulating effect of the serotonin receptor activity in vitro.