Search results for "Mytilaster minimus"
showing 7 items of 7 documents
Functional and energetic consequences of climate change on a predatory whelk
2017
Abstract The increasing rise in sea surface temperature caused by human activities currently represents the major threat to biodiversity and natural food webs. In this study we used the Lessepsian mussel Brachidontes pharaonis, one of the most recent invaders of the Mediterranean Sea, as a model to investigate the effect of a novel prey and a chronic increase in temperatures on functional parameters of local consumers, compared to the native mytilid species Mytilaster minimus. In particular we focused on the whelk Stramonita haemastoma, a widespread Mediterranean intertidal predator that actively preys on bivalves, barnacles and limpets, by studying the direct effects of such multiple stres…
Functional responses of intertidal bivalves to repeated sub-lethal, physical disturbances
2019
In coastal habitats, physical disturbances of benthic organisms can be caused by natural events like wave-born objects and human activity like trampling, and these disturbances can be sub-lethal (e.g., resulting in the organism's displacement). We know little of how sessile organisms respond to physical disturbances such as displacements. Using Mytilaster minimus, a mussel that is native to the Mediterranean Sea, we tested how byssus production and oxygen uptake rates changed in response to different frequencies of disturbance events (10-60 events h-1). Mussels increased oxygen uptake rates but not byssus production with increasing disturbance frequencies (50-60 events h-1). Our results sho…
Local consumers are the first line to control biological invasions: a case of study with the whelk Stramonita haemastoma (Gastropoda: Muricidae)
2016
The increasing spread of invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea determines several alterations in local food webs, changing the feeding habits of native organisms. The whelk Stramonita haemastoma is a widespread Mediterranean gastropod that consumes bivalves, barnacles and limpets. Previous studies showed a shift in its diet from the bivalve Mytilaster minimus to the invasive mussel Brachidontes pharaonis, presumably due to a higher energy gain. Here we tested whelks’ preference among natives and a novel prey, calculating the profitability ratio, and integrating those results with biochemical analysis on prey tissues and the routine metabolism of the whelks. Further, we used the scaled f…
Effect of Bacillus thuringiensis on physiological rates of Mediterranean marine intertidal Mytilaster minimus (Mollusca, Bivalvia)
2010
The aim of the present research is to evaluate the impact of agricultural products in the marine environments. Indeed in a country such as Italy and in particularly Sicily where agricultural areas nearshore marine waters, predicting where, when and with what magnitude the impact of xenobiotics derived from agriculture is imperative. In this contest we use as model a biological product (Bacillus thuringiensis) in understanding its potential effects on non target species and on marine biodiversity. Bivalves are important elements of marine biodiversity and very often they play a role of ecosystem engineers in that many other species structurally depend on their presence. Moreover as they cons…
Heart beat rate adaptations to varying salinity of two intertidal Mediterranean bivalves: The invasiveBrachidontes pharaonisand the nativeMytilaster …
2011
Abstract Changes in heart beat rates (HBR) of Brachidontes pharaonis (an invasive Lessepsian species) and Mytilaster minimus (a native Mediterranean species) in response to changes in salinity values from brackish (20) to extreme hyper-saline (75) were investigated both in situ and in the laboratory. The two species displayed different responses to varying salinity, with clear differences in HBR observed between groups investigated at different salinities and between groups originating from different environments. The native species, adapted to narrow salinity changes as those observed in the superficial waters of the Mediterranean Sea, showed signs of stress at salinities slightly above 37…
Eco-physiological response of two marine bivalves to acute exposition to commercial Bt-based pesticide
2013
Microbial products based on the entomopathogenic bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are among the most common biopesticides used worldwide to suppress insect pests in forests, horticulture and agricultural crops. Some of the effects of commercial Bt have been recorded for terrestrial and freshwater non-target organisms but little research is available on marine fauna. Nevertheless, due to the contiguity of agro-ecosystems and coastal habitats, marine fauna may be highly influenced by this control method. We studied the effect of a commercial Bt product on the physiological and ecological responses and the energy budget of two of the most frequent marine intertidal bivalves in the Mediter…
The impact of climate change on Mediterranean intertidal communities: losses in coastal ecosystem integrity and services
2014
As has been shown for other ecosystems, the ecological and socio-economic impacts of climate change on Mediterranean intertidal habitats are highly variable in space and time. We conducted field and laboratory measurements of cellular, ecophysiological and behavioural responses of selected intertidal invertebrates (mussels, gastropods and sponges) and completed a literature review to determine what is known of socioeconomic consequences of these biological changes. Results suggest significant gaps in our knowledge that may impede a complete understanding of likely impacts (physical, biological, and socioeconomic) and that sufficient data for such an analysis is available only for mussels. A…