Search results for "NEA"
showing 10 items of 16082 documents
Synergistic reduction of a native key herbivore performance by two non-indigenous invasive algae
2019
Abstract Native generalist grazers can control the populations of non-indigenous invasive algae (NIIA). Here, it was found that the simultaneous consumption of two co-occurring NIIA, Caulerpa cylindracea and C. taxifolia var. distichophylla, hinders the grazing ability of the main Mediterranean herbivorous, the native sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. The ingestion of any of the two NIIA alone did not produce any difference in sea urchin righting time with respect to usual algal diet. In contrast, the simultaneous consumption of both NIIA, which grow intermingled in nature and are consumed by P. lividus, retarded its righting behavior. Such result reveals substantial physiological stress in…
Climate–human interactions contributed to historical forest recruitment dynamics in Mediterranean subalpine ecosystems
2020
Long-term tree recruitment dynamics of subalpine forests mainly depend on temperature changes, but little is known about the feedbacks between historical land use and climate. Here, we analyze a southern European, millennium-long dataset of tree recruitment from three high-elevation pine forests located in Mediterranean mountains (Pyrenees, northeastern Spain; Pollino, southern Italy; and Mt. Smolikas, northern Greece). We identify synchronized recruitment peaks in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, following prolonged periods of societal and climate instability. Major European population crises in the 14th and 15th centuries associated with recurrent famines, the Black Death pandemic,…
High-elevation inter-site differences in Mount Smolikas tree-ring width data
2017
Abstract We present the longest high-elevation tree-ring width dataset in the Mediterranean reaching back to the 6th century CE. The network includes 101 living and 92 relict Pinus heldreichii Christ trees from four differently exposed sites in the 2100–2200 m a.s.l. elevation range of Mt. Smolikas in the Pindus Mountains in Greece. Though the sites were all sampled within a distance of 1550–2014 = 0.65–0.87), indicating site exposure might affect tree-ring formation. We here explore the consequence of exposure differences on the climate signals in an eastern Mediterranean treeline ecotone. Temporally stable growth/climate relationships reveal similar seasonal patterns among the four sites…
“Hidden invaders” conquer the Sicily Channel and knock on the door of the Western Mediterranean sea
2019
Abstract This study updates the current distribution, range expansion and establishment status of the non-indigenous species Amphistegina lobifera Larsen, 1976 and other foraminifera that are cryptogenic in the Sicily Channel. Prior to this study, amphisteginids were reported from the Levantine Basin, the Central Mediterranean (Tunisia, Malta, Pelagian islands) and the southern Adriatic Sea. Here, we provide new records documenting a north-western expansion in the Central Mediterranean. In summer-autumn 2017 and spring-summer 2018, we collected algae and sediment samples from shallow coastal habitats along the shores of the Maltese archipelago, southern and north-western Sicily, Pantelleria…
Living and Dead Aboveground Biomass in Mediterranean Forests: Evidence of Old-Growth Traits in a Quercus pubescens Willd. s.l. Stand
2017
For a long time, human impact has deeply simplified most of the forest ecosystems of the Mediterranean Basin. Here, forests have seldom had the chance to naturally develop a complex and multilayered structure, to host large and old trees and rich biological communities, approaching old-growth conditions. Also for this reason, limited information is currently available about Mediterranean old-growth forests, particularly with regard to deadwood. The main aim of this work is to help fill this critical knowledge gap. In Sicily (Italy), we identified a Quercus pubescens forest that seemed to show some typical old-growth features. Total living volume (360 m3 ha−1) and basal area (34 m2 ha−1) wer…
Physical forcing and physical/biochemical variability of the Mediterranean Sea: a review of unresolved issues and directions for future research
2014
Malanotte-Rizzoli, Paola ... et. al.-- 76 pages
Nicodemia madagascariensis(Lam.) R. Parker (Family Scrophulariaceae), a casual alien plant new to Italy
2016
In this note the authors report the first case of naturalization of the Malagasy smoke bush within Italian territory. Along with a description of the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the invaded site, the current demographic and dynamic trends of the detected population by means of growth-ring analysis was also assessed. Moreover, an overview on the history of its introduction in Europe is provided, underlining the key role played by the Mediterranean cities with respect to the acclimatization and spread of alien tropical and subtropical plants. Due to its low frequency under cultivation, the Malagasy smoke bush should not behave as an invader in the future; on the other hand, its abil…
Holocene history of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) woodlands in the Ebro Basin (NE Spain). Climate-biased or human-induced?
2020
Abstract This paper reviews the past distribution of Aleppo pine woodlands in the Ebro Basin, Northeastern Iberia, from the Mesolithic to Modern times based on wood charcoal data. The aim is to detail the chronological timing and the drivers explaining the long-term presence of Aleppo pine woodlands and associated thermophilous flora. The available charcoal data support the early spread of Pinus halepensis during the Mesolithic (ca. 9000 cal BP) accompanied by Mediterranean trees and shrubs like Quercus sp. evergreen, Juniperus sp., Arbutus unedo, Pistacia lentiscus, Rhamnus/Phillyrea, Cistaceae, and Rosmarinus officinalis, as a local response to global climate change in the Early Holocene.…
First record of Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Percnidae) from Egyptian waters
2011
3 pages, 2 figures
Serratula tinctoria (L.) (Dyer's savory): In vitro culture and the production of ecdysteroids and other secondary metabolites
1996
The name Serratula is derived from the Latin word serra, which means saw. It designates perennial plants of the Compositae family with medium-sized, serrated leaves and purple flowers (Loste 1937). More than 40 species have been described in Europe, North Africa, and Asia. The most common is Serratula tinctoria, also known as dyer’s savory. This species, 30 to 80 cm high, grows on all kind of soils, and is widely distributed in central and northern Europe (synonym: Carduus tinctoria, Scop; French name: serratule des teinturiers; German name: Faberscharte). In France, for example, Serratula tinctoria is widespread but with an irregular distribution, rare in the north and near the Mediterrane…