Search results for "Nature conservation"
showing 10 items of 105 documents
La vegetazione del litorale di Manfria, presso Gela (Sicilia), area soggetta a vincolo archeologico.
2000
The results of a phytosociological investigation about a coastal area of S. Sicily, close to Gela, are presented. The coexistence of several lithological substrata, as well as the particular climatic conditions of this area, gives rise to a noteworthy floristic and vegetational biodiversity. As matter of fact, a set of N. African species are here localized, taking part to peculiar vegetation types, sometimes exclusive of this sicilian coast-stretch. The observed plant communities are represented by psammophilous associations of Cakiletea maritimae, Ammophiletea and Malcolmietalia, salt-marsh vegetation of Sarcocornietea and Phragmito-Magnocericetea, halophilous rupicolous shrublands of Crit…
Greater mitochondrial energy production provides resistance to ocean acidification in "winning" hermatypic corals
2021
Coral communities around the world are projected to be negatively affected by ocean acidification. Not all coral species will respond in the same manner to rising CO2 levels. Evidence from naturally acidified areas such as CO2 seeps have shown that although a few species are resistant to elevated CO2, most lack sufficient resistance resulting in their decline. This has led to the simple grouping of coral species into “winners” and “losers,” but the physiological traits supporting this ecological assessment are yet to be fully understood. Here using CO2 seeps, in two biogeographically distinct regions, we investigated whether physiological traits related to energy production [mitochondrial e…
Influence of Riverine Input on Norwegian Coastal Systems
2020
Coastal ecosystems are of high ecological and socioeconomic importance and are strongly influenced by processes from land, sea, and human activities. In this study, we present physical, chemical, and biological observations over two consecutive years from three study regions along the Norwegian coast that represent a broad latitudinal gradient in catchment and oceanographic conditions (∼59–69°N): outer Oslofjord/southern Norway, Runde/western Norway, and Malangen/northern Norway. The observations included river monitoring, coastal monitoring, and sensor-equipped ships of opportunity (“FerryBox”). The riverine discharge and transports were an order of magnitude higher, and the spatiotemporal…
Plant invasions on small Mediterranean islands. An overview
2016
Biological invasions have become one of the main drivers of habitat degradation and a leading cause of biodiversity loss in island ecosystems worldwide. The spread of invasive species poses a particular environmental threat on the islands of the Mediterranean Basin, which are hot spots of biodiversity and contain rare habitats and endemic species, especially on small islands, which are highly vulnerable to biodiversity loss. Following a recent survey, in this paper we aim to provide an overview of the present-day non-native vascular flora of small Mediterranean islands based on a sample of 37 islands located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Italy. By comparing the cu…
Current and Future Influence of Environmental Factors on Small Pelagic Fish Distributions in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea
2020
Managing for the Future: Understanding the Relative Roles of Climate and Fishing on Structure and Dynamics of Marine Ecosystems.-- 20 pages, 15 figures, supplementary material https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00622/full#supplementary-material
Molecular Systematics of the Long-Snouted Deep Water Dogfish (Centrophoridae, Deania) With Implications for Identification, Taxonomy, and Conservation
2021
According to the most recent taxonomical revision, the deep-sea dogfish genus Deania encompasses four species. Three of them, D. calcea, D. profundorum, and D. hystricosa, occur in the North Atlantic. Whilst D. profundorum can be identified by the presence of a subcaudal keel, the other two species are not easily visually distinguished. Uncertainties over identification raises concerns over stock units and whether management plans are adequate. In this study we compared onboard visual identification of Deania specimens, with morphological inspection of skin denticles under stereo microscope and with independent molecular taxonomical assignment using two molecular markers. Particular emphasi…
European Vegetation Archive (EVA): an integrated database of European vegetation plots
2015
Biurrun, Idoia/0000-0002-1454-0433; Rojo, Maria Pilar Rodriguez/0000-0001-5449-9386; Ermakov, Nikolai/0000-0001-7550-990X; De Sanctis, Michele/0000-0002-7280-6199; Svenning, Jens-Christian/0000-0002-3415-0862; Virtanen, Risto/0000-0002-8295-8217; Agrillo, Emiliano/0000-0003-2346-8346; Onyshchenko, Viktor/0000-0001-9079-7241; Marceno, Corrado/0000-0003-4361-5200; Willner, Wolfgang/0000-0003-1591-8386; Fernandez-Gonzalez, Federico/0000-0003-1234-4065; Jansen, Florian/0000-0002-0331-5185; Swacha, Grzegorz/0000-0002-6380-2954; Dengler, Jurgen/0000-0003-3221-660X; Guarino, Riccardo/0000-0003-0106-9416; Sopotlieva, Desislava/0000-0002-9281-7039; Venanzoni, Roberto/0000-0002-7768-0468; Chytry, Mil…
Environment-sensitivity functions for gross primary productivity in light use efficiency models
2022
International audience; The sensitivity of photosynthesis to environmental changes is essential for understanding carbon cycle responses to global climate change and for the development of modeling approaches that explains its spatial and temporal variability. We collected a large variety of published sensitivity functions of gross primary productivity (GPP) to different forcing variables to assess the response of GPP to environmental factors. These include the responses of GPP to temperature; vapor pressure deficit, some of which include the response to atmospheric CO2 concentrations; soil water availability (W); light intensity; and cloudiness. These functions were combined in a full fact…
Moving Toward a Strategy for Addressing Climate Displacement of Marine Resources: A Proof-of-Concept
2020
Realistic predictions of climate change effects on natural resources are central to adaptation policies that try to reduce these impacts. However, most current forecasting approaches do not incorporate species-specific, process-based biological information, which limits their ability to inform actionable strategies. Mechanistic approaches, incorporating quantitative information on functional traits, can potentially predict species- and population-specific responses that result from the cumulative impacts of small-scale processes acting at the organismal level, and can be used to infer population-level dynamics and inform natural resources management. Here we present a proof-of-concept study…
A New Network for the Advancement of Marine Biotechnology in Europe and Beyond
2020
Marine organisms produce a vast diversity of metabolites with biological activities useful for humans, e.g., cytotoxic, antioxidant, anti-microbial, insecticidal, herbicidal, anticancer, pro-osteogenic and pro-regenerative, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, cholesterol-lowering, nutritional, photoprotective, horticultural or other beneficial properties. These metabolites could help satisfy the increasing demand for alternative sources of nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, cosmeceuticals, food, feed, and novel bio-based products. in addition, marine biomass itself can serve as the source material for the production of various bulk commodities (e.g., biofuels, bioplastics, biomateria…