Search results for "Ocean"
showing 10 items of 2919 documents
Random amplified polymorphic DNA assessment of diversity in western Mediterranean populations of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica.
2003
Posidonia oceanica is an endemic Mediterranean seagrass species that has often been assumed to contain low levels of genetic diversity. Random amplified polymorfic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to assess genetic diversity among five populations from three geographical regions (north, central, and south) of the western Mediterranean Sea. Stranded germinating seeds from one of the central populations were also included in the analysis. Forty-one putative genets were identified among 76 ramets based on 28 RAPD markers. Genotypic diversity strongly depended on the spatial structure, age, and maturity of the meadows. The lowest clonal diversity was found in the less structured and youngest prairi…
Coastal Evolution in a Mediterranean Microtidal Zone: Mid to Late Holocene Natural Dynamics and Human Management of the Castellò Lagoon, NE Spain
2016
We present a palaeoenvironmental study of the Castelló lagoon (NE Spain), an important archive for understanding long-term interactions between dynamic littoral ecosystems and human management. Combining geochemistry, mineralogy, ostracods, diatoms, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, charcoal and archaeo-historical datasets we reconstruct: 1) the transition of the lagoon from a marine to a marginal environment between ~3150 cal BC to the 17th century AD; 2) fluctuations in salinity; and 3) natural and anthropogenic forces contributing to these changes. From the Late Neolithic to the Medieval period the lagoon ecosystem was driven by changing marine influence and the land was mainly exploited …
Possible impacts of Hg and PAH contamination on benthic foraminiferal assemblages: An example from the Sicilian coast, central Mediterranean
2007
The Palermo and Augusta urban/industrial areas (Sicily) are examples of contaminated coastal environments with a relatively high influx of unregulated industrial and domestic effluents. Three sediment box-cores were collected offshore of these urban/industrial areas in water depths of 60-150 m during two cruises (summers 2003/2004), dated by (210)Pb and (137)Cs, and analysed for total mercury concentration and total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentration. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages were also examined (in terms of their distribution and morphology) to assess the potential use of benthic foraminifera as bioindicators of pollutant input and environmental change in these Med…
Spatial Distribution and Abundance of Mesopelagic Fish Biomass in the Mediterranean Sea
2020
Mesopelagic fish, being in the middle of the trophic web, are important key species for the marine environment; yet limited knowledge exists about their biology and abundance. This is particularly true in the Mediterranean Sea where no regional assessment is currently undertaken regarding their biomass and/or distribution. This study evaluates spatial and temporal patterns of mesopelagic fish biomass in the 1994–2011 period. We do that for the whole Mediterranean Sea using two well-established statistical models, the Generalized Additive Model (GAM) and Random Forest (RF). Results indicate that the bathymetry played an important role in the estimation of mesopelagic fish biomass and in its …
Recent trends of SST in the Western Mediterranean basins from AVHRR Pathfinder data (1985-2007)
2011
Climate change in the Mediterranean region cannot be understood without taking into account changes in the Mediterranean Sea, which is an important source of moisture and heat for the Mediterranean climate system. Many research papers have been published in the last two decades increasing our knowledge about long-term trends and inter-annual variability of temperature and salinity in the Western Mediterranean. Although recent changes have been better documented, there remain uncertainties because different results are obtained depending on the period of time analyzed or the geographic region selected. This paper analyses the regional, seasonal and decadal variability of sea surface temperat…
Geographical variation in metazoan parasites of the deep-sea fish Bathypterois mediterraneus Bauchot, 1962 (Osteichthyes: Ipnopidae) from the Western…
2014
Abstract This study examines the parasite fauna of Bathypterois mediterraneus, the most common fish below 1500 m in Western Mediterranean waters. Samples were obtained during July 2010 from the continental slope of two different areas (off Catalonia and Balearic Islands) in three different bathymetric strata at depths between 1000 and 2200 m. The parasite fauna of B. mediterraneus included a narrow range of species: Steringophorus cf. dorsolineatum, Scolex pleuronectis, Hysterothylacium aduncum, Anisakis sp. larva 3 type II and Sarcotretes sp. Steringophorus cf. dorsolineatum and H. aduncum were the most predominant parasites. H. aduncum showed significant differences in abundance between d…
The carrying capacity for Mediterranean bivalve suspension feeders: evidence from analysis of food availability and hydrodynamics and their integrati…
2004
Abstract In order to assess the carrying capacity of two Mediterranean areas, the Incze et al. model and its modification were applied. Our measures were carried out in the Gulf of Gaeta (Central MED), where mussels ( Mytilus galloprovincialis ) are intensively cultivated (production of approximately 200 t per year) and the Gulf of Castellammare (Southern MED), where bivalve culture is not widely practised. Velocities of water current and in field filtration rates were measured in each area. Total suspended matter (TSM), suspended chlorophyll-a (CHLa), lipid, protein and carbohydrate concentrations in the particulate were measured seasonally and used as tools to evaluate the trophic status …
That twenty years is nothing for gravel-pit limnology
2020
[EN] The past twenty years have witnessed a rise in the analysis of long-term limnological data given the need to know whether global warming is affecting freshwaters, and if so, how. Previous studies indicated that processes affecting ecosystem function-ing may develop slowly, thus requiring long-term study, as in the case of the eutrophication-oligotrophication gradient. Here we report annual averages and seasonal variability of meteorological data (air temperature, solar radiation, rainfall) and the main limnological variables (lake level, water temperature, euphotic depth, mixing depth, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds and phytoplankton biomass) for a gravel-pit, seepage lake close to …
New contribution to the systematic status of various Mediterranean scorpionfish, as inferred from a mitochondrial DNA sequence.
2014
This study investigated the molecular phylogeny of 6 Mediterranean species of scorpionfish, belonging to the Scorpaenidae and Sebastidae family. Neighbor-Joining and Maximum Parsimony phylogenetic analyse, based on 424 base pairs of partial mitochondrial DNA sequences of the 12S-rRNA gene, revealed 2 main clades. One clade is represented by the Scorpaena genera (with the species S. notata, S. porcus, and S. scrofa) and another clade consists of the genera Helicolenus, Pterois, and Scorpaenodes. The molecular phylogeny showed that the Scorpaenodes genus (sub-family Scorpaeninae) is found within the clade of the species belonging to the other two sub-families (Pteroninae and Sebastinae). This…
Mediterranean circulation perturbations over the last five centuries: Relevance to past Eastern Mediterranean Transient-type events
2016
The Eastern Mediterranean Transient (EMT) occurred in the Aegean Sea from 1988 to 1995 and is the most significant intermediate-to-deep Mediterranean overturning perturbation reported by instrumental records. The EMT was likely caused by accumulation of high salinity waters in the Levantine and enhanced heat loss in the Aegean Sea, coupled with surface water freshening in the Sicily Channel. It is still unknown whether similar transients occurred in the past and, if so, what their forcing processes were. In this study, sediments from the Sicily Channel document surface water freshening (SCFR) at 1910 ± 12, 1812 ± 18, 1725 ± 25 and 1580 ± 30 CE. A regional ocean hindcast links SCFR to enhanc…