Search results for "Ocean"
showing 10 items of 2919 documents
Sedimentary record of anthropogenic contaminants (trace metals and PAHs) and organic matter in a Mediterranean coastal area (Gulf of Palermo, Italy)
2009
Abstract The Gulf of Palermo (Italy, Mediterranean Sea) is a contaminated coastal environment with a relatively high influx of unregulated industrial and domestic effluents. Two sediment box-cores were collected at water depths of 100 and 712 m. Samples were analysed for trace metals (As, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb), total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (ΣPAHs), organic carbon to total nitrogen (Corg/Ntot) ratios and organic carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition (δ13Corg and δ15Ntot). At the coastal site, trace metal and ΣPAH depth profiles show a clear upcore increase, indicating increasing contamination over the recent past. Concentrations of ΣPAHs, Hg, Pb, Cu, and As appear to be potentiall…
Ocean acidification effects on stable isotope signatures and trophic interactions of polychaete consumers and organic matter sources at a CO2 shallow…
2015
Abstract Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis (SIA) was used to examine trophic interactions in a naturally acidified shallow coastal CO2 area in the Mediterranean Sea. SIA was helpful to determine the potential effects of ocean acidification (OA) on the interactions of organic matter sources and polychaete consumers, which appear to be tolerant to high pCO2. Mesoherbivore consumers, represented by three polychaete species, Platynereis dumerilii (Audouin and Milne Edwards, 1834) (Nereididae), Polyophthalmus pictus (Dujardin, 1839) (Opheliidae) and Syllis prolifera Krohn, 1852 (Syllidae), are abundant in the low pH conditions of the CO2 vents. Samples of consumers and potential organi…
Sources and transfer of organic matter in food webs of a Mediterranean coastal environment: Evidence for spatial variability
2006
Abstract The spatial variability in the food web structure of a Mediterranean semi-enclosed coastal environment (Stagnone di Marsala, Italy) was investigated using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes. Organic matter sources and consumers were sampled in two locations with different environmental features (e.g. hydrodynamic regime, open-sea influence, vegetal coverage). Overall more 13 C-enriched and 15 N-depleted values were found in the central location than in the southern for organic matter sources and consumers. Pelagic consumers (zooplankton and juveniles of transient fish) showed slight spatial differences and in both locations seemed to depend on phytoplankton as the ultimate energy …
Exploring CO2 volcanic vents at Vulcano Island, Mediterranean Sea, to study the planktonic calcifier response to long-term changes in carbonate chemi…
2011
RESILIENZA E RESISTENZA DI POSIDONIA OCEANICA (L.) DELILE A DISTURBI NATURALI
Stable isotope signatures of selected benthos at natural carbon dioxide vents: preliminary results on macrophytes
2013
Unmanned aerial vehicle technology to assess the state of threatened biogenic formations: The vermetid reefs of mediterranean intertidal rocky coasts
2021
Abstract Vermetid bioconstructions are biogenic formations, built by sessile gastropod molluscs belonging to the family Vermetidae worldwide distributed, occurring in the intertidal and upper subtidal in the rocky shores. In the Mediterranean basin, they occur in complex and tridimensional structures that enhance the local biodiversity, allowing to qualify the structuring species as ecosystem engineers. Due to their ecological relevance and considerable extension along the coasts, we assessed their structural complexity using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, as tool of littoral cartography analysis of these bioconstructions, and plaster hemispheres dissolution as a descriptor index…
Macroalgal responses to ocean acidification depend on nutrient and light levels. Frontiers in Marine Science
2015
Ocean acidification may benefit algae that are able to capitalize on increased carbon availability for photosynthesis, but it is expected to have adverse effects on calcified algae through dissolution. Shifts in dominance between primary producers will have knock-on effects on marine ecosystems and will likely vary regionally, depending on factors such as irradiance (light vs. shade) and nutrient levels (oligotrophic vs. eutrophic). Thus experiments are needed to evaluate interactive effects of combined stressors in the field. In this study, we investigated the physiological responses of macroalgae near a CO2 seep in oligotrophic waters off Vulcano (Italy). The algae were incubated in situ …
Response of seagrasses and marine biofilms to natural acidification at CO2 vents
Nel corso degli ultimi 200 anni, circa il 30% delle emissioni antropogeniche di CO2 nell’atmosfera sono state assorbite dagli oceani, provocando un abbassamento medio dei livelli di pH oceanici pari a circa 0.1 unità. Questo fenomeno, noto come acidificazione degli oceani, sta determinando conseguenze negative sugli ecosistemi marini e sul loro funzionamento. Le attuali proiezioni climatiche suggeriscono che, in futuro, i cambiamenti climatici continueranno e si intensificheranno se non verranno adottate efficaci misure di mitigazione. Riuscire a valutare la risposta degli ecosistemi marini ai cambiamenti climatici costituisce una vera sfida per la ricerca scientifica, non solo per la diffi…