Search results for "Rocky shore"
showing 10 items of 34 documents
Decreasing in patch-size of Cystoseira forests reduces the diversity of their associated molluscan assemblage in Mediterranean rocky reefs
2021
Abstract Canopy-forming seaweeds of the genus Cystoseira (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) form diverse and productive habitats along temperate rocky coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. During the last decade, Cystoseira forests have retracted their range considerably due to many interacting environmental, biological and anthropogenic pressures. We investigated how reducing in patch-size of C. montagnei affects their associated molluscan communities at the shallow northwest rocky shores of Palermo (Sicily, Italy). Molluscs were sampled from the fronds of individual thalli, clumps of 3 and 5 thalli of C. montagnei over an annual vegetative cycle (May–September) in two sites within the Marine Protected Ar…
Habitat Discontinuities Separate Genetically Divergent Populations of a Rocky Shore Marine Fish.
2016
Habitat fragmentation has been suggested to be responsible for major genetic differentiations in a range of marine organisms. In this study, we combined genetic data and environmental information to unravel the relative role of geography and habitat heterogeneity on patterns of genetic population structure of corkwing wrasse (Symphodus melops), a rocky shore species at the northern limit of its distribution range in Scandinavia. Our results revealed a major genetic break separating populations inhabiting the western and southern coasts of Norway. This genetic break coincides with the longest stretch of sand in the whole study area, suggesting habitat fragmentation as a major driver of genet…
The invasive Asparagopsis taxiformis hosts a low diverse and less trophic structured molluscan assemblage compared with the native Ericaria brachycar…
2021
Abstract Invasive seaweeds threaten biodiversity and socio-economics values of worldwide marine ecosystems. Understanding to what extent invasive seaweeds can modify local biodiversity is one of the main priorities in conservation ecology. We compared the molluscan assemblage of the invasive Asparagopsis taxiformis with that of the native Ericaria brachycarpa and explore if variation in the molluscan assemblage diversity was related to the substrate attributes (biomass, and thallus, canopy, and interstitial volumes) of the algae. Results showed that A. taxiformis harboured lower diversity and trophic structure of the molluscan assemblage compared to E. brachycarpa. Biomass was the variable …
Northern refugia and recent expansion in the North Sea: The case of the wrasse Symphodus melops (Linnaeus, 1758)
2011
Pleistocene climate changes have imposed extreme conditions to intertidal rocky marine communities, forcing many species to significant range shifts in their geographical distributions. Phylogeographic analyses based on both mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers provide a useful approach to unravel phylogeographic patterns and processes of species after this time period, to gain general knowledge of how climatic changes affect shifts in species distributions. We analyzed these patterns on the corkwing wrasse (Symphodus melops, Labridae), a rocky shore species inhabiting North Sea waters and temperate northeastern Atlantic Ocean from Norway to Morocco including the Azores, using a fragme…
The importance of thermal history: costs and benefits of heat exposure in a tropical, rocky shore oyster.
2015
Although thermal performance is widely recognized to be pivotal in determining species' distributions, assessment of this performance is often based on laboratory acclimated individuals, neglecting their proximate thermal history. The thermal history of a species sums the evolutionary history and, importantly, the thermal events recently experienced by individuals, including short-term acclimation to environmental variations. Thermal history is perhaps of greatest importance for species inhabiting thermally challenging environments and therefore assumed to be living close to their thermal limits, such as in the tropics. To test the importance of thermal history the responses of the tropical…
An account on the taxonomy and molecular diversity of a marine rock-pool dweller, Tigriopus fulvus (Copepoda, Harpacticoida)
2019
[ES] El género de copépodos Tigriopus Norman, 1869 se distribuye en todo el mundo en charcas de rocas costeras y se considera que actualmente incluye 14 especies válidas. Tigriopus fulvus (Fischer 1860), con sus subespecies Tigriopus fulvus adriaticus Van Douwe 1913 y Tigriopus fulvus algiricus Monard 1935, y Tigriopus minutus Bozic 1960 han sido descritos para el área del Mediterráneo, pero la diversidad real del género es desconocida actualmente. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la identidad real de las poblaciones mediterráneas de Tigriopus y dilucidar su taxonomía y patrón de diversidad genética. Con este fin, se secuenció un fragmento del gen de ADN mitocondrial (citocromo c oxi…
Biogenic habitat shifts under long-term ocean acidification show nonlinear community responses and unbalanced functions of associated invertebrates
2019
Este artículo contiene 8 páginas, 4 figuras.
Synapseudes Shiinoi Riggio, 1973, a Species of Tanaidacea Found in the Mediterranean
1977
During the bionomic survey carried out in the course of 1968 on the biogenic platform bordering the rocky shore of Mount Pellegrino in the Bay of Palermo (northwestern Sicily) some individuals of a species of Synapseudes Miller (1940) were found in samples of Tanaidacea taken during the winter at station no. 1. This find is of considerable interest as no Synapseudes species had hitherto been described from the Mediterranean, although the presence of this genus on the coast of southern France has been mentioned by Bellan-Santini (1962, 1969). Careful examination of the specimens revealed that they belonged to a new species, which was named after Prof. Sueo M. Shiino in gratitude for his kind…
Status of vulnerable Cystoseira populations along the Italian infralittoral fringe, and relationships with environmental and anthropogenic variables
2018
We analyzed the occurrence and status of infralittoral fringe populations of Cystoseira spp. (Fucales) at thirteen rocky sites around the Italian coastline, and explored the relationships with relevant environmental and anthropogenic variables. We found Cystoseira populations at 11 sites: most were scattered and comprised monospecific stands of C. compressa, and only 6 sites also supported sparse specimens of either C. amentacea var. stricta or C. brachycarpa. Coastal human population density, Chlorophyll a seawater concentrations, sea surface temperature, annual range of sea surface temperature and wave fetch explained most of the variation of the status of C. compressa. We hypothesize a g…
Do small marinas drive habitat specific impacts? A case study from Mediterranean Sea.
2011
Many human activities add new structures to the marine landscape. Despite the fact that human structures cause some inevitable impacts, surprisingly little information exists on the effects of marina on natural marine assemblages. The aim of this paper is to assess habitat-specific response of benthic sessile organisms of rocky shores in relation to the presence of a small marina. Sampling was carried out at three coastal habitats (midshore, lowshore and subtidal) by means of visual censuses adopting an after-control-impact (ACI) experimental design. It appears that the marina affects the structure and composition of benthic communities of both the midshore and the lowshore. Little effect w…