Search results for "SELE"
showing 10 items of 4721 documents
Nest attendance, extended phenotype and social selection in multispecies colonies
2017
Colonial species interact not only with conspecifics but often with other species nesting in the same site. The effect of conspecific traits have been measured recently with a multilevel selection analysis, but the effect of social traits of heterospecifics on individual fitness remain unquantified. We recorded nest attendance effort of two species, lesser kestrels (Falco naumanni) and jackdaws (Corvus monedula), nesting on the Gela Plain (Sicily, Italy). Both species are secondary-cavity nesters breeding in abandoned rural buildings where they form single-species or mixed-species colonies. By correlating reproductive success as a measure of fitness to conspecific and heterospecific nest at…
Scuba diver behaviour and its effects on the biota of a Mediterranean marine protected area
2009
The effects of diving activity in different Mediterranean subtidal habitats are scarcely known. This study evaluates diver behaviour (for example time spent in each habitat), use (contacts made with the substrate) and immediate effects of diver contact on benthic species in a marine protected area (MPA) in Sicily. Over a two-year period, intentions of 105 divers were observed within seven subtidal habitats: algae on horizontal substrate, algae on vertical substrate, Posidonia oceanica, encrusted walls, caves, sand and pebbles. Divers selected a habitat in proportion to its availability along the scuba trail. On average, each diver made 2.52 contacts every seven minutes, and no differences w…
Feeding preferences of Paracentrotus lividus exposed to native and non-native macroalgae
2016
The effects of alien macroalgal invasions on ecosystem functioning may depend on the feeding choice of native herbivores between native and non-native algae. The co-occurrence of two invasive Caulerpa species, C. taxifolia var. distichophylla and C. cylindracea in Southern Sicily, offered the possibility to investigate the feeding preferences of a generalist native grazer, the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, for native vs non-native food. A multiple choice feeding experiment was set to assess whether and to which extent P. lividus consumes the exotic macroalgae while in presence of the preferred native ones. Multiple choice feeding assays were run with the following food sources simultane…
Do island plant populations really have lower genetic variation than mainland populations? Effects of selection and distribution range on genetic div…
2015
Ecological and evolutionary studies largely assume that island populations display low levels of neutral genetic variation. However, this notion has only been formally tested in a few cases involving plant taxa, and the confounding effect of selection on genetic diversity (GD) estimates based on putatively neutral markers has typically been overlooked. Here, we generated nuclear microsatellite and plastid DNA sequence data in Periploca laevigata, a plant taxon with an island–mainland distribution area, to (i) investigate whether selection affects GD estimates of populations across contrasting habitats; and (ii) test the long-standing idea that island populations have lower GD than their mai…
Transplantation assessment of degraded Posidonia oceanica habitats: site selection and long-term monitoring
2014
A model developed for Zostera marina was adapted and used to select suitable areas for Posidonia oceanica transplantation in the Gulf of Palermo, where recent rehabilitation programmes have reduced human pressure. This model consists of three steps: (1) habitat selection, by calculation of the Preliminary Transplant Suitability Index (PTSI); (2) field assessments and test-transplanting, to evaluate the site suitability and to estimate the effects of tearing on transplant units (about 50%); (3) identification of suitable restoration sites, by calculation of the Transplant Suitability Index (TSI). A new parameter was added to the literature model: the number of grids detached, which is linked…
Nest building in a Mediterranean wrasse (Symphodus ocellatus): are the algae used randomly chosen or actively selected?
2014
To increase their reproductive success, fish species have evolved various strategies, including both simple processes and more complex mechanisms that involve parental care by nest-building. In Symphodus ocellatus, a species that lives in rocky infralittoral zones of the Mediterranean Sea, during the reproductive period, the male builds a nest within a hole or crevice using fragments of algae and/or sand particles. Data on the nesting activity of wrasses are rare, and previous descriptions regarding the algal composition of nests have provided conflicting results. In this regard, it is unclear whether territorial males actively select algal species for nest construction or algal choice is r…
Hiding behaviour ofOxynoe olivacea(Mollusca: Opisthobranchia: Sacoglossa) in the invasive seaweedCaulerpa taxifolia
2013
The occurrence of the invasive seaweed Caulerpa taxifolia in the Straits of Messina (Italy) provides an excellent opportunity to examine the spatial and temporal patterns of abundance of the endemic Mediterranean sacoglossan Oxynoe olivacea. Densities of this species were recorded in March, June and October 2000 on three different habitats: the underside of boulders (UNB), the upper side of boulders (UPB), and the surface of concrete blocks (CB). Results showed that in March, O. olivacea was consistently more abundant on UNB whereas in June it was present exclusively on CB. The density of O. olivacea was similar in the three habitats in October. The hiding behaviour of O. olivacea and its s…
Progettazione e sintesi di nuovi complessi metallici potenziali inibitori di FGFR4
2019
I pathways di segnalazione che coinvolgono il recettore del fattore di crescita dei fibroblasti 4 (FGFR4) risultano alterati in varie tipologie di tumori [1] ed è stato dimostrato come l’interruzione della segnalazione FGF19/FGFR4 interrompa la proliferazione e induca l’apoptosi delle cellule tumorali, offrendo grandi promesse terapeutiche. [2-4] Allo scopo d’individuare nuovi leganti FGFR4, sono stati effettuati degli studi di modellistica molecolare (Fig. 1) che, riferendosi alla struttura del ponatinib, noto inibitore di FGFR4, [5] il cui utilizzo è ostacolato dall’elevata lipofilia e da effetti secondari, hanno consentito di generare una “Drug Discovery Library” di oltre 30 nuovi potenz…
Lipase-catalyzed resolution of anti-substituted 1,3-dioxepan-5-ols
2006
Several anti-6-substituted 1,3-dioxepan-5-ols were kinetically resolved using an immobilized lipase (Amano PS–C II) in toluene in the presence of vinyl acetate at 30 C. This approach provided, in some cases, the alcohol and the acetate in high enantiomeric purity, depending on the nature of the substituent (R = N3, SePh, I, OBn) and the acetal group (unsubstituted or dimethyl). The role of the size of substituents is also discussed. Enantiopure anti-6-substituted 1,3-dioxepan-5-ols are useful building blocks.