Search results for "SPECIES"
showing 10 items of 4255 documents
The ongoing naturalisation of Eucalyptus spp. in the Mediterranean Basin: new threats to native species and habitats
2019
The genus Eucalyptus has been widely introduced into many regions of the world outside its native range and has become invasive in some Mediterranean biomes (e.g. in southern Africa and California). In the Mediterranean Basin and Europe, eucalypts were introduced at the end of the 18th century. However, natural regeneration events in these regions are recent in time and limited in terms of affected areas, except for the Iberian Peninsula. An updated overview about the natural spread of Eucalyptus species in Italy is still lacking. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap, using both published data and unpublished field data regarding naturalisation events, with a specific focus on Sicily.…
Classification of European and Mediterranean coastal dune vegetation
2018
Aims: Although many phytosociological studies have provided detailed local and regional descriptions of coastal dune vegetation, a unified classification of this vegetation in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin has been missing. Our aim is to produce a formalized classification of this vegetation and to identify the main factors driving its plant species composition at a continental scale. LocationAtlantic and Baltic coasts of Europe, Mediterranean Basin and the Black Sea region. - Methods: We compiled a database of 30,759 plots of coastal vegetation, which were resampled to reduce unbalanced sampling effort, obtaining a data set of 11,769 plots. We classified these plots with TWINSPAN, int…
The Amphipod assemblages of Sabellaria alveolata reefs from the NW coast of Portugal: an account of the present knowledge, new records, and some biog…
2016
Amphipod assemblages associated with the biogenic reefs built by the honeycomb worm Sabellaria alveolata were studied at two sites (Praia da Aguda and Belinho) along the northwestern coast of Portugal. A total of 3909 specimens were collected, comprising 14 different amphipod species. A first record from the northeastern Atlantic coast was registered here for the species Caprella santosrosai, which was, up to now, recorded only along the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. A male specimen collected from the Sabellaria-reef located in Belinho allowed an update to the known distribution of C. santosrosai, thus altering its previous status as an endemic Mediterranean species. The mos…
Mediterranean sponges from shallow subtidal rocky reefs: Cystoseira canopy vs barren grounds
2018
Abstract Porifera richness was investigated in Cystoseira canopies vs barren grounds considering different substrates at 6 areas in the Central-Western Mediterranean Sea. In total 31 sponge taxa were recorded at 2–7 m depth and the sponge community structure and composition were characterized by a notably low richness with 25 taxa in the Cystoseira forest and 15 in the barren area. As for the sponge habitus, the massive sponges were dominant in both facies, whereas encrusting, and cavity dwelling sponges were found in higher numbers in the Cystoseira forest. Results revealed that rocky substrata seem to play a key role in driving the sponge community composition and diversity in both facies…
Seed germination, salt stress tolerance and seedling growth of Opuntia ficus - indica (Cactaceae), invasive species in the Mediterranean Basin
2017
Abstract The present study, focuses on seed germination ecology and seedling growth of Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae), a native species of arid and semi-arid regions of Mexico and invasive in the Mediterranean Basin. Shortly after collecting seeds in December 2014, scarification as well as the intra-specific variability in the responses of germination to light, temperature, salt stress and germination recovery were evaluated among three naturalized populations of this species in the Mediterranean. Moreover, seedling biomass production and the growth rate were measured. The most suitable method of scarification resulted the nail-clippers chipping. For all the populations, the germination t…
Synthetic cartography for mapping biodiversity in the Mediterranean region: Sicily as a case study
2018
This paper proposes a new hierarchical land classification system for the mapping of species distribution at national or regional scales. Our integrative framework incorporates two hierarchical levels inferred from historical, climatic, geomorphological and geological attributes. The feasibility of this proposal is based on the use of historical collections and literature data, as well as on its ability to combine old low-precision data with more recent records of higher resolution. The system is set up for vascular plants, but it can also be used for other taxonomic groups. Furthermore, it has the potential for application to the whole Mediterranean region because it is based on informatio…
Biochemical characterization of cassiopea andromeda (Forsskål, 1775), another red sea jellyfish in the western mediterranean sea
2021
Increasing frequency of native jellyfish proliferations and massive appearance of non-indigenous jellyfish species recently concur to impact Mediterranean coastal ecosystems and human activities at sea. Nonetheless, jellyfish biomass may represent an exploitable novel resource to coastal communities, with reference to its potential use in the pharmaceutical, nutritional, and nutraceutical Blue Growth sectors. The zooxanthellate jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda, Forsskål, 1775 (Cnidaria, Rhizostomeae) entered the Levant Sea through the Suez Canal and spread towards the Western Mediterranean to reach Malta, Tunisia, and recently also the Italian coasts. Here we report on the biochemical characte…
Floristic distinctiveness and endemic richness of woody plants highlight the biodiversity value of the herriza among all Mediterranean heathlands
2018
Background: Heathlands are relatively abundant in the landscape of the western Mediterranean region, especially in the Strait of Gibraltar region, where it is locally known as herriza. They are ass...
Effects of environmental and temporal factors on Glomeromycotina spores in sand dunes along the Gulf of Valencia (Spain)
2019
Abstract AMF symbiosis in sand dunes is the key for maintenance of stable vegetation. The main goal of this work was to determine the effects of environmental and temporal factors on AMF living in sand dunes (Gulf of Valencia, Spain). Soil samples were collected seasonally at 6 sites, during 2 yrs, from three habitats and four plant species and the frequency and relative abundance of AMF was examined. AMF were more frequent in mobile than in embryonic dunes, in spring and in sites with old vegetation. Ten AMF species were identified, their distribution depending mainly on the anthropogenic disturbance of the site. Gigasporaceae Cetraspora sp. and Dentiscutata sp. preferred undisturbed soil …
An integrative approach challenges species hypotheses and provides hints for evolutionary history of two Mediterranean freshwater palaemonid shrimps …
2021
25 pages; International audience; The Mediterranean Region is a biodiversity/endemism hotspot whose freshwater fauna remains largely unexplored. Our integrative study challenges the taxonomic status of two freshwater palaemonid shrimps, Palaemon antennarius and Palaemon minos. Three molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) were defined based on 352 cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences and 88 haplotypes. Two belonged to P. antennarius: one inhabiting the Apennine Peninsula and Sicily, and the other from the Balkan Peninsula. Palaemon minos was the third MOTU, found on Crete. The Balkan MOTU of P. antennarius was genetically closer to P. minos than to the other conspecific MOTU. …