Search results for "Water"
showing 10 items of 9348 documents
Ecological function of phenolic compounds from mediterranean fucoid algae and seagrasses: An overview on the genus Cystoseira sensu lato and Posidoni…
2020
Biodiversity is undergoing rapid and worrying changes, partially driven by anthropogenic activities. Human impacts and climate change (e.g., increasing temperature and ocean acidification), which act at different spatial scales, represent the most serious threats to biodiversity and ecosystem structure and function. In the Mediterranean Sea, complex systems such as fucoid algae and seagrasses, characterized by a high associated biodiversity, are regularly exposed to natural and anthropogenic pressures. These systems, particularly sensitive to a variety of stressors, evolved several physiological and biochemical traits as a response to the different pressures which they are subjected to. For…
Contribution to the knowledge of Mediterranean wetland vegetation: Lemnetea and Potamogetonetea classes in Western Sicily
2021
The freshwater aquatic vegetation of the Lemnetea and Potamogetonetea classes in Western Sicily was surveyed and analyzed. 85 lakes and small pools were investigated collecting 147 phytosociological unpublished relevés to integrate the very scarce available data (only 3 relevés). By applying statistical analyses on abundances data and on the bases of physiognomy and dominant species, two alliances (Lemnion minoris and Stratiotion) and four different coenoses have been identify for the Lemnetea class; while 11 associations, assigned to two orders (Potamogetonetalia pectinati and Callitricho hamulatae-Ranunculetalia aquatilis) and four alliances (Potamogetonion, Nymphaeion albae, Ranunculion …
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. …
Consumption of pelagic tunicates by cetaceans calves in the Mediterranean Sea
2018
Gelatinous zooplankton, including jellyfish, ctenophores and pelagic tunicates, constitutes fragile marine animals that live in the water column, and represent an important resource for marine food webs through their seasonal pulses. Although there is scarce evidence on the occurrence of gelatinous zooplankton in stomach contents of apex, endothermic predators such as cetaceans, the ecological significance of such observations requires consideration. In this study, we report on the occurrence of pelagic tunicates in the stomach of three individual calves of two cetacean species from the western Mediterranean, and collate all previous reports of gelatinous zooplankton in cetacean diets. We t…
Assessment of surface sediment dynamics and response of benthic macrofauna assemblages in Boughrara Lagoon (SW Mediterranean Sea)
2016
International audience; A study was conducted in the spring of 2009, the winters of 2010 and 2013, and in the summer of 2012 at 13 stations in Boughrara Lagoon, Tunisia (southern Mediterranean). The country’s largest lagoon, it is considered to be an anthropogenically stressed area, though a major tourist centre—Djerba Island—is located along its northern shores. The lagoon bottoms were studied via analyses of grain size, surface sediment composition, total organic matter (TOM) and through the trophic and functional organisation of benthic macrofauna. The results indicate that the bottoms are composed of fine, medium or coarse sands and that sediment distribution is controlled by water move…
Predictive distribution models of European hake in the south-central Mediterranean Sea
2017
The effective management and conservation of fishery resources requires knowledge of their spatial distribution and notably of their critical life history stages. Predictive modelling of the European hake (Merluccius merluccius L., 1758) distribution was developed in the south-central Mediterranean Sea by means of historical fisheries-independent databases available in the region. The study area included the international waters of the south-central Mediterranean Sea and the territorial waters of Italy, Malta, Tunisia and Libya. Distribution maps of predicted population abundance index, and probabilistic occurrence of recruits and large adults were obtained by means of generalized additive …
The analysis of convergence in ecological indicators: An application to the Mediterranean fisheries
2017
9 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables
Environmental factors influencing the spatio-temporal distribution of Carybdea marsupialis (Lineo, 1978, Cubozoa) in South-Western Mediterranean coas…
2017
21 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, supporting information 10.1371/journal.pone.0181611.s001, 10.1371/journal.pone.0181611.s002, 10.1371/journal.pone.0181611.s003, 10.1371/journal.pone.0181611.s004, 10.1371/journal.pone.0181611.s005, 10.1371/journal.pone.0181611.s006
Use of Lagrangian simulations to hindcast the geographical position of propagule release zones in a Mediterranean coastal fish
2018
International audience; The study of organism dispersal is fundamental for elucidating patterns of connectivity between populations, thus crucial for the design of effective protection and management strategies. This is especially challenging in the case of coastal fish, for which information on egg release zones (i.e. spawning grounds) is often lacking. Here we assessed the putative location of egg release zones of the saddled sea bream (Oblada melanura) along the southeastern coast of Spain in 2013. To this aim, we hindcasted propagule (egg and larva) dispersal using Lagrangian simulations, fed with species-specific information on early life history traits (ELTs), with two approaches: 1) …