Search results for "ZOOLOGIA"

In vitro effects of extracts from leaves and rhizomes of P.oceanica on HepG2 tumor cells

2023

Engraulis encrasicolus larvae from two different environmental spawning areas of the Central Mediterranean Sea: first data on amino acid profiles and…

2020

Early life stages of marine fish populations may be strongly affected by environmental factors. Changes in the physical environment or the availability of food resources could lead to stress-related physiological responses affecting larval fitness, growth and survival. In the present study, we determined, for the first time, amino acid composition (AAC), lipid, and carbohydrate content, as well as alkaline phosphatase and peroxidase activities in larvae from the European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus. Fishes were caught in two different spawning areas of the Strait of Sicily, characterized by different environmental conditions, including a coastal upwelling with a lower temperature (Advent…

Trophic habits of Muscardinus avellanarius (Mammalia Gliridae) as revealed by multiple stable isotope analysis

2007

Multiple stable isotope analysis was used to investigate the diet of the common dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius in a mixed Mediterranean forest. δ13C and δ15N values of dormouse tissues compared to those of the vegetal and animal sources available in the area showed that the isotopic composition of both adult and juvenile M. avellanarius could be explained by a mixture of vegetal and animal organic matter. The isotopic composition of the assimilated nitrogen was mostly explained by the organic matter from flora. Among the vegetal components, flowers of Fagus silvatica, Quercus robur, and the rarer Crataegus oxyacantha, berries of Ilex aquifolium and acorns of Q. robur were found in the ad…

The marine crustacea decapoda of Sicily: a cecklist with remarks on their distribution.

2003

A checklist of the Crustacea Decapocla of Sicily, based on previously published records and on original data, is presented. The Sicilian waters were divided into three sectors to account for the different habitats present along the northern and western (sector A), eastern (B) and southern (C) coasts, for the sake of a better interpretation of the species distribution. A total of 186 species, vas recorded between 0 and 800 in depth, 31 of which are reported here for the first time. Sector A hosted 153 species, B 105 species. and C 117 species. The dissimilarities among the habitats present in the shallow waters of the three sectors accounted for the low co-occurrence of species: 30 species w…

Phylogenetic relationships of the Italian populations of Horseshoe Whip Snake Hemorrhois hippocrepis (Serpentes, Colubridae)

2020

Hemorrhois hippocrepis is a colubrid snake with a West Mediterranean distribution. It is widespread in the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa. The only Italian populations are found on the islands of Sardinia and Pantelleria. The phylogenetic relationships of these insular populations have been analysed for the first time on the basis of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b gene. The sequences were compared with those available from the geographic range of this species. The analyses showed that the Italian samples are part of a lineage that groups Tunisian and East Algerian samples, with which they share the same haplotype. These results strongly support the hypothesis of a recent origin …

Effects of Sulfamethoxazole on Fertilization and Embryo Development in the Arbacia lixula Sea Urchin

2022

To date, drugs released into the aquatic environment are a real problem, and among antibiotics, sulfamethoxazole is the one most widely found in wastewater; thus, the evaluation of its toxicity on marine organisms is very important. This study, for the first time, investigates the in vitro effects of 4 concentrations of sulfamethoxazole (0.05 mg/L, 0.5 mg/L, 5 mg/L, 50 mg/L) on the fertilization and development of the sea urchin Arbacia lixula. The gametes were exposed to drugs in three different stages: simultaneously with, prior to, and post-fertilization. The results show a significant reduction in the percentage of fertilized oocytes at the highest drug concentrations. Moreover, an incr…

More than 30 years of studies and conservation on lesser kestrel in Europe: where do we will go from there?

2021

Our ecological knowledge on the lesser kestrel is today wide, but the reasons for the research are many and varied, leading to an unequal representation and coverage of the issues addressed, which in addition can be more or less directly related to the conservation of the species. For these reasons, I decided to review all the work done so far, to identify the strengths and weaknesses of research applied to the conservation of this species.

Spatial analysis of lanner falcon habitat preferences: Implications for agro-ecosystems management at landscape scale and raptor conservation

2014

Abstract Sicily hosts the largest European population of the endangered lanner falcon, a poorly known species which needs conservation planning based on habitat preferences. A distribution model on 10 × 10 km cells of Sicily was described using Generalized Linear Models and variation partitioning methods. This modelling approach extracted explanatory factors, pure and joint effects of greatest influence from subsets of variables controlled for multi-collinearity and spatial autocorrelation. Analytical cartography used the environmental favourability function to assess habitat preferences, and the insecurity index estimated the degree to which lanner falcon occupancy is represented in the Na…

First record of the North American cryptic invader Ferrissia fragilis (Tryon, 1863) (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Planorbidae) in the Middle East

2014

Some gastropod specimens belonging to the planorbid genus Ferrissia were recently collected in Lebanon and in Iraq, where the autochthonous species Ferrissia clessiniana (Jickeli, 1882) is supposed to occur. The molecular identification of collected specimens proved that they belong to the allochthonous species Ferrissia fragilis (Tryon, 1863), the protagonist of a dramatic cryptic invasion which is of interest to the whole of Eurasia. These findings cast further doubts on the actual existence of autochthonous Ferrissia species in the Palaearctic. The need for a molecular characterisation of the topotypical population of F. clessiniana, and for a revision of the Palaearctic Ferrissia specie…

Do not disturb the family: roles of colony size and human disturbance in the genetic structure of lesser kestrel

2015

Dispersal and philopatry are fundamental processes influencing the genetic structure and persistence of populations, and might be affected by isolation and habitat perturbation. Habitat degradation induced by human activities could have detrimental consequences on the genetic structure of populations. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the role of human impact in promoting or disrupting the genetic structure. Here, we conducted a genetic analysis using 12 polymorphic microsatellite markers of 70 lesser kestrels Falco naumanni from 10 breeding colonies of two subpopulations in Sicily (southern Italy). Genetic differentiation between the two subpopulations was negligible, and linear dista…