Search results for "area"
showing 10 items of 3002 documents
A new contribution to the alien macroalgal flora of the Ustica Island Marine Protected Area (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)
2018
A second record of the non-indigenous species Botryocladia madagascariensis G. Feldmann (Rhodophyta) along the coasts of the “Ustica Island” Marine Protected Area (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) is reported. With this additional record for the Sicilian coasts, we provide a description of collected specimens of B. madagascariensis and habitat details. Numerous fertile female gametophytes with cystocarps immersed in vesicles were also observed, for the second time in the Mediterranean Sea, and described.
Time at risk: Individual spatial behaviour drives effectiveness of marine protected areas and fitness
2021
11 pages, 6 figures, 1 table.-- Under a Creative Commons license
Inconsistent relationships among protection, benthic assemblage, habitat complexity and fish biomass in Mediterranean temperate rocky reefs
2021
International audience; Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been proved to effectively protect and restore fish assemblages. There is mixed evidence regarding the effects of MPAs on benthic assemblages, habitat complexity, and how protection might mediate the effects of habitat features (including biotic and abiotic components) on fish assemblages, with very little information concerning temperate areas. Here, our aim is to assess how protection 1) influences benthic assemblages and habitat complexity, and 2) mediates the effects of habitat complexity on fishes.Using non-destructive methods (photosampling for shallow rocky benthic assemblages, and underwater visual census using strip transec…
Fruit Quality Traits of Six Ancient Apple (Malus domesticaBorkh) Cultivars Grown in the Mediterranean Area
2015
ABSTRACTToday, ancient cultivars have been considered obsolete and replaced, leading to a dramatic loss of genetic diversity. In this trial we examined the quality of the six ancient apple cultivars: Bommino, Gelato, Miliadeci, Rotolari, Turco, and Virchiata. Fruit was submitted to the determination of physicochemical traits and a sensory profile was defined by a trained panel using 20 attributes. We also detected biometric data using a specific descriptor list. Obtained data showed interesting physicochemical and sensory traits among the observed cultivars. ‘Rotolari’, ‘Bommino’, and ‘Gelato’ should be used in breeding programs and revaluated for a placement on specific local markets.
Citizen science: a successful tool for monitoring invasive alien species (IAS) in Marine Protected Areas. The case study of the Egadi Islands MPA (Ty…
2018
The chief purpose of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is biodiversity conservation. The effects that invasive alien species (IAS) have on MPAs, and vice versa, are not yet fully known, even though assessing them is crucial for MPA planning. Management plans require sound knowledge of the pathways of introduction, the impact and current distribution of IAS. Monitoring plans are essential for preventing and reducing the risk of IAS introduction. In this respect, the involvement of citizen scientists in gathering data (validated by taxonomic experts) on the occurrence of IAS, that would otherwise be impossible to collect, may be crucial. We report on our experience of citizen science in the Egadi …
Spatial ecology and habitat use of adult Booted eagles (Aquila pennata) during the breeding season: implications for conservation.
2016
Fast-moving technological advances, such as satellite tracking technologies, are providing in-depth information of aspects of avian ecology hitherto unknown. In fact, detailed information about movement ecology and ranging behaviour of birds is important not only from the perspective of the basic ecology, but also from the conservation point of view. This is particularly important in European countries where agricultural intensification, land abandonment and the withdrawal of traditional management agro-forestry practices pose a threat to biodiversity. The Booted Eagle, likewise other forest raptors, is an adequate bioindicator of human-dominated agro-forestry Mediterranean landscapes in wh…
Is legal protection sufficient to ensure plant conservation? The Italian Red List of policy species as a case study
2015
AbstractThe conservation of species listed in the Bern Convention and European Directive 1992/43/EEC (so-called policy species) is mandatory for European Union (EU) countries. We assessed the conservation status of Italian policy species, based on the IUCN categories and criteria, to evaluate the effectiveness of existing protection measures at the national level. Among the 203 vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens evaluated, 41.9% are categorized as threatened, and one is already extinct, indicating that the protection measures for policy species are inadequate. Our results for the Italian policy species are consistent with those of an assessment at the EU level. Conservation priorities …
Female brown bears use areas with infanticide risk in a spatially confined population
2020
Areas used by female brown bears (Ursus arctos) with cubs-of-the-year (hereafter, FCOY) during the first months after den exit are crucial for offspring survival, primarily because of the risk of infanticide by male bears. Therefore, FCOY may avoid areas frequented by adult males during the mating season. The main aim of this study was to identify landscape features (i.e., structure, composition, and human footprint) that may differentiate the habitat use of FCOY in the small bear population of the Cantabrian Mountains (northwestern Spain; 2001–2016) from (a) areas frequented by females with yearlings, because older cubs are at less risk of infanticide than cubs-of-the-year, and (b) bear ma…
The Case of a Rudderfish Highlights the Role of Natural History Museums as Sentinels of Bio-invasions
2017
In September 2013 fishermen captured a rudderfish—Kyphosus vaigiensis—off Favignana Island, one of the islands of the Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area (MPA) in western Sicily (Mannino et al., 2015). This species is rarely sampled in the Mediterranean Sea.
Windthrow in streamside key habitats: Effects of buffer strip width and selective logging
2020
Abstract Streamside forests are preserved from clear-cut logging in production forests and protected with uncut buffer strips in many countries. However, buffer strips often remain narrow due to economic reasons and, therefore, provide weak protection against adverse edge effects of clear-cuts and are vulnerable to windthrow. Selective logging of buffer strips is sometimes allowed to reduce their costs, but the decreased tree density may expose the buffer to higher occurrence of windthrow. We used a replicated two-factor experiment to assess the effects of buffer width (15 m or 30 m) and selective logging (0% or 30% of the basal area removed) on the risk of windthrow in boreal streamside fo…