Search results for "mediterranean islands"
showing 10 items of 56 documents
The loss of dispersal on islands hypothesis revisited: Implementing phylogeography to investigate evolution of dispersal traits in Periploca (Apocyna…
2017
Aim: The loss of dispersal on islands hypothesis (LDIH) posits that wind-dispersed plants should exhibit reduced dispersal potential, particularly if island populations are old. In this study, we tested this hypothesis using a detailed phylogeographical framework across different geographical scales. Location: Mainland and island areas of the Atlantic and Mediterranean regions, including Macaronesia (Canary Islands and Cape Verde) and Mediterranean islands in the strait of Sicily. Methods: Forty-five populations of Periploca laevigata, a wind-dispersed shrub, were sampled. Plastid and nuclear microsatellite data were used to reconstruct spatio-temporal patterns of island colonization, and e…
Alien Plant Diversity in Mediterranean Wetlands: A Comparative Study within Valencian, Balearic and Sardinian Floras
2018
Although wetlands provide an important range of environmental, social and economic services, they are increasingly subjected to anthropogenic erturbations, amongst which invasion by alien plants is particularly alarming. This paper focuses on the alien flora of wetlands from three territories belonging to the western Mediterranean area: one continental (Valencian Community) and two insular (Balearic Islands and Sardinia), providing a complete checklist for the three territories and a general comparison. In total, 380 alien taxa from 89 families have been reported, being the Valencian Community the area richer in taxa (312), followed by the Balearic Islands (151) and Sardinia (134). The inva…
Plantes vasculaires nouvelles ou rares pour la Tunisie présentes sur les îles (Galite, Zembra, Kuriat, Monastir, Kerkennah, Kneiss, Djerba)
2020
International audience; Vascular plants new or rare for Tunisia occurring on the islands (Galite, Zembra, Kuriat, Monastir, Kerkennah, Kneiss, Djerba).-This study concerns the indigenous vascular plants newly reported for Tunisia and discovered on the islands during some field trips performed since 2014. Five native taxa are new to Tunisia: Bellis perennis, Carthamus creticus, Moraea mediterranea, Asplenium balearicum and Galium minutulum, the latter two also being new to North Africa. Information on 24 rare or poorly known taxa, most often of great biogeographical interest, is given, too. Most of these were discovered on the islands of the eastern coast (Kuriat, Monastir, Kerkennah, Kneiss…
The alien vascular flora of Linosa (Pelagie Islands, Strait of Sicily): update and management proposals
2017
This paper provides an up-to-date overview of the naturalized alien plants of Linosa (Pelagie Archipelago, Sicily), which includes 83 taxa and accounts for 29 % of the total island's flora. Among these plants, 6 are invasive, 49 are naturalized and 28 are casual. With respect to previous available data, our field investigations resulted in the addition of 31 new xenophytes (21 casual and 10 fully naturalized). One of these species is new to the whole European territory (Kleinia anteuphorbia), 6 of them are new to Sicily and 11 are recorded for the first time on circum-Sicilian islets. For each alien plant, we indicate the habitat where the naturalization has been observed by using the codes…
Onset of natal dispersal in Peregrine Falcon from Mediterranean islands (Italy)
2018
Abstract Basic information on natal dispersal of Peregrine Falcons is virtually lacking in Europe, despite increased attention on this species, and the sensitivity of this stage in the Peregrines’ life history. In this study, we collected satellite telemetry data during the onset of natal dispersal of 19 Peregrine Falcons tagged in Sicily and the Aeolian archipelago (Italy). We divided the onset of dispersal into the following 3 periods: post-fledging dependence period (PFDP), wandering, and wintering. PFDP lasted on average 47±16 days, during which young peregrines moved very little (0.167 km), and explored small areas (0.226 km2) far from the nest cliff, and showed no sex differences. The…
Reciprocal extrapolation of species distribution models between two islands – Specialists perform better than generalists and geological data reduces…
2020
Abstract This study aims to test the extrapolation effects of species distribution models (SDM) using three groups of predictor variables: climate, relief and geology (bedrock type). We highlight potential ecological differences for selected taxa, regarding both generalists and specialists in terms of edaphic conditions. We used distributional data of 12 woody species shared by two large Mediterranean islands (Crete and Sicily) to calibrate Maxent models of their potential distribution. We trained models with data from Crete and extrapolated to Sicily and vice versa. We tested ten proxies for the three variable groups and compared AUC values as a measure of model performance. Extrapolation …
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 …
Plant invasions on small Mediterranean islands. An overview
2016
Biological invasions have become one of the main drivers of habitat degradation and a leading cause of biodiversity loss in island ecosystems worldwide. The spread of invasive species poses a particular environmental threat on the islands of the Mediterranean Basin, which are hot spots of biodiversity and contain rare habitats and endemic species, especially on small islands, which are highly vulnerable to biodiversity loss. Following a recent survey, in this paper we aim to provide an overview of the present-day non-native vascular flora of small Mediterranean islands based on a sample of 37 islands located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Italy. By comparing the cu…
The impact of Carpobrotus cfr. acinaciformis (L.) L. Bolus on soil nutrients, microbial communities structure and native plant communities in Mediter…
2016
Background and aims: Carpobrotus spp. are amongst the most impactful and widespread plant invaders of Mediterranean habitats. Despite the negative ecological impacts on soil and vegetation that have been documented, information is still limited about the effect by Carpobrotus on soil microbial communities. We aimed to assess the changes in the floristic, soil and microbial parameters following the invasion by Carpobrotus cfr. acinaciformis within an insular Mediterranean ecosystem. Methods: Within three study areas a paired-site approach, comparing an invaded vs. a non-invaded plot, was established. Within each plot biodiversity indexes, C and N soil content, pH and microbial biomass and st…
δ15N in deployed macroalgae as a tool to monitor nutrient input driven by tourism activities in Mediterranean islands
2020
Abstract Mediterranean Sea is among the world's leading tourist destinations; however, the sharp increase in tourists during the high season may affect coastal seawater. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and temporal variation of anthropogenic nutrients in coastal seawater in relation to tourist flows in three Mediterranean islands (Cyprus, Sicily and Rhodes), through short-term macroalgae deployments, coupled with δ15N analysis and GIS mapping. In all islands, an overall increase in macroalgae δ15N occurred over the deployment carried out in August in the tourist sites, suggesting the presence of anthropogenic nutrients. Decreasing δ15N values occurred at increasing…