Search results for "mediterranean"
showing 10 items of 3196 documents
Unrelenting spread of the alien monk parakeetMyiopsitta monachusin Israel. Is it time to sound the alarm?
2016
BACKGROUND Monk parakeets, Myiopsitta monachus Boddaert, are native to South America but have established populations in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. They are claimed to act as agricultural pests in their native range, and their communal stick nests may damage human infrastructure. Although several monk parakeet populations are present in the Mediterranean Basin and temperate Europe, little empirical data are available on their population size and growth, distribution and potential impact. We investigated the temporal and spatial dynamics of monk parakeets in Israel to assess their invasion success and potential impact on agriculture. RESULTS Monk parakeet populations are growing…
Can phthalates move into the eggs of the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta? The case of the nests on the Linosa Island in the Mediterranean Sea
2021
During the monitoring of Caretta caretta nests on the island of Linosa, 30 unhatched eggs from four nests were collected to study the presence of phthalates in their three components (shell, yolk, and albumen). Four phthalates, namely diethyl (DEP), dibutyl (DBP), di-(2-ethylhexyl) (DEHP), and dioctyl (DOTP) phthalic acid esters (PAE), which are widely used as additives in plastics, were detected in all egg components. The most frequently found phthalate was DBP, followed by DEHP in eggshell and yolk. Dimethyl- (DMP) and butylbenzyl-phthalate (BBP) were below the limits of detection for all samples. The high total phthalate recorded in the yolk suggests that contamination could arise by vit…
Mediterranean Bioconstructions Along the Italian Coast
2018
Marine bioconstructions are biodiversity-rich, three-dimensional biogenic structures, regulating key ecological functions of benthic ecosystems worldwide. Tropical coral reefs are outstanding for their beauty, diversity and complexity, but analogous types of bioconstructions are also present in temperate seas. The main bioconstructions in the Mediterranean Sea are represented by coralligenous formations, vermetid reefs, deep-sea cold-water corals, Lithophyllum byssoides trottoirs, coral banks formed by the shallow-water corals Cladocora caespitosa or Astroides calycularis, and sabellariid or serpulid worm reefs. Bioconstructions change the morphological and chemicophysical features of prima…
Modelling sensitive elasmobranchs habitat
2013
Basic information on the distribution and habitat preferences of ecologically important species is essential for their management and protection. In the Mediterranean Sea there is increasing concern over elasmobranch species because their biological (ecological) characteristics make them highly vulnerable to fishing pressure. Their removal could affect the structure and function of marine ecosystems, inducing changes in trophic interactions at the community level due to the selective elimination of predators or prey species, competitors and species replacement. In this study Bayesian hierarchical spatial models are used to map the sensitive habitats of the three most caught elasmobranch spe…
Are there so many congeneric species of chironomid larvae in a small stream?
2018
The co-occurrence of larvae of congeneric chironomid species is common in natural stream assemblages, and raises the problem of finding mechanisms to explain the co-existence of species with similar ecological requirements. In this contribution, we explored the co-occurrence of chironomid larvae belonging to congeneric species within four genera of chironomids: Cricotopus, Eukiefferiella, Orthocladius and Rheocricotopus (with 2, 7, 2 and 4 species, respectively) in the headwaters of a small Mediterranean calcareous stream. Due to the intrinsic, natural spatial and temporal variability in these habitats, we studied three different sites at two different seasons within the annual hydrological…
On the Occurrence of Metadiaptomus chevreuxi (Calanoida, Diaptomidae, Paradiaptominae) in the Iberian Peninsula, With Notes on the Ecology and Distri…
2020
Temporary ponds are one of the most peculiar ecosystems in the world, being characterized by an extraordinarily rich crustacean fauna, with a high degree of endemism. Among them, diaptomid copepods are among the most biogeographically interesting taxa. However, the present knowledge on diaptomid distribution is still far from being exhaustive, even in the relatively well-studied western European countries. In this study, we report the first record of the diaptomid calanoid copepod Metadiaptomus chevreuxi for the Iberian Peninsula, where it was collected in five temporary ponds in Andalusia (Spain). The characteristics of the new sites are described, the literature dealing with the European …
A spatially explicit risk assessment approach: Cetaceans and marine traffic in the Pelagos Sanctuary (Mediterranean Sea).
2017
15 páginas, 5 figuras, 2 tablas.-- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Novel Insights Into Gas Embolism in Sea Turtles: First Description in Three New Species
2020
The recent finding of gas embolism and decompression sickness in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean Sea challenged the conventional understanding of marine vertebrate diving physiology. Additionally, it brought to light a previously unknown source of mortality associated with fisheries bycatch for this vulnerable species. In this paper, we use ultrasonography to describe gas embolism in a leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) and an olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) from accidental capture in a gillnet, bottom trawl and pair-bottom trawl respectively. This is the first description of this condition in thes…
Distribution of Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla (Sonder) Verlaque, Huisman & Procaccini in the Mediterranean Sea
2019
The Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla (Sonder) Verlaque, Huisman & Procaccini has been reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea along the coast of South Turkey. This NIS is actively expanding into the Eastern and Western Mediterranean Sea. In this paper, we present an overview of the current distribution of this alga in the Mediterranean Sea, based on relevant scientific publications, grey literature and personal observations. New records from the Sicilian coast (Italy) are also reported. Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla was found over a wide range of environmental conditions (depth, light and substratum), suggesting a broad ecolog…
Historical Suitability and Sustainability of Sicani Mountains Landscape (Western Sicily): An Integrated Approach of Phytosociology and Archaeobotany
2020
Since 2015, the ongoing project &ldquo