Search results for "mediterranean"
showing 10 items of 3196 documents
First report of the scavenging isopod Natatolana neglecta (Crustacea: Isopoda: Cirolanidae) feeding on a sea turtle
2019
A juvenile male loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) was found dead in April 2015, entangled in a trammel net on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Post-mortem examination revealed the presence of ninety-five isopods dispersed in the coelomic cavity, and inside the oesophagus and skull. All individuals found scavenging on the sea turtle were identified as Natatolana neglecta (Hansen, 1890) (Isopoda: Cirolanidae). Genetic analysis of the isopod gut contents showed that they were feeding on turtle tissue, confirming that N. neglecta can also attack dead sea turtles. This study shows the value of cirolanids as potential indicators of the cause of death in stranded sea turtles.
Nomenclatural remarks on Carex sect. Sylvaticae (Cyperaceae): C. laxula and related names
2018
Our taxonomic and nomenclatural research reveals that the name ‘Carex laxula Tineo ex Boott’ (section Sylvaticae) has not been validly published. Consequently, the oldest available name for the species is Carex paui Sennen. A lectotype for the valid name Carex sylvatica var. laxula Tineo ex Guss. is here designated.
Changes in ultrasound-assessed carotid intima-media thickness and plaque with a Mediterranean diet: a substudy of the PREDIMED trial.
2014
OBJECTIVE - : The Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea (PREDIMED) trial showed that a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) supplemented with either extra virgin olive oil or 30 g/d of mixed nuts reduced incident cardiovascular events compared with a control (low fat) diet. The mechanisms of cardiovascular protection afforded by MedDiets remain to be uncovered. We assessed the effect of both supplemented MedDiets on internal carotid intima-media thickness (ICA-IMT) and plaque height, the ultrasound features that best predict future cardiovascular events, in subjects at high cardiovascular risk. APPROACH AND RESULTS - : In a PREDIMED subcohort (n=175), plaque height and carotid IMT of 3 prespecified seg…
The association between the Mediterranean diet and magnetic resonance parameters for knee osteoarthritis: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative
2018
The Mediterranean diet appears to be beneficial for osteoarthritis (OA), but the few data available regarding the association between the diet and the condition are limited to X-ray and clinical findings. The current study aimed to investigate the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and knee cartilage morphology, assessed using magnetic resonance (MRI) in a cohort of North American participants. Seven hundred eighty-three participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative (59.8% females; mean age 62.3 years) in possession of a MRI assessment (a coronal 3D FLASH with Water Excitation MR sequence of the right knee) were enrolled in our cross-sectional study. Adherence to the Me…
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE MANAGEMENTS TO CONTROL SOIL EROSION
2021
[EN] High rates of soil erosion compromise sustainable agriculture. In rainfed agricultural fields, erosion rates several orders of magnitude higher than the erosion rates considered tolerable have been quantified. In Mediterranean rainfed crops such as vineyards, almonds and olive groves, and in the new sloping citrus and persimmon plantations, the rates of soil loss make it necessary to apply measures to reduce them to avoid collapse in agricultural production. Managements such as weeds, catch crops and mulches (straw and pruning remains) are viable options to achieve sustainability. This work applies measurements through plots, simulated rainfall experiments and ISUM (Improved Stock-Unea…
Temporal speciation pattern in the western Mediterranean genus Tudorella P. Fischer, 1885 (Gastropoda, Pomatiidae) supports the Tyrrhenian vicariance…
2009
The land snail genus Tudorella shows a peculiar disjunct distribution around the western Mediterranean coasts. Despite high phenotypic plasticity, only two species with a disputed number of subspecific taxa are currently recognised. We delimited the species with mitochondrial (COI & 16S) and nuclear (ITS-1) markers based on the unified species concept and suggested that there are eight species in the genus, two of them currently undescribed. Applying Bayesian phylogenetic model selection, we tested four different biogeographic hypotheses that could be causal for the current distribution pattern of extant Tudorella species. A scenario involving vicariance events resulting from the repeated s…
Reviewing the identity of the Maltese Polypodium (Polypodiaceae) – new evidence from morphology and flow cytometry
2020
The first record of Polypodium from Gozo (Maltese Islands) was described as a new endemic taxon, Polypodium vulgare subsp. melitense, based on its unique set of morphological characters. It was treated as a novelty and designated as a subspecies of P. vulgare mainly due to the lack of paraphyses, the presence of 10–16 annular cells, and a mean spore length of 64 μm. The fern was reassessed by us employing a more rigid morphological analysis and the application of flow cytometry. The absence of paraphyses was confirmed, but the number of annular cells (5–11) and the spore length (70–79 μm) differed from the previous study. These and other morphological traits, the phenology (leaf-shedding in…
New records of Characeae for Sicily (Italy)
2018
During the last year, the first two authors continued their survey of the scarcely known Characeae flora of the island of Sicily: plants were collected in different periods, habitats and areas of the island, and identifications – made on fresh material – were based mainly on Mouronval et al. (2015). We had the opportunity to include here some results deriving from the visit in Sicily made by Klaus van de Weyer in March 2018. Roman Romanov identified some specimens and revised some identifications. Data for Sicily are basically limited to more than one hundred years old reports; data for the national Flora have been completed with recent reports for Sardinia (cf. the work made by Ralf Becker…
Effects of overabundant nitrate and warmer temperatures on charophytes: The roles of plasticity and local adaptation
2018
Global change effects, such as warming and increases in nitrogen loading, alter vulnerable Mediterranean aquatic systems, and charophytes can be one of the most affected groups. We addressed the possible interaction between these factors on two populations of the cosmopolitan charophytes Chara hispida and Chara vulgaris. Populations were taken from two different environments, a nitrate-poor mountain lake and a nitrate-rich Mediterranean coastal spring. The laboratory experiment had a 2 × 2 factorial design based on two nitrate levels (similar to and double the local conditions) and two temperatures. Increased temperatures favoured the growth of the four populations, but an increase in nitra…
<p class="HeadingRunIn"><strong><em>Charybdis glaucophylla</em> (Asparagaceae), a new species from Sardinia</strong><…
2012
Charybdis glaucophylla (Asparagaceae), a new species from Sardinia, is described and illustrated. It is a diploid species with 2n = 20 chromosomes growing along the rocky coast, sandy dunes and mountain top in the south-western part of the island. Within the genus, this species results taxonomically well isolated and differentiated due to relevant morphological and phenological features, such as the leaves wide and short, very rigid and glaucous-pruinose, as well as the very late foliation (winter). It shows only some relationships with C. pancration for the whitish bulb tunics and the diploid chromosome complement, and with C. maura and C. aphylla due to the glaucous leaves.