Although the Mediterranean area is a well-known hotspot of biological diversity, the crustacean assemblages inhabiting inland waters of the Mediterranean islands are to date unevenly known, and ...detailed information is missing for most taxa and areas. In the frame of this paper, we provide a checklist and a characterization of the copepod fauna of the lentic water bodies occurring in a traditional rural landscape of Sicily, where the co-existence of agriculture, woodlands, and pastoral activities lead to the presence of a wide range of different aquatic habitats. Overall, 22 copepod species belonging to the orders Calanoida, Cyclopoida, and Harpacticoida have been found in the 92 surveyed sites, stressing the conservation value of the area. In the study area, species widespread in the west Palaearctic region co-exist with strictly Mediterranean elements and a small but biogeographically significant group of species with northern or Balkan affinities, which support the role of the investigated area as a refugium for species that colonised Sicily during Pleistocene climate fluctuations and are now restricted to the more wet parts of the island. A single non-native species has been found, and its distribution is currently limited to permanent, man-made reservoirs.
The Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 is included among the worst invasive alien species in the Mediterranean Sea. Here, we report the finding of the species in two Sicilian ...rivers, the Irminio and the Imera Meridionale, where it was collected up to 6 km from the river mouths. Although several records of the species are already available from Italy, this is the first evidence of the occurrence of this invasive crab so far from the coastline in the whole country. In the light of the well-known impact of the Atlantic blue crab on the invaded water bodies, the monitoring of the species and appropriate mitigation strategies should be implemented in order to protect the threatened native biota of Sicilian inland waters.
Diaptomid copepods belonging to the genus Arctodiaptomus Kiefer, 1932 were collected in two temporary water bodies in Malta. The morphological identification of the collected specimens proved that ...they belong to Arctodiaptomus wierzejskii (Richard, 1888) even if a morphological peculiarity pertaining to the morphology of the male right antennule of the Maltese populations was observed and here briefly discussed. This finding constitutes the first record of a calanoid copepod from the inland waters of the Maltese Islands.
Discards remain among the main negative impacts of fishing activities, and their reductions are strengthened by the European Common Fisheries Policy (European Regulation 1380/2013). Trammel net ...fisheries appear more sustainable compared with other fishing techniques, especially from an ecological viewpoint. Despite this, reports show that trammel net fisheries deliver discard quantities between 10% and 43% of the total catch biomass. To supplement existing information, this current work attempts to address the discard reduction using guarding net in the small-scale fisheries of Egadi Islands MPA (Western Sicily, Central Mediterranean Sea). To assess the reduction of unwanted catches, 48 experimental fishing trials were conducted within a 6-month period. The experimental fishing trial employed a trammel net made up of 20 panels alternated with two different net configurations. The control panels (CN) held a large outer (180 mm) and small inner (31.25 mm) meshes. The test panels (GN) with guarding net constituted a three-mesh-high (50-mm mesh size) net placed between trammel net panels and a lead line. A total of 3,310 individuals belonging to 106 taxa and nine phyla were caught. Crustaceans were the most abundant unwanted catches in the control panels, whereas bioconstructions occurred in the guarding net panels. The discard ratios of CN and GN panels were statistically different (
t
-value = –2.55;
p
< 0.05). The analysis of catch per unit effort showed higher catches of CN panels for both commercial and discard fractions (
p
< 0.05). Moreover, the guarding net panels caught the main discarded species at 20% lower compared with the control. The overall value of the catch at the CN panels (€ 3,366.90) was higher than the total income (€ 2,043.70) generated using the GN panels, which suggests a significant commercial loss of 40% (
p
< 0.05).
We used a multi-locus phylogenetic approach (i.e., combining both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA fragments) to address some long-standing taxonomic inconsistencies within the diverse fish clade of ...Combtooth Blennies (Blenniidae—unranked clade Almadablennius). The obtained phylogenetic trees revealed some major inconsistencies in the current taxonomy of Parablennini, such as the paraphyletic status of the Salaria and Parablennius genera, casting some doubt regarding their actual phylogenetic relationship. Furthermore, a scarce-to-absent genetic differentiation was observed among the three species belonging to the genus Chasmodes. This study provides an updated taxonomy and phylogeny of the former genus Salaria, ascribing some species to the new genus Salariopsis gen. nov., and emphasizes the need for a revision of the genus Parablennius.
Olindiid freshwater jellyfishes of the genus
Lankester, 1880 are native to eastern Asia; however, some species within the genus have been introduced worldwide and are nowadays present in all ...continents except Antarctica. To date, there is no consensus regarding the taxonomy within the genus
due to the morphological plasticity of the medusa stages. The species
Lankester, 1880 was first recorded in Italy in 1946, and until 2017, sightings of the jellyfish
were reported for 40 water bodies. Here, we shed new light on the presence of the freshwater jellyfishes belonging to the genus
across the Italian peninsula, Sardinia, and Sicily. First, we report 21 new observations of this non-native taxon, of which eighteen refer to medusae sightings, two to environmental DNA sequencing, and one to the finding of polyps. Then, we investigate the molecular diversity of collected
specimens, using a Bayesian analysis of sequences of the mitochondrial gene encoding for Cytochrome c Oxidase Subunit I (mtDNA COI). Our molecular analysis shows the presence of two distinctive genetic lineages: (i) a group that comprises sequences obtained from populations ranging from central to northern Italy; (ii) a group that comprises three populations from northern Italy-i.e., those from the Lake Levico, the Lake Santo of Monte Terlago, and the Lake Endine-and the single known Sicilian population. We also report for the first time a mtDNA COI sequence obtained from a
medusa collected in Spain.
No molecular data are currently available for the Sicilian populations of the European pine marten Martes martes, thus preventing any sound inference about its native or non-native status on the ...island, as well as the local phylogeography of the species. In order to investigate these issues, we sequenced two mtDNA markers in road-killed specimens collected in Sicily. Both markers consistently demonstrated the existence of a well-characterised Sicilian clade of the species, which is endemic to the island and constitutes the sister group of a clade including the Mediterranean and Central–North European major phylogroups of the European pine marten. Such evidence supports the autochthony of Martes martes in Sicily and points to a natural Pleistocene colonisation of the island followed by isolation. The occurrence of a, to date undetected, major phylogroup of the species in Sicily calls for the dedicated monitoring of the Sicilian populations of the species in order to preserve this evolutionarily significant unit.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The copepod genus Tigriopus Norman, 1869 is distributed worldwide in coastal rock pools and it is currently considered to include 14 valid species. Tigriopus fulvus (Fischer 1860), with its ...subspecies Tigriopus fulvus adriaticus Van Douwe 1913 and Tigriopus fulvus algiricus Monard 1935, and Tigriopus minutus Bozic 1960 are currently reported to occur in the Mediterranean area, but the actual diversity of the genus is currently unknown. We aimed to assess the actual identity of Mediterranean Tigriopus populations and to elucidate their taxonomy and pattern of genetic diversity. In order to reach these goals, a fragment of a mitochondrial DNA gene (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, COI) was sequenced to be used as a reference marker. Our data suggest the presence of a single species characterized by a noteworthy geographically based genetic structure in the whole study area. The observed diversity pattern is tentatively ascribed here to a strong monopolization of the rock pools by the first immigrants that reached them. However, such a monopolization is periodically disrupted by local extinction events, which are frequent in the intrinsically unstable rock pool habitats. We propose the name “clockwork monopolization” for this pattern.
The host-parasite system “Emys trinacris – Placobdella costata – Haemogregarina stepanowi” is known for Sicily, but scarce information is available to date about the distribution of the two parasites ...on the island. Therefore, an extensive sampling effort through visual census and collection and analysis of blood smears of the endemic Sicilian pond turtle E. trinacris was carried out in 46 water bodies scattered throughout mainland Sicily. Our findings revealed that the distribution of both parasites is limited to the Nebrodi area, where the infection of H. stepanowi has shown a high incidence on the local turtle populations. Our data suggest no correlation between the current distribution of the two parasite species and environmental features. The current distribution of H. stepanowi and P. costata seems not to be relictual, but rather the outcome of a recent colonisation process. Considering the possible negative impact of both H. stepanowi and P. costata on their turtle host, their long-term effect on E. trinacris should be investigated.
We describe three new parastenocaridid: Cottarellicaris sanctiangeli Bruno & Cottarelli sp. nov., Stammericaris vincentimariae Bruno & Cottarelli sp. nov. and Proserpinicars specincola Bruno & ...Cottarelli sp. nov., collected in the pools of five different caves located in Calabria (Southern Italy). We conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial COI and ribosomal 18S sequences of C. sanctiangeli sp. nov. and S. vincentimariae sp. nov., and of four more species of Stammericaris and one Proserpinicaris available from literature. Based on the molecular study, the specimens of C. sanctiangeli sp. nov. are clearly separated from the species belonging to the closely-related genus Stammericaris. The morphological and molecular data indicate that the genera belonging to the two subfamilies Parastenocaridinae and Fontinalicaridinae form two monophyletic and distinct clades, thus supporting their status. We also provide insights on the genus Proserpinicaris based on morphological data only; in particular, the most important synapomorphic character of the genus, i.e., the taxonomic value of the hyaline structure inserted on the anterior surface of the male leg 4 basis, is discussed based on the development of the P4 endopod, as observed in the last copepodid stage of some species of this genus. Finally, we widen the biogeographic and ecological knowledge of the three genera.
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