Baseline reef health surveys at Bangka Island (North Sulawesi, Indonesia) reveal new threats

Worldwide coral reef decline appears to be accompanied by an increase in the spread of hard coral diseases. However, whether this is the result of increased direct and indirect human disturbances and/or an increase in natural stresses remains poorly understood. The provision of baseline surveys for monitoring coral health status lays the foundations to assess the effects of any such anthropogenic and/or natural effects on reefs. Therefore, the objectives of this present study were to provide a coral health baseline in a poorly studied area, and to investigate possible correlations between coral health and the level of anthropogenic and natural disturbances. During the survey period, we recorded 20 different types of coral diseases and other compromised health statuses. The most abundant were cases of coral bleaching, followed by skeletal deformations caused by pyrgomatid barnacles, damage caused by fish bites, general pigmentation response and galls caused by cryptochirid crabs. Instances of colonies affected by skeletal eroding bands, and sedimentation damage increased in correlation to the level of bio-chemical disturbance and/or proximity to villages. Moreover, galls caused by cryptochirid crabs appeared more abundant at sites affected by blast fishing and close to a newly opened metal mine. Interestingly, in the investigated area the percentage of corals showing signs of ‘common’ diseases such as black band disease, brown band disease, white syndrome and skeletal eroding band disease were relatively low. Nevertheless, the relatively high occurrence of less common signs of compromised coral-related reef health, including the aggressive overgrowth by sponges, deserves further investigation. Although diseases appear relatively low at the current time, this area may be at the tipping point and an increase in activities such as mining may irredeemably compromise reef health.This research was partially funded by Coral Eye, which hosted FF and covered all field expenses. The non-profit organization Reef Check Italia Onlus sustained the cost for open source publication. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Variable X-ray absorption in the mini-BAL QSO PG 1126-041

X-ray studies of active galactic nuclei (AGN) with powerful nuclear winds are important for constraining the physics of the inner accretion/ejection flow around supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and for understanding the impact of such winds on the AGN environment. Our main scientific goal is to constrain the properties of the circum-nuclear matter close to the SMBH in the mini-broad absorption line quasar (mini-BAL QSO) PG 1126-041 using a multi-epoch observational campaign with XMM-Newton. We performed temporally resolved X-ray spectroscopy and simultaneous UV and X-ray photometry on the most complete set of observations and on the deepest X-ray exposure of a mini-BAL QSO ever. We found complex X-ray spectral variability on time scales of both months and hours, which is best reproduced by means of variable massive ionized absorbers along the line of sight. As a consequence, the observed optical-to-X-ray spectral index is found to be variable with time. In the highest signal-to-noise observation we detected highly ionized X-ray absorbing material outflowing much faster (v ~ 16500 km/s) than the UV absorbing one (v ~ 5000 km/s). This highly ionized absorber is found to be variable on very short (a few kiloseconds) time scales. Our findings are qualitatively consistent with line-driven accretion disk winds scenarios. Our observations have opened the time-resolved X-ray spectral analysis field for mini-BAL QSOs. Only with future deep studies will we be able to map the dynamics of the inner flow and understand the physics of AGN winds and their impact on the environment.Comment: Replaced to match the published versio

Accretion and outflow of gas in Markarian 509

A major uncertainty in models for photoionised outflows in AGN is the distance of the gas to the central black hole. We present the results of a massive multiwavelength monitoring campaign on the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509 to constrain the location of the outflow components dominating the soft X-ray band. Mrk 509 was monitored by XMM-Newton, Integral, Chandra, HST/COS and Swift in 2009. We have studied the response of the photoionised gas to the changes in the ionising flux produced by the central regions. We were able to put tight constraints on the variability of the absorbers from day to year time scales. This allowed us to develop a model for the time-dependent photoionisation in this source. We find that the more highly ionised gas producing most X-ray line opacity is at least 5 pc away from the core; upper limits to the distance of various absorbing components range between 20 pc up to a few kpc. The more lowly ionised gas producing most UV line opacity is at least 100 pc away from the nucleus. These results point to an origin of the dominant, slow (v<1000 km/s) outflow components in the NLR or torus-region of Mrk 509. We find that while the kinetic luminosity of the outflow is small, the mass carried away is likely larger than the 0.5 Solar mass per year accreting onto the black hole. We also determined the chemical composition of the outflow as well as valuable constraints on the different emission regions. We find for instance that the resolved component of the Fe-K line originates from a region 40-1000 gravitational radii from the black hole, and that the soft excess is produced by Comptonisation in a warm (0.2-1 keV), optically thick (tau~10-20) corona near the inner part of the disk.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, Proceedings of IAUS 290 "Feeding Compact Objects: Accretion on All Scales", C. M. Zhang, T. Belloni, M. Mendez & S. N. Zhang (eds.

Mediterranean gorgonians fighting

No abstract availabl

Mastectomy rates are decreasing in the era of service screening: a population-based study in Italy (1997-2001)

We enrolled all 2162 in situ and 21 148 invasive cases of breast cancer in 17 areas of Italy, diagnosed in 1997-2001. Rates of early cancer increased by 13.7% in the screening age group (50-69 years), and breast conserving surgery by 24.6%. Advanced cancer rates decreased by 19.4%, and mastectomy rates by 24.2%. Service screening did not increase mastectomy rates in the study population

Accretion and outflow of gas in Markarian 509

A major uncertainty in models for photoionised outflows in AGN is the distance of the gas to the central black hole. We present the results of a massive multiwavelength monitoring campaign on the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509 to constrain the location of the outflow components dominating the soft X-ray band. Mrk 509 was monitored by XMM-Newton, Integral, Chandra, HST/COS and Swift in 2009. We have studied the response of the photoionised gas to the changes in the ionising flux produced by the central regions. We were able to put tight constraints on the variability of the absorbers from day to year time scales. This allowed us to develop a model for the time-dependent photoionisation in this source. We find that the more highly ionised gas producing most X-ray line opacity is at least 5 pc away from the core; upper limits to the distance of various absorbing components range between 20 pc up to a few kpc. The more lowly ionised gas producing most UV line opacity is at least 100 pc away from the nucleus. These results point to an origin of the dominant, slow (v<1000 km s−1) outflow components in the NLR or torus-region of Mrk 509. We find that while the kinetic luminosity of the outflow is small, the mass carried away is likely larger than the 0.5 Solar mass per year accreting onto the black hole. We also determined the chemical composition of the outflow as well as valuable constraints on the different emission regions. We find for instance that the resolved component of the Fe-K line originates from a region 40-1000 gravitational radii from the black hole, and that the soft excess is produced by Comptonisation in a warm (0.2-1 keV), optically thick (τ~ 10-20) corona near the inner part of the dis

Editorial: Biogenic Reefs at Risk: Facing Globally Widespread Local Threats and Their Interaction With Climate Change

Biogenic reefs are secondary marine substrates, also referred to as bioconstructions or bioherms, made by autogenic ecosystem engineers (sensu, Jones et al., 1994) that provide habitats for various species. Their ecological role goes far beyond simple physical effects because they can modulate many resources and interactions between species inhabiting the reefs. Marine bioconstructions involve a variety of fragile three-dimensional habitats, from shallow water coral reefs to mesophotic coralligenous concretions, hosting rich, and diverse benthic assemblages (Cocito, 2004; Ingrosso et al., 2018; Cerrano et al., 2019). Biogenic reefs can be found from the intertidal to the deep sea; some are ephemeral and last a few years, while others remain active for millennia. The main framework builders are able to form bioconstructions at different latitudes, from tropical to polar zones, and include films of cyanobacteria and diatoms, calcareous rhodophytes, sponges, hermatypic symbiotic and aposymbiotic corals, polychaetes as serpulids and sabellariids, mollusks like vermetids, oysters and mussels, and bryozoans

Opadanje stoka školjkaša Ruditapes philippinarum u uvalama sjevernog Jadrana:anketa o ekološkim i društveno-ekonomskim aspektima

The Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum, introduced in the Venice lagoons in 1983 and rapidly spread to the nearby coastal lagoons represents one of the most important commercially- exploited resources of this area. Abundance, size-class and biomass distribution of the wild population living in the Pialassa Baiona lagoon were assessed and related to the hydrological and sediment characteristics. Despite the lagoon being affected by eutrophication, chemical and thermal pollution, the clams were harvested by about thirty professional fishermen until 2003. The commercially available stock was estimated at 36.8 10 3 kg in July 2002, 29.3 10 3 kg in April 2003, and 10.3 10 3 kg in October 2003. Stock estimations and observed mortality were in good accordance with the fishermen data. The decline of the available stock could be due to both overfishing and the extraordinary summer heat wave occurred in 2003, which may have reduced larval recruitment and increased the mortality. Overall, the juvenile recruitment appeared insufficient to annually restore the natural stock. Although the national and regional high relevance of clams market, local harvesting of wild populations appeared marginal and inadequate to support a remunerative commercial activity, due to the variability and unpredictability of the annual yield and the lack of a sustainable management based on a production chain’s approach.Školjkaš Ruditapes philippinarum, zabilježena u Venecijanskoj laguni 1983. godine gdje se brzo proširila i na obližnje obalne lagune te predstavlja jedan od najvažnijih komercijalno iskorištenih resursa ovog područja. U laguni Pialassa Baiona procjenjene su abundancija, veličina klase i raspodjela biomase prirodnih populacija u odnosu na hidrološke i sedimentne karakteristike. Unatoč tome što je laguna bila pogođena eutrofikacijom, kemijskim i toplinskim zagađenjima, oko trideset profesionalnih ribara sakupljalo je školjke do 2003. godine. Dostupne zalihe stoka komercijalnih vrsta procijenjene su na 36,8 10, 3kg u srpnju 2002. godine, zatim na 29.3 10 3kg u travnju 2003. godine i na 10,3 10 3 kg u listopadu 2003. godine. Procjene zaliha i smrtnosti bile su u skladu s podacima ribara. Pad raspoloživih zaliha mogao bi biti posljedica prekomjernog izlova i izvanrednog ljetnoga toplinskog vala koji se dogodio 2003. godine, što je utjecalo na smanjenje novačenja ličinki i povećanje smrtnosti. Sveukupno gledano novačenje juvenilnih primjeraka nije bilo dovoljno za godišnje obnavljanje prirodnih zaliha. Iako je na nacionalnoj i regionalnoj razini velika važnost tržišta školjki, lokalna berba divljih populacija jest marginalna i neadekvatna za podupiranje profitabilne komercijalne aktivnosti, zbog varijabilnosti i nepredvidljivosti godišnjeg prinosa i nedostatka održivog upravljanja temeljenog na pristupu proizvodnog lanca

Chemical and biological indicators of water quality in three agricultural watersheds of the Po valley, Italy

open9noAgriculture has both direct and indirect effects on quality of surface water and is one of the key activities causing water quality degradation. Its environmental impact can be evaluated by the determination of indicators of the quality of water bodies that collect drainage and runoff waters from agricultural watersheds. For this research, the water quality draining from three watersheds, totally or partially cultivated, all within the Po river valley (Italy), was determined, using chemical indicators (N-NO3 and N-NH4 concentration, N balance), trophic status (chlorophyll-a concentration) and benthic population indexes. Together, they should provide an overview of the water status, which is supposed to be strictly related to the land use and the management. Results show that the chemical parameters are well related to land use and farming management: intensive agricultural activity leads to high N-NO3 concentration in water and N surplus and vice versa. The chlorophyll-a concentration follows the same trend, being linked to nitrogen loads and land use. Not always there is accordance between chemical and biological indicators: no direct correspondence is evident between the N-NO3 concentration in waters and benthic community. Its presence and abundance seems to be mostly correlated with the geomorphology, hydrology, riparian strips, etc. of the habitat than to the land use. Only the integration of chemical and biological parameters allows a correct understanding of the state of health of water body and benthic communities.openPIERI L.; VENTURA F.; VENTURA M.; TAGLIAVINI M.; PONTI M.; PISTOCCHI R.; ALBERTAZZI S.; VIGNUDELLI M.; ROSSI PISA P.PIERI L.; VENTURA F.; VENTURA M.; TAGLIAVINI M.; PONTI M.; PISTOCCHI R.; ALBERTAZZI S.; VIGNUDELLI M.; ROSSI PISA P

Spring composition of the macroalgal vegetation of a small offshore island in the north-western Mediterranean (Gallinara Island, Ligurian Sea)

Gallinara Island, a small island located 1.5 km off the shore of Liguria (Italy, north-western Mediterranean Sea) was included in a list of proposed Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in the early 90s. Since then, its benthic assemblages have been studied in detail and the main macrophytic communities have been mapped. A detailed assessment of its benthic macroalgal flora, however, has never been made. Gallinara was visited in the course of 5 consecutive years and its macroalgal flora was studied based on collections made by snorkelling and SCUBA diving. Overall, 141 macroalgal taxa were collected and identified (23 Chlorophyta, 94 Rhodophyta, 24 Ochrophyta); 91 of them represent new records for the island. One of the most notable new records is the non-indigenous red alga Womersleyella setacea, previously unreported from the island and widely distributed, particularly on the south-eastern shore. Observations made in the course of the surveys confirm the rarefaction of some large-sized brown algae (particularly Sargassum vulgare) but indicate also that others previously reported as rare (Cystoseira compressa, Dictyopteris polypodioides) are still common on the island