Environmental Noise and Nonlinear Relaxation in Biological Systems

We analyse the effects of environmental noise in three different biological systems: (i) mating behaviour of individuals of \emph{Nezara viridula} (L.) (Heteroptera Pentatomidae); (ii) polymer translocation in crowded solution; (iii) an ecosystem described by a Verhulst model with a multiplicative L\'{e}vy noise.Comment: 32 pages; In "Ecological Modeling" by Ed. Wen-Jun Zhang. ISBN: 978-1-61324-567-5. - Nova Science Publishers, New York, 201

NEMO-SN1 Abyssal Cabled Observatory in the Western Ionian Sea

The “NEutrino Mediterranean Observatory - Submarine Network 1” (NEMO-SN1) seafloor observatory is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, Western Ionian Sea, off Eastern Sicily (Southern Italy) at 2100 m water depth, 25 km from the harbour of the city of Catania. It is a prototype of a cabled deep-sea multiparameter observatory and the first one operating with real-time data transmission in Europe since 2005. NEMO-SN1 is also the first-established node of the “European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory” (EMSO, http://www.emso-eu.org), one of the incoming European large-scale research infrastructures included in the Roadmap of the “European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures” (ESFRI, http://cordis.europa.eu/esfri/roadmap.htm) since 2006. EMSO will specifically address long-term monitoring of environmental processes related to Marine Ecosystems, Climate Change and Geo-hazards. NEMO-SN1 has been deployed and developed over the last decade thanks to Italian funding and to the EC project “European Seas Observatory NETwork - Network of Excellence” (ESONET-NoE, 2007-2011) that funded the “Listening to the Deep Ocean - Demonstration Mission” (LIDO-DM) and a technological interoperability test (http://www.esonet-emso.org/). NEMOSN1 is performing geophysical and environmental long-term monitoring by acquiring seismological, geomagnetic, gravimetric, accelerometric, physico-oceanographic, hydroacoustic, bio-acoustic measurements. Scientific objectives include studying seismic signals, tsunami generation and warnings, its hydroacoustic precursors, and ambient noise characterisation in terms of marine mammal sounds, environmental and anthropogenic sources. NEMO-SN1 is also an important test-site for the construction of the “Kilometre-Cube Underwater Neutrino Telescope” (KM3NeT, http://www.km3net.org/), another large-scale research infrastructure included in the ESFRI Roadmap based on a large volume neutrino telescope. The description of the observatory and its most recent implementations is presented. On 9th June, 2012 NEMO-SN1 was successfully deployed and is working in real-time.Published358 - 3741.8. Osservazioni di geofisica ambientaleJCR Journalrestricte

Evidence of stochastic resonance in the mating behavior of Nezara viridula (L.)

We investigate the role of the noise in the mating behavior between individuals of Nezara viridula (L.), by analyzing the temporal and spectral features of the non-pulsed type female calling song emitted by single individuals. We have measured the threshold level for the signal detection, by performing experiments with the calling signal at different intensities and analyzing the insect response by directionality tests performed on a group of male individuals. By using a sub-threshold signal and an acoustic Gaussian noise source, we have investigated the insect response for different levels of noise, finding behavioral activation for suitable noise intensities. In particular, the percentage of insects which react to the sub-threshold signal, shows a non-monotonic behavior, characterized by the presence of a maximum, for increasing levels of the noise intensity. This constructive interplay between external noise and calling signal is the signature of the non-dynamical stochastic resonance phenomenon. Finally, we describe the behavioral activation statistics by a soft threshold model which shows stochastic resonance. We find that the maximum of the ensemble average of the input-output cross-correlation occurs at a value of the noise intensity very close to that for which the behavioral response has a maximum.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to appear in EPJ B (2008

Different types of sediment gravity flows detected in the Var submarine canyon (northwestern Mediterranean Sea)

Current velocities and vertical sediment fluxes in the Var submarine canyon were assessed at three stations respectively at 800 m, 1200 m and 1800 m depth, using moorings deployed for 4 months during winter 2008–2009. During this period, we observed three major sediment gravity flows, all characterized by sudden increases in current velocity that lasted 2–5 h and by downward particle fluxes. Each gravity flow, described using a high frequency current meter and two Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (75 and 300 kHz ADCP) showed distinctive features. The first event, triggered during a flood of the Var River, was determined to be a hyperpycnal current with a large vertical extent (>100 m high) and relatively low velocity (40 cm s 1). The second event, observed after a Var River flood, was more energetic with a maximum horizontal current peak of 60 cm s 1 but with a low vertical extent (30 m high). This event was considered to be a turbidity landslide. The third was the result of a local canyon wall failure. It was characterized by a speed of >85 cm s 1. These peaks of current speed were associated with large clouds of material that transported sediment along the canyon and reached up to 200 g m 2 d 1 of sediment (>1 g m 2 d 1 of organic carbon). Our measurements in the Var canyon show the important role of gravity flows transporting particulate matter to the deep-sea floor. These large inputs of sediment and organic carbon may have a significant impact on deep-sea carbon storage in the Mediterranean Sea.Published138-1531.8. Osservazioni di geofisica ambientaleJCR Journalrestricte