Mediterranean developed coasts: what future for the foredune restoration?

The feasibility and efficacy of soft engineering foredune restoration approaches still lack insight from research and monitoring activities, especially in areas where dunes are under persisting human disturbance. We evaluated the efficacy of Mediterranean foredune restoration in dune areas freely accessible to tourists. Foredunes were reconstructed using only sand already available at nearby places and consolidated through the plantation of seedlings of native ecosystem engineer species and foredune focal species. We monitored transplanted and spontaneous seedlings for one year to assess their mortality and growth in relation to the distance from the closest beach access, either formal or informal, as proxy of human disturbance.We also tested whether species differing in their ecology (i.e., affinity to a given habitat) and growth form showed different response to human disturbance. The relationship between seedling mortality and growth and the distance from the closest beach access was tested through Generalized Linear Mixed Models. We found a clear spatial pattern of seedling survival and growth, which decreased as the proximity to the closest beach access increased. Only invasive alien plants and erect leafy species showed to better perform at lower distances from beach accesses. In dune areas with a strong tourist vocation, foredune restoration should be coupled with the implementation of integrated management plans aiming at optimising the relationship between protection and use. Management plans should not only rely on passive conservation measures; rather they should include educational activities to stimulate a pro-environmental behaviour, increase the acceptance of behaviour rules and no entry zones, and actively engage stakeholders in long-term conservation

Growth-survival trade-offs and the restoration of non-forested open ecosystems

The growth-survival trade-off has been extensively documented for phanerophyte species, whereas there is little evidence for non-phanerophyte species. However, information on the growth-survival trade-offs in non-phanerophyte species could be of great use in non-forested open ecosystem restoration by providing insights for plant production and transplantation, thus impacting the planning of cost-effective restoration actions. In this study, we explored the relationship between growth and survival of individual plants of non-phanerophyte species used in a coastal dune restoration project, and we investigated whether plant functional traits explained patterns of trade-off between growth and survival. We monitored 355 individual plants of 13 perennial non-phanerophyte species belonging to foredune and transition dune communities every 30 days after planting and calculated relative growth and survival rates. In addition, we regressed the relationship between growth and survival on values of leaf and floral traits. We found that, besides being a widely recognised axis of life history variation in phanerophyte species, the growth-survival trade-off can also be observed in perennial non-phanerophyte species. Species of different coastal dune communities (i.e., foredune vs. transition dune communities) differed with respect to the growth-survival trade-off, with plant species of foredune communities exhibiting higher growth but lower survival rates than plant species of transition dune communities. Leaf dry matter content and mean number of floral displays explained species position on the growth-survival trade-off axis; species with relatively high growth and low survival rates exhibited an acquisitive strategy, with low values of leaf dry matter content, but also a low sexual reproductive effort, as revealed by low number of floral displays. In contrast, plant species with relatively low growth and high survival rates exhibited a conservative strategy but also high sexual reproductive effort, suggesting that trade-offs occur in resource allocation among vegetative and reproductive plant structures. The trade-off we found between growth and survival in perennial non-phanerophyte species provides useful insights for planning cost-effective ecosystem restoration actions of non-forested open ecosystems, especially when the actions are nature-based and involve planting individual plants. The results of this study suggest that individual plant production for coastal dune restoration should disproportionately target plant species of foredune communities because they have low survival rates associated with low sexual reproductive effort. Planning plant production based on ecological knowledge of plant species’ growth and survival after planting in the field could help achieve restoration goals while meeting project cost-effectiveness requirements

The germination niche of coastal dune species as related to their occurrence along a sea–inland gradient

Aims: The early phases in the life cycle of a plant are the bottleneck for successful species establishment thereby affecting population dynamics and distribution. In coastal environments, the spatial pattern of plant communities (i.e. vegetation zonation) follows the ecological gradient of abiotic stress changing with the distance from the sea. This pattern has been mainly explained based on the adaptation and tolerance to the abiotic stress of adult plants. However, the adult niche may considerably differ from the germination niche of a plant species. The aim of this work was to investigate to what extent abiotic factors (specifically salinity, temperature, nitrogen and their interactions) constrain seed germination along the sea–inland gradient. Location: Latium coast (Central Italy). Methods: Germination tests were performed on seeds of focal species of three different plant communities which establish at increasing distances from the coastline: Cakile maritima subsp. maritima, Elymus farctus, Crucianella maritima. We tested increasing concentrations of NaCl (one of the main abiotic factors which decrease across the sea–inland gradient), and their interactions with temperature and KNO3, to consider other factors which drive germination processes. Results: The tolerance to salinity significantly decreased in relation to the position of species along the coastal zonation. Crucianella maritima was shown to be the least tolerant species, having a decrease in germination >80% across all conditions. KNO3 significantly (although slightly) increased the germination percentage in Cakile maritima subsp. maritima and Elymus farctus. When combined with NaCl, KNO3 alleviated the negative effects of salinity only in Cakile maritima subsp. maritima. Conclusions: The germination responses to the interaction among the tested factors suggest that the germination niche may explain vegetation zonation filtering species at their early stages. Quantifying environmental niches in different phases of the life cycle of plants may provide important insights into community assembly processes

Increasing the germination percentage of a declining native orchid (Himantoglossum adriaticum) by pollen transfer and outbreeding between populations

The declining native orchid Himantoglossum adriaticum H. Baumann is a European endemic of priority interest (92/43/ EEC, Annex II). Northern Italian populations of H. adriaticum are small and isolated, with depressed seed set. Given the important implications for plant population conservation, we tested the hypothesis that artificial pollen transfer (hand-pollination) and outbreeding between populations increases fruit set and seed germination percentage. The background fruit set and in vitro germination rates were determined for ten reference populations. An artificial cross-pollination experiment included (a) pollen transfer from one large population to two small and isolated populations; (b) pollen transfer between two small but not isolated populations; (c) within-population pollen transfer (control). All seeds were sown on a modified Malmgren's medium and cultured in a controlled environment. Germination percentage was compared using a Kruskal-Wallis anova. The background fruit set (mean = 18%) and germination (<5%) rates were consistently low across populations. Fruit set after hand-pollination was consistently 100%. Pollen transfer from the largest population to smaller populations resulted in an increase in total germination ranging from 0.9% to 2.9%. The largest increase in germination occurred between small-sized and less isolated populations (from 1.7% to 5.1%). The results of pollen transfer between the small populations are particularly encouraging, as the mean increase in germination was almost four times that of the control. Outbreeding can be considered a valuable tool to increase genetic flow and germination in natural populations, limit the accumulation of detrimental effects on fitness driven by repeated breeding with closely-related individuals, thereby increasing the possibility of conservation of rare or endangered species

Expression of calpain-calpastatin system (CCS) member proteins in human lymphocytes of young and elderly individuals; pilot baseline data for the CALPACENT project.

Ubiquitous system of regulatory, calcium-dependent, cytoplasmic proteases – calpains – and their endogenous inhibitor – calpastatin – is implicated in the proteolytic regulation of activation, proliferation, and apoptosis of many cell types. However, it has not been thoroughly studied in resting and activated human lymphocytes yet, especially in relation to the subjects’ ageing process. The CALPACENT project is an international (Polish-Italian) project aiming at verifying the hypothesis of the role of calpains in the function of peripheral blood immune cells of Polish (Pomeranian) and Italian (Sicilian) centenarians, apparently relatively preserved in comparison to the general elderly population. In this preliminary report we aimed at establishing and comparing the baseline levels of expression of μ- and m-calpain and calpastatin in various, phenotypically defined, populations of human peripheral blood lymphocytes for healthy elderly Sicilians and Poles, as compared to these values observed in young cohort

Imaging of SNR IC443 and W44 with the Sardinia Radio Telescope at 1.5 GHz and 7 GHz

Observations of supernova remnants (SNRs) are a powerful tool for investigating the later stages of stellar evolution, the properties of the ambient interstellar medium, and the physics of particle acceleration and shocks. For a fraction of SNRs, multi-wavelength coverage from radio to ultra high-energies has been provided, constraining their contributions to the production of Galactic cosmic rays. Although radio emission is the most common identifier of SNRs and a prime probe for refining models, high-resolution images at frequencies above 5 GHz are surprisingly lacking, even for bright and well-known SNRs such as IC443 and W44. In the frameworks of the Astronomical Validation and Early Science Program with the 64-m single-dish Sardinia Radio Telescope, we provided, for the first time, single-dish deep imaging at 7 GHz of the IC443 and W44 complexes coupled with spatially-resolved spectra in the 1.5-7 GHz frequency range. Our images were obtained through on-the-fly mapping techniques, providing antenna beam oversampling and resulting in accurate continuum flux density measurements. The integrated flux densities associated with IC443 are S_1.5GHz = 134 +/- 4 Jy and S_7GHz = 67 +/- 3 Jy. For W44, we measured total flux densities of S_1.5GHz = 214 +/- 6 Jy and S_7GHz = 94 +/- 4 Jy. Spectral index maps provide evidence of a wide physical parameter scatter among different SNR regions: a flat spectrum is observed from the brightest SNR regions at the shock, while steeper spectral indices (up to 0.7) are observed in fainter cooling regions, disentangling in this way different populations and spectra of radio/gamma-ray-emitting electrons in these SNRs.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication to MNRAS on 18 May 201

Enzymatic scarification of Anacamptis morio (Orchidaceae) seed facilitates lignin degradation, water uptake and germination

The seed coat of many species contains hydrophobic lignins, and in soil the action of microbial ligninases may contribute to release from dormancy. Laboratory use of ligninases to stimulate germination is promising because of the specific action on the seed coat, whereas chemical scarification agents may also corrode the embryo. We hypothesised that exposure of Anacamptis morio (Orchidaceae) seeds to fungal laccase would stimulate germination, and that the mechanism involves lignin degradation and increased imbibition. Germination capacity in vitro was quantified with 1 U filter-sterilised laccase added to agar medium following autoclaving, compared to a 10% bleach solution (standard bleach surface sterilisation/scarification method used in orchid seed sowing). Lignin degradation was quantified using an optical method (phloroglucinol-HCl staining) combined with image analysis, following experimental pre-treatments involving immersion in laccase solution, distilled water (negative control) or bleach (positive control). Water uptake after experimental treatments was quantified as the proportion of seeds exhibiting visible uptake of an aqueous fluorochrome under UV excitation. Laccase stimulated a doubling of germination in vitro with respect to bleach surface sterilisation/scarification alone, from 23.7 to 49.8% (P = 0.007). Laccase and bleach methods both significantly decreased the optical signal of phloroglucinol (for laccase, to 79.9 ± 1.3% of controls; anova: F = 10.333, P = 0.002). Laccase resulted in a modest but highly significant (P < 0.0001) increase in water uptake with respect to the control (11.7%; cf 99.4% for bleach). Laccase scarification can stimulate germination of A. morio through a mechanism of targeted seed coat degradation. The results demonstrate the potential of this relatively non-invasive enzymatic scarification technique

Immune profiling of Alzheimer patients

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by extracellular senile plaques in the brain, containing amyloid-β peptide (Aβ). We identify immunological differences between AD patients and age-matched controls greater than those related to age itself. The biggest differences were in the CD4+ rather than the CD8+ T cell compartment resulting in lower proportions of naïve cells, more late-differentiated cells and higher percentages of activated CD4+CD25+ T cells without a Treg phenotype in AD patients. Changes to CD4+ cells might be the result of chronic stimulation by Aβ present in the blood. These findings have implications for diagnosis and understanding the aetiology of the diseas