Modelling foraging movements of diving predators : A theoretical study exploring the effect of heterogeneous landscapes on foraging efficiency

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Rhodolith beds heterogeneity along the apulian continental shelf (Mediterranean sea)

Rhodolith beds represent a key habitat worldwide, from tropical to polar ecosystems. Despite this habitat is considered a hotspot of biodiversity, providing a suite of ecosystem goods and services, still scarce quantitative information is available thus far about rhodolith beds occurrence and ecological role, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. This study reports the composition and patterns of distribution of rhodolith assemblages found in four study areas along ca. 860 km of coast in the Central Mediterranean Sea. These rhodolith beds were studied for the first time and significant differences at all spatial scales have been highlighted, documenting the high variability of this habitat. Rhodolith species composition, morphology and distribution have been discussed considering the potential role of environmental factors in driving these patterns. The need for improving their protection is discussed to complement present conservation and management initiatives, particularly in the frame of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive

Dihydroquinidine versus disopyramide: Efficacy in patients with chronic stable ventricular ectopy

Dihydroquinidine (DQ) is contained in substantial amounts in quinidine salts, but its direct antiarrhythmic action has not been studied. The efficacy of oral DQ (300 mg t. i. d.) compared to disopyramide (D) (200 mg t.i.d.) was thus investigated using a double-blind crossover placebo-controlled protocol in 12 patients, aged 13 to 67 years, with chronic stable high frequency premature ventricular beats (PVB), defined as greater than 100 PVB/h during 48-72-h control Holter monitoring. The protocol included three 72-h treatment periods: DQ, D, and placebo at random. On days 2 and 3 of each period a 24-h Holter recording was carried out; drug blood levels were determined at peak (days 2 and 3) and trough time (day 3). No significant difference in the mean PVB/h was found between control (735 +/- 400) and placebo periods (564 +/- 388), or between the two Holter recordings of each period. Compared to placebo both DQ (106 +/- 113, p less than 0.005) and D (240 +/- 263, p less than 0.05) reduced the mean PVB/h, but the decrease was significantly higher with DQ (78 versus 53%, p less than 0.02). Nine patients (75%) on DQ and 5 (42%) on D had a greater than 70% decrease in mean PVB/h; complex PVBs were abolished in 3 of 6 patients on both treatments. On day 3, DQ plasma levels were 1.31 +/- 0.44 (peak) and 0.92 +/- 0.45 (trough) mg/l; D plasma levels were 2.88 +/- 0.64 (peak) and 2.02 +/- 0.31 (trough) mg/l; no significant difference was found between day 2 and day 3 samples.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS

seafloor integrity of the mar piccolo basin southern italy quantifying anthropogenic impact

ABSTRACTThe Mar Piccolo Basin is a coastal brackish marine ecosystem located along the northern coast of the Gulf of Taranto (Southern Italy). Despite the ecological relevance of the area (Site of Community Importance IT9130004, Regional Reserve 'Palude La Vela' EUAP1189), the entire basin is subjected to intensive human usage. The main activities include extensive mussel farming, important industrial activities, a military harbor and densely populated shores. The goal of our study was to spatially quantify human pressure within the basin and its relationship with biocoenoses. A broad set of data was integrated including acoustic remote data (obtained using a multibeam echosounder and side scan sonar devices), direct observations obtained by SCUBA diving and from a trawled camera, an orthophoto and ESRI® Imagery Basemap. At least eight categories of anthropogenic infrastructure and marks of past and present-day human activities were identified within the Mar Piccolo Basin water column and on the seafloor...

New deep-water cnidarian sites in the southern Adriatic Sea

Recent ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) exploration and bottom sampling in the southern Adriatic Sea (Apulian and Montenegrin margins) resulted in the discovery of cnidarian-rich deep-sea habitats in the depth range of ca. 400-700 m. In particular, ROV inspection of Montenegrin canyons reveals the existence of megabenthic communities dominated by a variety of cnidarians, including scleractinians (Madrepora oculata, Lophelia pertusa, Dendrophyllia cornigera),antipatharians (Leiopathes glaberrima) and gorgonians (Callogorgia verticillata) as major habitat forming taxa, often in association with sponges and, subordinately, serpulids. All such cnidarians are new records for the south-eastern side of the Adriatic Sea. Our investigation indicates that an almost continuous belt of patchy cold water coral sites occurs along the entire south-western margin (Apulian),basically connecting the Adriatic populations with those inhabiting the Ionian margin (Santa Maria di Leuca coral province)

Deletion of OGG1 Results in a Differential Signature of Oxidized Purine Base Damage in mtDNA Regions

Mitochondrial oxidative stress accumulates with aging and age-related diseases and induces alterations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content. Since mtDNA qualitative alterations are also associated with aging, repair of mtDNA damage is of great importance. The most relevant form of DNA repair in this context is base excision repair (BER), which removes oxidized bases such as 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) and thymine glycol through the action of the mitochondrial isoform of the specific 8-oxoG DNA glycosylase/apurinic or apyrimidinic (AP) lyase (OGG1) or the endonuclease III homolog (NTH1). Mouse strains lacking OGG1 (OGG1/) or NTH1 (NTH1/) were analyzed for mtDNA alterations. Interestingly, both knockout strains presented a significant increase in mtDNA content, suggestive of a compensatory mtDNA replication. The mtDNA “common deletion” was not detected in either knockout mouse strain, likely because of the young age of the mice. Formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase (Fpg)-sensitive sites accumulated in mtDNA from OGG1/ but not from NTH1/ mice. Interestingly, the D-loop region was most severely aected by the absence of OGG1, suggesting that this region may be a hotspot for oxidative damage. Thus, we speculate that mtDNA alterations may send a stress message to evoke cell changes through a retrograde mitochondrial–nucleus communication

Macro- and megafauna recorded in the submarine Bari Canyon (southern Adriatic, Mediterranean Sea) using different tools

Macro- and megafauna were recorded in the submarine Bari Canyon (southern Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Sea) during an oceanographic cruise carried out in May-June 2012 and an experimental fishing survey conducted in November 2013. During the former, a total of 20 benthic samples were taken using a Van Veen grab at depths between 268 and 770 m and 4 deployments of a baited lander, for about 43 hours of video records, were carried out at depths between 443 and 788 m. During the latter, 8 longline fishing operations were conducted from 338 down to 612 m. Eighty-five living benthic and benthopelagic species were recorded: 29 Porifera, 1 Cnidaria, 2 Mollusca, 11 Annelida, 1 Arthropoda, 19 Bryozoa, 3 Echinodermata and 19 Chordata. A total of 51 species are new records for the Bari Canyon, 29 new records for the Adriatic Sea. Among the Porifera Cerbaris curvispiculifer is a new addition for the Italian Sponge Fauna. The first certain record of living specimens for the bryozoan Crisia tenella longinodata is reported. A total of 6 Mediterranean endemic species have been identified: 4 Porifera and 2 Annelida. The bathymetric range of some species has been extended. New information acquired for deep sea species confirms their importance in the structure of cold-water coral communities. This study has updated the knowledge on the biodiversity of the Adriatic Sea, as well as of the Bari Canyon in particular, one of the sites designated as “jewels of the Mediterranean” for which urgent conservation measures are needed

Macro- and megafauna recorded in the submarine Bari Canyon (southern Adriatic, Mediterranean Sea) using different tools

Macro- and megafauna were recorded in the submarine Bari Canyon, located in the southern Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean Sea) during an oceanographic cruise carried out in May-June 2012 and an experimental fishing survey conducted in November 2013. During the former, 20 benthic samples were taken using a Van Veen grab at depths between 268 and 770 m and four deployments of a baited lander, for approximately 43 hours of video records, were carried out at depths between 443 and 788 m. During the latter, eight longline fishing operations were conducted from 338 m down to 612 m. Eighty-five living benthic and bentho-pelagic species were recorded: 29 Porifera, 1 Cnidaria, 2 Mollusca, 11 Annelida, 1 Arthropoda, 19 Bryozoa, 3 Echinodermata, and 19 Chordata. Fifty-one species are new records for the Bari Canyon, and 29 species are new records for the Adriatic Sea. Among the Porifera Cerbaris curvispiculifer is a new addition for the Italian sponge fauna. The first confirmed record of living specimens of the bryozoan Crisia tenella longinodata is reported. A total of six Mediterranean endemic species have been identified, four Porifera and two Annelida. The bathymetric range of some species has been extended. New information acquired for deep sea species confirms their importance in the structure of cold-water coral communities. This study has updated knowledge on the biodiversity of the Adriatic Sea, as well as of the Bari Canyon in particular, one of the sites designated as “jewels of the Mediterranean” for which urgent conservation measures are needed

Application of Hyperspectral Imaging to Underwater Habitat Mapping, Southern Adriatic Sea

Hyperspectral imagers enable the collection of high-resolution spectral images exploitable for the supervised classification of habitats and objects of interest (OOI). Although this is a well-established technology for the study of subaerial environments, Ecotone AS has developed an underwater hyperspectral imager (UHI) system to explore the properties of the seafloor. The aim of the project is to evaluate the potential of this instrument for mapping and monitoring benthic habitats in shallow and deep-water environments. For the first time, we tested this system at two sites in the Southern Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean Sea): the cold-water coral (CWC) habitat in the Bari Canyon and the Coralligenous habitat off Brindisi. We created a spectral library for each site, considering the different substrates and the main OOI reaching, where possible, the lower taxonomic rank. We applied the spectral angle mapper (SAM) supervised classification to map the areal extent of the Coralligenous and to recognize the major CWC habitat-formers. Despite some technical problems, the first results demonstrate the suitability of the UHI camera for habitat mapping and seabed monitoring, through the achievement of quantifiable and repeatable classifications