Tracking the invasion of Hemiramphus far and Saurida undosquamis along the southern Mediterranean coasts: A Local Ecological Knowledge study

Local Ecological Knowledge of 92 professional fishers from Tunisia and Libya was used to investigate on the occurrence and establishment of the exotic Hemiramphus far and Saurida undosquamis along the southern Mediterranean coasts. According to fisherman’s knowledge, H. far and S. undosquamis appeared in Libya, in 1980 and 1989 respectively. In Tunisia these species were observed afterwards, in 2004 and 2007. Currently both H. far and S. undosquamis result to be well distributed and established, along the entire surveyed area, from Tubrouk (eastern Libya) to Tabarka (western Tunisia). A statistical analysis of the qualitative trends in abundance perceived by the respondents show that both species have significantly increased in abundance in Tunisia. In Libya an increase of the abundance of H. far was also apparent during the first decade of the 21st century but the current abundance of S. undosquamis resulted to be stable at the level of occasional captures. Given the lack of regular environmental monitoring programmes in the area, these findings provide information that could not have been obtained otherwise. Besides improving our understanding on the status and chronology of these invasions, this approach highlights the value of fisherman’s knowledge to reconstruct ecological process in the course of rapid historical modifications

Science and Ideology in Economic, Political, and Social Thought

This paper has two sources: One is my own research in three broad areas: business cycles, economic measurement and social choice. In all of these fields I attempted to apply the basic precepts of the scientific method as it is understood in the natural sciences. I found that my effort at using natural science methods in economics was met with little understanding and often considerable hostility. I found economics to be driven less by common sense and empirical evidence, then by various ideologies that exhibited either a political or a methodological bias, or both. This brings me to the second source: Several books have appeared recently that describe in historical terms the ideological forces that have shaped either the direct areas in which I worked, or a broader background. These books taught me that the ideological forces in the social sciences are even stronger than I imagined on the basis of my own experiences. The scientific method is the antipode to ideology. I feel that the scientific work that I have done on specific, long standing and fundamental problems in economics and political science have given me additional insights into the destructive role of ideology beyond the history of thought orientation of the works I will be discussing

MEDLEM database, a data collection on large elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean and Black Seas

The Mediterranean Large Elasmobranchs Monitoring (MEDLEM) database contains more than 3,000 records (with more than 4,000 individuals) of large elasmobranch species from 21 different countries around the Mediterranean and Black seas, observed from 1666 to 2017. The principal species included in the archive are the devil ray (1,868 individuals), the basking shark (935 individuals), the blue shark (622 individuals), and the great white shark (342 individuals). In the last decades, other species such as the thresher shark (187 individuals), the shortfin mako (180 individuals), and the spiny butterfly ray (138) were reported with increasing frequency. This was possibly due to increased public awareness on the conservation status of sharks, and the consequent development of new monitoring programs. MEDLEM does not have homogeneous reporting coverage throughout the Mediterranean and Black seas and it should be considered as a database of observed species presence. Scientific monitoring efforts in the south-eastern Mediterranean and Black seas are generally lower than in the northern sectors and the absence of some species in our database does not imply their actual absence in these regions. However, the available data allowed us to analyse the frequency and spatial distribution of records, the size frequencies for a few selected the available data allowed us to analyse the frequency and spatial distribution of records, the size frequencies for a few selected species, the overall area coverage, and which species are involved as bycatch by different fishing gears

Anew record of a Lessepsian fish, Lagocephalus suezensis(Actinopterygii: Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae), in the south Mediterranean (Libyan coast)

The Lessepsian invasive fish, Lagocephalus suezensis was recorded for the first time in the eastern part of the Libyan coast, adding a new invasive species to the 16 Lessepsian species recorded in the Libyan waters

Teologie politiche islamiche. Casi e frammenti contemporanei

Questo volume raccoglie i contributi di studiosi di ambito internazionale che prendono in esame aspetti poco noti o apparentemente marginali della teologia politica islamica contemporanea, come il dibattito filosofico in Iran, le correnti teopolitiche indonesiane (il paese al mondo con il maggior numero di musulmani), aspetti millenaristi dell\u2019islamismo militante, mutazioni del misticismo islamico di fronte alla modernit\ue0. Il panorama composito che ne risulta fa balenare la natura profonda delle idee e delle correnti che agitano, inquietano e pacificano il mondo islamico, il mondo

Tracking the invasion of Hemiramphus far and Saurida lessepsianus along the southern Mediterranean coasts: A Local Ecological Knowledge study

8 pages, 4 figures, 3 tablesLocal Ecological Knowledge of 92 professional fishers from Tunisia and Libya was used to investigate the occurrence and establishment of the exotic Hemiramphus far and Saurida lessepsianus along the southern Mediterranean coasts. According to fisherman’s knowledge, H. far and S. lessepsianus appeared in Libya in 1980 and 1989, respectively. In Tunisia these species were observed later on, in 2004 and 2007. Currently both H. far and S. lessepsianus are well distributed and established, along the entire surveyed area, from Tobruk (eastern Libya) to Tabarka (western Tunisia). A statistical analysis of the qualitative trends in abundance perceived by the respondents shows that both species have significantly increased in abundance in Tunisia. In Libya an increase in the abundance of H. far was also apparent during the first decade of the 21 century, but the current abundance of S. lessepsianus was found to be stable at the level of occasional captures. Given the lack of regular environmental monitoring programmes in the area, these findings provide information that could not have been obtained otherwise. Besides improving our understanding on the status and chronology of these invasions, this approach highlights the value of fisherman’s knowledge to reconstruct ecological processes in the course of rapid historical modificationsThe present work was developed within the framework of the project ‘‘Tropical signals’’ (CIESM, Commission Internationale pour l’Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée) founded by Fondation Albert II of MonacoPeer Reviewe