First report of limno-terrestrial tardigrades from the Maltese archipelago

The first study on the limno-terrestrial tardigrade species from Malta and Gozo was carried out. Material was based on both old collections collected in 1977 and on recently collected material. In only four samples all of which proved positive for the presence of tardigrades, at least seven species of tardigrades were recorded, two of which are probably new species to science.peer-reviewe

The revenge of Gaia and the hope of utopia in the Mediterranean Sea’s decline

The current generations are the first to experience the emergence of the spectre of insurmountable limits. The revenge of the goddess Gaia, publicized by the great British scientist James Lovelock as the symbol to depict the earth, is surging throughout the whole planet.peer-reviewe

Bridging the gap : regulating climate change and its impacts on ocean life

Scientific evidence demonstrates that the effects of climate change upon the oceans will lead to biological, chemical and physical changes with dire environmental and geopolitical repercussions. The impacts of climate change upon the oceans, namely their warming, sea level rise, ocean acidification and resultant marine biodiversity loss have been consistently highlighted in various scientific reports. Experts, scholars and academic networks from various disciplines have raised awareness on the multifaceted and complex relationship between oceans, marine living resources and climate change. In political fora, climate change is often referred to as a threat multiplier. Earth scientists describe how the climate and oceans relationship accentuates the complexities of the natural world providing a classic example of how planetary boundaries, such as global warming, ocean acidification and marine biodiversity loss, interact to exacerbate the negative impacts caused by human behaviour. Outcomes from conferences and even applicable treaties acknowledge that a cross sectoral and an integrated, ecosystem approach is key to achieve sound governance of these natural resources.peer-reviewe

Regulation of the access to genetic resources of natural and historical value and sharing the benefits of their utilisation to favour conservation efforts

All living organisms contain or produce structures, genetic material and other chemicals that could be potentially useful to humans in various sectors. In the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), these resources are collectively termed genetic resources. Benefits which may be gained from their uses may range from a better understanding of the natural world to the development of a wide range of products and services for human benefit, including medicines, food additives as well as agricultural and environmental practices and techniques.peer-reviewe

Assessing biodiversity : a glorious past, an uncertain future

Measuring and maintaining diversity of life forms is undoubtedly of high importance. Paradoxically, support allocated to taxonomists, that is to those who reveal this diversity, seems to be negatively correlated to the importance given to biodiversity. The true reasons for the current biodiversity disaster, primarily derived from economic myopia, ignorance, and population pressure, seem to be to a large extent disregarded while, taxonomists are used as a scape-goat.peer-reviewe

Geological hazard in the central Mediterranean area

The present-day tectonic framework of the central Mediterranean area is the result of the Neogene-quaternary geodynamic processes related to the ca. N-S Africa-Europe convergence. This area is currently affected by large earthquakes and by local volcanic activity, mostly related to extensional or oblique-slip tectonics. The main regional feature in the area is a prominent fault belt that runs more or less continuously for a length of about 200km from the central sector of the Aeolian archipelago (Aeolian- Tindari fault system), along the Mount Etna coastline as far as the Hyblean-Malta offshore (Alfeo–Etna and Malta Escarpment fault systems), connecting southwards with the Sicily Channel rift systems.peer-reviewe

Insect life in the Maltese Islands : Quo vadis?

Worldwide, biodiversity is on the decline. In fact, over 40% of the terrestrial invertebrate species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List are classified as threatened with extinction. The Maltese Islands are no exception, with population densities of a number of indigenous insects steadily declining in these last two decades. This is particularly evident in charismatic species including butterflies and moths which have been monitored and studied over a longer period of time.peer-reviewe

The importance of salt marshes for the protection of rare species of macro Lepidoptera in the Mediterranean basin

Research studies pertaining to salt marshes habitats are rather fragmentary and thus information on species diversity is limited. Certainly, even among macro Lepidoptera, future investigations will lead to the discovery of new species.peer-reviewe

Global seafood markets : challenges and solutions for consumers

Human activities in and around the oceans are affecting the health of ocean ecosystems. In particular, the exploitation of natural resources such as fishing, likely has the greatest anthropogenic impact on the world’s marine ecosystems. Global fish landings decreased in the last 50 years in all countries due to continuous overfishing. Indeed, in the major fishing areas, as fishing intensity increased, catch per unit area of fishing effort has correspondingly decreased.peer-reviewe

A diversity of phenotypes, beyond species and genes

According to the Convention on Biological Diversity (United Nations, 1992; art. 2), “Biological diversity” [...] includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.” The most popular estimations of biodiversity are based on the number of species, commonly, limited to one or a few taxa such as birds, butterflies or flowering plants, sometimes filtered through algorithms highlighting relational properties such as the reciprocal distance of the involved species within a phylogenetic tree. Eventually, from these measures of diversity based on the number of species, the concept of disparity was differentiated, this being an estimate of the taxon’s occupancy of a suitably defined morphospace. Despite these articulations and refinements of the original idea of biological diversity, all these concepts and measures remain essentially confined within a morphological perspective, eventually integrated by taking also genotypic variation into account.peer-reviewe