Linking food web functioning and habitat diversity for an ecosystem based management: A Mediterranean lagoon case-study

We propose a modelling approach relating the functioning of a transitional ecosystem with the spatial extension of its habitats. A test case is presented for the lagoon of Venice, discussing the results in the context of the application of current EU directives. The effects on food web functioning due to changes related to manageable and unmanageable drivers were investigated. The modelling procedure involved the use of steady-state food web models and network analysis, respectively applied to estimate the fluxes of energy associated with trophic interactions, and to compute indices of food web functioning. On the long term (hundred years) temporal scale, the model indicated that the expected loss of salt marshes will produce further changes at the system level, with a lagoon showing a decrease in the energy processing efficiency. On the short term scale, simulation results indicated that fishery management accompanied by seagrass restoration measures would produce a slight transition towards a more healthy system, with higher energy cycling, and maintaining a good balance between processing efficiency and resilience. Scenarios presented suggest that the effectiveness of short term management strategies can be better evaluated when contextualized in the long term trends of evolution of a system. We also remark the need for further studying the relationship between habitat diversity and indicators of food web functioning

High resolution multibeam and hydrodynamic datasets of tidal channels and inlets of the Venice Lagoon

Tidal channels are crucial for the functioning of wetlands, though their morphological properties, which are relevant for seafloor habitats and flow, have been understudied so far. Here, we release a dataset composed of Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) extracted from a total of 2,500 linear kilometres of high-resolution multibeam echosounder (MBES) data collected in 2013 covering the entire network of tidal channels and inlets of the Venice Lagoon, Italy. The dataset comprises also the backscatter (BS) data, which reflect the acoustic properties of the seafloor, and the tidal current fields simulated by means of a high-resolution three-dimensional unstructured hydrodynamic model. The DTMs and the current fields help define how morphological and benthic properties of tidal channels are affected by the action of currents. These data are of potential broad interest not only to geomorphologists, oceanographers and ecologists studying the morphology, hydrodynamics, sediment transport and benthic habitats of tidal environments, but also to coastal engineers and stakeholders for cost-effective monitoring and sustainable management of this peculiar shallow coastal system

Case Study: LifeWatch Italy Phytoplankton VRE

LifeWatch Italy, the Italian node of LifeWatch ERIC, has promoted and stimulated the debate on the use of semantics in biodiversity data management. Actually, biodiversity and ecosystems data are very heterogeneous and need to be better managed to improve the actual scientific knowledge extracted, as well as to address the urgent societal challenges concerning environmental issues. LifeWatch Italy has realized the Phytoplankton Virtual Research Environment (hereafter Phytoplankton VRE), a collaborative working environment supporting researchers to address basic and applied studies on phytoplankton ecology. The Phytoplankton VRE provides the IT infrastructure to enable researchers to obtain, share and analyse phytoplankton data at a level of resolution from individual cells to whole assemblages. A semantic approach has been used to address data harmonisation, integration and discovery: an interdisciplinary team has developed a thesaurus on phytoplankton functional traits and linked its concepts to other existing conceptual schemas related to the specific domain

Data Descriptor: high resolution multibeam and hydrodynamic datasets of tidal channels and inlets of the Venice Lagoon

Tidal channels are crucial for the functioning of wetlands, though their morphological properties, which are relevant for seafloor habitats and flow, have been understudied so far. Here, we release a dataset composed of Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) extracted from a total of 2,500 linear kilometres of high-resolution multibeam echosounder (MBES) data collected in 2013 covering the entire network of tidal channels and inlets of the Venice Lagoon, Italy. The dataset comprises also the backscatter (BS) data, which reflect the acoustic properties of the seafloor, and the tidal current fields simulated by means of a high-resolution three-dimensional unstructured hydrodynamic model. The DTMs and the current fields help define how morphological and benthic properties of tidal channels are affected by the action of currents. These data are of potential broad interest not only to geomorphologists, oceanographers and ecologists studying the morphology, hydrodynamics, sediment transport and benthic habitats of tidal environments, but also to coastal engineers and stakeholders for cost-effective monitoring and sustainable management of this peculiar shallow coastal system

Quality criteria of freshness, morphological species recognition and risk for human food consumption of the species belonging to the order Scorpaeniformes

Introduction Order Scorpaeniformes includes thousand species, they are marketed fresh, frozen, filleted. In Italy gurnard are fished for a total of 1579 t (2005). The rockfish are caught in smaller quantities due to overfishing and a slow growth of young fish. Aim of the study is to identify characteristics of recognition (RC) and freshness (FC), as well as the possible risks for human consumer of the species belonging to the Scorpaeniformes present on the Italian market. Materials and methods Ten species are identified and high-resolution photographed. Results and Discussion FC gurnard and northern rockfish fall within the group of white fish in the Reg. CE 2406/96 that describes the caratteristics of freshness, in this norm are given the minimum marketing sizes for gurnard. The Reg. CE 2074/2005 fixed volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) for Sebastes spp., Helicolenus dactylopterus to 25 mg of nitrogen/100 g of meat. In a study by Hilling et al. (1960) have measured 1.06 mg/100 g TVB-N in Sebastes sp. after 2.4 days of ice storage and was estimated levels of 36.6 mg/100 g TVB-N to 14 days of ice storage. For Sebastes marinus and Chelidonishthys lucernus has been developed a Quality Index Method (QIM), that estimated a shelf life at 16 - 19 days at 4-5 \ub0 C of storage. RC: Scorpaeniformes species have some peculiarities that make them identifiable, in doubtful cases are available Isoeletrophoretic tracks. Fraud for substitution between gurnard and pangasius has made it important the recognition of the fillet as described recently by Malandra and Coll. Finally there is two types of risks for human consumer, the first risk is represented by Anisakis sp. (16% of prevalence in Trigla lira ), second type of risk is the presence of heavy metal (mercury) in redfish that exceeds the limits imposed by Reg CE 1881/2006

LE MOLECHE: UNA SANA E PRELIBATA RICCHEZZA DELLA LAGUNA VENETA

Le moleche e mazanette sono una particolare attivit\ue0 di pesca del granchio comune o verde (Carcinus aestuarii), che non commestibile come tale diventa un ricercato alimento., nel momento della sua muta (abbandono dell\u2019exuvia) che periodicamente compie per crescere. Vengono descritte le varie fasi della produzione delle moleche, l\u2019ispezione e la vigilanza da parte dell\u2019Autorit\ue0 sanitaria. Si riportano i risultati di analisi microbiologiche e chimiche, radioattivit\ue0 e residui di xenobiotici effettuate su 21 campioni di moleche