Seasonal response of benthic foraminifera to anthropogenic pressure in two stations of the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea, Italy): the marine protected area of Miramare versus the Servola water sewage outfall

A seasonal survey of living benthic foraminifera was performed in 2013 in the Gulf of Trieste (N Adriatic Sea) to compare two marine coastal sites with different degrees of anthropogenic influence. An assessment of ecological quality statuses showed that the station located near the end of an urban pipeline (Ser station), has worse ecological conditions than the site located in a protected marine area (Res station) all year around. Stressed conditions at Ser station were mainly related to high contents of total organic carbon (TOC) and Zn in the bioavailable fraction, which were a limiting factor for the studied foraminiferal communities. Ammonia tepida, Bolivina spp., and Bulimina spp., which characterised this station, were the most tolerant taxa of the studied assemblage. Conversely, Elphidium spp., H. depressula, N. iridea, Quiqueloculina spp., R. nana and Textularia spp., could be considered less tolerant species as they benefitted from the less stressful conditions recorded at Res station, despite slightly higher concentrations of some potentially toxic elements (PTEs), especially Pb, being recorded in this station in comparison to Ser station. Furthermore, foraminiferal assemblages were found to be quite resilient over an annual cycle, being able to recover from a seasonal unbalanced state to a mature one. The beginning of spring and latest summer would be the best period to assess the ecological quality status to avoid any under- or overestimation of the health of the environment

Recent foraminifera from the Croatian Adriatic seacoast

Abstrac

Infralittoral ostracode fauna of Porto Puddu Rias (northern Sardinia)

The knowledge of the infralittoral ostracodes presents an increasing interest since it is an essential tool for several fields of research such as human impact of the coastal environments, including environmental monitoring, geoarchaeology and reconstruction of ancient shorelines. The study of the infralittoral ostracode fauna of a small bay of northern Sardinia may represent an useful piece of this knowledge. This bay near Porto Puddu is characterized by shallow seafloors presenting wide vegetated areas, progression of the shoreline and seasonal strem (southern sector). Moreover, its water column is conditioned by winds along the year (Astraldi et al., 1980)

The development of the mollusc fauna in the Cenomanian of the stratigraphie sequence of Visogliano (Karst of Trieste, Italy)

The stratigraphie sequence of Visogliano (Karst of Trieste) belongs to lower part of the Zolla Member of the still informal and provisional "Trieste Karst Limestone Formation" and has been attributed to Middle-Late Cenomanian. This sequence records an environmental evolution of more or less restricted settings,where a rich mollusc fauna is present.Among the molluscs, six radiolitid species occur (Radiolites carsicus n. sp., Radiolites peroni, Praeradiolites acutilamellosus n. sp., Praeradiolites cf. P. fleuriausus, Sauvagesia sharpei, and Durania acuticostata n. sp.). Of these,three species are described as new (Radiolites carsicus n. sp., Praeradiolitesacutilamellosus n. sp., and Durania acuticostata n. sp.). In addition, attention has been focussed on the link between radiolitids and environmental changes to refine the previously described environmental evolution. In this regard, a hierarchyof tolerability to environmental changes can be also suggested. The most tolerant radiolitids species are Praeradiolites cf. P. ßeuriausus and Sauvagesia sharpei, meanwhile the least tolerant ones are Radiolites carsicus n. sp., Radiolites peroni, Praeradiolites acutilamellosus n. sp., and Durania acuticostata

Trieste Karst: geological and stratigraphical notes

Detailed geological and stratigraphical description of the Karst of Trieste