SELINA SELLA MARSONI

ČEDOMIL LUCU

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Tribute to Professor Massimo Sella – former scientistand Director of the Marine Biological Station in Rovinj –On the occassion of 120th Anniversary of marineresearch in Rovinj (1891–2011)Short historical background of marineresearch in RovinjIn 1891, Otto Hermes foundedin Rovinj a station of Zoolo-gical garden and aquarium inBerlin, with the main purpose ofcollecting marine organisms forthe Aquarium in Berlin. The fa-mous German physician andpathophysiologist Rudolf Vir-chow visited several times hisfriend Baron Georg von Hûtte-rott in former monastery locatedon the island St. Andrija nearbythe city of Rovinj, and deservedcredit for the promotion of scien-tific activities and foundation ofthe research in the BiologicalStation. He initiated visits to theRovinj’s institution by FritzSchaudinn prominent scientistof that time (discovery of Spirocheta pallida pathogen of syphilis). In1903 Stanislaus von Prowasek (biological cycle of parasitic flagellateTrypanosoma) accepted an invitation from Schaudin to work as hisassistant collaborating with Biological Station in Rovinj. From 1907until 1911 via a research vessel »Rudolf Virchow« were organizedsummer cruises in Adriatic Sea. Plankton collections were studied byAdolf Steuer (1910) author of Planktonkunde, a textbook used even nowby students and scientists for studies of the aquatic plankton popula-tions in Adriatic. Massimo Sella was appointed in 1923 as Director ofBiological Station in Rovinj.After the turmoil caused by the World War I many looked to theLeague of Nations to bring stability to the world. Italy and Germanyaccepted the League of Nations, as mediator of Italian-German scienti-fic cooperation in Rovinj. In 1930 a contract between Regio ComitatoTalassografico Italiano of Rome (Royal Italian Oceanographic Com-^EDOMIL LUCU1,2SELINA SELLA MARSONI31University of Dubrovnik, ]. Cari}a 4,20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia2Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts,Zagreb, Division of Natural Sciences,A. Hebranga 1, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia3Via Losanna 4, 13900 Biella, ItalyCorrespondence:prof. dr. sc. ^edomil LucuR. Petrovi} 2, 52210 Rovinj, CroatiaE-mail: clucu@unidu.hrKey words: history, marine research, Rovinj,SellaReceived September 21, 2011.PERIODICUM BIOLOGORUM UDC 57:61VOL. 115, No 1, 105–108, 2013 CODEN PDBIADISSN 0031-5362mittee) and Kaiser Wilhelm Gesselschaft zur Forderungder Wissenschaften was signed, leading to the founda-tion of the Italian-German Institute of Marine Biology inRovinj. Common leadership of the Institute by two co--directors was initiated: Massimo Sella was appointed byRegio Comitato Talassografico (1923) and Adolf Steuer,professor at the University of Innsbrück, was appointedfrom the German side by physicist Max Planck, presidentof Keiser Wilhelm Geselschaft (later the Max-PlanckInstitutes). Aristocle Vatova was nominated in 1924 as aassistant of the Institute of Marine Biology in Rovinj(1, 2). Professor Sella supported his work on benthicstudies (3). From 1931 to 1943, by the Institute were issu-ed two scientific journals : Thalassia and Note dell’Istitutodi Biologia di Rovigno.A few excerpts from the Italian-German agreement(4) demonstrate that the consortium of both sides shouldwork on an equal basis, with control mechanisms andmanagement as a good ground for successful coopera-tion of the Institution. Having regard to the Conventionconcluded at Berlin on February 25, 1930, between theauthorised representatives of the Regio Comitato Talasso-grafico italiano and the Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft zurFôrderung der Wissenschaften, regarding the creation andoperation of the Institute of Marine Biology at Rovigno.Article 1A Consortium shall be set up between the Regio Co-mitato Talassografico Italiano of Rome,represented by itsPresident, and the Kaiser Wilhelm-Gesellschaft zur Fôr-derung der Wissenschaften of Berlin, also represented byits President, with the object of providing for the workingof the Institute of Marine Biology at Rovigno (Istria), inthe interests of the two Institutes concerned, and of sci-entists in both countries. The Consortium shall be calledthe »Italo-German Institute of Marine Biology at Ro-vigno«, and shall have its official seat at Rovigno. TheConsortium shall be constituted by Royal Decree pro-mulgated by the Italian Government as an independentcorporation with a clearly defined legal status.Article 2The Royal Italian Government shall transfer free ofcharge to the Consortium the full ownership of the Insti-tute of Marine Biology at Rovigno, which shall enjoy thesame fiscal treatment as at present. The ownership of allthe property of the Regio Comitato Talassografico atpresent assigned to the Institute shall likewise pass to theConsortium.Expenditure for the installation and work-ing of the Institute shall be borne equally by the RegioComitato Talassografico and the Kaiser Wilhelm-Ge-sellschaft zur Fôrderung der Wissenschaften. In respectto the permanent scientific staff of the Institute, however,it shall be known by the Contracting State of which suchpersons are nationals. The salaries of the staff shall befixed by the Board of Directors.Article 3The authorities of the Consortium shall be : (i) TheBoard of Directors ; (2) the Managing Directors ; (3) theAuditors.MASSIMO SELLA – SCIENTIST,INTELLECTUAL, HUMANISTMassimo Sella was born in May, 29, 1886 into an in-dustrial and bankers family in Biella, a small picturesquetown in the Italian province of Piemonte. Massimo Sellagraduated in natural history and defended a Ph.D. de-gree in Rome under the supervision of Professor Gio-vanni Battista Grassi (a pioneer in studies of Plasmodiumvivax and Plasmodium malariae; he studied transmissionof malaria by Anopheles mosquitoes). At the University ofRome young Massimo Sella was appointed by professorGrassi as assistant and latter docent of Comparative ana-tomy at the University of Rome. As a young man he wasoccupied by ideas to participate in the dirigible expedi-tion »Nobile« to the North Pole. He participated to thehumanitarian mission after the devastating earthquakewhich occurred in 1908 along the Straits of Messina be-tween the island of Sicily and the Italian mainland.His main preoccupation was marine biology. After aspecialization in ichthyology in Norway, Massimo Sellawas offered three options for his further career. One was aRockefeller fellowship in the USA, another the continua-tion of an academic career at the University in Rome, andthe third a working position in the Biological Station inRovinj . He accepted the third option and in 1923 was ap-pointed as a Director of the Biological Station in Rovinj.The activities of Massimo Sella included scientificwork on sponges and the migration and life of eels andtuna fish. Not less important was Sella’s engagement insolving problems of the local society in Istria, directed toprevention of the disease of malaria and the discovery oftruffle grounds in the inner parts of Istria and promotionof its exploitation.Under an Italian-Libyan joint project, exploitation ofsponges along the Libyan coastline has occurred over aperiod of 150 years. In 1920, for example, 70 tonnes ofsponges were exploited in Libya. Sella recommendedsustainable exploitation and was engaged in fundamen-tal studies of the ecology of sponges. He characterizedcrystalline iron minerals sized between 0.5 and 2.5 mm insponges of the genus Porifera (5). Coloration of thesecrystalline structures varies in intensity from specimen tospecimen and is caused by minute, strongly light-refract-ing particles attached to the fibers of the sponge skeleton.The so-called iron mould »Eisenfleck« is usually morecommon and intense at the »root« of the sponge, the areaof attachment to the substrate. These studies providedthe first evidence of mineralization among the hornysponges (Keratosa).In the Mediterranean and Atlantic, bluefin tuna cat-ches dated from ancestral time and were carried out bytrap fishery (tonnare). Professor Sella demonstrated pe-106 Periodbiol, Vol 115, No 1, 2013.^. Lucu and Selina Sella Marsoni Tribute to Professor Massimo Sellariodic fluctations of large amplitude (about 50 years) aswell as short-term variations of bluefin population in theMediterranean. He suggested fishing regulation stan-dards for tuna fish – the resources of which are beingfound at a critical stage of overfishing during the lasteighty years of exploitation. The constant and progres-sively increasing catch has caused the end of traditionalbluefin tuna fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean as well as analarming overall decrease of the fish population . The sci-entific interest of Massimo Sella was oriented to the mi-gration of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). In a scientificpublications (6, 7, 8, 9), he made an appeal to fishermanfor collection of hooks from which bluefin tuna had bro-ken free. Since at that time the types of hooks used incatching bluefin tuna in Europe were characteristic andexclusive by local use, so he was able to note by this »tunatagging« the approximate distance travelled by fish fromthe point of recovery. Based on these studies, Sella sug-gested that tuna migrate every year from the Atlanticthrough the Strait of Gibraltar to the Mediterranean forspawning. The migration route is along the African coast(Morroco, Algeria, Libya) In 1929, Sella participated inan International Congress in Sevilla and reported theseimportant studies on tuna fish migrations. Professor Sellanoted that bluefin tuna become mature at age three-to--four years (10). His methods to estimate the age andgrowth of Thunnus thynnus were based on the examina-tion of calcified concentric rings in vertebrae and are suc-cessfully applied also nowadays. Ageing comparisons fromvertebrae and spines of bluefin tuna coming from thesame species give comparable results (12). The use of ver-tebrae for the age studies was quite satisfactory beyond thefish age of fourteen. The ancient population of tuna repre-sented by Sella’s collection of skeletons (1880–1930) fromcentral and western Mediterranean regions was recentlyused to provide historical records as a basis for contempo-rary scientific analysis using techniques of molecular bi-ology in studies of temporal (historical) and spatial (geo-graphic) variations of tuna fish populations. By studyingmicrosatellite loci from contemporary and historic sam-ples it was found that the Mediterranean population con-tains subdivided populations. This structure has per-sisted for over 100 years and gene diversity has remainedintact in spite of overexploitation and dramatic decline ofthe populations (13). The existence of multiple breedingstocks raises concern that the newly recognized genepools are at risk from overfishing. In the cited publica-tion, the authors give tribute to Professor Sella, puttinghis name as a coauthor of the publication. Even half acentury after the death of Massimo Sella, his name iscited in recent internationally recognized scientific pub-lications.In 1920 Sella confirmed by tagging eels a connectionof Pazin (small city in Istria, Croatia) subterranean wa-ters with Ra{a River and possibly a connection with sea atthe Limski kanal (14). He also studied changes of lengthof eels occuring during transformation of transparentlarval stage and metamorphosis.In 1920 International Red Cross Office in Genevenominated Massimo Sella to organize antimalaric cam-paign. In 1921, Red Cross Society under the direction Dr.Sella undertook an antimalaria campaign in Spain. Notless important is also Sella’s activity in solving sanitaryproblems important for the local inhabitants in Istria(15). In 1920–1930 severe problems with malaria affectedthe local population in Istria and large regions all overthe Europe. Following the discovery of the role of Anoph-eles mosquitoes in transmitting malaria, biological meth-ods (instead of insecticides) were sought. The viviparousfish Gambusia holbrooki has for many years been consid-ered as an important predator of the immature stage ofmosquitoes, the subspecies G. affinis holbrooki being themost abundant of natural predators of Anopheles. AsAmerican ichthyologists had discovered the carnivorouscharacteristic of Gambusia, Professor Sella organized tran-sportation of Gambusia from New York to Trieste by theship President Wilson and courtesy of Captain Cosulich.From Trieste, fishes were transported in 50-l metal con-tainers and introduced in several ponds in Istria (16).Predation on native zooplankton populations and com-petition with other existing fish species are not well char-acterized. However, Gambusia was successfully used inIstria and Kvarner Littoral to control mosquito popula-tions (15, 17 , 18) and still live in some ponds close toRovinj.Professor Massimo Sella was the first one to suggestthat, like in his native region closed to the city Albafamous for the white truffle, Istria might be also goodground for truffles. Together with his friends Carlo Te-stoni and Pietro Giovanelli he was successful in collect-ing truffles (tartuffe) in the valley of river Mirna. Local in-habitants told them that under the surface soil are »blackpotatoes«, food for pigs. In 1933, Sella with BaroneseBarbara von Hûtterott established in Livade a companyfor the exploitation of truffles.What were the distinguishing characteristics of thisremarkable person? First was his dedication to marinebiology, his local environment, and global problems aswell. Professor Sella was a well-rounded intellectual withpolyvalent broad interests. In addition to science his in-terests were directed in the fields of artistic-documentaryphotography and writing books (19), dialectology, andmusic. He was multilingual in addition to Italian, inEnglish, German, French, Spanish and Latin. Sella wasan excellent musician playing Bach toccatas and Beetho-ven fugues, Chopin mazurkas, and Vivaldi concertos.He invited local brass band musicians in Rovinj and afew violin players with the intention to transform the lo-cal brass band into a classical orchestra and performedconcerts in the former building of the Cinema in Rovinjplaying the 1st Beethoven piano concert. Professor Sellawas unconventional personality frequently seen in Ro-vinj on a bike wearing a white jacket.In 1940 his friend and colleague co-director AdolfSteuer retired. The coming turbulent times were not agood ground for scientific activities. It was urgently sug-gested to Professor Sella to leave Rovinj. After Italian ca-Periodbiol, Vol 115, No 1, 2013. 107Tribute to Professor Massimo Sella ^. Lucu and Selina Sella Marsonipitulation following allied invasion of Italy steamboatBeroe, used by the Institute for supply of aquaria ani-mals, sunk, just before professor Sella’s intention to leaveRovinj. At that time in Institute were present ProfessorSella and a German lady working on Ctenophora . Theytook bicycles and on the 8th of September 1943 leftRovinj in the direction of Trieste.After the war Professor Sella was a member of the statecommission for scientific cooperation with Yugoslavia.On September, 04 1959, Dr. Sella died at age 73.About two decades of prominent work Professor Sellaleft deep tracks in building and maintaining the scien-tific continuity and international image of the Institutefor Marine Biology in Rovinj. Also, his contribution tosolve sanitary problems for local inhabitants, as well aspromoting cultural level in Istria should be remembered.Acknowledgements: Thanks to the Vice President of Com-munity of Rovinj Mr. Marino Budicin organizing the visit ofMrs. Selina Sella Marsoni in Rovinj, giving merit to thedaughter of the scientist. Thank-you very much to CentroStorico Rovinj and Nicolo Sponza for kind help and access intheir library. Mrs. Selina Sella Marsoni donated to the Rovinjcommunity a concert piano and helped recently in organisingan exhibition of documentary photography of Prof. Sella andseveral concerts. Work on publication was financially sup-ported by grant (project: 271-001-501-0828) of the Ministryof Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia.REFERENCES1. ZAVODNIK D, ZAVODNIK N, IVE[A LJ 2001 The 110th anni-versary of the Marine Research Station at Rovinj (Adriatic Sea,Croatia). Reference collections. Nat Croat 10: 53–602. CASELLATO S 2008 Marine Biology in the Adriatic Sea: An histor-ical review. Proc California Acad Sci 59: 193–205 (Suppl. 1).3. VATOVA A 1928 Compendium of flora and fauna of the AdriaticSea near Rovinj.4. Agreement between the German Reich and the Kingdom of Italy re-garding the Institute of Marine Biology at Rovigno. Signed at Rome,October 11, 1930. (No.2713; Translation)5. SELLA M 1912 La pesca delle spugne nella Libia. Mem R ComTalasograph Italiana 13: 1–1546. SELLA M 1929 Migrazioni a habitat del tonno (Thunnus thynnus L)studiati col metodo degli ami, con osservazioni sull’accescimento,sul regime delle tonnare ecc. Mem R Com Talassograf Ital 156:511–5427. SELLA M 1927 Les migrations des thons étudiées par le moyen deshamecons. Bulletin des Travaux Publiés par la Station d´Aquiculture etde Pêche de Castiglione (Alger) 2: 101–1368. SELLA M 1931 The tuna Thunnus thynnus L. of the western Atlan-tic. An appeal to fisherman for the collection of hooks found in tunafish. Internat. Revue ges. Hydrobiol Hydrog 25: 46–679. SELLA M 1932 Sulle migrazioni del tonno (Thunnus thynnus L.)Convegni Biologici, 1° Convengno: Biología Marina, Napoli, De-cember 1931, p 103–13610. SELLA M 1932 Il tonno. Conferenza Note dell'Istituto Italo-Ger-manico di Biología Marina di Rovigno d´Istria 3, p 1–2411. SELLA M 1924 Caratteri differenziali dei Giovanni stadi di Orcynusthynnus Lunk., O. alalonga Risso, Auxis bisus Bp. Rendiconti, Tai DellaReale Academia Nazionale dei Lincei, Roma, Serie 5, 33(1): 300–30512. RODRIGEZ-MARIN E, OLAFSTOTTIE D, VALERIAS J, RE-NIO M, CHOSSON-PAMPOULIE V, RODERIGUES –CABE-LLO C 2006 Ageing comparison from vertebrae and spins of bluefin(Thunnus thynnus) coming from the same species. Col. VVol. Sci.Pap. 59, 868–87613. RICCIONI G, LANDI M, FERRARA G, MILANO I, CARIANI A,ZANE L, SELLA M, BARBUJANI G, TINTI F 2010 Spatio-tem-poral population structuring and genetic diversity retention in de-pleted Atlantic Bluefin tuna of the Meditteranean Sea. Proc NatlAcad Sci 107: 2102–210714. SELLA M 1929 Estese migrazioni dell anguilla in aquae sotterraneemonographia R. C. Talassograf 158: 1–1715. SELLA M 1927 I pesci larvifagi e l’ esperimento di campagnaantimalarica con le Gambusie a Rovigno d’ Istria. Rivista di Mala-riologia: Fasc 6: 881–90916. BAKI] J 2006 Vjerodostojne ~injenice o prvom medicinsko-etimo-lo{kom laboratoriju Gambusia holbrooki u Hrvatskoj. Hrvatski ~aso-pis za javno zdravstvo 217. SELLA M 1928 I pesci larvifagi e l’esperimento di campagna anti-malarica con le Gambusie a Rovigno d’Istria. Boll. Pesca Piscic.Idrobiol 4 (2): 174–19718. SELLA M 1929 Gambusia e Verde di Parigi nella lotta antimalarica aRovigno e cenni sulla lotta in Istria. Rivista di Malariologia 8 (4):367–39219. SELLA M 1964 La Bursh Torino Centro Studi Biellesi, p 270108 Periodbiol, Vol 115, No 1, 2013.^. Lucu and Selina Sella Marsoni Tribute to Professor Massimo Sella1 Prof. dr.sc. ^edomil Lucu worked at the Center for Marine Research Institute R. Bo{kovi}, Rovinj from 1962 till his retirement as senior sci-entist in 2003

Tribute to Professor Massimo Sella – former scientist and Director of the Marine Biological Station in Rovinj – On the occassion of 120th Anniversary of marine research in Rovinj (1891–2011)

Tribute to Professor Massimo Sella – former scientist and Director of the Marine Biological Station in Rovinj – On the occassion of 120th Anniversary of marine research in Rovinj (1891–2011)

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