Eastern and Western Poor Cod (Trisopterus minutus capelanus) Populations in the Mediterranean Sea: Evidence from Allozyme and Minisatellite Loci

Abstract. Nine allozyme and two minisatellite loci were used to investigate potential genetic differentiation among three samples of Mediterranean poor cod, Trisopterus minutus capelanus, from the Gulf of Lion, the Tuscan Archipelago and the Aegean Sea. Both types of markers showed consistent results, with F_ST values of 0.0262 and 0.0296 (P < 0.0015, after Bonferroni correction for multiple tests) for allozymes and minisatellites, respectively. Allele frequency heterogeneity tests between pairs of samples showed a clear separation between the two western Mediterranean samples (Gulf of Lion, Tuscan Archipelago) and the eastern one (Aegean Sea). The results indicate that at least two reproductively isolated populations of poor cod occur in the Mediterranean.     

Regional record of a global oceanic anoxic event: OAE1a on the Apulia Platform margin, Gargano Promontory, southern Italy

The Gargano Promontory of southern Italy, located on the eastern margin of the Apulia Platform, represents a peculiar Tethyan area where the transition between carbonate platform and adjacent basins is exposed on land. The Aptian stratigraphic record, represented in shallow-water, slope and deep-water deposits, provides a good opportunity to investigate the regional response to the worldwide documented climatic, biotic and palaeoceanographic changes related to Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE1a). A synthesis of data previously published (Ischitella and Coppitella sections), together with original data (Val Carbonara and Coppa della Guardia sections), from four stratigraphic sections from different depositional settings (proximal to distal) is provided, using an integrated, high-resolution micropalaeontological (planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils) and, for one section, geochemical (stable carbon and oxygen isotopes) approach. Organic matter preservation is confined to the more distal areas and consists of two thin intervals of black shales in the Aptian portion of the Marne a Fucoidi Formation. Biostratigraphic data assign the older black shale (5 cm thick) to the Selli Level equivalent (OAE1a, Lower Aptian); this carbon-rich interval is immediately followed by another black shale (7–10 cm thick) of early Late Aptian age.OAE1a is generally interpreted as a high-productivity event during a warming interval, followed by a cooling trend. In the Gargano Promontory, although the oxygen isotope curve indicates the above-mentioned climatic evolution, the micropalaeontological data do not support high fertility of the surface water, whereas micropalaeontological and geochemical data for the younger black shale do record high productivity (radiolarian increase in overall abundance, low nannofossil and foraminiferal species richness, increase in abudance of nannofossil fertility indices) associated with a cooling trend. The carbon and oxygen isotope record is in line with evidence from the curves documented elsewhere, whereas, among the biotic events, only the “nannoconid crisis” preceding OAE1a is revealed to be globally correlable.Environmental models for the two episodes of organic matter preservation are proposed, taking into account both global and local controlling factors.     

Resilience and seismic risk perception at school: a geoethical experiment in Aiello Calabro,southern Italy

The last few years have seen the debate on the geoethics of environmental and climatic protection growing to include resilience as a central idea within this new discipline, which holds many similarities with geography. Resilience analysis often looks at the capacity to re-establish conditions of equilibrium within a system which has been hit by a serious shock, e.g. a natural or man-made disaster. Geoethics works, in tandem with geological analyses and the geography of risk, to inform a population and develop integrated risk management in such a way as to strengthen a community’s resilience. The aim of this work is to study some people’s capacity to overcome what was potentially a disastrous event and, through a process of reconstruction, turn it into an occasion for growth. The experiment, carried out in the primary and middle schools in Aiello Calabro (Calabria, southern Italy), was conducted on the basis of the belief that there is a close relationship between a population’s having a realistic understanding of the risk of such an event, e.g. an earthquake, and high levels of resilience. We also tried to gain an insight into the relationship that may exist between resilience in primary and secondary school children and methods of coping which give an appropriate management of seismic risk. To be more precise, we try to discover whether there is a link between good/appropriate resilience and good/appropriate risk management.

     

Biosorption with autochthonous and allochthonous fungal biomasses for bioremediation and detoxification of landfill leachate

Landfill leachates are not adequately treated in traditional wastewater treatment plants, on account of their problematic peculiarities: i.e., dark colour, high concentration of recalcitrant pollutants and COD, and high toxicity. In this work, 19 biomasses (15 autochthonous and 4 allochthonous) were exploited in biosorption treatment for the remediation of a leachate (influent) and the effluent coming from the biological oxidation with activated sludge and nitrification–denitrification treatment. The effects of the initial pH, the biomass amount, and the medium for the biomass pre-culture were considered. The best configuration was: pH 5, 5 g L^??1 biomass cultivated on STY medium. Eventually, the two most effective biomasses, Cunninghamella bertholletiae MUT 2861 and Aspergillus fumigatus MUT 4050, were used in consecutive 2 h cycles in a batch biosorption experiment. The effectiveness of the treatment decreased in subsequent cycles in terms of decolourisation (31–15%). COD, Cl^?, SO₄^2?, total N, and toxicity were removed mainly in the second cycle of treatment (up to ??36, ??12, ??15, ??17 and ??49%, respectively). The results suggest that the effluent toxicity was basically due to uncoloured substances, which were mainly removed after coloured molecules.     

Multi-criteria Evaluation of Bran Use to Promote Circularity in the Cereal Production Chain

Natural Resources Research - A reliable and realistic subsurface resource spatial modeling is a common and critical task for geosciences projects (mining, petroleum and environmental) because the...     

Diel and seasonal variability in the fish community structure of a mud‐bottom estuarine habitat in the Gulf of Mexico

We hypothesized that temporal variation in fish species composition and community structure in a low complexity habitat in the Pueblo Viejo Lagoon, Mexico, is influenced by diel light/dark cycles and tidal stage, and by seasonal changes in salinity and temperature. We collected a total of 17,661 individuals during 2‐h interval sampling over six bi‐monthly 24‐h sampling cycles representing 53 species, of which 11 (～20%) were previously unknown in the system. Diel variation indicated that significantly higher numbers of individuals and species were caught at night, whereas diversity and evenness were higher during the day. Species richness was significantly higher in July and January, whereas diversity and evenness peaked around May; both were correlated with temperature. Diel variation in species composition was influenced primarily by the light/dark cycle. Cluster analyses of each diel cycle separated fish assemblages from midday samples from those of nocturnal samples, separated by an extended wide transition period as fish moved at dawn and during the late afternoon/dusk. Significant shifts (as determined by MANOVA) in assemblage structure occurred between months. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that temperature and day/night effects were the most important environmental variables structuring the fish community. This constrained ordination also defined species with specific habitat preferences as follows: (i) diurnal, warm temperature species (mainly planktivores) (Brevoortia gunteri, Cetengraulis edentulus, Diapterus auratus, and Membras martinica); (ii) nocturnal, warm temperature species (mainly predators) (Citharichthys spilopterus, Cathorops melanopus, and Bairdiella spp.); and (iii) low temperature, diurnal species (Brevoortia patronus and Mugil curema) or those with twilight and nocturnal distributions (Anchoa mitchilli, the most numerically abundant species). Our results indicate that diel and seasonal changes in fish community structure were mainly related to day/night cycles and temperature regimes.     

Coanda effect in coastal flows

In the present paper some numerical simulations and experiments were carried out to study jet-wall interaction in shallow waters. Namely, modifications of the hydrodynamic field concerning the interaction of river run-off with a shallow coastal water body, due to the presence of marine structures, were investigated. Stratification effects due to salinity and temperature were neglected, and the interest was focused on barotropic features (Coanda effect). The numerical analysis was carried out by means of shallow water equations, numerically solved by finite difference, and the present method was validated by means of a typical simple-shaped test case. The experiments were carried out in a shallow water tank, flow visualizations were performed, and the velocity field was obtained by PIV. The main features of jet-wall interaction flow were investigated in simple-shaped geometries, and applications were shown for two practical cases: Pescara channel harbour (Adriatic Sea, Italy) and the proposed design of Latina harbour (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy).     

Re‐establishment of soil water repellency after destruction by intense burning in a Mediterranean heathland (SW Spain)

Soil water repellency has been conventionally considered as a fire‐induced effect, but an increasing number of studies have suggested that natural background repellency occurs in many soil types, and many of them have suggested that water repellency can be re‐established over time after being destroyed. An experimental fire was conducted to study changes of the soil surface during the first 18 months following intense burning. The main objectives of this paper are as follows: (1) to investigate in situ water repellency changes at three soil depths (0, 2 and 4 cm) immediately after burning; (2) to evaluate the medium‐term evolution of water repellency under field conditions; and (3) to outline the main hydrological consequences of these changes. Also, different water repellency tests (water drop penetration time, ethanol percentage test (EPT) and contact angle (CA) between water drops and the soil surface) were carried out for comparison purposes. Field experiments showed that soil water repellency was partly destroyed after intense burning. Changes were relatively strong at the soil surface, but diminished progressively with depth. Levels of water repellency were practically re‐established 18 months after burning. This suggests that water repellency in the studied area is not necessarily a consequence of fire, but can instead be a natural attribute. Finally, although limited in time, destruction of soil water repellency has important consequences for runoff flow generation and soil loss rates, and, indirectly, for water quality. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismicity and crustal deformation preceding the January 1996 eruptions at Karymsky Volcanic Center,Kamchatka

Two explosive eruptions occurred on 2 January 1996 at Karymsky Volcanic Center (KVC) in Kamchatka, Russia: the first, dacitic, from the central vent of Karymsky volcano, and the second, several hours later, from Karymskoye lake in the caldera of Akademia Nauk volcano. The main significance of the 1996 volcanic events in KVC was the phreatomagmatic eruption in Karymskoye lake, which was the first eruption in this lake in historical time, and was a basaltic eruption at the acidic volcanic center. The volcanic events were associated with the 1 January Ms 6.7 (Mw 7.1) earthquake that occurred at a distance of about 9–17 km southeast from the volcanoes just before the eruptions. We study the long-term (1972–1995) and short-term (1–2 January 1996) characteristics of crustal deformations and seismicity before the double eruptive event in KVC. The 1972–1995 crustal deformation was homogeneous and characterized by a gradual extension with a steady velocity. The seismic activity in 1972–1995 developed at the depth interval from 0 to 20 km below the Akademia Nauk volcano and spread to the southeast along a regional fault. The seismic activity in January 1996 began with a short sequence of very shallow microearthquakes (M ~0) beneath Karymsky volcano. Then seismic events sharply increased in magnitude (up to mb 4.9) and moved along the regional fault to the southeast, culminating in the Ms 6.7 earthquake. Its aftershocks were located to the southeast and northwest from the main shock, filling the space between the two active volcanoes and the ancient basaltic volcano of Zhupanovsky Vostryaki. The eruption in Karymskoye lake began during the aftershock sequence. We consider that the Ms 6.7 earthquake opened the passageway for basic magma located below Zhupanovsky Vostryaki volcano that fed the eruption in Karymskoye lake.