Publications by authors named "Irene Ortolani"

Introduction: Politics, the science and the art of administering public affairs, is a very important field. Dealing with professional policy means to dedicate ourselves to the good of the profession. Professional policies are an integral part of taking care; the professional family needs clear reference points: training, tutoring, promotion and institutional representation.

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Insect social parasites have to conquer a host colony by overcoming its defensive barriers. In addition to increased fighting abilities, many social parasites evolved sophisticated sensory deception mechanisms to elude host colonies defenses by exploiting host communication channels. Recently, it has been shown that the conspicuous facial markings of a paper wasp social parasite, Polistes sulcifer, decrease the aggressiveness of host foundresses.

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This two-year study is the first attempt to analyse the ecological effects of breakwater systems on soft-bottom assemblages along the North Tyrrhenian coast. Differently from previous studies focusing on infauna of on-shore and off-shore sides, we compared the assemblages inhabiting the surrounding soft-bottoms not directly protected by the breakwaters, defining our sampling stations at varying distances from the breakwaters and at constant distance from the coast. Data collected revealed that abundance, species richness and M-AMBI ecological quality differed between northern and southern sides, and were related to distance from structures.

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