Records of the cumacean genus Iphinoe from Italian coasts are reported with relevant data on the habitat, morphology and geographical distribution of each species. Seven Iphinoe species from the Italian coasts were recorded and are presented here with their own distributional ranges; the description of a new species, Iphinoe daphne n. sp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAreas subjected to anthropogenic impacts are important to test the effect of stressors on local biota. We assessed with trawl net the composition and abundance of megafauna, litter, and litter-fouling communities in the soft bottoms of the National Interest Priority Site (NIPS) of Bagnoli-Coroglio (Gulf of Naples, Tyrrhenian Sea) at different depths. The megafauna accounted for 3444 specimens referred to 133 taxa (91 invertebrates and 42 fishes), for a biomass of ~102 kg and including species of wide ecological and commercial interest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSabellaria alveolata is an ecosystem engineer species capable of building bioconstructions, playing a key functional role in the shallow coastal ecosystems. S. alveolata reefs perform several ecosystem services, such as hosting a rich fauna and producing structures able to provide coastal protection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study was performed to analyse the genetic and morphological diversity of the sabellid annelid genus Branchiomma, with special emphasis on a taxon so far identified as Branchiomma bairdi. This species, originally described from Bermuda, has frequently been reported as an invader in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Eastern Pacific, but recent observations have raised some taxonomic questions. Samples of this taxon were collected from five sites in the Mediterranean Sea, two sites in the original distribution area of B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAquaculture is increasing rapidly to meet global seafood demand. Some hydroid populations have been linked to mortality and health issues in finfish and shellfish, but their dynamics in and around aquaculture farms remain understudied. In the present work, two experiments, each with 36 panels, tested colonization (factors: depth, season of immersion) and succession (factors: depth, submersion duration) over one year.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecently, genetic approaches have revealed a surprising bacterial world as well as a growing knowledge of the enormous distribution of animal-bacterial interactions. In the present study, the diversity of the microorganisms associated to the hydroid Aglaophenia octodonta was studied with epifluorescence, optical, and scanning electron microscopy. Small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequencing with "universal" and taxon-specific primers allowed the assignment of the microalgae to Symbiodinium and the peritrich ciliates to Pseudovorticella, while the luminous vibrios were identified as Vibrio jasicida of the Harvey clade.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigated the bacterial accumulation and digestion capability of Polyandrocarpa zorritensis, a non-indigenous colonial ascidian originally described in Peru and later found in the Mediterranean. Microbiological analyses were carried out on homogenates from "unstarved" and "starved" ascidians and seawater from the same sampling site (Adriatic Sea, Italy). Culturable heterotrophic bacteria (22 °C), total culturable bacteria (37 °C) and vibrios abundances were determined on Marine Agar 2216, Plate Count Agar and TCBS Agar, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe examined the bacterial accumulation and digestion in the alien polychaete Branchiomma bairdi. Microbiological analyses were performed on worm homogenates from "unstarved" and "starved" individuals and on seawater from the same sampling site (Ionian Sea, Italy). Densities of culturable heterotrophic bacteria (22 °C), total culturable bacteria (37 °C) and vibrios were measured on Marine Agar 2216, Plate Count Agar and TCBS Agar, respectively.
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