The Use of Reproductive Indicators for Conservation Purposes: The Case Study of in Two Fully Protected Areas and Their Surrounding Zones (Central-Western Mediterranean).

In 1990s, the European spiny lobster , one of the most commercially important species in the Mediterranean, exhibited a population decline. For this reason, fully protected areas (FPAs) appeared effective in re-establishing natural populations and supporting fishery-management objectives. Here, the reproductive parameters of populations in two different FPAs (Su Pallosu and Buggerru, central-western Mediterranean), where a restocking programme was carried out, and in their surrounding commercial zones, were investigated from quantitative and qualitative perspectives.

Bio-Ecological Features Update on Eleven Rare Cartilaginous Fish in the Central-Western Mediterranean Sea as a Contribution for Their Conservation.

Cartilaginous fish are commonly recognized as key species in marine ecosystems for their fundamental ecological role as top predators. Nevertheless, effective management plans for cartilaginous fish are still missing, due to the lack of knowledge on their abundance, distribution or even life-history. In this regard, this paper aims at providing new information on the life-history traits, such as age, maturity, reproductive period, in addition to diet characteristics of eleven rare cartilaginous fish inhabiting the Central-Western Mediterranean Sea belonging to the orders Chimaeriformes (), Hexanchiformes ( and ), Myliobatiformes ( and ), Rajiformes ( and ), Squaliformes (, and ) and Torpediniformes (), useful for their assessment and for future management actions.

A Taxonomic Survey of Female Oviducal Glands in Chondrichthyes: A Comparative Overview of Microanatomy in the Two Reproductive Modes.

Oviducal glands (OGs) are distinct expanded regions of the anterior portion of the oviduct, commonly found in chondrichthyans, which play a key role in the production of the egg in-vestments and in the female sperm storage (FSS). The FSS phenomenon has implications for understanding the reproductive ecology and management of exploited populations, but little information is available on its taxonomic extent. For the first time, mature OGs from three lecithotrophic oviparous and four yolk-sac viviparous species, all considered at risk from the fishing impacts in the central western Mediterranean Sea, were examined using light microscopy.

New insights into life-history traits of Mediterranean Electric rays (Torpediniformes: Torpedinidae) as a contribution to their conservation.

Despite being commonly recognized by the general public, knowledge about the biology and life-history of electric rays is still scarce. Globally, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, more of the 80% of the species belonging to the Torpedinidae family are, indeed, classified as Data Deficient, so as, in most of the cases, no proper management measures are available for the conservation of these species. For this reason, the main goal of this study is to provide new information on life-history traits of three species inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea.

Living naked: first case of lack of skin-related structures in an elasmobranch, the blackmouth catshark (Galeus melastomus).

As far as is known, in this paper the first case of lacking of skin-related structures (epidermis, stratum laxum, dermal denticles and teeth) in a free-swimming elasmobranch, the blackmouth catshark, Galeus melastomus, is reported. The individual was caught by trawl in Sardinian waters (central-western Mediterranean) in July 2019 at a depth of 500 m. Although this kind of morphological abnormality is potentially fatal, the observations suggested that the specimen was in good health and well developed.