211 results match your criteria: "Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies[Affiliation]"

Optimal Cell Length for Exploration and Exploitation in Chemotactic Planktonic Bacteria.

Environ Microbiol

December 2024

School of Life Sciences, Joseph Banks Laboratories, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.

Elongated morphologies are prevalent among motile bacterioplankton in aquatic systems. This is often attributed to enhanced chemotactic ability, but how long is best? We hypothesized the existence of an optimal cell length for efficient chemotaxis resulting from shape-imposed physical constraints acting on the trade-off between rapid exploration versus efficient exploitation of nutrient sources. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the chemotactic performance of elongated cephalexin-treated Escherichia coli towards α-methyl-aspartate in a microfluidic device creating linear, stable and quiescent chemical gradients.

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Mammalian hearing operates on three basic steps: 1) sound capturing, 2) impedance conversion, and 3) frequency analysis. While these canonical steps are vital for acoustic communication and survival in mammals, they are not unique to them. An equivalent mechanism has been described for katydids (Insecta), and it is unique to this group among invertebrates.

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Hydrodynamic conditions of Posidonia oceanica seagrass berm formation and dismantling events.

Sci Total Environ

January 2025

Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (CSIC-UIB), Esporles 07190, Spain; School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.

Seagrass berms are a natural accumulation of seagrass leaves along the shoreline, which play an important role in coastal protection. Seagrass berms have been shown to reduce wave energy, helping to shield the coast from erosion. However, their protective role is debated in coastal management, where there are contrasting views on whether berms should be left in place or removed to improve beach aesthetics or accessibility.

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Mediterranean seagrasses provide essential coastal protection under climate change.

Sci Rep

December 2024

Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares (IEO-CSIC), Palma, Spain.

Seagrasses are vital in coastal areas, offering crucial ecosystem services and playing a relevant role in coastal protection. The decrease in the density of Mediterranean seagrasses over recent decades, due to warming and anthropogenic stressors, may imply a serious environmental threat. Here we quantify the role of coastal impact reduction induced by seagrass presence under present and future climate.

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Viruses shape microbial community structure and activity through the control of population diversity and cell abundances. Identifying and monitoring the dynamics of specific virus-host pairs in nature is hampered by the limitations of culture-independent approaches such as metagenomics, which do not always provide strain-level resolution, and culture-based analyses, which eliminate the ecological background and in-situ interactions. Here, we have explored the interaction of a specific "autochthonous" host strain and its viruses within a natural community.

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Macroalgae play a crucial role in blue carbon ecosystems, yet their elemental compositions in the Red Sea are not well documented. This study examined the concentrations of 22 elements in 161 macroalgae blade samples from 19 species (5 unidentified) across 3 phyla in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea. Macroalgae blades collected from coral reef habitats exhibited higher concentrations of K, As, and Sr compared to those from seagrass meadows, but had lower levels of total nitrogen (TN), Na, Mg, Al, P, S, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Zn.

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Understanding how biotic interactions shape ecosystems and impact their functioning, resilience and biodiversity has been a sustained research priority in ecology. Yet, traditional assessments of ecological complexity typically focus on species-species interactions that mediate a particular function (e.g.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigated how extreme halophiles in salt-rich environments react to repeated dilution of salinity, showing that their dominance shifts based on the level of stress.
  • Under moderate stress (20% salinity), dominant species like Haloquadratum walsbyi and Salinibacter ruber thrived, while under stronger stress (13% salinity), they were replaced by more adaptable species.
  • These findings suggest that genus-level diversity is crucial for ecological resilience, with species replacements occurring alongside viral co-evolution, highlighting the dynamic adaptability of brine microbial communities.
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The present study describes macroinvertebrate assemblages in three Zostera noltei meadows, following a salinity gradient along the Aveiro lagoon (Portugal). The main environmental descriptors and Z. noltei biometrics were studied to provide a model of the multivariate macroinvertebrate assemblage structure.

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Halorubrum miltondacostae sp. nov., a potential polyhydroxyalkanoate producer isolated from an inland solar saltern in Rio Maior, Portugal.

Syst Appl Microbiol

November 2024

CNC-UC - Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, UC-Biotech, BiocantPark, Núcleo 04, Lote 8, 3060-197 Cantanhede, Portugal; CIBB - Center for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, UC-Biotech, BiocantPark, Núcleo 04, Lote 8, 3060-197 Cantanhede, Portugal; Genoinseq - Next Generation Sequencing Unit, Biocant, BiocantPark, Núcleo 04, Lote 8, 3060-197 Cantanhede, Portugal.

One hundred and sixty-three extreme halophiles were recovered from a single sample collected from an inland solar saltern in Rio Maior. Based on random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiles and partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing 125 isolates were identified as members of the Archaea domain within the genus Halorubrum. Two strains, RMP-11 and RMP-47, showed 99.

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Unlabelled: The number of -related infections in humans, e.g., by , has increased along the coasts of the Baltic Sea.

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Microplastic (plastics <5 mm; MP) contamination in the marine environment has gained global attention due to its continuous accumulation and serious threats to ecosystems. This review evaluates patterns of MP accumulation in seagrasses, mangroves, and saltmarshes to provide an integrated view of MP pollution. Since 2011, studies have examined the sources, distribution, characterization, and fate of MPs in these habitats.

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Advancements in prokaryotic systematics and the role of Bergey's International Society for Microbial Systematicsin addressing challenges in the meta-data era.

Natl Sci Rev

July 2024

State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.

Prokaryotes are ubiquitous in the biosphere, important for human health and drive diverse biological and environmental processes. Systematics of prokaryotes, whose origins can be traced to the discovery of microorganisms in the 17th century, has transitioned from a phenotype-based classification to a more comprehensive polyphasic taxonomy and eventually to the current genome-based taxonomic approach. This transition aligns with a foundational shift from studies focused on phenotypic traits that have limited comparative value to those using genome sequences.

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Unlabelled: Despite the importance of intra-species variants of viruses for causing disease and/or disrupting ecosystem functioning, there is no universally applicable standard to define these. A (natural) gap in whole-genome average nucleotide identity (ANI) values around 95% is commonly used to define species, especially for bacteriophages, but whether a similar gap exists within species that can be used to define intra-species units has not been evaluated yet. Whole-genome comparisons among members of 1,016 bacteriophage () species revealed a region of low frequency of ANI values around 99.

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A Gram-stain-negative bacterial strain designated Be4, belonging to the genus , was isolated from mining porewaters sampled in uranium mill tailings repository sites, located in Bellezane, near Bessines-sur-Gartempe (Limousin, France). Cells were facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, non-endospore-forming and motile with flagella. The mean cell size was 1.

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Fruit traits mediate animal-plant interactions and have to a large degree evolved to match the sensory capacities and morphology of their respective dispersers. At the same time, fruit traits are affected by local environmental factors, which may affect frugivore-plant trait match. Temperature has been identified as a major factor with a strong effect on the development of fruits, which is of serious concern because of the rising threat of global warming.

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The Mediterranean is recognized as a climate change hotspot, with ongoing warming anticipated to impact its habitats and their associated fish fauna. Among these habitats, the seagrass Posidonia oceanica stands out as a foundational species, critical for the stability of coastal fish communities. However, our understanding of climate change consequences on P.

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Unlabelled: Hypersaline ecosystems display taxonomically similar assemblages with low diversities and highly dense accompanying viromes. The ecological implications of viral infection on natural microbial populations remain poorly understood, especially at finer scales of diversity. Here, we sought to investigate the influence of changes in environmental physicochemical conditions and viral predation pressure by autochthonous and allochthonous viruses on host dynamics.

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Background: Seagrass meadows are among the most abundant marine coastal ecosystems in the world. The wide variety of species, a worldwide distribution with overall high abundance, and especially their high productivity make them a plausible nature-based blue carbon solution to mitigate atmospheric CO levels. In the Mediterranean Basin, the endemic angiosperm Posidonia oceanica plays a remarkable role as a marine habitat provider in shallow waters through its vertical growth and as a carbon sink storing allochthonous carbon and biomass underneath the meadows.

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Sinking rates, orientation, and behavior of pennate diatoms.

J Phycol

August 2024

Laboratoire Biologie des Organismes et Ecosystèmes Aquatiques, UMR 8067 BOREA, Normandie Université, Unicaen, Caen, France.

Phytoplankton cells are now recognized as dynamic entities rather than as passive and isolated particles because they can actively modulate impacts of selection factors (nutrients, light, turbidity, and mixing) through a wide range of adaptations. Cell shape and/or chain length modulation is one of these processes but has predominantly been studied as an adaptation or an acclimatation to a specific growth limitation (light, nutrients, predation, etc.).

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Groundwater offers an intriguing blend of distinctive physical and chemical conditions, constituting a challenge for microbial life. In Mallorca, the largest island of Balearic archipelago, harbours a variety of thermal anomalies (i.e.

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On islands, flowering plants tend to be more generalist in their pollination needs, as insects (the main pollinators of flowering plants) are underrepresented in these ecosystems compared to the mainland. In addition, some vertebrate species that are typically insectivorous or granivorous on the mainland are forced to broaden their diet and consume other resources such as nectar or pollen on the islands. The shrub , with its large and colourful flowers, attracts different groups of potential pollinators.

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Sink-source connectivity for restocking of Pinna nobilis in the western Mediterranean Sea.

Mar Environ Res

May 2024

Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO-CSIC). Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares, 07015, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

The critically endangered endemic bivalve Pinna nobilis from the Mediterranean Sea suffered a sudden population decline after a mass mortality event in early autumn 2016. Conservation efforts aimed at preventing extinction included safeguarding resistant individuals and implementing a breeding plan to contribute to the repopulation of the species. This study utilized a model combining Lagrangian dispersion and connectivity analyses to pinpoint optimal restocking sites in the Western Mediterranean.

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