10,789 research outputs found
Habitat loss across Europe
No full textThis advanced workshop aims to discuss current knowledge of the key issues of conserving European marine biodiversity, with the aim of preparing a multi-authored review paper on “European marine biodiversity threats and conservation needs.” Highlighted topics are: habitat loss across Europe (Laura Airoldi, University of Bologna, Italy), using the Habitats Directive as a basis for designation of key areas for conservation (Keith Hiscock), “hot-spots” as a strategy or/and marine protected areas (John Gray), are there “hot-spots” of European marine biodiversity? (Christos Arvantidis), overview of marine protected areas in Europe
The loss of natural habitats and the addition of artificial substrata
No full textLaura Airoldi, Sean D. Connell and Michael W. Bec
Quale futuro per coste e mari
No full textIl workshop si è tenuto a Ravenna il 28 ottobre 2008 nella sede di Casa Matha. Il programma prevedeva 4 presentazioni:
“Cambiamenti climatici in atto con particolare attenzione al bacino del Mediterraneo” a cura del Prof. Stefano Tibaldi,
‘Stato e trend futuri per gli habitat marini costieri’, a cura della Dr. Laura Airoldi, Università di Bologna;
‘Cambiamenti globali e sostenibilità dei sistemi marini costieri: una prospettiva economica’ a cura del Prof. Paulo Nunes dell’Università internazionale di Venezia e Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei;
‘Le politiche Europee sul clima e i sistemi marini’ a cura del Dr. Leonardo Massai, T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague
Marine Ecology Progress Series
No full textMEPS has received international recognition as the most influential journal in its field of science.
Of all the journals currently listed under 'Marine & Freshwater Biology' in the latest Journal Citation Reports , MEPS features the highest number of Total Cites: 34 992. At the same time MEPS' Impact Factor of 2.64 is in the top tier of primary marine ecology journals.
MEPS also scores highly in the ranking of influence assessed by eigenfactor.org. In both the ISI categories "Marine & Freshwater Biology" and "Oceanography", arranged by "EigenFactor", MEPS occupies clear No. 1 positions.
MEPS serves as a worldwide forum for all aspects of marine ecology, fundamental and applied. The journal covers: microbiology, botany, zoology, ecosystem research, biological oceanography, ecological aspects of fisheries and aquaculture, pollution, environmental protection, conservation, resource management
Marine Ecology Progress Series
No full textMEPS has received international recognition as the most influential journal in its field of science.
Of all the journals currently listed under 'Marine & Freshwater Biology' in the latest Journal Citation Reports , MEPS features the highest number of Total Cites: 34 992. At the same time MEPS' Impact Factor of 2.64 is in the top tier of primary marine ecology journals.
MEPS also scores highly in the ranking of influence assessed by eigenfactor.org. In both the ISI categories "Marine & Freshwater Biology" and "Oceanography", arranged by "EigenFactor", MEPS occupies clear No. 1 positions.
MEPS serves as a worldwide forum for all aspects of marine ecology, fundamental and applied. The journal covers: microbiology, botany, zoology, ecosystem research, biological oceanography, ecological aspects of fisheries and aquaculture, pollution, environmental protection, conservation, resource management
Loss and recovery potential of marine habitats: an experimental study of factors maintaining resilience in subtidal algal forests at the Adriatic sea.
No full textBACKGROUND: Predicting and abating the loss of natural habitats present a huge challenge in science, conservation and management. Algal forests are globally threatened by loss and severe recruitment failure, but our understanding of resilience in these systems and its potential disruption by anthropogenic factors lags well behind other habitats. We tested hypotheses regarding triggers for decline and recovery potential in subtidal forests of canopy-forming algae of the genus Cystoseira. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: By using a combination of historical data, and quantitative in situ observations of natural recruitment patterns we suggest that recent declines of forests along the coasts of the north Adriatic Sea were triggered by increasing cumulative impacts of natural- and human-induced habitat instability along with several extreme storm events. Clearing and transplantation experiments subsequently demonstrated that at such advanced stages of ecosystem degradation, increased substratum stability would be essential but not sufficient to reverse the loss, and that for recovery to occur removal of the new dominant space occupiers (i.e., opportunistic species including turf algae and mussels) would be required. Lack of surrounding adult canopies did not seem to impair the potential for assisted recovery, suggesting that in these systems recovery could be actively enhanced even following severe depletions. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrate that sudden habitat loss can be facilitated by long term changes in the biotic and abiotic conditions in the system, that erode the ability of natural ecosystems to absorb and recover from multiple stressors of natural and human origin. Moreover, we demonstrate that the mere restoration of environmental conditions preceding a loss, if possible, may be insufficient for ecosystem restoration, and is scarcely cost-effective. We conclude that the loss of complex marine habitats in human-dominated landscapes could be mitigated with appropriate consideration and management of incremental habitat changes and of attributes facilitating system recovery
Effects of artificial defences and flooding on coastal habitats and assemblages
No full textSince large stretches of European coasts are already retreating and projected scenarios are worsening, many artificial structures, such as breakwaters and seawalls, are built as tool against coastal erosion. However artificial structures produce widespread changes that alter the coastal zones and affect the biological communities. My doctoral thesis analyses the consequences of different options for coastal protection, namely hard engineering ‘artificial defences’ (i.e. impact of human-made structures) and ‘no-defence’ (i.e. impact of seawater inundation). I investigated two new aspects of the potential impact of coastal defences. The first was the effect of artificial hard substrates on the fish communities structure. In particular I was interested to test if the differences among breakwaters and natural rocky reef would change depending on the nature of the surrounding habitat of the artificial structure (prevalent sandy rather than rocky). The second was the effect on the native natural sandy habitats of the organic detritus derived from hard-bottom species (green algae and mussels) detached from breakwaters. Furthermore, I investigated the ecological implication of the “no-defend” option, which allow the inundation of coastal habitats. The focus of this study was the potential effect of seawater intrusion on the degradation process of marine, salt-marsh and terrestrial detritus, including changes on the breakdown rates and the associated macrofauna. The PhD research was conducted in three areas along European coasts: North Adriatic sea, Sicilian coast and South-West England where different habitats (coastal, estuarine), biological communities (soft-bottom macro-benthos; rocky-coastal fishes; estuarine macro-invertebrates) and processes (organic enrichment; assemblage structure; leaf-litter breakdown) were analyzed. The research was carried out through manipulative and descriptive field-experiments in which specific hypothesis were tested by univariate and multivariate analyses
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