322,980 research outputs found

    THE PLANKTON OF A SHALLOW SUB-MARINE CAVE ("GROTTA DI CIOLO", SALENTO PENINSULA, S-E ITALY)

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    Composition and abundance patterns are described for the plankton assemblages in a shallow submarine cave on the Salento peninsula side of the Otranto Channel (SE Italy). A total of 232 taxa were recognized. The cave plankton appeared more affected by huperbenthos than the outside plankton. Mysidacea represented the most conspicuous component of the cave plankton , with two species typical of Salento caves. Harpacticoida, together with asexual algal propagules, dominated the plankton of the cave numerically, whereas Calanoida and Cyclopoida along with mollusc veligers, characterized the plankton in the outside sector. While the mysid Siriella jaltensis was found outside the cave in nocturnal samples, Hemimysis margalefi appeared to migrate simply along the axis of the cave, never leaving it during night. The community composition changed seasonally over the 1-year period. Therte was a clear horizontal partitioning of the plankton, with significant differences between the two stations inside the cave. Higher water turbulence probably explains the presence of asexual propagules even at the inner station. An explanation of the benthos impoverishment has been proposed as an alternative to the current “trophic depletion” theory

    Sucrose synthase dominates carbohydrate metabolism and relative growth rate in growing kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa, cv Hayward)

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    Changes in fruit growth rate, carbohydrate content (glucose, fructose, sucrose and starch) and enzyme activity (sucrose synthase, UDPglucose pyrophosphorylase, fructokinase, glucokinase, sucrose phosphate synthase. ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase and invertases), in the external pericarp of kiwifruit, were measured throughout the growing season. Sucrose synthase showed the highest activity among the sucrose cleaving enzymes during large part of the growing season. The activity of invertases were much lower than that of sucrose synthase until ripening started. Sucrose synthase showed a tight although not linear relationship with the fruit RGR. Furthermore, sucrose synthase showed linear and significant correlations with the activities of both fructokinase and UDPglucose pyrophosphorylase indicating a strong co-regulation of the activities of these three enzymes involved in sucrose cleavage and sink strength, in kiwifruit. Sucrose synthase is suggested to be the dominating enzyme in the cleavage of imported carbon in kiwifruit, in tight coordination with fructokinase and UDPglucose pyrophosphorylase

    The role of surface fluxes in the development of a tropical-like cyclone in southern Italy

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    Numerical simulations of a tropical-like cyclone in southern Italy have been performed with two different modelling systems (BOLAM-MOLOCH and WRF) with the aim of discussing the role of the surface fluxes in the development of the vortex and evaluating their intensity during the mature stage of the cyclone. Although significant differences emerge in their intensity, both the modelling systems agree in showing that the surface fluxes are more important than the latent heat release associated with convection in the initial phase of the vortex lifecycle, while they are less relevant (although more intense) when the minimum assumes the characteristic of a tropical cyclone

    An integrated water/sediment approach to study plankton (a case study in the Southern Adriatic Sea)

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    A study on the mesozooplankton composition has been carried out in the Southern Adriatic Sea (Italian and Albanian coasts). Organisms have been collected either from the water column (by net) and from the bottom sediments (by corer). The study clearly demonstrated that the analysis of sediments added species to the list obtained by the classical water sampling. In detail, the presence of the same species in the water column and in the sediments of the same sampling station was alternative
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