Spatio-temporal diversity of Megistozoobenthos in the Antalya Gulf and relationships with environmental features

Antalya Gulf is situated in the Levantine Sea, the second biggest and most eastern basin in the Mediterranean Sea. This area is an ultra-oligotrophic basin, strongly affected by anthropogenic inputs, in particular in the fishing areas. For this characteristic, in the Levantine Sea, there is a strong pressure on the natural resources and benthic assemblages. Furthermore, many alien species enter from Suez Canal and are well established in the area. All these pressures are leading to a degradation of the Levantine Sea. For this reason it is important to have tools to study and monitoring the functioning of the marine ecosystem. Benthic organisms are superior to many other biological groups for their response to environmental stresses. The variability of benthic assemblages on a site can reflect, in an integrative mode, the entire functioning of the marine ecosystem. In this study, that wants to analyze the spatial and temporal distribution of the benthic macrofaunal assemblages of Antalya Gulf, 90 benthic species divided in 8 taxa (Annelida, Cnidaria, Echinodermata, Echiura, Mollusca, Porifera, Sipunculida and Tunicata) were found. All the analyses conducted on the entire benthic class and later on Mollusca and Echinodermata separately highlighted the importance of depth on structuring benthic community.

Daily modulation of the Heat shock proteins (Hsps) in three different species of scleractinian corals

Temperature and light intensity is the most important environmental parameters that influence circadian cycle of scleractinian corals. In this context, modulation of the biomarkers Hsp60 and Hsp70 in situ was investigated by three different healthy coral species (Acropora tenuis, Echinopora lamellosa and Porites lobata) not stress induced during time course of 24h. Significance species-specific modulation under natural conditions is displayed by all corals under study. A strong fluctuation in Hsps expression is shown by the most susceptible, branched coral A. tenuis, instead of fine and low modulation is shown by the massive coral P. lobata. From the results match between morphology difference and physiological difference response its suggest and similarity pattern between Hsps with different cellular compartments location is suggested too. Starting from this study health of coral reefs could be able to be investigated in the future with a set of biomarkers composed also by Hsps which will be set up.

Analysis of the relationships between Spartina maritima and nutrient enrichment in North Adriatic salt marshes

Salt marshes are coastal ecosystem in the upper intertidal zone between internal water and sea and are widely spread throughout Italy, from Friuli Venezia Giulia, in the North, to Sicily, in the South. These delicate environments are threatened by eutrophication, habitat conversion (for land reclaiming or agriculture) and climate change impacts such as sea level rise. The objectives of my thesis were to: 1) analyse the distribution and biomass of the perennial native cordgrass Spartina maritima (one of the most relevant foundation species in the low intertidal saltmarsh vegetation in the study region) at 7 sites along the Northern Adriatic coast and relate it to critical environmental parameters and 2) to carry out a nutrient manipulation experiment to detect nutrient enrichment effects on S. maritima biomass and vegetation characteristics. The survey showed significant differences among sites in biological response variables - i.e., live belowground, live aboveground biomass, above:belowground (R:S) biomass ratio, % cover, average height and stem density – which were mainly related to differences in nitrate, nitrite and phosphate contents in surface water. Preliminary results from the experiment (which is still ongoing) showed so far no significant effects of nutrient enrichment on live aboveground and belowground biomass, R:S ratio, leaf %Carbon, average height, stem density and random shoot height; however, a significantly higher (P=0.018) increase in leaf %Nitrogen content in treated plots indicated that nutrient uptake had occurred.

Megistobenthic faunal diversity of the Antalya Gulf: Crustacea

The spatio-temporal distribution of megistobenthic crustacean assemblages from the Antalya Gulf, located in the Levantine Sea is described. In order to provide a comprehensive overview of the spatio-temporal patterns of the crustacean community, 3 transect including depth of 10, 25, 75, 125 and 200 m, were studied between 2014 and 2015 to investigate their association with a set of environmental parameters in representative months of each season (spring, summer, autumn and winter). For its economic importance in Levantine waters, a focus analysis of deep-water rose shrimp Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) was done, to investigate the length frequency composition of the population of the Antalya Gulf. A total of 58 crustacean species were encountered in the study area, of these species identified, 18 species were recognized as alien species in the Mediterranean Sea. Throughout the year the most frequent species of the study were the hermit crab Pagurus prideaux (Leach, 1815) and Parapenaeus longirostris (Lucas, 1846) followed by the Indo-Pacific swimming crab Charybdis longicollis (Leene, 1938) and by the invasive shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus (Spence Bate, 1888). Few species contributing to a high amount to the total biomass were found throughout the year. These species were Charybdis longicollis and Parapenaeus longirostris. Stations of the study area showed similar values of diversity indices of benthic crustacean community among the three transect. The highest values of faunistic indices were detected in autumn and winter (October and February), and also varied along the depth gradient, with the highest values found between 25 and 75 meters. The multivariate analyses conducted on the abundance data point out major differences between depths and between seasons. Therefore, according to cluster analysis and ordination over abundance and biomass, three main crustacean assemblages were detected: the first corresponding to shallow bottoms (10, 25 meters), the second corresponding to intermediate waters (75 meters) and the last to deeper waters (125, 200 meters). Depth was the main factor governing the distribution of megistobenthic crustacean in the area. Besides the depth, the structure of the sediment is the most important factor in determining the crustacean assemblage. Therefore, all factors governing the crustacean distribution were found to be related to the bottom depth. The population of Parapenaeus longirostris in the Antalya Gulf showed significant differences in depth. It was found that females dominated the population of the study area (65.11%), and were significantly larger than males for each cohort identified. The size-weight relationships revealed a slight negative allometry in growth, a bit more pronounced in females than in males.

The role of paved surfaces in the Urban Heat Island phenomenon: Assessment of fundamental thermal parameters and finite element analysis for UHI mitigation

Nowadays the environmental issues and the climatic change play fundamental roles in the design of urban spaces. Our cities are growing in size, many times only following immediate needs without a long-term vision. Consequently, the sustainable development has become not only an ethical but also a strategic need: we can no longer afford an uncontrolled urban expansion. One serious effect of the territory industrialisation process is the increase of urban air and surfaces temperatures compared to the outlying rural surroundings. This difference in temperature is what constitutes an urban heat island (UHI). The purpose of this study is to provide a clarification on the role of urban surfacing materials in the thermal dynamics of an urban space, resulting in useful indications and advices in mitigating UHI. With this aim, 4 coloured concrete bricks were tested, measuring their emissivity and building up their heat release curves using infrared thermography. Two emissivity evaluation procedures were carried out and subsequently put in comparison. Samples performances were assessed, and the influence of the colour on the thermal behaviour was investigated. In addition, some external pavements were analysed. Albedo and emissivity parameters were evaluated in order to understand their thermal behaviour in different conditions. Surfaces temperatures were recorded in a one-day measurements campaign. ENVI-met software was used to simulate how the tested materials would behave in two typical urban scenarios: a urban canyon and a urban heat basin. Improvements they can carry to the urban microclimate were investigated. Emissivities obtained for the bricks ranged between 0.92 and 0.97, suggesting a limited influence of the colour on this parameter. Nonetheless, white concrete brick showed the best thermal performance, whilst the black one the worst; red and yellow ones performed pretty identical intermediate trends. De facto, colours affected the overall thermal behaviour. Emissivity parameter was measured in the outdoor work, getting (as expected) high values for the asphalts. Albedo measurements, conducted with a sunshine pyranometer, proved the improving effect given by the yellow paint in terms of solar reflection, and the bad influence of haze on the measurement accuracy. ENVI-met simulations gave a demonstration on the effectiveness in thermal improving of some tested materials. In particular, results showed good performances for white bricks and granite in the heat basin scenario, and painted concrete and macadam in the urban canyon scenario. These materials can be considered valuable solutions in UHI mitigation.