Biotic interactions are crucial processes that shape ecosystem structure and functioning. Climate change significantly alters the nature and strength of species interactions by influencing species responses, tolerance thresholds, and distributions, thereby defining "winners" and "losers" under changing environmental conditions. Here, we outline the trend of a recently intensified interaction between an endemic Mediterranean structuring species (the coral Astroides calycularis) and a range-expanding predator (the fireworm Hermodice carunculata) under warming conditions. The thermal performance curves of both species were experimentally defined, identifying their thermal optimum temperatures and tolerance thresholds. Additionally, the feeding response of the polychaete on the coral was studied and modeled. Trait-based maps showed that current warm temperatures and forecasted climatic conditions pose a significant risk to the shallow coral, with environmental temperatures exceeding its upper thermal threshold; while benefiting the fireworm by enhancing its spread and maximizing its metabolic and feeding performance at high temperatures. The interacting species’ responses to temperature and the feeding performance of the predator were integrated to create a vulnerability index to predict the risk to which the habitat-forming species may be exposed. Investigated interacting stressors may synergistically jeopardize the integrity of this biodiversity hotspot habitat, reducing its complexity and leading to biodiversity loss.

On October 7^th 2018, approximately 15 miles north of Capo Corso (Corsica), a major oil spill occurred as a result of the collision of a Tunisian ferry with a stationary cargo ship and six hundred cubic meters of oil were dispersed into the sea. At that time, part of the Puffinus yelkouan population had already returned to breeding areas comprising a large fraction of the global population. We evaluated the potential toxicological effects of oil spill contamination in yelkouan shearwater individuals from Italian breeding areas after the oil spill accident. Different nesting areas were sampled in the breeding season: Montecristo was close to the oil spill area, Tavolara and Molara islands host over the 50% of the global population and Capo Carbonara MPA (Villasimius, southern Sardinia) was chosen as a control area, being far from the oil spill area. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) accumulation, genotoxic and immune system markers were assessed in blood samples collected from 33 breeding adults. In addition, porphyrin levels were measured in feacal samples. Similar and quite high levels of low molecular weight hydrocarbons (naphthalene, acenaphthene, fluorene, and phenanthrene) were found in the three areas. We didn’t find immune system alterations, while individuals from Tavolara island showed the highest nuclear abnormalities values, both Tavolara and Villasimius specimens showed statistically significant higher ENA values with respect to Montecristo. These results could indicate that the presence of genotoxic effects is not linked to the collision but caused by other sources of contamination. Furthermore, the highest porphyrin levels were found in specimens from Villasimius area. This study underlines the importance of ecotoxicological studies on endangered seabirds to be able to plan management measures for the conservation of the species.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are crucial tool for conserving biodiversity and ensuring the sustainable use of marine resources. It is well known that MPAs host most of diving destinations due to their rich biodiversity and an increasing number of studies show that diving activities can have damaging effects on marine life, especially on sessile benthic organisms.

The present study aimed to evaluate the pressure of recreational diving activities within the MPA "Secche di Tor Paterno" through a multi-faceted approach. The first component of the study focused on analyzing the abundance and behaviour of the divers. This step allowed for the identification of the factors that most influenced the frequency of disturbance, i.e. diver contacts with the benthic organisms in the MPA. Additionally, the data collected during dives enabled the identification of seabed points most subject to physical disturbance through small-scale spatial analysis. Finally, the activities allowed for a detailed analysis of the potential impacts of scuba diving tourism on the composition and structure of the benthic communities in the MPA, using bioindicators recognized as sensitive to such disturbances.

Results indicated diving experience and use of camera as the most significant factors that influenced the impact on the benthos. Indeed, hotspots frequently disturbed by diving activities coincided with areas attractive to underwater photographers. Despite various contacts with the benthos, no significant changes in bioindicator species diversity were observed due to diving activities. Instead, depth appeared to explain variations in benthic community diversity among dive sites.

This study suggests that scuba diving activities in the MPA “Secche di Tor Paterno” do not significantly alter the benthic community structure, highlighting the sustainability of the diving tourism in the area. Furthrmore, it provides further indication to increase the effectiveness of the MPA management.

The Mediterranean fan mussel Pinna nobilis (L. 1758) has been experiencing since 2016 significant Mass Mortality Events (MMEs), associated with the protozoan Haplosporidium pinnae, which has caused a drastic decline of the species. Between 2019 and 2020 the epidemic reached the northern Adriatic and, subsequently, the Venice Lagoon, where Pinna nobilis was characterized by wide distribution and high densities. Despite the observed MMEs, the Venice Lagoon, one of the largest Mediterranean coastal transitional ecosystems (CTEs, still hosts a large residual population. Comparable situations of higher survival rate are also known for other CTEs, which seems to act as refugia for the species. The distribution and structure of Pinna nobilis remnant populations in the Venice Lagoon and surrounding waters have been investigated since 2021 through multiple approaches across different scales. A site close to Ottagono Alberoni, near Malamocco inlet, has been monitored monthly from October 2020. Video transects were collected in 2021 across the central Lagoon. During 2023, larval collectors were placed at 5 sites along the Veneto coastline in the framework of Life PINNARCA and Interreg IT-SI TRECap projects. In 2024, quantitative surveys over 50 sampling stations have been performed in collaboration with Regione Veneto in the context of Interreg IT-SI POSEIDONE. Overall, the investigations allowed assessing the status of the species, epidemic and population trends as well as spatial patterns. The Venice Lagoon still possibly hosts one of the largest extant population of the species, acting likely as a source of propagules for surrounding marine waters. Both Pinna nobilis distribution and mortality rates appear related to main environmental gradients, such as water exchange and salinity, providing insights into the underlying epidemic dynamics and ecological processes. Present results and main research perspectives will be discussed also in the context of management policies and conservation strategies for the species.

The ongoing and predicted loss of biodiversity due to anthropogenic stressors, including climate change, pose significant threats to ecosystem functioning, and ultimately to ecosystem services upon which humans depend. The potential ecosystem functions in natural systems are given by the biological diversity within it, since the functional traits and main ecological attributes of the species within it are responsible for most of the ecosystem processes. Particularly in marine environments, these impacts can be profound, altering from small scale biogeochemical cycles to the overall resilience of an ecosystem. This research will contribute to the understanding of the intricate relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, by studying the mechanisms linking biodiversity change/loss in marine environment multifunctionality. We employ the novel Aquatic Eddy Covariance (AEC) technique (Berg et al., 2003) to measure vertical turbulent fluxes of oxygen that are widely used proxy for benthic mineralization and primary production, and from which we can derive daily metabolic rates of respiration (R), gross primary production (GPP), and net ecosystem metabolism (NEM). AEC provides a in situ non-invasive approach, minimizing ecosystem disturbance while integrating the flux over a large benthic surface area with strong spatial heterogeneity. In this context, AEC can be used to measure ecosystem functioning related to primary production and carbon sequestration. These functions measured together with other such as those for nutrient cycling, can then be studied in relationship with the associated biodiversity (ideally across different trophic levels and in varying temporal and/or spatial scales). The relationships found between these two components of ecosystems, could provide a good picture of how the biodiversity present is contributing and shaping the functions independently, or together simultaneously (multifunctionality). Preliminary results are presented from a case study on Mediterranean seagrasses and mixed macroalgae communities in the Stagnone di Marsala coastal lagoon, in Western Sicily.

Climate warming is expected to affect nutrient transfer in food webs, with pronounced effects in the Arctic due to warming amplification and nutrient-limited conditions. Arctic lake ecosystems represent biodiversity hotspots and carbon sinks of global value. Declining snow coverage is increasing primary productivity and herbivore abundance in lake catchment areas, which represent key drivers of nutrient input. However, predicting climate change effects on Arctic lake food webs remains challenging, hindering the conservation of these fragile ecosystems and their services.

This study examines the effect of snow coverage and consequent migratory bird density (Branta leucopsis) on lake food webs. We analyzed nine shallow lakes along a gradient from the coastline to glaciers on the Brøgger Peninsula, Svalbard. Using gas-flow measurements and C and N isotopic analysis, we assessed nutrient sources, CO₂ emissions, and trophic interactions. Bayesian mixing models were employed to investigate the diet of Lepidurus arcticus, a key omnivorous species in lake food webs.

Decreased snow coverage led to an increase in primary productivity and geese abundance around lakes. In turn, organic inputs from geese increased N concentration in sediments and improved the stoichiometric quality of aquatic vegetation. This led to two primary effects: (i) a fourfold increase in CO₂ emissions from sediments, and (ii) a dietary shift in L. arcticus towards greater consumption of sediments, which store long-term C, and aquatic vegetation, containing newly fixed C, thereby reducing its intake of animal prey. These changes resulted in a 12-17 gC m^-2 year^-1 increase in C flow from basal resources to upper trophic levels, reducing potential long-term C accumulation.

By linking CO₂ emissions and C transfer in food webs to variations in snow coverage, vegetation, and geese abundance, this study advances our mechanistic understanding of the cascading effects of climate change on Tundra ecosystems and their capacity as carbon sinks.

Herbivory shapes the structure and functioning of forest ecosystems worldwide. However, little is known about its potential environmental drivers such as water availability and multi-scale effects of herbivore population density in Mediterranean forests, where water availability is becoming scarcer and further predicted to drop over the next decades.
During 4 years (2019-2023), we investigated the factors affecting browsing pressure by wild deer (roe deer Capreolus capreolus and fallow deer Dama dama) on the woody vegetation belonging to the Natura 2000 EU Habitat 9340 ‘Quercus ilex and Q. rotundifolia forests’, within a Mediterranean protected area (central Italy).
Browsing impact increased with increasing fallow deer densities at multiple scales, but was not affected by roe deer densities. This occurred at the whole habitat patch scale and separately for both the most dominant typical species/genera of Habitat 9340 in our study area (Quercus ilex; Phillyrea spp.). Greater population density, larger body size, more generalist diet, and higher gregariousness likely underpin the major impact of fallow deer. During our study, the ~25% decline in fallow deer density matched the increased numbers of wolves, whose diet included fallow deer (~25%). This result may support consumptive effects of predation leading to the top-down control of deer impact on vegetation.
Herbaceous cover in forest patches diluted browsing pressure, indicating how the availability of alternative resources may mitigate deer impacts on woody vegetation. Contrary to expectations, higher rainfall increased browsing, suggesting resprouting of woody plants with enhanced palatability/nutrient content, increasing attractiveness to deer. This finding implies that browsing impact on Mediterranean forests would occur even when water availability increases, if herbivore density remains high.
Our work emphasises the critical roles of spatiotemporal variations in population densities of wild herbivores in driving their browsing impact on natural habitats, offering valuable insights into the conservation of Mediterranean forests.

Corals are fundamental elements of rocky shore ecosystems, which are threathened by wastewater and river discharges, tourism and climate change. Among many threats, that posed by emerging contaminants still needs to be throughly investigated. The aim of this study was to test wether a prolonged exposure to low concentrations of pharmaceuticals and bisphenol A (BPA) might affect the common and widespread shallow water zooxanthellate coral Balanophyllia europaea. B. europaea polyps were collected at 6 m depth in Calafuria (LI, Italy) in May 2023 and 2024, soon before the brooding period. B. europaea larvae were exposed to Carbamazepine (CB), Ibuprofen (IB) and Valsartan (VS) at 1-10 µg/L and to BPA at 10-100 µg/L, both separately and as mixtures (MIX_L: 1 µg/L CB, IB, VS + 10 µg/L BPA; MIX_H: 10 µg/L CB, IB, VS + 100 µg/L BPA), for 4 weeks. Toxicity endpoints were: mortality, metamorphosis and the average amount of chlorophyll (Chl) a-c₂/larva. Adults of B. europaea were exposed to MIX_L and MIX_H for 4 weeks, and toxicity endpoints were: Chla-c₂/zooxanthellae, Chla-c₂/coral surface, zooxanthellae/coral surface and the predation ability. Results showed no significant mortality for the larvae but an alteration in their ability to metamorphosize, which was reduced for larvae exposed to single pharmaceuticals but was enhanced for those exposed to BPA. In the adults, the ratio Chla-c₂/zooxanthellae was significantly reduced upon exposure to both MIX_L and MIX_H, as well as the ratio Chla-c₂/coral surface, while the ratio zooxanthellae/coral surface showed a slight increase. The predation ability resulted reduced in specimens exposed to both mixtures. The overall results showed that the prolonged exposure to low concentrations of pharmaceuticals and BPA might impact both larvae and adults of B. europaea and that the chlorophyll content, the metamorphosis and the predation ability might represent sensitive endpoints for the impact of such compounds.

This study investigates the occurrence and effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) across various environmental matrices, including water, soil, different plant parts (roots, leaves), arthropods, and annelids, at a contaminated firefighting training site in Trelleborg, Sweden. We gathered and assessed both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, successfully reconstructing the trophic web by means of Stable Isotopic Analysis (SIA).

The results offer significant insights into the bioaccumulation and biomagnification processes of PFAS. Our data showed that in the terrestrial ecosystem, BSAF values showed a consistent increase across the trophic levels with a trend consistently higher than 1 for short-chain PFAS such as PFHxA, PFHpA, and PFPeA. In contrast, long-chain PFAS such as PFOS, PFOA, and PFHxS were often below the threshold level indicating a low bioaccumulative potential. For the aquatic system, BCF values at the top of the trophic chain were significantly higher, ranging from 10^3 to 10^4 in top predators. While long-chain PFAS exhibited a staple increase across the trophic levels, congeners such as PFHxA, PFHpA, and PFPeA showed non-linear trends.

A key component of this research involved also a 30-day long-term experiment using the OECD species Eisenia fetida (Oligochaeta) exposed in the Trelleborg’s soils across a PFAS contamination gradient. Our multi-tiered analysis encompassed molecular, enzymatic, behavioural, and high order level effects such as survival and reproduction, highlighting the impairment of lower and apical biological functions.

This study underscores the intricate interactions and potential ecological risks associated with legacy PFAS contamination. The findings are critical for enhancing our understanding of the long-term environmental consequences of PFAS exposure and for developing informed risk assessment and management strategies.

Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) include a variety of compounds increasingly detected in the marine environment that could represent a threat to the ecosystem health, while being still insufficiently regulated. The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is worldwide employed as bio-indicator of the marine environment status and may represent a promising bio-indicator of CECs impact as well.

In the framework of the PNRR spoke 2 zero pollution project, this research focuses on two important classes of CECs: a representative mix of pharmaceuticals compounds (ibuprofen, valsartan, carbamazepine) and plasticizers (bisphenol A and phthalates), selected based on environmental contaminants data available in the literature.

To explore whether the selected CECs could elicit biological responses in Caretta caretta, we employed an ex-vivo approach. Skin biopsies and blood were collected from hospitalized sea turtles and immediately treated with environmentally realistic concentrations of CECs (1-10-100 ug/L) for 12h (Blood) and 24h (biopsies). The biological response was measured through gene expression analysis of specific target genes. Expression of genes involved in inflammation and innate immunity (PTGS2, LYZ), endocrine receptors (THRα, RXRα, Erα, PRα), energy and lipid metabolism (ACADL, PPARα, FASN), detoxification (GST) and oncosuppression (TP53) were quantified through droplet digital PCR.

Plasticizers (phthalates and bisphenol A) caused a stronger gene expression dysregulation than pharmaceuticals, mainly due to their interaction with endocrine nuclear receptors such as progesteron (PRα) and estrogen (ERα) receptors. The selected pharmaceuticals show limited effect on gene expression although some specific target genes, such as prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) may still represent promising markers of exposure. The results of this study contribute to develop ex-vivo experimentation methodologies in C. caretta and furnish preliminary data on the biological effects of CECs in this species, aiming to develop potential new molecular monitoring tools.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of chronic exposure (21 days) to an environmentally relevant concentration (10 µg/L) of two different nanoplastic (NP) polymers on the aquatic model organism Daphnia magna. This study examined the impact of exposure to 200 nm polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) and polyvinyl chloride nanoplastics (PVC-NPs), which had an average size similar to that of PS-NPs (ranging from 50 nm to 350 nm). The effects of polymer exposure on morphometric parameters, number of molts, swimming behaviour, and reproductive outcomes were evaluated. The findings indicate that both polymers resulted in an increase in molting behaviour. Moreover, exposure to PVC-NPs had a negative impact on the reproduction of D. magna, as evidenced by a delay in the day of the first brood, a reduction in the total number of offspring produced, and, consequently, a slower population growth rate. This study identified the fitness impairments caused by exposure to PVC-NPs, which can lead to relevant ecological consequences. Although the influence of particle size cannot be ruled out, it can be inferred that polymer properties may have played a role in the observed effects. We hypothesised a correlation between the hormonal functionality of ecdysone and the impairment of reproduction. Further investigation of the impact of this plastic polymer at lower levels of biological organisation is recommended to gain a better understanding of the potential mechanisms involved in the effects of this plastic polymer on wild organisms.

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive aims to protect EU marine waters by achieving good environmental status. Descriptor 6 focuses on seafloor integrity, threatened by activities like bottom trawling. Bottom trawling disturbs the seafloor, alters marine diversity, and impacts habitat functions. This study assesses the impact of trawling on the benthic community of the Sicilian continental shelf, examining its longevity composition while considering the spatial scale, historical pattern, and intensity of trawling. Impact was assessed using three indicators, providing a continuous pressure-response curve at a 1 km² resolution: L1 - proportion of the community with life spans exceeding trawling intervals;, L2, median longevity decrease; and population dynamics PD - relative biomass decrease to carrying capacity. Fishing intensity data were used with varying temporal and spatial resolutions to identify optimal modelling conditions for accuracy. Median longevity, influenced by depth and fishing intensity, remains 8-9 years across models. Selected models suggest that in middle-outer shelf areas, increased fishing intensity shifts the community towards species with shorter lifespans, while in shallower areas, the opposite occurs. The L1 approach shows low spatial variation due to high SAR values and high median longevity but still indicates notable impact. The L2 approach reveals a 20% decrease in median longevity on the eastern Adventure Bank and south of Capo Passero, critical trawling areas. The PD approach is the clearest, detecting impact hotspots corresponding to trawling intensity peaks. In these critical areas, the PD method indicates that the benthic community is diminished by nearly 100% of its relative carrying capacity, highlighting significant impact. The findings of this study provide a method to map these impacts and assist policymakers in identifying sensitive areas and managing spatial planning effectively. The significant negative impacts near the eastern Adventure Bank and northwestern Malta Bank, crucial nursery grounds for commercial species, are particularly emphasized.

Marine soft sediments contribute to the edification of continental margins, which represent one of the largest ecosystems on Earth and a hot spot of ecosystem services. Their integrity, however, is increasingly put at risk by anthropogenic disturbance, most notably by demersal fisheries. The need for global action to minimize the impacts of destructive fishing techniques on marine soft sediments is an urgent need. The assessment of the consequences of such impacts, however, has been limited, as global predictions are challenging, and because poor validations and oversimplified assumptions have led to large uncertainties. By exploring the scientific literature dealing with trawling impacts on marine sediments, we mapped out where, what and when such a disturbance has been studied and measured so far. We built up an open-access data repository about sedimentary and biogeochemical properties of trawled sediments. Then, using such a repository, we carried out a global meta-analysis to quantify the effects of demersal fishing on specific properties.

Studies examining the direct (control vs. impact) effects of bottom fishing revealed significant reductions in chlorophyll-a (-17%), phaeopigments (-24%) and proteins (-32%), with the largest impact detected on the top surficial sediment, where reductions in total organic carbon (-12%) were also detected. Conversely, fishing intensity gradient studies showed an increase in TOC in chronically fished areas. Recovery once fishing ceased was observed for the most labile organic matter components (e.g., phytopigments, total nitrogen, and proteins). We noticed also that natural factors such as bottom current velocity and surface primary productivity can influence both the direction and magnitude of the fishing effects.

We highlight knowledge gaps that might create bias in regional and global models that require empirical data for validation, emphasizing the implications of methodological biases as a result of inappropriate sampling in trawling impact studies and the importance of context-dependent effect size.

Coastal wetlands are socio-ecological systems of immense value, supporting high biodiversity and a wide range of human activities, including aquaculture, agriculture, fisheries, and tourism. Despite their importance, coastal wetlands face various anthropogenic pressures. Among these, invasive species pose a leading threat to biodiversity in these environments, representing a significant portion of their biota in many areas. Additionally, plastic contamination has emerged as a pervasive problem in these systems in recent years, further altering their biota and ecosystem functioning.

The red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) and the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), originally from North America, are now distributed in temperate aquatic environment worldwide. Both species are generalist feeders and often coexist, utilizing different habitats—benthic for crayfish and pelagic for mosquitofish. Several studies have shown microplastic (MP) uptake in these species. Since Procambarus and Gambusia are significant prey for terrestrial and aquatic organisms, they can serve as potential vectors for transporting contaminants between land and water environments.

Stable isotopes of carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) have been widely used to assess trophic relationships, determining long-term assimilation of food by consumers, and identifying nutritional deficiencies in predators. They have proven effective in detecting biomagnification processes, and recently, these isotopes have also been applied in MP studies.

In this study, we utilized stable isotope analysis alongside microplastic (MP) examination to assess MP contamination levels and estimate the trophic position of two co-invading invasive species, Procambarus clarkii and Gambusia holbrooki, across different zones within the Torre Flavia wetland in the Lazio region. Additionally, we investigated variations in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in relation to MP accumulation and explored potential biomagnification processes.

Invasive alien plant species (IAPS) provide ecological threats due to their adverse effects on native biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. However, recent observations suggest that some IAPS may provide an unexpected ecosystem service by trapping riverine macrolitter, particularly macroplastics. This study aimed to quantify the role and capacity of aquatic and riparian IAPS to trap riverine macrolitter in central Italy rivers. To assess the impact of alien species that occurred in some rivers, we calculated an alloctony degree in a plot as the number of alien species on the total species. We investigated how vegetation structure (i.e., roots, branches, leaves) and community/diversity structure (i.e., number of species, type of vegetation) play a key role in plastic entrapment. Our results indicate that most of the alien riparian species occurred in the Tiber River’s middle and lower courses, while alien aquatic species in smaller watercourses or lower courses. Among all the species occurring in the plots, although few were alien species, they entrapped a part of total macrolitter. Among the riparian species, Amorpha fruticosa and Acer negundo mainly blocked plastic packaging and plastic pieces, while Vitis riparia blocked most hygienic/sanitary towels and pieces, Ficus carica mainly bandages, and Datura stramonium entrapped clothes, aluminium cane, and plastic cups. Regarding aquatic species, Eichhornia crassipes and Arundo donax trap mostly packaging and plastic bottles. The plastic entrapment has been compared among the native and alien species. Among the species, we found that the higher the community structure and alloctony degree in a plot (number of alien species on the total species), the higher the plastic entrapment by vegetation. Here, we introduced the concept of “plastics vs alien plants”, highlighting this new ecosystem service carried by vegetation. Given that IAPS significantly contribute to trapping macrolitter, these alien plants may potentially mitigate plastic pollution in aquatic systems.

Microplastics represent a significant and pervasive threat to aquatic organisms. Due to the various ways microplastics can enter aquatic ecosystems, researchers focused on studying their ingestion and impact on aquatic organisms. However, there is a significant lack of research into how microplastics influence ecological responses across various levels of the ecological hierarchy, accompanied by considerable fragmentation of data in the existing literature. Functional traits, having indirect effects on individual fitness represent the main door through which anthropogenic disturbance can impact community structure, composition and ultimately aquatic ecosystems. This meta-analysis synthesizes data from 82 scientific papers encompassing studies on both benthic organisms and fish. The findings reveal that microplastics significantly impair functional traits across different habitats, life stages and trophic levels. Specifically, microplastics affect metabolism, growth and reproduction in benthic organisms, while significantly altering behavior in fish. These disruptions in functional traits may have cascading effects on energy transfer and trophic interactions within ecosystems. The study also highlights the critical role of experimental design (e.g. microplastic size, shape, type) in influencing observed outcomes. Integrating trait-based indicators with standardized protocols for analysing the impact of microplastics on aquatic organisms and ecosystems could represent a crucial step. This integration could provide guidelines for policymakers to develop adequate management and mitigation plans aimed at safeguarding ecosystems and the valuable goods and services they provide.

Freshwater biodiversity is declining worldwide. Understanding fish behaviour is essential for mitigating this decline and ensuring the survival of fish populations. The increased occurrence and intensity of extreme hydrological events, closely linked to climate change, represents a potential threat to freshwater ecosystems. The Mediterranean ecoregion, in particular, is expected to face more frequent drought and flood events. Despite its ecological and management importance, comprehensive knowledge about the effects of such events on fish movement patterns remains largely unexplored, particularly for small, endemic species. Our research investigates the movement behaviour of the endemic Italian riffle dace, Telestes muticellus, within a small unregulated stream in the northern Apennines. We used PIT (passive integrated transponder) telemetry to track individual fish movements over droughts that caused intermittent flows and flood events. We compared the movement patterns during extreme events with those observed during periods without such flow disturbances. During drying and flood events, the fish expanded their linear ranges, showing the capability to adjust. High-flow conditions notably facilitated both downstream and upstream dispersal of T. muticellus. Under intermittent flow conditions occurring during drought events, the fish directed their movements towards aquatic refuges, demonstrating their resilience to drying riverbeds. These findings are particularly noteworthy given the strong site fidelity and confined home ranges observed during normal conditions throughout the study. The fish movement responses were possible due to the absence of anthropogenic barriers, underscoring the importance of preserving longitudinal river connectivity for mitigating the detrimental effects of increasingly frequent extreme flow conditions.

In the Mediterranean Sea, fish assemblages associated with seagrasses host a significant percentage of the total fish biodiversity and have been extensively studied. However, an overview of species richness and functional diversity at the Mediterranean scale was lacking, hindering the study of scale-dependent mechanisms related to fish habitat use and, ultimately, structuring ecological communities.

An exhaustive literature search was therefore implemented to build up a specific data base that includes the presence and the life stages of fish in the various seagrass habitats, along with specific functional traits known to be associated with fish habitat use and reproduction. The aim was to explore the extent to which fish species’ traits drive the functional composition of fish assemblages associated with seagrass habitats and to determine if differences in seagrass structural complexity may influence the functional strategies of associated fauna.

The meta-analytic approach es applied revealed that the high species richness of fish in seagrass meadows is unevenly distributed among different habitats, showing a nested structure. Almost all the observed species present in Posidonia oceanica, with progressively smaller subsets found in Cymodocea nodosa and Zostera sp.

The characterization of the functional space and structure of fish assemblages across the various seagrass habitats showed that Mediterranean seagrasses host a vast array of functionally similar fish species characterized by r-like reproductive strategies and low-to-intermediate trophic levels, but differ for the traits exhibited by the associated predators.

Our findings reinforce the view that the predominant use of seagrass habitats by fish might be driven by the trade-off between different reproductive and feeding strategies.

Elasmobranchs face significant threats from intensive fishing and by-catch, particularly in the Mediterranean Sea, where 53% of sharks and rays are at risk of extinction. Understanding their biology and ecological roles is crucial to develop conservation strategies. In the current study the trophic ecology of the blackspotted smooth-hound Mustelus punctulatus, listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, has been studied in three areas of the North-central Adriatic Sea, the Gulf of Trieste (named zone A), Venice Lagoon (zone B), and Emilia-Marche (zone C), by means of stomach content (SCA) and stable isotope analyses (SIA). SIA were carried out on both muscle and vertebrae. Our results showed that Mustelus punctulatus feed mostly on crustanceans and bony fishes, especially small pelagics, and to a lesser extent polychaetes and molluscs, with significant differences in diet composition among specimens collected in the zone A and those from zone C. Concerning SIA, while the δ¹³C values in muscle tissue aligned with existing literature, a slight depletion in δ¹⁵N was observed across all samples, which could be attributed to increased water intake from the Po River, exacerbated by the significant flood in May 2023, as fishing pressure in the area has decreased in the last years. Moreover, by comparing δ¹⁵N values in the core and outer portions of vertebrae, corresponding to the mother's isotopic signature and prey assimilated within the last year, respectively, a clear ontogenetic shift in diet was observed. Remarkably, δ¹⁵N values in the core varied significantly among samples from the three zones, suggesting the presence of at least two distinct nursery areas in the northern Adriatic Sea. These findings underscore the importance of considering regional variations and ontogenetic shifts in elasmobranch ecology for effective conservation and management strategies.

Coralligenous habitat is a biogenic temperate reef, representing one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the Mediterranean Sea. The iconic species Paramuricea clavata is an ecosystem engineer which increases the spatial complexity of the habitat, developing animal forests that support the persistence of other species. In the last decade, P. clavata suffered the increase of multiple stressors which led to mass mortality events with substantially unknown consequences on associated benthic assemblages. We tested the hypothesis that P. clavata has the role of increasing local biodiversity. The study was carried out in the Gulf of Naples, where benthic communities inside vs outside the forests were compared in terms of β-diversity (partitioned in its two components nestedness and turnover) and functional richness. P. clavata forests are mainly represented by small size classes and show a wide range of both density (27 - 65 colonies/m²) and biomass (100 - 505 g dry weight/m²). The assessment of benthic assemblages reveals P. clavata forests support distinct communities, characterized by higher compositional and functional richness compared to the adjacent zones. The analysis of functional groups reveals that P. clavata prevents the spread of algal species, favouring the growth of sessile invertebrates. Comparing β-diversity, the turnover component is statistically significant at both taxonomical and functional level with higher values within the forest, highlighting the important role of P. clavata in modifying local environmental conditions and driving local species distribution. Our results provide new insights to the ecological relevance of this habitat and point out the importance of implementing its protection.

Among coastal systems, river deltas are highly dynamic environments: they are hotspots of biodiversity, and they respond quickly to natural and human changes (Trincardi et al., 2023). In recent years, human impact on the Po River Delta (UNESCO heritage site and biodiversity hotspot) has significantly changed both the territory and the land use. Because of this, there have been major modifications in the type and amount of the ecosystem services that such area could offer to the local communities (Gaglio et al., 2017).

For five consecutive years (2015/2019) we sampled on a seasonal basis the macrozoobenthic community of the Po Delta (Emilia Romagna area) across all the microhabitats of the lagoons which responds optimally to natural and anthropogenic stressors (Mistri et al., 2000; Carvalho et al., 2011). We have demonstrated that the taxonomic and trophic-functional diversity of the same microhabitat (e.g., macroalgal beds, bare sediment, or Phragmites roots) is not comparable between different lagoons. Not only the macrozoobenthic communities are distinct, but the taxonomical and trophic biodiversity do not overlap either. The findings demonstrate the critical importance of conserving lagoon ecosystems in their microhabitat variability. Each lagoon system is unique, and preserving their distinct ecological characteristics is essential for maintaining their biodiversity and the ecosystem services they provide. Consequently, conservation strategies must prioritize the protection of these diverse microhabitats to ensure the long-term ecological integrity of the Po River Delta.

Bottom trawling is known to affect directly and indirectly the structure and functions of benthic ecosystems. Direct effects include the removal of benthic and benthopelagic species, whereas indirect effects include a wide range of impacts on the seabed and resident species. Among indirect effects, functional changes to benthic communities have also been reported, which in turn may affect the diet (i.e. food preferences and feeding habits) and the trophodynamics (i.e. trophic level in the food chain) of benthic-feeding fish. Here, we aimed to evaluate the impact of fishing pressure on the diet composition, trophic level and food source and lipid content of one of the most important commercial species of the Mediterranean Sea, the red mullet Mullus barbatus collected in three areas of the Central Adriatic Sea, characterized by different fishery pressure, according to Vessel Monitoring System data. Our results revealed significant differences in diet composition among areas, based on stomach contents analysis, suggesting that fishing activities influence the dietary preferences of red mullets, while δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values did not reveal changes in carbon sources and trophic levels. Finally, significant differences were observed in the concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) of specimen from the three areas and specifically areas with lower fishing pressure showed a higher concentration of healthy PUFAs, while areas with higher fishing pressure showed a higher concentration of MUFAs. The significant influence of this anthropogenic impact on the diet composition, stable isotopes contents and nutritional characteristics of M. barbatus underlines the importance of considering fishing pressure in fisheries management and also for maintaining a good nutritional quality of commercial marine species.

The Italian Spring Goby (Orsinigobius punctatissimus) is an endemic freshwater fish species considered Critically Endangered by the Italian IUCN committee. This species is closely associated with highly specific and isolated habitats, such as springs and oxbow lakes in the River Po plain, where Lombardy constitutes half of the species' range. Because of spring droughts, pollution, habitat loss and fragmentation, the species distribution in the freshwater ecosystems of Lombardy has been estimated being decreased by 70% in recent decades. However, information on the presence and ecology of this species is very limited because of the scarcity of monitoring activities in suitable habitats. For instance, the current knowledge about the habitat preferences of the species is outdated and based on past qualitative observations. Therefore, the aim of this study is to enlarge the knowledge on the ecology and distribution of the Italian Spring Goby in spring ecosystems of the Lombardy region. In spring-summer 2023 and 2024, we surveyed more than 130 springs spanned over a longitudinal gradient, collecting data on the presence of the species and fish community, as well as biotic and abiotic features of the spring. We found the species in 25 springs, corresponding to the 19% of the sampled sites. Results showed that the main predictive variables for the presence and abundance are morphological features such as substrate type, average depth, illumination, and retention of organic debris. This study provides novel insights into the habitat preferences of the Italian Spring Goby and its regional distribution.

In 2013 the scientific opinion “Addressing the New Challenges for Risk Assessment” published by three scientific committees of the European Commission, DG SANCO (SCHER, SCHENIR, SCCS) identified the need for improving the ecological realism in both exposure and effect assessment. For example, it highlighted the necessity to further define bioaccumulation behavior and mechanisms for the variety of plant species, considering also emerging contaminants. Plants can accumulate organic contaminants from air and soil through leaves and roots thanks to several processes, and this represents the first step for the entrance of these compounds in the food webs from herbivore and detritivore organisms. To describe chemical concentration ratios between the plant compartment of interest (e.g., leaves) and the exposure medium (e.g., air), bioconcentration factors (BCF) also known as leaf-air partition coefficient (K_LA) are used. Several authors tried to review and compare some of the available K_LA measured and predicted data in order to assess the comparability of the approaches and suggest preliminary guidance for planning future bioaccumulation studies. However, only a few works were considered, and K_LA source of variability was not fully investigated. Moreover, the suitability of the existing approaches (mainly developed for legacy compounds) for the prediction of leaf uptake of emerging contaminants was not verified. In the current work all the available approaches (i.e., more than K_LA 80 equations) were compared and used to predict emerging contaminant bioaccumulation in plants. The results showed that the equations developed for traditional chemicals (e.g., PAHs, PCBs, DDT, etc.) overestimate the bioaccumulation of emerging contaminants (e.g., phthalates, organophosphate ester flame retardants, etc.) in leaves of several orders of magnitude. Therefore, further studies are necessary to better understand the factors that can influence the accumulation of emerging contaminants in leaves of several species and develop new K_LA equations for these types of compounds.

Transitional environments, such as coastal lagoons, can act as coastal filters by retaining pollutants originating from human activities occurring on the mainland. Among the sources of pollution reaching the lagoonal environment, microplastics (MPs) are considered one of the emerging contaminants whose distribution in the abiotic compartment and subsequent transfer to the biotic compartment need to be addressed. Here we assessed the distribution, abundance and composition of MPs in sediment, water and fish community of a semi-enclosed Mediterranean basin (the Stagnone di Marsala, Italy) with the aim to investigate: i) how the environmental factors characterizing the area (hydrodynamics and exposure to the open sea) influence MPs distribution and abundance in the abiotic compartment; ii) how fish trophic niche features (isotopic niche width) influence MP ingestion. MPs were found in all the compartments examined, with concentrations in the sediment being two orders of magnitude higher than in the water column, while MPs were found in 19% of the 106 fish of the five species analysed (three estuarine resident species: Aphanius fasciatus, Atherina boyeri and Syngnathus abaster, and two transient fish species: Diplodus annularis and D. vulgaris). The most abundant polymer analysed by μ-FTIR in fish was rayon (48%), followed by Polypropylen (14%) and acrylic (14%). Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between the abundance of MPs in the water column and the abundance of MPs ingested by resident fish species, and a negative correlation between hydrodynamics and the MPs ingested by fish. No significant relationship, instead, emerged between fish trophic features and MPs ingestion. These results suggest that environmental condition influence the uptake of MPs by fish communities and highlights the importance of using a multi-target approach to disentangle the effects of MPs pollution in coastal lagoons.

The 'plastisphere is a new ecosystem developping on plastic surfaces that rapidly undergo biofouling in aquatic ecosystems. While numerous studies have investigated the biodiversity of the plastisphere, few have ventured into understanding the impact of these communities on the functionality and metabolism of aquatic ecosystems. We present an experimental study aiming to address this gap by quantifying the broader effects of plastic debris on epiplastic biofilm community development and by assessing the resulting consequences on ecosystem metabolic traits (i.e., net ecosystem production, gross primary production, respiration, and community dark metabolism from 3 rivers, of the Lower Mekong Basin, with contrasting trophic state and water clarity. Over a 30-day period, we incubated four different plastic polymers (polyethylene (PE_30d); polypropylene (PP_30d); polystyrene (PS_30d); polyamide (PA_30d)) and collected additional macroplastics of an unknown submergence time (PE_unk), characterizing the algal biomass, bacterial and algal biodiversity(16S and 18S rRNA), and metabolic traits of the community growing on their surface. Our findings showed limited microalgal biomass and bacterial dominance, with potential pathogens present. The location significantly influenced community composition, highlighting the role of environmental conditions in shaping community development. When assessing the effects on ecosystem productivity, our experiments showed that biofouled plastics led to a significant drop in oxygen concentration within river water, leading to hypoxic/anoxic conditions with subsequent profound impacts on system metabolism and the capability of influencing biogeochemical cycles. Scaling our findings revealed that plastic pollution may exert a more substantial and ecosystem-altering impact than initially assumed, particularly in areas with poorly managed plastic waste. These results highlighted that the plastisphere functions as a habitat for biologically active organisms which play a pivotal role in essential ecosystem processes.

Microplastics (MPs), deriving from the textile sector, are today receiving great attention. Mainly shaped as fibers, these tiny particles are intensely released during many processes, representing an important contributor to freshwater pollution, mainly through wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Although conventional WWTPs are not designed to remove MPs, enhanced technologies (e.g., tertiary and quaternary treatments) could remove more the 90% of MPs. However, not all WWPTs are equipped with these highly performing processes. Moreover, in WWTPs a large amount of MPs may end up in sludge, which could contribute to terrestrial and later aquatic ecosystem contamination. The aim of this study is to investigate the pathway of MPs released by the textile industry to surface water. An overview of different fabric treatments will be given to illustrate the processes responsible for MP release and discharge to textile wastewater. Preliminary data, obtained with a quantitative method (Pyrolysis-GC-MS), regarding the release of MPs in selected fabric production steps and in WWTPs will be illustrated to elucidate the range of concentrations and polymer types which can be found. These activities are part of the LIFE CASCADE project which aims at developing analytical procedures and wastewater treatment technologies meant to detect and remove micropollutants including MPs.

Given the unique physical and chemical properties, plastic materials have brought important benefits to our society, becoming essentials in many applicative fields. Among the different plastics types, polypropylene (PP) is one of the most widespread, whose production increased in the last years due to the huge consumption of surgical masks and single-use packaging. However, its global diffusion led to an unchecked build-up and to an indiscriminate environmental dispersion of derived waste. Due to the low degradability, PP could be affected by biotic and abiotic agents, which lead to its fragmentation into micro- and nano-particles (MPs and NPs respectively). These adversely affect both aquatic and terrestrial organisms, in which bioaccumulate inside tissues, thus impairing their physiological responses. In this context, although numerous studies already demonstrated the potential MPs and NPs side effects on several biological processes, the putative impact of PP particles on wound healing and tissue regeneration has never been examined. To shed light on these aspects, the ability of PP-MPs and NPs to interfere with correct wound healing has been assessed in the consolidated freshwater invertebrate model Hirudo verbana. By means of morphological, immunofluorescence, histoenzymatic, and molecular analyses, in the current work it has been demonstrated how PP-MPs and NPs were able to induce fibrotic events, by a stronger activation of the inflammatory response and an abundant production of extracellular matrix components, which in turn inhibits the correct formation of blood vessels and the recruitment of muscle cells precursors.

Brown trout Salmo trutta is listed among the 100 World’s Worst Invasive alien species and one of the world's top 30 worst aquatic invasive organisms. Due to its adaptation capacity, brown trout can colonize different environments, even those which significantly differ from its typical habitat, negatively impacting native populations (fishes, crustaceans, amphibians) and ecosystems through predation and competition (both for habitats and trophic resources), but also as vector of exotic parasites. However, the brown trout was widely introduced, due to its importance as a major target species for recreational fishing. Due to these reasons, extirpation activities have been performed in many countries, using different methods to face brown trout impacts. In the present work, we analyzed the effects of a seven-years long eradication project (2018 - 2024) in a karstic stream placed in Northeastern Italy (Friuli Venezia Giulia Region): the Rosandra Stream is the only surficial watercourse in the Italian portion of the classic Karst, flowing within the Natural Regional Reserve of the Rosandra-Glinščica Valley. The eradication project, funded by the Reserve Authority, allowed to collect 948 brown trout specimens through the years mainly collected via electrofishing sampling campaigns, implementing the use of fishing rods for specific situations, in collaborations with the Regional Authorithy for the Safeguard of Fish Resources. After few years, the eradication project showed positive effects on native Austropotamobius pallipes and Phoxinus lumaireul populations, which showed a significant increase in their abundances since the beginning of the eradication campaigns. These effects are particularly evident for freshwater crayfish populations, and obtained data are of pivotal importance in a conservation perspective, as A. pallipes is listed as an endangered species in the IUCN Redlist and is reported in the Annexes II and V of the Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC.

Soils simultaneously perform multiple ecological functions. Disturbances related to land use can lead to a decrease in biodiversity of soil microbiome and, consequently, due to its crucial role in regulating nutrient stocks and transformations, a depletion of soil ecological functions. The current study aims to assess the effects of different land uses on functions performed by soil microbial community in order to define good drivers of multifunctionality. In the Matese National Park, adjacent areas under different land uses (forest F, meadow M and, pasture P) were selected, and the soils sampled at three times (June T1, July T2 and, December 2023 T3) relating to specific management practices in M and P areas: sowing (T1), harvest (T2) and, five months after harvest (T3) in M; at the beginning (T1), after one month of grazing (T2) and, after the end of the grazing (T3) in P. Water content, pH, organic matter content, labile, recalcitrant and stable organic carbon fraction and enzymatic activities (hydrolase - FDA, β-glucosidase - BG, phosphatase - PHOS, β-glucosaminidase - NAG, arylsulfatase - ARS, laccase - ABTS) were used for the calculation of ecological indices: metabolic activity index (MAI) and soil multifunctionality index (SMF). The enzymatic activities showed, on average, the highest values in F (except for BG and PHOS), although with seasonal variations. In P almost all enzymatic activities increased in T3. In M, ARS and PHOS increased over time , while BG and FDA after a decreased in T2 reached again the initial values in T3. The high MAI values found in P and M highlighted the sustainability of the management practices implemented. In P the grazing affected SMF index, being SMF value higher after the end of grazing period (T3).

Soil provides multiple ecosystem services, producing food, playing a role in carbon sequestration and providing a reservoir for biodiversity. However, soils are subject to several disturbances (i.e. management practices in forests, tillage in agriculture fields, grazing in pastures). These disturbances can change soil properties and microbial community biodiversity, and seasonality also plays an important role in shaping the microbial community composition. Studies on the interactive effect of season and land use and their relative importance in driving change in soil microbial community are limited in the Mediterranean area.
Here, we aimed to answer how dominant vegetation, land use, and season affect the microbial community in different soil ecosystems. At this aim, for one year, the function (enzyme activities) and structure (DNA analysis) of the microbial communities were monitored in soils under different vegetation covers (turkey oak and beech) and land use (meadow and pasture); all the variables were analysed by variation partitioning analysis and the driving factors of the partitioning were determined (using permutational ANOVA). We also calculated the resilience of soil microbial community (by Metabolic Activity Index, MAI), deepening its response to different disturbances (forest management practices, tillage and grazing).
Dominant vegetation type and land use affected the soil microbial community more than the season in these Mediterranean ecosystems. MAI values higher in managed forests suggested a resilience response of the microbial communities and their recovery after about 15 years from cutting. Pasture and meadow management appeared not to affect soil microbial community functions, with MAI values higher in meadow respect to pasture.
This study provides novel insights into the factors that affect the composition of soil microbial communities, and related ecosystem functions, useful in implementing soil sustainable management practices.

Climate change is a key driver of global biodiversity loss, affecting wildlife through shifts in species phenology, physiology, behaviour, and distribution. These shifts can lead to habitat loss, local declines, and extinction cascades. Additionally, new species may compete with native ones, exacerbating conservation challenges. Traditionally, long-term distribution studies have focused on birds and mammals, but dragonflies, as bioindicator insects of ecological change, offer a valuable alternative. Easily identifiable by the public, dragonflies can be monitored through citizen science platforms, aiding in data collection even when institutional funding is scarce. One notable example is Trithemis annulata, a Libellulidae native to Afro-tropical regions, which has significantly expanded its range across southwestern Europe in recent decades, including Spain, France, and Italy. Historically confined to southern Italy for over 150 years, this species has spread northward into the Po Plains and several alpine valleys. To document and analyze the expansion of Trithemis annulata in Italy and determine the bioclimatic conditions for its current and future distribution, a dataset including 2,557 geographic distribution points from different online platforms from 1825 to 2023 was compiled. In the last 43 years, Trithemis annulata expanded northward at an average speed of 12 km/year, accelerating up to 34 km/year. Despite this rapid movement, the northward expansion of the species has not kept pace with rising temperatures, and the species has shown no significant upward shift. By 2040, Italy is projected to see a substantial increase in suitable areas for this Libellulidae, potentially expanding by up to 200%. This expansion, driven by climate warming, positions the species as a neo-native in recently invaded regions. Additionally, populations at the northernmost edge of its Italian range currently border the Alps, indicating a potential future expansion into central Europe.

Mediterranean infralittoral rocky reef ecosystems can undergo a distinctive regime shift, where the healthy state, characterized by macroalgal forests supporting rich and biodiverse communities that provide key ecosystem functions and services, are replaced by a degraded state, characterized by barrens formed by encrusting algae and showing low biodiversity. Sea urchins usually play a pivotal role in this process since, under certain conditions, they can significantly increase in number and favour, thanks to their grazing activity, this unwanted regime shift.  We propose an ecological, process-based mathematical model that describes the processes influencing the spatio-temporal dynamics of the algal cover, focusing on the interactions between primary producers, sea urchins (whose grazing activity mediates the competition between the two algal groups) and sea urchin predators (such as sea breams, Diplodus spp.), and how these can drive the shift from a macroalgae-dominated forest to barren and vice versa. Our model allows us to describe population dynamics of the species involved and biomass flows across the different trophic levels. It makes also possible to explore how different levels of exploitation, on both sea urchins and their predators, can trigger a possible shift from forest to barren, thus driving a re-organization of the community. Although more robust calibration and validation is needed to make the model fully operational, this modelling approach has the potential to inform management policies and conservation strategies. Eventually, we aim at refining and expanding the model to include the effect of climate change and ocean connectivity, towards a basin-scale analysis at the meta-community level.

The Baltic Sea is a crucial wintering site for seabirds, particularly velvet scoters (Melanitta fusca). Velvet scoter is rapidly declining, despite being one of the most abundant wintering sea duck in the Baltic Sea. Protection measures should consider information such as diet, diving behaviour, time-budget and wintering energy requirements for the planning and zoning of marine protected area. Therefore, this work provides an integrated approach for the evaluation of the seabed energy and the energy demand of velvet scoter wintering in the Lithuanian coastal waters in the Baltic Sea. Diet analysis, using stomach content from bycaught individuals, were used to identify key prey species. The time-budget and diving behaviour were assessed via direct visual observations and transmitters deployment, respectively. The visual observations assessed the frequency of six behavioural categories during the day (resting, locomotion, feeding, comfort, alert and social interaction). Transmitters data provided information such as dive duration, descend, bottom and ascend duration, as well as the daily number of dives and the depth distribution. Literature data were used to recalculate the energy values associated with each behavioural category, providing insights into the estimation of daily energy expenditure. Benthic samples, collected between April 2020 and July 2021, were analysed to assess the distribution and biomass of prey in the environment. Benthic biomass was then modelled using Random Forest and converted into energy values to evaluate seabed energy availability. Information on the foraging ecology of velvet scoters and other energy costs (thermoregulation, basal metabolic rate, etc.) were combined to determine the sea duck’s energy distribution. Ultimately, the integration of seabed energy availability and velvet scoter energy demands offers information for the zoning and prioritization of key feeding areas, which is essential for the conservation of this declining species in the Baltic Sea.

Biological invasions are constantly increasing globally, with freshwater ecosystems (rivers and lakes) among the most vulnerable. In these habitats invasive crayfish (Crustacea, Decapoda) have a significant ecological impact. The current study examined the population structure, as well as the spatial and temporal distribution of the invasive American crayfish Faxonius limosus in two subalpine lakes in northwestern Piedmont (Lake Orta and Lake Mergozzo) where its occurrence is well established. Littoral sampling covering a 1-year project (2021-2022) allowed us to measure, weigh and sex determine all collected individuals. Subsequently, the population structure was investigated to confirm whether 1) the invasive species' abundance (Hypothesis1- Hp1), 2) and its growth differ between the two lakes (Hp2);3) the potential use of invasive species to produce biofilm for sustainable food packaging as containment strategies (Hp3). This study found that total number of individuals caught were higher in Lake Orta (86) than in Lake Mergozzo (57) with a sex ratio M/F of 1.39 vs 3.07, respectively. However, its average Catches Per Unit Effort (CPUE) abundance in the two lakes was similar (Hp1). Individual growth was higher in Lake Mergozzo than in Lake Orta (Hp2). Producing crayfish-based biofilm from chitosan extracted from F. limosus exoskeleton may be a viable strategy for the species' containment (Hp3) at least in those countries where laws do not prevent their use and where reducing waste needs to become a pivotal practice. Our study is a valuable contribution to the deepening of knowledge on the ecology of F. limosus in the lakes of the Verbano area.

Forest litter is a critical component of soil ecosystem, providing habitats and food for a variety of organisms. Reducing erosion, conserving moisture and moderating temperature fluctuations, it acts as a protective layer for soils. Contextually, litter is a fundamental resource for soil microarthropods that, through feeding and shredding activity, contribute to litter breakdown and facilitate the nutrient access to plants and microorganisms. Despite their key role, researches regarding their community dynamics are still scarce. Therefore, the present research aimed to investigate changes in soil microarthropod community composition and trophy distribution under the main plant cover of the Mediterranean area such as pine (Pinus spp.), holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) and chestnut (Castanea spp.). Litter samples were collected and microarthropods were extracted and identified. Then, the relative abundance of microarthropods according to their trophy (detritivores, predators, omnivores and herbivores) was determined. The data revealed that: pine litter supported a community mainly composed by Prostigmata (38 %) and Oribatida (37 %) with higher percentage of detritivores (58 %); holm oak litter supported a community mainly composed by Prostigmata (42 %) and Oribatida (40 %) with similar partition between detritivores (49 %) and predators (49 %); chestnut litter hosted greater diversity in terms of species richness with higher percentage of detritivores (66 %). It can be supposed that litter quality and shape drive the composition of the soil microarthropod in terms of abundance of specific taxa and trophic role. In conclusion, soil microarthropod composition and functionality is strictly dependent on plant biodiversity exerting, in turns, effects on organic matter turnover.

Gadolinium (Gd), a rare earth element, has many technological and medical applications. Used in magnetic garnets, computer memories, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), its safety has been questioned due to associations of the appearance of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and calcium homeostasis disruption observed in the patients submitted to MRI. Studies also reveal its persistence in the body post-MRI and accumulation in the brain, bones, kidneys, and skin. Environmental concerns arise from its release into water bodies via hospital effluents and inefficient removal by wastewater treatment plants, reaching alarming levels in coastal and marine environments worldwide. Based on these assumptions this study aims to investigate the contamination of this emerging contaminant in 7 Italian areas along the Tyrrhenian, Ionian and Adriatic Seas. The bivalve Donax trunculus was selected and sampled as early warning sentinel, as well as sediment and water matrices. Lesina (Puglia) and Sibari (Calabria) were significantly the most contaminated sites in both sediment and D. trunculus matrices, confirming that the bivalves reflect environmental contamination. In addition, a 14-day indoor experiment with increasing Gd concentrations in D. trunculus was carried out to study the toxic effect of Gd and the oxidative stress caused by the contaminant. The results revealed that the detected concentrations of Gd induced oxidative stress in D. trunculus, affecting its metabolic capacity, antioxidant enzyme response, biotransformation mechanism, and lipid peroxidation. D. trunculus proved to be a suitable sentinel species for Gd analysis, showing a proportional accumulation of contaminants in its tissues. These findings highlight the risk of oxidative stress even at lower Gd concentrations, which are common in nature. As the use of Gd increases, environmental concentrations may rise, posing health risks to aquatic organisms and humans through biomagnification.

Among rapid ecotoxicological bioassays for screening soil quality, avoidance behaviour tests on gregarious edaphic species such as Porcellionides pruinosus are widely used. However, the effect of soil contamination on adaptive aggregation ability has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to develop a new ecotoxicological endpoint related to the disaggregation effect under infochemical disruption at the population level during an avoidance behaviour test. This new endpoint was evaluated using tire particles (TPs) and benzothiazole (BT) as preliminary physical and chemical substances. The disaggregation index (DI) and disaggregation groups (DG) are presented as measures of fragmentation of the population to quantify the effect of contaminants on aggregation behaviour. Aggregation disruption in a group of ten individuals is assessed alongside the sub-lethal avoidance test after a 48 hour exposure. The degree of disaggregation is measured by the number of subgroups formed. The DI and DG indices range from 0 to 1, representing the highest degree of aggregation and disaggregation, respectively, achieved at the end of the test. Our results show that all woodlice exposed to TPs and BT successfully passed the validation of the avoidance test, but failed to show gregarious behaviour in control soil, indicating fragmentation within the population, even if in uncontaminated soil. The disaggregation effects in woodlice occurred at higher concentrations than the avoidance ones, suggesting a possible effect on the adaptive capabilities of the population even in the control soil. These results suggest a combination of avoidance behaviour and disaggregation in individuals of P. pruinosus. Consideration of both aspects may provide more ecological, accurate and robust results for the evaluation of the stress induced by contaminant on natural population.

The aim of the ÆM-POLLY PNRR PRIN project is to develop and validate an integrated protocol as a tool to verify if the mitigation measures foreseen by the EU Green Deal for agricultural practices, are effective in halting and reversing the decline of wild pollinator biodiversity. This monitoring protocol will integrate endpoints in terms of presence, abundance and diversity of wild pollinator species with endpoints able to assess the state of health at the sub-individual, individual and population level. These endpoints are selected and designed to diagnose biological alterations in wild pollinators due to different pressures: chemical stress from pesticides, stress linked to climate changes, food and water deficiencies, habitat loss and diseases. Such an integrated approach using a set of biomarkers has never applied before to wild pollinators. The monitoring protocol is applied in 4 orchards and 4 vineyards characterised by the presence or absence of mitigation measures, and in 4 adjacent natural areas. Surveys for assessing pollinator diversity are performed once in spring and once in late summer. During this activity individuals of the most abundant/representative species are sampled for chemical (pesticide levels), morphological (body size and fluctuating asymmetry variations) and biomarker analysis (immune, reproductive, and nervous systems, oxidative stress, metabolism, detoxification processes and genotoxicity, energy mobilisation and feeding performance). From our project we expect to: 1) obtain a dataset of baseline biomarker values related to the health status of representative pollinator species; 2) assess the effectiveness of the mitigation measures by comparing the pollinator diversity and the biomarkers related to their health in two types of crops; 3) define a final integrated monitoring protocol to assess the health status of wild pollinators and their biodiversity; 4) develop user-friendly guidelines to assess the effectiveness of the different mitigation measures in different agroecosystems, to guide decisions and inform policies.

Intense human impacts, susceptibility to species invasion, small sizes of native populations, and high levels of endemism make extinction rates on islands much higher than those observed on mainlands. Mediterranean small islands are threatened by many factors, including overexploitation, landscape degradation, tourist pressures, and climate change. These islands host unique assortments of insect species, including several endemic taxa. A review of available information on the conservation status of various insect groups on Mediterranean small islands highlights some major areas of concern: (1) Island insects are mainly threatened by habitat loss due to clearance of natural vegetation for settlement (urbanization) and agriculture; (2) Invasive plants and animals (especially other insects) may represent an important, yet overlooked, source of threats; (3) Climate change has not been directly implicated in island insect decline to date, but it will be increasingly important in the near future due to the reduction of island size from rising sea level and the direct and indirect impacts of increasing temperature on ecosystem functioning and insect biology. Preservation of areas in good conservation status (mainly through site protection), habitat management and restoration, invasive species control, and species conservation actions, are urgently needed to improve insect conservation on Mediterranean small islands.

Human activities, especially agriculture and urbanisation, are causing a significant modification of natural environments. Consequently, animals adapt their physiology to these new environments to exploit them for foraging and breeding. This study aimed to compare the physiological status of nestling common kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) sampled from nest boxes installed in natural, rural, and urban areas around Rome, Italy. A multi-biomarker approach was applied to evaluate physiological responses at multiple levels, including antioxidant concentrations, immune functions, genotoxicity, and neurotoxicity. We found lower concentrations of glutathione and GSH:GSSG ratio values and a higher number of monocytes in urban kestrels than in other areas. Additionally, we observed higher DNA damage in rural kestrels compared to urban and natural ones, and inhibition of butyrylcholinesterase activity in urban and natural area birds compared to those from rural area. Similar values emerged among the study areas for respiratory burst, complement system activity, bactericidal capacity, and plasma non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity. These results show that urban environments do not necessarily cause physiological alterations in kestrels compared to those from other habitats, and due to the different environmental pressures across habitats, the specific organisms’ responses can be detected through a multi-biomarker approach. Further studies are needed to identify which factors induce the physiological differences among natural, rural and urban. birds and to determine whether these differences are consistent over time and space.

The present study, carried out within the framework of the project code CN_00000033, Concession Decree No. 1034 of 17 June 2022 adopted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, CUP, H43C22000530001377 Project title “National Biodiversity Future Center - NBFC”, aims to evaluate the anthropogenic constraints on the seasonal dynamics of vegetation biodiversity in urban ecosystems. The adopted approach focused on analysing, using seasonal phytosociological relevées from October 2023 to July 2024, the structural and functional diversity of the herbaceous communities colonizing two urban areas in southern Italy, subjected to different levels of management but similar climate. Taxa were identified at the species level, estimating their abundance through measures of number of individuals, dry mass and Braun-Blanquet cover, while Raunkiaer biological forms, chorology and Ellenberg indices were adopted to evaluate vegetation functional diversity.

Results show clear seasonal dynamics in vegetation composition and structure where subjected only to occasional mowing, with dominance-diversity relationships cycling through pre-emption models in winter to lognormal distributions in spring and autumn, passing through Mandelbrot models in summer. This sequence highlights the seasonal evolution of constraints due to endogenous processes (e.g. competition) and external pressures (e.g. summer drought), and is coherent with clear shifts in community composition. Where regular mowing, irrigation and fertilization occur, the seasonal signature on vegetation dynamics fades and the dominance-diversity community structure follows similar pre-emption models throughout the year, with limited variations in species richness and evenness. The relative seasonal variations in different diversity indices between the study areas further support the effects of anthropogenic constraints on vegetation seasonal dynamics.

Findings shed light on the temporal evolution of vegetation communities in complex urban ecosystems, with clear interpretations in terms of diverse anthropogenic constraints.

Energy exchanges between benthic and pelagic domains are regulated by physical processes and trophic interactions among species, which support the Benthic-Pelagic coupling (BPC). Identifying the species or groups of species that most contribute to BPC and act as key couplers is of interest for understanding this important ecosystem process. This analysis explores the species contribution to the BPC within the Northern Ionian Sea (NIS) and Aegean Sea (AS) food webs modelled through the Ecopath mass-balance modelled approach.
Two original NIS and AS models composed by 51 and 44 functional groups (FGs) of species, respectively, were reorganized in a standard food-web model structure of 25 FGs for each one, to compare the results. Starting from consumption flows matrices of each standard model, the contribution of FGs to BPC was calculated through a Benthic-Pelagic Coupling Index (BPCI). BPCI summarized pelagic and benthic flows (downward, dQf) and those between benthic and pelagic domains (upward, uQf) based on consumption flows (t km^-2 y^-1) estimated for each FG, considered as both predators and prey (excluding non-living detritus groups), through the pelagic, benthopelagic, demersal, and benthic domains. In addition, FGs were classified as direct, mediating or partial couplers according to their domains of membership and completeness in coupling between the benthic and pelagic domains.
In both food webs, zooplankton and suprabenthic crustaceans were the main direct couplers. In the NIS, the main mediating couplers contributing to uQf were benthopelagic decapod crustaceans (35% of the total uQf), demersal non-piscivorous fishes (21%) and benthopelagic fishes (19%). In the AS, demersal non-piscivorous fishes (mediating couplers) showed the highest contribution to uQf (45%), while benthopelagic cephalopods contributed to 31% of the total dQf.
Results stress the importance of demersal and benthopelagic FGs in BPC mechanisms, supporting the energy and matter recycling in the ecosystem, and thus its productivity.

Climate change is inducing profound alterations at all levels of biological organization, from individual organisms to entire ecosystems. These shifts are expected to continue in response to ongoing climate warming, which is largely mediated by metabolic rate. As metabolic rate is one of the first traits of organisms to respond to climate change, forecasting the extent of this change by the end of the century would lay the groundwork for disentangling higher ecological impacts and informing conservation decisions for potential mitigation. Here, we aimed to predict the metabolic rate response of invertebrates, which serve as primary consumers in the trophic web, under the CMIP5 climate change scenarios. Our predictions showed that metabolic rates could increase substantially, with more pronounced increases in species living at high latitudes under the modest climate change scenario.

In marine phytoplankton ecology, biomass indices such as cell number or chlorophyll a determination may provide estimates of population abundances, but they do not account for the functional activity of species or groups. Conversely, molecular traits based on DNA and RNA, and ribosomal small subunit (18S rDNA) may be key for the metabolic dynamics in pelagic ecosystems. In this study, the metabolic activity has been assessed in two diatom species, Chaetoceros socialis and Skeletonema marinoi, typically occurring in the northwestern Adriatic Sea phytoplankton assemblages, by applying RNA/DNA and taxon-specific 18S rRNA/rDNA ratios. Significant correlations between abundance, chlorophyll a, carbon content and proteins were found (from rs=0.570 to rs =0.986, p<0.001). Biomass trend followed the logistic curve and during the initial stages of growth, the RNA/DNA and species-specific 18S rRNA/rDNA ratios of C. socialis and S. marinoi reached their maximum values (i.e., 23.2±1.5 and 15.3±0.8, and 16.2±1.6 and 30.1±5.4) after 2 and 6 days, respectively, in individual culture, with a subsequent sharp decreasing value for both species. In the co-cultured experiment, the maximum molecular ratio values were obtained after 4 days, in the exponential phase, showing values of 13.4±0.4 and 9.4±0.7 for total RNA/DNA and diatom 18S rRNA/rDNA ratios, respectively. Considering the molecular ratios for each target taxon, C. socialis and S. marinoi 18S rRNA/rDNA ratios showed maximum values of 24.4±2.0 and 8.2±0.7, for each species respectively, 4 days after the initial inoculum. These findings showed that changes in functional activity of primary producers may be associated with differences in RNA/DNA ratios, suggesting their potential as predictive tools for phytoplankton dynamics in coastal ecosystems that are subjected to pollution and climate pressures. Moreover, phytoplankton represents an important share of the first level of the trophic web and these ratios may be useful to evaluate coastal marine ecosystem productivity.

This study investigates the spatio-temporal, trait-based distribution and functioning of Posidonia oceanica meadows in the Mediterranean Sea, utilizing benthic chambers to upscale ecosystem services predictions. Posidonia meadows are critical for marine biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration. We conducted in-situ metabolic measurements of Posidonia meadows in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea, integrating these with remote sensing data to develop predictive models of key metabolic traits under current and future climate scenarios. The Net Community Production (NCP) was used to assess community metabolism, constructing Thermal Performance Curves (TPC) for Posidonia habitat. Results showed that Posidonia meadows exhibit autotrophic metabolism year-round, with optimal performance at 23°C and upper thermal limits at 35°C. Spatial predictions indicated seasonal variations in metabolic performance, with significant future changes due to rising temperatures. Our findings highlight the essential role of Posidonia meadows in providing ecosystem services, such as oxygen production, CO₂ absorption, and carbon fixation, which are projected to increase under moderate warming scenarios. However, the meadows may face performance declines during the warmest periods, particularly in the central-western Mediterranean, potentially impacting local fisheries and ecosystem stability. This study underscores the need for conservation efforts to preserve Posidonia habitats, integrating high-resolution data into ecosystem management strategies to mitigate climate change impacts. By providing a comprehensive understanding of the metabolic responses of Posidonia meadows to varying temperature regimes, this research contributes to the broader effort of forecasting the ecological consequences of global warming on marine ecosystems. It also emphasizes the importance of adaptive management strategies that can enhance the resilience of these vital habitats, ensuring the sustained provision of their ecosystem services in the face of environmental change.

The endemic seagrass of the Mediterranean Sea Posidonia oceanica forms extensive beds, considered among the most complex and productive marine ecosystems. They are also defined as priority habitats by the European Community Directive 92/43 on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora.

The balance between primary production and remineralization governs the cycle of these ecosystems, especially considering that most of their production plays a role as necromass. The fate this necromass may endure is highly variable. Indeed, once being shed from the original bed, the destination of the dead biomass depends on the major driving forces acting on the bed (e.g., hydrodynamic characteristics and coastline conformation). Consequently, the necromass is exported towards other locations, leading to the formation of deposits both offshore (the neglected “maceration sites”) and onshore (the so-called “banquettes”). They both constitute an important carbon stock and a source for detrital food webs, also providing valuable ecosystem services (e.g., sediment retention and protection from coastal erosion).

In this study, we investigated the fate of the primary production in a P. oceanica bed off the Ischia Island (Southern Italy). Three different compartments were considered: (i) the living bed, (ii) the maceration site, and (iii) the banquette.

The aim was firstly to assess and quantify the associated carbon pools (gC m-3). Furthermore, the purpose was also to investigate and possibly to determine their fluxes among the three different compartments using ecosystem accounting.

Beside the well-known importance of the living seagrass beds, results shed light on the key role of the overlooked necromass of Posidonia oceanica in the blue carbon cycle.

The interactions between abiotic and biotic components within ecosystems generate functions that provide a wide range of ecosystem services vital for human well-being. The ecosystem services provided by coastal and marine ecosystems are increasingly recognized, especially for highly productive habitats such as mangrove forests and seagrass beds. However, some key vegetated ecosystems, like rhodolith beds, remain overlooked. Rhodolith beds are biogenic calcareous habitats formed by the aggregation of unattached, non-geniculate coralline algae. These beds are distributed worldwide and, due to their 3D structural complexity, host a high biodiversity of benthic microalgae, fleshy macroalgae, zoobenthos, and fishes, also of commercial interest. Rhodolith beds are also relevant in the blue carbon cycle through their role in carbon sequestration and carbonate production, even if their real contribution to climate regulation has still to be deeply understood. Indeed, although several studies address the functional role of rhodolith beds, there is an urgent need to link this knowledge to the supply of ecosystem services. This study aims to provide an overview of rhodolith bed ecosystem services according to the CICES classification (i.e., provisioning, regulation and maintenance, and cultural), also investigating supporting services (i.e., ecological functions) for their crucial role in generating all the other ecosystem services. Rhodolith beds are vulnerable to various anthropogenic threats on both global (e.g., climate change) and local (e.g., fishing) scale. Consequently, negative impacts on rhodolith beds may undermine their ability to provide these essential services. In this scenario, it is crucial to assess how the ecosystem services provided by rhodolith beds are changing in response to global environmental changes. This overview will offer useful insights for the management and conservation of these important yet vulnerable marine ecosystems.

Trees and green spaces are crucial elements for urban quality of life. Beyond their presence and abundance, species diversity and urban distribution of city trees are also important. These characteristics help to inform the status of urban ecosystems, ecosystems services supply, and management. They also serve as inputs in ecological models supporting decision-making on urban tree management and ecosystem services. Here, we aim to map and analyze tree species, age, morphological characteristics and diversity attributes in the municipality of Milan in relation to contextual factors, and to assess whether there are variations. We used a dataset of public trees provided by Milan municipality. Analyses were conducted city-wide and partitioning Milan into a uniform grid. Particular attention was paid to assess whether there were significant differences between trees within and outside parks. Among other aspects, we identified dominant species, calculated indices of species diversity and similarity and studied age and size trends by tree species. In terms of dominant species, differences emerged between trees within parks and outside parks. For example, Quercus trees are only predominant in parks, mainly in the form of young individuals; in contrast, Platanus x acerifolia is mainly found outside parks, and composed of most individuals that are over 30 years old. DBH versus age plots confirmed that there is a linear growth relationship for most species, indicating continuous growth. In contrast, crown diameter versus age plots show an unnatural saturation, especially clear in trees outside parks, which plausibly results from established management practices. These findings provide insights into the current distribution of public trees in Milan and provide in situ allometric relationships for several species’ morphological attributes. This information could be useful to inform future planning and management actions, as well as ecological models supporting such actions aimed at enhancing urban ecosystem and biodiversity conditions.