In this study, through morphological and molecular analysis approaches, we documented the presence of the typical stage (adult stage) of Penicillus capitatus during the coldest seasons of the year, typically periods when this form had never been reported in the Mediterranean. Indeed, the typical stage is common throughout the year in the western Atlantic (native range of the species), whereas it is rare in the Mediterranean, w...

Canopy-forming brown algae support highly productive ecosystems whose decline has been attributed to the interplay of several anthropogenic disturbances. Climate change could have disruptive effects on the biology of these species, but the role of temperature in the development of early life stages is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to assess the response of Ericaria giacconei , a winter-reproducing Southern–Medit...

In 2015, the Strait of Sicily, which includes several banks, was candidate as a future Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI) by the Contracting Parties of the Barcelona Convention. In this context, the present study aims to provide the first biological and ecological characterisation of this poorly known area, focusing on habitats and species of conservation concern. Surveys were carried through a remote...

In the Mediterranean Sea, the coralligenous is an extremely important habitat for its biodiversity and role in carbon sequestration. However, coralligenous biocenosis is sensitive to many anthropogenic impacts, among which one of the major threats is the marine litter. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the marine litter present in the coralligenous habitat of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Isole Ciclopi (Sicily, Ita...

The status of the “Biocoenosis of the Infralittoral Algae” of the upper infralittoral zone (at 5 m depth) from two selected stations along the eastern coast of Sicily (Ionian Sea, Mediterranean) was studied with a multiproxy approach involving the study of algae and associated protist and animal organisms, including foraminifers, serpulids, molluscs, bryozoans and ostracods. Scraped samples (40x40 cm) were collected at selecte...

For the first time ostracod and foraminifera populations living on infralittoral algae were analysed from three different localities near the Ciclopi Islands Marine Protected Area along the Etnean Ionian coast of Sicily, few km N of the city of Catania. Six series of samples, each of three samples, were collected at 5, 10 and 26 m water depth in sea bottom areas where the Biocoenosis of the Infralittoral Algae is developed. So...