Neonatal Mortality, Young Calf Slaughter and Milk Production during the Early Neolithic of North Western Mediterranean

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Gillis ◽  
I. Carrère ◽  
M. Saña Seguí ◽  
G. Radi ◽  
J-D. Vigne
Keyword(s):  
Neonatal Mortality ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Young Calf ◽  
North Western

scholarly journals Foraging dives of sperm whales in the north-western Mediterranean Sea

2012 ◽  
Vol 92 (8) ◽  
pp. 1799-1808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Gannier ◽  
Estelle Petiau ◽  
Violaine Dulau ◽  
Luke Rendell
Keyword(s):  
Prey Capture ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
The North ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Single Animal ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Passive Acoustic ◽  
North Western

Oceanic odontocetes rely on echolocation to forage on pelagic or benthic prey, but their feeding ecology is difficult to study. We studied sperm whale foraging dives during summer in the north-western Mediterranean, using visual and passive acoustic observations. Clicking and creaking activities were recorded during dives of focal whales, at distances <3000 m using a towed hydrophone and DAT recorder. A total of 52 sperm whales were recorded over at least one full dive cycle. Data were obtained for 156 complete dives in total, including sequences of up to nine consecutive dives. Various dive and environmental variables were entered in multiple linear regression and principal components analysis, as well as estimated mass of whales. Creak rate was 0.80 creak/minute on average, with moderate variance. Bigger whales tended to dive longer at greater depths (as suggested by ascent durations), and emitted more creaks during a dive: 20.2 creaks/dive on average for individuals <24 tons, compared to 25.6 creaks/dive for animals >24 tons of estimated mass. For individual whales, creak rates did not vary significantly with size (range 0.78–0.80 creak/minute), but decreased with time of the day, and increased for shorter foraging phases. For different dives, higher creak rates were also observed earlier in the day, and linked to shorter foraging phases and surface durations. Although the exact significance of creak emissions (i.e. foraging attempt or prey capture) is not precisely determined, creak rates may be reliably used to quantify sperm whale foraging when single animal dives can be followed acoustically.

scholarly journals Occurrence of harmful algal species and shellfish toxicity in Sardinia (Italy)

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Maria Bazzoni ◽  
Alessandro Graziano Mudadu ◽  
Giuseppa Lorenzoni ◽  
Igor Arras ◽  
Antonella Lugliè ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Algal Species ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Bivalve Molluscs ◽  
Alexandrium Minutum ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Phytoplankton Distribution ◽  
Legal Limits ◽  
Commercially Important ◽  
North Western ◽  
Dsp Toxins

Sardinia (Italy, north-western Mediterranean) is a commercially important producer of edible bivalve molluscs. Since the early 2000s, it was subjected to recurring cases of mussel farm closures due to toxic algal poison. Here, we present the studies on toxin concentrations and the associated potentially toxic phytoplankton distribution and abundances carried out by a regular monitoring programme in Sardinian shellfish areas, from January to May 2015. DSP toxins were detected in several bivalve molluscs samples, while PSP and ASP toxins were present just once, without exceeding the legal limits. Potentially toxic algal species have been constantly present. Pseudo-nitzschia species were often present during the entire study often with high abundances, while Dinophysis species reached high densities sporadically. Among PSP phytoplankton, only Alexandrium minutum Halim was found. The data obtained in this study showed an increase in the DSP toxicity in mussels in Sardinia. No clear relation between the occurrence of toxins in shellfish and the presence of toxic algal species was found, although a slight correlation between DSP toxins and Dinophysis species could be supported.

scholarly journals Balneola vulgaris gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of the phylum Bacteroidetes from the north-western Mediterranean Sea

2006 ◽  
Vol 56 (8) ◽  
pp. 1883-1887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Urios ◽  
Hélène Agogué ◽  
Françoise Lesongeur ◽  
Erko Stackebrandt ◽  
Philippe Lebaron
Keyword(s):  
16S Rrna ◽  
16S Rrna Gene ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Gene Sequence ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
16S Rrna Gene Sequence ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Rrna Gene Sequence ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
North Western

A novel aerobic, Gram-negative bacterium, named 13IX/A01/164T, was isolated from surface waters in the coastal north-western Mediterranean Sea. Cells were motile, straight rods, 2.5 μm long and 0.2 μm wide, and formed orange colonies on marine agar medium. The G+C content of the genomic DNA of strain 13IX/A01/164T was 42 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence placed the strain in the phylum Bacteroidetes within the family Crenotrichaceae. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison and physiological and biochemical characteristics, this isolate represents a novel species of a new genus, for which the name Balneola vulgaris gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Balneola vulgaris is 13IX/A01/164T (=DSM 17893T=CIP 109092T=OOB 256T).

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