Fish predators and scavengers of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus in protected areas of the north-west Mediterranean Sea

1997 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Sala
Oryx ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Braga Ferreira ◽  
Marcelo Juliano Rabelo Oliveira ◽  
Rogério Cunha de Paula ◽  
Flávio Henrique Guimarães Rodrigues ◽  
Érica Daniele Cunha Carmo

AbstractThe bush dog Speothos venaticus, a rare Near Threatened South American canid that lives in packs, was thought to be extinct in Minas Gerais state, south-eastern Brazil, until recently. Here, we report four recent records of the species in Minas Gerais, the first in the state since the description of the species in 1842. All records are from the Cerrado ecosystem in the north and north-west of the state; two are from animals found dead, one from footprints and another from a camera trap. Three of the records were inside or close (< 10 km) to strict protected areas, in a region recognized as the Protected Areas Mosaic Sertão Veredas–Peruaçu, where we expect any new records of the bush dog to be found. We discuss the low probability of detecting the bush dog and the main regional threats to the species, and emphasize the need to protect large and interconnected natural areas and keep them free of domestic dogs to avoid the extinction of the bush dog in Minas Gerais.


2013 ◽  
Vol 254-255 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Manzo ◽  
Maria Lucia Miglietta ◽  
Gabriella Rametta ◽  
Silvia Buono ◽  
Girolamo Di Francia

2018 ◽  
Vol 141 ◽  
pp. 128-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Fernández-Boo ◽  
M.H. Pedrosa-Oliveira ◽  
A. Afonso ◽  
F. Arenas ◽  
F. Rocha ◽  
...  

PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e0159195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bibiana G. Crespo ◽  
Philip J. Wallhead ◽  
Ramiro Logares ◽  
Carlos Pedrós-Alió

Oryx ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-84

The following recommendations are made :—(1) That the present Mahendra National Park be enlarged and extended (a) Southwards to include the migration routes and rhinoceros areas as far as the Reu valley, and (b) Northwestwards to include the scenic area in the north-west. See Sections V and VI and Map 3. And that this national park be fully protected with buffer belts where possible.(2) That the riverain tracts of the Narayani, Rapti and Reu rivers which contain rhinoceros be designated as National Park Extension Areas or Protected Areas, with rights of local villagers for grazing, cutting firewood and cutting thatch to continue as before, but to remain free of settlement and cultivation.


2011 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 324-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mélissa Laghdass ◽  
Philippe Catala ◽  
Jocelyne Caparros ◽  
Louise Oriol ◽  
Philippe Lebaron ◽  
...  

An ecological account is given of the rocky shallow sublittoral of Lough Ine, County Cork, Republic of Ireland, from low water level to about 1 m below this level. With increasing distance from the Rapids mouth a forest of laminarian algae gives way to low algal bush, and still further into the lough the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus destroys all soft upstanding algae. Much of the grazed area becomes overgrown by crustose coralline algae. Patches of the green algae Codium fragile ssp. tomentosoides and Enteromorpha clathrata fringe the Paracentrotus graze patches. An account is given of the effects of Paracentrotus on the shallow sublittoral community. Algae in the ungrazed areas accommodate large numbers of individuals and many species of invertebrates, especially amphipods, small gastropods and small polychaetes. In grazing, Paracentrotus destroys this population and its habitat. However, the removal of these algae, and of the sediment that they trap, provides a new habitat, suitable for plant and animal species that can resist Paracentrotus . Crustose coralline algae cover much of the rock, and are burrowed into or enclose the tubes of a characteristic and entirely different polychaete fauna. On the surface of the rocks are found saddle oysters ( Anomia ephippium ), limpets ( Patella aspera ) and other hard- shelled animal species. The relations between Codium and Paracentrotus have been investigated by transfer experiments in the ‘field’ and by observations with an aquarium tank. Paracentrotus readily eats Codium , especially when the urchins are at a high population density; but Codium benefits from the clearance of other algae, and is a quick recolonist, so that on balance it benefits from the presence of the urchin. Paracentrotus feeds mainly by day, and on a steep shore some wander up into the littoral region as the tide rises and destroy Fucus serratus . This accounts for the almost complete absence of F. serratus from the North Basin. Paracentrotus does not move upwards by night. The hard-shelled animal species Anomia, Patella, Chlamys varia , adult Gibbula cineraria and Pomatoceros , found plentifully on graze patches in the North Basin, diminish in abundance southwards even within grazed areas, while the numbers of the starfish Marthasterias glacialis under the rocks increase. Experiments show that Marthasterias readily eats Anomia . These Marthasterias are quite small. As they grow bigger they move away onto muddy areas and extend their diet to include large buried lamellibranchs. Small Paracentrotus are usually found in larger numbers underneath boulders than above, while larger ones tend to come up by day onto the tops, where they form graze patches. From a study of growth lines in the interambulacral plates and from growth in cages we conclude that a horizontal diameter of 30-40 mm (with considerable variation) is reached in 3-4 years from settlement. The peak in numbers of Paracentrotus visible in the South Basin in 1979 might perhaps be ascribed to a good settlement in the warm summers of 1975 and 1976. Temperature of the shallow marginal water of the lough is subject to diurnal fluctuation, as in a tide pool, and can reach high levels in summer. This might favour Paracentrotus . However, numbers of Paracentrotus are probably severely reduced by predators in the South Basin. Crabs have already been implicated. It is possible that the small or half grown Marthasterias under shallow sublittoral rocks might destroy newly settled Paracentrotus , although this still has to be demonstrated.


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