scholarly journals When human needs meet beetle preferences: tenebrionid beetle richness covaries with human population on the Mediterranean islands

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Fattorini ◽  
Diana M. P. Galassi ◽  
Giovanni Strona
Keyword(s):  
Human Population ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Tenebrionid Beetle ◽  
The Mediterranean

scholarly journals Extensive introgression and mosaic genomes of Mediterranean endemic lizards

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Weizhao Yang ◽  
Nathalie Feiner ◽  
Catarina Pinho ◽  
Geoffrey M. While ◽  
Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
The Past ◽  
Island Endemics ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Mediterranean Island ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

AbstractThe Mediterranean basin is a hotspot of biodiversity, fuelled by climatic oscillation and geological change over the past 20 million years. Wall lizards of the genus Podarcis are among the most abundant, diverse, and conspicuous Mediterranean fauna. Here, we unravel the remarkably entangled evolutionary history of wall lizards by sequencing genomes of 34 major lineages covering 26 species. We demonstrate an early (>11 MYA) separation into two clades centred on the Iberian and Balkan Peninsulas, and two clades of Mediterranean island endemics. Diversification within these clades was pronounced between 6.5–4.0 MYA, a period spanning the Messinian Salinity Crisis, during which the Mediterranean Sea nearly dried up before rapidly refilling. However, genetic exchange between lineages has been a pervasive feature throughout the entire history of wall lizards. This has resulted in a highly reticulated pattern of evolution across the group, characterised by mosaic genomes with major contributions from two or more parental taxa. These hybrid lineages gave rise to several of the extant species that are endemic to Mediterranean islands. The mosaic genomes of island endemics may have promoted their extraordinary adaptability and striking diversity in body size, shape and colouration, which have puzzled biologists for centuries.

The weasel (Mustela nivalis) on the Mediterranean islands

2003 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Maria de Marinis ◽  
M. Masseti
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
Mustela Nivalis ◽  
The Mediterranean

scholarly journals Tracing groundwater salinization processes in coastal aquifers: a hydrogeochemical and isotopic approach in the Na-Cl brackish waters of northwestern Sardinia, Italy

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 2917-2928 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Mongelli ◽  
S. Monni ◽  
G. Oggiano ◽  
M. Paternoster ◽  
R. Sinisi
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Aquifers ◽  
Meteoric Water ◽  
Major Ions ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
Rock Interaction ◽  
Water Line ◽  
Brackish Waters ◽  
Meteoric Water Line ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Water Rock Interaction

Abstract. Throughout the Mediterranean, salinization threatens water quality, especially in coastal areas. This salinization is the result of concomitant processes related to both seawater intrusion and water–rock interaction, which in some cases are virtually indistinguishable. In the Nurra region of northwestern Sardinia, recent salinization related to marine water intrusion has been caused by aquifer exploitation. However, the geology of this region records a long history from the Palaeozoic to the Quaternary, and is structurally complex and comprises a wide variety of lithologies, including Triassic evaporites. Determining the origin of the saline component of the Jurassic and Triassic aquifers in the Nurra region may provide a useful and more general model for salinization processes in the Mediterranean area, where the occurrence of evaporitic rocks in coastal aquifers is a common feature. In addition, due to intensive human activity and recent climatic change, the Nurra has become vulnerable to desertification and, in common with other Mediterranean islands, surface water resources periodically suffer from severe shortages. With this in mind, we report new data regarding brackish and surface waters (outcrop and lake samples) of the Na-Cl type from the Nurra region, including major ions and selected trace elements (B, Br, I, and Sr), in addition to isotopic data including δ18O, δD in water, and δ34S and δ18O in dissolved SO4. To identify the origin of the salinity more precisely, we also analysed the mineralogical and isotopic composition of Triassic evaporites. The brackish waters have Cl contents of up to 2025 mg L−1 , and the ratios between dissolved ions and Cl, with the exception of the Br / Cl ratio, are not those expected on the basis of simple mixing between rainwater and seawater. The δ18O and δD data indicate that most of the waters fall between the regional meteoric water line and the global meteoric water line, supporting the conclusion that they are meteoric in origin. A significant consequence of the meteoric origin of the Na-Cl-type water studied here is that the Br / Cl ratio, extensively used to assess the origin of salinity in fresh water, should be used with care in carbonate aquifers that are near the coast. Overall, δ34S and δ18O levels in dissolved SO4 suggest that water–rock interaction is responsible for the Na-Cl brackish composition of the water hosted by the Jurassic and Triassic aquifers of the Nurra, and this is consistent with the geology and lithological features of the study area. Evaporite dissolution may also explain the high Cl content, as halite was detected within the gypsum deposits. Finally, these Na-Cl brackish waters are undersaturated with respect to the more soluble salts, implying that in a climate evolving toward semi-arid conditions, the salinization process could intensify dramatically in the near future.

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with lower prevalence of obesity among elderly people living in Mediterranean islands: the MEDIS study

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (sup6) ◽  
pp. 137-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanos Tyrovolas ◽  
Vassiliki Bountziouka ◽  
Natassa Papairakleous ◽  
Akis Zeimbekis ◽  
Foteini Anastassiou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elderly People ◽  
Mediterranean Diet ◽  
Lower Prevalence ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
Prevalence Of Obesity ◽  
The Mediterranean

Additional data on the herpetological collection of Louis Amédée Lantz (1886–1953), with emphasis on specimens in the Natural History Museum, London

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4638 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
IVAN INEICH ◽  
IGOR V. DORONIN ◽  
MARC CHEYLAN ◽  
PATRICK D. CAMPBELL
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Natural History Museum ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
History Museum ◽  
Mediterranean Island ◽  
Lacerta Viridis ◽  
The Mediterranean

Several recent papers have reviewed the life and work of French herpetologist Louis Amédée Lantz. They have detailed the composition of his collections deposited in several museums. However, since then, several other important specimens from his collections deposited at the Natural History Museum (NHM, UK) have come to light and we here present all of them in detail. We discovered paralectotypes of Lacerta saxicola obscura Lantz & Cyrén (BMNH 1918.11.21.5–7), syntypes of Lacerta boemica Sukhov (BMNH 1960.1.4.26–30, BMNH 1965.337–342) and Lacerta viridis media Lantz & Cyrén (BMNH 1960.1.4.25, 1966.512). We also identified numerous specimens from the French Mediterranean islands in Lantz’s collection deposited at the NHM, some of which represent the first reported specimens of their species from certain islands. We here provide data on all these specimens. We also place the Mediterranean island specimens from the Lantz collection in their historical context and emphasize the historical and taxonomic value of these collections. 

A Model of Resources and Human Needs

1985 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C. Fluck
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Preliminary Model ◽  
Resource Requirements ◽  
Self Actualization ◽  
Basic Human Needs ◽  
The Relationship

An examination of the relationship between human needs (above and beyond the basic physiological needs and concomitant consumption of resources) has re-emphasized the importance of control of human population in order to meet several other, also important, human needs. Development of human resources to their fullest potential requires utilization of additional resources beyond those necessary for the provision of basic physiological needs.A preliminary model of resource requirements to meet human needs suggests that resource requirements for meeting the human needs for safety are considerable, those for meeting the cognitive and esteem needs are moderate, while those for meeting belongingness and love, aesthetic, and self-actualization, needs are minimal. Both industrialized and non-industrialized societies can adequately meet basic human needs, but industrialized societies may the better meet some of the higher human needs.

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