ASNAGHI V.

CO 2 atmospheric pressure is increasing since industrial revolution, leading to a lowering of the ocean surface water pH, a phenomenon known as ocean acidification, with several reported effects on individual species and cascading effects on marine ecosystems. Despite the great amount of literature on ocean acidification effects on calcifying...

Climate change is affecting rocky reef ecosystems in a multitude of ways at global scale. During summer 2018, the rocky reef communities of Portofino Marine Protected Area (MPA) (NW Mediterranean) were affected by thermal anomalies, a mucilaginous event, and the seasonal expansion of Caulerpa cylindracea. Moreover, a severe storm occurred on 29...

In the Mediterranean Sea, brown algae belonging to the Cystoseira genus play a valuable role as foundation species. Due to evidences of regression/loss of the habitats of these species caused by the interplay of human and climatic disturbances, active restoration measures have been encouraged by EU regulations. In particular, nondestructive...

A growing interest in the quantification of the economic value of ecosystems arose in the last decades aiming at raising awareness of the general public towards the preservation of biodiversity and supporting policy-makers in the process of creating new legal instruments. In the Mediterranean Sea, the canopy-forming macroalgae of the genus...

There is a growing interest in using brown algal extracts thanks to the bioactive substances they produce for adaptation to the marine benthic environment. We evaluated the anti-aging and photoprotective properties of two types of extracts (50%-ethanol and DMSO) obtained from different portions, i.e., apices and thalli, of the brown seaweed,...

There is a strong scientific consensus that coastal marine ecosystems, and in particular the midlittoral zone, at the interface between terrestrial and marine realms, are seriously threatened by anthropogenic impacts, along with the goods and services they provide. Along Mediterranean shallow rocky reefs, brown macroalgae belonging to the...

Inflammation and oxidative stress are part of the complex biological responses of body tissues to harmful stimuli. In recent years, due to the increased understanding that oxidative stress is implicated in several diseases, pharmaceutical industries have invested in the research and development of new antioxidant compounds, especially from...

Changing oceans represent a serious threat for a wide range of marine organisms, with severe cascading effects on ecosystems and their services. Sea urchins are particularly sensitive to decreased pH expected for the end of the century and their key ecological role in regulating community structure and functioning could be seriously...

Cystoseira sensu lato are fucoid algae that form dense stands on intertidal and subtidal rocky reefs sustaining species-rich associated assemblages. The increasing human pressure is causing the decline of these marine forests, raising wide concerns on the ecological consequences of their loss. Yet, little is known about functional trait...

Toxic blooms of Ostreopsis spp. are greatly challenging to monitor due to the complexity and variability of cell repartition among benthic and pelagic compartments. This results in marked differences in employed methodologies for the survey of their dynamics and hampers the definition of the associated toxic risk. The present study aims at...