Armando MacaliTuscia University | Tuscia · Department of Biological and Ecological Sciences DEB
Armando Macali
PhD Evolutionary Ecology
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23
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Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (23)
Larval settlement is a critical step for sessile benthic species such as corals, whose ability to thrive on diverse natural and anthropogenic substrates may lead to a competitive advantage in the colonization of new environments with respect to a narrow tolerance for a specific kind of substratum. Plastic debris, widespread in marine waters, provid...
Coastal environments can be influenced by water body masses with particular physical, chemical, and biological properties that create favourable conditions for the development of unique planktonic communities. In this study, we investigated a continental shelf front at Ponza Island (Tyrrhenian Sea) and discussed its diversity and complexity in rela...
Italy, at the center of the Mediterranean Sea, hosts a high diversity of fishes, but to a certain extent, this richness remains hidden or poorly known because of rare, cryptic or recently introduced species, that are hardly to detect with the traditional sampling approaches. In this study, we gained complementary knowledge, engaging Italian sea use...
The monitoring of plastic pollution through marine biota is a difficult task, which is receiving increasing attention nowadays. A selection of appropriate bioindicator species for plastic ingestion has been proposed, mostly covering benthic filter-feeding organisms or large marine vertebrates. However, monitoring programs involving a broad range of...
This paper is a collection of novel distributional records of 20 species belonging to 8 phyla (Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, Cni-daria, Ctenophora, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda and Chordata) from 11 Mediterranean countries, namely, Spain: an additional record of the Canary dentex Dentex canariensis is reported from Spain (Valencia), this is the northe...
ABSTRACT
The biomonitoring of marine debris is a growing research field, which can provide useful information about sources and distribution of plastics, but also about the overall health of marine environments. Common sentinel species for plastic pollution mostly cover benthic filter-feeding organisms or endangered marine vertebrates, but monitori...
The Collective Article on “New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records” offers the means to publish biodiversity records in the Mediterranean
Sea. The current article presents new biodiversity data information on 18 taxa (14 alien, 3 native and 1 cryptogenic species)
belonging to 5 Phyla that are reported for 11 different countries listed according to t...
The precise number of Okenia taxa inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea, as well as their general taxonomy, varies according to different specialists. So far, eight valid species have been reported from the area: Okenia aspersa (Alder & Hancock, 1845), Okenia cupella (Vogel & Schultz, 1970), Okenia elegans (Leuckart, 1828), Okenia hispanica Valdés & Ort...
Results of the AlienFish project-monitoring and study of rare and non-indigenous fish species in Italian waters-collected through citizen science in 2018 are here reported. Overall, 36 observations of 21 fish species belonging to 17 families were provided from the central and southern sectors of Italian seas. Our findings highlight the effectivenes...
In the present article, new records are given for 15 species (4 native and 9 alien and 2 cryptogenic), belonging to 6 Phyla (i.e. Chlorophyta, Ctenophora, Cnidaria, Mollusca, Arthropoda, and Chordata), from 10 Mediterranean countries: Morocco: the finding of the crab Callinectes sapidus represents the westernmost one of the species in the Mediterra...
Invertebrates represent the most plentiful component of marine biodiversity. To date, only few species have been documented for marine litter intake. Here, we report for the first time the presence of macroplastic debris in a jellyfish species. Such novel target to plastic pollution highlights an under studied vector of marine litter along marine t...
The “New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records” series includes new records of marine species found in the Mediterranean basin and/or information on the spatial distribution of already established species of particular interest. The current article presents information on 21 marine taxa classified per country according to their geographic position in...
The identification of foraging hotspots able to support the co-existence of multiple top predators provides a potential approach to addressing protection measures for marine ecosystems. In this study, we conducted visual surveys in the central Tyrrhenian Sea to determine areas with simultaneous presence of bottlenose dolphins, four species of seabi...
The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is one of the Mediterranean cetaceans listed in the Annex II of Habitat Directive for which the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) is required. Bottlenose dolphins occur regularly in most coastal waters of the basin and around many of the region’s offshore islands and archipelagos. Within...
The bivalve family Ostreidae has a worldwide distribution and includes species of high economic importance. Phylogenetics and systematic of oysters based on morphology have proved difficult because of their high phenotypic plasticity. In this study we explore the phylogenetic information of the DNA sequence and secondary structure of the nuclear, f...
We hereby provide new distributional data for alien and possible alien molluscs from the Italian seas, together with a brief review of their known Italian distribution and updated distributional maps. In particular, Haminoea cyanomarginata is confirmed for the Calabrian shores of the Messina Strait area and is first reported from the eastern and we...
Amphibians have life cycle strictly linked to water systems: in their larval stages amphibians live in water, whereas in their adulthood they have to return to water for reproduction. This prolonged connection with water systems makes amphibians good model organisms for investigating the presence and the effects of environmental stressors in waters...
The evolution of the molluscan biota in Sabaudia Lake (Italy, central Tyrrhenian Sea) in the last century is hereby traced on the basis of bibliography, museum type materials, and field samplings carried out from April 2009 to September 2011. Biological assessments revealed clearly distinct phases, elucidating the definitive shift of this human-ind...
The state of knowledge of the alien marine Mollusca in Italy is reviewed and updated. Littorina saxatilis (Olivi, 1792), Polycera hedgpethi Er. Marcus, 1964 and Haminoea japonica Pilsbry, 1895 are here considered as established on the basis of published and unpublished data, and recent records of the latter considerably expand its known Mediterrane...
Questions
Questions (7)
I'm looking for some ecological notes on the species from the SE Atlantic
It was found at 8 mt depth. Is it a Mediterranean species?
Those two crabs were found together on the base of Anemonia sp.
Those samples are necessary to complete a molucular study on the species
That specimen was collected from the mouth of a fish catch at 50m depth. Please explain that organism geographical distribution
Projects
Projects (2)
In marine ecosystems, there are more and more reports of new alien species, especially in transitional environments where human activities are more intense, outlining routes and introduction pathways that often see fouling communities as a fertile ground for invasions. The vulnerability of the habitats, the ecological and biological drivers that favor the success of the newcomers, and the responses to the invasions of the native community represent the challenges to be faced. Novel environments offer novel opportunities, and plasticity may represent a significant advantage when dealing with new challenges. Invaders are a non-random subset of the source population, and individual differences have substantial ecological and evolutionary importance, also playing a key role in biological invasions.
A macro-ecological approach to biological invasions can provide useful information on the relationship between alien invasions and biological responses; comparative studies between invader and closely related native species can reveal functional traits involved in the invasion success; when native and invader species live sympatrically, ecological studies can be carried out with an improved resolution.
In this Special Issue, we invite the submission of contributions that address the alien issue in aquatic ecosystems from multiple points of view, including specific interactions, adaptation, patterns of introduction and expansion, responses of biological communities, influence on ecosystem functions and services, etc.
Progetto di monitoraggio delle specie ittiche nei mari italiani
AlienFish è un progetto nato nel 2012 all’interno di Ente Fauna Marina Mediterranea. Il principale obiettivo di AlienFish è lo studio delle specie ittiche native rare o termofile e di quelle aliene o criptogeniche nelle acque italiane, anche tramite l'utilizzo della “scienza del cittadino” e quindi in collaborazione con pescatori, amatori, subacquei e chiunque interessato.
Il progetto è anche elencato in EASIN (European Alien Species Information Network) assieme ad altri progetti europei di “citizen science”.
Monitoring project on fish species in Italian seas
“AlienFish” is a project born in 2012 within Ente Fauna Marina Mediterranea. The main aim of AlienFish is to study rare or termophilous native fish species, as well as the early detection of alien or cryptogenic fishes in Italian waters. The project is also carried out through a “citizen science” approach, and thus in collaboration with fishermen, amateurs, divers, and other interested people.
The project is also listed in EASIN (European Alien Species Information Network) together with other European citizen science projects.
