Francesco Cinelli

• Full Professor
• Professor (Full) at University of Pisa

Transplantation of seagrasses is considered a useful method to favour the recovery of degraded meadows. Hence, many projects have been carried out worldwide and a manifold of techniques have been applied. However, the choice of transplantation procedures remains a main problem to be assessed. In order to optimize efforts and to minimize risks of pl...

Transplantation of seagrasses is considered a useful method to favour the recovery of degraded meadows. Hence, many projects have been carried out worldwide and a manifold of techniques have been applied. However, the choice of transplantation procedures remains a main problem to be assessed. In order to optimize efforts and to minimize risks of pl...

A large number of submarine caves organismal cover along the outside-causative agent of oligotrophy and of open in the carbonatic rock of Capo inside gradient (Harmelin et alii, the severe reduction in organismal Palinuro, South of Naples (Alvisi et 1985). Several authors (Ott & cover and biomass (Fichez, 1989). alii, 1994a). The Grotta Azzurra Svo...

L'introduzione di specie aliene rappresenta una seria minaccia per la biodiversità mondiale, sia in ambiente terrestre che acquatico, poiché spesso tali specie riescono a soppiantare quelle autoctone, modificando completamente la struttura degli ecosistemi. Tale fenomeno è strettamente legato all'incremento, negli ultimi decenni, degli scambi comme...

Seagrass meadows are considered to be among the most important marine ecosystems, for biodiversity, ecological and economic reasons. Their progressive degradation may be due to natural or anthropogenic disturbances and stress, although losses of the seagrass meadows were mainly related to coastal development, pollution, trawling, fish farming, moor...

La morfología y la extensión de las praderas de Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile y de Cymodocea nodosa Uchria Aschersons fanerógamas marinas que colonizan los medios marinos costeros, dependen de la conformación de la costa y del fondo marino, de la transparencia de las aguas y de la iluminación, además de la continua interacción entre crecimiento de...

All seagrass species known from the Mediterranean basin have been recorded along the Sicilian coast, where studies have been carried out at a very local scale and information is fragmented or confined to the grey literature. The objective of this article is to summarise and evaluate current knowledge on seagrass species on the Sicilian coasts, prov...

The use of underwater photographic images and videos obtained by remote operated vehicles (ROV) has become very important for marine and coastal monitoring. There are several open source softwares that make possible the analysis of such images and videos and provide a quick, statistically valid and efficient calculation of coverage.

This paper contributes to the knowledge of macroalgal coralligenous systems. The species composition of coralligenous assemblages of Tuscany's coasts and islands (north-western Mediterranean Sea) was examined and different aspects of alpha and beta diversity were evaluated. The encrusting layer of coralligenous habitat in the study areas mostly com...

The advent of underwater photography and accessories softwares for image analysis and GPS data logger made possible the application to scientific monitoring of both vegetable and animal benthic communities. As part of this work we present the experimental design of a metric spacer and photographic shooting technique applied to the biomonitoring of...

The coverage measurement of elements in digital underwater images is now much easier thanks to the development of software applications. In this work we present the new software “Vision 1.0”, and highlight the features of the software together with the wide versatility in making calculations of the coverage of seagrasses through the digital images...

The present paper aimed to review data of studies carried out along the coast of Calafuria during the last 15 years. By these data, the species composition of macroalgal assemblages has been determined for the main habitat of the area. A total of 197 species has been reported, among them 27 Chlorophyta, 30 Fucophyceae and 140 Rhodophyta. The domina...

The paper showed data about several ecological aspects of the Posidonia oceanica meadow of Calafuria. Density ranged between 452.8 shoot/m2 and 542.4 shoot/m2, leaf area index ranged between 6.4 and 9.3. A total of 67 epiphytes was determined, among them 3 Chlorophyta, 8 Ochropyta, 22 Rhodophyta, 3 Rhizopoda, 7 Cnidaria, 1 Annelida, 21 Briozoa, 1 T...

The aim of the study is the comparison between the structure and biodiversity of macroalgal assemblages invaded by the introduced seaweeds Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea and Womersleyella setacea and those of non-invaded assemblages. Results showed that structure of invaded assemblages significatively differed from that of non-invaded assemblag...

In recent years, market demand for plant uptime has progressively increased. Turbocompressor technology usually represents the core equipment of a plant, and its availability is one of the key factors in optimizing plant uptime. Original equipment manufacturers have concentrated significant engineering efforts on developing new hardware to extend t...

P. oceanica forms broad prairies which completely surround the island of Ischia. This is a histochemical and ultrastructural study of the photosynthetic apparatus of the Posidonia plant. In the leaf, epidermal cells have a porous region underneath the cuticle and contain most of the chloroplasts. Fiber bundles run hypodermally and phenol storing ce...

Posidonia oceanica prairies have been studied and mapped around the Island of Ischia and in adjacent waters. Prairies were found to cover an area of 15.7 km2 and to be distributed between 0.5 and 39 m depth. The observed distribution is comparable to those reported by previous authors indicating that prairies have not undergone remarkable regressio...

Riassunto-Nella realizzazione del Sistema Informativo per la Posidonia ed altre Fanerogame in Campania e Calabria (SINFOPACC), finanziato dal Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio "DPN" ed eseguito da un raggruppamento temporaneo di imprese, è stata rivolta particolare attenzione alla mappatura della Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile e...

Riassunto-In Calabria sono state censite con il progetto "SINPOFACC", finanziato dal Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio DPN circa 30 praterie, di cui 13 mappate sulla costa tirrenica, mentre le restanti 17 praterie sono state mappate sulla costa Ionica. Nel presente lavoro è stata eseguita una analisi spaziale GIS (con il softwar...

This paper reports on a one-year investigation carried out in Cystoseira-dominated littoral pools from the west coast of Italy. The seasonal occurrence of the algae and their reproductive characteristics are described. The importance of environmental factors and recruitment processes in determining algal distribution and abundance are also discusse...

In marine habitats sedimentation is one of the major factors influencing the structure, biomass and metabolism of benthic assemblages. Rates of sedimentation have been increasing over the past few decades in many marine areas, representing a potential threat to marine biodiversity. This study was aimed at assessing the potential impact of sedimenta...

Normalmente lo studio degli epifiti delle foglie delle fanerogame marine viene eseguito in modo manuale, utilizzando uno stereomicroscopio fornito di reticolo micrometrico; questo metodo, però, comporta tempi di misura piuttosto lunghi. Oggi l’incremento dell’uso di immagini digitali e software specifici per l’analisi morfometrica ha determinato un...

In this study, a combination of univariate and multivariate analysis was used to compare macroalgal assemblages of Mediterranean coralligenous system in areas invaded by the alien species Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea and Womersleyella setacea with reference assemblages. Results showed that assemblages strongly differed between invaded and ref...

The present paper reports the results of a study on macroalgal epiphytic assemblages of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica. The floristic composition was determined and patterns of spatial variability of epiphytic assemblages were analysed at several spatial scales, from regional level (hundreds of kilometers) to patch level (meters), us...

This study aimed to gain insight on patterns of spatial variability of seagrass epiphytes of both leaves and of rhizomes in three different habitats, continental coasts, offshore banks and islands. Moreover, we tried to discriminate between habitat-dependant variability and scale-dependant variability of Posidonia oceanica epiphytic assemblages. Re...

This study aimed to gain insight on patterns of spatial variability of seagrass epiphytes of both leaves and of rhizomes in three different habitats, continental coasts, offshore banks and islands. Moreover, we tried to discriminate between habitat-dependant variability and scale-dependant variability of Posidonia oceanica epiphytic assemblages. Re...

Mediterranean macroalgal assemblages in areas invaded and non-invaded by Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea were compared and trapped sediments were characterised. Results showed that assemblages invaded by C. racemosa var. cylindracea differed greatly from non-invaded ones: encrusting and erect algae, both articulated and foliose, decreased in inv...

A partir du mois d'Octobre 2006, à l'Ile d'Elbe de la localitè de Cavo, dans la municipalité de Rio Marina, a été mise en place une expérimentation d'un système de fixation des boutures de Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile en adaptant une méthode deja utilisée pour la végétation terrestre en Génie Biologique. Les matériaux sont distribués par la Socié...

Mediterranean macroalgal assemblages in areas invaded and non-invaded by Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea were compared and trapped sediments were characterised. Results showed that assemblages invaded by C. racemosa var. cylindracea differed greatly from non-invaded ones: encrusting and erect algae, both articulated and foliose, decreased in inv...

A pilot experiment of the utilisation of bioengineering materials, still in progress, was conducted in the area Cavo Elba Island. The chosen materials are normally used in terrestrial bioengineering to restore fresh-water river banks and slopes.

The present paper reports a review of studies on coralligenous assemblages of Tuscan coasts and islands. 167 macroalgal species were identified. Significant differences were detected between assemblages of different depths and substrate inclination and a high small-scale variability was also evident. Disturbance such as sedimentation and biological...

This paper investigates patterns of variability in epiphytes of Posidonia oceanica leaves at various spatial scales around Sicily, including geographical differences among the Mediterranean basins, differences between the small islands and mainland, and the variability among and within replicated meadows in each of the previous conditions. Data on...

Natural assemblages show large variability at multiple scales in space and time as a consequence of several abiotic and biological factors. This study was conducted in conditions of high turbidity of the water and examined the spatio-temporal variability and the vertical distribution at two different depths of a low rocky subtidal assemblage. Algal...

This study tested whether the development of coralligenous assemblages on horizontal and vertical surfaces differed between localities of high and low sediment deposition. The development and structure of these assemblages varied in predictable ways according to the level of sediment deposition. These differences were largely independent of the ori...

In the present study the effect of the increase in sediment deposition on the spread of Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea and the interactive effects of sedimentation and C. racemosa on native macroalgal assemblages have been evaluated. To achieve these objectives a field experiment has been carried out by transplanting of C. racemosa and manipula...

The conservation of the coastal marine environment requires the possession of information that enables the global quality of the environment to be evaluated reliably and relatively quickly. The use of biological indicators is often an appropriate method. Seagrasses in general, and Posidonia oceanica meadows in particular, are considered to be appro...

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the colonization of the green alga Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea thirteen years after it was signalled in the Mediterranean Sea. The alga has been recorded along the coasts of 11 nations, developing on all kind of substrata, both in polluted and in unpolluted areas, between 0 and 70 m depth. The length of c...

Riassunto Il presente studio è stato effettuato per valutare se la struttura del popolamento coralligeno mediterraneo cambia in aree caratterizzate da differenti tassi di sedimentazione e se le eventuali differenze possano o meno essere legate al deposito del sedimento. I risultati ottenuti hanno evidenziato che in risposta ad un aumento della sedi...

Lime-induced chlorosis is a limiting factor in peach cultivation when peach seedling rootstocks are utilized. At present, the problem seems to be solved by use of the hybrid 'GF 677', the rootstock most used by fruit-growers, that combines good agronomic and quality characteristics. However 'GF 677' shows some limitations, such as its high vigour i...

The proposition that epiphytes of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance was tested by comparing assemblages between disturbed and control meadows in the northwest Mediterranean. We examined effects of urban and industrial sewage on the structure of assemblages, on the mean abundance of common taxa and on their p...

  This study compares the structure of Mediterranean macroalgal assemblages invaded by Caulerpa taxifolia and C. racemosa. Assemblages in areas colonized by the two algae and in reference areas were sampled and analyzed for 2 years. Significant differences were recorded both between reference and invaded areas and between areas invaded by different...

In the present work, coralligenous phytobenthic com-munities of the north-western Mediterranean Sea were studied in three deep sublittoral habitats: islands, conti-nental coasts and offshore banks. Species and morpho-logical groups were utilised as descriptors. A combination of univariate and multivariate analysis was used to describe variability i...

Macroalgal communities of Gorgona, the smallest island of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park (north-western Mediterranean Sea), were described by using both species and morphological groups. A floristic list was obtained for the main benthic habitats of the island and temporal fluctuations in macroalgal assemblages were studied during a one-year...

Insular assemblages of species are often considered unique because they are exposed to unpredictable patterns of colonization/extinction that depend on distance from other sources of colonists and on size of islands. An alternative explanation is that islands provide fundamentally different habitats of those of the mainland, regardless of any possi...

The present paper reports the results of two different studies carried out to investigate interactions between naturally mixed Mediterranean populations of Caulerpa taxifolia and C. racemosa and the effects of their co-presence on native benthic assemblages. Results of the first study showed that co-occurring populations of the two algae exhibited...

Many studies have been performed to investigate invasions in marine habitats, but little is known about the consequences of the simultaneous presence of more alien organisms in the same area. The aims of this work were to quantify the colonization of alien macroalgal species co-occurring in a harbour area of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea and t...

Knowledge of the natural pattern of spatial variation of the variables of interest is fundamental for designing effective sampling strategies to be used in surveys and monitoring programs. Unfortunately, little is known on patterns of spatial variation of structural, morphological and dynamic features of Posidonia oceanica, despite their increasing...

Variability in recovery of the introduced green alga Caulerpa racemosa has been investigated on a subtidal rocky shore in the north-western Mediterranean Sea. Two removal experiments were performed. The first was designed to test the effects of season on the early patterns of recovery of C. racemosa on a rocky bottom and on algal turf. In the secon...

To identify the factors that might contribute to limiting the sexual reproduction of Posidonia oceanica we examined: (1) flowering and fruiting phenology; (2) variability in flowering frequency, seed production and reproductive success (i.e. the proportion of flowers setting mature fruits per unit area) over a 2-year period; and (3) losses of poten...

Macroalgal assemblages of Posidonia oceanica rhizomes of the western Mediterranean have been studied, in order to describe the structure of this community and to evaluate changes due to recent macroalgal invasions. To achieve these objectives, P. oceanica rhizomes were sampled from 21 beds distributed throughout the western Mediterranean Sea and ma...

A floristic account of the benthic marine algae of Tuscany (north-western Italy) is presented. On the basis of literature reports and personal observations of the authors, a check-list was prepared; the flora consists of 471 taxa (76 Chlorophycota, 89 Phaeophycota and 306 Rhodophycota), 35 of which are new records for the region. Because of the lit...

Canopy-forming algae have been shown to play a fundamental role in the maintenance of understorey assemblages on rocky shores. In the Mediterranean, low-shore habitats are often monopolised by canopy algae of the genus Cystoseira and, in particular, by the species Cystoseira amentacea var. stricta. Alternatively, low-shore habitats are dominated by...

In the present study we describe, throughout a single year, subtidal macroalgal assemblages present on a shallow platform and on a deep cliff, using species and functional groups as descriptors. The study site is located south of Leghorn in the north-western Mediterranean Sea. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to detect spatial an...

In this study a macroalgal community associated with a rhodolith bed of the north western Mediterranean Sea was studied through one-year period. The study site was located around the Island of Gorgona (Tuscan Archipelago), at a depth of 52-55 meters. A total of 74 macroalgal species was identified: 53 Rhodophyta, 2 Chlorophyta and 19 Fucophyceae. T...

In this work we give a contribution to the knowledge of benthic macroalgal assemblages of Giannutri, the southern island of the Tuscan Archipelago. A floristic list was obtained for the principal habitats: intertidal, shallow (0-22) and deep subtidal (30-50 m) on rocky bottom, Posidonia oceanica beds and cobble bottom (30-40 m). A total of 216 macr...

A method for the isolation of protoplasts from the seagrasses Posidoniaoceanica and Cymodoceanodosa is described. Isolation of protoplasts was achieved using a combination of cellulase Onozuka R-10, hemicellulase and pectinase. Purification was carried out by Ficoll gradient centrifugation. A yield of 1.87 protoplasts per gram of fresh tissue was o...

'Golden Delicious' clone B trees grafted on eleven apple clonal rootstocks, M 9 EMLA, M 26 EMLA, Burgmer 751 (Cover1), Burgmer 984 (Cover 2), T 337, T 338, T 339, Jork 9, MAC 9, Pajam 1 and Pajam 2, were tested in the field to evaluate their performance in the coastal area of central Italy. In spring 1994, trees were planted on irrigated loam soil...

Spatial and temporal patterns in colonization of epibenthic assemblages were measured in a coastal lagoon on the west coast of Italy using recruitment panels. It was proposed that if the ecological processes influencing development of assemblages were homogeneous within the lagoon, then there should be no differences in mean cover of colonists nor...

Anthropogenic disturbances affect natural populations and assemblages by interacting with fundamental ecological processes. Field experiments simulating the effects of human activities at the appropriate spatial and temporal scales are useful to understand these interactions and eventually to predict their ecological consequences. In the Mediterran...

Caulerpa racemosa is a tropical green alga introduced into the Mediterranean probably as an immigrant from the Red Sea. This study evaluated the modifications caused by C. racemosa invasion on the structure of the benthic macroalgal community near Leghorn (northwestern Mediterranean). To achieve this objective, we studied invasion by C. racemosa of...

The occurrence of filamentous turf-forming macroalgae assemblages has been widely reported in tropical and temperate oceans. In the Mediterranean Sea the development of dense and persistent turfs has recently started and has been linked to the spread of the two introduced filamentous Rhodophyta Acrothamnion preissii and Womersleyella setacea. In th...

The tropical green alga Caulerpa taxifolia in the Mediterranean has spread steadily since its introduction in 1984. At the end of 2000, approximately 131km2 of benthos had been colonized in 103 independent areas along 191km of coastline in six countries (Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Croatia and Tunisia). Large regions neighboring the invaded areas...

Grazing is an important determinant of the spatial and temporal patterns of distribution of intertidal organisms on rocky shores. This process is Likely to interact with other environmental factors at different scales in space and time. Understanding these interactions is important before generalizations about the ecological role of grazing can be...

The extensive presence of artificial reefs in marine coastal habitats demands a better understanding of the extent to which these structures can be considered surrogates of natural rocky shores for populations of plants and animals. The primary aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that removing limpets from the midlittoral of artificial bre...

Caulerpa taxifolia and C. racemosa are tropical green algae now found in the Mediterranean, where the former was accidentally introduced and the latter presumably also introduced; both species have spread rapidly and invaded a variety of habitats. Since 1996, the two algae have co-inhabited a region along the Tuscan coast near Livomo. The present s...

Protoplast techniques can be applied for studying physiological and biochemical processes in plant cells. In order to utilize these techniques, a method for isolation of viable protoplasts from dune plants was established. Using a combination of cellulase R-10 Onozuka, hemicellulase and pectinase protoplasts were isolated from younger leaves of Pan...

In this study, the macroalgal community of Posidonia oceanica rhizomes was described in relation to different levels of development of the two introduced Rhodophyceae Acrothamnion preissii and Womersleyella setacea. Fifteen P. oceanica meadows were chosen in the western Mediterranean. In each meadow, two samples of five shoots were made at 4 and 15...

Lesepsiyen göçmenlerden biri olarak Suveyş kanalı üzerinden Akdeniz’e giriş yapan Caulerpa racemosa 1926 yılında Tunus’ta Hamel tarafından bulunduğundan beri bilinmektedir. Bu tarihten itibaren Akdeniz’de Caulerpa racemosa‘nın farklı varyasyonlarına rastlanılmaktadır. Halen Caulerpa racemosa’nın Akdeniz’de bilinen birkaç varyasyonu şu şekilde sıral...

Akdeniz’de ilk defa 1984 yılında Monaco’da tespit edilen yeşil deniz yosunu türü Caulerpa taxifolia Kuzey-Batı Akdeniz’de yayılmasına devam etmektedir ve geçen onbeş yıllık süre içerisinde bu bölgede 9000 hektarlık dip yapısını işgal etmiş bulunmaktadır. Önceleri doğa dengesini tehdit edecek boyutlarda istila gücü göstermediği için dikkati çekmeyen...

This study was carried out on the rocky cliffs of Giannutri Island (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) to test the hypothesis that coralligenous assemblages are consistent within the bathymetric range considered (25–35 m depth) over three different spatial scales (1000 m, 100 m and 10 m). A multi-factorial sampling design was used to assess patterns of vertica...

This study examined patterns in the distnbution and demography of the barnacle Chthamalus steiiatus (Poli) at different spatial scales in the northwest Mediterranem. Prelirninary data indicated that the abundance and size of barnacles decreased from high-shore to low-shore habitats. The generality of these patterns was investigated at several locat...

This study examined the interactive effects of grazing by limpets and inclination of the substratum in maintaining differences between mid-shore and low-shore assemblages of algae in the northwest Mediterranean, at different scales of space and through time. Alternative models leading to different predictions about these effects were proposed and t...

Direct and indirect methods were used for mapping Posidonia oceanica beds around Elba Island. Side scan sonar and a visual infra red scanner were used to detect the extension of beds. Also, direct observations were adopted to assess the bed density and to calibrate the indirect methods. Samples of P. oceanica were collected and phenological variabl...

Distribution and phenology of some filamentous species of Rhodomelaceae in the low littoral and shallow sublittoral zones of an exposed, western Mediterranean rocky shore were studied for 1 year. The spatial distribution of many species shows a pronounced small-scale (metres or tens of metres) variability. Boergeseniella fruticulosa was most abunda...

Caulerpa racemosa is a tropical green alga introduced into the Mediterranean as an immigrant from the Red Sea which has successfully fast-spread in the south-eastern and in the north-western part of the basin. C. racemosa occurs mostly in shallow but also in deep subtidal habitats colonising hard and soft substrata where turfs, erect algae and even...

An experiment using cages was designed to demonstrate herbivore consumption of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile reproductive structures, in a north-western area of the Mediterranean Sea. The percentages of mature inflorescences and those damaged by herbivores in caged vs. uncaged (control) vs. partially caged plants (artefact control) were compared....

A demographic study of Cystoseira humilis Kützing present in a tidepool situated on the rocky shore south of Livorno (Ligurian Sea) was carried out. In order to assess density, growth, reproduction, mortality and biomass of the population, the plants, present in three permanent marked squares which had been randomly chosen, were tagged and monitore...

As part of geoacoustic inversion experiments (Yellow Shark) in the Giglio basin, off the west coast of Italy, low frequency, broad-band propagation measurements were performed in the winter and spring of 1995 over a dense and extensive prairie of Posidonia seagrasses which surrounds Scoglio d’Africa, a minor island of the Tuscan Archipelago. The pu...

A population of the tropical Caulerpa racemosa (Forsskl) J. Agardh has been studied along the Tuscan coasts (Italy). The cartography of a coastal area colonised by the alga has been undertaken. Growth and seasonal dynamics of C. racemosa population have been studied. The results have shown an important increase in the area colonised, from 177 m2 to...

The sea urchins Arbacia lixula and Paracentrotus lividus are common on shallow subtidal reefs in the Mediterranean. Previous studies on the ecology of these species reported that P. lividus is generally more abundant on horizontal or gently sloping substrata, where it forages mainly on erect algae. In contrast, A. lixula is more common on vertical...

Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agardh is a green tropical seaweed recently introduced in the Mediterranean. Since 1984, when for the first time it was recorded along the French Riviera, it has rapidly spread into a wide range of sublittoral habitats and has contributed to the decay and regression of the seagrasses Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson a...

Halophila stipulacea, a seagrass introduced into the Mediterranean Sea as a Lessepsian immigrant, is nowadays common in the eastern Mediterranean, and it was recently recorded in the western Mediterranean; very little information is available about the algal flora associated with this species. During a survey of a Halophila stipulacea stand at Vulc...

This study evaluated the importance of fragmentation in the recruitment of the fast-spreading, introduced green alga Caulerpa taxifolia at the margins of beds of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica . A multifactorial experiment was designed to test the hypotheses that there are seasonal differences in patterns of establishment of vegetative fragments,...

Green algae belonging to the order Prasiolales have been reported frequently in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats, generally in situations in which they are not submerged continuously and often in association with deposits of avian feces or other rich sources of nitrogenous compounds. Terrestrial habitats in Galway City on the west coast...

This study examined the effects of removing dominant organisms from different types of patches at different heights on a rocky shore in the northwest Mediterranean. It was proposed that preemption of the substratum was a key process in maintaining differences among patches low on the shore, while physical factors were potentially more important at...

A crude extract of Caulerpa taxifolia was tested for its antiviral activity. The chloroform-methanol residue showed an interesting inhibitor effect in vitro toward the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), a valid model for studying the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. This extract reduced the virus-induced syncytia in the cultured cells, the vir...

The red alga Polysiphonia setacea Hollenberg (=Womersleyella setacea (Hollenberg) R. Norris), described originally from the Hawaiian Islands and later reported for other tropical localities, has recently become widespread in the Mediterranean. In several localities it forms a dense, almost monospecific turf but, despite its abundance, it appears to...

The sexual reproductive success of the marine phanerogam Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile was evaluated in two different beds along the Tuscan coast, Italy. Seed germination and the development of seedlings was followed in situ over a period of 2 years. In addition, a pilot study was set up on the effect of depth and substratum on seedlings survival...

The infralittoral macroalgal assemblage on a rocky cliff at Gorgona Island (Tuscan Archipelago, Italy) is studied in connection with depth gradient and seasonal dynamics. The structure of algal communities is described using species composition and functional groups. The results of the multidimensional scaling ordination (MDS) applied to sampling‐s...

Fourteen years after the first observation of Caulerpa taxifolia (Valh) C. Agardh in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea, this green alga of tropical origin is now present in five countries (Spain, France, Monaco, Italy and Croatia). By the end of 1997, more than 46 km(2), at depths of between 0 and 50 m, were found to be affected by this expansion....

This study examines the distribution of algae and invertebrates on rocky shores in the northwest Mediterranean. The main objectives were to: (1) examine the consistency of vertical patterns of distribution in space and time; and (2) determine the relative importance of vertical position on the shore with respect to other sources of spatial and temp...