Giulia Mo

Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) | ISPRA · Protection of biodiversity and habitats

EUSeaMap 2023 is the sixth iteration of EUSeaMap. All versions have been produced as part of the EMODnet Seabed Habitats project, which is one of several thematic lots in EMODnet. The project has brought together a European consortium of specialists in benthic ecology and seabed habitat mapping. The partners first worked together in EMODnet Phase 1...

EUSeaMap 2023 is the sixth iteration of EUSeaMap. All versions have been produced as part of the EMODnet Seabed Habitats project, which is one of several thematic lots in EMODnet. The project has brought together a European consortium of specialists in benthic ecology and seabed habitat mapping. The partners first worked together in EMODnet Phase 1...

RIASSUNTO Il presente articolo riassume le informazioni storiche e recenti riguardanti la presenza della Foca monaca Monachus monachus nelle isole Eolie. Le notizie riportate nella letteratura di viaggio del XVIII e del XIX secolo e da fonti locali (relative alla prima metà del XX secolo) indicano che le Isole Eolie erano parte dell'areale pregress...

Disentangling the impact of Late Quaternary climate change from human activities can have crucial implications on the conservation of endangered species. We investigated the population genetics and demography of the Mediterranean monk seal ( Monachus monachus ), one of the world's most endangered marine mammals, through an unprecedented dataset enc...

Chapter 1.1: Purpose and scope The purpose of this Document is to guide Member States in the review and update of the assessment of their marine waters in respect of each marine region or subregion, according to Article 17(2)(a) in conjunction with Articles 8(1) and 9(1) MSFD, which is due for reporting by 15 October 2024 and in subsequent reportin...

Disentangling the impact of Late Quaternary climate change from human activities can have crucial implications on the conservation of endangered species. We investigated the population genetics and demography of the Mediterranean monk seal ( Monachus monachus ), one of the world's most endangered marine mammals, through an unprecedented dataset enc...

Every 6 years, the European Commission requires Member States to report on their progress in implementing the Habitats Directive through a process involving the assessment of the conservation status (CS) of the Directive’s species and habitats. The results of the marine species assessment undertaken by Italy in the fourth report (2013–2018) are pre...

EUSeaMap 2021 is the fifth iteration of EUSeaMap. All versions have been produced as part of the EMODnet Seabed Habitats project, which is one of several thematic lots in EMODnet. The project has brought together a European consortium of specialists in benthic ecology and seabed habitat mapping. The partners first collaborated in EMODnet phase 1 (2...

Since its inception, in 2009, EMODnet Seabed Habitats has brought together a European consortium of specialists in benthic ecology and seabed habitat mapping to develop a transnational broad-scale seabed habitat map, named EUSeaMap. EUSeaMap is the only pan-European cartographic product that provides a standardised trans-boundary overview of the sp...

EUSeaMap 2019 is the third iteration of EUSeaMap. All versions have been produced as part of the EMODnet Seabed Habitats project, which is one of several thematic lots in EMODnet. In the new version, the spatial coverage has been extended further North in order to include the Barents Sea. The spatial detail has substantially been improved. This has...

Premise The Mediterranean monk seal presence has never been verified along Syrian shores and there is a l arge information gap as to the species' historical presence as well as a more recent one. Aguilar (1998) states that it is unclear whether the lack of information is due to the lack of appropriate habitat, early extinction of the species or jus...

Mediterranean monk seals (MMS) are among the most endangered marine mammals on Earth. We screened mitochondrial variability (control region [CR1] and mitogenomes) of the species through a 180‐yr timeframe and extended by 20% (n = 205) the number of samples from a previous investigation, including historical specimens from 1833 to 1975. Although we...

The Natura 2000 (N2k) network is an important site-based protection tool for the protection of biodiversity in Europe. However, for highly mobile and adaptable marine species, such a tool might not be the most effective way to achieve conservation objectives, unless this includes a broader consideration of the direct threats to these species throug...

Mediterranean marine caves are renowned for their biodiversity and ecological value yet are often poorly understood habitats due to the difficulties encountered in their exploration and monitoring. The present work illustrates the contents and outcomes of the exploratory research activities carried out by GUE, since 2014, in the karst marine caves...

This pdf contains the supplementary information to Andersen et al. (2018): European Broad-scale Seabed Habitat Maps Supoort Implementation of Ecosystem-based Management published in Open Journal of Ecology

We have analyzed the development of “Broad-Scale Seabed Habitat Maps” (BSHM) and their potential use in a European context with regard to the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) implementation, MPA designation and network assessment as well as other applications of BSHMs. The analyses are anchored in BSHMs developed by a series of interli...

This technical report presents an overview of the spatial distribution of marine protected areas (MPAs) in Europe’s seas established as of 2016 (excluding overseas territories). It represents a rerun and advancement of the spatial statistics run by ETC/ICM on MPA reported data in 2012 (EEA 2015a) and as such provides insight on the observed changes...

The European Topic Centre for Inland, Coastal and Marine Waters (ETC/ICM) has over the past two years developed a methodology to define a harmonised dataset of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Europe’s seas based on the analysis of spatial and tabular data reported by Member States within the framework of EU-reporting fora and at the regional sea c...

In order to most benefit from the potential offered by the European marine basins in terms of growth and employment (Blue Growth), and to protect the marine environment, we need to know more about the seafloor. European Directives, such as the MSFD, but also the Horizon 2020 roadmap explicitly called for a multi-resolution full coverage of all Euro...

Bel Torrente is a marine cave located in the northeastern coast of Sardinia (Italy), discovered and explored by Jochen Hasenmayer in the 1970s, while the first 500 m were surveyed in the 1990s. It is characterized by a 5-20 m wide tunnel with an average height of 5 m and a depth of 12 m. During the 20 th century, the caves in this area of Sardinia...

The main aim of this report is to assess whether Europe's seas can be considered healthy, clean and undisturbed, and productive. These are three core aspects of the EU's main marine policy instrument — the Marine Strategy Framework Directive — and relate to the condition of marine ecosystems and the human drivers of ecosystem change. This assessmen...

This document reports on progress made to date in establishing MPAs and MPA networks in Europe's seas, specifically MPAs reported by European Union (EU) Member States up to and including 2012. It also discusses how best to assess the effectiveness of these MPAs and determine their effectiveness in protecting biodiversity across Europe's seas. This...

AbstractKnowledge on Mediterranean monk seal distribu-tion throughout the central-eastern Mediterranean Moroccan coasts is not abundant and has not been consistently assessed throughout time. Results of a questionnaire survey directed at 205 artisanal fishers operating out of 18 landing sites of cen-tral-eastern Morocco, and extending over 210 km o...

Although for over two decades resident populations of Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus) have disappeared from Italian locations, sightings of seals have occasionally been reported. The present paper illustrates the methodology used to validate monk seal sightings recorded by third-party observers from 1998 to 2010 and the main results of...

In the framework of the Action Plan for the Conservation of Coralligenous and other Mediterranean bio-constructions adopted by Contracting Parties to Barcelona Convention Barcelona in 2008, several priority actions are identified which relate in particular to (i) The strengthening the knowledge on the distribution and composition of these populatio...

This contribution synthesises the results of an analysis on the scientific publications available on rhodolith associations in the Italian seas, an activity conducted in support of the rules established by the EC Council regulation n.1967/2006 concerning the usage of towed gear over mäerl beds in the Mediterranean Sea. 131 scientific documents repo...

This contribution synthesises the results of an analysis on the scientific publications available on rhodolith associations in the Italian seas, an activity conducted in support of the rules established by the EC Council regulation n.1967/2006 concerning the usage of towed gear over mäerl beds in the Mediterranean Sea. 148 scientific documents repo...

This document gives an overview of the EUSeaMap project and its part in the implementation of the EC policies involving marine habitat mapping. The EUSeaMap project will produce broad-scale predictive habitat maps for over 2 million square kilometres of European seabed covering four geographic areas of the European seas: Celtic, North, Baltic and w...

This work aimed at applying geometric morphometric analysis techniques to the skull of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus, Hermann, 1779). Inferential analyses were performed using a non-parameteric permutation framework based on a series of skulls of different age classes belonging to individuals of both sexes. Our goal was to establis...

This study analyzes morphometrically 17 skulls of the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus housed in different Italian Museums and collections. We considered several morphometric variables (31 linear, 1 volumetric and 1 surface area measurements). In addition, we identified, measured and compared two nonmorphometric variables, namely, the bone...

This contribution provides a review of the actual implementation of the EU Directives 79/409/EEC and 92/43/EEC for the creation of a European network of marine protected areas. The approaches applied by Germany and the United Kingdom on this topic provide examples of a holistic approach that could be applied in Italy for the creation of a unique ne...

The present work quantifies P. oceanica occurrence within existing Italian SCIs with respect to this habitat's range throughout Italy. The results highlight a substantially different approach used by the Italian regions in protecting P. oceanica meadows through the Natura 2000 network.

The conservation of endangered and protected species and sensitive habitats is amongst the primary objectives of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) whose zoning should be conceived through a process which identifies appropriate protection regimes directed at areas characterised by such species and habitats. The present study, describes the distribution...

A bstract Photoperiod variations are the principal environmental signals entraining circannual activity in mammals, which is also believed to be influenced by changes in temperature and nutrition. Control of the molt in phocids has not been extensively studied with experimental manipulations of environmental factors, but substantial work indicates...

Benthic assemblages oj the Gallinaria Island were investigated in the summer 2005 allowing to draw a new bionomic map. The aim oj this paper is to identify the main spatial-tempora/ variation in the benthic assemb/ages oj the area in re/ation to data collected in 1992. To this purpose, considerations on the detai! and the typology oj data collectio...

The coastal areas, sea bottom types, depth and temporal pattern of presence of juvenile fishes of 63 species were analysed taking into account the available information for the Ligurian coastal waters. This preliminary study gives initial elements functional for sustainable fishery and coastal management.

The limpet Patella ferruginea is an endemic Mediterranean species threatened by extinction. Therefore, in a conservation approach, it is of great importance to identify and quantify the structure of its remaining populations. The study, conducted in September 2002 within the MedMPA project, revealed the presence of a large population of Patella fer...

Coastal habitat suitability and Monachus monachus sighting information was collected in the National Park of Al Hoceima (Morocco). Two coastal sectors have caves that are suitable for the species. Fishermen interviews indicate the species historical and recent presence in the park and external areas.

The Mediterranean monk seal presence has never been verified along Syrian shores and there is a large information gap as to the species’ historical presence as well as a more recent one. Aguilar (1998) states that it is unclear whether the lack of information is due to the lack of appropriate habitat, early extinction of the species or just lack of...

A field mission was carried out in the late spring of 2002 with the purpose of identifying potential "hotspots" for the presence of the Mediterranean monk seal in the Cyrenaica coastal region. The fieldwork was conducted under a Memorandum of Understanding coordinated by UNEP's Regional Activity Center for Special Protected Areas (RAC/SPA) and invo...

The paper considers the present legal protection within the EU for seals living in small nuclei. The species concerned fall into two main groups in respect of their current conservation status as determined by the IUCN Animal Red List Criteria. First we discuss small nuclei of seals of species or subspecies which have relatively large total populat...

Despite the fact that the monk seal has been defined as absent from Italian coasts during the last decades sightings are still reported. The present paper illustrates the methodology used to validate monk seal sightings reported along Italian coasts since 1998. The presently outlined sighting validation procedure suggests that a small presence of i...