Mauro Sinopoli

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• pHD
• Researcher at Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn

The Mediterranean Sea, a biodiversity hotspot classified by the IUCN as critically threatened for sharks and rays, faces significant conservation challenges because of geopolitical complexities. Traditional, top‐down management strategies often fail, thus calling for alternative conservation approaches. This study documents the first recorded catch...

Intra- and interspecific relationships among marine taxa, like invertebrates, fishes and marine mammals, are well known. However, relationships between bony fishes and cartilaginous fishes, mainly for trophic reasons, are rarely described and only in tropical environments. Here, we present the first documentation of associations between a stingray...

Fishery represents a serious threat to marine biodiversity, but at the same time it can be used as a valuable tool to monitor it over time and space, drawing conclusions on population structure and marine community dynamics. The aim of the study is to provide new knowledge on biodiversity in terms of species diversity and abundance, using catch dat...

Study and protection of biodiversity have become increasingly relevant globally as biodiversity plays a key role in the ecosystem, largely supporting fish species. However, fishing is among the primary threats to marine biodiversity, it can also serve as a valuable tool for its monitoring. The study aims to provide new knowledge on biodiversity in...

This study, conducted within the PNRR "NBFC" project, investigates the biodiversity and ecological role of two key marine areas: the Palinuro seamount (Tyrrhenian Sea) and the upwelling system of the Strait of Messina. Both areas, characterized by hydrographic phenomena that increase biological productivity, act as biodiversity hotspots, supporting...

Fishery resources overexploitation, together with bycatch and discards, have an impact on marine ecosystems. The adoption of technologically innovative gears is a possible solution to reduce the discard and to enhance the sustainability of fishery, mainly in artisanal fisheries that represent about 80% of the EU Mediterranean fleet. In the perspect...

Simple Summary Poor quality of biological information, such as age and growth parameters, could be a source of variability with a significant impact on stock assessment results. Concerning the ageing process, variability is frequently linked to differences in the interpretation of calcified structures. The evaluation of precision and accuracy there...

Large urban and industrial settlements, and the intense maritime traffic make the Mediterranean one of the most polluted areas in the world. This basin hosts considerable marine biodiversity, including many elasmobranchs, which are extremely vulnerable to environmental contamination due their life history traits. The impact of this threat on the ca...

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) can significantly contribute to the conservation of marine ecosystem by safeguarding habitats, reducing fishing pressure, promoting population recovery, supporting scientific research, raising public awareness, generating economic benefits and fostering collaboration among various stakeholders. Despite their relevance,...

Chondrichthyans are one of the most threatened marine taxa worldwide. This is also the case in the Mediterranean Sea, which is considered an extinction hotspot for rays and sharks. The central position of the Italian peninsula makes it an ideal location for studying the status and changes of this sea. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are powerful tool...

Elasmobranch populations have considerably decreased over the last decades: around 33% of the species are threatened with extinction (Dulvy et al., 2021). This raises concerns as sharks play a crucial role in the structure and functioning of marine communities; and their absence may lead to trophic cascades in the environment (Heithaus et al., 2014...

Due to their late maturation, extreme longevity, low fecundity and slow growth rates, deep-sea Chondrichthyes are extremely vulnerable to human impacts. Moreover, assessing the impact of deep-sea fisheries is difficult, as many species (including sharks) are part of the bycatch and are often discarded at sea, and/or landed under generic commercial-...

The global decline of elasmobranch populations needs to develop management and conservation initiatives, and MPAs could play a crucial role. This work focused on smooth-hound sharks, species of commercial interest, classified as vulnerable by European and Mediterranean IUCN red lists. We monitored elasmobranch catches by the artisanal fishing flee...

Fish aggregating devices (FADs) are used worldwide to attract fish. Previous studies revealed that FADs affect the distribution and dispersal patterns of juvenile fish species during their life stage under floating objects. In this study, we hypothesised that a system of FADs arranged along an inshore–offshore gradient could favour the approach of...

Simple Summary This study reports the results of a multidisciplinary research on Mediterranean pelagic octopods belonging to the species Argonauta argo, Ocythoe tuberculata, Tremoctopus gracilis and Tremoctopus violaceus for the first time. The study area was the Strait of Messina and southern Tyrrhenian Sea. We used information from stranding even...

Knowledge of the reproductive strategy is a key prerequisite to predict population dynamics and potential invasiveness of both native and non-indigenous outbreak-forming species. In 2014 the Lessepsian upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda reached the harbor of Palermo (NW Sicily, Thyrrenian Sea), to date its established westernmost outpost in...

This paper reports the results of a 15-year trawl ban imposed in 1990 in the Gulf of Castellammare (GCAST: NW Sicily, central Mediterranean Sea) and its effects on the biomass and size structure of demersal finfish and shellfish and on the proportion of different commercial categories of fish. Data were collected by experimental trawl surveys condu...

To enrich spatio-temporal information on the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community. Through this effort, we collected and harmonized a dataset of 12,64...

From 1 June 2010 in the Italian coastal waters of the Northern Adriatic Sea, trawl fishery within three nautical miles became banned. This activity was previously allowed for some species as an exception to legislation. In order to evaluate the consequences both on demersal resources and economic yields of the trawl which will oblige fishermen to t...

Simple Summary Populations of many marine species are threatened by a number of interacting factors, including anthropogenic activities, climate change, and biodiversity loss. The assessment of the conservation status of such populations relies heavily on several types of data, such as large-scale geographical and ecological distribution. Seahorses...

Simple Summary Alien species are an important cause of biodiversity loss and changes to ecosystems. Harbors are hotspots for the introduction of these species, and, usually, the impacts and pathways of invasion of the host populations are poorly known. Since 2014, an alien jellyfish, Cassiopea andromeda, coming from the Red Sea, has invaded a Medit...

This study evaluates the effects of a trawling ban on the growth of young-of-the-year (YOY) European hake, Merluccius merluccius (L., 1758) by comparing size structure, length-weight relationship, condition and growth in three gulfs along the coast of northern Sicily (central Mediterranean Sea), one of which has been subject to a trawl ban for 15 y...

The common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) is an epipelagic thermophilic species with a worldwide distribution in tropical and subtropical regions that is characterized by its migratory behavior and fast growth rates. This species is targeted by artisanal small-scale and recreational fisheries in most regions where it is found. This paper updates...

The aim of this research was to assess marine litter abundance and its effects on the benthic fauna in an area of the central Mediterranean Sea exploited by fisheries using fish aggregating devices (FAD). The study was carried out by means of a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV). Derelict fishing gear, mainly FAD ropes, represented the main source of...

A poorly known form of marine litter known as Abandoned, Lost or otherwise Discarded Fishing (ALDFG) derives from fishing activities using FADs (Fish Aggregating Devices). In the Mediterranean Sea, this activity is widespread in southern Italy, Tunisia, Malta and Majorca (Spain). The way of constructing FADs, from a functional point of view, is ver...

Fishermen of Majorca, Sicily, Tunisia and Malta anchor a large numbers of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) every year at sea. These are built with palm leaves, plastic floating objects, polypropylene cables and anchor blocks. Through a bibliographic research, in this study estimates of total number of FADs and the abandoned litter in localized marin...

The upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea is a benthic scyphozoan, considered a non-indigenous invasive species in the Mediterranean, forming large blooms in eutrophic areas. Taxonomy of the genus Cassiopea is extremely difficult because morphological/meristic characters used are variable within the same species, overlapping among different species, and...

Since the early 1990s of last century the spread of Caranx crysos a thermophilic fish species in the Mediterranean Sea has increased due to sea warming. Simultaneously, a large and unregulated use of fish aggregating devices has been recorded, and these devices seem to influence fish spatial distributions. Here we used a multidisciplinary approach...

Fishing leads to drastic changes in ecosystems with a net loss of predatory biomass. This issue has been evidenced from historical ecological studies and from the evaluation of the effects of effective and large marine protected areas. In two fishery reserves off the northern Sicily coast the red mullet Mullus barbatus underwent an impressive bioma...

The common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) is an epipelagic, mid-trophic level, highly migratory species distributed throughout the world’s tropical and subtropical oceans in waters greater than 20�C. Life-history variables, migratory behaviour, and genetic markers have been used to define major stocks in the central Atlantic Ocean and Mediterran...

This is a correction to: ICES Journal of Marine Science, fsy174, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsy174

The common dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) is an epipelagic, mid-trophic level, highly migratory species distributed throughout the world's tropical and subtropical oceans in waters greater than 20 C. Life-history variables, migratory behaviour, and genetic markers have been used to define major stocks in the central Atlantic Ocean and Mediterran...

Abundance and qualitative composition of benthic marine litter were investigated in a coastal area of the central Mediterranean Sea. Almost 30 km of video footage, collected by a Remotely Operated Vehicle between 5 and 30 m depth, were analyzed. Litter density ranged from 0 to 0.64 items/m2 with a mean of 0.11 (±0.16) items/m2. General wastes, made...

Fishes have evolved various reproductive strategies including mechanisms that involve parental care and demersal eggs laid into nests. Symphodus ocellatus has a seasonal reproduction period during which large, dominant males become territorial and build nests with fragments of algae, where they attract females to spawn and provide care to the devel...

Marine litter is commonly observed everywhere in the ocean. In this study, we analyzed 17 km of video footage, collected by a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) at depths ranging between 20 and 220 m, during 19 transects performed on the rocky banks of the Straits of Sicily. Recently, the Contracting Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (...

In the Mediterranean Sea, dolphinfish fishery has employed a great number of anchored Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) arranged in lines, that represents a threat to navigation and to the marine environment and is economically disadvantageous to fishers. In this research, echo-sounder buoys were tested for the first time in the Mediterranean, and it...

The Council Regulation (EC) no. 1967/2006 introduced the adoption of the 40 mm square-mesh or alternatively a 50 mm diamond-mesh codend for trawlers of EU Member States. In this context, the main aim of the current study was to compare the catch composition of Lampedusa’s shallow-water trawl fishery, in terms of retained and discarded fraction, usi...

The present study analysed two sympatric wrasses, Thalassoma pavo and Coris julis, with similar sizes and morphologies, that are widespread in the reef habitats of the Mediterranean and the eastern Atlantic coast. Ocean warming has induced the northward movement of T. pavo, whereas C. julis has been moving to deeper habitats. In addition, under con...

Objective: To study the food habits of a sample of the dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) around the Petrobrás PXIV oil platform located off Southern Brazil. Methods: We examined the stomach contents of 28 adult dolphinfish caught around this platform between 2000 and 2001. Results: Results highlighted a diet consisting mainly of pelagic fish, altho...

Recent studies have showed that the Mediterranean white sea bream Diplodus sargus has included the invasive green alga Caulerpa cylindracea in its diet. As a result of the novel alimentary habits, the fish accumulates the bioactive algal red pigment caulerpin in its tissues with consequent metabolic and enzymatic alterations. However, this may not...

Invasive species including Caulerpa cylindracea affect coastal benthic communities inducing structural changes. To assess effects in rocky ecosystems, food webs have been depicted based on stable isotopic data collected from invertebrates and fishes at invaded and non-invaded coastal areas. Isotopic values of invertebrates were slightly higher in i...

Fish exhibit impaired sensory function and altered behaviour at levels of ocean acidification expected to occur owing to anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions during this century. We provide the first evidence of the effects of ocean acidification on reproductive behaviour of fish in the wild. Satellite and sneaker male ocellated wrasse (Symphodus...

Fish exhibit impaired sensory function and altered behaviour at levels of ocean acidification expected to occur owing to anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions during this century. We provide the first evidence of the effects of ocean acidification on reproductive behaviour of fish in the wild. Satellite and sneaker male ocellated wrasse (Symphodus...

This study tested the hypothesis that the fish assemblage associated with a wreck can vary according to two factors: the vertical distribution and the level of wreck complexity. In the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea in September 2009, the composition and density of fishes were ascertained, coupling the detailed architectural reconstruction of a wreck with...

Understanding the role played by sunken vessels in Mediterranean marine ecosystems is acquiring increasing importance. The aim of this research was to study the fish communities associated with four shipwrecks, by means of underwater visual censuses performed by a remotely operated vehicle, and to test the differences in composition of fish assembl...

To increase their reproductive success, fish species have evolved various strategies, including both simple processes and more complex mechanisms that involve parental care by nest-building. In Symphodus ocellatus, a species that lives in rocky infralittoral zones of the Mediterranean Sea, during the reproductive period, the male builds a nest with...

Some aspects of the reproductive behaviour of the ocellated wrasse Symphodus ocellatus (Forsskål 1775) were investigated in wild conditions along a pCO2 gradient. Our results show no differences in the number of females, sneakers and satellite males involved in the spawning phase under two pCO2 conditions. However, the spawning rate of nesting male...

Information on distribution and abundance of cephalopods inhabiting pelagic water masses is often not available because of the difficulty of applying conventional methods in this remote habitat. An alternative source of information is represented by stomach content analysis of pelagic predators that are known to be efficient cephalopod prey collect...

This study assesses the effects of a trawling ban on the diet and trophodynamics of the hake Merluccius merluccius by comparing stomach contents and stable isotopes (delta N-15 and delta C-13) in two trawled gulfs and one untrawled gulf in northern Sicily (western Mediterranean). Comparisons were made for three size classes of hake encompassing 60...

Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) are used worldwide by fishermen to improve fishery yields, based on the finding that juveniles and adults of both pelagic and demersal fish species are attracted to floating objects. FADs fisheries are usually exploited using purse seine nets. In Sicilian seas, two different purse seines are used: (a) classic purse s...

Changes in the shore topography (e.g. slope) occur at a scale of hundreds of meters in several locations in the Lusitanian and the Mediterranean Sea provinces. We tested whether differences in the bottom inclination might affect the vertical distribution patterns of two sympatric coastal labrid fishes, the rainbow wrasse Coris julis and the ornate...

Abstract  Fish-aggregating devices are floating objects used worldwide to improve pelagic fishery yield. Fish-aggregating devices use the natural attraction exerted by floating objects on juveniles and adults of both pelagic and demersal fish. In this study, it was hypothesised that fish change their degree and type of interaction with moored float...

This study investigated the nurseries of seven commercially important demersal species of the northern sector of the Strait of Sicily (central Mediterranean): red mullet, European hake, horned octopus, deep-water rose shrimp, greater forkbeard, Norway lobster and giant red shrimp. An eleven-year series of data collected through experimental trawlin...

The skill of recognizing and reacting to predators is often based on a learned component. Few studies have examined the role of learning in spiny lobster anti-predator behavior. We investigated whether European spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas) shelter selection is influenced by olfactory stimuli released by one of the most common lobster predators...

This study was aimed at identifying the food web of the red mullet, Mullus bar-batus in order to understand how it is affected by trawling disturbance. To achieve this objective: a) the main features of the red mullet habitat were investigated; b) the food web of this habitat was studied in two no-trawl areas and in two areas open to trawling. The...

F. Andaloro, P. Battaglia, L. Castriota, P. Consoli, V. Esposito, M. Falautano, P. Perzia, M. Sinopoli, P. Vivona, T. Romeo

This study is aimed to assess the habitat requirements for nesting site in the fish Symphodus ocellatus (Forsskal) (Labridae). For this reason a set of bi otic and abiotic variables has been collected in 84 areas surrounding the nests during summer 2009 in a c oastal area of southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Sicily). The influence of variables on the habita...

In this study, we hypothesised that FADs located along a distance gradient from the shore might lead the early stage associated fishes inshore. The findings suggest that FAD systems might be exerting two different effects on juvenile fish distribution: (a) offshore FADs tend to retain associated fish for longer periods of time, (b) coastal FADs fav...

In this study, several settlement features like depth, microhabitat and density of common spiny lobster Pnlinurus elephns in a marine protected area were described. A SCUBA diving visual census was conducted for about 12 months on a rocky bottom from 0 to 30 m depth inside the MPA of Isola delle Femmine - Capo Gallo. Settlement or post-pueruli took...

The analysis of trawl survey data collected in the Gulf of Castellammare (NW Sicily) and in a control area before and after a 15-year trawl ban proved that the demersal fishery resources in the Gulf of Castellammare increased significantly as I a consequence of the ban. Red mullet, pandora and hake - main target species for the local small-scale fi...

SummaryA study on fish assemblage associated with fish aggregating devices (FADs) in Sicily was carried out between January 2000 and January 2001. With a fortnightly periodicity, 156 experimental hauls were carried out by means of a purse seine in a FAD-containing marine section banned to commercial fishing. A total of 14 229 fish specimens belongi...

FADs are fish aggregating devices applied worldwide over the centuries to increase fish catch. However, the utilisation of such floating devices can influence dispersion patterns of some fish species. At present it is still not clear if FADs play a role in the shoreward migrations of juvenile fish of reef associated species, such as the greater amb...

We investigated the patterns of occurrence of FAD-associated fish off the coast of Sardinia, Sicily and Majorca (Western Mediterranean). Two working hypotheses are presented to test whether or not "differences exist in fish assemblages at i) the spatial and ii) the temporal level". Quantitative and qualitative experimental data were obtained from a...

From 1994 to 2002, 80 lesser amberjacks, Seriola fasciata (Bloch, 1793), were caught in Sicilian waters. Their identification was confirmed by morphometric and meristic features measured on some preserved specimens. Juvenile specimens were observed under fish aggregating devices (FADs) located in Sardinia and Sicily during surveys carried out betwe...

The microstructural analysis of the sagittal otoliths of juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, can be used to estimate the age and growth rate of young-of-the-year individuals born in the Mediterranean. Samples of juvenile bluefin tuna, obtained as by-catch of the local small-scale pelagic fishery for Atlantic bonito and dolphinfish, wer...

The microstructural analysis of the sagittal otoliths of juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, can be used to estimate the age and growth rate of young-of-the-year individuals born in the Mediterranean. Samples of juvenile bluefin tuna, obtained as by-catch of the local small-scale pelagic fishery for Atlantic bonito and dolphinfish, wer...

We collected pearly razorfish, Xyrichtys novacula (Labridae), from a sandy bottom of Capo dOrlando (Tyrrhenian Sea) to study their feeding habits. We caught fish by hand-lines and seine nets and identified, counted and weighed food items in their stomachs. We evaluated the importance of the different prey types by calculating the frequency of occur...

The diet of juvenile bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) caught 2 to 8 miles off NE Sicily was investigated in order to improve knowledge of the species’ early life history. From 1998 to 2000, 107 specimens ranging from 63 to 495 mm (total length) were fished between July and November. Fishes were caught by trolling line or purse seine in a Fish Aggrega...