Nunziacarla Spanò

• PhD Environmental Sciences: marine resources
• Professor (Associate) at University of Messina

In the original publication [...]

The journal retracts the article “Environmental risk assessment of mixture of COVID-19 treating pharmaceutical drugs in zebrafish early life stage (Danio rerio)” [...]

The journal retracts the article entitled “Environmental Impact of Pharmaceutical Pollutants: Synergistic Toxicity of Ivermectin and Cypermethrin” [...]

The journal retracts the article, “Combined Effects of Potassium Perchlorate and a Neonicotinoid on Zebrafish Larvae (Danio rerio)” [...]

In the original published publication [...]

The journal retracts the article entitled “Combined Toxicity of Xenobiotics Bisphenol A and Heavy Metals on Zebrafish Embryos (Danio rerio)” [...]

Understanding the interaction between marine biota and marine litter is essential to comprehend how organisms face the continuous alteration of their habitats due to anthropogenic pressure. The evidence here reported, based on both direct in situ observations and citizen science obtained information, refer to the interactions between two Mediterran...

The journal retracts the article, “Assessment of 2-Pentadecyl-2-oxazoline Role on Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation on Early Stage Development of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)” [...]

The ubiquitous presence of microplastics (MPs) in the environment is a major concern for the conservation of biodiversity. Numerous studies show the detrimental effects of MPs on marine species, especially because of their small size and their capacity to absorb organic contaminants from their surroundings. The bivalve mollusk Cerastoderma glaucum...

Improve the knowledge base on the ecomorphological adaptation of teleost species to different environments, trying to reconstruct how habitat can shape sagittae, is essential for conservational purposes, evolutionary evaluations, and population dynamics studies. Here is provided a comparative study between sagittae features, growth rates and age co...

The Amendolara Bank was recently designated as a Site of Community Importance; however, information on its ecosystems remains limited, with a particular dearth of knowledge regarding the deeper zone (>100 m). Previous studies have discovered the existence of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) within the bank, underscoring the necessity for more co...

The skin of snakes acts as the first interface between these reptiles and the environment they live in. It plays an important role in the ecology of these organisms, and specialised structures, such as tactile corpuscles, are crucial in the sensing of a wide variety of stimuli. This study, by examining the presence, localisation and colocalisation...

The garfish Belone belone represents the only valid endemic Belone species for the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It shows a wide global distribution range, with a high commercial value and ecological relevance in the pelagic domain. Despite this, there needs to be more knowledge regarding the otoliths of this species, with the t...

Cold-water corals (CWCs) are bioengineering species that can increase habitat heterogeneity and improve the deep sea’s biological diversity and ecosystem functioning. Knowledge of their distribution provides a critical baseline for assessing the effect of natural and anthropogenic impacts on these important deep-sea habitats. The aims of this study...

Microplastics are pervasive and ubiquitous environmental pollutants to which all living organisms are inevitably exposed. The connection between microplastic pollution and climate change is, yet, largely unexplored. Herein, we examine the interconnectedness between microplastics and climate change; the evidence for potential combined impacts on bot...

The shell of bivalves acts as structural support, defence against predators, stressors, and maintenance of homeostasis. Haemocytes and mantle epithelial cells participate in shell formation. Mantle epithelial cells produce the organic matrix of the shell and are associated with biomineralization because of their proximity to the shell surface and a...

The introduction of pollutants, such as thiacloprid and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), into the waters of urbanized coastal and estuarine areas through fossil fuel spills, domestic and industrial waste discharges, atmospheric inputs, and continental runoff poses a major threat to the fauna and flora of the aquatic environment and can have a significant im...

Microplastic pollution is one of the global emerging threats. All oceans are contaminated by microplastics, in particular, the Mediterranean Sea, due to its characteristic semi-closed morphology and the different anthropogenic pressures exerted by the surrounding countries, is highly polluted. This chapter provides a collection of information on th...

Microplastics are widely recognized as contaminants of emerging concern in the marine environment. This work deal with a global overview of the microplastics in the Mediterranean sediments. Moreover, the information collected in this chapter might be used as a tool in fine-tuning of new common worldwide protocol in order to report homogeny results...

This chapter focused on the toxic substances, inorganics, and organics, that can be adsorbed by marine Mediterranean microplastics. The chemical nature of each substance and the possible consequences for humans. Due to their toxic nature, all the listed substances have to be severely monitored in Mediterranean Sea coastal waters to better understan...

Microplastics pollution in seawater is a big threat all over the world.This chapter focused on the study of microplastics (MPs) in the marine Mediterranean biota, on the possible impacts, and the effects that this type of pollution entails on the marine biota. We collected all the articles published to date on this topic and compared them in order...

The Mediterranean Sea is highly populated and is one of the busiest commercial traffic seas, and it is heavily impacted by MPs, and for this reason, was recognized as a target hotspot of the world as microplastics concentration. Several plastic types are found in the Mediterranean Sea, their polymeric characteristics play an important role in the i...

Pharmaceuticals are widely recognized as potentially hazardous to aquatic ecosystems. In the last two decades, the constant intake of biologically active chemicals used in human healthcare has been related to the growing release of these agents into natural environments. As reported by several studies, various pharmaceuticals have been detected, ma...

The internal defense system of mollusks represents an efficient protection against pathogens and parasites, involving several biological immune processes, such as phagocytosis, encapsulation, cytotoxicity, and antigenic recognition of self/non-self. Mollusks possess professional, migratory, and circulating cells that play a key role in the defense...

Metazoans have several mechanisms of internal defense for their survival. The internal defense system evolved alongside the organisms. Annelidae have circulating coelomocytes that perform functions comparable to the phagocytic immune cells of vertebrates. Several studies have shown that these cells are involved in phagocytosis, opsonization, and pa...

Mesopelagic species are enjoining increasing attention due to the growing impact of fisheries activities on deep marine biocenosis. Improving the knowledge base on mesopelagic species is required to enhance their conservation due to the knowledge gaps regarding many species and families. In this context, otoliths can be fundamental to assessing the...

Mucus secretion provides an interface with unique and multifunctional properties between the epithelial cells of many aquatic organisms and their surrounding environment. Indeed, mucus is involved in various essential biological processes including feeding, reproduction, osmoregulation, competition for space, defense against pathogens, xenobiotics,...

Simple Summary The immune systems of fish can respond rapidly to biological, physical, and environmental stresses and defend the body against pathogens. The skin is the organ most in contact with the external environment and possesses a plethora of immune cells. Club cells, typical of the skin of Ostariophysi, are able to produce alarming substance...

The amphibious teleost Giant mudskipper (Periophthalmodon schlosseri, Pallas 1770) inhabit muddy plains and Asian mangrove forests. It spends more than 90% of its life outside of the water, using its skin, gills, and buccal-pharyngeal cavity mucosa to breathe in oxygen from the surrounding air. All vertebrates have been found to have mast cells (MC...

Simple Summary Plastic litter is ubiquitous in the marine environment due to its rapid dispersion and great durability. Furthermore, several environmental processes can modify the characteristics of plastics, altering their density and, consequently, their likelihood of sinking. In fact, deep-sea environments are highly threatened by plastic waste,...

Monitoring the occurrence and distribution of rare fish species is essential, especially in a semi-closed basin such as the Mediterranean Sea. Biologically interesting species often represent fishing waste (being part of the by-catch) and therefore are not retained, leading to a huge gap in data collection. Here we report about the occurrence in th...

Simple Summary The distribution of teleost fishes is of fundamental importance to comprehending how these species contribute to the ecological equilibria of marine areas. In these terms, fishes of the order Lampriformes are circumglobally distributed, and are characterized by a peculiar morphology. Information on this fish group is scarce to absent...

Anthropogenic microparticles (AMs) were found for the first time in specimens of Trematomus bernacchii collected in 1998 in the Ross Sea (Antarctica) and stored in the Antarctic Environmental Specimen Bank. Most of the identified AMs were fibers of natural and synthetic origin. The natural AMs were cellulosic, the synthetic ones were polyester, pol...

(1) Background: Multiple contaminations of several mycotoxins have been detected in human and veterinary food and feed worldwide. To date, a number of studies on the combined effects of mycotoxins have been conducted on cell and animal models, but very limited studies have been done on aquatic organisms. (2) The purpose of the present study was to...

Merluccius merluccius is one of the most important Mediterranean benthopelagic predators. It represents a key species for the ecosystem’s functioning due to its fundamental role in the energy transferal between different domains and depth strata. The aim of this study was to explore the feeding habits of European hakes in the southern and central M...

Simple Summary This research aimed to define intestinal DCs from myxines to teleosts by using immunohistochemistry with TLR-2, Langerin/CD207, and MHC II. In particular, we analyzed intestinal DCs in several species of fish phylogenetically organized: Eptatretus cirrhatus (myxines), Scyliorhinus canicula (Chondrichthyes), Polypterus senegalus (Oste...

Anthropogenic microparticles (AMs) were found for the first time in specimens of Trematomus bernacchii collected in 1998 in the Ross Sea (Antarctica) and stored in the Antarctic Environmental Specimen Bank. Most of the identified AMs were fibers of natural and synthetic origin. The natural AMs were cellulosic, the synthetic ones were polyester, pol...

The present paper represents the first description of abnormal hermaphroditism in Galeus melastomus (Rafinesque, 1810). The black mouth cat shark specimen, collected in summer from southern Tyrrhenian Sea at the entrance of Salerno gulf, showed a basic intersexuality characterized by the presence of male secondary and female primary sexual characte...

Pharmaceuticals are widely regarded as a menace to the aquatic environment. The constant consumption of biologically active chemicals for human health has been matched by an increase in the leaking of these compounds in natural habitats over the last two decades. This study was aimed to evaluate the molecular pathway underling the developmental tox...

Pharmaceuticals are widely acknowledged to be a threat to aquatic life. Over the last two decades, the steady use of biologically active chemicals for human health has been mirrored by a rise in the leaking of these chemicals into natural environments. The aim of this work was to detect the toxicity of sodium fluoride (NaF) exposure and platinum-de...

In the present note an adult female of Tremoctopus violaceus delle Chiaje, 1830, is recorded from the Strait of Messina. Species of the family Tremoctopodidae are widely distributed in tropical oceans, but rare in coastal waters. The morphological characteristics coincide with those described by other authors. Necroscopic examination performed did...

Imidacloprid (IMI) is part of the neonicotinoids family, insecticides widely used by humans and also found in wastewater. This class of compounds, if present in the environment, can cause toxicity to different species such as bees and gammarids, although little is known about vertebrates such as fish. In addition, several substances have been repor...

The increasing pollution of aquatic habitats with anthropogenic compounds has led to various test strategies to detect hazardous chemicals. However, information on the effects of pollutants on the thyroid system in fish, which is essential for growth, development, and parts of reproduction, is still scarce. Modified early life-stage tests were carr...

The biodiversity of Mediterranean fishes is continuously evolving in the last decades, due both to the effects of non-indigenous species invasions and the influences of the global climate change. Monitoring the occurrence and the distribution of fish populations is of fundamental importance, especially in a semi-closed basin such as the Mediterrane...

Plastic represents the most abundant class of litter in the Oceans [Canals et al 2021; Pham et al. 2014; Worm et al. 2017] and its presence has been recognized globally [Bergmann et al. 2015; Cau et al. 2018; Chiba et al. 2018; Suaria et al. 2016]. Its impact on marine ecosystems is currently considered a hot topic for both scientific community and...

The importance of studying fish otolith morphology and morphometry is nowadays well recognized. These are one of the most useful anatomical structures to study many aspects of teleost life, due to their valuable time-keeping properties. Several factors can affect shape and microstructure of otoliths, such as environmental parameters, feeding habits...

Several anthropogenic products in wastewater are considered a threat to the aquatic environment. In addition to common industrial pollutants, levels of pharmaceuticals have been increasingly found in the environment in recent years, which may present a strong risk to the aquatic species that live there. The constant consumption of biologically acti...

Pharmaceuticals are actually identified as a threat to the ecosystem. Nowadays, the growing consumption of antineoplastic agents has been related to their continuous input in natural environments. These substances can interfere with physiological and biochemical processes of aquatic species over their entire life cycle. Oxaliplatin (OXA) is a widel...

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or bacterial endotoxin, is an important virulence factor in several human and animal pathologies. Oxazoline of Palmitoylethanolamide (PEAOXA) has shown strong anti-inflammatory activity in several animal models. LPS was applied for 24 h to zebrafish embryos to induce inflammation, and then the anti-inflammatory action of P...

IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) is an inflammatory disease affecting the gastrointestinal tract that is common in both humans and veterinarians. Several studies have revealed the pharmacological properties of the oxazoline of palmitoylethanolamide (PEAOXA). Zebrafish larvae were exposed to sodium dextran sulphate (DSS) to induce enterocolitis and...

Transitional water environments represent very ecologically interesting areas, which provide various ecosystem services, both concerning biodiversity protection and sustainable fruition of resources. In this way, the evaluation of total carbon and its components, chlorophyll, and chemical and physical parameters is of fundamental importance to deep...

Otoliths are used in taxonomy and ichthyology as they can provide a wide range of information about specimens. They are an essential tool to monitor the most sensitive species for a sustainable exploitation level. Despite the increasing use of sagittae in research, their inter- and intra-specific variability and eco-functionality are still poorly e...

The present investigation focuses on Boops boops specimens gathered in the Gulf of Patti in 2010. Providing a snapshot from the past, this paper represents, chronologically, the first record of microplastic ingestion in the Mediterranean bogue. The plastic abundance and composition in gastrointestinal tracts of the bogue was assess, in order to imp...

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a secondary metabolite produced by fungi of the genus Aspergillus, has been found among various foods as well as in fish feed. However, the effects of AFB1 on fish development and its associated toxic mechanism are still unclear. In the present study, we confirmed the morphological alterations in zebrafish embryos and larvae af...

Data on the biology and ecology of Galeus melastomus are old/absent for the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, despite there being numerous studies in the wider area. A total of 127 specimens of G. melastomus from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, collected in 2018–2019 using trawling nets, were analyzed to investigate size at sexual maturity, sex ratio, length–w...

Otolith features are useful tools for studying taxonomy, ecology, paleontology, and fish biology since they represent a permanent record of life history. Nevertheless, the functional morphology of otoliths remains an open research question that is useful to completely understand their eco-morphology. This study aims to deepen the knowledge of intra...

The rapid development of aquaculture makes it desirable to use environment-friendly methods of purifying the wastewater effluent. Seaweed is often cultured for the dual purpose of useful algal biomass production and its bioremediation potential. This paper offers a survey on growth characters and ecological functions of the macroalgae Gracilaria gr...

Microplastic (MP) and microfiber (MF) pollution is a great concern worldwide due to their ubiquity in aquatic environment, becoming a potential threat to aquatic organisms. The accumulation of MPs in freshwater and marine environments can have strong ecological implications, mainly due to their long persistence, toxicity and ability to adsorb other...

The incidence of microplastics (MPs) uptake in marine organisms is a topic recently focused by scientific community. Despite this, the impacts of these pollutants still remain largely unknown, especially for zooplanktonic organisms. In the present study, it has been evaluated how within first 7 days of life cycle, 10 μm Polybead® Blue Dyed Microsph...

The European Hake, Merluccius merluccius (Linnaeus, 1758), is a widely distributed species in the eastern Atlantic, from Norway to the Gulf of Guinea, Mediterranean Sea and along the southern coast of the Black Sea. The European hake is a commercial relevant fish species, and their stocks suffer overfishing. M. merluccius is a nektobenthic apical p...

In the present study, it has been evaluated how 10 µm of polyethylene microspheres can be ingested by Artemia salina (Linnaeus, 1758) larvae within the first 7 days of the life cycle, and the impact on their health. Twelve A. salina larvae (instar I) groups were exposed to different microplastics (MPs) concentrations (0-1-10-10²-10³-10⁴ MPs/mL), wi...

We reviewed literature on the diet of the Galeus melastomus Rafinesque, 1810, from the Mediterranean Sea. Specific keywords (“Galeus melastomus diet”, “feeding habits”, “trophic position”, “biology”, “deep environment adaptation”) in the principal data sources, such as Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar were used. Seventeen studies conducte...

Environmental pollution by plastic particles is of major global concern, as a potential threat to aquatic organisms and ecosystems. The accumulation of microplastics in freshwater and marine environments has strong ecological implications due to their long persistence, potential toxicity, and ability to adsorb other pollutants, acting as vectors of...

Over the last decades, scientific interest for fish otolith morphology and morphometry increased significatively. These are useful tools to study many aspects of teleost life in marine environment. Several factors can affect shape and microstructure of otoliths, such as environmental parameters, feeding habits, ontogeny, physiology and phylogeny. A...

This study aims to evaluate some biochemical parameters and serum electrolytes in cultured rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) to evaluate a potential correlation with biometric parameters (weight and length). For this purpose, 100 cultured trout (300–700 g weight range, 25–38 cm length range) bred on a fish-farm were used for the stu...

The Strait of Messina (Sicily, Italy) attracts the interest of marine ecologists for the presence of a large variety of habitat and mutually-interacting communities. Among them, beachrock formations, despite their wide geographic distribution, which also includes the Mediterranean area, have been poorly investigated from the biotic viewpoint. In th...

Pharmaceuticals and other emerging contaminants (EC) have been increasingly detected and measured in coastal waters and large effort has been devoted to knowing the effects these substances have in coastal ecosystems. Anthozoa class is underrepresented in ecotoxicology studies despite some of their species being endangered. Anemonia sulcata and Act...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary vitamin C supplementation on the blood and biometric parameters of striped bass Morone saxatilis (Walbaum, 1752). For the trial, two groups fed for sixty days were used: group A (basic feed with low vitamin C concentration) and group B (high vitamin C supplement feed). Twenty fish from eac...

Changes in the composition and biomass distribution of deep-living zooplankton over wide gradients of depth (0–1300 m) have been analyzed in the Central Ligurian Basin (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea), seeking the environmental variables responsible for these changes. Spring vertical distribution (early May 2013) and diel vertical migration (DVM) o...

We report the presence of microplastics on the external surface and in the gastrointestinal tract of white late-larval and juvenile stages (fry) of clupeid fishes caught in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea. The average highest number of plastics debris was recorded on Sardina pilchardus (0.53 items/specimen); a lower average number of items was observed...

This study highlights plastics occurrence in five demersal fish species from the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea: the Red mullet Mullus barbatus barbatus, the Piper gurnard Trigla lyra, the Blackmouth catshark Galeus melastomus, the Lesser spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula and the Brown ray Raja miraletus. Overall, 125 fish were examined: 21 Red mullet...

Composition, density and specimen sizes of pelagic polychaete assemblages were analyzed in the Southern Adriatic Sea. The study was based on finely stratified vertical (0–1100 m) and spatial sampling (17 stations) representing spring conditions. Holoplanktonic polychaetes were distributed in both neritic and pelagic waters, although the highest den...

In spite of different management plans adopted in the last decade by the European Union (EU) and endorsed by many National European governments, the most part of the Mediterranean ground fish (aka demersal) trawlable stock remain in a status of heavy overfishing and high over exploitation. At least according to the official reports published by the...