Search

The occurrence of protozoan parasites Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. such as the pathogenic bacteria Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli was molecularly investigated in the following free ranging species of striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus) as well as loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles living in the Gulf of Taranto (Mediterranean Sea). Out of forty-one investigated individuals belonging to the 4 species, 13 (31.7%) were positive to one or more pathogens and zoonotic G. duodenalis assemblage A, Cryptosporidium parvum and S. enterica were identified in striped dolphins, loggerhead and green sea turtles. In this work, the presence of these opportunistic pathogens has been investigated in fecal samples of free ranging dolphin and sea turtle species for the first time. Moreover, this is the first record of C. parvum in loggerhead sea turtles. These results may provide baseline data for the potential role of cetaceans and sea turtles as potential sentinel species for zoonotic and terrestrial pathogens in the marine environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The western part of the Gulf of Taranto, southern Italy, is a seismically active area with high sediment supply. New swath bathymetry and sub-bottom profiler (CHIRP) data were acquired on board R/V OGS-Explora during the WGDT cruise. The data were analyzed to describe the seafloor morphology and the acoustic facies of relevant morphologic features. Special attention was given to the features produced by mass wasting and soft-sediment deformations. The features identified include: slides and slide scars, debris flow deposits, enigmatic dip-slope trending sub-parallel linear depressions, and along-slope undulations inferred to have been produced either by creeping or sediment deposition by hyperpycnal flows. The description of these features contributes to the characterization of the Calabria foreland basin system and provides an analogue for other basins similarly affected by a close relation between sediment supply and active tectonics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]