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Objective: The only available validated questionnaire for pelvic floor disorders in pregnant and postpartum women is in German. The aim of this study was to translate and validate the German Pelvic Floor Questionnaire for pregnant and postpartum women into Italian. Study design: The questionnaire was translated into Italian by standardized procedural steps. The final version of the questionnaire was submitted to women in the third trimester of pregnancy or within 6 weeks post partum. Construct validity was tested using the Wilcoxon test, and internal consistency was tested using Cronbachʼs alpha. Test–retest reliability was measured with Cohenʼs kappa and intraclass correlation coefficient. Results: Fifty women answered the questionnaire. Construct validity was demonstrated, as the questionnaire discriminated significantly between patients with and without symptoms for four domains of pelvic floor disorders. Internal consistency was satisfactory (0.62–0.93). Cohenʼs kappa values for test–retest reliability were between 0.46 (moderate agreement) and 1.00 (complete agreement). Intraclass correlation coefficients ranged between 0.93 and 0.96, indicating very satisfactory overall agreement for each functional domain. Conclusions: The Italian version of the German Pelvic Floor Questionnaire for pregnant and postpartum women is reliable, valid and consistent.

Perineuronal or neuronal satellitosis is the term describing the presence of glial cells in the satellite space surrounding the neuronal perikaryon. Confusingly, this finding has been described both as a physiologic and pathologic condition in humans and animals. In animals, neuronal satellitosis has been described in mammals, as well as in avian species. For the latter, the authors wondered whether neuronal satellitosis is expressed in the normal telencephalon of different avian orders and families and whether this pattern in different species shows a specific brain-region association. For these aims, this study explored the presence of neuronal satellitosis in the major areas of the healthy telencephalon in wild and domestic avian species of different orders and families, evaluating its grade in different brain regions. Neuronal satellitosis was seen in the hyperpallium and mesopallium as areas with the highest grade. Passeriformes showed the highest grade of neuronal satellitosis compared to diurnal or nocturnal raptors, and Charadriiformes. To clarify the exact role of neuronal satellitosis in animals without neurological disease, further studies are needed. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Neuronal satellitosis is a common finding in the healthy avian telencephalon. Neuronal satellitosis is a species- and brain-region-associated finding in birds. Passeriformes have the highest grade of neuronal satellitosis.

Climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves (MHWs) and mass mortality events (MMEs) of marine organisms are one of their main ecological impacts. Here, we show that during the 2015–2019 period, the Mediterranean Sea has experienced exceptional thermal conditions resulting in the onset of five consecutive years of widespread MMEs across the basin. These MMEs affected thousands of kilometers of coastline from the surface to 45 m, across a range of marine habitats and taxa (50 taxa across 8 phyla). Significant relationships were found between the incidence of MMEs and the heat exposure associated with MHWs observed both at the surface and across depths. Our findings reveal that the Mediterranean Sea is experiencing an acceleration of the ecological impacts of MHWs which poses an unprecedented threat to its ecosystems' health and functioning. Overall, we show that increasing the resolution of empirical observation is critical to enhancing our ability to more effectively understand and manage the consequences of climate change.

Climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves (MHWs) and mass mortality events (MMEs) of marine organisms are one of their main ecological impacts. Here, we show that during the 2015–2019 period, the Mediterranean Sea has experienced exceptional thermal conditions resulting in the onset of five consecutive years of widespread MMEs across the basin. These MMEs affected thousands of kilometers of coastline from the surface to 45 m, across a range of marine habitats and taxa (50 taxa across 8 phyla). Significant relationships were found between the incidence of MMEs and the heat exposure associated with MHWs observed both at the surface and across depths. Our findings reveal that the Mediterranean Sea is experiencing an acceleration of the ecological impacts of MHWs which poses an unprecedented threat to its ecosystems' health and functioning. Overall, we show that increasing the resolution of empirical observation is critical to enhancing our ability to more effectively understand and manage the consequences of climate change.

The combined actions of climatic variations and landscape barriers shape the history of natural populations. When organisms follow their shifting niches, obstacles in the landscape can lead to the splitting of populations, on which evolution will then act independently. When two such populations are reunited, secondary contact occurs in a broad range of admixture patterns, from narrow hybrid zones to the complete dissolution of lineages. A previous study suggested that barn owls colonized the Western Palearctic after the last glaciation in a ring-like fashion around the Mediterranean Sea, and conjectured an admixture zone in the Balkans. Here, we take advantage of whole-genome sequences of 94 individuals across the Western Palearctic to reveal the complex history of the species in the region using observational and modeling approaches. Even though our results confirm that two distinct lineages colonized the region, one in Europe and one in the Levant, they suggest that it predates the last glaciation and identify a secondary contact zone between the two in Anatolia. We also show that barn owls recolonized Europe after the glaciation from two distinct glacial refugia: a previously identified western one in Iberia and a new eastern one in Italy. Both glacial lineages now communicate via eastern Europe, in a wide and permeable contact zone. This complex history of populations enlightens the taxonomy of Tyto alba in the region, highlights the key role played by mountain ranges and large water bodies as barriers and illustrates the power of population genomics in uncovering intricate demographic patterns.

Marine heat waves (MHWs), prolonged discrete anomalously warm water events, have been increasing significantly in duration, intensity and frequency all over the world, and have been associated with a variety of impacts including alteration of ecosystem structure and function. This study assessed the effects of current and future MHWs on the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica performance, also testing the importance of the thermal environment where the plant lives. The effects of current MHWs were studied through a mensurative experiment in a cold and in a warm site (West and North-West Sardinia, Italy, respectively). Future MHWs effects were tested through a manipulative experiment using P. oceanica shoots collected from the cold and warm sites and transplanted in a common garden in front of a power plant (North-West Sardinia): here plants were exposed to heat longer in duration and stronger in intensity than the natural MHWs of the last 20 years, resembling the future scenario. Morphological (total # of leaves, maximum leaf length, and percentage of total necrotic leaf length per shoot) and biochemical variables (leaf proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids) were considered. Plants had similar sublethal responses in both the experiments for most of the variables, revealing that current and future MHWs had similar effect types, but different in magnitude depending on the intensity of the waves: in general, the number of leaves, the maximum leaf length and lipid content decreased, while the leaf necrosis and carbohydrates increased. However, also the origin of the plants affected the results, corroborating the hypothesis that the thermal context the plants live affects their tolerance to the heat. Overall, this study provided evidence about the importance of biochemical variations, such as carbohydrate and lipid levels, as potentially good indicators of seagrass heat stress.

The last few decades have seen a rapid spread of barrens on temperate rocky reefs as sea urchin overgrazing of marine forests causes habitats to shift to more depauperate stable states. Reversing these trends requires a proper understanding of the novel ecological feedbacks that maintain rocky barrens and the conditions under which they operate. In this study, we explored the role of a secondary herbivore (a grazing limpet) in reinforcing the stability of barrens formed under different nutrient conditions. Combining comparative and field experimental studies in two Mediterranean regions characterized by contrasting nutrient regimes, we assessed: (i) if the creation of barren areas by sea urchins enhances limpet abundance, (ii) the grazing impact by limpets through foraging marks (halos), and (iii) the ability of limpets to maintain barrens in the absence of sea urchins. Our results show that sea urchin overgrazing of erect macroalgae enhanced limpet abundance in both nutrient regimes. The effects of limpet grazing on macroalgal assemblages varied with nutrient regimes being up to six times more intense under oligotrophic conditions. Finally, we found that limpets were able to maintain barrens in the absence of the sea urchins only under low nutrient regimes. Our results suggest greater vulnerability of subtidal forests to overgrazing in oligotrophic regions and demonstrate the importance of environmental settings in regulating ecosystem feedbacks mediated by plant-herbivore interactions

Climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves (MHWs) and mass mortality events (MMEs) of marine organisms are one of their main ecological impacts. Here, we show that during the 2015–2019 period, the Mediterranean Sea has experienced exceptional thermal conditions resulting in the onset of five consecutive years of widespread MMEs across the basin. These MMEs affected thousands of kilometers of coastline from the surface to 45 m, across a range of marine habitats and taxa (50 taxa across 8 phyla). Significant relationships were found between the incidence of MMEs and the heat exposure associated with MHWs observed both at the surface and across depths. Our findings reveal that the Mediterranean Sea is experiencing an acceleration of the ecological impacts of MHWs which poses an unprecedented threat to its ecosystems' health and functioning. Overall, we show that increasing the resolution of empirical observation is critical to enhancing our ability to more effectively understand and manage the consequences of climate change.

Acclimation is a response that results from chronic exposure of an individual to a new environment. This study aimed to investigate whether the thermal environment affects the early development of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, and whether the effects of a field-simulated Marine Heat Wave (MHW) on seedlings change depending on acclimation. The experiment was done in the field using a crossed design of Acclimation (acclimated vs unacclimated) and MHW (present vs absent) factors. Acclimation has initially constrained the development of P. oceanica seedlings, but then it increased their resilience to the MHW, under both a morphological and biochemical (fatty acid saturation) level. This treatment could be considered in P. oceanica restoration projects in a climate change-impaired sea, by purposely inducing an increased resistance to heat before transplants

Local, regional and global targets have been set to halt marine biodiversity loss. Europe has set its own policy targets to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of marine ecosystems by implementing the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) across member states. We combined an extensive dataset across five Mediterranean ecoregions including 26 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), their reference unprotected areas, and a no-trawl case study. Our aim was to assess if MPAs reach GES, if their effects are local or can be detected at ecoregion level or up to a Mediterranean scale, and which are the ecosystem components driving GES achievement. This was undertaken by using the analytical tool NEAT (Nested Environmental status Assessment Tool), which allows an integrated assessment of the status of marine systems. We adopted an ecosystem approach by integrating data from several ecosystem components: the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, macroalgae, sea urchins and fish. Thresholds to define the GES were set by dedicated workshops and literature review. In the Western Mediterranean, most MPAs are in good/high status, with P. oceanica and fish driving this result within MPAs. However, GES is achieved only at a local level, and the Mediterranean Sea, as a whole, results in a moderate environmental status. Macroalgal forests are overall in bad condition, confirming their status at risk. The results are significantly affected by the assumption that discrete observations over small spatial scales are representative of the total extension investigated. This calls for large-scale, dedicated assessments to realistically detect environmental status changes under different conditions. Understanding MPAs effectiveness in reaching GES is crucial to assess their role as sentinel observatories of marine systems. MPAs and trawling bans can locally contribute to the attainment of GES and to the fulfillment of the MSFD objectives. Building confidence in setting thresholds between GES and non-G