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The unique life history features of seahorses (low mobility, site fidelity, low fecundity, high parental care) make them vulnerable to the environmental changes and anthropic pressures. Despite increasing concern over their conservation status, many biological and ecological aspects remain poorly documented therefore disabling and limiting management strategies. Most of the Mediterranean populations are threatened by human activities and a recent document drawn up by the Italian Committee of IUCN for marine fish of the Italian coasts defined the two species as Near Threatened (NT). During the last 15 years, despite the absence of specific funding projects and thanks to the large group of volunteers working alongside researchers, a considerable research group has been created, allowing investigation of several aspects of seahorse life cycle in an area that has never been studied before. In this period, we have conducted several studies on their spatial and temporal persistence, population structure, habitat preferences, and diet composition. Hippocampus guttulatus and H. hippocampus are two sympatric species distributed throughout the entire Mediterranean Sea. Thau lagoon was considered as the area with the highest seahorse density but, thanks to this research group, the importance of Taranto Mar Piccolo as a site of the extraordinary conservation interest has been highlighted. Both species display patchy distribution and a high spatial demographic heterogeneity despite the fact that the most abundant populations are unbalanced in terms of size classes, presumably indicating problems in the local recruitment or due to the anomalous mortality. They show a tendency for covered substrates (e.g. Corallina sp. and Cladophora sp. facies) offering complex and holdfast-rich microhabitats. Both species, however, can also exploit uncovered substrates as well as infralittoral habitats. The diet shows strong differences in diversity and abundance of preyed taxa related to the habitat of occurrence. Overall, amphipods, copepods and isopods are the major contributors to the diet. Although temporal persistence on a large scale was observed, indicating the capacity to resist and persist in time and space, seahorses are in a state of distress because of patchy distribution and unstructured populations. This, even more, highlights the need for suitable strategies to protect foraging habitats and ecosystems where there are numerous populations, like in Mar Piccolo of Taranto.

The aim of this study was to provide further knowledge of the ecological, spatial, and temporal distribution and life-cycle traits of the sympatric seahorse species Hippocampus hippocampus and Hippocampus guttulatus. From 2011 to 2014, data were collected from 20 sites along the Apulian coast (Southern Italy) in order to cover a wide range of coastal marine, open water, and lagoon sites, from the surface to a depth of 48 metres. Seahorses were found at seven of the 20 sites investigated. Both species displayed temporal persistence, patchy distribution, and a high spatial demographic heterogeneity. This study revealed a smaller maximum size and size at maturity of H. guttulatus than has been reported elsewhere. Although it is possible that environmental factors are influencing the size of these animals, there may be genetic explanations, especially for lagoon populations. Despite the fragmented distribution and often low abundance found along the Apulian coast, some seahorse populations appear to be locally persistent and stable over time, suggesting that there is a need for appropriate location-specific conservation strategies. Not just maintaining but increasing the area of artificial substrates, which enhance habitat complexity and provide holdfasts, could represent a possible approach to help conserve marine littoral biodiversity and to protect endangered species in lagoons.

Cerebral and spinal location of glioneuronal tumors have been recently described as a novel type of primary CNS neoplasia. A distinctive rare form of glioneuronal tumors with neuropil-like islands (GTNI) have been reported to occur in the adult cerebrum, whereas spinal GTNI localization is extremely rare. In the present report we describe a case of a 15-month-old child with a spinal GTNI of the cervical region and meningeal dissemination. Histologically the tumor was composed of round, small neurocytic-like cells arranged around eosinophilic neuropil cores and embedded in a diffuse fibrillar glial component forming prominent "rosetted" neuropil islands displaying strong immunoreactivity for neuronal markers. Cerebral GTNI shows abundant glial components not rarely exhibiting anaplastic features that justify their inclusion within the group of diffuse astrocytomas. In contrast, including our case, spinal GTNI do not show histological evidence of anaplastic features and exhibits a significant neuronal component that may imply considering these lesions in a separate group. Nevertheless, due to their exceptional rarity, the natural history of these lesions is not yet fully understood, but spinal GTNI seems to have an unfavorable clinical course despite their benign histopathological features, which must be taken into account for appropriate treatment and follow-up of the patient.

The management of the red coral, Corallium rubrum (L.), is an international issue still lacking of an effective solution in the Mediterranean Sea. The main goal of this research was the evaluation of the ROV efficiency as a monitoring non-destructive tool in studies concerning the conservation status of the deep red coral populations (living under 50 m depth). Both Ligurian Sea and Tuscan Archipelago are considered among the most important Italian historical sites of the red coral professional harvesting. Fishing effort in these areas is now decreased (in Liguria is virtually ceased) due to the drastic reduction of colonies of commercial size and thanks to conservation laws. Today, the protection of this natural resource has been directed mainly to coastal, shallow-water populations (living between 20 and 40 m depth), while the deeper banks, the main target of professional harvesting by technical scuba divers, still need dedicated management plans. ROV explorations allowed the identification of several deep red coral banks: in the Ligurian Sea, 6 out of 12 explored sites (50%) and in the Tuscan Archipelago, 7 out of 13 explored sites (50%). The banks may be considered almost "pristine" only around Montecristo Island. In the Ligurian Sea, the only deep population in a good conservation status is that of the Maledetti Shoal, off the Bergeggi Island MPA.

Lagoons are ecotone ecosystems, naturally exposed to immigration from their freshwater and marine input environments; strictly lagoonal species are rare, if ever occurring, and lagoon community are likely to be organised through loItery competition processes. These evidences suggest the study of lagoons as models address ecosystem fragility to alien species. Here, we present an analysis of lagoon guild fragility to alien species carried out using the e-Science facilities of LifeWatch, the European Research Infrastructure on biodiversity and ecosystem research. The analysis has been performed on two EUNIS habitat (X02 and X03) using data existing on 18 Italian lagoons. The analysis has been carried out taking into account that rarity, redundancy and singularity are key properties of different guilds in lagoon ecosystems at every geographical area, affecting B (Beta) and y (Gamma) diversity. At every area an high regional biodiversity is determined by a large number of rare species and a high dissimilarity among lagoons. Life cycle traits and the behaviour of larval stages, at the species level, as well as lagoon openness and vigour, at the ecosystem level, seem to have a major role to explain the difference in patterns of biodiversity between study areas at a biogeographical scale. The same species and ecosystem level properties, together with spatial patchiness, seem also to be key factors downscaling biodiversity analysis at the landscape level.

Trattato di Zoologia

A rare case of a giant aneurysm of the pericallosal artery, evaluated by computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and angiography, is reported, and the other 7 cases in the literature are reviewed, Giant aneurysms are exceptional in the distal segments of the anterior cerebral arteries, and may simulate a callosal tumor or hematoma on computed tomographic scan. The clinical, radiological, surgical, and pathological findings of giant aneurysms of this location are discussed and the other reported cases are analyzed. The role of magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosing and characterizing giant aneurysms is stressed.

A study on the filtering activity has been carried out on reared specimens of the demosponge Spongia officinalis var. adriatica coming from an off-shore farm displaced off the Apulian coast (Ionian Sea). The experience was carried out under laboratory conditions, by using natural seawater collected from the sponge environment. The study demonstrates a high efficiency of the sponge in removing bacteria. Bacterial concentration significantly decreases in presence of the sponge, with a marked drop after 2h from the start of the experience. The maximum clearance rate was 210 ml h(-1) g(-1) DW at 60 min. Retention efficiency reached the highest value of 61% at 120 min. The bacterial density removed by the S. officinalis filtering activity was 12.3 +/- 1.8 x 10(4) cells ml(-1) corresponding to a biomass of about 11.7 +/- 1.4 mu g Cl-1. The sponge fed preferentially large- and medium-size bacteria, whereas the small ones are fed after the removal of the largest size categories. The results obtained suggest that S. offcinalis is a suitable species for marine environmental bioremediation. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE : The association of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) with spinal lesions is well known, but hemorrhage from a cervical schwannoma is exceedingly rare. The histopathology and the mechanism of bleeding are discussed. CLINICAL PRESENTATION : We report a healthy 37-year-old man presenting with SAH after intense physical stress caused by bleeding of a cervical neuroma. INTERVENTION : A C6-T1 laminectomy disclosed an ovoid lesion, 4 cm in diameter ; extremely dilated veins originated from the tumor. Removal of the spinal lesion resulted in immediate decongestion of the related venous network. The histopathological examination confirmed that the lesion was a telangiectatic schwannoma. The mechanism of bleeding of the intraforaminal cervical schwannoma is discussed. CONCLUSION : Telangiectatic neuromas may be a cause of occult SAH. The importance of magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine is emphasized to explain SAH with negative findings on four-vessel angiography in patients whose SAH may have a surgically correctable cause distant from the intracranial compartment.

Polychaete assemblages associated to the sponge Geodia cydonium were investigated at two sampling sites in the Mediterranean Sea: Porto Cesareo Basin (Apulia) and Marsala Lagoon (Sicily), both characterized by sheltered hydrodynamic conditions. Samples were seasonally performed during 1997, in order to compare the assemblages coming from the two localities studied, considering separately the internal and external tissues of the sponge, and with the aim of evaluating the influence of sponge size on polychaete colonization. The examined sponge is characterized by a peculiar stratification of its tissues: an external thick and hard layer, the cortex, and an internal softer one, the choanosome. Statistical analysis showed that this was the main factor controlling polychaete assemblage, with the internal tissue, less rich and diversified, appearing impoverished with respect to the external layer. A similarity in species composition was observed between sites, even though some differences were evidenced in the abundance of some species, mainly reflecting differences in local environmental conditions. Species richness and density increased with the increasing sponge size. Such a situation is particularly evident at Porto Cesareo, where sponges are covered by an algal layer which is particularly rich on the largest specimens, thus suggesting that most of the species of polychaetes were linked more to the neighbouring environment than to the sponge itself.

11 páginas, 8 figuras., Clionaids are excavating sponges, which live in and grow into calcareous substrates. We studied the sexual reproductive cycles of two clionaid sponges coexisting in a Mediterranean coastal basin (Porto Cesareo, Italy), Cliona viridis and Cliona celata, by analyzing monthly tissue samples of ten specimens of each species collected over a 2-year period. From May to June of the second study year, supplementary samples were taken weekly. Up to 90% of the specimens of C. viridis and 70% of those of C. celata sampled were reproductive during the study. In both species, but particularly in C. viridis, reproductive investment, measured as the percentage of sponge tissue occupied by gametes, was high. Oocytes were present almost year-round in both species, except for a 1–4-month period after zygote release. In contrast, spermatogenesis occurred most frequently in May in both species, when (May– June) oocytes reached their greatest diameters. Cliona viridis and C. celata are hermaphrodites, with oocytes and spermatic cysts coexisting in 10% of the studied individuals in the first year of the study, and in 30% during the second. No developing embryos or larvae were incubated in the sponge tissues, and fertilization was not observed. Temperature may play a role in triggering some important phases of the reproduction of these Cliona, such as oocyte maturation and spermatogenesis, which occurred when water temperature increased from 171C to 251C between May and June.