Suchergebnisse

Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [MINECO CGL2016-79209-R]; Juan de la Cierva fellowship; IRCP-CRIOBE Grant (2018); Government of Asturias [IDI-2018-00020]

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are critically important to the conservation of marine biodiversity and ecological processes and to achieving a sound basis for sustainable use and development of marine environments and resources. This is clearly reflected in the statement from World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg): "MPAs are the key to achieving at least 10% of each of the world's ecological regions effectively conserved - the target established at the 6th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity". At the same time, it is widely considered that MPAs can make a significant contribution to regional economic development and to improving the wellbeing of local communities. Fisheries are one of the main threats to marine biodiversity and ecological processes and MPAs are therefore important for conserving ecosystem services provided by the sea and sustaining tourism that depends on these. By restricting damaging activities, MPAs offer protection for marine natural resources and provide them with critical habitats they need at key times, e.g. for breeding or feeding. MPAs benefit species and habitats of regional interest and may also help to avoid or at least limit the deleterious effects of non-sustainable uses and activities, including pollution and other sources of degradation, in favour of the local economy. ; This publication has been developed in the framework of the project EMPAFISH (SSP8-006539) supported by the Commission of the European Communities within the Sixth Framework Programme.

© The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 11 (2016): e0160080, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0160080 . ; Pilot whales are two cetacean species (Globicephala melas and G. macrorhynchus) whose distributions are correlated with water temperature and partially overlap in some areas like the North Atlantic Ocean. In the context of global warming, distribution range shifts are expected to occur in species affected by temperature. Consequently, a northward displacement of the tropical pilot whale G. macrorynchus is expected, eventually leading to increased secondary contact areas and opportunities for interspecific hybridization. Here, we describe genetic evidences of recurrent hybridization between pilot whales in northeast Atlantic Ocean. Based on mitochondrial DNA sequences and microsatellite loci, asymmetric introgression of G. macrorhynchus genes into G. melas was observed. For the latter species, a significant correlation was found between historical population growth rate estimates and paleotemperature oscillations. Introgressive hybridization, current temperature increases and lower genetic variation in G. melas suggest that this species could be at risk in its northern range. Under increasing environmental and human-mediated stressors in the North Atlantic Ocean, it seems recommendable to develop a conservation program for G. melas. ; LM had a PCTI Grant from the Asturias Regional Government, referenced BP 10-004. MAS was supported by a 2013 FCT Investigator contract through POPH, QREN European Social Fund and the Portuguese Ministry for Science and Education. This study was also supported by a grant from the Principality of Asturias (reference: GRUPIN-2014-093).

Background: International fish trade reached an import value of 62.8 billion Euro in 2006, of which 44.6% are covered by the European Union. Species identification is a key problem throughout the life cycle of fishes: from eggs and larvae to adults in fisheries research and control, as well as processed fish products in consumer protection. Methodology/Principal Findings: This study aims to evaluate the applicability of the three mitochondrial genes 16S rRNA (16S), cytochrome b (cyt b), and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) for the identification of 50 European marine fish species by combining techniques of "DNA barcoding" and microarrays. In a DNA barcoding approach, neighbour Joining (NJ) phylogenetic trees of 369 16S, 212 cyt b, and 447 COI sequences indicated that cyt b and COI are suitable for unambiguous identification, whereas 16S failed to discriminate closely related flatfish and gurnard species. In course of probe design for DNA microarray development, each of the markers yielded a high number of potentially species-specific probes in silico, although many of them were rejected based on microarray hybridisation experiments. None of the markers provided probes to discriminate the sibling flatfish and gurnard species. However, since 16S-probes were less negatively influenced by the "position of label" effect and showed the lowest rejection rate and the highest mean signal intensity, 16S is more suitable for DNA microarray probe design than cty b and COI. The large portion of rejected COI-probes after hybridization experiments (<90%) renders the DNA barcoding marker as rather unsuitable for this high-throughput technology. Conclusions/Significance: Based on these data, a DNA microarray containing 64 functional oligonucleotide probes for the identification of 30 out of the 50 fish species investigated was developed. It represents the next step towards an automated and easy-to-handle method to identify fish, ichthyoplankton, and fish products. © 2010 Kochzius et al. ; SCOPUS: ar.j ...

20 Pág. ; A mass mortality event (MME) affecting the fan mussel Pinna nobilis was first detected in Spain in autumn 2016 and spread north- and eastward through the Mediterranean Sea. Various pathogens have been blamed for contributing to the MME, with emphasis in Haplosporidium pinnae, Mycobacterium sp. and Vibrio spp. In this study, samples from 762 fan mussels (necropsies from 263 individuals, mantle biopsies from 499) of various health conditions, with wide geographic and age range, taken before and during the MME spread from various environments along Mediterranean Sea, were used to assess the role of pathogens in the MME. The number of samples processed by both histological and molecular methods was 83. The most important factor playing a main role on the onset of the mass mortality of P. nobilis throughout the Mediterranean Sea was the infection by H. pinnae. It was the only non-detected pathogen before the MME while, during MME spreading, its prevalence was higher in sick and dead individuals than in asymptomatic ones, in MME-affected areas than in non-affected sites, and it was not associated with host size, infecting both juveniles and adults. Conversely, infection with mycobacteria was independent from the period (before or during MME), from the affection of the area by MME and from the host health condition, and it was associated with host size. Gram (-) bacteria neither appeared associated with MME. ; This work was funded by: DG Pesca i Medi Mari (GOIB),EsMarEs (order IEO by MITECO, Spanish government), Life UFE IP-PAF INTEMARES (LIFE15 IPE ES 012) "Gestión integrada, innovadora y participativa de la Red Natura 2000 en el medio marino español," the research project "Estado de conservación del bivalvo amenazado Pinna nobilis en el PNAC" (OAPN 024/2010), the project RECONNECT (MIS 5017160) of the Programme Interreg V-B "Balkan-Mediterranean 2014–2020." MTES (French Government), DREAL (Direction Régionale Environnement Aménagement Logement) and Région Occitanie (France) for funding research and ...