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"Signore, Marco"
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Science and Dissemination for the UN Ocean Decade Outcomes: Current Trends and Future Perspectives
The Ocean Decade (OD) is the name of a United Nations (UN) initiative devoted to ocean science for sustainable development. It started in 2021 and will provide an opportunity to create a new foundation, across the science-policy interface, to strengthen the sustainable management of oceans and coasts and, at same time, bring benefits for future generations. The OD will establish a common strategy to achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the other European Union (EU) and international agreements, such as the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the Marine Biodiversity Strategy and the UN World Assessment I and II aimed at preserving ocean health. Furthermore, the OD has several expected outcomes that concern different aspects of marine environment, including its enormous values for humans. Several entities will combine efforts to achieve these goals and science is at the forefront of the sustainable blue economy. Marine research is solving complex challenges through interdisciplinary approaches, revolutionizing our life and our interaction with the ocean. This review discusses recent advancements in science related to the OD outcomes. The role of new technology for ocean exploration and monitoring, the importance of omics science and biotechnology to deal with ocean pollution, and other innovative solutions are discussed. All of these are inspired by the idea of using marine resources in a sustainable way and without impacting in a negative way on marine ecosystems. The role of science communication is therefore considered a crucial issue to spread the OD messages and to reach the general public and stakeholders. Only by the integration of science, governance, industry and public, the OD will have any chance to succeed.
Journal Article
Filling the Gap and Improving Conservation: How IUCN Red Lists and Historical Scientific Data Can Shed More Light on Threatened Sharks in the Italian Seas
Chondrichthyans are one of the most threatened marine taxa worldwide. This is also the case in the Mediterranean Sea, which is considered an extinction hotspot for rays and sharks. The central position of the Italian peninsula makes it an ideal location for studying the status and changes of this sea. There is a lack of biological, ecological and historical data when assessing shark populations, which is also highlighted in the Red List of Threatened Species compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Historical data can provide important information to better understand how chondrichthyan populations have changed over time. This study aims to provide a clearer understanding of the changes in distribution and abundance of eight shark species in the Italian seas that are currently classified as at risk of extinction by the IUCN. In this respect, a bibliographic review was conducted on items from the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, focusing on the selected species. The results show that all sharks were considered common until the beginning of the 20th century but have declined since, with a clear negative trend, mainly in the past 70 years. The strong local decline has been attributed to overexploitation, bycatch, habitat loss, depletion of prey items and environmental pollution. Furthermore, historical data also allow us to avoid the issue of a ‘shifting baseline’, in which contemporary abundances are assumed to be “normal”. Using historical data to further our knowledge of the marine environment is becoming increasingly common, and is fundamental in understanding human impact and evaluating mitigation measures to manage and conserve marine species and environments.
Journal Article
Exceptional soft-tissue preservation in a theropod dinosaur from Italy
The Lower Cretaceous Pietraroia Plattenkalk (Benevento Province, southern Italy) has been known since the eighteenth century for its beautifully preserved fossil fishes. During Albian time (about 113 Myr ago
1
), deposition of fine marly limestone in a shallow lagoonal environment, affected by cyclic periods of low oxygen levels
2
, led to exceptional preservation of soft tissue in a juvenile theropod. The specimen, diagnosed here as
Scipionyx samniticus
gen. et sp. nov., is the first dinosaur ever to be found in Italy. The fossil has been mentioned previously in two brief notes
3
,
4
and generally examined in a doctoral thesis
5
. Here we report the full preparation of the specimen which shows details of soft anatomy never seen previously in any dinosaur. The preservation is better than in other
lagerstätten
(conservative deposits)
6
where theropod soft tissue has been reported, such as the Santana Formation of Brazil
7
and the Yixian Formation of China
8
. Despite this, there is no evidence of feathers or any other integumentary remnants in the Italian specimen.
Scipionyx
represents a new maniraptoriform theropod. Its discovery is remarkable considering also the scarcity of juvenile theropod dinosaurs in the fossil record.
Journal Article
Marine Biodiversity in a Coastal Periphery Revealed by a Community-Based Monitoring Approach Integrating Citizen Science and Environmental DNA Metabarcoding
The global biodiversity crisis brings significant environmental and social impacts, necessitating innovative approaches to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This is particularly relevant for coastal peripheries that are rich in both natural and cultural capital. The Reknotting Marine Biodiversity project adopted a trans-disciplinary approach to integrate participatory science and education, involving local communities and researchers in biodiversity monitoring using environmental DNA metabarcoding along the coast of Marina di Camerota, Southern Italy. This approach compared Posidonia oceanica habitats with areas subject to anthropogenic pressures. Results show a greater diversity of pelagic fish and benthic organisms in the presence of P. oceanica, nine species that can potentially cause Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), and eight species responsible for non-toxic algal blooms in less pristine areas. This study highlights the value of coastal habitats and the strategic value of citizen science in raising ecological awareness, proposing a replicable model for local marine observatories jointly managed by scientists and citizens.
Journal Article
Pulmonary Function and Metabolic Physiology of Theropod Dinosaurs
Ultraviolet light analysis of a fossil of the theropod dinosaur Scipionyx samniticus revealed that the liver subdivided the visceral cavity into distinct anterior pleuropericardial and posterior abdominal regions. In addition, Scipionyx apparently had diaphragmatic musculature and a dorsally attached posterior colon. These features provide evidence that diaphragm-assisted lung ventilation was present in theropods and that these dinosaurs may have used a pattern of exercise physiology unlike that in any group of living tetrapods.
Journal Article
Vertebrate-rich Plattenkalk of Pietraroia (Lower Cretaceous, Southern Apennines, Italy): a new model
The Lower Cretaceous Pietraroia Plattenkalk is a fossiliferous, fine-grained cherty limestone from the Matese Mountains – Southern Apennines, Italy. The deposits are well known for the exceptional state of vertebrate fossil preservation. First considered as shallow lagoonal deposits or as intra-platform basin-fill, the Pietraroia Plattenkalk sequences are here interpreted as abandon deposits of a submarine channel (Pietraroia Channel) documenting a major transgressive event. Transgression was associated with the development of suboxic to anoxic conditions at the seafloor which favoured the preservation of fossils, as well as the deposition of coprolith-rich and bituminous layers. A peculiar paleogeographic and paleotopographic setting, which was strongly controlled by local tectonic, experienced the contiguity of wide emerged areas with a relatively deep-water channelised area where fossiliferous Plattenkalk sequences were deposited.
Journal Article
Rationale for a preliminary operational definition of physical frailty and sarcopenia in the SPRINTT trial
In the present article, the rationale that guided the operationalization of the theoretical concept of physical frailty and sarcopenia (PF&S), the condition of interest for the “Sarcopenia and Physical Frailty in Older People: Multicomponent Treatment Strategies” (SPRINTT) trial, is presented. In particular, the decisions lead to the choice of the adopted instruments, and the reasons for setting the relevant thresholds are explained. In SPRINTT, the concept of physical frailty is translated with a Short Physical Performance Battery score of ≥3 and ≤9. Concurrently, sarcopenia is defined according to the recent definitions of low muscle mass proposed by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health—Sarcopenia Project. Given the preventive purpose of SPRINTT, older persons with mobility disability (operationalized as incapacity to complete a 400-m walk test within 15 min; primary outcome of the trial) at the baseline are not included within the diagnostic spectrum of PF&S.
Journal Article