Dataset Information

Unexpected Discovery of Thelypteris palustris (Thelypteridaceae) in Sicily (Italy): Morphological, Ecological Analysis and Habitat Characterization.

ABSTRACT: Thelypteris palustris Schott (Thelypteridaceae), known as "marsh fern", is infrequent in the Mediterranean area. The occurrence of this species is known for almost all the Italian regions (except for Sardinia and Sicily), but with rare and declining populations. During floristic fieldwork on the Sicilian wetlands, a new unknown population was found. The aim of this paper is to analyze the morphological traits of the species, as well as its ecological features and the floristic composition of the plant communities where it lives. According to IUCN guidelines, here we provide the regional assessment (Sicily) of T. palustris. To analyze its morphological features, many living plants were examined, with particular attention to the spore structure. A total of 179 plots (110 species) and 34 pools were sampled. Our results highlight the relic character of the species which is at the southernmost border of its distribution range. The micro-morphological investigations on the spores show that the Sicilian population belongs to the subsp. palustris. The floristic analysis confirms the clear dominance of perennial temperate-cold zones Eurasian taxa. Finally, a new association, Thelypterido palustris-Caricetum paniculatae, within the Caricion gracilis alliance (Phragmito-Magnocaricetea class) is described.

SUBMITTER: Sciandrello S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8625552 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Unexpected Discovery of Thelypteris palustris (Thelypteridaceae) in Sicily (Italy): Morphological, Ecological Analysis and Habitat Characterization.

Sciandrello Saverio S Cambria Salvatore S Del Galdo Gianpietro Giusso GG Tavilla Gianmarco G Minissale Pietro P

Plants (Basel, Switzerland) 20211112 11

Thelypteris palustris Schott (Thelypteridaceae), known as "marsh fern", is infrequent in the Mediterranean area. The occurrence of this species is known for almost all the Italian regions (except for Sardinia and Sicily), but with rare and declining populations. During floristic fieldwork on the Sicilian wetlands, a new unknown population was found. The aim of this paper is to analyze the morphological traits of the species, as well as its ecological features and the floristic comp ...[more]

PMID: 34834810

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Project description:Dive capacity among toothed whales (suborder: Odontoceti) has been shown to generally increase with body mass in a relationship closely linked to the allometric scaling of metabolic rates. However, two odontocete species tagged in this study, the Blainville's beaked whale Mesoplodon densirostris and the Cuvier's beaked whale Ziphius cavirostris, confounded expectations of a simple allometric relationship, with exceptionally long (mean: 46.1 min & 65.4 min) and deep dives (mean: 1129 m & 1179 m), and comparatively small body masses (med.: 842.9 kg & 1556.7 kg). These two species also exhibited exceptionally long recovery periods between successive deep dives, or inter-deep-dive intervals (M. densirostris: med. 62 min; Z. cavirostris: med. 68 min). We examined competing hypotheses to explain observed patterns of vertical habitat use based on body mass, oxygen binding protein concentrations, and inter-deep-dive intervals in an assemblage of five sympatric toothed whales species in the Bahamas. Hypotheses were evaluated using dive data from satellite tags attached to the two beaked whales (M. densirostris, n = 12; Z. cavirostris, n = 7), as well as melon-headed whales Peponocephala electra (n = 13), short-finned pilot whales Globicephala macrorhynchus (n = 15), and sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus (n = 27). Body mass and myoglobin concentration together explained only 36% of the variance in maximum dive durations. The inclusion of inter-deep-dive intervals, substantially improved model fits (R2 = 0.92). This finding supported a hypothesis that beaked whales extend foraging dives by exceeding aerobic dive limits, with the extension of inter-deep-dive intervals corresponding to metabolism of accumulated lactic acid. This inference points to intriguing tradeoffs between body size, access to prey in different depth strata, and time allocation within dive cycles. These tradeoffs and resulting differences in habitat use have important implications for spatial distribution patterns, and relative vulnerabilities to anthropogenic impacts.

Dataset Information

Unexpected Discovery of Thelypteris palustris (Thelypteridaceae) in Sicily (Italy): Morphological, Ecological Analysis and Habitat Characterization.

Publications

Unexpected Discovery of <i>Thelypteris palustris</i> (<i>Thelypteridaceae</i>) in Sicily (Italy): Morphological, Ecological Analysis and Habitat Characterization.

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