1. The rise of thermophilic sea urchins and the expansion of barren grounds in the Mediterranean Sea
- Author
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Paola Gianguzza, Silvano Riggio, Chiara Bonaviri, Fabrizio Gianguzza, Francesco Di Trapani, Giulia Visconti, Davide Agnetta, Gianguzza P, Agnetta D, Bonaviri C, Di Trapani F, Visconti G, Gianguzza F, and Riggio S
- Subjects
Settore BIO/07 - Ecologia ,Ecology ,biology ,Effects of global warming on oceans ,Global warming ,biology.organism_classification ,ocean warming ,sea urchin fertilisation and development ,Mediterranean sea ,Oceanography ,Aquatic environment ,biology.animal ,overgrazing ,embryonic structures ,Grazing ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,Overgrazing ,Arbacia lixula ,Sea urchin ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,General Environmental Science - Abstract
Recent ecological studies have shown a strong relation between temperature, echinoids and their grazing effects on macro-algal communities. In this study, we speculate that climate warming may result in an increasingly favourable environment for the reproduction and development of the sea urchin Arbacia lixula. The relationship between increased A. lixula density and the extent of barren grounds in the Mediterranean Sea is also discussed.
- Published
- 2011