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During the summer of 2022, an extensive die-off of Dendropoma cristatum and other marine organisms associated with vermetid reefs was observed in the western Mediterranean Sea (northern coast of Sicily). Quantitative data from more than 300 km of coastal stripe indicated that the percentage of dead D. cristatum specimens, showing empty and/or transversely fractured shells, ranged from 64 to 84 % in populations having a density of 2900-4730 ind./m2, suggesting that millions of organisms had recently died along the Sicilian coast. This high mortality range coincided with prolonged desiccation events during which biogenic vermetid reefs were exposed to extreme warm-air conditions for several consecutive days. This warning report about neglected shallow vermetid reefs raises concern regarding the loss of Mediterranean biodiversity, underlining the need to develop and implement monitoring and conservation efforts on a basin-wide scale.

In this study we compared the heavy metal concentration found in different tissues and eggs of the loggerhead sea turtle and evaluated the potential ecotoxicological risk for this important species. Eighteen heavy metal elements were determined in different tissues (liver, gonads, fat, kidney, heart, brain, and spleen) of nine individuals of Caretta caretta found stranded along the coasts of Messina (Sicily, Italy) and in the shell and yolk of six eggs from the island of Linosa (Sicily, Italy). For the analysis of the heavy metals, we used the analytical procedures in accordance with the EPA 200.8 method supplemented by EPA 6020b with three replicates for each measurement. The elements analysed showed different organotropism even if the liver showed higher levels of bioaccumulation. Turtles’ tissues showed the highest values of iron in the liver, followed by zinc in the heart and arsenic in the kidney. Regarding eggs, zinc, iron, and barium were dominant in the yolk and iron, boron, and copper in the eggshell. From the analyses carried out the worrying levels of arsenic and cadmium in the kidneys and liver of C. caretta raise questions about the risk related to exposure to these non-essential elements. This study highlights the importance of multi-element biomonitoring by increasing knowledge on the biodistribution of 18 heavy metals and the related potential risks for C. caretta. We also exploring for the first time the presence of several heavy metals in the eggs and their possible implication for the survival of the species.

New data on the potential impact of environmental parameters and the mineralogical nature of the substrate on the hatching success of the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta on a volcanic beach on Linosa Island in the central Mediterranean Sea are reported. During 2 years of investigation (2018-19), five nests were observed. The temperature and moisture of the nests were determined along with the grain size and mineralogical nature of the substrate. The temperature values of the nests recorded at depths of 5 and 35 cm showed an average temperature incubation of 32.2°C ± 1.4°C and 32.8°C ± 1.6°C, respectively, with peaks close to 37°C. The sedimentological analysis carried out on two cores revealed the prevalence of large sandy particle and sediment moisture of about 35% in the deeper layers. A total of 214 laid eggs were recorded in 2018 with only 44 emerged turtles, whereas 45 turtles emerged from 199 laid eggs in 2019. Both years showed a low hatching success (25%-30%) and a high frequency of anomalies (>60%), which were present in individuals as nonmodal scutes or bifid limbs. Results suggest that environmental parameters such as temperature, sand moisture, and the geological nature of the substrate seem to play an important role in the reproductive success of this species. Some aspects for improving the nesting site and egg development conditions are also discussed.

During a 18‐week experiment in a sea‐based system, Paracentrotus lividus was fed with two formulations of a new sustainable feed whose main ingredients were food farming discards, mostly outermost lettuce leaves, in different percentage. Egg white was added as protein source and binder, and a little amount of commercial fish feed was added as lipid source. At the end of the experiment, a high survival rate (>80%) and an increase in test diameter (22%), total weight (130%), gonad weight (240%) and gonad index expressed as size‐adjusted gonad weight (288%) were recorded. Gonads achieved a good colour and high levels of essential and polyunsaturated fatty acids, hence representing a commercially valuable product. Comparing the two feed formulations, the one with the lower lettuce content (57% vs. 67%) led to the best product quality, in terms of gonad features (gonad index and colour) and content of essential fatty acids. In order to move towards a higher sustainability of the aquaculture sector, this study proposes a low‐cost feed, produced with cheap and sustainable ingredients such as food farming discards.

In late summer 2020, a widespread mortality event severely affected colonies of the Mediterranean endemic orange coral Astroides calycularis in the Pelagie Islands (Strait of Sicily, southern Mediterranean Sea). The degree of the mortality impact at seven study sites of the archipelago (five within the Pelagie Islands Marine Protected Area) was quantified by estimating the proportion of affected colonies in populations of A.calycularis. Five of the seven surveyed sites revealed a low degree of impact, but Punta Ruperta and Cala Creta (both on the island of Lampedusa) showed a medium impact with values of 32.3% and 30.5% of affected colonies respectively. The 2020 mortality event coincided with a longer lasting and warmer anomalous summer period, with sea surface water reaching the highest temperatures recorded in the last decade across the archipelago. Given the alarming climatic predictions for the near future, new mortality events could occur, causing potentially new local extinctions in the Mediterranean Sea. In this context, the role of marine protected area management becomes crucial to detect mortality events of vulnerable species.

During the monitoring of Caretta caretta nests on the island of Linosa, 30 unhatched eggs from four nests were collected to study the presence of phthalates in their three components (shell, yolk, and albumen). Four phthalates, namely diethyl (DEP), dibutyl (DBP), di-(2-ethylhexyl) (DEHP), and dioctyl (DOTP) phthalic acid esters (PAE), which are widely used as additives in plastics, were detected in all egg components. The most frequently found phthalate was DBP, followed by DEHP in eggshell and yolk. Dimethyl- (DMP) and butylbenzyl-phthalate (BBP) were below the limits of detection for all samples. The high total phthalate recorded in the yolk suggests that contamination could arise by vitellogenesis. PERMANOVA analysis (p = 0.01) confirmed significant differences in the PAEs contamination profiles in the eggs from the four nests. This study confirms the negative impact of plastic related compounds posing questions about the potential adverse effects on organisms and their conservation status.

Sea turtles can be considered a sentinel species for monitoring the health of marine ecosystems, acting, at the same time, as a carrier of microorganisms. Indeed, sea turtles can acquire the microbiota from their reproductive sites and feeding, contributing to the diffusion of antibiotic-resistant strains to uncontaminated environments. This study aims to unveil the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in (i) loggerhead sea turtles stranded along the coast of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea), (ii) unhatched and/or hatched eggs, (iii) sand from the turtles&rsquo, nest and (iv) seawater. Forty-four bacterial strains were isolated and identified by conventional biochemical tests and 16S rDNA sequencing. The Gram-negative Aeromonas and Vibrio species were mainly found in sea turtles and seawater samples, respectively. Conversely, the Gram-positive Bacillus, Streptococcus, and Staphylococcus strains were mostly isolated from eggs and sand. The antimicrobial resistance profile of the isolates revealed that these strains were resistant to cefazolin (95.5%), streptomycin (43.2%), colistin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (34.1%). Moreover, metagenome analysis unveiled the presence of both antibiotic and heavy metal resistance genes, as well as the mobile element class 1 integron at an alarming percentage rate. Our results suggest that Caretta caretta could be considered a carrier of antibiotic-resistant genes.

Small-sized specimens (test diameter: 16.64 ± 0.93 mm, mean ± SE) of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus were fed with fresh discards of the lettuce Lactuca sativa during a 24-week experiment in a sea-based system. At the end of the experiment, stock survival was high (88.8 ± 6.6%). Sea urchin test diameter and total weight grew by 35% and 56%, respectively, while gonad somatic index, after an initial decrease, increased by 3.2%. Moreover, more than 90% of specimens achieved the gonad colour that the market demands. These results support the exploitation of L. sativa as the main ingredient in a manufactured diet for echinoculture of P. lividus. Employing diets formulated with discard ingredients, combined with a low-cost sea-based rearing system, could be a suitable approach for sustainable management of echinoculture.

Objectives: The Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS) is a parent-report scale, world-wide translated and widely validated, by which parents can rate their child's functional speech intelligibility according to seven different communicative partners. The study aimed to report and discuss the normative data of the Italian version of ICS (ICS–I) in Italian-speaking preschool children, and to investigate whether the age influences the ICS-I scores (construct validity). Socio-economic status (SES) of the family were investigated and compared to parents' ratings on child's speech intelligibility. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted. Italian-speaking children aged 3–6 years (n = 355; mean age = 56.06 months; SD = 9.8 months), without major developmental impairment, were recruited in kindergartens throughout a convenience sampling. Parents completed a self-report form on their family SES (educational level and employment status of fathers and mothers). Children were independently rated by their mothers (ICS-Im) and fathers (ICS-If). Results: Results show that ICS normative data for the Italian preschool population (ICS-Im = 4.52; SD = 0.46; ICS-If = 4.47; SD = 0.49) are consistent with previous evidence found in other languages, suggesting that ICS could be a potential cross-linguistic tool to assess functional intelligibility. A statistically significant (p < 0.001) improvement in ICS-I score was found with increase of age (construct validity). No evidence of association (p > 0.05) with ICS-I was found for SES family. Conclusion: The study provides normative data of the functional intelligibility assessed by a subjective parental scale. As for other previous international studies, ICS-I normative data suggest that a preschool child without major impairment shows a high degree of speech intelligibility, even if minimal differences of intelligibility are reported for different communicative partners. The current findings support clinicians and researchers in implementing ICS-I in typical and also in atypical population with different SES background and promoting its application as a potential outcome measure in children with Speech Sound Disorders.

The distribution of the sea urchin Arbacia lixula, a warm affinity species, has been expanding in the Mediterranean Sea. To address questions on potential for future success of this species in the region, the thermotolerance of larval development was investigated in context of regional warming. The larvae were reared in present day spawning period (20 °C) and warming conditions (+4 = 24 and +6 = 26 °C). As the calcifying larvae of sea urchins are vulnerable to stunted growth caused by ocean acidification, the impact of lower pH (−0.3 pH units) on larval development was also investigated in combination with warming. Morphological traits of the larvae, post-oral length arms, overall length of larvae and body length, were affected by increased temperature across pH treatments, indicating that for the larvae of southern Mediterranean population here, 24 °C appears to approximate the optimal temperature for development. A slightly negative effect of pH was evident. Increased temperature ameliorated the stunting effect of acidification on growth. The thermal tolerance of A. lixula development overlaps with projections for warming in the region by 2100 and also indicates that this species has acclimatized or adapted its reproductive biology to the broad environmental conditions of the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the broad thermal range (∼10 °C) of development of A. lixula across its distribution, this species is likely to be a winner in the climate change stakes. The broad thermal tolerance of the larvae is likely to assure population connectivity between Mediterranean sub-basins populations. The continued success of A. lixula can have a strong consequences for the ecological structure of Mediterranean rocky habitat.

The increasing abundances of the thermophilous black sea urchin Arbacia lixula in the Mediterranean Sea are attributed to the Western Mediterranean warming. However, few data are available on the potential impact of this warming on A. lixula in combination with other global stressors such as ocean acidification. The aim of this study is to investigate the interactive effects of increased temperature and of decreased pH on fertilization and early development of A. lixula. This was tested using a fully crossed design with four temperatures (20, 24, 26 and 27 °C) and two pH levels (pHNBS 8.2 and 7.9). Temperature and pH had no significant effect on fertilization and larval survival (2d) for temperature

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.