Effect of farm characteristics and practices on hygienic quality of ovine raw milk used for artisan cheese production in central Italy

A survey on ovine dairy farms directly transforming own‐produced milk, in the Italian Marche region, was carried out to assess flock and milking practices that may influence milk hygienic‐sanitary conditions. A census survey established that 24 dairy farms were located in this region. Bulk milk samples were collected throughout the milking period in each dairy farm in 2013. Analyzed variables were: (i) chemical parameters such as fat, protein and lactose content, dry matter and pH; and (ii) total bacterial (TBC) and somatic cell counts (SCC). Chemical parameter values were in agreement with published data while, geometric mean (GM) log₁₀ SCC was 5.91 and TBC GM was 57 978 colony forming units/mL, in compliance with Eropean Union criteria. A positive correlation was found between SCC and TBC when GMs of all farm data were considered (Spearman's rho = 0.7925; P = 0.0001). Statistical analysis did not show significant correlation between SCC or TBC GM and dairy farm principal characteristics. Although SCC levels detected in the present study should suggest the need to implement mastitis control programs, Marche's dairy sheep flocks revealed a good hygienic condition level. This is an important aspect in implementing safety for end users of the final product.     

Detection and Elimination of Viruses in Callus, Somatic Embryos and Regenerated Plantlets of Grapevine

The distribution of some grapevine viruses in flower explants, embryogenic and non-embryogenic calli, single somatic embryos and plants regenerated from embryogenic cultures was investigated by RT-PCR and ELISA. Immature anthers and ovaries of the cultivars Grignolino infected by GRSPaV, GLRaV-1 and GVA, Müller-Thurgau infected by GRSPaV and GLRaV-3 and Bosco infected by GRSPaV were cultivated on media inducing indirect somatic embryogenesis. Viruses were detected both in anthers and ovaries. Four months after culture initiation 65.6% of tested calli were infected by at least one virus; high percentages of virus infection were found in calli originating from ovaries. No virus was detected in calli tested 8 months after culture initiation, as well as in single somatic embryos or in embryo-derived plantlets. Somatic embryogenesis confirmed its effectiveness in eliminating phloem-limited grapevine viruses. Regeneration of RT-PCR negative plantlets occurred even when at least a sector of the callus was still infected: the mechanism whereby somatic embryos are freed of some viruses could be related to the rapid proliferation of embryogenic cells within the callus or to the origin of the embryogenic callus from virus-free cells within the original explant.     

A comparison of nitrogen use efficiency definitions in Citrus rootstocks

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) definitions, commonly used in literature, are evaluated in response to nitrate availability in four citrus rootstocks, Rough Lemon (Citrus jambhiri Lush) (RL), Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) (SwO), Cleopatra Mandarin (Citrus reshni Hort ex Tan.) (CM) and Sour Orange (Citrus aurantium L.) (SO). The application of diverse definitions determine different characterizations in N-efficiency among rootstocks. Nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE) and nitrogen efficiency ratio (NER) determine equal level of nitrogen efficiency among all rootstocks. Total nitrogen accumulation (TNA), nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUpE), shoot dry weight (SDW) and total leaf area (TLA) response curves produce the same NUE characterization: SO and SwO were nitrate use efficient and inefficient rootstocks, respectively, while the RL and CM exhibit superior and inferior genetic potential, respectively.     

Survey of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-furans (PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and mineral components in Italian citrus cold-pressed essential oils

Investigation of PCDDs, PCDFs, PCBs, Al, As, Pb, Ba, Co, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Cd, Ag, Sn, Zn, and Hg contents in 60 samples of cold-pressed essential oils produced in Calabria and Sicily in 2003-2005 was carried out. PCDDs, PCDFs, and PCBs were analyzed by HRGC-HRMS techniques using U.S. EPA 1613/94 and U.S. EPA 1668/A (1999) analytical methods. Mineral components were determined through GFAAS techniques; Hg content was determined by FI-M/H-AAS. The results of this study showed that essential oil contamination was due to a widespread pollution, typical background of rural areas, with relatively higher concentrations of PCDDs compared to PCDFs and little presence of PeCDF. Congeners OCDD, HpCDF, and OCDF were found at high concentrations. Regarding mineral components, mean values of Cr, Fe, and Ni were in agreement with data reported in the literature. Concentrations of As and Pb were below the maximum limits accepted by the current legislation. Finally, none of the samples analyzed were contaminated with Hg.     

The high biodiversity and vulnerability of two Mediterranean bathyal seamounts support the need for creating offshore protected areas

1. Seamounts host some of the most important deep-sea ecosystems. The unique environmental characteristics of seamounts sustain rich biological hot spots, which, in recent times, have suffered the effects of intense fishing pressure.
2. Biodiversity and vulnerability data are extremely scarce for Mediterranean seamounts, and this, in addition to the complex socio-economic and juridical status of offshore sites, results in difficulty in identifying the best management strategies.
3. An extensive remotely operated vehicle (ROV) survey was used to characterize the megabenthic assemblages of the summits of two upper bathyal seamounts, Ulisse and Penelope (Ligurian Sea, north-west Mediterranean Sea). The biogeographic implications of these findings and the possible environmental factors favouring the occurrence of these communities are discussed.
4. High densities of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (mainly longlines) and a reduction in the average size of the fragile and slow-growing habitat-forming gorgonian Callogorgia verticillata indicate the occurrence of high levels of anthropogenic impacts on the summit regions, which are fishing grounds for artisanal and recreational fishers.
5. The recovery of fishing data describing the first catches in the 1970s proved to be useful in inferring the short- and long-term effects of fishing practices in these previously unexploited offshore areas. In particular, the local extinction of demersal top predators, subjected to exceptional catches nearly 50 years ago, highlights the slow recovery rate of such species.
6. Criteria defining vulnerability are discussed for the two study areas, and specific conservation actions, including the creation of regulated protected areas, are proposed.

     

A comprehensive framework of forest stand property–density relationships: perspectives for plant population ecology and forest management

? Context

There are many stand property–density relationships in ecology which represent emergent properties of plant populations. Examples include self-thinning, competition–density effect, constant final yield, and age-related decline in stand growth. We suggest that these relationships are different aspects of a general framework of stand property–density relationships.

? Aims

We aim to illustrate the generalities and ecological implications of stand property–density relationships, and organize them in a comprehensive framework.

? Methods

We illustrate relationships between stand property and density (1) at one point in time, (2) over time, and (3) independent of time. We review the consequences of considering different variables to characterize stand property (mean tree size, mean tree growth, stand growth, stand yield, stand leaf area).

? Results

We provide a framework that integrates the broad categories of stand property–density relationships and individual expressions of these relationships. For example, we conclude that constant final yield is a special case of the growth–growing stock relationship for life forms were yield is a reasonable approximation of growth (non-woody plants).

? Conclusion

There is support in the literature for leaf area being broadly integrative with respect to various expressions of stand property–density relationships. We show how this is and suggest implications for plant population ecology and forest management.     

You cannot conserve a species that has not been found: The case of the marine sponge Axinella polypoides in Liguria,Italy

1. Detailed knowledge about the distribution of species in need of protection is required for the management of Marine Protected Areas, a major tool to reduce marine biodiversity loss. Such knowledge is deficient for most marine invertebrates.
2. Axinella polypoides is a marine sponge included on the list of protected species by the Barcelona Convention (1976) and the Bern Convention (1987). This large and erect species has an important ecological role in habitat forming and benthic–pelagic coupling.
3. Bathymetrical, geographical and ecological data over the last 60 years were collated from publications and reports, together with new surveys to assess the distribution and protection status in Liguria of A. polypoides. It identified a more widespread distribution than previously thought, which points at a general need for dedicated investigations on the occurrence of species that require protection.
4. Bathymetrical distribution was trimodal, with peaks corresponding to different geomorphological settings: coastal cliff bases (around 38 m depth), inner shelf shoals (52 m) and rocks amidst coarse sediment on the outer shelf (79 m). Density was significantly greater at the shallowest depths. The species was mostly found in the coralligenous biocoenosis, in association with other characteristic species or forming a monospecific facies.
5. On (sub)vertical cliffs, A. polypoides often exhibited an unusual cane shape, rather than the typical bushy morphology, thus causing confusion with the congeneric A. cannabina, a more southern species. Records of the latter in the Ligurian Sea therefore need confirmation.
6. Only a minority (22.6%) of A. polypoides records were in Marine Protected Areas, the remainder being located in areas with no current environmental protection plans in place. While the occurrence of this species in MPAs remained stable over the decades, the only quantitative historical data available indicated that populations in non-protected areas were declining owing to anthropogenic impacts (fishing and anchoring).