Browsing by Author "Gristina, Michele"
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- Behavioral traits of captive short-snouted seahorse Hippocampus hippocampus, Linnaeus 1758Publication . Gristina, Michele; Pierri, Cataldo; Lazic, Tamara; Palma, JorgeStudies of behavioral traits of threatened marine species are fundamental in order to plan correct conservation strategies. This information becomes crucial to seahorses conservation, given the poor swimming skills and small home ranges of these fishes. Although information with regards to seahorse behaviors has increased in the last period, there is still a severe lack of knowledge concerning behavioral traits of the majority of Hippocampus spp. worldwide. The present study aims to present preliminary data on behaviour traits of captive H. hippocampus (short-snouted seahorse) under different conditions of habitat complexity and water temperature. In agreement with previous studies conducted on congeneric species H. hippocampus showed great thermal tolerance at least in the thermal range used in the present experiment. On the contrary, significant differences were found in behaviors adopted in the presence and absence of the algal component. However, it will be necessary to further investigate H. hippocampus behavior also in consideration of its interactions with the congeneric H. guttulatus when they occur sympatrically.
- Changes of energy fluxes in marine animal forests of the Anthropocene: factors shaping the future seascapePublication . Rossi, Sergio; Isla, Enrique; Bosch-Belmar, Mar; Galli, Giovanni; Gori, Andrea; Gristina, Michele; Ingrosso, Gianmarco; Milisenda, Giacomo; Piraino, Stefano; Rizzo, Lucia; Schubert, Nadine; Soares, Marcelo; Solidoro, Cosimo; Thurstan, Ruth H; Viladrich, Núria; Willis, Trevor J; Ziveri, PatriziaClimate change is already transforming the seascapes of our oceans by changing the energy availability and the metabolic rates of the organisms. Among the ecosystem-engineering species that structure the seascape, marine animal forests (MAFs) are the most widespread. These habitats, mainly composed of suspension feeding organisms, provide structural complexity to the sea floor, analogous to terrestrial forests. Because primary and secondary productivity is responding to different impacts, in particular to the rapid ongoing environmental changes driven by climate change, this paper presents some directions about what could happen to different MAFs depending on these fast changes. Climate change could modify the resistance or resilience of MAFs, potentially making them more sensitive to impacts from anthropic activities (i.e. fisheries and coastal management), and vice versa, direct impacts may amplify climate change constraints in MAFs. Such changes will have knock-on effects on the energy budgets of active and passive suspension feeding organisms, as well as on their phenology, larval nutritional condition, and population viability. How the future seascape will be shaped by the new energy fluxes is a crucial question that has to be urgently addressed to mitigate and adapt to the diverse impacts on natural systems.
- Different behavioral strategies of two sympatric seahorses: habitat availability and increased density of Hippocampus guttulatus alter the behavior of Hippocampus hippocampusPublication . Spatafora, Davide; Gristina, Michele; Quattrocchi, Federico; Pierri, Cataldo; Lazic, Tamara; Palma, JorgeIn the light of future ocean warming scenarios and habitat fragmentation, coastal fishes must adjust their physiological and behavioral traits to face the combined effect of global warming and ecological interactions. Seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) are charismatic fishes with peculiar life cycle traits, which make them vulnerable to several anthropic pressures and natural disturbances. In this study, we investigated the behavior of two sympatric seahorse species, the long-snouted Hippocampus guttulatus (Cuvier, 1829) and the short-snouted Hippocampus hippocampus (Linnaeus, 1758). Specifically, we carried out two manipulative experiments to assess (i) the effect of temperature and habitat availability on both H. hippocampus and H. guttulatus behavior and (ii) the effect of temperature and an increased density of H. guttulatus (by 3x) on the activity level of congeneric species H. hippocampus. Our results showed that +3 & DEG;C warming did not affect seahorse behavior in both experiments, suggesting greater behavioral tolerance to thermal variation. However, a significant reduction of the active behavior of H. hippocampus was observed when the artificial habitat was introduced in the tank, while H. guttulatus maintained its activity. Furthermore, a significant decrease of the H. hippocampus activity was observed with an increased relative dominance of H. guttulatus. Our results suggest that both increased density of H. guttulatus and habitat availability, but not ocean warming, will affect the behavior of H. hippocampus. Therefore, different interspecific behavioral strategies may occur, thus affecting the distribution of the two species among shallow habitats when they occur in sympatry.
- Editorial: Syngnathid fishes: biology, ecology, physiology, conservation and innovative rearing techniquesPublication . Planas, Miquel; Gristina, Michele; Palma, Jorge; Qin, Geng; Rose, Emily; Roth, Olivia; Teske, Peter R.Syngnathids (a bony fish family that includes seahorses, pipefishes and seadragons) have unique morphological and biological traits that include fused jaws, an exoskeleton and male parental care (Ahnesjö and Craig, 2011). They are mostly found in shallow coastal areas, and their unconventional life history renders them particularly vulnerable to population depletion (Foster and Vincent, 2004). Although some species have been listed as Vulnerable, Endangered, and even Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, many are classified as Data Deficient (DD) due to insufficient information (IUCN, 2020; Pollom et al., 2021). Therefore, further research is needed to understand their distribution, population trends and main threats. A significant portion of the research on syngnathids is relatively recent (Cohen et al., 2017; Segaran et al., 2023). This Research Topic provides 12 original research and review contributions that provide an overview of current trends in research related to the biology, physiology, ecology and conservation of syngnathids. We have gained considerable insights into syngnathid evolutionary innovation, particularly concerning the evolution of male pregnancy (Lin et al., 2016; Roth et al., 2020). The review by Parker et al. sheds light on the unique modification of the syngnathid immune system and its associations with physiology and reproduction, and highlights future research objectives.