The jellyfish outbreaks in marine environment have increased in last decade. Massive appearance has an impact on global economy as well as on quality of marine environment. The decomposition of protein rich jellyfish tissue, results in the release of large amounts of nutrients, high oxygen consumption and changes in the bacterial abundance and community composition.
COBISS.SI-ID: 2589519
Using the forecasting circulation Princeton Ocean Model over the northern Adriatic Sea (NAPOM) two synoptic wind-driven situations of the circulation in the northern Adriatic were studied. In both situations the basin was driven by a relatively steady wind ()8 m/s) along and across the basin over three days. In the first situation the SSE southern jugo or scirocco wind blew along the basin, and in the second the ENE bora wind blew across the basin. Cyclonic turn was present in the first situation, while the cyclonic branch of a known double-gyre circulation north of the strip of wind minima was evident in the second. We show that during the jugo the model does not confirm quantitatively the simple topographic control of a wind-driven circulation, suitable for elongated basins, while qualitatively the model meets expectations, with downwind transport in shallow areas close to shorelines and upwind transport in places with greater depths. During the bora wind, however, the wind-driven circulation in the Gulf of Trieste is well explained by this topographic control (82% of the flux through the transect).
COBISS.SI-ID: 2595663
In this paper we performed a robust analysis of abiotic parameters and plankton community structure in the period 1989 2009 in the Gulf of Trieste. The gradual sequence of events, which encompassed hydrological and ecological systems, was identified as a regime shift in 2002/2003. Synchronised step changes in river runoff and surface salinity and decreasing concentrations of nitrate and silicate were followed by changes in chlorophyll a. The decline in phytoplankton biomass was due to the reduction of seasonal diatom blooms and the predominance of the smaller sized fraction. The changes also encompassed a higher trophic level showing significantly reduced zooplankton biomass after 2002. Our results show that the Gulf remains largely controlled, either through local climatic (precipitation, river runoff) or anthropogenic (eutrophication) forcing. Under the resource-replete and high biomass regime bottom-up control prevails, while in the new regime of reduced resources and biomass the switch from bottom-up to top-down control can occur seasonally.
COBISS.SI-ID: 2504271
The assessment of the status of coastal waters is required by the European Water Framework Directive. The aim of the present study was to develop a new index for the assessment of hydromorphological (HM) alterations of the rocky shore, based on benthic invertebrates. Seven HM variables describing habitat conditions were used to develop the HM stressor gradient. We were able to confirm a response of benthic invertebrate assemblages to HM conditions and developed a new Benthic Index for Rocky Shore (BIRS). The new index has a good potential to contribute to existing coastal assessment systems. Especially, as impact of HM alterations on coastal communities was almost neglected so far, despite being one of the main threats to coastal water integrity.
COBISS.SI-ID: 2397519
Pathogenic bacteria are in vivo exposed to variety of stressors, as part of the hosts defence response. One of such is also limitation of iron, an indispensable factor of bacterial growth. In the case of Mycobacterium avium subspecies hominissuis we have demonstrated that the susceptibility to antibiotics is significantly altered in response to low iron concentration in growth medium. This might have important consequences for the treatment of infections with these bacteria, because in vitro antibiotic susceptibility, currently determined in media with relatively high iron concentrations, does not represent the actual in vivo susceptibility. Low correlation between in vitro antibiotic susceptibility and in vivo response is typical for these species of mycobacteria, and we suspect that this is in part due to the differences in iron availability between in vitro and in vivo conditions.
COBISS.SI-ID: 30327001