Marco Bertolino | Università degli Studi di Genova (original) (raw)

Papers by Marco Bertolino

The European zoological journal, Nov 16, 2022

The European zoological journal, 2020

In the Mediterranean Sea, the two sponges of the genus Aplysina (A. aerophoba and A. cavernicola)... more In the Mediterranean Sea, the two sponges of the genus Aplysina (A. aerophoba and A. cavernicola) are identified on the basis of their external morphology and the environment in which they live. During a research program on the sponge fauna in semi-submerged caves of the Italian coasts, we have sampled an abundant very small yellow sponge, often living in the tidal zone, which were attributed to the genus Aplysina. Failing to assign the samples to a species through classical taxonomic methodologies (growth form and skeleton arrangement) and for the particular environment where this sponge lives, we have decided to use the COI analysis to solve the taxonomic problem offered by these miniaturized specimens. The analysis indicated that, in spite of the morphological differences, they belong to A. aerophoba. During old detailed surveys, conducted in the '60 years in some of the studied caves, this species was not recorded. It is possible that its abundant presence is related to the modifications occurred in the Mediterranean sponge communities occurred in the last decades in relation to global warming.

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, Nov 12, 2019

The three-dimensional coral scaffolds formed by the skeletons of the cold-water corals Madrepora ... more The three-dimensional coral scaffolds formed by the skeletons of the cold-water corals Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa represent an important deep-sea hard substratum and create an optimal shelter for a rich associated fauna in which the contribution of Porifera has still not been fully considered. The taxonomic analysis of sponges collected from two Sardinian canyons (Nora and Coda Cavallo, 256–408 m) and associated with the dead coral matrix resulted in 28 species, including new records for the Mediterranean Sea, Italian fauna or Central Tyrrhenian Sea. In addition, for many species this is the first finding associated with the coral framework or the first documentation of the in situ morphology. The taxonomic comparison with sponge assemblages associated with coral frameworks from Santa Maria di Leuca, Strait of Sicily and Bari Canyon, gave the opportunity to evaluate the similarities among geographically separated banks. Overall, the percentage of exclusive species (recorded only in one site), is very high (81%) and only one species is shared by all four sites, suggesting a low connectivity among the sponge communities. The percentage of shared species is higher for the Maltese community, supporting the role of the Sicily Channel as a crossroads between the communities of the eastern and western Mediterranean basins. Here, 55% of the sponges associated to the coral framework are also reported in shallow-water coralligenous assemblages, indicating a high bathymetric connectivity as well as an ecological plasticity allowing these species to occupy a wide range of small, dark refuges.

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

During scientific expeditions in Indonesia and Vietnam, several sponge specimens belonging to the... more During scientific expeditions in Indonesia and Vietnam, several sponge specimens belonging to the genus Cladocroce were collected. The integration of morphological and molecular analyses, incorporating species delimitation models (ABGD, ASAP, and bPTP) and phylogenetic approaches using three molecular markers (COI, 28S, and 18S–ITS1–5.8S–ITS2–28S), allowed us to discriminate three congeneric species. Two of these species (C. burapha and C. pansinii sp. nov.) were supported by morphological and molecular data, whereas a third species (C. lamellata sp. nov.) was delimited by morphological data only. We formally describe two new species, C. pansinii sp. nov. and C. lamellata sp. nov. C. aculeata is a newly recorded species for Indonesia and the first documented finding after the original description. The re-examination of the type material of C. burapha, and indirectly the molecular approach, allowed us to confirm that C. burapha lives in sympatry with C. pansinii sp. nov. in Vietnam a...

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Chemotrophic choice as a metabolic source of energy has characterised animal cell evolution. Howe... more Chemotrophic choice as a metabolic source of energy has characterised animal cell evolution. However, light interactions with animal cell photoacceptors that are able to increase energetic metabolism (photo-biomodulation (PBM)) have been previously described. In the present study, we cut three specimens of Chondrosia reniformis into four equal parts (12 fragments), and we irradiated the regenerating edge of six fragments with the previously characterised 810 nm near-infrared light, delivered at 1 W, 60 J/cm2, 1 W/cm2, and 60 J in a continuous-wave mode for 60 s through a flat-top hand-piece with a rounded spot-size area of 1 cm2. Six fragments were irradiated with 0 W for 60 s as the controls. We performed irradiation at the time 0 h and every 24 h for a total of five administrations. We monitored the regeneration process for five days (120 h) in aquaria by examining the macroscopic and histological changes. We analysed the gene expression profile of the inflammatory processes, apop...

Diversity

Biodiversity is a broad concept that encompasses the diversity of nature, from the genetic to the... more Biodiversity is a broad concept that encompasses the diversity of nature, from the genetic to the habitat scale, and ensures the proper functioning of ecosystems. The Mediterranean Sea, one of the world’s most biodiverse marine basins, faces major threats, such as overexploitation of resources, pollution and climate change. Here we provide the first multi-taxa inventory of marine organisms and coastal terrestrial flora recorded in southeastern Salento (Ionian Sea, Italy), realized during the project “Biodiversity MARE Tricase”, which provided the first baseline of species living in the area. Sampling was carried out by SCUBA and free diving, fishing gears, and citizen science from 0 to 70 m. Overall, 697 taxa were found between March 2016 and October 2017, 94% of which were identified to the species level. Of these, 19 taxa represented new records for the Ionian Sea (36 additional new records had been reported in previous publications on specific groups, namely Porifera and Mollusca...

3rd International Workshop on Taxonomy of Atlanto-Mediterranean Deep-Sea Sponges, 2016

Frontiers in Zoology, 2021

Background A basal spicule of the hexactinellid sponge Monorhaphis chuni may reach up to 3 m in l... more Background A basal spicule of the hexactinellid sponge Monorhaphis chuni may reach up to 3 m in length and 10 mm in diameter, an extreme case of large spicule size. Generally, sponge spicules are of scales from micrometers to centimeters. Due to its large size many researchers have described its structure and properties and have proposed it as a model of hexactinellid spicule development. Thorough examination of new material of this basal spicule has revealed numerous inconsistencies between our observations and earlier descriptions. In this work, we present the results of detailed examinations with transmitted light and epifluorescence microscopy, SEM, solid state NMR analysis, FTIR and X-ray analysis and staining of Monorhaphis chuni basal spicules of different sizes, collected from a number of deep sea locations, to better understand its structure and function. Results Three morphologically/structurally different silica layers i.e. plain glassy layer (PG), tuberculate layer (TL) ...

Scientific Reports, 2021

Although the Mediterranean Sea covers approximately a 0.7% of the world’s ocean area, it represen... more Although the Mediterranean Sea covers approximately a 0.7% of the world’s ocean area, it represents a major reservoir of marine and coastal biodiversity. Among marine organisms, sponges (Porifera) are a key component of the deep-sea benthos, widely recognized as the dominant taxon in terms of species richness, spatial coverage, and biomass. Sponges are evolutionarily ancient, sessile filter-feeders that harbor a largely diverse microbial community within their internal mesohyl matrix. In the present work, we firstly aimed at exploring the biodiversity of marine sponges from four different areas of the Mediterranean: Faro Lake in Sicily and “Porto Paone”, “Secca delle fumose”, “Punta San Pancrazio” in the Gulf of Naples. Eight sponge species were collected from these sites and identified by morphological analysis and amplification of several conserved molecular markers (18S and 28S RNA ribosomal genes, mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 and internal transcribed spacer). In or...

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 2019

The European Zoological Journal, 2018

This paper focuses on a faunistic inventory and the biogeographic pattern of Sardinian Porifera i... more This paper focuses on a faunistic inventory and the biogeographic pattern of Sardinian Porifera in a scarcely investigated Italian sea belonging to the Eastern Algero-Provençal Basin. The composition and structure of sponge fauna were studied in two priority habitats in two Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) of the NorthWestern Sardinian Sea. Shallow-water surveys investigated Posidonia oceanica meadows at five sites in the Asinara Island MPA and three karstic submerged caves in the Capo Caccia-Isola Piana MPA. The annotated checklist shows notably high values of taxonomic richness, confirming that P. oceanica meadows and karstic caves are key habitats for Porifera assemblages. Indeed, the sponge taxa recorded (n = 77) with 59 cavedwelling and 45 taxa in seagrass meadows represent over 10% of the total Mediterranean sponge fauna, despite the small areas investigated, restricted biotopes and low sampling effort. This suggests that species richness is underestimated in circum-Sardinia seas. Internationally protected species (n = 6), rare species (n = 5) and Mediterranean endemic species (n = 14) were recorded. Previously investigated Posidonia meadows and caves share comparable values of species richness and endemicity with the Sardinian biotopes. The geographic range of species indicates that the biogeographic affinity of the NW Sardinian Sea sponge fauna is dominated by Atlanto-Mediterranean species. The three caves harbour a notably homogeneous sponge community, as indicated by the ca. 50% of shared species and high similarity index (> 83%). By contrast, the composition varies markedly among the five Posidonia meadows, which share only five species and display similarity values ranging ca. 20-60%. Unexpectedly when comparing these contrasting biotopes, faunal similarity is relatively low (< 40% shared species); indeed, Posidonia meadows harbour a notable number of cave-dwelling species in intermatte shaded microhabitats.

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 2017

Sponge siliceous spicules are considered a sink in the silica balance of the oceans as their diss... more Sponge siliceous spicules are considered a sink in the silica balance of the oceans as their dissolution rate seems to be negligible, but no field data are available about this process. Aim of this study was a first evaluation of the quantitative dissolution rates of some demosponge and hexactinellid spicules (collected in different localities at different latitudes), left at sea for six months in two localities characterised by different water average temperatures: Mediterranean Sea and Celebes Sea. The effects of silica dissolution on the experimented spicules, studied by SEM analysis, resulted in an enlargement of the axial canal sometimes resulting in empty spicules. While in demosponges the axial canal wall of eroded spicules was perfectly smooth or slightly rough, the hexactinellid Rossella racovitzae showed a cavernous, well recognizable pattern of dissolution. The dissolution rates were determined evaluating the decrease in outer diameter and in the expansion of the axial channel of about 300 spicules for each considered species and locality. The spicules from the Mediterranean Geodia cydonium did not show any detectable dissolution in both sites, while those from Tethya citrina showed a loose of silica of about 23% in the Mediterranean and 47% in the Celebes Sea. Paratetilla bacca from the Red Sea decreased the silica content of about 30% in both the localities. Tetilla leptoderma from Mar del Plata lost about 8% and 42% of silica respectively in Mediterranean and Celebes Sea. Finally, the hexactinellid spicules from the Antarctic Rossella racovitzae showed highest dissolution rates in both the experimented sites (37% and 66% in the Mediterranean and Celebes Sea, respectively). *Manuscript Click here to download Manuscript: Bertolino et al. text .docx Click here to view linked References The different levels of dissolution can be related to the different taxonomic position as well as to the temperatures at which the spicules have been deposed and exposed. In fact, spicules from the same species showed a dissolution rate generally higher in tropical waters than in Mediterranean.

VIII World Sponge Conference, 2010

Fig. 7. Biemna aurantiaca Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., holotype (CILE 20; MSGN 61497). A–... more Fig. 7. Biemna aurantiaca Bertolino, Costa & Pansini sp. nov., holotype (CILE 20; MSGN 61497). A–B. The holotype in life. C. Plumoreticulate skeleton.