A number of hypotheses have been suggested to explain why invasive exotic plants dramatically increase their abundance upon transport to a new range. The novel weapons hypothesis argues that phytotoxins secreted by roots of an exotic plant are more effective against naïve resident competitors in the range being invaded. The common reed Phragmites australis has a diverse population structure inc...

Posidonia oceanica meadows are acknowledged as one of the most valuable ecosystems of the Mediterranean Sea. P. oceanica has been historically described as a species typically growing on mobile substrates whose development requires precursor communities. Here we document for the first time the extensive presence of sticky hairs covering P. oceanica seedling roots. Adhesive root hairs allow the ...

Molecular investigation of the origin of colour vision has discovered five visual pigment (opsin) genes, all of which are expressed in an agnathan (jawless) fish, the lamprey Geotria australis. Lampreys are extant representatives of an ancient group of vertebrates whose origins are thought to date back to at least the early Cambrian, approximately 540 million years ago [1]. Phylogenetic analysi...

Seascape connectivity critically affects the spatiotemporal dynamics of marine metacommunities. Understanding how connectivity patterns emerge from physically and biologically-mediated interactions is therefore crucial to conserve marine ecosystem functions and biodiversity. Here, we develop a set of biophysical models to explore connectivity in assemblages of species belonging to a typical Med...

the biosorption of hexavelent chromium from saline solutions by posidonia oceanica, a marinebiomass, was studied as a function of ph, initial chromium (vi) and salt (nacl) concentrations in batchsystem. the sorbent exhibited the maximal chromium (vi) uptake at ph 2 regardless of the presence ofincreasing salt concentration. equilibrium uptake increased with chromium (vi) concentration up to 250...

A one-year in situ experiment using 15 N as a tracer was designed to assess the N recycling in the leaves of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile. P. oceanica was shown to partly recycle the internal nitrogen pool of its leaves in order to contribute to new leaf growth. The leaves sampled in June 1999 contained 20% of the quantity of 15 N found in June 1998. N recycling caused a differen...

High-grade cellulose (97% α-cellulose content) of 48% crystallinity index was extracted from the renewable marine biomass waste Posidonia oceanica using H₂O₂ and organic peracids following an environmentally friendly and chlorine-free process. This cellulose appeared as a new high-grade cellulose of waste origin quite similar to the high-grade cellulose extracted from more noble starting materi...

1 Determining the mechanisms by which invasive species exclude natives is critical for conserving and restoring native populations in impacted habitats. In recent decades the grass Phragmites australis has been aggressively invading coastal marshes of North America, with monocultures often replacing diverse assemblages of plants. 2 Our objective was to quantify how P. australis modifies the abi...

The invasive species Spartina alterniora Loisel was introduced to the eastern coast of China in the 1970s and 1980s for the purposes of land reclamation and the prevention of soil erosion. The resulting interspecific competition had an important influence on the distribution of native vegetation, which makes studying the patterns and mechanisms of the interactions between Spartina alterniora Lo...

the biosorption of hexavelent chromium from saline solutions by posidonia oceanica, a marinebiomass, was studied as a function of ph, initial chromium (vi) and salt (nacl) concentrations in batchsystem. the sorbent exhibited the maximal chromium (vi) uptake at ph 2 regardless of the presence ofincreasing salt concentration. equilibrium uptake increased with chromium (vi) concentration up to 250...