Palaeobiology of Pliocene-Pleistocene shallow-water biocalcarenites (Northern Apennines, Italy) and their relationship with coeval sapropels

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Cau, S., Roveri, M., & Taviani, M. Palaeobiology of Pliocene-Pleistocene shallow-water biocalcarenites (Northern Apennines, Italy) and their relationship with coeval sapropels. Bollettino Della Societa Paleontologica Italiana, 59(1), (2020): 25-40, doi:10.4435/BSPI.2020.04.The interplay between carbonate and siliciclastic sediment production in shallow marine environments may result in the development of mixed depositional systems showing a cyclical arrangement of sedimentary facies. The palaeoenvironmental record associated with these cyclical facies changes is not always univocally correlated with eustatic oscillations, suggesting that other forcing processes have played an additional role. The Castell’Arquato Basin (CAB: Pliocene-Pleistocene, Northern Apennines, Italy) offers the opportunity to integrate the study of small and large-scale stratigraphic architectures with that of shell beds in shelf to deep-water successions. The analysis of diversity trends allows a first insight into the structure of CAB benthic communities associated with minor and major biocalcarenites. Biofacies types are identified through a multivariate analysis of a large quantitative database including shells of all molluscs, serpulids and brachiopods. The study shows that these bio-detrital deposits and their bracketing marine mudstones developed at inner-shelf settings and that taphonomic feedback played an important role in the stratigraphic distribution of biofacies. Benthic communities from shelly bottoms depend on the winnowing of fines by bottom currents, a factor that is not related to water depth in a simple manner. Heterogeneity of the seafloor is associated to high-diversity of communities of topset strata of major biocalcarenites. Communities living in siliciclastic bottoms depend on factors that are largely depth-dependant. The study confirms the correlation of major biocalcarenite cycles with coeval deep-water sapropels, supporting the hypothesis of a more effective role of high-amplitude climatic changes driven by orbital forcing. This affects the source-to-sink dynamics of the whole basin and the biological structuring processes of shelfal depositional settings and related ecosystems.Thanks to Stefano Dominici (Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Firenze) for his review and editorial handling. Ronald Nalin (Loma Linda University, California, USA) and an anonymous reviewer are acknowledged for their constructive comments and suggestions that improved an early version of the paper. We thank Alessandro Freschi, Gianluca Raineri (Riserva Geologica del Piacenziano e dello Stirone) and Carlo Francou (Museo Geopaleontologico “G. Cortesi”, Castell’Arquato) for their assistance with sample collection. This is ISMAR CNR, Bologna, scientific contribution n. 1950

Offshore Neopycnodonte oyster reefs in the Mediterranean Sea

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Angeletti, L., & Taviani, M. Offshore Neopycnodonte oyster reefs in the Mediterranean Sea. Diversity, 12(3), (2020): 92, doi:10.3390/d12030092.Oysters are important ecosystem engineers best known to produce large bioconstructions at shallow depth, whilst offshore deep-subtidal oyster reefs are less widely known. Oyster reefs engineered by Neopycnodonte cochlear (family Gryphaeidae) occur at various sites in the Mediterranean Sea, between 40 and 130 m water depths. Remotely Operated Vehicle surveys provide new insights on this rather neglected reef types with respect to their shape, dimensions and associated biodiversity. We suggest that these little contemplated reefs should be taken in due consideration for protection.This work was partly supported by the EU FP-VI and VII HERMES and HERMIONE, by the ‘Convenzione MATTM-CNR per i Programmi di Monitoraggio per la Direttiva sulla Strategia Marina (MSFD, Art. 11, Dir. 2008/56/CE), and is part of the DG Environment programme IDEM (grant agreement no. 11.0661/2017/750680/SUB/EN V.C2)

Early Miocene Mollusca from McMurdo Sound, Antarctica (ANDRILL 2A drill core), with a review of Antarctic Oligocene and Neogene Pectinidae (Bivalvia)

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2013. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of The Palaeontological Association for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Palaeontology 57 (2014): 299-342, doi:10.1111/pala.12067.Retrotapes andrillorum n. sp., Hiatella cf. arctica (Linnaeus, 1767), ?Yoldia sp. (internal mould), and six taxa of Pectinidae are reported from the Burdigalian section of the ANDRILL 2A core, drilled in McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea. The pectinids are Adamussium cf. jonkersi Quaglio et al., 2010, Antarctipecten n. gen. alanbeui (Jonkers, 2003), Austrochlamys forticosta n. sp., Austrochlamys cf. marisrossensis Jonkers, 2003, Ruthipecten n. gen., n. sp. (not named), and a fragmentary specimen representing an unnamed genus and species. In a revision of Antarctic Pectinidae, Austrochlamys Jonkers, 2003, Ruthipecten n. gen. (proposed for Chlamys (Zygochlamys) tuftsensis Turner, 1967, reported only from Wright Valley and the Vestfold Hills, not present in ANDRILL 2A), Leoclunipecten n. gen. (proposed for Austrochlamys gazdzickii Jonkers, 2003, reported only from Oligocene rocks of King George Island, not present in ANDRILL 2A) and the unnamed genus in ANDRILL 2A are assigned to subfamily Chlamydinae, tribe Chlamydini, whereas Adamussium Thiele, 1934 and Antarctipecten n. gen. are assigned to subfamily Palliolinae, tribe Adamussiini. The diverse Pectinidae in ANDRILL 2A suggest sea temperatures roughly 5°C warmer than at present in the Ross Sea during Early Miocene time.MT thanks the Italian National Antarctic Program for partial funding, and AGB thanks the ANDRILL project (GNS 1 Science GCT Programme) for funding.2014-09-1

A Molecular Phylogeny of Bivalve Mollusks: Ancient Radiations and Divergences as Revealed by Mitochondrial Genes

Background: Bivalves are very ancient and successful conchiferan mollusks (both in terms of species number and geographical distribution). Despite their importance in marine biota, their deep phylogenetic relationships were scarcely investigated from a molecular perspective, whereas much valuable work has been done on taxonomy, as well as phylogeny, of lower taxa. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we present a class-level bivalve phylogeny with a broad sample of 122 ingroup taxa, using four mitochondrial markers (MT-RNR1, MT-RNR2, MT-CO1, MT-CYB). Rigorous techniques have been exploited to set up the dataset, analyze phylogenetic signal, and infer a single final tree. In this study, we show the basal position of Opponobranchia to all Autobranchia, as well as of Palaeoheterodonta to the remaining Autobranchia, which we here propose to call Amarsipobranchia. Anomalodesmata were retrieved as monophyletic and basal to (Heterodonta + Pteriomorphia). Conclusions/Significance: Bivalve morphological characters were traced onto the phylogenetic trees obtained from the molecular analysis; our analysis suggests that eulamellibranch gills and heterodont hinge are ancestral characters for all Autobranchia. This conclusion would entail a re-evaluation of bivalve symplesiomorphies

Giant sessile barnacles contribute to the construction of cold-water coral habitats south of Malta (Mediterranean Sea)

Sessile barnacles may be important contributors to benthic communities worldwide from warm temperate to polar latitudes. Although barnacles are more often found in shallow settings, they equally occur below wave base down to bathyal depths. A case in point is represented by the presence of live populations of the thoracican cirripede Pachylasma giganteum (Philippi, 1836) associated with the lush and highly diverse deep sea cold-water coral communities (cwc) south of Malta. P. giganteum is a large cirriped (> 40 mm in height and > 30 mm in basal diameter) that is uncommon recorded in the Mediterranean Sea and the Azores region. It is relatively frequent in the Strait of Messina on circalittoral hard substrates between 80-200 m to bathyal depths (435-640 m) in the NE Atlantic where it has been found attached to scleractinians and sponges. The species is recorded as epibiont on turtles in the Aegean Sea. Finally, P. giganteum is also known as a fossil from Pleistocene palaeo-strait deposits in the Messina area (Sicily), a record which is consistent with the association of this suspension feeder with submarine topographies under the influence of strong currents.peer-reviewe

The Messinian salinity crisis in Cyprus: a further step towards a new stratigraphic framework for Eastern Mediterranean

A revised stratigraphic framework for the Messinian succession of Cyprus is proposed demonstrating that the three-stage model for the Messinian salinity crisis recently established for the Western Mediterranean also applies to the Eastern Mediterranean, at least for its marginal basins. This analysis is based on a multidisciplinary study of the Messinian evaporites and associated deposits exposed in the Polemi, Pissouri, Maroni/Psematismenos and Mesaoria basins. Here, we document for the first time that the base of the unit usually referred to the 'Lower Evaporites' in Cyprus does not actually correspond to the onset of the Messinian salinity crisis. The basal surface of this unit rather corresponds to a regional-scale unconformity, locally associated with an angular discordance, and is related to the erosion and resedimentation of primary evaporites deposited during the first stage of the Messinian salinity crisis. This evidence suggests that the 'Lower Evaporites' of the southern basins of Cyprus actually belong to the second stage of the Messinian salinity crisis; they can be thus ascribed to the Resedimented Lower Gypsum unit that was deposited between 5.6 and 5.5\ua0Ma and is possibly coeval to the halite deposited in the northern Mesaoria basin. Primary, in situ evaporites of the first stage of the Messinian salinity crisis were not preserved in Cyprus basins. Conversely, shallow-water primary evaporites deposited during the third stage of the Messinian salinity crisis are well preserved; these deposits can be regarded as the equivalent of the Upper Gypsum of Sicily. Our study documents that the Messinian stratigraphy shows many similarities between the Western and Eastern Mediterranean marginal basins, implying a common and likely coeval development of the Messinian salinity crisis. This could be reflected also in intermediate and deep-water basins; we infer that the Lower Evaporites seismic unit in the deep Eastern Mediterranean basins could well be mainly composed of clastic evaporites and that its base could correspond to the Messinian erosional surface

Marine Climate Archives and Geochemical Proxies: a Review and Future Investigations on the Mediterranean Sea.

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Exploring the oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of the Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum) for seawater temperature reconstruction

© The Author(s), 2016. This is the author's version of the work and is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Marine Chemistry 186 (2016): 11-23, doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2016.07.001.Here we provide first evidence that the stable oxygen and carbon isotopic composition (δ18O, δ13C) of the high-magnesium calcite skeleton red coral Corallium rubrum can be used as a reliable seawater temperature proxy. This is based upon the analyses of living colonies of C. rubrum from different depths and localities in the Western Mediterranean Sea. The assessment of the growth rates has been established through the analysis of growth band patterns. The δ18O and δ13C compositions show large variability with a significant difference between the branches and the bases of the colonies. In both coral portions, the δ18O and δ13C values are highly correlated and show well-defined linear trends. Following the “lines technique” approach developed by Smith et al. (2000) for scleractinian aragonitic deep-water corals, our data have been combined with published values for the deep-sea gorgonian corals Isididae and Coralliidae from Kimball et al. (2014) and Hill et al. (2011) resulting in the following δ18O temperature equation: T (°C) = 38 -5.05 ± 0.24 x (δ18Ointercept) + 14.26 ± 0.43 (R² = 0.962, p value < 0.0001) The error associated with this equation is ± 0.5 °C at the mean temperature of the data set, ± 0.7 °C for corals living in 2 °C water and ± 1 °C for coral living in warmer water (17 °C). The highly significant δ18Ointercept vs. temperature relationship combined with the “lines technique” method can be reliably applied to the calcitic skeleton to obtain calcification temperature estimates in the past, although this approach requires the knowledge of the past δ18O and δ13C composition of seawater and it is labor and time intensive.We are grateful for the financial support of the MISTRALS-PaleoMeX and ENVIMED projects.2018-07-0

Credit Derivatives: L'applicazione del Credit Default Swap nella economia moderna

Questa tesi affronta il tema di attualità quali sono i derivati di credito. La tesi può essere scomposta in tre parti, nella prima, rappresentata dal primo capitolo cerco di definire e collocare le principali categorie dei derivati di credito nati e sviluppati nel corso degli anni; nel secondo capitolo focalizzo la mia attenzione su un tipo particolare di derivato di credito come i credit default swaps attraverso una loro puntuale definizione, una loro collocazione all'interno del codice civile domestico e in relazione ai principi contabili internazionali, come vengono contabilizzati a bilancio e i motivi del loro utilizzo nel mondo finanziario; nel terzo capitolo della tesi procedo ad una analitica valutazione dello stesso attraverso l'approccio basato sui ratings che mi permette di definire il possibile pricing del suddetto derivato; infine concludo la mia tesi con una piccola disamina interpretativa relativa alla nascita, lo sviluppo e l'utilizzo crescente raggiunto negli anni da questo strumento

Marine Dynamics and Biological Records: the Adamussium colbecki Multi-Proxy.

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