Phycological Herbaria as a Useful Tool to Monitor Long-Term Changes of Macroalgae Diversity: Some Case Studies from the Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is currently experiencing a decline in the abundance of several key species, as a consequence of anthropogenic pressures (e.g., increase in human population, habitat modification and loss, pollution, coastal urbanization, overexploitation, introduction of non-indigenous species...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/8/309 |
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| author | Anna Maria Mannino Simona Armeli Minicante Conxi Rodríguez-Prieto |
| author_facet | Anna Maria Mannino Simona Armeli Minicante Conxi Rodríguez-Prieto |
| author_sort | Anna Maria Mannino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Mediterranean Sea is currently experiencing a decline in the abundance of several key species, as a consequence of anthropogenic pressures (e.g., increase in human population, habitat modification and loss, pollution, coastal urbanization, overexploitation, introduction of non-indigenous species and climate change). Herbaria and natural history collections are certainly fundamental for taxonomic studies, but they are also an invaluable, if currently underestimated, resource for understanding ecological and evolutionary responses of species to environmental changes. Macroalgae herbarium collections, which are really consistent (ranging from 200,000 to approximately 500,000 specimens) in some European herbaria (e.g., Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, University of Copenhagen, Natural History Museum in Kensington), can be successfully used as real “witnesses” to biodiversity changes. In this respect, we report some case studies from the Mediterranean Sea which summarize well the potential of macroalgae herbarium specimens to provide useful data on biodiversity changes. Indeed, these data enable the evaluation of the responses of biota, including shifts in species ranges, the detection of the presence of introduced species, and the prediction of changes in species distributions and patterns under future climate scenarios. To increase the use of this invaluable tool of research, their curation, the digitization of collections, and specimen genomics should be even more addressed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:42:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-93bec5cb8cac4971890a24399d621124 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:42:58Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-93bec5cb8cac4971890a24399d6211242023-11-20T09:37:45ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182020-08-0112830910.3390/d12080309Phycological Herbaria as a Useful Tool to Monitor Long-Term Changes of Macroalgae Diversity: Some Case Studies from the Mediterranean SeaAnna Maria Mannino0Simona Armeli Minicante1Conxi Rodríguez-Prieto2Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, 90123 Palermo, ItalyNational Research Council, Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR-ISMAR), Arsenale 101-104, Castello 2737F, 30122 Venice, ItalyFacultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, Ma Aurèlia Capmany 69, 17003 Girona, SpainThe Mediterranean Sea is currently experiencing a decline in the abundance of several key species, as a consequence of anthropogenic pressures (e.g., increase in human population, habitat modification and loss, pollution, coastal urbanization, overexploitation, introduction of non-indigenous species and climate change). Herbaria and natural history collections are certainly fundamental for taxonomic studies, but they are also an invaluable, if currently underestimated, resource for understanding ecological and evolutionary responses of species to environmental changes. Macroalgae herbarium collections, which are really consistent (ranging from 200,000 to approximately 500,000 specimens) in some European herbaria (e.g., Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, University of Copenhagen, Natural History Museum in Kensington), can be successfully used as real “witnesses” to biodiversity changes. In this respect, we report some case studies from the Mediterranean Sea which summarize well the potential of macroalgae herbarium specimens to provide useful data on biodiversity changes. Indeed, these data enable the evaluation of the responses of biota, including shifts in species ranges, the detection of the presence of introduced species, and the prediction of changes in species distributions and patterns under future climate scenarios. To increase the use of this invaluable tool of research, their curation, the digitization of collections, and specimen genomics should be even more addressed.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/8/309biodiversityclimate changeMediterranean Seaherbariamacroalgae collections |
| spellingShingle | Anna Maria Mannino Simona Armeli Minicante Conxi Rodríguez-Prieto Phycological Herbaria as a Useful Tool to Monitor Long-Term Changes of Macroalgae Diversity: Some Case Studies from the Mediterranean Sea Diversity biodiversity climate change Mediterranean Sea herbaria macroalgae collections |
| title | Phycological Herbaria as a Useful Tool to Monitor Long-Term Changes of Macroalgae Diversity: Some Case Studies from the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_full | Phycological Herbaria as a Useful Tool to Monitor Long-Term Changes of Macroalgae Diversity: Some Case Studies from the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_fullStr | Phycological Herbaria as a Useful Tool to Monitor Long-Term Changes of Macroalgae Diversity: Some Case Studies from the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phycological Herbaria as a Useful Tool to Monitor Long-Term Changes of Macroalgae Diversity: Some Case Studies from the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_short | Phycological Herbaria as a Useful Tool to Monitor Long-Term Changes of Macroalgae Diversity: Some Case Studies from the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_sort | phycological herbaria as a useful tool to monitor long term changes of macroalgae diversity some case studies from the mediterranean sea |
| topic | biodiversity climate change Mediterranean Sea herbaria macroalgae collections |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/8/309 |
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