M. D’Elia

Persistence of Pristine Deep-Sea Coral Gardens in the Mediterranean Sea (SW Sardinia)

Leiopathes glaberrima is a tall arborescent black coral species structuring important facies of the deep-sea rocky bottoms of the Mediterranean Sea that are severely stifled by fishing activities. At present, however, no morphological in vivo description, ecological characterization, age dating and evaluation of the possible conservation actions have ever been made for any population of this species in the basin. A dense coral population was reported during two Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) surveys conducted on a rocky bank off the SW coasts of Sardinia (Western Mediterranean Sea). L. glaberrima forms up to 2 m-tall colonies with a maximal observed basal diameter of nearly 7 cm. The radiocarbon dating carried out on a colony from this site with a 4 cm basal diameter revealed an approximately age of 2000 years. Considering the size-frequency distribution of the colonies in the area it is possible to hypothesize the existence of other millennial specimens occupying a supposedly very stable ecosystem. The persistence of this ecosystem is likely guaranteed by the heterogeneous rocky substrate hosting the black coral population that represents a physical barrier against the mechanical impacts acted on the surrounding muddy areas, heavily exploited as trawling fishing grounds. This favorable condition, together with the existence of a nursery area for catsharks within the coral ramifications and the occurrence of a meadow of the now rare soft bottom alcyonacean Isidella elongata in small surviving muddy enclaves, indicates that this ecosystem have to be considered a pristine Mediterranean deep-sea coral sanctuary that would deserve special protection.

Determining 14C Content in Different Human Tissues: Implications for Application of 14C Bomb-Spike Dating in Forensic Medicine

Various samples extracted from human tissues (with different radiocarbon turnover rates) of a post-bomb human body were submitted to accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating: hair; a cortical fraction of a skull bone; a trabecular fraction of a pubic symphysis; and enamel extracted from permanent teeth with different dates of formation were analyzed. The analyzed samples showed varying 14C concentrations corresponding to different times of formation or different turnover rates. The implications of the results in forensics studies are discussed.