https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/416 2026-10-14T10:28:37Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149743 Title: Malta and Sicily an incomparable dimension but a surprising similar alien plant diversity Authors: Cambria, Salvatore; Giusso del Galdo, Gianpietro; Grima, Gabriel; Lanfranco, Sandro; Mifsud, David; Palii, Paola; Porrovecchio, Manuela; Sciandrello, Saverio; Minissale, Pietro Abstract: Within the framework of the RECLAIM project, funded by Interreg Italia–Malta, an updated database of the alien flora of Sicily and the Maltese Islands was developed. The study provides a comprehensive overview of non-native plant species across the two central Mediterranean insular systems, aiming to improve knowledge on their distribution patterns and ecological drivers. In addition, a detailed study was carried out on the distribution of each alien taxon in Sicily and Malta, highlighting its presence in the different areas of the islands, as well as assessing the altitudinal range, the invaded habitats, the risk of spread and establishment, and the possibility that the species may be introduced into either of the two territories where it is not yet present. [excerpt] 2026-09-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149730 Title: Biodiversity conservation in archaeological sites : a Mediterranean-wide assessment Authors: Albani Rocchetti, Giulia; Hosseini, Zohreh; Abeli, Thomas; Bartoli, Flavia; Brandes, Dietmar; Bou Dagher Kharrat, Magda; Ceschin, Simona; Cicinelli, Emanuela; Christodoulou, Charalambos S.; Draper, David; Galasso, Gabriele; Kahale, Rhea; Kostadinovski, Mitko; Lanfranco, Sandro; Vine, Merav Lebel; Limić, Ivan; Lucchese, Fernando; Meço, Marjol; Medina, Leopoldo; Minissale, Pietro; Panitsa, Maria; Quaglini, Lara A.; Raimondo, Francesco M.; Sarajlić, Nermina; Šegota, Vedran; Toto, Soliman Mohammed; Vogiatzakis, Ioannis; Zeineh, Youmna; Caneva, Giulia Abstract: Archaeological and monumental sites function as important reservoirs of plant diversity, yet their conservation role remains largely unrecognized. Across the Mediterranean, they function as overlooked reservoirs of plant diversity and should be recognized as part of the conservation estate. Here we present the first basin-wide assessment of plant diversity in AMSs, surveying 69 sites across 17 countries. We documented 3,337 vascular plant taxa, including 113 strictly endemic (3.4%) and 233 regionally endemic taxa (7.0%), together with 573 taxa listed on international Red Lists and 679 on national Red Lists. Plant richness was driven by the regional species pool rather than site area, indicating that AMSs capture a substantial fraction of surrounding biodiversity regardless of their size. These findings challenge the dominant view of archaeological sites as cultural assets threatened by vegetation and instead identify them as hybrid nature–culture systems that already deliver measurable biodiversity outcomes. We argue that legal protection of cultural heritage has unintentionally generated an “umbrella effect” for biodiversity, and that recognizing AMSs as Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures could substantially expand the conservation estate, with major implications for European and global biodiversity goals. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148898 Title: Nuclear following associations between Caranx crysos and two rays, Dasyatis pastinaca and Aetomylaeus bovinus, observed in Malta, Central Mediterranean Authors: Falzon, Mark-Anthony; Schembri, Patrick J. Abstract: An association of Blue runner, Caranx crysos (Carangidae), with two species of rays, Common stingray Dasyatis pastinaca (Dasyatidae) and Bull ray Aetomylaeus bovinus (Myliobatidae), in which an individual C. crysos (the follower fish) follows a foraging ray (the nuclear species), is described, based on a sample of 61 video clips. Follower fish show three types of behaviour: swimming under the pectoral fin of the nuclear ray, swimming above the mid-dorsal line of the nuclear ray and very close to it, or swimming above the ray and darting from side to side. The first two of these behaviours seem to be species-specific as the first is only shown when the nuclear ray is A. bovinus and the second when the nuclear ray is D. pastinaca. Following fish do not allow conspecifics to approach the nuclear ray but are mostly indifferent to non-conspecifics doing so. The following fish benefit from the association by feeding on prey disturbed by the foraging activities of the nuclear ray but the nuclear ray is unreactive to the following fish, suggesting that this is a case of trophic commensalism. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148517 Title: The variability of Heteracris adspersa (Redtenbacher, 1889) re-examined (Orthoptera : Acrididae, Eyprepocnemidinae) Authors: Cassar, Louis F.; Lanfranco, Sandro; Massa, Bruno Abstract: A new subspecies of Heteracris adspersa was described in 1978 on the basis of morphometrics and structure configuration of the male subgenital plate from specimens collected in Sardinia. The present study examines specimens (n=175) from a broad suite of localities, ranging from the Middle East across to the western Mediterranean. Statistical analyses are subsequently carried out on a revised dataset comprising 94♂♂ and 55♀♀. Microscopic examination of the subgenital plate is also conducted on specimens from Sardinia, Sicily, Malta and Yemen and compared with those published in the original description. Findings demonstrate that the subspecies massai is practically an artefact of unintended consequence, essentially a case of taxonomic inflation, in view of evident intra and interpopulation variability across a wide geographic area; consequently, H. a. massai is synonymised. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z