Research area: Geology - Paleontology
Coordinators: Nicoletta Mancin, Miriam Cobianchi, Claudia Lupi, Agnese Marchini, Maria Pia Riccardi, Andrea Di Giulio
ERC sectors: PE10_6 Palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology; PE10_12 Sedimentology, soil science, palaeontology, earth evolution; LS8_13 Marine biology and ecology
1. Alien Foraminifera Species in the Mediterranean: Invasion Dynamics and Impacts
The invasion of microscopic alien species can damage biodiversity. Amphistegina lobifera is a benthic foraminifer that entered through the Suez Canal. This research aims to investigate its invasion dynamics and the possible impacts on local meiofauna in the Mediterranean.
2. Microplastic Pollution in the Sea: Impact on Agglutinating Benthic Organisms
Several benthic marine organisms, such as agglutinating foraminifera and some polychaete annelids, incorporate microplastics into their arenaceous shells and organic tissues. This research aims to understand this emerging phenomenon and assess its potential impact.
3. Micropaleontology Applied to the Study of Cenozoic Sedimentary Basins
Sedimentary basins contain georesources: hydrocarbons, water, and raw materials. Micropaleontology is used to date rock successions and reconstruct their paleoenvironmental evolution. This research aims to study subsurface and outcrop records, including those within the CARG framework.
Department of Biology - University of Malta (J. Evans); Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare - Università degli Studi di Palermo (A. Caruso); Istituto di Scienze Polari del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, ISP-CNR Bologna (L. Langone, L. Capotondi); Earth Sciences Department, College of Sciences Dhahran - Saudi Arabia (M.A. Kaminski); Department of Geosciences - University of Arizona, USA (B. Carrapa); ENI E. & P. Division (R. Fantoni, M. Ghielmi, D.E. Catellani)
COSENTINO, C., GUASTELLA, R., MANCIN, N., CARUSO, A. (2024) - Spatial and vertical distribution of the genus Amphistegina and its relationship with the indigenous benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the Pelagian Archipelago (Central Mediterranean Sea). Marine Microplaeontology, 188: 102344.
GUASTELLA R., EVANS J., MANCIN N., CARUSO A., MARCHINI A. (2023) – Assessing the effetc of Amphistegina lobifera invasion on infralittoral benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the Sicily Channel (Central Mediterranean). Marine Environmental Research, 192: 106247.
MANCIN N., GUASTELLA R., CLARLTON J.T., CARUSO A., COBIANCHI M., EVANS J., CAPOTONDI L., LANGONE L., MARCHINI A. (2023) – The chronicles of a small invader: the canal, the core and the tsunami. Biological Invasions (25(4): 1265-1283.
LO BUE G., MARCHINI A., MUSA M., CROCE A., GATTI G., RICCARDI M.P., LISCO S., MANCIN N. (2023) – First attempt to quantify microplastics in Mediterranean Sabellaria spinulosa (Annelida, Polychaeta) bioconstructions. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 196: 115659.
RUH J.B., VALERO L., NAJAFI M., ETEMAD-SAEED N., VOUGA J., MOHAMMADI A., LANDTWING F., GUILLONG M., COBIANCHI M. AND MANCIN N. (2023) - Tectono-Sedimentary Evolution of Shale-Related Minibasins in the Karvandar Basin (South Sistan, SE Iran): Insights From Magnetostratigraphy, Isotopic Dating, and Sandstone Petrology. Tectonics, 42(11): e2023TC007971.
LO BUE G., MARCHINI A., MANCIN N. (2022) – Selection or random picking? Foraminiferal tests in Sabellaria alveolata (Linneus, 1767) bioconstructions. Marine Environmental Research, 176: 105616.
MANCIN N., DELL’ACQUA F., RICCARDI M.P., LO BUE G., MARCHINI A. (2022) – Fractal analysis highlights analogies in arenaceous tubes of Sabellaria alveolata (Metazoa, Polychaeta) and agglutinated tests of foraminifera (Protista). PloS ONE, 17(8): 0273096.
CAPOTONDI L., KAMINSKI M.A., MANCIN N. (2022) – The test wal of Nubeculina ? Cushman 1924 (Miliolida): updates on its agglutinated porcellanaceous wall structure from entire and sectioned specimens. Micropaleontology, 68(6): 557-567.
GUASTELLA R., MARCHINI A., CARUSO A., EVANS J., COBIANCHI M., COSENTINO C., LANGONE L., LECCI R. & MANCIN N. (2021). Reconstructing bioinvasion dynamics through micropaleontological analysis highlights the role of temperature change as a driver of alien foraminifera invasion. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 678.
AMADORI C., GHIELMI M., MANCIN N. & TOSCANI G. (2020). The evolution of a coastal wedge in response to Plio-Pleistocene climate change: the Northern Adriatic case. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 122, 104675.
CHAPMAN J.B., CARRAPA B., DCELLES P.G., WORTHINGTON J., MANCIN N., COBIANCHI M., STOICA M., WANG X., GADOEV M. & OIMAHMADOV I. (2020). The Tajik Basin: a composite record of sedimentary basin evolution in response to tectonics in the Pamir. Basin Research, 32, 525-545.
GUASTELLA R., MARCHINI A., CARUSO A., COSENTINO C., EVANS J., WEINMANN A.E., LANGER M.R. & MANCIN N. (2019). “Hidden invaders” conquer the Sicily Channel and knock on the door of the Western Mediterranean Sea. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 225, 106234.
CAPOTONDI L., MANCIN N., CESARI V., DINELLI E., RAVAIOLI M, RIMINUCCI F. (2019) – Recent agglutinated foraminifera from the North Adriatic Sea: what the agglutinated tests can tell. Marine Micropaleontology, 147: 25-42.
CARRAPA B., DI GIULIO A., MANCIN N., STOCKLI D., FANTONI R. & GUPTA S. (2016). Tectonic significance of Cenozoic exhumation and foreland basin evolution in the Western Alps. Tectonics, 35, 1892-1912.
CARRAPA B., DECELLES P.G, WANG X., CLEMENTZ M.T., MANCIN N., STOICA, M., KRAATZ B., MENG J., ABDULOV S. & CHEN F. (2015). Tectono-climatic implications of Eocene Paratethys regression in the Tajik basin of Central Asia. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 424, 168-178