Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Mediterranean islands'

In order to gain a greater understanding of the genetic makeup of the Maltese population, mitochondrial DNA HVR1 and HVR2, and Y-chromosomal and autosomal STRs were amplified in a representative sample of the Maltese population. The results showed that the Maltese have close genetic ties with Sicily and mainland Italy both from a matrilineal and a patrilineal perspective, whilst no conclusive evidence was found for a Phoenician link between the Maltese and the Lebanese population. In order to try and gain an insight into the Maltese population throughout time, a study was conducted on three Maltese archaeological burial places dating from the Neolithic to the Roman period. The study extracted and amplified ancient DNA sequences from these three sites and compared the resulting mtDNA sequences with the modern Maltese population. The results showed that aDNA survives in the Maltese archaeological record, and that some haplotypes found during the Roman period in Malta are also found in the modern day population, whilst other haplotypes present in the archaeological samples are not visible in the modern Maltese population.

Mediterranean dwarf elephants represent some of the most striking examples of phyletic bodysize change observed in mammals and are emblematic of the ‘island rule’, where small mammals become larger and large mammals dwarf on islands. The repeated dwarfing of mainland elephant taxa (Palaeoloxodon antiquus and Mammuthus meridionalis) on Mediterranean islands provide a ‘natural experiment’ in parallel evolution, and a unique opportunity to investigate the causes, correlates and mechanisms of island evolution and body-size change. This thesis provides the first pan-Mediterranean study that incorporates taxonomic and allometric approaches to the evolution of dwarf elephants, establishing a framework for the investigation of parallel evolution and key morphological correlates of insular dwarfism. I show that insular dwarfism has evolved independently in Mediterranean elephants at least six times, resulting in at least seven dwarf species. These species group into three, broad size-classes: ‘smallsized’ (P. falconeri, P. cypriotes and M. creticus), ‘medium-sized’ (P. mnaidriensis and P. tiliensis) and ‘large-sized’ (Palaeoloxodon sp. nov. and ‘P. antiquus’ from Crete). Size-shape similarities between independent lineages from the east and central Mediterranean indicate that homoplasy is likely among similar-sized taxa, with implications for the existence of meta-taxa. These homoplasies appear to result from the exploitation of ontogenetic trajectories common to the Elephantidae, underpinning the evolution of small size. Interspecific allometry between dwarf and full-sized species can be seen to result from these common, but grade-shifted ontogenetic trajectories, and this may also be true of broader macroevolutionary trends in the Proboscidea. These size-related grade-shifts suggest that similar, but increasingly extreme, modifications of pre-natal development underpin the evolution of insular dwarfism in elephants. By incorporating research into the morphology and ontogeny of teeth and post-crania in fullsized extant and extinct elephants, this thesis provides new insights into insular dwarfism, elephant systematics and elephant functional morphology and adaptation.

La mida corporal (o el seu proxy: pes corporal) té una posició central en la immensa web de variables biològiques interdependents d’un organisme. Mostra correlació amb moltes característiques fisiològiques, morfològiques, comportamentals, ecològiques i de life history, i, per tant, afecta a l’aptitud biològica dels individuals i, en última instància, a la biologia i evolució de les espècies. Els canvis de mida (o massa) des d’un punt de vista evolutiu són indicatius d’adaptacions als ecosistemes per selecció natural. Una de les tendències eco-geogràfiques més atractiva en variació de mida és la coneguda Regla d’Illes. Es descriure que en ecosistemes insulars els mamífers de talla petita evolucionen cap a formes gegants (en relació als seus ancestres continentals), mentre que els mamífers grans cap a formes nanes. Associat amb els canvis de mida, les biotes insulars també mostres adaptacions característiques en quan a morfologia, demografia, comportament i life history com a conseqüència dels diferents règims selectius de les illes (Síndrome d’Illes). Les possibles causes de la Regla d’Illes han estat sempre estudiades en biotes actuals, les quals manquen d’espècies nadiues veritablement endèmiques i han estat altament modificades per l’arribada de l’home i les espècies invasores. Les biotes extintes són les úniques que ens poden proporcionar una visió verdadera i donar-nos respostes genuïnes per explicar aquest fenomen. Els ecòlegs de comunitats han proposat diverses teories per explicar com les pressions ecològiques desencadenen el gegantisme operant directament sobre la mida de l’individu (hipòtesis de depredació, de viabilitat de recursos i socio-sexual). No obstant, recentment, altres autors han interpretat el gegantisme com a conseqüència de canvis en la life history dels individus als quals la mida corporal es sensitiva. L’objectiu principal de la present tesis doctoral és fer inferència en les pressions selectives que estan darrera la Regla d’Illes tenint en compte la massa corporal d’espècies extintes i els ecosistemes insulars (Illes Mediterrànies). Degut a la gran quantitat d’ordres de mamífers, la tesi doctoral es troba centrada en els micromamífers perquè la seva investigació ha estat més descuidada. Per conèixer el pes de les espècies fòssils, s’han mesurat dents, cranis i ossos postcranials de 1340 individus (170 espècies) de parents actuals (rosegadors, lagomorfs i sorícids). Amb aquestes dades, diversos models predictius han estat desenvolupats amb resultats satisfactoris. Analitzant la fiabilitat d’aquests models, s’ha observat que les mesures dels estilopodis (principalment diàmetres de fèmurs i húmers) són millors indicadors del pes corporal que altres elements esquelètics. Utilitzant aquests nous models, els pesos corporals de 22 espècies fòssils (2250 individus), incloent espècies insulars i els seus ancestres o parents continents, han estat estimats. Els resultats obtinguts contrasten amb prèvies aproximacions, on els autors van utilitzar models dentals no adequats. Quan comparem el pes corporal de les espècies insulars amb els dels seus ancestres continentals o parents actuals o extints, s’observa que la majoria d’ells mostra un morfotip gegant (amb l’excepció de les musaranyes de Creta i Sicília). Els resultats d’aquesta tesi evidencien que en petits mamífers l’absència de depredadors és un dels principals impulsors del canvi de mida corporal en règims insulars. Per això en illes petites i més aïllades és on es produeixen els màxims exponents de gegantisme. L’estudi també evidencia que en absència de depredació, la disponibilitat de recursos podria regular l’augment de mida. L’estudi sobre la life history d’aquestes espècies revela que aquests vivien molt més del que s’esperaria pel seu pes. Per tant, es mourien cap una life history lenta, implicant una major longevitat i una reproducció retardada. Els resultats d’aquesta tesi donarien suport al model proposat on el pes canviaria degut a la sensibilitat amb la life history.<br>El tamaño corporal (o su proxy: peso corporal) tiene una posición central en la inmensa web de variables biológicas interdependientes de un organismo. Muestra correlación con muchas características fisiológicas, morfológicas, ecológicas y de life history, y, por lo tanto, afecta a la aptitud biológica de los individuos y, en última instancia, a la biología y evolución de las especies. Los cambios de tamaño (o masa) des de un punto de vista evolutivo son indicativos de adaptaciones a los ecosistemas por selección natural. Una de las tendencias eco-geográficas más atractiva en variación de tamaño es la conocida Regla de Islas. Se describe que en ecosistemas insulares los mamíferos de tamaño pequeño evolucionan hacia formas gigantes (en relación a sus ancestros continentales), mientras que los mamíferos grandes hacia formas enanas. Asociado con los cambios de tamaño, las biotas insulares también muestran adaptaciones en referencia a su morfología, demografía, comportamiento y life history como consecuencia de los distintos regímenes selectivos de las islas (Síndrome de Islas). Las posibles causes de la Regla de Islas han estado siempre estudiadas en biotas actuales, las cuales carecen de especies nativas endémicas y han estado altamente modificadas por la llegada del hombre y las especies invasoras. Las biotas extintas son las únicas que nos pueden dar respuestas genuinas para explicar este fenómeno. Los ecólogos de comunidades han propuesto distintas teorías para explicar cómo las presiones ecológicas originar el gigantismo operando directamente sobre el tamaño del individuo (hipótesis de depredación, de viabilidad de reservas y socio-sexual). No obstante, recientemente, otros autores han interpretado el gigantismo como consecuencia de cambio en la life history de los individuos a los cuales el tamaño es sensitivo. El objetivo principal de la tesis es hacer inferencia en las presiones selectivas que están detrás de la Regla de Islas teniendo en cuenta la masa corporal de las especies extintas y los ecosistemas insulares (Islas Mediterráneas). Debido a la gran cantidad de órdenes de mamíferos, la tesis se centra en los micromamíferos. Para conocer el peso de las especies fósiles, se han medido dientes, cráneos y huesos postcraneales de 1340 individuos (170 especies) de parientes actuales (roedores, lagomorfos y sorícidos). Con estos datos, distintos modelos predictivos han estado desarrollados con resultados satisfactorios. Analizando la fiabilidad de estos modelos, se ha observado que las medidas de los estilopodios (principalmente diámetros de fémures y húmeros) son mejores indicadores de peso corporal que otros elementos esqueléticos. Utilizando estos nuevos modelos, los pesos corporales de 22 especies fósiles (2250 individuos) han sido predichos. Los resultados obtenidos contrastan con estimaciones previas, donde los autores usaron modelos dentales no adecuados. Cuando comparamos el peso corporal de las especies insulares con los de sus ancestros contientales o parientes actuales o extintos, se observa que la mayoría de ellos muestra un morfotipo gigantes (con la excepción de las musarañas de Creta y Sicilia). Los resultados de esta tesis evidencian que en pequeños mamíferos la ausencia de depredadores es uno de los principales impulsores de cambio de tamaño en regímenes insulares. Por esto en las islas pequeñas y más aisladas es donde se producen los máximos exponentes de gigantismo. El estudio también evidencia que en ausencia de depredación, la disponibilidad de reservas podría regular el aumento de tamaño. El estudio sobre la life history de estas especias revela que éstas viven mucho más de lo que esperaríamos por su peso. Por lo tanto, se moverían hacia una life history lenta, implicando una mayor longevidad y una reproducción retardada. Los resultados de esta tesis darían soporte al modelo propuesto donde el peso cambiaría debido a la sensibilidad con la life history.<br>Body size (or its proxy: body mass) has a central position in the colossal web of interdependent biological variables of an organism. It shows correlation with lots of physiological, morphological, behavioral, ecological and life history features, and, thus, it affects the fitness of individuals and, ultimately, the biology and evolution of species. The shifts in size (or mass) from an evolutionary point of view are indicative of adaptations to ecosystems through natural selection. One of the most attractive and awesome ecogeographical trends in variation of body size is the well-known Island Rule. It is described that in island ecosystems small mammals evolve towards giants (relative to their mainland ancestors), while large mammals towards dwarf morphotypes. Associated with these size shifts, the insular biotas also show characteristic morphological, demographic, behavioral, and life history adaptations consequence of the different selective regimens of island (Island Syndrome). The possible causes of Island Rule have always been studied in extant biotas, which lack true endemic native species and have been highly modified by the arrival of humans and invasive species. The extinct biotas are the only ones that can provide a true view and genuine answers for explaining this phenomenon. Community ecologists have proposed several hypotheses to explain how ecological pressures trigger gigantism operating directly on the size of individual (predation hypothesis, food availability hypothesis or social-sexual hypothesis). However, recently other authors have interpreted the gigantism as a consequence of changes in the life history of individuals to which the body size is sensitive. The main objective of the present PhD Thesis is to make inference on the selection pressures behind the Island Rule taking into account the body mass of the extinct species and the island ecosystem (Mediterranean Islands). Due to the large amount of mammalian orders, the PhD Thesis is centered in micromammals because the knowledge of gigantism remains widely neglected. For knowing the weight of fossil species, it has been measured teeth, skulls and postcranial bones of 1340 individuals (170 species) of current relatives (rodents, lagomorphs and soricids). With this data, several predictive models have been developed with satisfactory results. Assessing the reliability of these models, it has been observed that the measurements of stylopods (principally diameters of femora and humeri) are better proxies of BM than other skeletal elements. Using these new models, the body masses of 22 fossil species (2250 individuals), including insular species and their mainland ancestor or relatives, were estimated. The results obtained contrast with previous approximations, where the authors used not suitable teeth predictive models. When the BM of insular species was compare with their mainland ancestor or extinct and extant relatives, it is observed that the most of them show a giant morph (with the exception of shrews from Crete and Sicily). The results of this PhD Thesis evidence that in small mammals the absence of predators is a primary driver in the body size shift in insular regimes. Thus, in small and more isolated islands is where the most incredible gigantism cases are observed. The study also evidences than in a total absence of predators, the resource availability can regulate the size increase. The study of the life history of these species reveals that they lived more than expected from their size. Thus, they move towards a slow life history, implying a longer lifespan and delayed reproduction. The results of this PhD Thesis give support to the model proposed where the mass changes due to their sensitive with life history changes.

The Mediterranean biocoenosis of infralittoral pebbles has been poorly studied and very little information is available on the physical characteristics of pebble beds, on the diversity of the associated assemblages, on the spatial and temporal variation in assemblage structure, or on interactions between the physical and biotic components. The present study was therefore carried out to characterise pebble-bed assemblages as a first step towards understanding the ecological dynamics of these habitats. Preliminary surveys were made along the low-lying coasts of the Maltese Islands to map the occurrence of pebble-bed habitats. Fifteen locations with pebble coverage >25 m² were chosen for study and benthic sampling was undertaken between July–September 2011; water samples were also collected on a monthly basis. Five shallow sites were sampled for biota again at six-month intervals until April 2013. The pebble beds were characterised in terms of environmental parameters and biotic composition. A total of 62,742 individuals belonging to 360 macrofaunal taxa were recorded (total sampling area: 16 m²). Polychaetes, crustaceans and molluscs were the most common faunal groups. The recorded species included the endemic gastropod Gibbula nivosa, and the first central Mediterranean records of three gobiid species. Three distinct pebble-bed types were characterised based on physical and biological features: shallow beds occurring in rocky coves, beds found within creeks or seagrass meadows, and beds located in harbour environments; amendments to internationally used benthic habitat classification schemes have been proposed, since only a single category of pebble-bed habitats is currently recognised in these. A significant seasonal reduction in species richness and abundance was recorded from shallow sites, related to the higher level of disturbance occurring during winter storms. Analysis of diversity patterns in harbour sites indicated that a high richness per site and between-site variation in species composition led to the observed high diversity. Site richness was associated with fine-scale structural complexity, while environmental characteristics were correlated with variation in assemblage structure over a broad range of spatial scales. These findings suggest that pebble beds have a higher conservation value than generally thought. The biologically derived habitat classification scheme and knowledge on assemblage-environment relationships derived from the present work will be useful to inform and guide management decisions concerning these pebble-bed habitats.

This thesis includes several research works on population dynamics and conservation of seabirds in two small islands of the western Mediterranean: the Columbretes Islands (Castellón) and the island of Benidorm (Alicante). Most of the works included in the thesis report have been already published in scientific journals. This thesis includes both works discussing the role of certain biological factors (Section I) on seabird population dynamics and assessing the effects of human activities (Section II) on population numbers. Each section is preceded by an introductory chapter dealing, in a more informal manner, with the topic approached by that section. Section I approaches specifically the influence of immigration and environmental stochasticity on the population dynamics of shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis (Chapter 1), the role of philopatry and conspecific atraction in breeding site selection in Audouin's gull Larus audouinii (Chapter 2), the determinants of colony-site dynamics in Audouin's gull (Chapter 3), the movements of yellow-legged gulls Larus michahellis from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic (Chapter 4), the presence of immigrant Cory's shearwaters Calonectris diomedea from Atlantic colonies in Mediterranean colonies (Chapter 5). Section II includes works discussing the role of landfills in disease dispersal among yellow-legged gulls (Chapter 6), the role of discards of the trawling fishing fleet as a food source during the summer for gulls (Chapter 7), the role of fishing discards on the dynamics of a colony of Audouin's gull facing local extinction (Chapter 8) and the impact of tourism on a small colony of the Eleonora's falcon Falco eleonorae (Chapter 9). A number of conclusions are listed. Basically we found that adult survival is the demographic parameter with the largest impact on the growth rate of colonies, although transfer processes play a very important role as well since seabirds are structured in subpopulations (patches) separated in space. Human activities can affect all demographic parameters (fecundity/mortality and immigration/emigration) and must be taken into account to understand seabird dynamics, specially fishing activities which may even produce the local extinction of colonies. Past is also a factor to be taken into account since present-day dynamics result from the interplay between local, regional and historical factors. Most of the seabird colonies in the Mediterranean are small sized and hence prone to genetic erosion and stochasticity besides being composed by species and subspecies with a high degree of endemism. Colonies not occupied at present must also be included in conservation plans since seabirds have high dispersal capabilities. Finally, the tremendous importance of the social factor in seabird colonies can be used as an effective conservation tool.

Throughout the Western Mediterranean, from Catalonia to Calabria, the widespread stylistic homogeneity of the Late Neolithic (c. 4,000 - 3,500 B.C.) gives way in the Copper Age (c. 3,500 - 2,200 B.C.) to a host of regionally varied stylistic groups. Especially in the islands of Malta, Sicily and Sardinia upon which this dissertation focuses, this stylistic differentiation has been taken to indicate increasing isolation. The evidence for exchange, however, shows that the islands continued to interact with each other and the mainland. The highly distinctive developments in the islands cannot, therefore, be explained in terms of isolation. This dissertation offers a resolution to the paradoxes which arise from the inadequacies of current understandings of the role of interaction in the socio-economic development of the Western Mediterranean from the Late Neolithic to the end of the Copper Age. In Section II it argues that stylistic comparisons give a misleading impression of the extent of significance of interaction: focusing on processes of socio-economic change offers a more reliable avenue of interpretation. Despite stylistic differences in the artefacts used in each region, the processes of socio-economic change occurring in the Western Mediterranean were, in some respects, uniform. Throughout this region, the beginning of the Copper Age was marked by the elaboration and growth in importance of a sphere of primitive valuables used for a range of social transactions (e.g. settling disputes, paying bride-wealth, gaining prestige). This process is related, in all the regions, to the development of more marked social inequalities and to the creation of new kinds of social groups. Identifying a common process does not, however, explain the distinctiveness of developments in each island. Section III argues that such differences arise because the common process operated in different social contexts. In Sardinia, for example, dispersed social groups were drawn together by the development of the prestige sphere and came to be centred upon monumental settlements, whilst in Sicily relatively discrete social groups were already centred upon settlements and their further consolidation was reflected in the elaboration of large communal tombs associated with the settlements.

Maltese religious practices in Classical antiquity are an area of research that has been neglected by scholars, particularly in recent years, in contrast to religious practices of the prehistoric periods. This has created a lacuna in Maltese archaeology that this thesis seeks to address. In doing so, the approach adopted in this thesis diverges from earlier accounts based largely on artefacts and sites divorced from their associated landscape. Instead, the approach pursued here focuses on the landscape context of religious practices of the Maltese islands. An important contribution of this thesis is the deliberately broad definition of religious phenomena in the Maltese islands to include aspects of private religion and rural religious contexts. This aim is achieved through a multidisciplinary, comparative, and interpretative approach that is widely adopted throughout the core of the thesis comprising five integrated case studies. To facilitate a better understanding and interpretation of the religious phenomenon in the Maltese islands, the thesis evaluates the case studies within the religious context of the wider Mediterranean region. Aided by syntheses and analyses of the data, this study examines ‘sacralised’ landscapes often re-worked to accommodate hybrid cults. It also identifies the religious identity(ies) of the Maltese communities as they are shaped by their different concerns or motives and as they manifest themselves in urban and in rural contexts, defines the nature of their religious practices, and establishes their character vis-à-vis other Mediterranean religious cultures. Relying on a wider set of data sources and adopting a more holistic approach, the thesis builds up a comprehensive picture of ancient Maltese religious culture and identity that, while reflecting the religious scenario of the wider Mediterranean region, was characteristically Maltese in a hybridised form. The thesis, therefore, provides a case study that may contribute towards knowledge on religious cultures and identities in the Mediterranean in general and amongst island communities in particular.

La Monarquía hispánica aprovechó la situación de Baleares en el Mediterráneo occidental para su política norteafricana, en la que las islas participaron a nivel militar, diplomático e informativo. El corso musulmán contra los dominios hispanos fue más relevante que el cristiano y aumentó durante la guerra contra la Sublime Puerta. Lo más habitual fueron las acciones marítimo-costeras a pequeña escala, mientras que los grandes ataques contra localidades amuralladas o interiores fueron sucesos extraordinarios. Los súbditos del Rey Católico también se armaron en corso, especialmente contra el litoral argelino. Las Baleares no respondieron conjuntamente a la amenaza, pero sí mejoraron sus defensas según la estrategia defensiva hispana, mejorando y reforzando progresivamente los mecanismos tradicionales con elementos artillados y fortificados, triunfando el planteamiento terrestre sobre el marítimo, pero sin un predominio de los componentes estáticos sobre los dinámicos. Las defensas fueron más efectivas de lo que se había admitido, forzando a los atacantes a retirarse en muchas ocasiones y capturando a los musulmanes, que fueron vendidos como esclavos. Sin embargo, tampoco debemos exagerar su capacidad, puesto que los corsarios capturaron a numerosos isleños y los condujeron a «tierra de moros».<br>Thanks to their privileged position in Western Mediterranean, the Balearic Islands assumed military, diplomatic and intelligence gathering roles in Spanish North African policy. Muslim privateering against the Spanish territories increased during the war against the Ottoman Empire and it was more important than its Christian counterpart. The small maritime-coastal assaults where the most common actions, rather than the exceptional attacks against fortified or interior locations. The Catholic Kings’ subjects also armed ships, especially against the Algerian coast. The Balearic Islands did not face the threat together, although each island improved its defences according to the Spanish defensive strategy parameters, fortifying the traditional mechanisms with artillery and fortified elements and prevailing the land components over the maritime ones, although the static elements did not overwhelm the dynamic ones. The defences were far more effective than what has been stated, forcing the enemy to retreat on several occasions and selling captured Muslims as slaves. Nevertheless, we must not exaggerate their effectiveness because corsairs captured lots of islanders and took them to Muslim lands.

This thesis explores the transformation of public health and medical structures in the Mediterranean island colonies of Malta, Cyprus and the Ionian Islands during the nineteenth century. It focuses on the Mediterranean region as the centre of British imperial politics where the island colonies played an important economic and political role. In this British 'lake', the island colonies reaffirmed their geo-strategic importance. This thesis explores the idea that the Mediterranean region and the island colonies became a cordon sanitaire between the 'pestilential' East and the Maghreb, and 'civilised healthy' Europe. Here, the limelight is on the European island colonies in the Mediterranean. In these small island colonies, the major English health reforms were enforced by total state intervention and centralisation. Furthermore, this research illustrates the differences in management of hospitals and medical charities, in particular, the dissimilitude between the administration of public health in England and that in the Mediterranean colonies. This work contributes to the history of medicine and public health literature as it questions the notion of the 'West and the rest'. Since Mediterranean colonies were also called European colonies, suddenly the notion of the West (as one single entity) colonising the rest of the World, loses its applicability. These Mediterranean colonies were geographically part of Europe but not part of the dominating European powers. Thus, this research argues that, geographically and ideologically, the study of Mediterranean colonies demonstrates a grey area within colonial historiography and the literature on colonial medicine. This work consists of four chapters, each discussing various selective themes like isolation, segregation, medical travellers, medical charities and state intervention, with the aim of illustrating the major arguments of this thesis.

In the western Mediterranean, deep water decapod crustaceans form a considerable fraction of the megafaunal biomass in the upper and middle slope, being a very important component of the catches of the commercial fishery. The main objective of this thesis is to analyse the community and population dynamics of the deep water decapod crustaceans off the Balearic Islands. Data have been obtained from scientific surveys, from the fishing sector and from selectivity pilot studies. Univariate and multivariate techniques have been used to analyse the data. The knowledge derived from this thesis provide relevant information about how the species traits are mainly affected by water masses, sediment characteristic, trophic resources and fishing, since they influence the bathymetric distribution, abundances, biological parameters and condition of decapod crustaceans at a local scale. This knowledge is a key point for a better assessment of the resources and for a better application of the Ecosystem-Based Approach Management in the Mediterranean deep water ecosystems

Loin d’être une nouveauté, les revendications fascistes autour de « l’italianité » de la Corse et de Malte prennent la suite des campagnes irrédentistes de l’époque crispienne. A partir de 1923, les mêmes arguments d’ordre géographique, historique, linguistique ou ethnographique, tout comme les supposés liens culturels entre les élites italiennes, corses et maltaises du XIXe siècle, furent à nouveau au coeur du débat. Cette défense d’une l’italianité corse et maltaise, tout comme le mythe du Risorgimento méditerranéen, ne constitue cependant qu’une réactualisation de la politique impérialiste de la Rome antique dans le Lebensraum italien qui se concrétise autour du concept de Mare Nostrum.Cette recherche a ainsi permis de combiner l’étude des structures de sociabilité culturelle et scientifique liés à la valorisation linguistique avec une nouvelle l’analyse de la politique méditerranéenne de l’Italie fasciste, tout en gardant une approche sociale et politique des réseaux et vecteurs internes de l’autonomisme corse et du nationalisme maltais. En abordant la question de l’irrédentisme en Corse et à Malte émerge alors le problème de la proximité linguistique des idiomes locaux avec la langue italienne. Dans les deux cas, nous nous heurtons à une des plus délicates questions de l’histoire corse et maltaise: le désir d’autonomie et indépendance. Les fascistes, en s’appuyant sur des arguments d’ordre culturel et en faisant appel aux revendications des populations issues des mauvaises conditions économiques, ont cherché à rallier à la cause irrédentiste les plus fervents opposants aux gouvernements français et anglais: les membres du Parti Corse d’Action (PCA) et du Parti Nationaliste Maltais. Ce problème linguistique qui aurait dû se cantonner à un débat purement scientifique, a ainsi été dévoyé sur le terrain politique au profit des irrédentistes fascistes et des nationalistes corses et maltais<br>In 1923 the Fascist regime began a propaganda campaign by claiming the territories of Corsica and Malta, held by France and Great Britain, that were deemed to be Italian lands. The Fascist regime produced literature on Corsica and Malta that justified that both islands were Italian lands based on historic, ethnic, and linguistic grounds. The Fascists quoted historical, geographical, linguistic, ethnographic and cultural relations between the Italian peninsula and the island elite during the nineteenth century, in order to present evidence of the Italianità of Corsica and Malta. The Fascist regime activate cultural institutions and the majority of the Italian intellectuals in order to justify, on the ideological level, the irredentist and imperial ambitions in the Mediterranean basin. This research aims to investigate the myth of the Risorgimento Mediterranean, a myth that was created in order to explain to Italian public opinion the Mussolini's foreign policy regarding Corsica and Malta. The myth of the Risorgimento Mediterranean created a strong link between the imperial mission of ancient Rome and the "Mediterranean destiny" of the House of Savoy. It gradually became a prevalent subject in Fascist publications and writings of personalities of the Italian cultural life. This study aims to examine the distance and the convergence between the mythological construction of the Risorgimento Mediterranean and the reality of the Fascist territorial claims in the Mediterranean, in particular on Corsica and Malta

In 1923 the Fascist regime began a propaganda campaign by claiming the territories of Corsica and Malta, held by France and Great Britain, that were deemed to be Italian lands. The Fascist regime produced literature on Corsica and Malta that justified that both islands were Italian lands based on historic, ethnic, and linguistic grounds. The Fascists quoted historical, geographical, linguistic, ethnographic and cultural relations between the Italian peninsula and the island elite during the nineteenth century, in order to present evidence of the Italianità of Corsica and Malta. The Fascist regime activate cultural institutions and the majority of the Italian intellectuals in order to justify, on the ideological level, the irredentist and imperial ambitions in the Mediterranean basin. This research aims to investigate the myth of the Risorgimento Mediterranean, a myth that was created in order to explain to Italian public opinion the Mussolini's foreign policy regarding Corsica and Malta. The myth of the Risorgimento Mediterranean created a strong link between the imperial mission of ancient Rome and the "Mediterranean destiny" of the House of Savoy. It gradually became a prevalent subject in Fascist publications and writings of personalities of the Italian cultural life. This study aims to examine the distance and the convergence between the mythological construction of the Risorgimento Mediterranean and the reality of the Fascist territorial claims in the Mediterranean, in particular on Corsica and Malta.<br>A partire dal 1923 il regime fascista diede avvio a una campagna propagandistica di rivendicazioni territoriali nei riguardi di Malta e della Corsica, facendo appello ad argomentazioni di ordine storico, geografico, linguistico, etnografico nonché ai legami culturali tra la Penisola italiana e le élites insulari risalenti al XIX secolo, al fine di comprovare l’italianità delle due isole. Il regime mobilitò le istituzioni culturali e larga parte dell’intellettualità italiana con l’intento dichiarato di suffragare, sul piano ideologico, le mire irredentiste e imperialiste nel bacino del Mediterraneo. Questa ricerca intende ricostruire la parabola del mito del Risorgimento mediterraneo, un mito che fu concepito e costruito con il proposito di giustificare e motivare, di fronte all’opinione pubblica italiana, le scelte compiute dal governo mussoliniano in materia di politica estera e in particolare nei confronti delle terre irredente mediterranee: la Corsica e Malta. Statuendo un nesso indissolubile tra la missione imperiale fascista, che era stata di Roma antica, e il «destino mediterraneo» di Casa Savoia, il mito del Risorgimento mediterraneo divenne progressivamente un motivo dominante nella pubblicistica fascista e negli scritti di insigni personalità dell’intellettualità italiana. Questo studio si propone di valutare la distanza e la convergenza tra la costruzione mitologica del Risorgimento mediterraneo e la realtà delle rivendicazioni territoriali dell’Italia fascista nel Mediterraneo, in particolare nei riguardi della Corsica e di Malta.

This thesis looks at the definition and diffusion within the EU of a new model of policy-making and implementation based on regions acting within a multilevel system of governance. The focus of the empirical research is on INTERREG, an experimental Community Initiative that has promoted interregional cooperation across national borders. This thesis argues that INTERREG represents a particularly coherent case of the EU's approach to regional planning and territorial development: in fact, it extends multilevel governance to interregional partnerships defined beyond national borders and adds a territorial dimension to the goal of socio-economic cohesion. Since 1990, when INTERREG was first launched, territorial cooperation has become increasingly relevant to EU Regional Policy (and in the accession of new Member States) until when, in 2007, it was mainstreamed as one of the three new priority objectives of the policy. Drawing evidence from the implementation of INTERREG in the 'islands' programme between the regions of Corsica (FR) and Sardinia (I) from 1990 until 2005, this thesis shows how the process of administrative capacity and institution building promoted by the European Commission at the subnational level has gradually empowered regional actors to take responsibility for the planning and management of strategies for sustainable development of their territories. Although lacking the traditions of interregional cooperation and sharing a past of dependency on their respective central governments in development planning, regional actors have gradually adopted and learned to incorporate the cooperative logic of the EU model proposed by the programme and extended it to other policy domains. However, the potential of interregional cross-border cooperation in terms of enhancing territorial cohesion appears to be limited by the persistent peripherality of the islands and their wider territorial setting (the Western-Mediterranean), prompting the need for a wide-ranging spatial strategy capable of coordinating EU policies.

Located 127 miles from the shores of Sicily and only 70 from Tunisia, the island of Lampedusa is home to a population of 6000. Residents are largely reliant on a centuries-old fishing economy, a booming tourism industry and, most recently, the sustainment of a complex apparatus of border enforcement. Since the early 2000s, with the hardening of the southern border of Italy and the European Union, a multitude of actors have converged to Lampedusa: from migrants, to agents of enforcement, to NGO personnel, along with journalists, researchers and tourists. In this thesis, I center the experiences of island residents to analyze the daily, lived dimensions of Lampedusa becoming a key site for the externalization of enforcement and the production of a border spectacle depicting “migration crisis.” Employing ethnographic methods and drawing from literature in feminist geopolitics, critical border studies and spatial theory, this approach looks beyond the nation state to discuss the everyday construction of borders and geopolitics. In doing so, I focus on the contested and relational nature of bordering on the island, highlighting some of the contradictions and inconsistencies of discourses and policies rooted in the premise of sudden emergency in the Mediterranean.

The integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) with power electronics interface to the grid, without the back-up of rotating inertia, endangers frequency stability. This issue becomes particularly critical in isolated power systems, like those of small islands not supplied by the main grid, in the case of high shares of production from unpredictable renewables such as photovoltaic and wind sources. Consequently, to preserve the security and the reliability of these systems, it is necessary to adopt new frequency adjustments mechanisms. In this context, the thesis investigates the transition toward an economically and technically feasible generating system based on RES, to achieve specific decarbonisation targets in two Italian small islands, proposing solutions for preserving grid stability. The optimal energy mix characterised by the lowest Levelized Cost of Energy is evaluated for both Lampedusa and Pantelleria islands (two Italian islands in the Mediterranean Sea), and then a frequency stability analysis is performed showing that, in some operating conditions, the island power systems are no more stable due to the inertia reduction caused by RES. Two solutions are hence proposed: the use of suitable Voltage Source Converters (VSC) for RES interface based on a Virtual Synchronous Machine (VSM) coupled to a traditional Cascaded Current Control (CCC) and the use of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) able to provide virtual inertia (VI) response. The first aim of the thesis is to show how much important is to consider stability issues in the decarbonisation process of small islands. The second aim is to propose feasible solutions for facing this issue. The thesis's main contribution is the novelty of the proposed study, based on real data provided by the two small island utilities and analysing real scenarios of RES penetration in the two grids. The study results provide precious information for fostering the transition of the two islands towards green smart grid structures.

The spider infraorder Mygalomorphae, comprising tarantulas, funnel-web spiders and the trap-door spiders, is one of the three main evolutionary lineages recognized within spiders. Its family level phylogenetic relationships are with a few exceptions relatively well solved, but its actual diversity in the Mediterranean region is probably underestimated. Because of the extremely low dispersal capacity, mygalomorph spiders usually show high levels of local endemism and deep population genetic structure, however, closely related species tend to be morphologically conservative. The low vagility and high habitat fidelity of mygalomorphs makes them a perfect model system for biogeographic studies as their distribution ranges are more likely to reflect geological processes such as continental break ups or tectonic plates rearrangements, while their conservative morphology makes them a good system to test species delimiting methods. The present Ph.D. thesis provides insights into the cryptic diversity, distribution patterns and phylogenetic relationships of the species of the families Ctenizidae, Hexathelidae and Idiopidae that inhabit the Western Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. By using a multi-locus approach and state of the art phylogenetic inference methods, the pattern and time frame of the diversification of these groups is inferred. The phylogenetic and temporal information sheds light on the biogeographic scenario and the diversification drivers of the selected families. Molecular based species delimitation approaches are further used to identify species boundaries in morphologically conservative groups. The results of the present study have greatly contributed to improve our current understanding of the diversity, biogeography and phylogeny of the mygalomorph spiders inhabiting the Mediterranean region and the Canary Islands. The existence of the independent evolutionary lineages that may correspond to undescribed species was detected in all studied groups, so far neglected by taxonomists due to their secluded habits and uniform morphology. The study also reveals that the past geological events had a great impact on the present day distribution of Mediterranean mygalomorphs. In the family Ctenizidae, the amphi-Atlantic distribution of Ummidia, traces back to a former Laurasian distribution and the rearrangement of the microplates following the Hercynian Belt break up, drove the diversification of both Cteniza and Ummidia in the Western Mediterranean. Our findings support that the genus Macrothele colonised the Mediterranean region during the Eocene in two independent waves, presumably from Asia, which in turn may have been colonised from Africa by rifting on the Indian subcontinent, following the Gondwana break up. On the other hand, the Canary Islands were colonised once by the genus Titanidiops presumably by passive rafting from the nearby mainland. Finally, the study sheds additional light on the high level phylogeny of mygalomorph spiders. The first ever-molecular phylogeny of the family Ctenizidae that includes representatives of all genera was conducted, revealing that their current higher taxonomic groupings are polyphyletic and failing to retrieve the monophyly of the family as whole, mostly due to the position of Cteniza and Cyrtocarenum. Unfortunately, topology tests could not reject the single origin of the family. Similarly, the results further confirmed the polyphyly of the family Hexathelidae, mostly due to the inclusion of the Atracinae subfamily. Our findings emphasize the need for redefining the limits of the families Ctenizidae and Hexathelidae and re-evaluating the morphological characters used in the current taxonomy of both groups.<br>El infraorden Mygalomorphae es uno de los tres linajes evolutivos principales reconocidos dentro de las arañas, pero su diversidad en el Mediterráneo ha sido en general poco estudiada. Los factores que contribuyen al escaso conocimiento taxonómico del grupo tienen que ver con sus hábitos crípticos y su uniformidad fenotípica. Dicha uniformidad, convierte al grupo en un sistema para testar métodos de delimitación de especies. Por otro lado, el grupo se caracteriza por un baja capacidad de dispersión y elevado sedentarismo, constituyendo un modelo excelente para estudios de biogeografía, ya que sus distribuciones pueden reflejar procesos geológicos tales como la deriva continental. En esta tesis se ha utilizado una metodología integrativa que combina secuencias de DNA de múltiples genes, genotipado mediante AFLPs y modelación de distribución de especies, para abordar una serie de cuestiones relacionadas con la diversidad de este grupo. Mediante el uso de los métodos de análisis filogenéticos, inferencia del marco temporal de la diversificación del grupo y la aplicación de los métodos bayesianos coalescentes para la delimitación de especies se identifican los principales factores que promovieron la diversificación de los migalomorfos en la cuenca mediterránea, se contrastan diferentes escenarios biogeográficos sobre su origen y se investiga su estatus taxonómico. Los resultados de esta tesis mejoran notablemente el conocimiento actual sobre la diversidad críptica, la biogeografía y la filogenia de las familias Ctenizidae, Hexathelidae e Idiopidae que habitan el Mediterráneo e Islas Canarias. En todos los grupos estudiados se han detectado linajes evolutivos independientes que pueden corresponder a especies nuevas. Nuestros resultados ponen en evidencia que los eventos geológicos pasados tales como la desintegración de Gondwana, Laurasia y el Cinturón Herciniano modelaron la distribución actual de los migalomorfos Mediterráneos y que las Islas Canarias fueron colonizadas desde el continente una sola vez. Los resultados de esta tesis también confirman la polifilia de las familias Ctenizidae y Hexathelidae y ponen de manifiesto la necesidad de reevaluar los caracteres morfológicos utilizados en la taxonomía actual.

Diagenetic studies of carbonate rocks focused for a long time on photozoan carbonate assemblages deposited in tropical climates. The results of these investigations were taken as models for the diagenetic evolution of many fossil carbonates. Only in recent years the importance of heterozoan carbonates, generally formed out of the tropics or in deeper waters, was realized. Diagenetic studies focusing on this kind of rocks are still scarce, but indicate that the diagenetic evolution of these rocks might be a better model for many fossil carbonate settings ("calcite-sea" carbonates) than the photozoan model used before.<br><br> This study deals with the determination of the diagenetic pathways and environments in such shallow-water heterozoan carbonate assemblages. Special emphasis is put on the identification of early, near-seafloor diagenetic processes and on the evaluation of the amount of constructive diagenesis in form of cementation in this diagenetic environment.<br><br> As study area the Central Mediterranean, the Maltese Islands and Sicily, was chosen. Here two sections were logged in Olio-Miocene shallow-water carbonates consisting of different kinds of heterozoan assemblages. The study area is very suitable for the investigation of constructive early diagenetic processes, as the rocks were never deeply buried and burial diagenetic pressure solution and cementation as cause of lithification could be ruled out. Nevertheless, the carbonate rocks are well lithified and form steep cliffs, implying cementation/lithification in another, shallower diagenetic environment. To determine the diagenetic pathways and environments, detailed transmitted light and cathodoluminescence petrography was carried out on thin sections. Furthermore the stable isotope (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) composition of the bulk rock, single biota and single cement phases was determined, as well as the major and trace element composition of the single cement phases.<br><br> Petrographically three (Sicily) to four (Maltese Islands) cementation phases, two phases of fabric selective and one of non-fabric selective dissolution, one phase of neomorphism and one of chemical compaction could be distinguished. The stable isotope measurements of the single cement phases pointed to cement precipitation from marine, marine-derived and meteoric waters. The trace element analysis indicated precipitation under reducing conditions, (A) in an open system with low rock-water interaction on the Maltese Islands and (B) in a closed system with high rock-water interaction on Sicily. For the closed systems case, aragonite as cement source could be concluded because its chemical composition was preserved in the newly formed cements.<br><br> By integrating these results, diagenetic pathways and environments for the investigated locations were established, and the cement source(s) in the different environments were determined. The diagenetic evolution started in the marine environment with the precipitation of fibrous/fibrous-bladed and epitaxial cement I. These cements formed as High Mg Calcite (HMC) directly out of marine waters. The paleoenvironmentally shallowest part of the section on the Maltese Islands was also exposed to meteoric diagenetic fluids. This meteoric influence lead to the dissolution of aragonitic and HMC skeletons, which sourced the cementation by Low Mg Calcitic (LMC) epitaxial cement II in this part of the Maltese section. Entering the burial-marine environment the main part of dissolution, cementation and neomorphism started to take place. The elevated CO2 content in this environment, caused by the decay of organic matter, lead to the dissolution of aragonitic skeletons, which sourced the cementation by LMC epitaxial cement II, bladed and blocky cements. The earlier precipitated HMC cement phases were either partly dissolved (epitaxial cement I) or neomorphosed to LMC (fibrous/fibrous-bladed and epitaxial cement I). In the burial environment weak chemical compaction took place without sourcing significant amounts of cementation. In a last phase the rocks entered the meteoric realm by uplift, which caused non-fabric selective dissolution. This study shows that early diagenetic processes, taking place at or just below the sediment-water-interface, are very important for the mineralogical stabilization of heterozoan carbonate strata. The main amount of constructive diagenesis in form of cementation takes place in this environment, sourced by dissolution of aragonitic and, to a lesser degree, of HMC skeletons.<br><br> The results of this study imply that the primary amount of aragonitic skeletons in heterozoan carbonate sediments must be carefully assessed, as they are the main early diagenetic cement source. In fossil heterozoan carbonate rocks, aragonitic skeletons might be the cement source even when no relict structures like micritic envelops or biomolds are preserved. In general, the diagenetic evolution of heterozoan carbonate rocks is a good model for the diagenesis of "calcite-sea" time carbonate rocks.<br>Diagenetische Untersuchungen an Karbonatgesteinen beschränkten sich lange Zeit auf photozoische Karbonatvergesellschaftungen der tropischen Breiten. Die Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchungen wurden als modellhaft für den Diageneseverlauf vieler Karbonatgesteine angesehen. Erst in den letzten Jahren wurde die Bedeutung heterozoischer Karbonatvergesellschaften, die sich im Allgemeinen außerhalb der Tropen oder in tieferem Wasser bilden, erkannt. Diagenetische Untersuchungen an dieser Art von Karbonatgesteinen sind immer noch selten, deuten aber an, dass der Diageneseverlauf in diesen Karbonaten ein besseres Model für viele fossile Karbonatgesteine ("Calcit-Meer"-Karbonate) darstellt als das bisher benutzte photozoische Diagenesemodel. Ziel dieser Studie war die Bestimmung des Diageneseverlaufs in solch flachmarinen Karbonaten mit heterozoischer Biogenvergesellschaftung. Die Milieus, in denen die diagenetischen Veränderungen stattfanden, sollten bestimmt werden. Besonderes Augenmerk lag auf der Art und Menge von Veränderungen, die frühdiagenetisch, nahe dem Meeresboden, stattfanden. Dabei war vor allem der Anteil an konstruktiver Diagenese in Form von Zementation von Interesse.<br><br> Das Arbeitsgebiet wurde im zentralen Mittelmeerraum gewählt und befindet sich auf den Maltesischen Inseln und Sizilien. Hier wurden zwei Profile in Flachwassserkarbonaten oligo-miozänen Alters aufgenommen, die sich aus unterschiedlichen heterozoischen Biogenvergesellschaftungen zusammensetzen. Dieses Arbeitsgebiet ist für die Untersuchung konstruktiver frühdiagenetischer Prozesse besonders geeignet, da die Gesteinsabfolgen niemals tief versenkt wurden und versenkungsdiagenetisch bedingte Drucklösung und Zementation als Ursache für die Lithifizierung ausgeschlossen werden können. Trotzdem sind die untersuchten Karbonatgesteine gut verfestigt und bilden steile Kliffs, was auf Zementation/Verfestigung in einem anderen, flacheren Diagenesemilieu hinweist. Zur Bestimmung der Diageneseabfolge und der diagenetischen Milieus wurden detaillierte petrographische Untersuchungen im Durchlicht und mit Kathodolumineszenz an Dünnschliffen durchgeführt. Außerdem wurden die Verhältnisse der stabilen Isotope δ¹⁸O und δ¹³C am Gesamtgestein, an einzelnen Biogenen und an einzelnen Zementphasen bestimmt. Die Haupt- und Spurenelement Zusammensetzung (Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn und Sr) wurde an den einzelnen Zementphasen ermittelt.<br><br> Petrographisch lassen sich drei (Sizilien), beziehungsweise vier (Maltesische Inseln) Zementationsphasen, zwei Phasen von materialabhängiger und eine Phase von materialunabhängiger Lösung, sowie eine Phase von Neomorphismus und eine chemische Kompaktionsphase unterscheiden. Die Messungen der stabilen Isotopenverhältnisse an den einzelnen Zementphasen deuten auf Zementausfällung aus marinen und meteorischen Wässern sowie aus Fluiden marinen Ursprungs hin. Die Spurenelementanalyse lässt außerdem auf Zementausfällung unter reduzierenden Bedingungen schließen. Diese fand einerseits, im Falle der Maltesischen Inseln, in einem offenen System mit geringer Gesteins-Wasser-Interaktion, andererseits, im Falle von Sizilien, in einem geschlossenen System mit großer Gesteins-Wasser-Interaktion statt. Bei der Zementation in einem geschlossenen System konnte Aragonit als Zementquelle bestimmt werden, da seine charakteristische chemische Zusammensetzung im neu gebildeten Zement erhalten blieb.<br><br> Durch die Integration aller Ergebnisse konnten für die beiden Lokalitäten die Diageneseabfolgen und die diagenetischen Milieus sowie die Zementquelle(n) in diesen Milieus bestimmt werden. Die diagenetische Entwicklung begann im marinen Milieu mit der Ausfällung von fibrösem bis fibrös-blättrigem und epitaxialem Zement I. Diese Zemente wurden als Hoch Magnesium Calcit (HMC) direkt aus marinem Wasser ausgefällt. Die paläogeographisch flachsten Abschnitte des Profils auf den Maltesischen Inseln gelangten dann unter den Einfluss meteorischer Wässer. Dieser meteorische Einfluss führte zur Lösung von aragonitischen und HMC Schalen, was die Zementation mit Niedrig (Low) Magnesium Calcitischem (LMC) epitaxialem Zement II in diesem Profilabschnitt speiste. Im marinen Versenkungsmilieu fand anschließend der Hauptteil an Lösung, Zementation und Neomorphismus statt. Der erhöhte CO2-Gehalt in diesem Milieu, verursacht durch den Zerfall von organischem Material, führte zur Lösung von aragonitischen Schalen, was die Zementation mit LMC epitaxialem Zement II, blättrigem und blockigem Zement speiste. Die vorher ausgefällten HMC Zementphasen wurden entweder teilweise gelöst (epitaxialer Zement I) oder in LMC umgewandelt (fibrös/fibrös-blättriger und epitaxialer Zement I). Im versenkungsdiagenetischen Milieu fand anschließend geringe chemische Kompaktion statt, ohne aber die Ausfällung von größeren Mengen an Zement zu speisen. In einer letzten Phase gelangten die Gesteine durch Hebung wieder ins meteorische Milieu, was materialunabhängige Lösungserscheinungen verursachte. Diese Untersuchung zeigt, dass frühdiagenetische Prozesse, die an der Sediment-Wasser-Grenzfläche oder knapp darunter stattfinden, sehr wichtig für die mineralogische Stabilisierung von heterozoischen Karbonatabfolgen sind. Der Hauptteil der konstruktiven Diagenese in Form von Zementation findet in diesem Milieu statt, gespeist durch die Lösung von aragonitischen und, zu einem geringern Teil, HMC Schalen.<br><br> Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie implizieren, dass der ursprünglich vorhandene Anteil an aragonitischen Schalen in heterozoischen Karbonatsedimenten sehr sorgfältig bestimmt werden muss, da diese Schalen die wichtigste frühdiagenetische Zementquelle darstellen. In fossilen heterozoischen Karbonatgesteinen können aragonitische Schalen die wichtigste Zementquelle darstellen, auch wenn keine Reliktstrukturen wie mikritische Hüllen oder Biomolds erhalten geblieben sind. Im Allgemeinen stellt der Diageneseablauf in heterozoischen Karbonaten ein gutes Modell für die Diagenese von "Calcit-Meer"-Karbonatgesteinen dar.

En aquesta tesi es van descriure els principals fons algals del detrític costaner de la plataforma continental de Mallorca i Menorca (illes Balears, Espanya), i es van proposar mètodes efectius per al seu mostreig tant a nivell de paisatge com de comunitat. Així, en primer lloc, es van identificar i caracteritzar sis paisatges algals principals a partir de les mostres recol·lectades mitjançant l’arrossegament de fons, que permet mostrejos en àrees extenses. Seguidament, es van descriure algunes de les comunitats presents en aquests paisatges (maërl de Spongites fruticulosus, bosc de Laminaria rodriguezii i llit de Peyssonnelia inamoena) a partir de mostres obtingudes amb la draga Box-Corer i el patí epibentònic, que permeten mostrejos en àrees més reduïdes que l’arrossegament de fons. Finalment, la comparació qualitativa de dades pròpies i d’altres publicades en la bibliografia va permetre avaluar la composició i la distribució de les comunitats dominades per macroalgues dels fons detrítics del Mediterrani i l’Atlàntic Nord-oriental.<br>This thesis aims to describe the main algal-dominated coastal detritic bottoms of the continental shelf off Mallorca and Menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain), and provide effective methods for their sampling. Firstly, six main algal assemblages were identified and characterized thanks to the samples collected by means of bottom trawl, as it allows sampling in extensive areas. Moreover, the description of some communities that characterized some of the algal assemblages (maërl of Spongites fruticulosus, Laminaria rodriguezii forest and Peyssonnelia inamoena bed) were performed with samples obtained with the Box-Corer dredge and the beam trawl, which allowed sampling on smaller areas than bottom trawl. Finally, the qualitative comparison of our own data and data from published studies allowed to assess the composition and the distribution of the macroalgal-dominated communities of the coastal detritic bottoms from the Mediterranean and the Northeastern Atlantic.

Prejjem is a style of guitar music that is practiced in the Maltese islands and its diaspora as part of the għana folksinging tradition. Although għana has been studied by a number of ethnomusicologists, anthropologists, sociologists and linguists, its guitar aspect has been almost entirely overlooked by academia. Emerging in Malta over a century ago, prejjem is analogous to the guitar component of flamenco or fado. It, too, is a complex improvised guitar tradition that serves to accompany and complement a vocal tradition and which simultaneously exists as a separate instrumental ensemble practice. Guitarists maintain a close-knit association with the għana community, but they also engage in a set of activities and behaviours with one another that are unique to their position within it. In this thesis, I examine both the social and musical attributes of prejjem and its communities of guitarists, employing a range of methodologies and theories drawn from a number of disciplines to reveal the totality of the practice as it exists in Malta and its diaspora (specifically Australia). Drawing extensively upon ethnographic fieldwork research that I have undertaken in Malta and Australia, I explore the material culture of prejjem, its musical forms, its history, its performance environments, the sociability of its participants and the means by which performers develop musical ability. These topics are bound together as a holistic investigation into how knowledge about prejjem exists in the għana community, how social factors shape the forms of this knowledge and, most importantly, how this knowledge is transmitted and transformed as it passes between members of this community.

La tesis doctoral que presentamos a continuación bajo el título: “Análisis traceológico de la cerámica: modelado y espacio social durante el postalayótico (V-I A.C.) en la Península de Santa Ponça (Calvià, Mallorca) tiene una doble orientación: Por una parte es una nueva propuesta metodológica fundamentada en la reconstrucción de los sistemas de modelado por medio de la traceología cerámica. Por otro, es una aplicación metodológica sobre un conjunto de cerámicas adscritas a la edad de hierro y procedentes de diferentes yacimientos del sur de la isla de Mallorca. En este sentido, los datos e interpretaciones que aquí se exponen son deudores de una línea de investigación sobre tecnología cerámica que inició un joven equipo de investigadores de la universidad de las Islas Baleares allá por el año 1999. Se trata por tanto de una propuesta que siguiendo una línea de investigación ya consolidada en la Universidad de las islas Baleares a través del grupo de investigación arqueobalear, desarrolla un nuevo método de análisis del modelado cerámico fundamentado en la identificación de las macrotrazas de manufactura presentes en las vasijas cerámicas. Se trata de una metodología que debe enmarcarse dentro de las recientes propuestas de la arqueología francófona orientadas a identificar las técnicas y procesos de modelado a través de la traceología cerámica. En este trabajo, al igual que ocurre con otros que hemos ido publicando, se propone un modelo teórico-analítico basado en el concepto de cadena operativa en el que encuadrar la secuencia de operaciones técnicas documentadas. Sin embargo, estamos convencidos, que identificar los sistemas de fabricación no debería ser el fin último de un trabajo arqueológico. Saber cómo se fabrica una vasija no pasa de lo anecdótico si no la insertamos en su contexto y empleamos los estudios tecnológicos para inferir comportamientos sociales. Como conclusión planteamos que, el modelado, más que otras fases de la cadena operativa, está fuertemente imbricado en los procesos de aprendizaje y en las dinámicas sociales. A partir de esta premisa hemos podido establecer que la alta variabilidad en las cadenas operativas permite visualizar una fragmentación de los procesos de aprendizajes que tendría mucho que ver con la progresiva desestructuración social que sufre la sociedad indígena durante las postrimerías de la influencia púnica en la isla<br>The PhD thesis here presented with the title Traceological Analysis of Pottery: Modelling and Social Space during the post-Talayotic (5st-1st century BC) in Santa Ponça Peninsula (Calvià, Mallorca) (v.gr. Análisis traceológico de la cerámica: modelado y espacio social durante el postalayótico (V-I BC) in Santa Ponça Peninsula (Calvià, Mallorca)) was developed under a twofold orientation. On the one hand, it constitutes an innovative methodological proposal grounded on the reconstruction of modelling systems by means of ceramic traceology. On the other hand, this methodology is exemplified on a pottery assemblage dated to the Iron Age which was recovered in several sites in southern Mallorca. Hence, both the data and the interpretations discussed are heir to a research line on ceramic technology set up by a young research team from the University of the Balearic Islands, Arqueobalear, around 1999. The proposal follows the research line already consolidated in the aforementioned university while expanding on a new analytical method for the analysis of pottery modelling by identifying the macrotraces present on ceramic vessels. The methodology used should thus be framed on the recent proposals of French-speaking archaeology, which is interested in recording modelling techniques and processes using ceramic traceology. In this way, the research work presented here, in line with previous publications, enlarges on a theoretical-analytical model based on the concept of châine opératoire which defines the sequence of technical operations documented. However, it is further assumed that the identification of modelling systems should not be regarded the ultimate aim of an archaeological research. Knowing how a vessel was made is not more than an anecdote unless it is embedded in its social context, as technological studies should be used to infer social behaviours. Finally, it may be concluded that modelling, even more than the remaining phases of the châine opératoire, is highly imbricated in learning processes and social dynamics. From this premise, it can be stablished that the large variability detected in the châine opératoire makes visible the fragmentation of the learning processes, a fact closely related to the progressive social disintegration of the indigenous society at the close of the Punic influence on the island.

Marine ecosystems are declining worldwide threatened by an increasing number of stressors. Global change-related disturbances have highlighted the need of new complementary conservation measures; for which the knowledge on the affected species, communities and impacts is essential. The species objective of this PhD, the Mediterranean endemic coral Cladocora caespitosa, may serve as a case study of those species that even if seriously threatened, are lacking essential information on key ecological processes and the responses to the rapid environmental changes that are happening globally. Cladocora caespitosa is the only colonial and zooxanthellate scleractinian coral endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It is a long-lived and ecosystem engineer species, being one of the rare examples of this type of organisms found in shallow Mediterranean communities, and constitutes an invaluable natural patrimony due to its extensive ancient history, its sizeable long-lasting structures and its fragility in the actual context of climate change. Currently, large C. caespitosa bioconstructions are scarce and only a few examples are known, i.e., in Mjlet National Park (Adriatic) or in the Columbretes Islands (NW Mediterranean). The extensive field of colonies and reefs found in the Illa Grossa Bay (Columbretes Islands Marine Reserve) shows a cumulative colony cover of 2900 m2. This population displays a high degree of geographical isolation and its spatial distribution in the bay is highly aggregated. Our results showed that Cladocora caespitosa is a slow growing species (~ 2.5 mm yr-1), with low recruitment and natural mortality rates (~ 0.30 recruits m-2 yr-1 and 1 %, respectively). Strikingly, the obtained results on the reproductive traits of this species differed significantly between Western Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas. Cladocora caespitosa is gonochoric in W Mediterranean, showing a water temperature-associated gonadal cycle that culminates at the end of the summer in contrast to the findings in the Adriatic, where the coral has described as hermaphroditic with the spawning occurring at the beginning of the summer. Global change is rapidly altering Mediterranean marine habitats, primarily through warming and the invasion of new species. The C. caespitosa population in the Illa Grossa Bay suffered mortalities after 9 summers, separated into 2 mortality periods (2003 - 2006 and 2008 - 2012). The highest necrosis rates were recorded during the first mortality period, after the exceptionally hot summer of 2003. Over 50 % of the area covered by C. caespitosa has suffered necrosis after these recurrent mortalities, which were significantly related to warming (summer warming trend: 0.06 °C yr-1). The differences in necrosis found after summers with similar thermal anomalies pointed out to the existence of other acting factors probably related to the interannual temperature context and delayed stress after extreme summers. These results show that while Cladocora caespitosa displays great ecological plasticity, mostly in relation to changing light conditions, it is not adapted to endure the extreme changes in temperature driven by climate change, the most worrying threat for this coral. Regarding to the impact of invasive species, the invasive algae Lophocladia lallemandii and Caulerpa racemosa successfully spread over the Illa Grossa Bay from 2006 to 2012 and overlapped their distribution in the bay with that of C. caespitosa. No lethal effects of the invasive algae were detected on the coral colonies, which showed toxic activity. This may explain the low overgrowth of living colony parts by C. racemosa and the ability of this coral to compete in an algal dominated community. In long-lived corals such as C. caespitosa, recovery from mortalities relies mostly on recruitment, but there are two main obstacles that may compromise recovery. Firstly, the high frequency of mortalities detected during the last decade probably exceed the recovery potential of the low recruitment rates. Secondly, both warming and invasive algae may have delayed and synergetic effects on reproduction, recruitment and juvenile survival. All the results obtained highlight the endangerment of this species facing rapid environmental changes. Cladocora caespitosa is listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Data Deficient. However, the information obtained in this PhD points out that this species could meet the criteria to fall into a threatened category.<br>Los ecosistemas marinos están siendo amenazados por un número cada vez mayor de impactos. Entre ellos, los impactos derivados del cambio global han puesto en relieve la necesidad de nuevas medidas de conservación que puedan complementar a las ya existentes. Sin embargo, su desarrollo requiere un amplio conocimiento de las especies, procesos e impactos implicados. Esta tesis se centra en la adquisición de nuevos conocimientos sobre la biología y ecología del coral Cladocora caespitosa con el objetivo de aportar información útil para su conservación. Los resultados obtenidos pueden servir como guía para la conservación de aquellas especies de características parecidas sobre las que no se tiene información. Esta especie es el único coral escleractinio, colonial y zooxantelado, endémico del Mediterráneo. Se trata de uno de los pocos ejemplos de especie longeva y estructural que se encuentra en las comunidades mediterráneas de aguas someras. La Bahía de L'Illa Grossa (Reserva Marina de las Islas Columbretes) alberga una de las poblaciones más importantes de este coral, con campos de colonias y arrecifes que muestran una superficie acumulada de 2900 m2. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que se trata de una especie de lento crecimiento, con bajas tasas de reclutamiento y mortalidad natural y que muestra importantes divergencias en sus características reproductoras entre el Mediterráneo Occidental y el Adriático. La población de C. caespitosa de Columbretes ha sufrido mortalidades recurrentes asociadas al calentamiento del agua, que han afectado a más de la mitad del área ocupada por este coral en la bahía. Por otra parte, las algas invasoras Lophocladia lallemandii y Caulerpa racemosa han invadido exitosamente la Bahía de L'Illa Grossa, solapando su distribución con la de C. caespitosa. De momento, no se han observado efectos letales de estas algas sobre el coral; sin embargo, se ha podido detectar la actividad tóxica de esta especie, que podría explicar el bajo recubrimiento de sus partes vivas por C. racemosa. El potencial de recuperación de esta población es limitado dado el bajo reclutamiento y la frecuencia e intensidad de las mortalidades. Además, no se pueden descartar efectos subletales del calentamiento y las algas invasoras sobre la reproducción, reclutamiento y la supervivencia de los juveniles. A partir de esta información esta especie podría cumplir los criterios de la UICN para ser catalogada como especie en peligro.

Amb l'objectiu d'analitzar com la biodiversitat i l'adaptació al clima mediterrani es tradueixen en una diversitat de trets ecofisiològics i la seva resposta a la sequera, i d'estudiar si aquesta diversitat està relacionada amb formes de creixement i amb la història evolutiva de les espècies, es van seleccionar 24 espècies mediterrànies de les Illes Balears. Es va analitzar la capacitat germinativa, els efectes de la sequera en el creixement de plàntules, respostes ecofisiològiques a la sequera a nivell foliar i l'adaptació de l'especificitat de la Rubisco. Es va observar una elevada variabilitat entre espècies, la meitat de la qual associada a les diferents formes de creixement. No s'observà cap diferenciació entre les espècies endèmiques i les no endèmiques. Aquesta elevada diversitat en els trets ecofisiològics i la seva resposta a la sequera suposa un recurs potencial per identificar caràcters adaptatius i un banc genètic per millorar la productivitat de cultius.<br>Con el objetivo de analizar como la biodiversidad y la adaptación al clima mediterráneo se traducen en una diversidad de caracteres ecofisiológicos y su respuesta a la sequía, y de estudiar si esta diversidad está relacionada con formas de crecimiento y con la historia evolutiva de las especies, se seleccionaron 24 especies mediterráneas de las Islas Baleares. Se analizaron la capacidad germinativa, los efectos de la sequía sobre el crecimiento de las plántulas, las respuestas ecofisiológicas a la sequía a nivel foliar y la adaptación de la especificidad de la Rubisco. Se observó una elevada variabilidad entre especies, la mitad de la cual asociada a las diferentes formas de crecimiento. No se encontraron diferencias entre las especies endémicas y las no endémicas. Esta elevada biodiversidad en respuesta a la sequía supone un recurso potencial para identificar caracteres adaptativos y un banco genético para la mejora de la productividad de cultivos.<br>The objectives of this work were to analyze how biodiversity and adaptation to Mediterranean climate is reflected in a diversity of ecophysiological traits and their responses to drought, and to study whether such diversity was related to growth forms and endemicity. The analysis covered the germination capacity, the effects of drought on seedling growth, the leaf ecophysiological responses to drought, and the adaptation of Rubisco specificity, in 24 Mediterranean species from the Balearic Islands. A wide range of variation has been observed among the species, with about half of this variability associated to different growth forms. However, no differentiation was found between endemic and non-endemic species of the Balearic Islands. The high diversity in the ecophysiological traits and their responses to drought found among Mediterranean species must be considered as a 'resource' to identify target adaptive traits for breeding plans, but also as a genetic bank to improve crop productivity.

This thesis studies the colonisation and abandonment of Mediterranean islands in prehistory by placing them within a comparative framework. The geographical scope is pan-Mediterranean and chronologically it encompasses prehistory from the time when the earliest-known human records are found on a few islands to the time when most Mediterranean islands had been colonised (approximately from the end of the Pleistocene to the end of the Iron Age). By questioning established geographical boundaries and chronological restrictions and by incorporating recent theoretical advances in island archaeology, this thesis provides alternative explanations to colonisation paradigms prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s, expanding these to include considerations of abandonment and recolonisation. After investigating leading theoretical approachesto colonisation and abandonment, the study reviews the bulk of available publications on Mediterranean islandbased projects from the past ten years, and presents a series of revised colonisation and abandonment dates and models for the islands. At a broader level') these new data indicate the need for clearer distinctions between different types of island-human interaction (e. g. visitation, utilisation, occupation, establishment, abandonment, and re-colonisation). The thesis therefore also analyses - through a series of case studies - how human activity on islands varied spatially and temporally and potential reasons behind different colonisation and abandonment processes. The resulting observations are placed against the backdrop of the changing palaeogeography of the prehistoric Mediterranean, by taking into account changes in sea levels and in the islands' environments, and contextualised within the broader scheme of reference of Mediterranean prehistory.

Il est généralement admis que les sources carolingiennes, issues en majorité de l'Europe septentrionale, ne s'intéressent guère à la Méditerranée. A la suite d'Henri Pirenne, certains ont même voulu justifier à l'aide de l'expansion de l'Islam la désertion de l'ancien Mare Nostrum par les Occidentaux, qui aurait été à l’origine du développement de l'Europe rhénane. Il est pourtant frappant de constater que les premiers siècles de la dynastie carolingienne correspondent à un mouvement de conquêtes franques sans précédent en direction du sud. A la mort de Charlemagne, l'Empire contrôle même plus de 1500 km de côtes méridionales, de Barcelone jusqu'à Rome, et tente d’étendre son influence sur les îles proches, comme la Corse et l'archipel des Baléares. Dès lors, les formes de la présence franque au Sud suscitent autant de questionnements que le relatif désintérêt dont celle-ci a fait l'objet jusqu'à ce jour. L'étude de ces marges révèle pourtant leur importance dans la construction impériale ainsi que leur singularité dans l'Occident franc. Elle montre aussi le caractère décisif bien que longtemps sous-évalué de l'expansion carolingienne pour l'histoire médiévale du bassin méditerranéen<br>It's usually accepted that Carolingian sources, as most of them come from Northern Europe, aren't very interested in Mediterranean issues. Since Henri Pirenne's Mohammed and Charlemagne (1937), some scholars explained the reason of such ignorance by the rise of Islam, which would have forbidden the former Mare Nostrum to Western Europeans and would have been the only cause of the economic growth of the Seine and Rhine valleys. It's nevertheless striking that the first centuries of the Carolingian dynasty is actually linked with an important expansion toward Gaul's southern shores. When Charlemagne died, his empire even ruled almost 1500 km of Mediterranean coasts, from Barcelona to Rome, and was trying to keep control of near islands, as Corsica or the Balearic archipelago. The features of Frankish domination over such territories is therefore questioning, as well as it shows the importance, largely underestimated up to this day, of the Carolingian expansion for the mediaeval history of the Mediterranean sea

The Mediterranean Sea, the largest and deepest enclosed sea on Earth, is a marine biodiversity hotspot. Its cetacean diversity is also remarkable; although the species with a regular occurrence and resident populations are eleven, a total of twenty-one species of cetaceans occur or have occurred in various degrees. Among the planet’s marine environments, the Mediterranean Sea is one of the most affected by anthropogenic activities. In such a complex scenario of multiple pressures acting simultaneously certain habitats and species face high risk. As very mobile, long-lived vertebrates, situated at the highest levels in the marine trophic webs and with a very low reproductive rate, cetaceans are among them. Human density and intensity of activities are particularly significant in the coastal zone. Pressure is thus most intense on coastal species, such as the common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus and the short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus Delphis. This thesis focuses in these two species, aims to identify the main threats affecting them and discusses the most adequate conservation measures in order to secure their survival in the increasingly fragile waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The study areas used as case-studies in the present work are the Balearic Islands (Spain) and the coastal waters of the Eastern Ionian Sea (including the Gulf of Ambracia and the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago, in north-western Greece). These areas are remarkably diverse in terms of environmental features and threats caused by human activities, therefore offering opportunities for understanding their links with dolphin status and conservation needs. The studies included in the present PhD thesis involved different research methods. Line-transect based aerial surveys were exclusively conducted in the Balearic Islands, while in all three study areas extensive effort was dedicated to boat-based surveys and photo-identification. A significant part of the research focused on the study of dolphin-fisheries interactions; the methods used in this part of the study differed between areas and included observers on-board of small-scale fishing boats and bottom-trawlers, direct data collection in fishing ports and landing sites on the activity of the fishing fleet and their captures, ecosystem modelling, and fishermen interviews. As this thesis shows, anthropogenic threats faced by coastal dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea are very diverse and differ quite significantly between areas. Therefore, the strategies and management measures required to trigger some effective conservation results should be tailored on a case-by-case basis. For the conservation of bottlenose dolphin population in the Balearic Islands, high priority should be given to produce ecosystem-based management strategies, including: (a) promotion of sustainable fisheries to ensure stable food resources to dolphins; (b) mitigation of adverse dolphin – fishery interactions, particularly eradication of dolphin kills; (c) prevention of marine pollution; and (d) regulation of tourism, with special attention to boat traffic in areas where bottlenose dolphins aggregate and show a higher site-fidelity and where, ideally, marine protected areas could be implemented. The situation on western Greece is quite different between the two study areas. In the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago, where short-beaked common dolphins have suffered a dramatic decline in recent times, fishery management measures are urgently needed to reduce current over-exploitation and allow for the recovery of endangered marine megafauna. Contrarily, in the neighbouring waters of the semi-enclosed Gulf of Ambracia, which host one of the highest densities of bottlenose dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea, priority should be paid to improve the rapidly deteriorating water and seafloor quality, while ensuring continued ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation. Meaningful action includes restoring natural hydrology (e.g. freshwater input from rivers), curtailing pollution from various sources, responsible fisheries and aquaculture management, and control of illegal fishing.<br>El Mar Mediterrani es veu altament afectat per activitats antropogèniques. La seva alta densitat de població i la intensitat de les activitats que en resulten són particularment importants a les zones litorals. Espècies de cetacis costaners, com el dofí mular Tursiops truncatus i el dofí comú Delphinus delphis en sufreixen les consecuències. Aquesta tesi té com a finalitat la identificació de les principals amenaces que afecten a aquestes dos espècies i proposa una sèrie de mesures de conservació per tal d'assegurar la seva supervivència en les aigües, cada vegada més fràgils, de la Mediterrània. Les àrees d'estudi utilitzades com a casos pràctics són les Illes Balears i les aigües costaneres del Mar Jònic oriental (incloent-hi el Golf d'Ambracia i l'arxipèlag interior del mar Jònic, al nord-oest de Grècia). Les amenaces antropogèniques a les que s’enfronten els dofins costaners a la Mediterrània són molt diverses i varien de forma significativa entre àrees. En conseqüència, les estratègies i les mesures de gestió necessàries per la seva conservació també ho fan. Per tal de protegir la població dofí mular a les Illes Balears, caldrà donar prioritat a la realització d'estratègies de gestió que tinguin en compte les necessitats dels ecosistemes: (a) promoció de la pesca sostenible; (b) la mitigació d’efectes adversos resultants d’interaccions entre dofins i pesca; (c) la prevenció de la contaminació marina; i (d) la regulació del turisme, amb especial atenció al trànsit d'embarcacions a les zones on els dofins és concentren més sovint i on, idealment, s’hi podrien crear àrees marines protegides. Pel que fa a la Grècia occidental, a l'arxipèlag Interior del Mar Jònic, on la població de dofins comuns ha patit una disminució dramàtica en els últims temps, mesures adequades per la gestió de les activitats pesqueres són necessàries per reduir l'actual sobreexplotació i permetre la recuperació de megafauna marina. D’altra banda, en el Golf d'Ambracia, on trobem una de les majors densitats de dofins mulars del mar Mediterrani, la millora de la qualitat de les seves aigües i el seu fons marí és la principal prioritat per protegir la seva important biodiversitat.

The era we are living calls us to face the environmental and urban issues. As the main source of greenhouse emissions and energy consumption, cities are as well the most vulnerable places as for the effects of climate change and energy scarcity. In densely built urban areas, this condition is exacerbated by the urban heat island effect, which causes higher air temperatures in urban areas than in the rural areas. Understanding the complex physical interaction between the building and the urban context is therefore a preliminary knowledge necessary to steer the urban transformation processes towards more sustainable cities . The thesis investigates the relationship between urban morphology, heat island effect and energy demand in the Mediterranean climate. A set of analysis tools is presented, in order to highlight the direct and indirect relationships between the morphological parameters of the urban textures and the climatic and energetic performance at local scale.The results are based on experimental and computational,as applied to two main fields of investigation: the average intensity of the heat island in Rome and Barcelona and the variabilityof the climatic and energetic performance related to the urban morphology. The experimental study of the heat island intensity was conducted by comparing the temperature data observed at different weather stations and the measurements taken at street level. The phenomenon is significant in both cities .At the street level, higher temperatures are recorded during the day, with an average maximum heat island intensity of more than 4 ºC, both in winter and in summer.M. roof level temperatures are lower, especially in summer, when the sea breeze moderates the phenomenon intensity. The variability of heat island according to the different urban morphologies has been investigated through the "Urban Weather Generator" model, using a representative sample of urban textures as case studies.The analysis of the results shows two distinct relationships between the morphological param eters of urban textures and the summer and winter climatic performance .In winter the heat island is more intense in the urban morphologies characterized by a high "density of horizontal surfaces", in summer in those with high "density of vertical surfaces".Then, the energy performance of the urban textures was evaluated by means of EnergyPlus software; the obstruction of the solar radiation and the heat island effect determined by the urban context were both taken into account. In the Mediterranean climate, these two effects tend to balance out when the density of the urban texture reaches threshold values (site coverage ratio about 0.4,faiyade-to-site ratio about 1.6); beyond these values it is possible to take advantage of both the heat island effect on the heating demand and the radiation obstruction on the cooling demand, achieving a good performance throughout the year. As a result, it can be argued that a rather dense and compact urban layout may help to reduce energy demand in the Mediterranean climate, proving the validity of the principies of ve macular architecture and the efficiency of "density'' in such a climatic context. The many relationships found between the morphological parameters and the performance at local scale provide a fast and operative analysis tool for the recognition of the climatic and energetic vulnerability in the urban a reas, based on readily available data. Further works would allow the identification of adequate design guidelines for energy renewal in each urban context, in order to direct the work of designers and planners toward more sustainable urban systems<br>L’epoca che stiamo vivendo ci chiama al confronto con la questione ambientale ed urbana. Le città, che rappresentano la fonte principale delle emissioni e del consumo delle risorse non rinnovabili, sono anche il luogo di maggior vulnerabilità rispetto ai rischi connessi al cambio climatico ed alla questione energetica. Nelle aree urbane densamente costruite, tale condizione è ulteriormente aggravata dall’effetto dell’isola di calore, che comporta un aumento della temperatura dell’aria rispetto alle zone non urbanizzate. La comprensione della complessità dei fenomeni fisici-energetici che si instaurano tra l’edificio ed il contesto rappresenta pertanto una base conoscitiva indispensabile per indirizzare processi di trasformazione urbana verso modelli di maggiore sostenibilità. La tesi di dottorato indaga le relazioni tra morfologia urbana, isola di calore e domanda energetica in clima Mediterraneo, presentando un insieme di strumenti di analisi che evidenziano le relazioni, dirette e indirette, tra i caratteri morfologici dei tessuti edilizi e la prestazione climatica ed energetica a scala locale. I risultati conseguiti si basano su analisi sperimentali e modellazioni che riguardano due ambiti principali di indagine: l’intensità media di isola di calore a Roma e Barcellona e la variazione della prestazione climatica ed energetica in funzione della morfologia dei tessuti edilizi. Lo studio sperimentale dell’isola di calore è stato condotto mediante comparazione di dati di temperatura osservati a diverse stazioni meteorologiche e con misurazioni alla quota stradale. Il fenomeno risulta rilevante in entrambe le città. Alla quota stradale le temperature sono maggiori durante il giorno, con un’intensità media massima di isola di calore di oltre 4°C sia in inverno che in estate. Alla quota dei tetti il fenomeno è più moderato, soprattutto in estate, grazie all’effetto mitigatore della brezza marina. La variabilità dell’isola di calore in funzione della morfologia dell’edificato è stata studiata attraverso modellazioni con il software Urban Weather Generator, basate su un campione rappresentativo di tessuti urbani. L’analisi dei risultati evidenzia due relazioni distinte tra i parametri morfologici dei tessuti edilizi e la prestazione climatica estiva ed invernale. In inverno l’isola di calore è più intensa nei tessuti caratterizzati da un elevato grado di “densità di superfici orizzontali”, in estate in quelli con maggiore “densità di superfici verticali”. Mediante modellazioni energetiche con il software Energyplus, è stata inoltre valutata la performance energetica dei tessuti edilizi, tenendo in considerazione il grado di ostruzione della radiazione solare e l’effetto di isola di calore indotti dal contesto. Nel clima mediterraneo, questi due effetti tendano a bilanciarsi quando la densità del tessuto raggiunge dei valori di soglia (rapporto di copertura circa 0.4 e rapporto di facciata circa 1.6), oltre i quali è possibile beneficiare dell’isola di calore sulla domanda di riscaldamento e dell’ostruzione della radiazione solare sulla domanda di raffrescamento, ottenendo una buona performance durante tutto l’anno. Si può pertanto affermare che una struttura urbana sufficientemente densa e compatta contribuisca a contenere la domanda energetica in clima Mediterraneo, comprovando la validità delle strategie messe in campo dall’architettura vernacolare presente in tale contesto climatico. Più in generale, in conclusione, l’insieme delle relazioni individuate si configura come uno strumento speditivo d’indagine urbana, utile per la redazione di mappe di vulnerabilità climatica ed energetica sulla base di dati facilmente reperibili e misurabili. Ulteriori sviluppi della ricerca consentirebbero l’individuazione di linee guida di intervento adeguate a ciascun contesto urbano, in maniera tale da favorire l’efficacia del lavoro di progettisti e pianificatori verso la diminuzione dell’impatto energetico ed ambientale della città esistente<br>La época que estamos viviendo nos llama a enfrentar las cuestiones ambientales y urbanas .Las ciudades, que son la fuente principalde emisiones y de consumo de recursos no renovables, son también los lugares más vulnerables a los riesgos relacionados con el cambio climático y la cuestión energética. En las áreas urbanas densas, esta condición es aún más perjudicial por el efecto de isla de calor, lo que produce un aumento de la temperaturas respecto a la de las zonas rurales limítrofes .La comprensión de la complejidad de los fenómenos físico-energético que se establecen entre el edificio y el contexto urbano es, por tanto, una base de conocimiento necesaria para establecer criterios de intervención hacia modelos de mayor sostenibilidad. Por lo tanto, se puede afirmar que una estructura urbana suficientemente densa y compacta puede contribuir a la reducción de la demanda de energía en el clima mediterráneo, lo que demuestra la validez y la eficiencia de los principios de arquitectura y urbanismo tradicionalmente presentes en este contexto climático. La tesis doctoral investiga las relaciones entre morfología urbana, isla de calor y demanda energética en el clima mediterráneo, presentando un conjunto de herramientas de anális is que destacan las relaciones, directas e indirectas, entre las características morfológicas de los tejidos urbanos y el comportamiento climático y energético a la escala local. Los resultados se basan en análisis experimentales y simulaciones sobre dos áreas principales de investigación: la intensidad media de la isla de calor en Roma y Barcelona y en rendimiento energético y climático en relación a las características morfológicas de los tejidos. El estudio experimental de la isla de calor se llevó a cabo mediante la comparación de datos de temperatura observados en diferentes estaciones meteorológicas y mediciones a nivel de la calle. El fenómeno es relevante en ambas ciudades. Al nivel de la calle, las temperaturas son mayores durante el día, con una intensidad media máxima de isla de calor de más de 4 ºC en inviemo y en verano. Al nivel de las cubiertas el fenómeno es más moderado, especialmente en verano , debido al efecto mitigador de la brisa marina. El conjunto de relaciones encontradas proporciona una herramienta de análisis adecuada para el reconocimiento de la vulnerabilidad climática y energética a esca la urbana, sobre la base de datos morfológicos fácilmente disponibles. Basándose en estas pautas de funcionamiento, otros desarrollos de la investigación permitirían la identificación de las actuaciones más eficaces por cada contexto urbano, con el fin de dirigir el trabajo de arquitectos y planeadores hacia la reducción del impacto de las ciudades sobre el medio ambiente

This thesis is an investigation of Roman pottery from the Maltese islands from the 1st century BC to the mid-4th century AD, and how pottery can help assess Malta's economic role in the wider central Mediterranean region. The archipelago's locally produced vessels, its range of ceramic exports, and the quantification of the types of amphorae, fine, and cooking wares the islands imported, were studied and the data were used to compare with the pottery available from the small islands of Pantelleria, Lampedusa and the Kerkennah isles. The aim is to revisit the theme of the economic role of the Maltese islands and other similar-sized islands in the region by moving away from the tradition of unilateral and monographic narratives, which more often than not, omit the wealth of information that can be garnered from pottery. In the first instance, a detailed study of three complete and new ceramic assemblages, including amphorae, fine, cooking and coarse wares, was undertaken. The opportunity to quantify identifiable imports and compare them with local products - the first of its kind for fine, cooking and coarse wares - provided valuable proxy data for comparing Malta with neighbouring islands and centres, and demonstrated what proportion of ceramic vessels were locally supplied, and how these changed over time. These data were also fed into a series of network analyses, which plotted the common pottery links shared between small-island and mainland sites in the region. The analyses were interpreted in conjunction with a critique of existing pottery quantification methods, and the potential acceptance for utilising all known pottery data irrespective of the quality and quantity of the published data available. Most importantly, the import trends obtained from this study were incorporated into the existing narrative of how small islands and their local industries featured in the central Mediterranean's regional economy, highlighting the types of archaeologically visible industries that existed; how these developed symbiotically alongside other larger supply networks; and what effect this might have had on the integration of small islands in the Roman Mediterranean.

This dissertation studies the early prehistoric cultures of Cyprus from the beginnings to the Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age transition in the 3rd millennium BC. Its aim is not to provide a culture-historical review, but to define, examine and explain processes of formative culture change in light of island biogeography and new evidence which has accumulated during the last decade. Current excavations on the South Coast not only indicate what may be the earliest instance of Mediterranean Island colonization, but they also hint at the existence of a proto-neolithic occupation prior to the aceramic Khirokitia Culture. This evidence is interpreted in terms of the causality of Quaternary biogeographic conditions and island colonizations by man and animals. Specifically, the discussion addresses the problem of inhibitive factors, the triggers required to overcome them, and the adaptive responses of the founder populations. Following colonization, excavated and surveyed sites attest to a widely distributed and culturally homogeneous aceramic occupation which lasted for over one millennium before disappearing in a lacuna in the archaeological record. A locational analysis attempts to define the rate of intra-island dispersal of this and the subsequent ceramic cultures, and it is argued that the use of a statistically meaningful sample of datable sites and the demographic trends it evidences contradict the hypothesis of an occupational gap. The themes of cultural continuity vs. discontinuity and demic diffusion are further explored within the framework of absolute chronology. A date-by-date discussion of 14C determinations for the Formative Period in light of advances in calibration and settlement stratigraphy is put in the context of artifactual and paleoenvironmental data and used as the chronometric underpinning for an explanation of the configuration of culture growth in an early island ecosystem. Fieldwork data are appended in a Gazetteer of Early Prehistoric Sites Supplement and a Gazetteer of Pleistocene Fossil Sites.

Following its acquisition in 1204, Crete became one of Venice’s prime colonial possessions in the Eastern Mediterranean. Venice’s maritime empire was known as the Stato da mar or the Oltremare. Candia, Crete’s capital, was the island’s largest urban centre, the heart of the colony’s administration, and a thriving port. Its inhabitants included patricians sent from Venice to govern the island, noble Cretans and noble Venetians, descendants of the early Venetian colonisers, cittadini, and a host of transient residents. The city’s Jewish community was confined to the Judaica, a section of the urban expanse inside the city’s Byzantine walls. By the sixteenth-century, three centuries of Creto-Venetian co-existence had given birth to an urban society which was polyglot and multi-denominational. Cretans travelled frequently to Venice, which hosted a large Greek community after the fall of Constantinople (1453). This thesis examines aspects of Cretan identity in the sixteenth century, such as class, religion and locality. The importance of appearances in the early modern colonial context is discussed and evidence is presented of Venice’s influence on Cretan attire and the language used to describe such artefacts. Stemming from this, sumptuary legislation is examined and instances when appearances deceived and threatened social order. Sources consulted and brought to bear on the discussion include extant material records, such as embroidery, and archival and published documents, such as state and private correspondence, notarial records, costume books, maps, atlases, contemporary literature, and historical accounts of Crete. The last chapter examines aspects pertaining to Crete’s insularity: the experience of sea travel, the cartographic genre of isolarii, island-books, where Crete featured prominently, the maps of Crete’s most famous cartographer and, finally, the unpublished wills of the Regno di Candia and the island of Scio.

This study provides the first baseline osteometric reference for the Mesopotamian fallow, based on a common methodology using both standard and novel techniques and understanding the process of introduction and exploitation of this species on Cyprus during Prehistory. Morphometric analyses, first tested on modern specimens, were then carried out on the impressive archaeozoological collections from Cyprus (from the middle PPNB – c. 10,000 BP, to the Bronze Age – c. 3,600 cal. BP), and compared with few Continental assemblages from different chronologic periods (Late Glacial – and Bronze Age). By characterising the morphological variability of the post-cranial skeleton and investigating the causes of morphological variations, this research has demonstrated the ability of such powerful statistical tools (mixture analysis and VSI* analysis combine with PCA and Bootstrapped Spanning Network) to the application on a large quantity of existing data. In addition, the reanalysis and combination of Cypriot assemblages has demonstrated the great potential of conducting extended systematic study on a long temporal scale. This study confirmed that from its first introduction on Cyprus by man, at the beginning of the Neolithic, and to the Bronze Age, the Mesopotamian fallow deer has played a major role in the subsistence strategy of Cypriot human societies as a source of hunted meat and, contrary to other imported ungulates on the island, has never been domesticated. The broader picture suggests that there are similarities in the hunting strategies and carcass processing between the analysed sites. However, for such a tight relationship to last for over c. Six millennia humans probably implemented game management strategies to sustain fallow deer populations on the island<br>Cette étude apporte le premier référentiel ostéométrique pour le daim de Mésopotamie, basé sur une méthodologie commune utilisant à la fois sur des techniques classiques et novatrices, et vise à comprendre le processus d’introduction et d’exploitation de cette espèce à Chypre durant la Préhistoire. Des analyses morphométriques, d’abord menées sur des spécimens modernes, ont ensuite été conduites sur d’impressionnantes collections provenant de Chypre (depuis le PPNB moyen – c. 10000 BP cal. , jusqu’à l’Âge du Bronze – c. 3600 BP cal. ), et comparées à quelques assemblages continentaux de différentes périodes (Tardiglaciaire et Âge du Bronze). En caractérisant la variabilité morphologique du squelette post-crânien et en étudiant les causes de variations morphologiques, cette recherche a démontré la capacité d’utilisation de tels outils statistiques (analyses des mélanges, analyses VSI* combinées à des ACP et des Réseaux Traversant Bootstrap) appliqué à une large quantité de données déjà existantes. En outre, la ré-analyse et la combinaison des assemblages chypriotes ont démontré le formidable potentiel qu’il y a à conduire de vastes recherches systématiques sur une longue échelle temporelle. Cette étude confirme que depuis sa première introduction à Chypre par l’Homme, au début du Néolithique, et jusqu’à l’Âge du Bronze, le daim de Mésopotamie a joué un rôle important dans l’économie de subsistance des sociétés humaines chypriotes sous la forme de gibier et, que contrairement à d’autres ongulés importés sur l’île, il n’a jamais été domestiqué. La représentation générale qui se dégage de cette étude, suggère de nombreuse similarités tant du point de vue des stratégies de chasse que du traitement des carcasses entre les différents sites analysés. Toutefois, pour qu’une relation aussi privilégiée entre l’homme et le daim puisse avoir perdurer sur c. Six millénaires, l’Homme a certainement du établir des stratégies de gestion du gibier afin de maintenir durablement les populations de daim sur l’île

A finals del segle XVI, la Mediterrània es va convertir en una frontera políticament oblidada. Els problemes de l'Imperi Turc, les dificultats financeres de la Monarquia Hispànica, la situació a Flandes i les aspiracions de Felip II a la corona portuguesa propiciaren la signatura de diverses treves entre els dos imperis (1577-1581). Aquest oblit polític i els problemes econòmics deixaren en un estat precari la defensa dels territoris mediterranis de la Monarquia Hispànica, provocant el retard en l'acabament de les obres de fortificació, la degradació de les guarnicions de soldats i la falta d'armes i municions. Aquest fet i l'aparició d'un corsarisme barbaresc cada vegada més intens, va provocar la militzarització de la societat civil, amb diferents intensitats segons les zones. Aquest fenomen es va intensificar a la primera meitat del segle XVII, quan el problema del bandolerisme es va accentuar a Catalunya, València i Balears. En aquesta etapa d'oblit polític i precaritetat defensiva, les torres es convertiren en l'element més important per fer front a les noves formes de guerra corsària, basades en les incursions a petita escala. Malauradament, aquesta xarxa de torres només oferia garanties al regne de València i la defensa per mar era deficient perquè no sempre existiren flotes de vigilància litoral. Aquesta situació va deixar la costa de Catalunya, València i Balears amb poques opcions davant el corsarisme barbaresc, que va culminar a la dècada de 1640. Aquesta activitat corsària procedia sobretot de la Regència d'Alger, que a finals del segle XVI es va convertir en una província perifèrica i autònoma de l'Imperi Turc. Entre 1571 i 1610, els corsaris nordafricans utilitzaren sobretot vaixells tradicionals i la pràctica més habitual foren les petites incursions. Entre 1611 i 1650, amb l'aparició dels vaixells a vela, rodons i d'alt bord, augmentaren les captures en alta mar, però els musulmans continuaren utilitzant embarcacions tradicionals, de manera que no desaparegueren les petites ràtzies per sorpresa. Els magrebins ocasionaren nombrosos danys a les poblacions costaneres perquè, a més de fer captius, assaltaren i cremaren viles, destruïren collites, robaren i mataren ramats, profanaren esglésies, enderrocaren torres, atacaren barques de pesca, perjudicaren el comerç marítim i tallaren comunicacions per mar. L'impacte humà i material d'aquests atacs corsaris va agreujar la situació econòmica de les famílies i poblacions de la costa, especialment delicada a la primera meitat del segle XVII.<br>At the end of the sixteenth century, the Mediterranean became a politically forgotten frontier. The problems of the Ottoman Empire, the financial troubles of the Spanish Monarchy, the situation in Flandes and Philip the Second’s aspirations to the Portuguese crown favored the signature of several truces between the two empires (1577-1581). Such political oblivion and the economical problems left the defense of the Mediterranean territories of the Spanish Monarchy in a precarious condition, causing a delay in the finalization of fortification works, the deterioration of garrisons and a lack of weapons and ammunitions. This fact, together with the rising of an increasingly Barbarian privateering, led to a militarization of the civil society, at different levels, depending on the areas. This phenomenon intensified in the first half of the seventeenth century, when the banditry accentuated in Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. In this period of political oblivion and precarious defense, the towers became the most important element to face the corsairs’ new forms of warfare, based on small scale raids. Unfortunately, this network of watchtowers only offered guarantees in the kingdom of Valencia and because there were not always coastal patrol vessels, the sea defense was insufficient. Such situation left the coast of Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands with few options against Barbarian privateering, which reached its highest point in the decade of 1640s. This corsair activity mainly came from the Regency of Algiers, which became a peripheral and autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the sixteenth century. Between 1571 and 1610, the North African corsairs used, above all, traditional vessels and the most common practice was the small raids. Between 1611 and 1650, with the emergence of sailing ships, high sea captures increased but muslims continued using traditional crafts, so the small raids by surprise did not disappear. The Maghrebis caused a lot of damage to coastal populations because, apart from taking captives, they raided and burnt villages, destroyed harvests, stole and killed flocks, desecrated churches, demolished towers, attacked fishing boats, distorted maritime trade and cut off sea communications. The human and material impact of these corsair attacks worsened the economical situation of the families and settlements on the coasts, which was specially delicate in the first half of the seventeenth century.

La prevalencia del Síndrome Metabólico se sitúa alrededor del 30% en países ricos y la tasa crece paralelamente a la prevalencia de diabetes y obesidad. La OMS ha definido la obesidad como la epidemia del siglo XXI. En España, la tasa de obesidad en adultos ha aumentado, desde una prevalencia del 15% (2000) al 16% (2004). En las Islas Baleares, el Estudio ENIB (1999‐2000) aportó que la prevalencia de obesidad era del 13% (mujeres: 14%, hombres: 10%) y estos porcentajes se mantuvieron diez años después (Estudio OBEX, 2009‐2010). En España la prevalencia de Síndrome Metabólico oscila entre un 17% y 30%, según las regiones, considerándose un importante problema de salud pública. Al ser la obesidad un desorden inflamatorio, cabe relacionarla con los niveles de marcadores de inflamación. En Baleares no existía hasta la fecha ningún estudio sobre la prevalencia de Síndrome Metabólico y su relación con los marcadores de inflamación.

O projeto INDEMARES produziu uma extensa base de dados obtida a partir das análises de 73 transectos de vídeo gravados com ROV e submersíveis tripulados durante os cruzeiros INDEMARES 3-­‐4-­‐5-­‐6 e 0811 (período de 2010-­‐2012) no Canal de Menorca, localizado entre as ilhas de Mallorca e Menorca. A informação proveniente dos transectos de vídeo foi processado e analisado pela equipa ICM durante os últimos anos. No âmbito da presente dissertação de mestrado, os dados sobre as várias espécies de esponjas foram processados com enfoque na distribuição espacial e batimétrica na plataforma e talude continental. O padrão de distribuição de cada espécie de esponja foi diferente, no entanto, houve uma acentuada preferência para a plataforma continental profunda norte e talude onde as espécies ocorrem com maior frequência e abundância. Os resultados deste estudo são destinadas a completar o conhecimento científico sobre as diferentes espécies de esponjas, a fim de definir as bases para a gestão e proteção eficiente do ecossistema do Canal de Menorca; ABSTRACT: The INDEMARES project has produced an extensive database obtained from the analyses of 73 video transects recorded with ROV and manned submersible during the cruises INDEMARES 3-­‐4-­‐5-­‐6 and 0811 (years 2010 to 2012) in the Menorca Channel, located between the islands of Mallorca and Menorca. The information derived from the video transects has been processed and analyzed by the ICM team during the past years. Within the framework of my thesis, data concerning several sponge species was processed focusing in the spatial and bathymetric distribution on the continental shelf and slope. The distribution pattern of each sponge species was different, however there was a marked preference for the northern deep continental shelf and slope where species reach highest occurrence and abundances. The results of this study are aimed to complete the scientific knowledge about the different sponge species in order to set the bases toward efficient management and protection of the Menorca Channel ecosystem.

Este trabajo describe la diversidad genética de las poblaciones actuales del Oeste del Mediterráneo según dos polimorfismos: nueve polimorfismos Alus y doce microsatelites (STR) presente en el cromosoma X. En este trabajo, se presentan resultados originales de poblaciones de Marruecos, España, sur de Italia y de poblaciones judías. Nuestro estudio multidisciplinario se basa sobre datos biológicos, arqueológicos, históricos, geográficos y lingüísticos para reconstruir los origines y la historia genética del oeste del Mediterráneo. Para la totalidad de los marcadores, nuestros resultados muestran una proximidad genética entre las poblaciones del norte de África y del sur de Europa con una diferencia entre los grupos norte africanos y sub-saharianos. También se puede concluir que en el noroeste de África, no hay una fuerte diferenciación genética entre los beréberes y los árabes. El análisis de cinco poblaciones judías muestra que se agrupan en un mismo cluster, indicando su ancestral común origen, que se ha conservado durante el tiempo a pesar de la diáspora, con una clara distinción entre ellos y sus vecinos no-judíos

Cette thèse étudie la dynamique de la végétation Holocène pour Burmarrad dans le NW Malte et fournit une reconstruction paléoclimatique quantitative à base de pollen pour cet archipel méditerranéen situé au centre. Le record de pollen donne un nouvel aperçu l'échange végétation 7280-1730 cal BP qui correspondent bien avec other régional dossiers. La reconstruction du climat fournit également forte corrélation avec les sites du sud (en dessous de 40oN) de la Méditerranée. L'interprétation suggère un paysage initialement ouvert au début du néolithique, se développer en un dense Pistacia brousse ca. 6700 calBP. Depuis environ 4450 calBP le paysage devient de nouveau ouvert, coïncidant avec le début de l'âge du bronze sur l'archipel. Cette période coïncide avec une instabilité accrue du climat (entre 4500 et 3700 calBP) qui est suivie par une diminution progressive de la disponibilité de l'humidité de l'été à la fin de l'Holocène. Durant la période romaine début de l'occupation (1972-1730 calBP) le paysage reste généralement ouvert avec une augmentation modérée de Olea. Cette augmentation correspond à des preuves archéologiques pour la production de l'huile d'olive dans la région, avec l'augmentation des taxons cultivés des cultures et des espèces rudérales associés, ainsi que d'une hausse des cas d'incendies. Cette thèse propose également une synthèse des résultats d'un autre noyau (BM1) provenant de la même zone de chalandise, ainsi que les résultats d'une étude préliminaire de la pluie de pollen de surface moderne. L'archipel fournit des indications sur la végétation, les impacts humains et les changements climatiques dans un contexte de l'île au cours de l'Holocène<br>This thesis investigates the Holocene vegetation dynamics for Burmarrad in north-west Malta and provides a pollen-based quantitative palaeoclimatic reconstruction for this centrally located Mediterranean archipelago. The pollen record from this site provides new insight into the vegetation changes from 7280 to 1730 cal BP which correspond well with other regional records. The climate reconstruction for the area also provides strong correlation with southern (below 40oN) Mediterranean sites. The interpretation suggests an initially open landscape during the early Neolithic, surrounding a large palaeobay, developing into a dense Pistacia scrubland ca. 6700 cal BP. From about 4450 cal BP the landscape once again becomes open, coinciding with the start of the Bronze Age on the archipelago. This period is concurrent with increased climatic instability (between 4500 and 3700 cal BP) which is followed by a gradual decrease in summer moisture availability in the late Holocene. During the early Roman occupation period (1972 to 1730 cal BP) the landscape remains generally open with a moderate increase in Olea. This increase corresponds to archaeological evidence for olive oil production in the area, along with increases in cultivated crop taxa and associated ruderal species, as well as a rise in fire events. This thesis also provides a synthesis with the results from another core (BM1) taken from the same catchment area, as well as results of a preliminary modern surface pollen rain study. The Maltese archipelago provides important insight into vegetation, human impacts and climatic changes in an island context during the Holocene

Una de les principals limitacions a la que s‘enfronta la producció de mol·luscs bivalves és la prevenció i control de malalties, que es dispersen, principalment, pel moviment d‘estocs. A les Balears, hem trobat paràsits de bivalves poc patogènics com Bucephalus haimeanus, Mytilicola intestinalis, i metacercàries de tremàtodes. També altres que suposen un risc per a la producció, com Marteilia refringens, Perkinsus mediterraneus i P. olseni. La presència de M. refringens és una greu amenaça, doncs produeix desordres fisiològics que poden matar l‘hoste. Probablement, als anys 80, la desaparició dels bancs ostrícoles va ser causada per aquesta malaltia. Els musclos també són susceptibles a la infecció per M. refringens, però són resistents a la malaltia. L‘any 2004, es va detectar una mortalitat al banc de la rossellona (Chamelea gallina) de s‘Arenal de Palma de Mallorca. Per detectar l‘espècie causant de la malaltia es va recórrer a tècniques histològiques, hibridació in situ, PCR i PCR niada. La seqüència obtinguda a partir d‘un bloc de parafina va mostrar un 99,1 % de similitud amb les M. refringens tipus O. D‘aquesta manera es va concloure que l‘agent etiològic era M. refringens i posteriorment que la prevalença era del 55,1%. La ubicació específica de les cèl·lules de Marteilia refringens en els teixits de la rossellona es va determinar per hibridació in situ, trobant totes les fases conegudes, inclosa la d‘esporulació, el que demostra que el paràsit completa la infecció a la rossellona. Perkinsus mediterraneus infecta a una gran varietat de mol·luscs bivalves a l‘arxipèlag balear: Ostrea edulis, Mimachlamys varia, Arca noae, Chamelea gallina, Pinna nobilis i Venus verrucosa, sense mortalitats associades a aquest paràsit. Perkinus olseni sols s‘ha detectat en V. verrucosa, però en el present estudi no l‘hem trobat. La recerca de Perkinsus spp. s‘ha realitzat mitjançant RFTM i la determinació de l‘espècie per PCR-RFLP i seqüenciació. La prevalença de P. mediterraneus ha estat semblant a la d‘altres espècies de Perkinsus i la dinàmica de la seva infecció es semblant a la de P. marinus en la badia de Chesapeake, amb valors màxims de detecció del paràsit al setembre i octubre, després del màxim estival de temperatura, i regressió de la infecció a l‘hivern. Hem trobat 12 haplotips de P. mediterraneus amb una elevada similitud genètica. Les diferències es fan majors en incloure seqüències procedents de la bases de dades del GenBank, augmentant el nombre d‘haplotips a 24. Les anàlisis filogenètiques han detectat, en conjunt, tres grups diferents d‘O. edulis de Menorca, que es diferencien d‘altres llinatges coespecífics. Les anàlisis recolzen aquesta diferenciació entre les poblacions de Menorca i Mallorca, la qual sembla, en bona part deguda a l‘aïllament geogràfic del port de Maó. Malgrat això, altres factors, com la variabilitat ambiental, diferents localitats i dates de detecció, la translocació d‘animals, l‘activitat humana, etc, poden tenir certa influència. Al Mediterrani occidental es troben tres espècies de Perkinsus. Malgrat que es coneix que es produeixen co-infeccions a l‘escopinya gravada del port de Maó amb P. olseni i P. mediterraneus, no hem trobat cap cas, ni tampoc bivalves afectats per P. chesapeaki, espècie que s'ha trobat al delta de l'Ebre. A diferents mostreigs de C. gallina hem detectat la presència de M. refringens i P. mediterraneus. Encara que no hem trobat co-infecció, aquesta no es pot descartar, perquè els individus són molt joves i possiblement ambdós patògens estiguin a fases inicials d‘infecció.Tenint en compte que l‘esporulació de M. refringens s‘inicia quan la temperatura de l‘aigua és de 17ºC (mes de maig), que les zoospores de P. mediterraneus apareixen més tard (setembre-octubre) i que les mortalitats es detecten al juny-juliol, és més probable que la causa de la mortalitat sigui la marteiliosi.<br>Una de las principales limitaciones a la que se enfrenta la producción de moluscos bivalvos es la prevención y control de enfermedades, dispersadas, principalmente, por movimiento de partidas. En las Baleares, hemos encontrado parásitos de bivalvos poco patogénicos como Bucephalus haimeanus, Mytilicola intestinalis y metacercarias de tremátodos. También otros que suponen un riesgo para la producción, como Marteilia refringens, Perkinsus mediterraneus y P. olseni. La presencia de M. refringens es una grave amenaza, pues produce desórdenes fisiológicos que pueden matar al huésped. Probablemente, en los años 80, la desaparición de los bancos ostrícolas fue causada por esta enfermedad. Los mejillones también són susceptibles a la infección por M. refringens, pero són resistentes a la enfermedad. En 2004, se detectó una mortalidad en el banco de la chirla (Chamelea gallina) de s‘Arenal de Palma de Mallorca. Para detectar la especie causante de la enfermedad se recurrió a técnicas histológicas, hibridación in situ, PCR y PCR anidada. La secuencia obtenida a partir de un bloque de parafina mostró un 99,1% de similitud con M. refringens tipo O. De esta manera se concluyó que el agente etiológico era M. refringens y posteriormente, que la prevalencia era del 55,1%. La ubicación específica de las células de Marteilia refringens en los tejidos de la chirla se determinó por hibridación in situ, encontrando todas las fases conocidas, incluida la de esporulación, lo que demuestra que el parásito completa la infección en la chirla. Perkinsus mediterraneus infecta a una gran variedad de moluscos bivalvos en el archipiélago balear: Ostrea edulis, Mimachlamys varia, Arca noae, Chamelea gallina, Pinna nobilis y Venus verrucosa, sin mortalidades asociadas a este parásito. Perkinsus olseni sólo se ha detectado en V. verrucosa, pero en el presente estudio no lo hemos encontrado. La búsqueda de Perkinsus spp. se ha realizado mediante RFTM y la determinación de la especie por PCR-RFLP y secuenciación. La prevalencia de P. mediterraneus ha sido similar a la de otras especies de Perkinsus y la dinámica de su infección es similar a la de P. marinus en la bahía de Chesapeake, con valores máximos de detección del parásito en septiembre y octubre, después del máximo estival de temperatura, y regresión de la infección en invierno. Hemos encontrado 12 haplotipos de P. mediterraneus con una elevada similitud genética. Las diferencias se hacen mayores al incluir secuencias procedentes de la bases de datos del GenBank, aumentando el número de haplotipos a 24. Los análisis filogenéticos han detectado, en conjunto, tres grupos diferentes de O. edulis de Menorca, que se diferencian de otros linajes coespecíficos. Los análisis apoyan esta diferenciación entre las poblaciones de Menorca y Mallorca, la cual parece, en buena parte debida al aislamiento geográfico del puerto de Mahón. Sin embargo, otros factores, como la variabilidad ambiental, diferentes localidades y fechas de detección, la translocación de animales, la actividad humana, etc, pueden tener cierta influencia. En el Mediterráneo occidental se encuentran tres especies de Perkinsus. Aunque se conoce que se producen coinfecciones en la escupiña grabada del puerto de Mahón con P. olseni y P. mediterraneus, no hemos encontrado ningún caso, ni tampoco bivalvos afectados por P. chesapeaki, especie que se ha detectado en el delta del Ebro. En diferentes muestreos de C. gallina hemos detectado la presencia de M. refringens y P. mediterraneus. Aunque no hemos encontrado coinfección, ésta no se puede descartar, porque los individuos són muy jóvenes y posiblemente ambos patógenos estén en las fases iniciales de infección. Teniendo en cuenta que la esporulación de M. refringens se inicia cuando la temperatura del agua es de 17ºC (mes de mayo), que las zoosporas de P. mediterraneus aparecen más tarde (septiembre-octubre) y que la mortalidad se detecta en junio-julio, lo más probable es que la causa sea la marteiliosis<br>One of the main issues in bivalve mollusc production is the prevention and control of diseases, scattered mainly by stock movements. In the Balearic Islands, we found low pathogenic bivalve parasites as Bucephalus haimeanus, Mytilicola intestinalis and trematode metacercariae. Furthermore, we found others that are a threat for their welfare, like Marteilia refringens, Perkinsus mediterraneus and P. olseni. M. refringens is a serious threat, because it causes physiological disorders that could kill the host. Presumably, in the 80s, this disease was the agent of oyster banks die out. Mussels are susceptible to the infection, but they are resistant to the disease. Mass mortality was detected in 2004 at the striped Venus shell (Chamelea gallina) bed in S‘Arenal beach. We use histological techniques, in situ hybridization, PCR and nested PCR to detect the disease agent. From a paraffin block we retrieved a sequence which showed 99.1% similarity with M. refringens type O. Thus, it was concluded that the aetiological agent was M. refringens. Subsequently, we found a prevalence of 55.1%. Marteilia refringens specific location in striped Venus shell tissues was determined by in situ hybridization. We observed all known stages, including sporulation, thus this parasite could complete its vital cycle in C. gallina, and so striped Venus shell should be considered as a new host of M. refringens. A wide bivalve mollusc variety is infected by Perkinsus mediterraneus in Balearic Islands: Ostrea edulis, Mimachlamys varia, Arca noae, Chamelea gallina, Pinna nobilis and Venus verrucosa, but they are not killed by this parasite. Perkinsus olseni has only been detected in V. verrucosa from Mahon harbour, although we have not detected it in another bivalve species. Perkinsus spp. search was performed using RFTM and species was established by PCR-RFLP and sequencing. P. mediterraneus prevalence was similar to other Perkinsus species and their infection dynamics is like P. marinus’ in Chesapeake Bay, with maximum detection values in September and October, after summer peak temperature with infection regression in winter. We have found 12 P. mediterraneus haplotypes, all of them sharing a high similarity. Differences grow up when we added GenBank sequences. Then, the haplotype number raised 24. Three groups of O. edulis from Minorca were revealed by phylogenetic analyses which are different from other co-specifics lineages. Analysis supported this differentiation among populations from Minorca and Majorca. This differentiation could be due to Mahon harbour geographic isolation. Nevertheless, another factors, such environmental variability, different detection locations and dates, animal translocations, human activity, etc., might also have some influence. There are three Perkinsus species at the western Mediterranean. Although it is known that co-infections between P. olseni and P. mediterraneus can happen in warty Venus shell from Mahon harbour, we have not found any occurrence. Furthermore, we have not detected infection by P. chesapeaki, although it has been found in the Ebro delta. We have found out M. refringens and P. mediterraneus presence in different C. gallina samples. Although coinfection has not been found, we cannot discard it, because individuals are very young and perhaps both pathogens are in early infection stages. Given that M. refringens sporulation starts when water temperature is 17ºC (May), P. mediterraneus zoospores appear later (September-October) and mortality is detected in June-July, in this way, marteiliosis might be the candidate.

Los objetivos de la tesis fueron estudiar los factores que pueden explicar la variabilidad existente en la distribución e intensidad de la pesca artesanal en torno a una reserva marina (RM), valorar el efecto de la protección sobre la pesca y analizar y valorar los efectos bio-económicos de configuraciones alternativas de diseño y gestión. Los resultados revelaron que las embarcaciones artesanales calan más artes, de menor longitud, en zonas de elevada diversidad de hábitats. El rendimiento pesquero depende del nivel de protección, la distancia a la RM y la diversidad de artes por unidad de área. La protección está teniendo resultados positivos sobre las poblaciones de peces explotadas y beneficiando a la economía local. El aumento de superficie protegida, distribuido en varias reservas integrales en emplazamientos adecuados, distanciadas unas decenas kilómetros, más que la reducción del esfuerzo, tendría efectos positivos sobre el poblamiento de peces y la economía local.<br>The aim of the present work is to study the factors that may explain the variability in distribution and intensity of artisanal fishing around a marine reserve, evaluate the reserve effect and analyze and assess the biological and economic effects of alternative configurations of a marine protected area. The results revealed that artisanal vessels used more fishing gears, but shorter, in high habitat diversity areas. The fishing yield depends of protection level, distance to marine reserve and diversity of fishing gears per unit area. The protection measures have had positive results on exploited fish populations and in the local economy. The increase of protected area surface, distributed on several no take zones at appropriate locations, a few kilometers apart, more than the reduction of the fishing effort, would have positive effects on the population of commercial fishes and the local economy.

Còrsega i Sardenya, dues illes que disten només 12 km., formen un arxipèlag en el bell mig del Mediterrani occidental. No obstant, van estar dividides al llarg de gran part de la seva història, i actualment són una part perifèrica de dos diferents Estats: França i Itàlia. En ambdues illes han sigut presents, i encara ho són, moviments nacionalistes, tant illencs com continentals, una situació que ha generat una ulterior clivella. Aquesta tesi pretén analitzar, des d'una perspectiva comparada, els darrers tres segles d'història de Còrsega i Sardenya. El treball està dividit en dues parts, una primera dedicada a les dues illes, i una segona a un estudi de cas sobre un indret en particular d'aquest arxipèlag: l'Alguer.<br>Corsica and Sardinia, two islands that are hardly separated by 12 km, forms an archipelago in the middle of the western basin of the Mediterranean sea. However, they were divided along much of its history, and now they are a peripheral part of two different States: France and Italy. In both of these islands have been presents, and still are, nationalist movements, as islanders and continentals, a situation that has generated a further gap. This thesis aims to analyze, from a comparative point of view, the last three centuries of history of Corsica and Sardinia. The work is divided into two parts, the first devoted to the two islands, and the second one is a case study about particular place in this archipelago: Alghero.

La llegada de plantas exóticas fuera de su rango de distribución original y su posterior asentamiento en ecosistemas naturales no es una excepción en las Islas Baleares. En la actualidad tenemos 308 especies no nativas naturalizadas y subespontáneas que representan el 16% del total de la flora Balear. En esta tesis se ha evaluado el estado de la cuestión a nivel global y local. Se ha confeccionado el primer catálogo de flora introducida y se ha analizado cuales de ellas son más abundantes y peligrosas; así como también qué ecosistemas son más vulnerables a la introducción de éstas. También se ha profundizado en el conocimiento de dos de las especies exóticas más peligrosas en el litoral Balear: Carpobrotus edulis y C. affine acinaciformis. Se ha evaluado su influencia sobre la polinización, su tasa de crecimiento bajo diferentes escenarios ambientales, se ha confeccionado un modelo de crecimiento y se ha evaluado su impacto sobre la composición y estructura de las comunidades nativas.<br>L'arribada de plantes exòtiques fora del seu rang de distribució original i el seu posterior assentament a ecosistemes naturals no és una excepció a les Illes Balears. A l'actualitat tenim 308 espècies no natives naturalitzades i subespontànies que representen el 16% del total de la flora Balear. En aquesta tesi s'ha avaluat l'estat de la qüestió a nivell global i local. S'ha confeccionat el primer catàleg de flora introduïda i s'han analitzat quines d'elles són més abundants i perilloses; així com també quins ecosistemes són més vulnerables a la introducció d'aquestes. També s'ha profunditzat en el coneixement de dues de les espècies exòtiques més perilloses del litoral Balear: Carpobrotus edulis y C. affine acinaciformis. S'ha avaluat la seva influència damunt els vectors de pol·linització, la taxa de creixement a diferents escenaris ambiental, s'ha confeccionat un model de creixement, i s'ha avaluat el seu impacte damunt la composició i estructura de les comunitats natives.<br>The constant arrival of exotic plants into areas outside their original distribution range and further settlement in natural ecosystems is not an exception in the Spanish Balearic archipelago. At the moment we have 308 non native species (naturalized and casual), the 16% from the total Balearic flora. This thesis has evaluated the exotic plant problematic at global and local level. We have elaborated the first exotic plants list, its distribution and abundance, as well as its degree of impact on the more vulnerable environments. We went deeply into the knowledge of two very invasive plants along the coast of the Balearic islands: Carpobrotus edulis y C. affine acinaciformis. We have evaluated its influence over pollen transmission, its growth rate at different environmental conditions, we have too elaborated a non liner growth model and its impact on composition and structure in natural communities

The Mediterranean islands are considered to be natural laboratories of evolution and places with extremely high level of endemism. Even though the fresh waters are among most diverse and also the most endangered ecosystems, still little is known about its biodiversity in the Mediterranean islands, as most of the studies on insular fauna focus mainly on terrestrial and marine biota. One of the most abundant organisms, being often keystone species in the freshwater macroinvertebrate communities are gammarid amphipods. In my PhD thesis, I investigated the diversity and origin of the freshwater gammarids of the Mediterranean islands. In the first part of my PhD, the available resources on the diversity of the freshwater malacostracan crustaceans from the Mediterranean islands were investigated and gathered together. Chapter I, is arguably the first such an extensive study on the freshwater fauna of the Mediterranean Islands, with valuable insight on its biogeographical affiliations. The findings indicate that amphipods are the most speciose group, being the most species-rich order on each of studied islands and archipelagos, with also one of the highest rate of endemism. In the main core of the PhD thesis, the diversity and origin of the freshwater gammarids from Aegean islands including Crete as well as Sicily were studied by gathering both morphological and molecular characteristics and by reconstructing the time-calibrated phylogenies using multimarket dataset. Chapter II provides the first evidence of the presence of freshwater populations of Gammarus on six Aegean islands with at least three endemic species, most probably new to science. The molecular methods were implemented to analyse their evolutionary history combining the information from the adjacent regions, including populations of recently described Gammarus plaitisi from Crete. Moreover, the divergence of these new species is strongly connected with the geological history of the Aegean region and its islands. In Chapter III, the substantial level of intraspecific diversity was detected within each of the Sicilian gammarid morphospecies. Moreover, these results support the different timescales and separate colonisation events of the gammarid fauna of Sicily. Altogether, these results indicate connectivity of the evolutionary history of the insular freshwater gammarids with the geological history of the islands as well as the entire Mediterranean region. Moreover, the level of overlooked diversity detected supports the importance of using molecular tools in the biodiversity assessments. The results of this thesis also highlight the need for future studies on the insular freshwater Mediterranean biota and deliver a valuable insight for better understanding of the mechanisms of the diversification of the freshwater organisms.<br>Narodowe Centrum Nauki - projekt nr 2015/17/N/NZ8/01628 oraz 2018/28/T/NZ8/00022