Estuarine molecular bycatch as a landscape-wide biomonitoring tool (2021)
Journal Article
Mariani, S., Harper, L., Collins, R., Baillie, C., Wangensteen, O., McDevitt, A., …Genner, M. (2021). Estuarine molecular bycatch as a landscape-wide biomonitoring tool. Biological Conservation, 261, 109287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109287

Environmental DNA analysis is rapidly transforming biodiversity monitoring and bolstering conservation applications worldwide. This approach has been assisted by the development of metabarcoding PCR primers that are suited for detection of a wide ran... Read More about Estuarine molecular bycatch as a landscape-wide biomonitoring tool.

Shark and ray trade in and out of Indonesia : addressing knowledge gaps on the path to sustainability (2021)
Journal Article
Prasetyo, A., McDevitt, A., Murray, J., Barry, J., Agung, F., Muttaqin, E., & Mariani, S. (2021). Shark and ray trade in and out of Indonesia : addressing knowledge gaps on the path to sustainability. Marine Policy, 133, 104714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2021.104714

Indonesian marine resources are among the richest on the planet, sustaining highly diverse fisheries. These fisheries include the largest shark and ray landings in the world, making Indonesia one of the world’s largest exporters of elasmobranch produ... Read More about Shark and ray trade in and out of Indonesia : addressing knowledge gaps on the path to sustainability.

Space-time dynamics in monitoring neotropical fish communities using eDNA metabarcoding (2020)
Journal Article
Sales, N., Wangensteen Fuentes, O., Carvalho, D., Deiner, K., Praebel, K., Coscia, I., …Mariani, S. (2021). Space-time dynamics in monitoring neotropical fish communities using eDNA metabarcoding. Science of the Total Environment, 754, 142096. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142096

The biodiverse Neotropical ecoregion remains insufficiently assessed, poorly managed, and threatened by unregulated human activities. Novel, rapid and cost-effective DNA-based approaches are valuable to improve understanding of the biological communi... Read More about Space-time dynamics in monitoring neotropical fish communities using eDNA metabarcoding.

Fishing for mammals : landscape-level monitoring of terrestrial and semi-aquatic communities using eDNA from riverine systems (2020)
Journal Article
Sales, N., McKenzie, M., Drake, J., Harper, L., Browett, S., Coscia, I., …McDevitt, A. (2020). Fishing for mammals : landscape-level monitoring of terrestrial and semi-aquatic communities using eDNA from riverine systems. Journal of Applied Ecology, 57(4), 707-716. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13592

1. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has revolutionised biomonitoring in both marine and freshwater ecosystems. However, for semi-aquatic and terrestrial animals, the application of this technique remains relatively untested. 2. We first ass... Read More about Fishing for mammals : landscape-level monitoring of terrestrial and semi-aquatic communities using eDNA from riverine systems.

Behavioural responses in a congested sea : an observational study on a coastal nest-guarding fish (2019)
Journal Article
Mascolino, S., Mariani, S., & Benvenuto, C. (2019). Behavioural responses in a congested sea : an observational study on a coastal nest-guarding fish. The European Zoological Journal, 86(1), 504-518. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750263.2019.1699611

The deleterious effects of anthropogenic noise on animal communication are nowadays recognised, not only in urban environments but also in terrestrial habitats and along coasts and in open waters. Yet, the assessment of short- and long-term exposure... Read More about Behavioural responses in a congested sea : an observational study on a coastal nest-guarding fish.

Non‐specific amplification compromises environmental DNA metabarcoding with COI (2019)
Journal Article
Collins, R., Bakker, J., Wangensteen Fuentes, O., Soto, A., Corrigan, L., Sims, D., …Mariani, S. (2019). Non‐specific amplification compromises environmental DNA metabarcoding with COI. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 10(11), 1985-2001. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13276

1.Metabarcoding extra‐organismal DNA from environmental samples is now a key technique in aquatic biomonitoring and ecosystem health assessment. Of critical consideration when designing experiments, and especially so when developing community standar... Read More about Non‐specific amplification compromises environmental DNA metabarcoding with COI.

Environmental DNA metabarcoding as an effective and rapid tool for fish monitoring in canals (2019)
Journal Article
McDevitt, A., Sales, N., Browett, S., Sparnenn, A., Mariani, S., Wangensteen Fuentes, O., …Benvenuto, C. (2019). Environmental DNA metabarcoding as an effective and rapid tool for fish monitoring in canals. Journal of Fish Biology, 95(2), 679-682. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14053

We focus on a case study along an English canal comparing environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding with two types of electrofishing techniques (wade‐and‐reach and boom‐boat). In addition to corroborating data obtained by electrofishing, eDNA provided a... Read More about Environmental DNA metabarcoding as an effective and rapid tool for fish monitoring in canals.

Sponges as natural environmental DNA samplers (2019)
Journal Article
Mariani, S., Baillie, C., Colosimo, G., & Riesgo, A. (2019). Sponges as natural environmental DNA samplers. Current Biology, 29(11), R401-R402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.04.031

At a time of unprecedented impacts on marine biodiversity, scientists are rapidly becoming persuaded by the potential of screening large swathes of the oceans through the retrieval, amplification and sequencing of trace DNA fragments left behind by m... Read More about Sponges as natural environmental DNA samplers.

Influence of preservation methods, sample medium and sampling time on eDNA recovery in a neotropical river (2019)
Journal Article
Sales, N., Wangensteen Fuentes, O., Carvalho, D., & Mariani, S. (2019). Influence of preservation methods, sample medium and sampling time on eDNA recovery in a neotropical river. Environmental DNA, 1(2), 119-130. https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.14

Environmental DNA (eDNA) has rapidly emerged as a promising biodiversity monitoring technique, proving to be a sensitive and cost‐effective method for species detection. Despite the increasing popularity of eDNA, several questions regarding its limit... Read More about Influence of preservation methods, sample medium and sampling time on eDNA recovery in a neotropical river.

Genomics, environment and balancing selection in behaviorally bimodal populations : the caribou case (2019)
Journal Article
Cavedon, M., Goubili, C., Heppenheimer, E., vonHoldt, B., Mariani, S., Hebblewhite, M., …Musiani, M. (2019). Genomics, environment and balancing selection in behaviorally bimodal populations : the caribou case. Molecular Ecology, 28(8), 1946-1963. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15039

Selection forces that favor different phenotypes in different environments can change frequencies of genes between populations along environmental clines. Clines are also compatible with balancing forces, such as negative frequency‐dependent selectio... Read More about Genomics, environment and balancing selection in behaviorally bimodal populations : the caribou case.

Consequences of sex change for effective population size (2018)
Journal Article
Waples, R., Mariani, S., & Benvenuto, C. (2018). Consequences of sex change for effective population size. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285(1893), 20181702. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1702

Sequential hermaphroditism, where males change to females (protandry) or the reverse (protogyny), is widespread in animals and plants and can be an Evolutionarily Stable Strategy (ESS) if fecundity rises faster with age in the second sex. Sequential... Read More about Consequences of sex change for effective population size.

Persistence of environmental DNA in marine systems (2018)
Journal Article
Collins, R., Wangensteen Fuentes, O., O'Gorman, E., Mariani, S., Sims, D., & Genner, M. (2018). Persistence of environmental DNA in marine systems. Communications Biology, 1, 185. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-018-0192-6

As environmental DNA (eDNA) becomes an increasingly valuable resource for marine eco-system monitoring, understanding variation in its persistence across contrasting environments is critical. Here, we quantify the breakdown of macrobial eDNA over a s... Read More about Persistence of environmental DNA in marine systems.

Metabarcoding of shrimp stomach content: harnessing a natural sampler for fish biodiversity monitoring (2018)
Journal Article
Siegenthaler, A., Wangensteen, O., Soto, A., Benvenuto, C., Corrigan, L., & Mariani, S. (2019). Metabarcoding of shrimp stomach content: harnessing a natural sampler for fish biodiversity monitoring. Molecular Ecology Resources, 19(1), 206-220. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.12956

Given their positioning and biological productivity, estuaries have long represented key providers of ecosystem services, and consequently remain under remarkable pressure from numerous forms of anthropogenic impact. The monitoring of fish communitie... Read More about Metabarcoding of shrimp stomach content: harnessing a natural sampler for fish biodiversity monitoring.

DNA metabarcoding unveils multi-scale trophic variation in a widespread coastal opportunist (2018)
Journal Article
Siegenthaler, A., Wangensteen, O., Benvenuto, C., Campos, J., & Mariani, S. (2019). DNA metabarcoding unveils multi-scale trophic variation in a widespread coastal opportunist. Molecular Ecology, 28(2), 232-249. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14886

A thorough understanding of ecological networks relies on comprehensive information on trophic relationships among species. Since unpicking the diet of many organisms is unattainable using traditional morphology-based approaches, the application of h... Read More about DNA metabarcoding unveils multi-scale trophic variation in a widespread coastal opportunist.

Hidden diversity hampers conservation efforts in a highly impacted neotropical river system (2018)
Journal Article
Sales, N., Mariani, S., Salvador, G., Pessali, T., & Carvalho, D. (2018). Hidden diversity hampers conservation efforts in a highly impacted neotropical river system. Frontiers in Genetics, 9, #271. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2018.00271

Neotropical Rivers host a highly diverse ichthyofauna, but taxonomic uncertainty prevents appropriate conservation measures. The Doce River Basin (DRB), lying within two Brazilian threatened hotspots (Atlantic Forest and Brazilian Savanna) in south-e... Read More about Hidden diversity hampers conservation efforts in a highly impacted neotropical river system.

Lines on a map : conservation units, meta-population dynamics, and recovery of woodland caribou in Canada (2018)
Journal Article
Weckworth, B., Hebblewhite, M., Mariani, S., & Musiani, M. (2018). Lines on a map : conservation units, meta-population dynamics, and recovery of woodland caribou in Canada. Ecosphere, 9(7), e02323. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2323

Delineating conservation units is a fundamental step in recovery planning for endangered species. Yet, challenges remain in the application and validation of scientifically evaluated conservation units in management practice. The Canadian government... Read More about Lines on a map : conservation units, meta-population dynamics, and recovery of woodland caribou in Canada.

Generic names and mislabelling conceal high species diversity in global fisheries markets (2018)
Journal Article
Cawthorn, D., Baillie, C., & Mariani, S. (2018). Generic names and mislabelling conceal high species diversity in global fisheries markets. Conservation Letters, 11(5), e12573. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12573

Consumers have the power to influence conservation of marine fishes by selectively purchasing sustainably-harvested species. Yet, this power is hindered by vague labelling and seafood fraud, which may mask market biodiversity and lead to inadvertent... Read More about Generic names and mislabelling conceal high species diversity in global fisheries markets.

Tuna labels matter in Europe : mislabelling rates in different tuna products (2018)
Journal Article
Sotelo, C., Velasco, A., Perez-Martin, R., Kappel, K., Schröder, U., Verrez-Bagnis, V., …Griffiths, A. (2018). Tuna labels matter in Europe : mislabelling rates in different tuna products. PLoS ONE, 13(5), e0196641. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196641

Tuna fisheries and processing represent economic activities of paramount importance around the world. Most of these products are traded for human consumption and in general are highly demanded commodities. However, not all tuna products achieve the s... Read More about Tuna labels matter in Europe : mislabelling rates in different tuna products.

Genetic homogeneity in the deep-sea grenadier Macrourus berglax across the North Atlantic Ocean (2018)
Journal Article
Coscia, I., Castilho, R., Massa-Gallucci, A., Sacchi, C., Cunha, R., Stefanni, S., …Mariani, S. (2018). Genetic homogeneity in the deep-sea grenadier Macrourus berglax across the North Atlantic Ocean. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 132, 60-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2017.12.001

Paucity of data on population structure and connectivity in deep sea species remains a major obstacle to their sustainable management and conservation in the face of ever increasing fisheries pressure and other forms of impacts on deep sea ecosystems... Read More about Genetic homogeneity in the deep-sea grenadier Macrourus berglax across the North Atlantic Ocean.

Genetic differentiation and phylogeography of Mediterranean-North Eastern Atlantic blue shark (Prionace glauca, L. 1758) using mitochondrial DNA : panmixia or complex stock structure? (2017)
Journal Article
Leone, A., Urso, I., Damalas, D., Martinsohn, J., Zanzi, A., Mariani, S., …Cariani, A. (2017). Genetic differentiation and phylogeography of Mediterranean-North Eastern Atlantic blue shark (Prionace glauca, L. 1758) using mitochondrial DNA : panmixia or complex stock structure?. PeerJ, 5, e4112. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4112

Background The blue shark (Prionace glauca, Linnaeus 1758) is one of the most abundant epipelagic shark inhabiting all the oceans except the poles, including the Mediterranean Sea, but its genetic structure has not been confirmed at basin and inter... Read More about Genetic differentiation and phylogeography of Mediterranean-North Eastern Atlantic blue shark (Prionace glauca, L. 1758) using mitochondrial DNA : panmixia or complex stock structure?.