Books by Alessandro Ceregato
Natura Picta - Ulisse Aldrovandi
Papers by Alessandro Ceregato
Il ruolo determinante di Ulisse Aldrovandi nella riforma dell'arte sacra introdotta dal cardinale... more Il ruolo determinante di Ulisse Aldrovandi nella riforma dell'arte sacra introdotta dal cardinale Gabriele Pa leotti è ampiamente documentato. Il pittore bolognese Bartolomeo Passerotti occupa un posto speciale tra gli artisti tardo-manieristi che più di tutti assimilarono le nuove idee proposte da Paleotti e Aldrovandi, per i suoi contatti diretti con Aldrovandi ma soprattutto per il loro comune interesse per il collezionismo di oggetti naturali, evidenziato in questo contributo attraverso due esempi significativi. L'accuratezza della rappresentazione degli oggetti naturali è completata dalla raffigurazione di una "glossopetra" e di un pesce palla paragonabili a quelli ancora conservati nella Sala Aldrovandi del Museo di Palazzo Poggi. The crucial role played by Ulisse Aldrovandi in the reform of sacred art commissioned by Cardinal Gabriele Paleotti is well-documented. Within this period, the Bolognese painter Bartolomeo Passerotti occupies a special place among the late-mannerist artists who embraced Paleotti's and Aldrovandi's ideas. This is due in part to his direct contact with Aldrovandi, but may also be attributed to a shared interest in collecting natural objects. The present contribution examines two case studies: first, the accuracy in the representation of natural objects, which matches the depictions of a "glossopetra"; and second, a puff fish representation that can be compared directly to specimens still preserved in the Aldrovandi collection in Palazzo Poggi.
Journal Of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, Jun 1, 2018
The morphology of scour holes at tidal channel confluences was investigated through high-resoluti... more The morphology of scour holes at tidal channel confluences was investigated through high-resolution acoustic mapping of the channel network in the Venice Lagoon (Italy). Our investigation identified 29 confluence scours ranging in depth from 7 to 26 m and characterized by different confluence geometry and scour properties. Scours were found at the confluence of two or more channels, having equal or unequal bed heights and a diverse confluence planform geometry. The main morphological characteristics of the scours were compared to literature data from fluvial environments. Like in rivers, the scour depth tends to increase with the angle of the confluence. Moreover, the maximum depth of the confluence scours in the Venice Lagoon is positively correlated with the tidal prism of the channels joining the confluence. The investigation of the seafloor features in the scour holes highlighted that, generally, small-and medium-scale bedforms are present on the gentle slope. The scours' seafloor roughness indicated that in tidal channels both ebb and flood flows combine in shaping the confluence morphology. In addition, the analysis of historical bathymetric datasets dating back to the 1800s allowed us to analyze the morphological evolution of two of these erosive features. Our findings revealed the century-scale morphological dynamics of scour holes, as a consequence of changes in the flow regime.
“A fossilized nut?”: a drawing from Aldrovandi in the Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo
Archives of Natural History, Apr 1, 2009
Delta growth and river valleys: the influence of climate and sea level changes on the South Adriatic shelf (Mediterranean Sea)
Quaternary Science Reviews, Sep 1, 2014
Abstract Incised valleys across continental margins represent the response of fluvial systems to ... more Abstract Incised valleys across continental margins represent the response of fluvial systems to changes in their equilibrium dynamics, mainly driven by base level fall forced by glacial–eustatic cycles. The Manfredonia Incised Valley formed during the last glacial sea level lowstand, when most of the southern Adriatic shelf was sub-aerially exposed but the outer shelf remained under water. The pronounced upstream deepening of the valley is ascribed to river incision of the MIS5e highstand coastal prism and related subaqueous clinoform under the influence of MIS5-4 sea level fluctuations, while the downstream shallowing and narrowing mainly reflects the impact of increased rates of sea level fall at the MIS3-2 transition on a flatter mid-outer shelf. Until 15 ka BP, the valley fed an asymmetric delta confined to the mid-outer shelf, testifying that continental and deep marine systems remained disconnected during the lowstand. Sea level rise reached the inner shelf during the Early Holocene, drowning the valley and leading to the formation of a sheltered embayment confined toward the land: at this time part of the incision remained underfilled with a marked bathymetric expression. This mini-basin was rapidly filled by sandy bayhead deltas, prograding from both the northern and southern sides of the valley. In this environment, protected by marine reworking and where sediment dispersal was less effective, the accommodation space was reduced and autogenic processes forced the formation of multiple and coalescing delta lobes. Bayhead delta progradations occurred in few centuries, between 8 and 7.2 ka cal BP, confirming the recent hypothesis that in this area the valley was filled during the formation of sapropel S1. This proximal valley fill, representing the very shallow-water equivalent of the cm-thick sapropel layers accumulated offshore in the deeper southern Adriatic basin, is of key importance in following the signature of the sapropel in a facies-tract ideally from the shoreline to the abyss.
Una Filogenesi Molecolare Dei Molluschi Bivalvi: Il Contributo Dei Geni Mitocondriali Nel Chiarire La Storia Evolutiva Della Classe
La filogenesi dei molluschi bivalvi rimane un argomento piuttosto controverso, a causa della diff... more La filogenesi dei molluschi bivalvi rimane un argomento piuttosto controverso, a causa della difficolta\u300 di individuare e decifrare il corretto segnale filogenetico nei diversi marcatori molecolari utilizzati. Tuttavia, c\u2019e\u300 un buon accordo tassonomico sui principali gruppi (famiglie e superfamiglie), ma i rapporti evolutivi tra questi sono risultati spesso poco chiari. In questo lavoro presentiamo una filogenesi basata su quattro marcatori mitocondriali. Il nostro dataset comprende 122 specie di bivalvi e 436 sequenze in totale. La procedura utilizzata per ottenere il nostro albero prevede la codifica degli indel come presenza/assenza, un\u2019analisi di partizione ed un\u2019inferenza bayesiana per individuare l\u2019albero filogenetico ottimale. I geni codificanti proteine e rRNA hanno subito dinamiche evolutive diverse, per cui sono stati analizzati in partizioni separate. Nell\u2019albero ottenuto, ogni sottoclasse risulta saldamente monofiletica, cosi\u300 come i principali ordini e tutte le famiglie e le superfamiglie. Infine, abbiamo potuto confermare la validita\u300 degli Opponobranchia e l\u2019antichita\u300 dei Palaeoheterodonta. La filogenesi su ampia scala dei molluschi bivalvi si puo\u300 schematizzare con il seguente albero: (Opponobranchia + (Palaeoheterodonta + (Anomalodesmata + (Heterodonta + Pteriomorphia)))). Sulla base dei nostri risultati proponiamo una revisione della sistematica dei Bivalvia, suggerendo di istituire il nome Amarsipobranchia per il clade (Anomalodesmata + (Heterodonta + Pteriomorphia))
Amphibia-reptilia, 2013
The natural history collection of the Bolognese polymath, encyclopedist, and natural philosopher ... more The natural history collection of the Bolognese polymath, encyclopedist, and natural philosopher Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605) is regarded as the first museum in the modern sense of the term. It was intended as a resource for scholarship and a microcosm of the natural world, not simply a cabinet of curiosities. In addition to physical specimens, Aldrovandi's zoological material included a large series of paintings of animals (Tavole di Animali) that were integral to the collection. Following Aldrovandi's death, his collection was maintained by the terms of his will, but by the 19th century relatively little remained. We examined surviving herpetological components of the collection, comprising 19 specimens of ten species, as well as the corresponding paintings and associated archival material in the Museum of Palazzo Poggi, Museo di Zoologia, and Biblioteca Universitaria Bolognese in Bologna, Italy. Although the antiquity of some of these dried preparations is in question, many are documented in the Tavole di Animali and/or are mentioned in 17th century lists of the museum, verifying them as the oldest museum specimens of amphibians and reptiles in the world. Exotic species are best represented, including two specimens of Uromastyx aegyptia and several boid snakes-the first New World reptiles to be displayed in Europe. However, the Tavole di Animali suggest that the original collection was dominated by Italian taxa and that greater effort may have been made to conserve the more spectacular specimens. The Aldrovandi collection provides a tangible link to the dawn of modern herpetology in Renaissance Italy.
Journal of Library Metadata, 2017
The Archivio di Studi Adriatici (ASA) is a repository of the Institute of Marine Sciences (ISMAR-... more The Archivio di Studi Adriatici (ASA) is a repository of the Institute of Marine Sciences (ISMAR-CNR) of Venice. The ASA repository, completely open source and open access, hosts natural collections, heritage books, documents, and maps of the Institute of Marine Sciences. It was developed following the discovery of a historical algal collection at the Biblioteca Storica di Studi Adriatici of Venice. This collection, after having been catalogued, has been digitized with a digital planetary scanner. Digitized specimens and metadata, compiled using Dublin Core and Simple Darwin Core formats, are hosted on a website, based on Fedora Repository and Islandora framework.
Carta geologica d'Italia alla scala 1:50.000, Foglio 269 - Fano
Recently discovered chemosynthetic assemblages from pockmark systems in the Strait of Sicily and Central Adriatic their bearing on composition, evolution and biogeography of the Mediterranean deep water cold seeps
Deep-water cold seepage in the deep Mediterranean Sea is a well-documented phenomenon marking the... more Deep-water cold seepage in the deep Mediterranean Sea is a well-documented phenomenon marking the historical evolution of this basin from the early Cainozoic up to present times. A variety of microbial and metazoan chemosynthetic assemblages have been also described from such environments showing, among other, important modifications in their structure in response to major geologic and climatic events (Taviani 2001, 2010). Modern examples of deep-water cold seeps and related ecosystems are mainly concentrated in the Eastern Basin, with the exception of recently discovered site in the Western Mediterranean (Alboran Sea). Here we report two new sites identified in December 2009 in the Strait of Sicily, Central Mediterranean and in April 2010 in the central Adriatic.
Taxonomy Work At Cnr
The report includes and examines the list of taxonomists from IAMC (Institute for Coastal Marine ... more The report includes and examines the list of taxonomists from IAMC (Institute for Coastal Marine Environment), IGG (Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources), ISE (Institute of Ecosystem Study), and ISMAR (Institute of Marine Sciences), who responded to the Taxonomy Census 2016, their scientific publications and the number of taxa described new for the science in the last 50 years. Every paper is reported with keywords, helping the reader to understand taxon/taxa of each publication and the focal habitat. This analysis becomes the basis for the future steps to resurrect taxonomy within CNR, from common project proposals to the protection of past and present knowledge gained to date in this area.
Algarium Veneticum: a new institutional herbarium for the study of marine algal biodiversity. XXV Congresso Associazione Nazionale Musei Scientifici, Torino, 11-13 Novembre 2015
Algae started to be collected at least from the Renaissance: one of the earlier known herbaria st... more Algae started to be collected at least from the Renaissance: one of the earlier known herbaria still preserved including algae, is the Ulysses Aldrovandi's Hortus Siccus, collected from about 1551 until Aldrovandi's death in 1605. The <i>Agardh herbarium</i> contains one of the world's most important collections of algae, with 50.000 samples and 6000 type specimens, while the <i>Algarium Zanardini</i>, at the Natural History Museum of Venice, is undoubtedly the most valuable collection of species mostly from the Adriatic Sea<i>.</i> Recently, a forgotten algal herbarium collected from Aristocle Vatova between 1942 and 1950 in Venice Lagoon has been found at the Biblioteca Storica di Studi Adriatici of the Institute of Marine Sciences (ISMAR CNR) headquarters in Venice. It was decided to formally establish the first herbarium of the Institute. The new herbarium was recorded by the New York Botanical Garden under the name <i>Algari...
Recently a collection of ancient maps was found in the Institute of Marine Sciences of CNR in Ven... more Recently a collection of ancient maps was found in the Institute of Marine Sciences of CNR in Venice. The collection includes maps, perspective views, pilot books and ancient manuscripts: this work took into account a selection of maps and documents representing the Venice Lagoon and the Adriatic coast. The first part of this research focused on the application of a scientific method for digital acquisition of historical cartography; thanks to the Geomatic tools and especially to digital photogrammetry it is possible to acquire metric, semantic and symbolic information and also the three-dimensional shape of the geometrical support to correct the deformations occurred over time. In order to allow historical and morphological analysis of the Venice Lagoon, one of the main goals of this research will be the creation of a digital catalogue on a web-gis platform with all the ancient maps acquired. In this way it will be possible to query and to overlap the maps in an interactive way, al...
Venting and seepage in the Paola Basin (SE Tyrrhenian Sea) investigated
Mediterranean Marine Science, 2013
Recent ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) exploration and bottom sampling in the southern Adriatic S... more Recent ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) exploration and bottom sampling in the southern Adriatic Sea (Apulian and Montenegrin margins) resulted in the discovery of cnidarian-rich deep-sea habitats in the depth range of ca. 400-700 m. In particular, ROV inspection of Montenegrin canyons reveals the existence of megabenthic communities dominated by a variety of cnidarians, including scleractinians (Madrepora oculata, Lophelia pertusa, Dendrophyllia cornigera), antipatharians (Leiopathes glaberrima) and gorgonians (Callogorgia verticillata) as major habitat forming taxa, often in association with sponges and, subordinately, serpulids. All such cnidarians are new records for the southeastern side of the Adriatic Sea. Our investigation indicates that an almost continuous belt of patchy cold water coral sites occurs along the entire southwestern margin (Apulian), basically connecting the Adriatic populations with those inhabiting the Ionian margin (Santa Maria di Leuca coral province).
Viene segnalata la presenza del genere Ceratia (Gastropoda, Rissoidea, Iravadiidae) all'inter no ... more Viene segnalata la presenza del genere Ceratia (Gastropoda, Rissoidea, Iravadiidae) all'inter no di paleocomunità batiali del Pliocene della Romagna, rappresentato da due specie distin te: C. proxima Forbes & Hanley, 1850, e C. pliocenica n. sp. che viene qui descritta per la prima volta.
Italian Journal of Geosciences, 2015
Mineralogical, petrographic and stable isotope analyses were carried out on sediment and rock sam... more Mineralogical, petrographic and stable isotope analyses were carried out on sediment and rock samples collected from a deep-sea cold seep province in the Paola Ridge (southeastern Tyrrhenian Sea). The results, coupled with the interpretation of the seafloor backscatter, constrained both the biogeochemical zonation and the spatial distribution of the cold seep habitats in the area. These have proved to change in depth in a range of few meters and laterally within narrow zones. The mud volcanoes, characterized by a high backscatter signature, are the site of vigorous gas venting and, in the subsurface, show a rapid transition from the oxic sea water interface toward the methane-sulfate transition zone in the sediments. Intermediate backscatter typifies areas where free venting is the youngest being dated 640-440 BP. This suggests that the seepage activity in the mud diapirs was likely clogged by either carbonates or activity of the faults only very recently.
Biogeosciences, 2013
The geo-biological exploration of a pockmark field located at ca. -800 m in the Gela basin (Strai... more The geo-biological exploration of a pockmark field located at ca. -800 m in the Gela basin (Strait of Sicily, Central Mediterranean) provided a relatively diverse chemosymbiotic community and methane-imprinted carbonates. To date, this is the first occurrence of such type of specialized deep-water cold-seep communities recorded from this key region, before documented in the Mediterranean as rather disjunct findings in its eastern and westernmost basins. The thiotrophic chemosymbiotic organisms recovered from this area include empty tubes of the vestimentiferan Lamellibrachia sp., loose and articulated shells of lucinids (Lucinoma kazani, Myrtea amorpha), vesicomyids (Isorropodon perplexum), and gastropods (Taranis moerchi). A callianassid decapod (Calliax sp.) was consistently found alive in large numbers in the pockmark mud. Their post-mortem calcified parts mixed with molluscs and subordinately miliolid foraminifers form a distinct type of skeletal assemblage (named DECAMOL). Carbonate concretions display δ 13 C values as low as -40 ‰ PDB suggesting the occurrence of light hydrocarbons in the seeping fluids. Since none of the truly chemosymbiotic organisms was found alive, although their skeletal parts appear at times very fresh, some specimens have been AMS-14 C dated to shed light on the historical evolution of this site. Lamellibrachia and Lucinoma are two of the most significant chemosymbiotic taxa reported from various Mediterranean cold seep sites (Alboran Sea and Eastern basin).
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Books by Alessandro Ceregato
Papers by Alessandro Ceregato