Excavation of an Early Mesolithic rockshelter located at the bottom of the Adige Valley in South Tyrol (Italy) by the Archaeological Heritage Offi ce of the Province of Bozen / Bolzano led to the discovery of an astonishing quantity of... more
Excavation of an Early Mesolithic rockshelter located at the bottom of the Adige Valley in South Tyrol (Italy) by the Archaeological Heritage Offi ce of the Province of Bozen / Bolzano led to the discovery of an astonishing quantity of fish remains in addition to a variety of other wetland fauna. Taxonomic identifi cation shows a predominance of Pike (Esox lucius) and of Cyprinids [mainly Rudd (Scardinius Erythrophthalmus) , Roach (Rutilus erythrophthalmus) and Tench (Tinca tinca)]. In the upper layers one can recognize a specialization in catching Pike only. No selection concerning fi sh size was made. Defi ning the fi shing season preliminary data indicate that the site was frequented during the warmer seasons.
In this study we discriminate three freshwater fish species (the shad Alosa agone Scopoli 1786, the whitefish Coregonus macrophthalmus Nüsslin1882 and the roach Rutilus rutilus Linnaeus 1758) by Matrix-Assisted Laser... more
In this study we discriminate three freshwater fish species (the shad Alosa agone Scopoli 1786, the whitefish Coregonus macrophthalmus Nüsslin1882 and the roach Rutilus rutilus Linnaeus 1758) by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization- Time Of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) using both muscle and liver tissues. The technology enables to analyze tissues after a simple single-step extraction procedure without any further purification. The molecular profile of muscle tissues showed the most intense peaks at m/z range of 11,354.0 (±2.0 SD) Da, 3508.5 (±1.5 SD) Da and 8567.2 (±1.1 SD) Da for the shad, the whitefish and the roach respectively. The molecular profiles of liver tissues exhibit most of the highest peak intensities in the range between 2000 and 6000 m/z values. The roach shows the clearest pattern with high intensities detected at mass ranges between 3000 and 3550 Da with maxima at m/z 3035.2 (±0.2) Da and 3468.7 (±0.3) Da. The shad shows a shared high peak at m/z 3429.0 (±0.3) Da. The whitefish shows a group of major peaks in the m/z range of 3000-3700 Da with the highest being at 3635 (±0.3) Da. The overall signal pattern generated is highly specific for each species and, according to cluster analyses based on the total number of peaks, we could discriminate the three species.
The mesolithic site of Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca lies in the Adige Valley near Salurn/Salorno in the Autonomous Province of Bozen/Bolzano. The rockshelter is situated upon a cone not far from the present flow of the Adige river, at an... more
The mesolithic site of Galgenbühel/Dos de la Forca lies in the Adige Valley near Salurn/Salorno in the Autonomous Province of Bozen/Bolzano. The rockshelter is situated upon a cone not far from the present flow of the Adige river, at an altitude of 225 m a.s.l.. Since the beginning of the excavations in 1999 various anthropic levels have been discovered, all of them ascribed to the ancient Mesolithic. Charcoal from the upper levels submitted to AMS-radiocarbon dating achieved ages of 8.190±65 BP (7.326-7.032 BC cal.) and 8.560±65 BP (7.705-7.478 BC cal.). Among the archaeological features we mention some fireplaces, seldom structured, and a probable posthole. The archaeological record is made up of flint industry including the characteristic sauveterrian armatures, bone industry, perforated shells of Columbella rustica, faunal remains of large mammals (red deer, wild boar, beaver) as well as small mammals. The huge amount of well preserved fish remains (above all luce), together with molluscs and tortoises, marks an economy based mainly on fishing.
In this research, Pike (Esox lusius) one of the most valuable commercial marine species has been evaluated for genetic structure in Anzali wetland using microsatellite markers. 60 specimens of adult pikes were sampled from two spawning... more
In this research, Pike (Esox lusius) one of the most valuable commercial marine species has been evaluated for genetic structure in Anzali wetland using microsatellite markers. 60 specimens of adult pikes were sampled from two spawning seasons, winter and spring in Anzali wetland. Five pairs of microsatellites, tested on the genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). All loci of microsatellite produced polymorphic bands as polymorphic loci were used to analyze the genetic variation of the pike. Analyses revealed that average of alleles per locus were 10.8 (range 9 to 13 alleles). All sampled seasons contained private alleles. The average observed and expected heterozygosity was 0.914 and 0.885, respectively. The inbreeding coefficient values of five microsatellite loci were negative. With the exception of a locus in spring, all loci significantly deviated from H-W equilibrium (P<0.01). Based on AMOVA, RST and FST values were significant between seasons (P<0.01). The genetic distance between populations was 0.442, which indicates that the genetic difference among the studied populations is significant. These results support the existence of different genetic populations in spawning seasons in this area.
