The brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) is widely distributed all around Europe but its natural diversity is 19 threatened by massive stocking with Atlantic domestic strains. Describing the remaining natural genetic 20 diversity and the proportion of domestic hatchery strains in rivers is a prerequisite for smart conservation. 21 The high genetic diversity of brown trout populations around the Tyrrhenian Sea is well known. Use of 22 twelve microsatellites has allowed description of the natural genetic structure of populations and detection 23 of the consequences of stocking. Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences and the LDH-C1* gene 24 enabled placement of each population into one of the six mitochondrial and two allozymic known 25 2 evolutionary lineages. The Corsican populations showed low intra-population genetic diversity but an 26 exceptionally high level of inter-population differentiation. More southern Tyrrhenian regions exhibited 27 opposite pattern of diversity, partly due to the Atlantic domestic introgression. Globally, the natural 28 structure outlines two north-south clines: high inter-population differentiation and predominance of the 29 Adriatic lineage in the north, but lower inter-population differentiation and presence of the natural Atlantic 30 lineage in the south. In addition, the Tyrrhenian region is the contact zone between the widespread 31 Adriatic lineage and a local natural Atlantic lineage probably coming from North Africa through the Strait 32 of Gibraltar.

suMMarY: Movement patterns of the spiny lobster Palinurus elephas were determined from 389 individuals (total tagged 5666) tag-recaptured inside a no-take area of the central western Mediterranean and its surrounding zone. High site association and limited movements in tagged lobsters was observed; 60.4% of lobsters moved less than 2 km from the centre of the area (site of release). no clear relationship between lobster movement pattern and sex or size was observed; however, it seemed that the largest males and females tended to be more resident, thus contributing to the rebuilding of the biomass of local lobsters. Most lobsters undertook migrations in the southwest direction. the increased availability of shelters and food towards the southwest could have contributed to the lobsters' movement. the results of our research indicate that the small size of the protected area and the scale of the movement exhibited by tagged lobsters allows a proportion of the lobster population to move out of the protected area and become susceptible to capture in the adjacent fishery.Keywords: lobster, Palinurus elephas, protected area, spillover, movement. resuMen: Pautas de movimiento de la langosta Palinurus elePhas (Fabricius, 1787) desde un área protegida en el Mediterráneo occidental central. -se determinaron las pautas de movimiento de 389 individuos de la langosta Palinurus elephas (total marcados 5666) marcados y recapturados en el interior de un área protegida (sin captura) así como de su área circundante. en las langostas marcadas se observó una elevada asociación al lugar de liberación, así como movimientos limitados: el 60.4% de las langostas se movieron menos de 2 km desde el centro del área de liberación. no se observó ninguna clara relación entre las pautas de movimiento de las langostas y su sexo y talla; no obstante, hay una tendencia a que los machos y hembras grandes muestren un comportamiento más residente, contribuyendo así al aumento de la biomasa local. la mayor parte de langostas mostró migraciones en dirección sudoeste. la mayor disponibilidad de refugios y alimento hacia el sudoeste pudo haber contribuído al movimiento de las langostas. los resultados de este estudio indican que el pequeño tamaño del área protegida y la escala de movimientos mostrados por las langostas marcadas permite a una porción de la población su salida del área protegida y su susceptibilidad a la captura en la pesquería adyacente.

The systematic status of the Italian trout in the Salmo trutta L., 1758 complex (including marble, Mediterranean and lacustrine trout), has long been -and is still todaysubject of controversies among ichthyologists. The specific name and the taxonomic rank changed several times in the last years, and the natural occurrence of this salmonid fish in some Italian areas was debated due to spread of alien strains. The main difficulty with the taxonomy of the Italian trout stems from the impossibility of disentangling it "on paper" or, even worse, trying to face this systematic issue considering only a very limited (local/national scale) part of the brown trout range. The taxonomy of the Italian trout population is inextricably linked to the necessity of clarifying first phylogeny and phylogeography in an overall Mediterranean context. The opportunity of a non "self-referential" taxonomy is even more fundamental for a vulnerable salmonid like the Italian brown trout, for which there is a very conflicting management problem related to sport fishing and, at the same time, the urgent need for effective conservation measures. It is however necessary to emphasize that conservation is independent from taxonomy but must start from the level of the local population. In fact, management units need stability and they cannot, therefore, coincide with entitiesthe Linnean speciesrequiring continuous taxonomic revisions. Modern molecular methods are the best tools for defining these units of management and conservation in an evolutionary perspective.

The contribution that a small restocking area (central western Mediterranean) has made to the Palinurus elephas (Fabr., 1787) population was examined by comparing the abundances recorded inside and outside the area before (1997) and after the establishment of the reserve (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005). From 1998 to 2002 a progressive percentage increase of P. elephas biomass values was recorded both inside the area and in the surrounding zones. The total mean abundance within the reserve (CPUE = 0.23 ± 0.10 kg/50 m/boat) was 7.5 times greater than that for the neighbouring zone (CPUE = 0.03 ± 0.07 kg/50 m/boat). The inter-annual analysis of lobster size inside the area also showed a progressive increase of adults and juveniles. The results highlighted the effectiveness of fishing restrictions in rebuilding the lobsters population and suggest that small MPAs should be set up.

Genetic variation at eight microsatellite loci was studied in nine populations of the blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus to investigate whether distinct stocks are present in the Western Mediterranean Sea. A high level of gene flow and no evidence of genetic partitioning were discovered. No significant variation was found (FST = 0.00673, P‐value = 0.067) even when shrimps from exploited and those from deep‐water unexploited grounds were compared. No evidence of reduction or expansion of population size in the recent past was found, as indicated by the bottleneck and interlocus g‐tests. Our results are consistent with previous studies using mitochondrial gene methods and allozymes, indicating that, for this species, extensive pelagic larval dispersal and adult migration are probably responsible for the genetic homogeneity observed. In particular, due to a different bathymetric distribution of males and females, reported to be associated with different water masses and hence with possible differential dispersal capacity between sexes, the hypothesis of sex‐biased dispersal was tested. Mean values of corrected assignment indices and mean relatedness values were higher for males, suggesting that females are the more widely dispersing sex. Molecular assessment of A. antennatus from the Western Mediterranean provides data of biological and evolutionary interest for the successful management of such a highly valuable fishery resource.