Author(s)

Paola Cennamo, Paolo Caputo, Mario De Stefano, Elda Russo Ermolli, Maria Rosaria Barone Lumaga

Dipartimento di Biologia, Orto Botanico, Università di Napoli “Federico II”, Naples, Italy.
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse (DISTAR), Università di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy. Département de Préhistoire, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France.
Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Seconda Università di Napoli, Caserta, Italy.
Facoltà di Lettere, Università degli Studi Suor Orsola Benincasa, Naples, Italy.

The Graeco-Roman harbor of Neapolis (Naples, Italy), chronologically constrained between the late 4th century BC and the 6th century AD, offers a unique sight on relationship between past and present into the history of the marine biodiversity. In fact, the digs expose fossil leaf of Posidonia oceanica with epiphytic communities of microorganisms. Posidonia oceanica is a seagrass endemic to theMediterraneanthat forms large meadows whose remains can persist in the sediment for thousands of years. In this communication, we report results of analyses carried out using both molecular and morphological techniques on sub-fossil leaves of P. oceanica and their associated epiphytic communities.

Posidonia oceanica; Epiphytic Communities; Ancient DNA

Cennamo, P. , Caputo, P. , Stefano, M. , Ermolli, E. and Lumaga, M. (2014) Epiphytic Diatom Communities on Sub-Fossil Leaves of Posidonia oceanica Delile in the Graeco-Roman Harbor of Neapolis: A Tool to Explore the Past. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 5, 549-553. doi: 10.4236/ajps.2014.55070.