Comment on R. Woodroffe et al. Perspective in Ecology "To Fence or Not to Fence" (4 April 2014, Science, 344: 46-48)

Fences must be used with care in biodiversity conservation to avoid unintended consequences.

Perspectives and progress of ecology and conservation science in the Azores: the possible contribution of Artificial Intelligence

EPIA 2013 - XVI Portuguese Conference on Artificial Intelligence Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portugal, 9 – 12 September.

Investigação em curso no Centro de Investigação de Recursos Naturais (CIRN)

Jornadas "Ciência nos Açores – que futuro? Tema Ciências Naturais e Ambiente", Ponta Delgada, 7-8 de Junho de 2013.

Synthesis of meeting and recommendations from the Net-Biome round table discussion on "motivated" science on biodiversity management and use in support of overseas sutainable development

Net-Biome Final Meeting (Paris, 15 & 16 February, 2012).

Cryptotermes brevis (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) in the Azores : Lessons After 2 yr of Monitoring in the Archipelago

The dispersal flights of West Indian drywood termite, Cryptotermes brevis (Walker) (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) were surveyed in the major cities of Azores. The sampling device used to estimate termite density consisted of a yellow adhesive trap (size 45 by 24 cm), placed with an artificial or natural light source in a dark attic environment. In addition, data from two other projects were used to improve the knowledge about the geographical distribution of the species. The level of infestation in the two main Azorean towns differed, with high levels in the houses of Angra do Heroísmo, whereas in Ponta Delgada, there are fewer houses with high levels of infestation. The infestation in Ponta Delgada shows a pattern of spreading from the center outward to the city's periphery, whereas in Angra do Heroísmo, there was a pattern of spreading outward from several foci. The heavy infestation observed in Angra do Heroísmo and the clear increase of infestation levels observed from 2010 to 2011 is a reason for concern and calls for an urgent application of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) control strategy.

Funding sources and fostering of educational projects

This paper is part of the results from the project "Implementation Strategies and Development of an Open and Distance Education System for the University of the Azores" funded by the European Social Fund. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.3/2327

Deportação e criminalidade nos Açores

Dissertação de Mestrado em Ciências Sociais.

The Bergsonian intuition of duration : the time of science is space

According to Bergson, the philosophical tradition had been unanimous in declaring the question of time essential. However, it had neglected its correct framing which, for the author, lies in the metaphysical approach of an immediate and inner experience of concrete duration. In the current paper, we shall present Henri Bergson's concept of time, particularly the author's critique to the scope scientific discourse has of this concept. Simultaneously, we shall explore the central role of time in the Bergsonian thought, metaphorically understood as the very stuff of reality. We shall not, therefore, explore Bergson's ideas on Physics, but some of the metaphysical consequences that he withdraws from certain physics' concepts or theories.