Effects of environmental conditions on planktonic abundances, benthic recruitment and growth rates of the bivalve mollusc Ruditapes decussatus in a Portuguese coastal lagoon

Controlling environmental parameters for the early stages of marine invertebrates have received little attention, particularly in field studies. This study involves measurement of abundances and growth rates of the bivalve Ruditapes decussatus Linnaeus 1758 during its planktonic larval and early benthic life stages in a coastal lagoon: Ria Formosa, Portugal. Measured abundances were compared with tidal amplitude, water temperature, salinity, wind velocity and direction, and a food availability indicator 2chlorophyll a). Data were obtained on abundance and prodissoconch length of the larvae, measured two tothreetimes perweek,and ofpost-larval stagesindividuals thathadsettled inartificial collectors over10months.Larval and juvenile cohorts were identified using size-frequency distributions and larval ages estimated by larval shell growth lines.

Estudo comparativo da ecologia alimentar de Pagrus pagrus L. (1758), Lithognatus mormyrus L. (1758) e Ciplodus sargus L. (1758) (Pisces, Sparidae) da costa algarvia

Dissertação de mest. em Estudos Marinhos e costeiros, Unidade de Ciências e Tecnologias dos Recursos Aquáticos, Univ. do Algarve, 1998

Bioaccumulation and effects of TBT on molluscs from southern Portugal

Tese de dout. Ciências e Tecnologias do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente, Univ. do Algarve, 2004

Elysia timida (Risso, 1818) three decades of research

Elysia timida (Risso, 1818) three decades of research.— During the last 30 years, studies on Elysia timida (Risso, 1818) have addressed various aspects related to food sources, photosynthetic efficiency of kleptoplasts, population genetics, chemical ecology and reproductive biology, both in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Mar Menor coastal lagoon. E. timida shows a strong specific interaction with Acetabularia acetabulum, retaining functional chloroplasts for at least 45 days and obtaining extra energy in periods when food resources are scarce. It shows control of parapodia, avoiding pigment photodestruction under oversaturated light conditions. The chemical ecological relationships established between E. timida and its potential predator fish, Thalassoma pavo, have also been evaluated, and it has been found that that the extracts of the mollusc contain repellent and unpalatable polypropionate compounds. Population genetics has demonstrated the genetic divergence between populations showing high and significant values of FST and genetic distances, and at least six privative alleles that are not shared with Mediterranean populations have been detected in lagoon populations. This sacoglossan is a poecilogonic species, and its lagoon populations show a greater reproductive output than Mediterranean populations; they produce a greater number of egg masses and embyros per individual, and the capsules have a wider diameter.

First record of Ocinebrina nicolai (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Muricidae: Ocenebrinae) in North-Eastern Atlantic waters

Ocinebrina nicolai Monterosato, 1884 a marine mollusc belonging to the Muricidae family is reported from Algarve, south coast of Portugal for the first time and is a new record for the biodiversity of the Portuguese malacological fauna and northeastern Atlantic waters. This species with a medium-size shell for the genus (14–16 mm) was initially sampled during a baseline project that studied marine biotopes in the central Algarve region. This short note presents a brief diagnosis of the species, provides local information on geographical distribution, habitat, and compares it with other congeneric species found in Portugal: Ocinebrina aciculata (Lamarck, 1822) and Ocinebrina edwardsii (Payraudeau, 1826).

Non-indigenous Japanese oyster drill Pteropurpura (Ocinebrellus) inornata (Récluz, 1851) (Gastropoda: Muricidae) on the south-west coast of Portugal

The Japanese oyster drill or rock snail Pteropurpura (Ocinebrellus) inornata (Récluz, 1851), a marine mollusc, belonging to the family Muricidae, is reported from Portugal for the first time. This non-indigenous species, most likely introduced accidentally from French oyster rearing areas into mainland Portugal, has been regularly sampled in shellfish-culture and nearby environments in Sagres, Algarve, Southwest Portugal since 2005–2008. Detailed studies are urgently needed in order to assess whether or not it has become an invasive species due to a range expansion beyond its point of initial introduction. Outputs should provide information to decision-makers to predict and limit further spread which might result in biodiversity loss and negative economical consequences in locally species-rich areas.