The international importance of the archipelago of Cape Verde for marine turtles, in particular the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta

[ES] The shores of Cape Verde hosts one of the most important nesting populations of the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta in the world, as well as important feeding grounds for hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata and green turtles Chelonia mydas. In the past few years, a number of scientific studies have demonstrated the relevance of the waters and beaches of this archipelago for the conservation of these endangered marine megavertebrates. This article aims to bring together the most relevant scientific information published on the subject so far. In addition, we will provide an overview of the current situation of sea turtles in Cape Verde, their conservation status and their importance in an international context.

Injuries observed in nesting females of loggerhead turtles on Boavista island (Cabo Verde Archipelago)

[EN] Different kinds of physical anomalies are frequently observed in any sea turtle breeding population. Nesting beaches are an excellent place to study the injuries and defects that occur in adult females. The archipelago of Cape Verde is situated about 500 km of Senegal, West Africa. Boavista is the eastern most island and may constitute the most important nesting area for the loggerhead turtle in the archipelago. The studies conducted from 1998 to 2004 indicate that Cape Verde might account for one of the most important loggerheads populations in the eastern Atlantic. The nesting females in Boavista were surveyed during the 2004 season, in order to (1) know the health status of the population (2) determine the effects of physical anomalies on nesting behaviour and (3) determine the possible origin of the injuries observed.

Injuries observed in nesting females of loggerhead turtles on Boavista island (Cabo Verde Archipelago)

[EN] Different kinds of physical anomalies are frequently observed in any sea turtle breeding population. Nesting beaches are an excellent place to study the injuries and defects that occur in adult females. The archipelago of Cape Verde is situated about 500 km of Senegal, West Africa. Boavista is the eastern most island and may constitute the most important nesting area for the loggerhead turtle in the archipelago. The studies conducted from 1998 to 2004 indicate that Cape Verde might account for one of the most important loggerheads populations in the eastern Atlantic. The nesting females in Boavista were surveyed during the 2004 season, in order to (1) know the health status of the population (2) determine the effects of physical anomalies on nesting behaviour and (3) determine the possible origin of the injuries observed.

Sobre Fernando Estévez y algunas esculturas del Niño Jesús. Nuevas atribuciones

[ES] La conmemoración del ccxxv aniversario del nacimiento de Fernando Estévez (1788-1854) en 2013 propició una aproximación diferente a la trayectoria de dicho artista. Este artículo recuerda las actividades organizadas entonces en La Orotava, especialmente una exposición de esculturas y documentos que tuvo varias sedes o lugares de exhibición durante el mes de marzo. Partiendo de obras contempladas entonces, se estudian otras representaciones del Niño Jesús que conservan templos del norte de Tenerife y pueden atribuírsele por cuestiones de estilo. [EN] The commemoration of 225th birth anniversary of Fernando Estévez (1788-1854) in 2013 allowed a new approach to his artistic caree. This paper recalls the activities organised in La Orotava back then, especially an exhibition of sculptures and documents in several spaces during the month of March. Based on the sculptures seen there, we can attribute to him other representations of the Infant Jesus that are preserved in churches in northern Tenerife.

The coast of Cape Verde hosts the third largest loggerhead nesting population in the world

[EN] Extensive sea turtle nesting monitoring has been conducted in several islands of the Archipelago of Cape Verde during the past years. The loggerhead turtle is the only species that nests in these islands though green and hawksbill turtle juveniles are very often found feeding around their coasts. Around 90% of loggerhead nests are deposited in the island of Boavista on approximately 50 km of white sandy beaches. This is one of the less populated islands with more inaccessible beaches, as all villages are far from the main nesting areas. Another 9% of nests are equally distributed among the islands of Sal, Maio and San Nicolau and the remaining 1% of nests are found among the other six major islands and several islets of the archipelago.

¿Cómo convivir con la escasez de agua? El caso de las Islas Canarias

Escasez de agua no necesariamente significa pobreza, como se dedcice de un análisis de áreas geográficas. Hay países relativamente ricos con escasos recursos hidricos y paises pobres con abundancia de agua dulce. La sociedad humana desarrollada dispone de recursos científicos, tecnicos, económicos, institucionales \; politicos para aáecuar la disponibilidad de agua a la demanda y viceversa, de un modo tendente a la sustentabilidad, siempre y cuando las actividades econornicas se modifiquen convenientemente y esa sustentabilidad sea un objetivo social deseado y participadc. El Archioiélago de Canarias esta en la región érida sahariana, aunque con ireas de pluviosidad relativamente elevada en sus vecientes septentrionales afectadas por la circulación de los vientos alisios y masas atlánticas de aire húmedo. La escasez de agua es algo bien asumido e internalizado en muchas de las áreas insulares canarias, en especial :ras la explosión demográfica del siglo XX. No por ello deja de ser una región europea ae economía aceptable y notablemente rica relativa al entorno geográfico próximo. La consecución de agua dulce es el resultado acumulado de un gran esfuerzo económico e imaginativo secular, con matices diferentes en cada isla y en cada parte de una misma isla. Sin embargo subsisten o han aparecido graves disfunciones a causa de la rapida evolución, arraigo de actividades agricolas no sustentables, debilidad insritucional y escasa participación ciudadana en la ~oliticad el agua a largo plazo, en un ambiente científico y técnico aiin por consolidar. No obstante. los logros en captaciór, de aguas subterraneas sor. espectaculares y el avance en desalinización y reutilización son m ~nyoto rios. ABSTRACT: relatively rich with scarce water resources and poor countries that have plenty of freshwater. A developed human society has scientific, technical, economic, institutional and policy resources to adapt water availability to demand, and vice versa, in a way that tends to sustainabílity. This needs modifying conveniently economic activities and making sustainability a wanted and participated social goal. The Archipelago of the Canaries is placed in the Sanaran dry belt, although there are some areas of relatively high rainfall in the north-facing slopes of the isiands, which intersect the circulation of trade winds and atlantic humid air masses. Water scarciTy is something well assumed and internalised in many of the areas of the Canaries, especially afier the demographic explosion of the XX century. But this does not imply poverty; actually it is an Eu8-opeanr egion wlth acceptable economic leve1 and notably rich respect the nearby geographical area. Freshwater wining is tne accumulated result of secular economic and imaginative efforts, which present differences from island to island and even incide the same island. Nowever some serious malfuncrions remain oí have appeared o'ue 10 the fast evolution, persistence of unsustainable agricultura1 activities 2nd still scarce public participation ir) long-term water policies. This happens in a scientific and iechnical environment which is stil! to be consolidated. However there are spectacular achievements in groundw~ter wining, and there are notorious progress in desalination and water reuse.

Cabo Verde, "Pousada" nos Caminhos do Atlântico. Interinluências culturais num arquipélago miscigenado

[POR] Descoberto entre 1460 e 1462, o Arquipélago de Cabo Verde, situado no Oceano Atlântico, constituiu ao longo de vários séculos, escala obrigatória dos navios que faziam as ligações atlânticas entre os portos das Américas, da Europa e da África Graças a sua situação privilegiada, o espaço cabo-verdiano não foi um mero ponto de reabastecimento, mas também um importante ponto de cruzamento de culturas e de raças. Pretende-se, neste texto, abordar o papel que Cabo Verde teve no Atlântico incidindo, particularmente, na dimensão cultural resultante do contacto entre povos e culturas provenientes de diferentes paragens que se fixaram no arquipélago ou que por aqui passaram. Procurar-se-á evidenciar não só a importância que Cabo Verde teve enquanto ponto de passagem obrigatória mas, sobretudo, as contribuições que mais marcadamente se denunciaram, isto é, os apports culturais que mais se acentuaram em Cabo Verde, como processos recebidos dos estrangeiros que por estas ilhas se cruzaram.

Ichthyofauna associated with Cymodocea nodosa meadows in the Canarian Archipelago (central eastern Atlantic): Community structure and nursery role

We carried out 84 trawls in 41 seagrass meadows composed of the phanerogam Cymodocea nodosa at three islands of the Canarian Archipelago, during June to September 2003, in order to describe the associated ichthyofauna (composition, richness, and abundance), to analyze the role that this habitat can play in fish recruitment, and to determine the potential relationship between the spatial structure of the seagrass meadow and the patterns of richness and abundance of the fish assemblage. A total of 8298 individuals were captured. The five most relevant species, in terms of abundance and frequency, were Spondyliosoma cantharus, Diplodus annularis, Syngnathus typhle, Mullus surmuletus, and Pagellus erythrinus. Gran Canaria had the largest species richness (36 species) and mean number of species per sample (8.69 ± 0.49; mean ± SE). Lanzarote had the largest number of individuals (64.83% of the total registered) and mean total abundance per sample (168.39 ± 30.91). High densities of individuals were registered (95.86 ± 13.5) and 92.91% of fishes were juveniles. Our data showed that the physical configuration of the seagrass meadows did not significantly affect the patterns of richness and abundance of the associated fish assemblage. In conclusion, the C. nodosa meadows exhibited a singular ichthyofauna and they contribute to the maintenance of the diversity of the coastal fish assemblages in the Canarian Archipelago. This habitat constitutes, during spring and summer, a nursery habitat for juvenile fishes of many species, several of them commercially targeted.

Temporal patterns of the seagrass "Cymodocea nodosa" and depth-related patterns of the green algae "Caulerpa prolifera" in the Canarian Archipelago

Máster Oficial en Gestión Costera

Loggerhead nesting trend in three beaches of Boavista, Cape Verde archipelago

[EN] Nesting beach surveys are the most widely implemented monitoring tool in use by the global sea turtle community and are an important component of a comprehensive program to assess and monitor the status of sea turtle populations. These assessments are necessary to evaluate the effects of recovery and conservation activities that are being implemented at all life history stages. Monitoring techniques employed on nesting beaches range from highly structured standardized sampling to “snapshots” of nesting activity within a nesting season. Very long-term nest counts data (more than twenty years) were analyzed for some turtle populations.