Azores marine algal flora: how endangered is it?

Unesco chair for "Conservation of plant biodiversity in Macaronesia and the West of Africa", Gran Canaria, 27-28 November 2013.

Lionfish invasion turned into solidarity fishing. Comment on C. Pala's News & Analysis in Marine Ecology "As Lionfish Invade, Divers Defend Threatened Ecosystems" (7 February, 343, 591)

New studies are giving ecologists some hope of controlling red lionfish, a voracious predator that has invaded the Atlantic.

Preliminary observations on the benthic marine algae of the Gorringe seabank (northeast Atlantic Ocean)

Copyright © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg and AWI 2014.

Mapping multi-species habitat use for marine conservation planning

Tese de Doutoramento, Ciências do Mar (Biologia Marinha)

Early patterns of recovery from disturbance in intertidal algal assemblages: consistency across regions within a marine province

The importance of disturbance and the subsequent rate and pattern of recovery has been long recognised as an important driver of community structure. Community recovery is affected by processes operating at local and regional scales yet the examination of community level responses to a standardised disturbance at regional scales (i.e. among regions under different environmental conditions) has seldom been attempted. Here, we mechanically disturbed rocky intertidal lower shore algal dominated assemblages at three locations within each of three different regions within the Lusitanian biogeographical province (Azores, northern Portugal and the Canary Islands). All organisms were cleared from experimental plots and succession followed over a period of 12 months at which time we formally compared the assemblage structure to that of unmanipulated controls. Early patterns of recovery of disturbed communities varied among regions and was positively influenced by temperature, but not by regional species richness. Different components of the assemblage responded differently to disturbance. Regional differences in the relative abundance and identity of species had a key influence on the overall assemblage recovery. This study highlights how regional-scales differences in environmental conditions and species pool are important determinants of recovery of disturbed communities.

Lipid extractions from marine deep-sea invertebrates : modifications to the Bligh & Dyer method to increase lipid yields

The deep-sea environment is difficult to sample, and often only small quantities of samples can be obtained when using less destructive methods than dredging. When working with marine animals that are difficult to sample and with limited quantities of tissue to extract lipids, it is essential to ensure that the used method extracts the maximum possible quantity of lipids. This study evaluates the efficiency of introducing modifications to the method originally described by Bligh & Dyer (1959). This lipid extraction method is broadly used with modifications, although these usually lack proper description and evaluation of increment in lipids. In this study we consider the improvement in terms of amount of lipids extracted by changing the method. Lipid content was determined by gravimetric measurements in eight invertebrates from the deep-sea, including deep-sea hydrothermal vents animals, using three different approaches. Results show increases of 14% to 30% in lipid contents obtained from hydrothermal vent invertebrate tissues and whole animals by placing the samples in methanol for 24 hours before applying the Bligh & Dyer mixture. Efficiency of the extractions using frozen and freeze-dried samples was also compared. For large sponges, the use of lyophilized materials resulted in increases of 3 to 7 times more lipids extracted when compared with extractions using frozen samples.

Seven invertebrates new for the marine fauna of Madeira Archipelago

Ocaña and den Hartog (2002) recorded 18 species of sea anemones from Madeira archipelago. During SCUBA dives along the coasts of Madeira and Porto Santo, the present author encountered a further three sea anemone species and several other marine invertebrates not yet recorded for the marine fauna of Madeira Island. Similar to previous publications (e.g. Wirtz 1998, Wirtz 2007, Ocaña & Wirtz 2009), these findings are reported here.

Long-term modifications of coastal defences enhance marine biodiversity

Realization that hard coastal infrastructures support lower biodiversity than natural habitats has prompted a wealth of research seeking to identify design enhancements offering ecological benefits. Some studies showed that artificial structures could be modified to increase levels of diversity. Most studies, however, only considered the short-term ecological effects of such modifications, even though reliance on results from short-term studies may lead to serious misjudgements in conservation. In this study, a sevenyear experiment examined how the addition of small pits to otherwise featureless seawalls may enhance the stocks of a highly-exploited limpet. Modified areas of the seawall supported enhanced stocks of limpets seven years after the addition of pits. Modified areas of the seawall also supported a community that differed in the abundance of littorinids, barnacles andmacroalgae compared to the controls. Responses to different treatments (numbers and size of pits) were speciesspecific and, while some species responded directly to differences among treatments, others might have responded indirectly via changes in the distribution of competing species. This type of habitat enhancement can have positive long-lasting effects on the ecology of urban seascapes.Understanding of species interactions could be used to develop a rule-based approach to enhance biodiversity.

Optimal strategies for marine wildlife tourism in small islands

Tese de Doutoramento, Ciências Económicas e Empresariais (especialidade de Economia), 18 de Junho de 2015, Universidade dos Açores

Removal of Cd(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) from aqueous solutions by brown marine macro algae: kinetic modelling

Specific marine macro algae species abundant at the Portuguese coast (Laminaria hyperborea, Bifurcaria bifurcata, Sargassum muticum and Fucus spiralis) were shown to be effective for removing toxic metals (Cd(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II)) from aqueous solutions. The initial metal concentrations in solution were about 75–100 mg L−1. The observed biosorption capacities for cadmium, zinc and lead ions were in the ranges of 23.9–39.5, 18.6–32.0 and 32.3–50.4 mg g−1, respectively. Kinetic studies revealed that the metal uptake rate was rather fast, with 75% of the total amount occurring in the first 10 min for all algal species. Experimental data were well fitted by a pseudo-second order rate equation. The contribution of internal diffusion mechanism was significant only to the initial biosorption stage. Results indicate that all the studied macro algae species can provide an efficient and cost-effective technology for eliminating heavy metals from industrial effluents.

Antitumor activity of hierridin B, a cyanobacterial secondary metabolite found in both filamentous and unicellular marine strains

Cyanobacteria are widely recognized as a valuable source of bioactive metabolites. The majority of such compounds have been isolated from so-called complex cyanobacteria, such as filamentous or colonial forms, which usually display a larger number of biosynthetic gene clusters in their genomes, when compared to free-living unicellular forms. Nevertheless, picocyanobacteria are also known to have potential to produce bioactive natural products. Here, we report the isolation of hierridin B from the marine picocyanobacterium Cyanobium sp. LEGE 06113. This compound had previously been isolated from the filamentous epiphytic cyanobacterium Phormidium ectocarpi SAG 60.90, and had been shown to possess antiplasmodial activity. A phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene from both strains confirmed that these cyanobacteria derive from different evolutionary lineages. We further investigated the biological activity of hierridin B, and tested its cytotoxicity towards a panel of human cancer cell lines; it showed selective cytotoxicity towards HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma cells.

Exploring bioactive properties of marine cyanobacteria Isolated from the Portuguese coast: high potential as a source of anticancer compounds

The oceans remain a major source of natural compounds with potential in pharmacology. In particular, during the last few decades, marine cyanobacteria have been in focus as producers of interesting bioactive compounds, especially for the treatment of cancer. In this study, the anticancer potential of extracts from twenty eight marine cyanobacteria strains, belonging to the underexplored picoplanktonic genera, Cyanobium, Synechocystis and Synechococcus, and the filamentous genera, Nodosilinea, Leptolyngbya, Pseudanabaena and Romeria, were assessed in eight human tumor cell lines. First, a crude extract was obtained by dichloromethane:methanol extraction, and from it, three fractions were separated in a Si column chromatography. The crude extract and fractions were tested in eight human cancer cell lines for cell viability/toxicity, accessed with the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and lactic dehydrogenase release (LDH) assays. Eight point nine percent of the strains revealed strong cytotoxicity; 17.8% showed moderate cytotoxicity, and 14.3% assays showed low toxicity. The results obtained revealed that the studied genera of marine cyanobacteria are a promising source of novel compounds with potential anticancer activity and highlight the interest in also exploring the smaller filamentous and picoplanktonic genera of cyanobacteria.

Antitumor activity of hierridin B, a cyanobacterial secondary metabolite found in both filamentous and unicellular marine strains

Cyanobacteria are widely recognized as a valuable source of bioactive metabolites. The majority of such compounds have been isolated from so-called complex cyanobacteria, such as filamentous or colonial forms, which usually display a larger number of biosynthetic gene clusters in their genomes, when compared to free-living unicellular forms. Nevertheless, picocyanobacteria are also known to have potential to produce bioactive natural products. Here, we report the isolation of hierridin B from the marine picocyanobacterium Cyanobium sp. LEGE 06113. This compound had previously been isolated from the filamentous epiphytic cyanobacterium Phormidium ectocarpi SAG 60.90, and had been shown to possess antiplasmodial activity. A phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene from both strains confirmed that these cyanobacteria derive from different evolutionary lineages. We further investigated the biological activity of hierridin B, and tested its cytotoxicity towards a panel of human cancer cell lines; it showed selective cytotoxicity towards HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma cells.

Paleoclimatic correlations between Western european continental and marine areas Contribution of big villafranchian fauna

It is very difficult to make paleoclimatic correlations between continental and marine areas, but it is possible with biostratigraphic data. Reliable correlations can be made only between broad periods: between 3.5 and 3 Ma, around 2.4 Ma, until 1.6 Ma and after 1.6 Ma. The arid Mediterranean phases led to the disappearance of the European Villafranchian fauna (1.0 Ma).

The marine Neogene of Eastern Venezuela : a preliminary report

Proceedings of tile 1" R.C.A.N.S. Congress, Lisboa, October 1992