Incidental Capture of Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta caretta) on Boa Vista (Cape Verde Islands)

[EN] The sea is one of the major natural resources of the Cape Verde Islands, a small archipelago located 500 kilometers off the coast of Senegal (West Africa). This country consists of ten main islands and several islets, and possesses an Exclusive Economical Zone (EEZ) of about 734 square kilometers and a coastal perimeter of nearly 2000 kilometers. The marine shelf, whose limit is the 200 m isobath, is particularly extensive on the island of Boa Vista (Figure 1). lt is likely that most of the loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) that breed in this archipelago are concentrated on this island (López-Jurado et al., 1999).

Origin, colonization, adaptive radiation, intrainsular evolution snd species substitution processes in the fossil and living lizards of the Canary Islands

[EN] The Canary lsland lizards constitute a monophyletic group which separated from the rest of the family shortly after the first islands of the archipelago emerged. Five living and at least one recently extinct species belong to the genus Gallotia. In addition, two of the living species, Gallotia simonyi and Gallotia stehlini have become extinct on Gomera and Tenerife, respectively. Juveniles of all species present tricuspid teeth. This character is preserved in the adults with changes to one degree or another in G. galloti, G. caesaris, G. simonyi and G. goliath. In G. atlantica there are only two cuspids and G. stehlini has 4 or more.

Planificação de uma plataforma web de calendarização e divulgação da oferta cultural do município de Angra do Heroísmo

Com o intuito de melhorar a eficiência na gestão e execução de responsabilidades junto dos munícipes, a Câmara Municipal de Angra do Heroísmo (CMAH), localizada na ilha Terceira (Região Autónoma dos Açores), distribui as suas valências por vários departamentos e colaboradores especializados. Apesar desta segmentação existem circunstâncias em que os mesmos trabalham em conjunto e cruzam informações, por exemplo, nos processos de licenciamento. Contudo, esta necessária troca de dados é deficiente quando se calendarizam eventos organizados ou não pela instituição em causa. Consequentemente, esta falha resulta muitas vezes na sobreposição de eventos, algo considerado insustentável numa comunidade relativamente pequena, como é o caso de Angra do Heroísmo (em 2013, contava com 35.109 habitantes). A autarquia pretende solucionar o problema tendo em conta as capacidades proporcionadas pelas plataformas da Web 2.0 que, entre outras, permitem a participação dos utilizadores e a fácil inserção e gestão da informação por pessoas sem conhecimentos técnicos aprofundados. Esta dissertação determina as especificações que devem estar presentes numa plataforma Web de calendarização e divulgação da oferta cultural, ao serviço do Município de Angra do Heroísmo; conceptualiza um protótipo funcional que valida as especificações identificadas e serve de apoio à construção da plataforma final a desenvolver no futuro. Esta investigação tem como fim melhorar o processo de calendarização e divulgação de eventos da oferta cultural do concelho angrense. Esta finalidade implicou a necessidade de conhecer aprofundadamente o funcionamento da instituição, identificando e distinguindo o papel dos vários intervenientes e processos, pelo que parte da investigação decorreu na Câmara Municipal de Angra do Heroísmo. Entre os vários desafios desta pesquisa destacam-se a recolha e compreensão de informação sobre o processo em estudo e o planeamento de um sistema digital intuitivo, que respeite as estruturas de decisão e o sistema hierárquico da autarquia e que detenha o grau de rigor exigido nas organizações governativas.

Soil organic carbon stocks in estuarine and marine mangrove ecosystems are driven by nutrient colimitation of P and N

Mangroves play an important role in carbon sequestration, but soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks differ between marine and estuarine mangroves, suggesting differing processes and drivers of SOC accumulation. Here, we compared undegraded and degraded marine and estuarine mangroves in a regional approach across the Indonesian archipelago for their SOC stocks and evaluated possible drivers imposed by nutrient limitations along the land-to-sea gradients. SOC stocks in natural marine mangroves (271–572 Mg ha-1 m-1 were much higher than under estuarine mangroves (100–315 Mg ha-1 m-1 with a further decrease caused by degradation to 80–132 Mg ha-1 m-1. Soils differed in C/N ratio (marine: 29–64; estuarine: 9–28), δ15N (marine: 0.6 to 0.7‰; estuarine: 2.5 to 7.2‰), and plant-available P (marine: 2.3–6.3 mg kg-1; estuarine: 0.16–1.8 mg kg-1). We found N and P supply of sea-oriented mangroves primarily met by dominating symbiotic N2 fixation from air and P import from sea, while mangroves on the landward gradient increasingly covered their demand in N and P from allochthonous sources and SOM recycling. Pioneer plants favored by degradation further increased nutrient recycling from soil resulting in smaller SOC stocks in the topsoil. These processes explained the differences in SOC stocks along the land-to-sea gradient in each mangrove type as well as the SOC stock differences observed between estuarine and marine mangrove ecosystems. This first large-scale evaluation of drivers of SOC stocks under mangroves thus suggests a continuum in mangrove functioning across scales and ecotypes and additionally provides viable proxies for carbon stock estimations in PES or REDD schemes.

Descrição do ciclo gametogênico do ouriço-branco, Tripneustes ventricosus (Lamarck, 1816), no Arquipélago de Fernando de Noronha PE, Brasil

Sea urchins are common benthic organisms on coastal ecosystems of tropical and temperate shallow waters. The impact of sea urchins populations in shore communities is density-dependent, and therefore, knowledge of the life history of these animals is important to understand these interactions. Between 2000 and 2005 a population boom of Tripneustes ventricosus was observed in the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago. In 2004 a research program was started to monitor the population dynamics of T. ventricosus in the archipelago, when it noted a lack of basic information on the biology and reproduction of this species, despite its broad geographic distribution and economic importance in parts of its occurrence. In this context, this work focuses on the reproductive biology of T. ventricosus with emphasis on the description of the gametogenic stages. Between December 2006 and July 2007, ten urchins were collected by snorkeling in two sites of the archipelago, totaling 120 individuals. Gametogenic stages were described for both sexes through microscopic analysis, and were defined as: Recovery, Growing, Premature, Mature and Spawning. Results showed increasing in Gonad index throughout of months of sampling and suggest that the reproductive cycle of the species in the archipelago is annual

Dieta do ouriço-branco, Tripneustes ventricosus (Lamarck, 1816), no Arquipélago de Fernando de Noronha, PE

Sea urchins are benthic macroinvertebrates that inhabit shallow coastal waters in tropical and temperate zones. Urchins are usually classified as generalists or omnivores as they can adjust their diet according to the food resources available in the environment. Due to the strong grazing pressure they may exert, urchins have an important role in marine ecosystems, occupying different trophic levels and stimulating the intensification of the dynamics of communities where they occur. In 2004, a monitoring program focused on the population dynamics of the white sea urchin, Tripneustes ventricosus, has been initiated in the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago. At the same time, a surprisingly lack of information on the species biology has been noted, despite their wide geographical distribution and economic importance in many parts of its range. Hence, this work was developed to provide information on the feeding habits of T. ventricosus in the archipelago. Ten specimens were collected between December 2006 and July 2007 at two sites of the archipelago, Air France and Sueste Bay for biometrics and analysis of gut contents. Test diameters ranged from 9.19 cm (± 1.1) to 10.08 cm (± 0.58). Calculated stomach repletion index (IRE) was higher (p <0.05) in the Air France site and also during January and July. The IRE was not correlated to the gonad index. Fifteen different species of algae were detected in a total of 120 stomachs examined: 4 Chlorophytas, 4 Phaeophytas and 6 Rhodophytas. Food diversity (p <0.05) was higher in December 2006 and January 2007. Although several items had a high frequency of occurrence, they were low represented in terms of weight, and consequently, had a low level of relative importance. The brown algae Dictyopteris spp and Dictyota spp, followed by the green algae Caulerpa verticillata accounted for the greatest importance in T. ventricosus diet, comprising about 90% of the consumed items

Faune malacologique terrestre des Iles Paracels

The author presents a study on the land shells of the Paracel Islands, group of islands, reefs, banks and other maritime features in the South China Sea. The archipelago includes about 130 small coral islands and reefs, most grouped into the northeast Amphitrite Group or the western Crescent Group. It is approximately equidistant from the coastlines of China and Vietnam.

As ilhas nas relações internacionais : Santa Maria no século XX

Dissertação de Mestrado, Relações Internacionais, 1 de Abril de 2016, Universidade dos Açores.

História eruptiva do sistema vulcânico fissural dos picos e avaliação da susceptibilidade a escoadas lávicas (ilha de S. Miguel - Açores)

Tese de Doutoramento, Geologia (Vulcanologia), 18 de Julho 2013, Universidade dos Açores.

O pedestrianismo como instrumento de valorização ecoturística dos sítios da Rede Natura 2000, nas ilhas de São Miguel e Flores

Tese de Doutoramento, Ciências do Ambiente (Ecologia), 30 de Julho de 2013, Universidade dos Açores.

Sistematic, population genetics, propagation and conservation of Prunus azorica (Rosaceae)

Tese de Doutoramento, Biologia (Ecologia Vegetal), 25 de Junho de 2013, Universidade dos Açores.

How can science contribute for the sustainable management of natural resource? : Praia da Vitória Bay and Guadiana Estuary, a comparative study

Tese de Doutoramento, Ciências do Ambiente (Ordenamento do Território), 5 de Abril de 2013, Universidade dos Açores.

Megabalanus azoricus (Pilsbry, 1916) : building a scientific basis for its management

Tese de Doutoramento, Biologia (Ciências do Mar), 5 de Julho de 2013, Universidade dos Açores.

Accelerating retreat and high-elevation thinning of glaciers in central Spitsbergen

Svalbard is a heavily glacier-covered archipelago in the Arctic. Dickson Land (DL), in the central part of the largest island, Spitsbergen, is relatively arid, and as a result, glaciers there are relatively small and restricted mostly to valleys and cirques. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of glacier changes in DL based on inventories compiled from topographic maps and digital elevation models for the Little Ice Age maximum (LIA), the 1960s, 1990 and 2009/11. Total glacier area decreased by ~38 % since the LIA maximum, and front retreat has increased over the study period. Recently, most of the local glaciers have been consistently thinning in all elevation bands, in contrast to larger Svalbard ice masses which remain closer to balance. The mean 1990–2009/11 geodetic mass balance of glaciers in DL is among the most negative from the Svalbard regional means known from the literature.

Populations genetics study of the Ammi Genus in the Azores

Dissertação de Mestrado, Biodiversidade e Biotecnologia Vegetal, 6 de Julho de 2016, Universidade dos Açores.