Percorrer por autor "Borges, Paulo A.V."
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- Assessing the effects of climate change on arthropod abundance in Azorean pastures: PASTURCLIM project's baseline monitoring dataPublication . Wallon, Sophie; Melo, Catarina; Tsafack, Noelline; Elias, Rui B.; Borges, Paulo A.V.Background The data we present are part of the project PASTURCLIM (Impact of climate change on pasture’s productivity and nutritional composition in the Azores). The project aims to assess the consequences of climate change (e.g. temperature increase) on the grass production and its quality for forage, as well as to assess changes in the arthropod communities associated with the Azorean intensive pastures. An in situ experiment was set up using Open Top Chambers (OTCs), in order to simulate an increasing of temperature (average of +1.2ºC) on pastures. In this contribution, we present the data relative to the arthropod sampling. New information We provide an inventory of all arthropods recorded inside OTCs and in control plots in three intensively managed pastures dominated by grasses in Terceira Island (Azores): two of them dominated by ryegrass, Lolium multiflorum Lam. (Poaceae), located respectively at 186 m and 301 m above sea level; and one field dominated by common velvetgrass, Holcus lanatus L. (Poaceae), located at an altitude of 385 m. A total of 41351 specimens were collected. Organisms collected belong to four classes, 15 orders, 60 families and 171 species/morphospecies (including 34 taxa identified only at order, family or genus level). Therefore, for only 137 taxa, we have a scientific name associated (n = 38918). A total of 75% of the species (n = 129 species) are considered introduced (including all the species with indeterminate colonisation status that are possibly also exotic species (n = 7622)), representing 71% of the total abundance (n = 29664 specimens). A total of 19% of the species (n = 33 species) are considered native non-endemic representing 28% of the total abundance (n = 11608 specimens). Only one endemic species was sampled, the wolf spider Pardosa acorensis Simon, 1883 (1% of the species), representing 0.2% of the total abundance (n = 79 specimens). Spiders (5056 specimens) and beetles (18310 specimens) were the dominant taxa representing, respectively, 20 and 78 morphospecies. Since the main aim of this study was to have a better knowledge on arthropod communities present in Azorean pastures under a simulated temperature increase, the principal novelty of this paper is the contribution with distribution and abundance data to a baseline knowledge on the future consequences of climate changes on arthropod communities in Azorean pastures.
- Automated Discovery of Relationships, Models, and Principles in EcologyPublication . Cardoso, Pedro; Veiga Branco, Vasco; Borges, Paulo A.V.; Carvalho, José Carlos; Rigal, François; Gabriel, Rosalina; Mammola, Stefano; Cascalho, José Manuel; Correia, LuísEcological systems are the quintessential complex systems, involving numerous high-order interactions and non-linear relationships. The most used statistical modeling techniques can hardly accommodate the complexity of ecological patterns and processes. Finding hidden relationships in complex data is now possible using massive computational power, particularly by means of artificial intelligence and machine learning methods. Here we explored the potential of symbolic regression (SR), commonly used in other areas, in the field of ecology. Symbolic regression searches for both the formal structure of equations and the fitting parameters simultaneously, hence providing the required flexibility to characterize complex ecological systems. Although the method here presented is automated, it is part of a collaborative human–machine effort and we demonstrate ways to do it. First, we test the robustness of SR to extreme levels of noise when searching for the species-area relationship. Second, we demonstrate how SR can model species richness and spatial distributions. Third, we illustrate how SR can be used to find general models in ecology, namely new formulas for species richness estimators and the general dynamic model of oceanic island biogeography. We propose that evolving free-form equations purely from data, often without prior human inference or hypotheses, may represent a very powerful tool for ecologists and biogeographers to become aware of hidden relationships and suggest general theoretical models and principles.
- Guia Prático da Fauna Terrestre dos AçoresPublication . Gabriel, Rosalina; Borges, Paulo A.V.É um guia de campo de capa mole, que pretende dar uma visão geral dos moluscos terrestres, artrópodes e vertebrados dos Açores, dando maior destaque às espécies e sub-espécies endémicas.
- Two alien insect species are new records at the family-level to the Azores archipelago (Portugal)Publication . Boeiro, Mário; Leite, Abrão; Rego, Carla; Varga-Szilay, Zsófia; Borges, Paulo A.V.Species introductions are a major issue for biodiversity conservation and human well-being worldwide, but their impact can be particularly severe in oceanic island ecosystems. Here, we report the occurrence of two alien species on Terceira island, Rivellia syngenesiae (Fabricius, 1781) (Diptera: Platystomatidae) and Sceliphron caementarium (Drury, 1773) (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), being the first reports of these insect families to the Azores archipelago. We provide the diagnosis of each species, information on their distribution and ecology, and discuss their potential impact on native biodiversity. Furthermore, we anticipate the spread of these species through the Azores islands, benefiting from the high increase in commerce and tourism, and stress the need to set a program for the early detection of alien species in the archipelago.