Browsing by Author "Costa, Ana C."
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- Actividades de educação ambiental realizadas pelo CCPA no decorrer da XIII Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia – Flores e Corvo 2007Publication . Monteiro, Sandra; Sousa, Maria Helena S.; Malhão, Vera; Parente, Manuela I.; Medeiros, André; Costa, Ana C.; Cunha, Regina Tristão daTendo em conta a crescente importância da educação ambiental para a construção da cidadania, força motriz de um desenvolvimento sustentável, o Centro de Conservação e Protecção do Ambiente (CCPA) promoveu a realização de diversas actividades de cariz teórico-prático sobre questões ambientais e de valorização do património biológico, junto dos utentes da Ecoteca das Flores e dos alunos da Escola Básica Integrada das Colmeias e da Escola EB 2.3/S de Melgaço, que participaram na XIII Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia às ilhas das Flores e Corvo.
- Actividades realizadas pelo CCPA no decorrer da XI Expedição Científica do DB - Graciosa 2004Publication . Ventura, Maria A.; Cunha, Regina Tristão da; Costa, Ana C.; Pranto, Ana; Raposeiro, Pedro M.; Resendes, Roberto; Monteiro, Sandra; Cunha, Lurdes V.Foi objectivo do Centro de Conservação e Protecção do Ambiente (CCPA), a realização de acções de sensibilização para a preservação do meio ambiente, junto dos alunos das escolas básicas da ilha Graciosa.
- Allocation of nutrients during the reproductive cycle of Ophidiaster ophidianus (Echinodermata: Asteroidea)Publication . Micael, Joana; Rodrigues, Armindo; Barreto, Maria do Carmo; Alves, Maria J.; Malcolm, Jones; Costa, Ana C.The reproductive cycle of Ophidiaster ophidianus (strictly protected status) from Sa˜o Miguel Island, in the Azorean Archipelago was studied. The reproductive strategy; the energy allocation of each sex during the reproductive cycle and the nutritional condition of the population were analyzed. Gonadal index (GI) showed a clear seasonal pattern with spawning between August and October but histological examination revealed that gamete release can occur throughout the entire year. The pyloric caeca index (PCI) showed little annual variation but with an inverse relationship with the GI. Allocation of energy to the gonads and to the pyloric caeca reflected the seasonal reproductive strategy of this species. Individuals were able to simultaneously develop gonads, pyloric caeca, and quickly regenerate lost arms. There was a major expenditure of energy by females compared to males but, sexual size dimorphism was not observed. The reproductive pattern observed in O. ophidianus combining rich food availability and seawater temperatures characteristic of a temperate zone may be the key to the success of this species in the Azorean oceanic Island.
- Anti-aging activity of Lobophora variegata ethanolic and methanolic extracts and their fractionsPublication . Rosa, Gonçalo P.; Costa, Ana C.; Medeiros, D.; Seca, Ana M. L.; Barreto, Maria do CarmoSeaweed have promising applications within food, cosmetic and health industries, which led to an increased interest in studying these organisms [1]. In several coastal areas, thousands of tons of macroalgae are cast on beaches and shorelines and it would be very interesting if this biomass could be managed, allowing the extraction of added-value compounds. In this context, polar extracts (methanol and ethanol) of a macroalgal beach cast sample mainly composed of “Lobophora variegate” were prepared and the anti-aging and antioxidant activities were evaluated. The preliminary results showed interesting results, and thus these crude extracts were then fractionated sequentially by their solubility in dichloromethane, acetone and ethyl acetate, resulting in 4 semi-pure fractions each, which were also tested. Fractions A1.1.1 and A1.2.3 were very good tyrosinase inhibitors (IC₅₀ = 37.87 and 24.01 μg/mL, respectively) and fractions A1.1.2 and A1.2.2 presented very good inhibition of elastase (IC₅₀ = 44.76 and 20.86 μg/mL, respectively). However, none of the fractions was active against collagenase. These results show that further purifications of these fractions can lead to the isolation of bioactive added-value compounds.
- Antitumor activities of invasive allien species from the AzoresPublication . Bettencourt, Ana; Pereira, Joana M.; Costa, Ana C.; Seca, Ana M. L.; Barreto, Maria do Carmo
- Avaliação da qualidade da água de ribeiras da ilha das Flores por aplicação da técnica CPETPublication . Raposeiro, Pedro M.; Costa, Ana C.O presente trabalho surge no âmbito da XIII Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia “Flores e Corvo 2007”, em que foram amostrados 6 locais distribuídos por duas ribeiras da ilha das Flores, aplicando-se pela primeira vez no Arquipélago uma metodologia designada “Chironomid Pupal Exuviae Tecnhique” (CPET), com o objectivo de detectar impactos antropogénicos em sistemas lóticos insulares.
- The Azorean Biodiversity Portal: an internet database for regional biodiversity outreachPublication . Borges, Paulo A. V.; Gabriel, Rosalina; Arroz, Ana Margarida Moura; Costa, Ana C.; Cunha, Regina Tristão da; Silva, Luís; Pereira, Enésima; Martins, António M. de Frias; Reis, Francisco; Cardoso, PedroThere is a growing interest in academia to provide biodiversity data to both the scientific community and the public. We present an internet database of the terrestrial lichens, bryophytes, vascular plants, molluscs, arthropods, vertebrates and coastal invertebrates of the Azores archipelago (Portugal, North Atlantic): the Azorean Biodiversity Portal (ABP, http://www.azoresbioportal.angra.uac.pt/). This is a unique resource for fundamental research in systematics, biodiversity, education and conservation management. The ABP was based on a regional species database (ATLANTIS), comprised of grid-based spatial incidence information for c. 5000 species. Most of the data rely on a comprehensive literature survey (dating back to the 19th century) as well as unpublished records from recent field surveys in the Azores. The ABP disseminates the ATLANTIS database to the public, allowing universal, unrestricted access to much of its data. Complementarily, the ABP includes additional information of interest to the general public (e.g. literature on Macaronesian biodiversity) together with images from collections and/or live specimens for many species. In this contribution we explain the implementation of a regional biodiversity database, its architecture, achievements and outcomes, strengths and limitations; we further include a number of suggestions in order to implement similar initiatives.
- AzoresPublication . Borges, Paulo A. V.; Amorim, Isabel R.; Cunha, Regina Tristão da; Gabriel, Rosalina; Martins, António M. de Frias; Silva, Luís; Costa, Ana C.; Vieira, Virgílio
- Benthic communities of the bay of São Vicente (São Miguel, Azores).Publication . Neto, Ana I.; Tittley, Ian; Costa, Ana C.; Ávila, Sérgio P.; Parente, Manuela I.; Farnham, William F.; Jones, Malcolm B.; Álvaro, Nuno V.; Brum, João M. M.; Monteiro, Sandra; Martins, António M. de Frias
- Benthic macroinvertebrate based indices for assessing the ecological status of freshwaters on oceanic islandsPublication . Raposeiro, Pedro M.; Costa, Ana C.Following the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), macroinvertebrates are required biological elements for monitoring European aquatic ecosystems. Several efforts have been made towards establishing a biomonitoring programme for the Azores freshwater systems using benthic macroinvertebrates. However, little was previously known concerning Azorean freshwater macroinvertebrate fauna. Data from a major ongoing survey of macroinvertebrate freshwater fauna for two islands are presented and the use of macroinvertebrates as water quality indicators for the Azorean streams is evaluated. The upper, middle and lower reaches of streams longer than 10 km from São Miguel (10) and Santa Maria (1) were surveyed (a total of 33 samples). A total of 21 taxa were collected; Diptera, in particular chironomidae, were dominant; chironomids were collected from all sampling sites. The Azorean lotic fauna is characterized by low levels of abundance and the absence of macroinvertebrate groups commonly associated with continental systems. Traditional biotic indices, used to classify ecological quality, yielded poor to bad classifications despite little or no environmental impacts at the sampling sites. The paucity of macroinvertebrate fauna is probably due to the result of geological and physicochemical processes, the oceanic character of the islands, their volcanic origin, small size and geological youth and climate related factors such as seasonal peaks in rainfall. Considering these constraints, we demonstrate that watershed age plays a determinant role in shaping Azorean macroinvertebrate freshwater communities which can confound the water quality classification via the use of traditional biotic indices.