Browsing by Author "Pereira, Leonel"
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- Concise review of the species Pterocladiella capillacea (S.G. Gmelin) Santelices & HommersandPublication . Patarra, Rita F.; Iha, C.; Pereira, Leonel; Neto, Ana I.Pterocladiella capillacea is a well-known source of high quality bacteriological and pharmaceutical grade agar and agarose, being economically exploited in few countries. From current knowledge all raw material is collected from wild populations that are being overharvested. This resulted in a biomass shortage, and consequently the wholesale prices peaked in the last years and the future of this industry is uncertain. It is also recognized that, to date, there is not any known commercial cultivation of this species, mostly due to its slow growth. Ecologically, P. capillacea fronds act as nurseries and as a macroalgal habitat for several marine invertebrates and are an "hot spot" for opportunistic bacteria. In addition, algal fronds or parts of them are directly used as food by several marine grazers (e.g. turtles, fishes, gastropods and sea urchins). The present work compiles and updates the published information on P. capillacea biology, ecology and biotechnological potential and presents a concise review on the species distribution, morphology, anatomy, ecology, life history, productivity, effect of ecological determinants, wild and cultured stocks, harvesting and utilization.
- Guia de boas práticas para a apanha de algas nos Açores : O projeto ASPAZOR e o caso-estudo de Asparagopsis spp.Publication . Faria, João; Navas Noguera, Daniel; Prestes, Afonso L.; Cacabelos, Eva; Moreu, Ignacio; Martins, Gustavo M.; Pereira, Leonel; Neto, Ana I.As macroalgas, sendo organismos fotossintéticos, são uma fonte de oxigénio e um recetor de dióxido de carbono. Elas fornecem habitat, refugio de predadores e um ambiente seguro para a desova e viveiro de muitas espécies. São ricas em minerais e vitaminas, proteínas, aminoácidos essenciais, ácidos gordos e fibras alimentares, e por isso usadas na alimentação humana. […]. A colheita manual deve ser favorecida à colheita mecânica. […].
- A guide for good harvesting practices of macroalgae in Azores (NE Atlantic) : The project ASPAZOR and the case study of Asparagopsis spp.Publication . Faria, João; Navas Noguera, Daniel; Prestes, Afonso L.; Cacabelos, Eva; Moreu, Ignacio; Martins, Gustavo M.; Pereira, Leonel; Neto, Ana I.Surely, most of the people at large have said or heard that seaweeds are only “plants of the sea”, which can be smelly when lying at the beach, without being aware of how important they are in the marine ecosystem (Mouritsen, 2013). Roughly, seaweeds, also known as macroalgae, are eukaryote, multicellular and macroscopic benthic algae, normally attached to firm substrata, mostly on rocky shores (Adams, 1994; Dawes, 1998; Rosas-Alquicira et al., 2012; Hurd et al., 2014). They are essentially found in the marine environment, although they may occur in brackish or even freshwater environments (Neto et al., 2005; Neto & Pinto, 2018). All seaweeds are algae, but not all algae are seaweeds, e.g. the microscopic algae, known as microalgae and/or phytoplankton (Mouritsen, 2013). Nevertheless, all seaweeds, at some point of their life cycle, are microscopic or unicellular, either as spores or as zygotes (Amsler & Searles, 1980; Lobban & Harrison, 1994). As with higher plants, they are oxygenic photosynthetic organisms, but here most algae cells contain the green pigment chlorophyll a that captures the needed sun’s energy for photosynthesis, the process of building energy-rich compounds (carbohydrates) from CO2 and the macro and micro nutrients available in the water (Mouritsen, 2013; Barsanti & Gualtieri, 2014; Neto & Pinto, 2018). Yet, they differ from plants in the determinant fact that they do not have true tissues, such as leaves, steams, roots or a transporting network, and neither produce flowers or seeds (Mouritsen, 2013; Neto & Pinto, 2018). Instead, they have an undifferentiated vegetative tissue called thallus, which is the plant body and may be simple or composed by a blade or frond (structure similar to a leaf) and a stipe or axis (similar to a stem). Some of them are attached to the substratum by a holdfast, whereas other use rhizoids or stolon-like structures (Neto et al., 2005). Moreover, seaweeds use simple reproductive structures to complete their life cycle by releasing gametes or spores into the environment (Barsanti & Gualtieri, 2014; Neto & Pinto, 2018). […].