Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2021-10"
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- Cumulative impact assessments of multiple host species loss from plant diseases show disproportionate reductions in associated biodiversityPublication . Mitchell, Ruth J.; Bellamy, Paul E.; Broome, Alice; Ellis, Chris J.; Hewison, Richard L.; Iason, Glenn R.; Littlewood, Nick A.; Newey, Scott; Pozsgai, Gabor; Ray, Duncan; Stockan, Jenni A.; Stokes, Victoria; Taylor, Andy F. S.Non-native plant pests and pathogens are increasing exponentially, causing extirpation of foundation species. The impact of large-scale declines in a single host on associated biodiversity is widely documented. However, the impact of multiple host loss on biodiversity and whether these impacts are multiplicative has not been assessed. Ecological theory suggests that systems with greater functional redundancy (alternative hosts) will be more resilient to the loss of sympatric hosts. We test this theory and show its importance in relation to pest/pathogen impact assessments. We assessed the potential impact on biodiversity of the loss of two widely occurring sympatric European tree species, Fraxinus excelsior and Quercus petraea/robur, both of which are currently threatened by a range of pests and pathogens. At the UK scale, the total number of associated species at risk of extirpation from plant diseases affecting these two sympatric hosts is greater than the sum of the associated species at risk from declines in either host alone. F. excelsior hosts 45 obligate species (species only found on that host) and Q. petraea/robur hosts 326. However, a decline in both these trees would impact 512 associated species, across multiple taxon groups, a 38% increase. Assessments at a local scale, 24 mixed F. excelsior–Q. petraea/robur woodlands revealed that these impacts may be even greater due to a lack of functional redundancy. Only 21% of sites were able to provide functional redundancy for F. excelsior and Q. petraea/robur associated species which can use other tree species. In most woodlands, the tree species required to provide functional redundancy were not present, although the site conditions were often suitable for them to grow. Synthesis. Understanding of functional redundancy should be applied to assessments of pests/pathogens impact on biodiversity. In risk assessments, higher impact scores should be given to pests/pathogens affecting hosts occurring with other host plant species already impacted by pests/pathogens. Current pest/pathogen risk assessment approaches that ignore the cumulative, cascading effects shown in this study may allow an insidious, mostly overlooked, driver of biodiversity loss to continue.
- Pleistocene coralline algal buildups on a mid-ocean rocky shore : Insights into the MIS 5e record of the AzoresPublication . Rebelo, Ana C.; Rasser, Michael; Ramalho, Ricardo S.; Johnson, Markes E.; Melo, Carlos S.; Uchman, Alfred; Quartau, Rui; Berning, Björn; Neto, Ana I.; Mendes, Ana Rita Marques; Basso, Daniela; Ávila, Sérgio P.Located on the northern coast of Santa Maria Island (Azores Archipelago, central North Atlantic), the Lagoinhas section preserves a carbonate buildup correlated with Marine Isotope Substage (MIS) 5e, the warmest interval of the Last Interglacial. The buildup is formed mainly by crustose coralline algae (CCA) identified as Spongites sp., and some subordinate crusts of Lithophyllum sp. and Neogoniolithon sp., as well as cf. Titanoderma sp. Extant CCA buildups are not recorded in the archipelago. Herein, we describe in detail the morphological and taphonomical features of the Lagoinhas CCA buildup and interpret the environment in which it grew. Additionally, this buildup is compared with another of similar age, exposed in the Prainha-Praia do Calhau section on the island's opposite southern coast. The hydrodynamic regime appears to play a crucial role in the development of Azorean CCA buildups during the MIS 5e.
- Threats and conservation status of Common and Roseate terns Sterna hirundo/S. dougallii in the Azores : A case study for Terceira IslandPublication . Lamelas-López, Lucas; Pietrzak, Malgorzata; Ferreira, Miguel; Neves, Verónica C.The Azores Archipelago holds the second most important population of Roseate Terns in the North Atlantic. However, the size of the population has been decreasing. In this study, we used remote-sensing cameras and visits to the main colonies of Common Terns Sterna hirundo and Roseate Terns S. dougallii on Terceira Island to identify the causes of breeding failure. Nest depredation by introduced mammals, particularly rats and cats, was the main cause of breeding failure, leading, in some cases, to the complete destruction of the colony. Additional threats included nest disturbance by humans and dogs, which caused the destruction of some nests. Measures aimed at mitigating depredation were tested but in the case of rodents, control plans proved difficult to achieve. This is probably because rodents are widespread in the Azores, they are not limited by food resources, and/or trapping methods are ineffective.
- Representações sociais acerca do desenvolvimento sustentável : as perspectivas de residentes de pequenas cidades insularesPublication . Fuentes-Sánchez, Ana; Arroz, Ana Moura; Gabriel, RosalinaO desenvolvimento sustentável (DS) figura entre as metas da sociedade contemporânea, sublinhando a imprescindibilidade da sua redefinição coletiva e apropriação social e pessoal. Para isso é relevante analisar como é que os indivíduos apreendem o processo de construção da sustentabilidade. A representação social do DS de uma amostra intencional de 64 stakeholders oriundos de cinco cidades açorianas foi explorada através de análises prototípica e de similaridade de uma associação livre de palavras. Os dados foram analisados recorrendo aos programas Evocation 2003 e IRAMUTEQ e interpretados de acordo com a abordagem estrutural das representações sociais. A representação resultante identifica os três pilares clássicos do DS, os seus principais desafios e opções estratégicas. Salienta-se o lugar central da vertente econômica, interligada com a ambiental e a social, embora esta última tenha menor ênfase. Importa acompanhar a evolução desta noção de DS que parece mais sofisticada do que as encontradas noutros estudos.
- The Health Hazards of Volcanoes : First Evidence of Neuroinflammation in the Hippocampus of Mice Exposed to Active Volcanic SurroundingsPublication . Navarro-Sempere, Alicia; Martínez-Peinado, Pascual; Rodrigues, Armindo; Garcia, Patrícia; Camarinho, Ricardo; García, Magdalena; Segovia, YolandaNeuroinflammation is a process related to the onset of neurodegenerative diseases; one of the hallmarks of this process is microglial reactivation and the secretion by these cells of proinflammatory cytokines such as TNFα. Numerous studies report the relationship between neuroinflammatory processes and exposure to anthropogenic air pollutants, but few refer to natural pollutants. Volcanoes are highly inhabited natural sources of environmental pollution that induce changes in the nervous system, such as reactive astrogliosis or the blood-brain barrier breakdown in exposed individuals; however, no neuroinflammatory event has been yet defined. To this purpose, we studied resting microglia, reactive microglia, and TNFα production in the brains of mice chronically exposed to an active volcanic environment on the island of São Miguel (Azores, Portugal). For the first time, we demonstrate a proliferation of microglial cells and an increase in reactive microglia, as well an increase in TNFα secretion, in the central nervous system of individuals exposed to volcanogenic pollutants.
- The World Spider Trait database : a centralized global open repository for curated data on spider traitsPublication . Pekár, Stano; Wolff, Jonas O.; Černecká, Ľudmila; Birkhofer, Klaus; Mammola, Stefano; Lowe, Elizabeth C.; Fukushima, Caroline S.; Herberstein, Marie E.; Kučera, Adam; Buzatto, Bruno A.; Djoudi, El Aziz; Domenech, Marc; Enciso, Alison Vanesa; Piñanez Espejo, Yolanda M. G.; Febles, Sara; García, Luis F.; Gonçalves-Souza, Thiago; Isaia, Marco; Lafage, Denis; Líznarová, Eva; Macías-Hernández, Nuria; Magalhães, Ivan; Malumbres-Olarte, Jagoba; Michálek, Ondřej; Michalik, Peter; Michalko, Radek; Milano, Filippo; Munévar, Ana; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Nicolosi, Giuseppe; Painting, Christina J.; Pétillon, Julien; Piano, Elena; Privet, Kaïna; Ramírez, Martín J.; Ramos, Cândida; Řezáč, Milan; Ridel, Aurélien; Růžička, Vlastimil; Santos, Irene; Sentenská, Lenka; Walker, Leilani; Wierucka, Kaja; Zurita, Gustavo Andres; Cardoso, PedroSpiders are a highly diversified group of arthropods and play an important role in terrestrial ecosystems as ubiquitous predators, which makes them a suitable group to test a variety of eco-evolutionary hypotheses. For this purpose, knowledge of a diverse range of species traits is required. Until now, data on spider traits have been scattered across thousands of publications produced for over two centuries and written in diverse languages. To facilitate access to such data, we developed an online database for archiving and accessing spider traits at a global scale. The database has been designed to accommodate a great variety of traits (e.g. ecological, behavioural and morphological) measured at individual, species or higher taxonomic levels. Records are accompanied by extensive metadata (e.g. location and method). The database is curated by an expert team, regularly updated and open to any user. A future goal of the growing database is to include all published and unpublished data on spider traits provided by experts worldwide and to facilitate broad cross-taxon assays in functional ecology and comparative biology.
- Grazing impacts on ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) abundance and diversity on semi‐natural grasslandPublication . Pozsgai, Gabor; Quinzo‐Ortega, Luis; Littlewood, Nick A.Semi-natural grasslands are commonly managed as a grazing resource for domestic livestock but, due to their unique biodiversity, they are also of conservation interest. Numerous drivers have impacted on the status of these grasslands in recent decades, most importantly changing grazing management strategies. These changes have the potential to affect the biodiversity associated with these habitats, including on some rich invertebrate assemblages. Responses, however, are often dissimilar between different invertebrate taxa. We investigated the responses of ground beetles to different grazing regimes within a replicated, controlled, long-term grazing experiment on upland semi-natural grassland in Scotland. Although there was substantial overlap of species composition of ground beetle assemblages in different grazing treatments, species richness, abundance and Shannon diversity of ground beetles were significantly lower in ungrazed plots than in plots subject to high- or low-intensity sheep grazing. Ground beetle abundance (but not species richness or diversity) was lower in ungrazed plots compared to those with low-intensity mixed grazing by sheep and cattle. However, no differences were identified in abundance, species richness or diversity between the three grazed treatments. Our results suggest that ground beetles may show different responses to grazing compared to responses of some other invertebrate groups and demonstrate the difficulty of attempting to manage grazing to optimise conditions for a wide range of invertebrates.
- A Small-Scale Analysis of Elevational Species Richness and Beta Diversity Patterns of Arthropods on an Oceanic Island (Terceira, Azores)Publication . de Vries, Jan Peter Reinier; van Loon, E. Emiel; Borges, Paulo A. V.We present an analysis of arthropod diversity patterns in native forest communities along the small elevation gradient (0–1021 m a.s.l.) of Terceira island, Azores (Portugal). We analysed (1) how the alpha diversity of Azorean arthropods responds to increasing elevation and (2) differs between endemic, native non-endemic and introduced (alien) species, and (3) the contributions of species replacement and richness difference to beta diversity. Arthropods were sampled using SLAM traps between 2014 and 2018. We analysed species richness indicators, the Hill series and beta diversity partitioning (species replacement and species richness differences). Selected orders (Araneae, Coleoptera, Hemiptera and Psocoptera) and endemic, native non-endemic and introduced species were analysed separately. Total species richness shows a monotonic decrease with elevation for all species and Coleoptera and Psocoptera, but peaks at mid-high elevation for Araneae and endemic species. Introduced species richness decreases strongly with elevation especially. These patterns are most likely driven by climatic factors but also influenced by human disturbance. Beta diversity is, for most groups, the main component of total (gamma) diversity along the gradient but shows no relation with elevation. It results from a combined effect of richness decrease with elevation and species replacement in groups with many narrow-ranged species.
- Jornalismo de proximidadePublication . Gil, Ana Cristina Correia, dir.; Fialho, Adolfo Fernando da Fonte, ed.Corria o ano de 2004 quando o Açoriano Oriental convidou várias escolas micaelenses a criarem os seus "Jornais de Escola". Uma aposta que viria a ser reforçada com a colaboração da Universidade dos Açores que desenvolveu e manteve durante vários anos o jornal da academia. Um ciclo que se fechou na Universidade que, no entanto, quis continuar a ter um espaço "editorial" onde pudesse dar conta do pulsar académico. E assim nasceu o "Agora" que completa agora quatro anos e dedica esta edição ao jornalismo. […]. (Nota de Abertura / Paulo Simões)
- O que é o Pensamento Computacional? Um contributo para entender uma nova competência básicaPublication . Gomes, Luís MendesNo século XX, saber ler, escrever e contar eram as competências básicas que adquiríamos, usávamos e consolidávamos ao longo da vida. No século XXI, adicionámos o Pensamento Computacional (PC). Mas o que é o PC? Para que serve? O PC é a utilização articulada da decomposição, do reconhecimento de padrões, da abstração e dos algoritmos para resolver problemas. Uma melhor adaptação às mudanças exigidas pela transformação digital e a participação ativa e interventiva dos cidadãos na sociedade da informação e do conhecimento estimula o desenvolvimento das competências associadas ao PC. Neste contexto, o PC é uma abordagem que se pode aplicar não só ao uso das novas tecnologias digitais e ao desenvolvimento de software. Mas, e mais importante, pode ser também aplicada, com consideráveis ganhos de eficiência, à nossa capacidade de resolver problemas usando ciência, técnica e criatividade. […].