Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2022-06"
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- Quero muito aprender coisas novas! Um olhar sobre a transição educativaPublication . Gil, Ana Cristina Correia, dir.; Fialho, Adolfo Fernando da Fonte, ed.; Diogo, Ana MatiasDe olhos postos em novos públicos, partilhamos com o leitor a oferta formativa da FCSH e convidamos os mais jovens a aventurarem-se num dos nossos programas de ocupação em férias. Também dedicada aos mais novos, a rubrica Ágora destaca uma recente publicação focada na sua relação com o ciberespaço, a participação política e os movimentos sociais. Em Agora é hora, homenageamos o Professor Doutor António Machado Pires, antigo reitor da UAc recentemente desaparecido, figura incontornável a quem devemos uma vida dedicada à gestão académica, à docência, à investigação científica e à cultura.
- SLAM Project - Long Term Ecological Study of the Impacts of Climate Change in the Natural Forest of Azores: III - Testing the impact of edge effects in a native forest of Terceira IslandPublication . Borges, Paulo A. V.; Lamelas-López, Lucas; Tsafack, Noelline; Boieiro, Mário; Ros-Prieto, Alejandra; Gabriel, Rosalina; Nunes, Rui; Ferreira, Maria TeresaBACKGROUND: The data we present are part of the long-term project “SLAM Project - Long Term Ecological Study of the Impacts of Climate Change in the Natural Forest of Azores” that started in 2012, aiming to understand the impact of biodiversity erosion drivers on Azorean native forests (Azores, Macaronesia, Portugal). The data for the current study consist in an inventory of arthropods collected in three locations of a native forest fragment at Terra-Brava protected area (Terceira, Azores, Portugal) aiming to test the impact of edge effects on Azorean arthropod communities. The three locations were: (i) the edge of the forest, closer to the pastures; (ii) an intermediate area (100 m from edge); and (iii) the deepest part of the native forest fragment (more than 300 m from edge). The study was carried out between June 2014 and December 2015. A total of nine passive flight interception SLAM (Sea, Land and Air Malaise) traps were deployed (three in each of the studied locations), during 18 consecutive months. This study provides the raw data to investigate temporal and edge effect variation for the Azorean arthropod communities. NEW INFORMATION: The collected arthropods belong to a wide diversity of taxonomic groups of Arachnida, Diplopoda, Chilopoda and Insecta classes. We collected a total of 13,516 specimens from which it was possible to identify to species level almost all specimens (13,504). These identified specimens belong to 15 orders, 58 families (plus three with only genus or family level identification) and 97 species of arthropods. A total of 35 species are considered introduced, 34 native non-endemic and 28 endemic. Additionally, a total of 10 taxa (12 specimens) were recorded at genus, family or order level. This dataset will allow researchers to test the impact of edge effect on arthropod biodiversity and to investigate seasonal changes in Azorean arthropod native forest communities.
- Algae as Food in Europe : An Overview of Species Diversity and Their ApplicationPublication . Mendes, Madalena C.; Navalho, Sofia; Ferreira, Alice; Paulino, Cristina; Figueiredo, Daniel; Silva, Daniel; Gao, Fengzheng; Gama, Florinda; Bombo, Gabriel; Jacinto, Rita; Aveiro, Susana S.; Schulze, Peter S. C.; Gonçalves, Ana Teresa; Pereira, Hugo; Gouveia, Luisa; Patarra, Rita F.; Abreu, Maria H.; Silva, Joana L.; Navalho, João; Varela, João C. S.; Speranza, Lais G.Algae have been consumed for millennia in several parts of the world as food, food supplements, and additives, due to their unique organoleptic properties and nutritional and health benefits. Algae are sustainable sources of proteins, minerals, and fiber, with well-balanced essential amino acids, pigments, and fatty acids, among other relevant metabolites for human nutrition. This review covers the historical consumption of algae in Europe, developments in the current European market, challenges when introducing new species to the market, bottlenecks in production technology, consumer acceptance, and legislation. The current algae species that are consumed and commercialized in Europe were investigated, according to their status under the European Union (EU) Novel Food legislation, along with the market perspectives in terms of the current research and development initiatives, while evaluating the interest and potential in the European market. The regular consumption of more than 150 algae species was identified, of which only 20% are approved under the EU Novel Food legislation, which demonstrates that the current legislation is not broad enough and requires an urgent update. Finally, the potential of the European algae market growth was indicated by the analysis of the trends in research, technological advances, and market initiatives to promote algae commercialization and consumption.
- Diversity of Lepidoptera recorded in a forest nursery of Nordeste county on São Miguel Island (Azores)Publication . Vieira, Virgilio; Oliveira, Luísa; Soares, António O.; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Borges, Isabel; Tavares, JoãoThe diversity of moth species (Insecta, Lepidoptera) recorded in the forest nursery of Nordeste county on São Miguel island (Azores) is given. Adults were sampled between March and December 2019 using three methods: (i) light trap to caught Noctuidae species, (ii) open-sided delta trap baited with a synthetic female sex pheromone lure to attract Epiphyas postvittana males and (iii) entomological net to identify microlepidopteran moths. A total of 10160 adults belonging to 33 lepidopteran species were recorded and listed by families, including: Argyresthiidae 1 (3%), Crambidae 4 (12%), Erebidae 1 (3%), Geometridae 5 (15%), Noctuidae 18 (55%), Sphingidae 1 (3%), Tineidae 1 (3%), and Tortricidae 2 (6%). The families Noctuidae, Geometridae and Crambidae were the most diverse. Those with the highest abundance of adults was the Noctuidae family followed by the Crambidae, Trotricidae and Tineidae. The number of caught adults was consistently higher during spring and summer, decreasing sharply in late fall. For 14 species caught in the light trap the adult sex ratio was favorable to females, except for Xestia c-nigrum which was favorable to males. An analysis of the colonization status, feeding and primary hosts of these endemic, native or exotic moth species suggests that plants reared in forest nurseries, being attacked by such insects, facilitates our understanding of the diversity of lepidopterans that establish in Laurel Forest environments and to what extent there is a need to monitor and control them mainly with biological control agents.
- Seed removal decrease by invasive Argentine ants in a high Nature Value farmlandPublication . Wendt, Clara Frasconi; Nunes, Alice; Dias, Sara Lobo; Verble, Robin; Branquinho, Cristina; Boieiro, MárioSeed dispersal by ants is an important ecological process that maintains the structure and diversity of natural communities, however, it is vulnerable to biological invasions. Argentine ants are one of the worst invasive ant species and cause severe changes in ecosystem processes and native ant biodiversity declines in invaded sites. Here, we studied seed removal by ants combining observations and a cafeteria experiment with seeds of four myrmecochorous plant species (Centaurea sphaerocephala, Rosmarinus officinalis, Silybum marianum, and Ulex australis) in two sites (invaded and uninvaded) located in the Mediterranean Montado ecosystem and classified as High Nature Value farmland (HNV). Significant differences in daily seed removal rates were found between the two study sites. In uninvaded sites, several native ant species were attracted to the seeds, resulting in all seeds being removed rapidly. The majority of seed removal events were carried out by two key seed disperses Pheidole pallidula (71%) and Aphaenogaster iberica (26%) with a clear preference for diaspored with larger and heavier elaiosome (i.e., C. sphaerocephala, S. marianum). By contrast, while the Argentine ant showed some interest (68% of seeds were interacted with), no seed removal events were observed. The extirpation of the local ant fauna by the Argentine ant and its inability to ensure seed dispersal services may lead to the interference and eventually to the collapse of seed dispersal of the four studied myrmecochorous plants in the invaded site in the future. We argue that these discrete but severe consequences of an invasive species on a key ecological process may strongly affect the functioning of the Montado ecosystem.
- To be or not to be : the role of absences in niche modelling for highly mobile species in dynamic marine environmentsPublication . Fernandez, Marc; Sillero, Neftali; Yesson, ChrisSpecies distribution models are valuable tools for conservation management. However, there remain challenges in developing and interpreting these models in the marine environment, such as the nature of the species used for the modelling process. When working with mobile species in dynamic environments, lack of observation is usually interpreted as an observation of absence, which can result in the introduction of biases by methodological (false) absences. Here, we explore the role of absences when modelling marine megafauna distributions. To better understand how the use of absences (or equivalent) affects the niche modelling algorithms, we used a set of 20 virtual species with different relations to the habitat (generalist static, specialist static, generalist dynamic and specialist dynamic) with different encounter rates. We tested six different modelling techniques divided into three distinct groups: presence-only, presence-background and presence-absence. We compared the outputs of the models using traditional validation metrics and overlap metrics in the geographical and environmental spaces. Algorithms characterized the ecological niche for the simulated species differently. Approaches using background data generally outperformed the other methods, suggesting that the non-observation of a species in a given location and time should not be considered as an absence. A very intense (practically unrealistic) sampling schema would be required to obtain a genuine unbiased absence when working with these species and habitats. For highly mobile species, a precautionary approach would be to consider the non-observation of a species as part of the background (a sample of the conditions available in the study area) rather than an absence. A good starting point would be to use presence-background models, complemented with presence-absence and/or presence-only models, comparing outputs from the different algorithms tested in the geographic and environmental space. Improving model performance for highly mobile marine species should lead to better-informed decision making for conservation.
- Advances on Applications of Bioactive Natural CompoundsPublication . Seca, Ana M. L.; Gallardo, Eugenia
- Island and Mountain Ecosystems as Testbeds for Biological Control in the AnthropocenePublication . Wyckhuys, Kris A. G.; Sanchez Garcia, Francisco J.; Santos, Ana M. C.; Canal, Nelson A.; Furlong, Michael J.; Melo, Maria C.; GC, Yubak Dhoj; Pozsgai, GaborFor centuries, islands and mountains have incited the interest of naturalists, evolutionary biologists and ecologists. Islands have been the cradle for biogeography and speciation theories, while mountain ranges have informed how population adaptation to thermal floors shapes the distribution of species globally. Islands of varying size and mountains’ altitudinal ranges constitute unique “natural laboratories” where one can investigate the effects of species loss or global warming on ecosystem service delivery. Although invertebrate pollination or seed dispersal processes are steadily being examined, biological control research is lagging. While observations of a wider niche breadth among insect pollinators in small (i.e., species-poor) islands or at high (i.e., colder) altitudes likely also hold for biological control agents, such remains to be examined. In this Perspective piece, we draw on published datasets to show that island size alone does not explain biological control outcomes. Instead, one needs to account for species’ functional traits, habitat heterogeneity, host community make-up, phenology, site history or even anthropogenic forces. Meanwhile, data from mountain ranges show how parasitism rates of Noctuid moths and Tephritid fruit flies exhibit species- and context-dependent shifts with altitude. Nevertheless, future empirical work in mountain settings could clarify the thermal niche space of individual natural enemy taxa and overall thermal resilience of biological control. We further discuss how global databases can be screened, while ecological theories can be tested, and simulation models defined based upon observational or manipulative assays in either system. Doing so can yield unprecedented insights into the fate of biological control in the Anthropocene and inform ways to reinforce this vital ecosystem service under global environmental change scenarios.
- Alongside but separate : Sympatric baleen whales choose different habitat conditions in São Miguel, AzoresPublication . González García, Laura; Pierce, Graham J.; Autret, Emmanuelle; Torres-Palenzuela, Jesús M.Fin whales and sei whales are two migratory baleen whale species sighted every year across the waters of the Azores. Improved understanding of the ecological niche and habitat requirements of these baleen whales is needed to identify persistent or predictable oceanographic events that may set the time of their migration, as well as local or ephemeral oceanographic features that may aggregate their prey in a particular area. In dynamic environments such as the open ocean, mesoscale and submesoscale features can become decisive to determine the distributions of highly mobile species such as baleen whales. In this study, we analyse the habitat preferences of fin whales and sei whales around São Miguel Island (Azores) using environmental variables at different temporal and spatial scales. For both species, model results showed a clear influence of variables linked with primary production and therefore, prey availability; as well as a noticeable preference for oceanographically dynamic areas which directly affect distribution and aggregation of prey. Those environmental choices may indicate different levels of foraging habitat use for both species. Differences were found between the species, highlighting preferences for colder waters in fin whales and areas with stronger sea surface temperature gradients in sei whales. Model results obtained for fin whales were similar with those previously published for blue whales, suggesting that both species make similar use of the waters around São Miguel, often foraging during the migration across these waters. Results for sei whale, however, emphasize dynamic variables, indicating that travelling may prevail over feeding behaviour during their migration by the Azores.
- A simultaneous assessment of multiple ecosystem services and disservices in vineyards and orchards on Terceira Island, AzoresPublication . Ferrante, Marco; Lamelas-López, Lucas; Nunes, Rui; Monjardino, Paulo; Lopes, David João Horta; Soares, António O.; Lövei, Gábor L.; Borges, Paulo A. V.Monitoring ecosystem processes resulting in ecosystem services (ESs) and disservices (EDs) is crucial in agricultural ecosystems. Traditionally, ESs/EDs provided by arthropods have been estimated indirectly by measuring arthropod abundance and diversity, overlooking the recognised limitations of such approach. Using a consistent methodology based on the sentinel approach, we quantified the intensity of five ecological processes leading to four ESs and two EDs in vineyards and citrus orchards on Terceira Island, Azores. We assessed herbivory rates on lettuce plants (ED), predation rates on green plasticine caterpillars by vertebrates and invertebrates (ES), the intensity of insect pollination on strawberry plants (ES), the rates of predation on wheat and dandelion seeds (ED and ES, respectively) by rodents and invertebrates, and decomposition rates using tea and rooibos leaves (ES). Herbivory rates after 2 weeks were significantly lower in vineyards (mean ± SD; 0.5 ± 0.6%) than in citrus orchards (3.6 ± 2.9%). Vertebrate predation rates in vineyards (4.0 ± 13.6% d⁻¹) were significantly higher than in citrus orchards (2.4 ± 10.7% d⁻¹), while no differences were observed for overall and invertebrate predation rates. Pollination efficiency in vineyards (214.5 ± 23.9 seeds/fruit) was significantly higher than in citrus orchards (162.0 ± 14.7 seeds/fruit). Seed predation rates were higher, although not significantly so, in citrus orchards (2.0 ± 5.8% d⁻¹) than in vineyards (0.3 ± 0.8% d⁻¹). Decomposition was significantly higher on tea than on rooibos leaves, both in vineyards (1.15 ± 0.11 g vs. 0.72 ± 0.16 g) and citrus orchards (1.34 ± 0.06 g vs. 0.78 ± 0.13 g); no differences between mass loss in the two habitats were observed. Our results demonstrated the suitability of simple, direct monitoring tools for a quantitative comparison of agricultural habitats, confirm that landscape complexity does not always support ESs, and that the same agro-ecosystem characteristics that support ESs could occasionally also favour EDs.
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