Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2023-01"
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- Ellenberg Indicator Values Disclose Complex Environmental Filtering Processes in Plant Communities along an Elevational GradientPublication . Di Biase, Letizia; Tsafack, Noelline; Pace, Loretta; Fattorini, SimoneEllenberg indicator values (EIVs) express plant preferences for temperature, light, continentality, soil moisture, pH, and soil nutrients, and have been largely used to deduce environmental characteristics from plant communities. However, EIVs might also be used to investigate the importance of filtering mechanisms in shaping plant communities according to species ecological preferences, a so far overlooked use of EIVs. In this paper, we investigated how community-weighted means (CWM), calculated with EIVs, varied along an elevational gradient in a small mountain in Central Italy. We also tested if species abundances varied according to their ecological preferences. We found that the prevalence of thermophilous species declines with elevation, being progressively replaced by cold-adapted species. Heliophilous species prevail at low and high elevations (characterized by the presence of open habitats), whereas in the middle of the gradient (occupied by the beech forest), sciophilous species predominate. Variations for moisture and soil nutrient preferences followed a similar pattern, probably because of the high moisture and nutrient levels of forest soils with a lot of humus. No distinct pattern was detected for EIVs for pH and continentality since these factors are subject to more local variations. These results highlight the possible role of EIVs to investigate how environmental gradients shape plant communities.
- Os Açores no sistema das relações internacionais: entre autonomia e integração europeiaPublication . Fontes, Paulo VitorinoEste estudo foi recentemente publicado no âmbito do projeto “Eurilhas – A Dimensão Insular da Europa e as ilhas da União Europeia: heteronomia, autonomia e subsoberania”, financiado pelo Governo dos Açores (M1.1C/C.S./001/2019/01), analisa o protagonismo da nossa região no sistema internacional.
- Survey data of public awareness on climate change and the value of marine and coastal ecosystemsPublication . Fonseca, Catarina; Wood, Louisa; Andriamahefazafy, Mialy; Casal, Gema; Chaigneau, Tomas; Cornet, Cindy C.; Degia, A. Karima; Failler, Pierre; Ferraro, Gianluca; Furlan, Elisa; Hawkins, Julie P.; de Juan, Silvia; Krause, Torsten; McCarthy, Tim; Pérez, Géraldine; Roberts, Callum M.; Trégarot, Ewan; O'Leary, Bethan C.The long-term provision of ocean ecosystem services depends on healthy ecosystems and effective sustainable management. Understanding public opinion about marine and coastal ecosystems is important to guide decision-making and inform specific actions. However, available data on public perceptions on the interlinked effects of climate change, human impacts and the value and management of marine and coastal ecosystems are rare. This dataset presents raw data from an online, self-administered, public awareness survey conducted between November 2021 and February 2022 which yielded 709 responses from 42 countries. The survey was released in four languages (English, French, Spanish and Italian) and consisted of four main parts: (1) perceptions about climate change; (2) perceptions about the value of, and threats to, coasts, oceans and their wildlife, (3) perceptions about climate change response; and (4) socio-demographic information. Participation in the survey was voluntary and all respondents provided informed consent after reading a participant information form at the beginning of the survey. Responses were anonymous unless respondents chose to provide contact information. All identifying information has been removed from the dataset. The dataset can be used to conduct quantitative analyses, especially in the area of public perceptions of the interlinkages between climate change, human impacts and options for sustainable management in the context of marine and coastal ecosystems. The dataset is provided with this article, including a copy of the survey and participant information forms in all four languages, data and the corresponding codebook.
- Climate–Growth Relationships in Laurus azorica—A Dominant Tree in the Azorean Laurel ForestPublication . Pavão, Diogo Cláudio; Jevšenak, Jernej; Silva, Lurdes da Conceição Borges; Elias, Rui B.; Silva, LuísForests on oceanic islands, such as the Azores archipelago, enable interesting dendroclimatic research, given their pronounced climatic gradients over short geographical distances, despite the less pronounced seasonality. The Lauraceae play an essential ecological role in Macaronesian natural forests. An example is Laurus azorica (Seub.) Franco, a relevant species given its high frequency and physiognomic dominance in Azorean laurel forests. This study aims to quantify climate–growth relationships in L. azorica using a dendroecological approach. We sampled four stands at São Miguel and two stands at Terceira islands, for a total of 206 trees. Following standard dendrochronological methods and rigorous sample selection procedures, we obtained relatively low rbar values and high temporal autocorrelation. Using a stepwise Random Forest analysis followed by Generalized Linear Models calculation, we found prominent effects of present and previous year temperature, but a low precipitation signal on growth rings, with some model variation between stands. Our results agreed with previous observations for broad-leaved species with diffuse porous wood, contributing to increase the baseline dendroecological knowledge about Azorean forests. Due to the high levels of within- and between-stand variation, and to refine the climatic signal analysis, complementary approaches should be explored in the future.
- How much biodiversity is concealed in the word ‘biodiversity’?Publication . Mammola, Stefano; Fukushima, Caroline S.; Biondo, Girolama; Bongiorni, Lucia; Cianferoni, Fabio; Domenici, Paolo; Fruciano, Carmelo; Lo Giudice, Angelina; Macías-Hernández, Nuria; Malumbres-Olarte, Jagoba; Miličić, Marija; Morganti, Michelangelo; Mori, Emiliano; Munévar, Ana; Pollegioni, Paola; Rosati, Ilaria; Tenan, Simone; Urbano-Tenorio, Fernando; Fontaneto, Diego; Cardoso, PedroAmidst a global biodiversity crisis1, the word ‘biodiversity’ has become indispensable for conservation and management2. Yet, biodiversity is often used as a buzzword in scientific literature. Resonant titles of papers claiming to have studied ‘global biodiversity’ may be used to promote research focused on a few taxonomic groups, habitats, or facets of biodiversity — taxonomic, (phylo)genetic, or functional. This usage may lead to extrapolating results outside the target systems of these studies with direct consequences for our understanding of life on Earth and its practical conservation. Here, we used a random sample of papers with the word ‘biodiversity’ in their title to take a long view of the use of this term. Despite improvements in analytical tools, monitoring technologies, and data availability3,4, we found that the taxonomic scope of research articles has not increased in recent years. We also show that studies with a wider taxonomic scope attract more citations and online attention. Our results have broad ramifications for understanding how extrapolating from studies with narrow taxonomic scope affects our view of global biodiversity and conservation.
- Air Quality at Ponta Delgada City (Azores) Is Unaffected so Far by Growing Cruise Ship Transit in Recent YearsPublication . Bernardo, Filipe; Garcia, Patrícia; Rodrigues, ArmindoThe ease of travel allowed by contemporary means of long-range transportation has brought increasingly higher numbers of visitors to remote and relatively undisturbed insular territories. In a framework of environmental conservation of the natural patrimony, sustainably accommodating touristic flooding and the associated polluting footprint poses a demanding challenge. Over the past decade, Ponta Delgada, the largest city of the mid-Atlantic Azores archipelago, has become a hotspot for transatlantic cruise ship (CS) lines in spring and autumn. CSs are substantial contributors to the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), as well as hazardous sulphur (SOx) and nitrogen (NOx) oxides. It is hereby retrospectively investigated whether the background levels of air pollutants were raised following the CS influx at Ponta Delgada, which conventionally displays great air quality. The daily CS traffic at the local harbor was associated with the daily concentrations of air pollutants (SO₂, O₃, NO₂, NOx, PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅), monitored by the local urban background monitoring station (~1.3 km northwards). Exceedances above daily legislated limits from 2013 until 2020 only occurred sporadically for PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅, often during episodes of natural dust storms. No major correlation was found between CS parameters with the recorded values of pollutants, although a noticeable signal of NOx increase of southern origin is observed during spring days with CS presence. Daily data suggest CS influx has not strongly influenced background air quality. A near-source, real-time monitoring network should be implemented in the city to provide the necessary spatial and temporal resolution for tracking short-term fluctuations in air pollutants during CS arrivals and departures.
- Edge effects constrain endemic but not introduced arthropod species in a pristine forest on Terceira (Azores, Portugal)Publication . Tsafack, Noelline; Pozsgai, Gabor; Boieiro, Mário; Ros-Prieto, Alejandra; Nunes, Rui; Ferreira, Maria Teresa; Borges, Paulo A. V.Pristine Azorean forests have been deeply fragmented since human colonization. Fragmentation increases the length of edges and it therefore promotes edge habitats. Studying the impact of edge habitat on species assemblages is crucial to highlight the importance of forest connectivity and guide management strategies. This study explores the impact of forest edges on arthropod assemblages, and particularly investigates the differences of arthropod communities between three habitats, along a distance gradient from the forest edge near a pasture matrix to the core forest. We also compare patterns of arthropod communities with different biogeographic status (endemic, native non-endemic, and introduced species), given the island context. We sampled in a pristine forest on Terceira Island bordered by semi-natural pastures, using flight interception traps. Overall, endemic species dominated arthropod abundances whereas species richness and diversity were similar between the three biogeographic categories. We found evidence of a strong edge effect on arthropod assemblages, adjusted both by biogeographic categories and seasonality. Indigenous (endemic and native non-endemic) species abundances were higher in the forest interior than at the edges or intermediate habitats, suggesting that indigenous arthropod assemblages were sensitive to the distance from the edge, a distance extended over 100 m to the core forest, whereas introduced species abundances were not impacted. Species diversity and richness did not differ between the three habitats either, regardless of the biogeographic categories. The composition of arthropods between the three habitats differed significantly when we considered all species or endemic species only, but not with native non-endemic or introduced species. However, the difference got obscured when seasonality was included in the analyses, suggesting that even though edges impact species composition, this impact varies seasonally and endemic species are particularly affected in early summer. Our results indicate that forest edges impact arthropods assemblages but endemic species are more likely to be constrained by the increase of edges than introduced species. Since most of these endemic species are of conservation concern, we urge to avoid forest management strategies that increase fragmentation and call for action to increase the size of protected natural parks.
- Seasonal diversity of spider assemblages (Araneae: Arachnida) in the “Guillermo Piñeres” Botanical Garden, Turbaco–ColombiaPublication . Zapata, Wilder; Vergara-Moreno, David; Carrillo-Pallares, Martín; Segovia-Paccini, Alejandro; Navas-S., Gabriel R.; Malumbres-Olarte, JagobaClimatic seasons have been shown to determine the temporal fluctuations in species communities of different ecosystems. Here, we assessed the diversity of spider assemblages in dry, transition and rainy seasons in the “Guillermo Piñeres” Botanical Garden (GPBG), Turbaco, Colombia. We collected spider assemblages between June 2018 and April 2019 through standardized day and night sampling methods for tropical ecosystems: looking up, looking down, beating and leaf litter sieving. In total, we collected 1585 individuals, belonging to 28 families and 112 (morpho) species. We calculated the effective species richness (Hill numbers) to evaluate the changes in diversity across seasons and used clustering and ordination methods (Jaccard index-based nMDS) to identify differences in the composition of the assemblages. Also, we compared the abundance and species richness of predatory guilds of the three seasons. The transition season showed the highest diversity with 94 morphospecies, an effective number of species of 48.7 and a dominance of 32.4 effective species. The clustering and ordination methods grouped the sampling events into three groups, each corresponding to a climatic season. The most abundant guild was the orb web weavers, with the highest value in the rainy season, while “other hunters” were the most species rich. Our results indicate that the spider assemblages in GPBG present a seasonal variation in diversity, probably influenced by climatic conditions. Understanding how these seasonal changes occur is necessary to develop forest management strategies for monitoring and management projects on the conservation of species assemblages according to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
- Integrated climate, ecological and socioeconomic scenarios for the whale watching sectorPublication . Sousa, Andreia G.; Coelho, R. Encarnação; Costa, Hugo; Lourenço, T. Capela; Azevedo, José M. N.; Santos, C. FrazãoUnprecedented human induced changes to the climate system have already contributed to a variety of observed impacts to both ecosystems and populations. Decision-makers demand impact assessments at the regional-to-local scale to be able to plan and define effective climate action measures. Integrated socio-ecological assessments that properly consider system uncertainties require the use of prospective scenarios that project potential climate impacts, while accounting for sectoral exposure and adaptive capacity. Here we provide an integrated assessment of climate change to the whale watching sector by: 1) extending the European Shared Socio-economic Pathways (Eur-SSPs) and developing four whale watching SSP narratives (WW-SSPs) and 2) characterize each key element comprised in the WW-SSPs for the time period 2025–2055. We applied this approach in a case study for the Macaronesia region where we developed scenarios which integrate the socio-economic (WW-SSPs), climate (RCPs) and ecological (species' thermal suitability responses) dimensions of whale watching. These scenarios were used by local stakeholders to identify the level of preparedness of the whale watching sector. When confronted with scenarios that combine this ecological dimension with projected climate changes and the four different socioeconomic narratives, stakeholders assessed the whale watching sector in Macaronesia as being somewhat prepared for a Sustainable World and a Fossil Fuel Development World, but somewhat unprepared for a Rivalry World. No consensus was reached regarding the sector's preparedness level under an Inequality World scenario. Our study demonstrates the importance of considering multiple dimensions when assessing the potential challenges posed by climate change and provides a needed resource to help the whale watching sector in Macaronesia, and elsewhere, in its effort to devise efficient climate action policies and strategies.
- AGORA : suplemento do Açoriano Oriental, n.º 57Publication . Gil, Ana Cristina Correia, dir.; Fialho, Adolfo Fernando da Fonte, ed.Neste número a rubrica Agora dá notícia da cerimónia comemorativa do 47.º aniversário da Universidade dos Açores (UAc), no qual foi distinguido o mérito escolar e académico de alguns estudantes e docentes da FCSH, e a rubrica Ágora partilha um estudo que analisa o protagonismo da nossa região no sistema internacional. A conversa escrita deste mês faz-se no rescaldo da primeira visita à Universidade dos Açores da Associação Portuguesa de Ciências da Comunicação, que em fevereiro de 2023 assinalará 25 anos de existência.
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