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- 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 Most of the data rely on a comprehensive literature survey (dating back to the 19th century) as well as unpublished records from recent field surveys in the Azores.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.
- Use of ATLANTIS TIERRA 2.0 in mapping the biodiversity (invertebrates and bryophytes) of caves in the Azorean archipelagoPublication . Borges, Paulo A. V.; Gabriel, Rosalina; Pereira, Fernando E. A. P.; Pereira, Enésima; Sousa, EvaIn this contribution the software ATLANTIS Tierra 2.0 is described as a promising tool to be used in the conservation management of the animal and plant biodiversity of caves in Macaronesia. In the Azores, the importance of cave entrances to bryophytes is twofold: i) since these are particularly humid, sheltered habitats, they support a diverse assemblage of bryophyte species and circa 25% of the Azorean brioflora is referred to this habitat and ii) species, either endemic or referred in the European red list due to their vulnerability (19 species) or rarity (13) find refuge there. Cave adapted arthropods are also diverse in the Azores and 21 endemic obligate cave species were recorded. Generally these species have restricted distributions and some are known from only one cave. ATLANTIS Tierra 2.0 allows the mapping of the distribution of all species in a 500 x 500 m grid in a GIS interface. This allows an easy detection of species rich caves (hotspots) and facilitates the interpretation of spatial patterns of species distribution. For instance, predictive models of species distribution could be constructed using the distribution of lava flows or other environmental variables. Using this new tool we will be better equipped to answer the following questions: a) Where are the current “hotspot caves” of biodiversity in the Azores?; b) How many new caves need to be selected as specially protected areas in order to conserve the rarest endemic taxa?; c) Is there congruence between the patterns of richness and distribution of invertebrates and bryophytes?; d) Are environmental variables good surrogates of species distributions?
- Eating, jigging or watching? Ocean heritage and sustainable developmentPublication . Neilson, Alison; Gabriel, Rosalina; Arroz, Ana Margarida Moura; Pereira, EnésimaThis work emerges from the perspective that research has implications which can serve or hinder environmental and social justice within sustainable development. Who we listen to and how we listen are important to what narratives are highlighted through research. This study involves local residents as well as international tourists and people in the marine tourism industry and marine sciences in the Azores, Portugal in comparison with Newfoundland, Canada. The researchers dance between stepping out of the way in order to make room for voices and perspectives often ignored or silenced in educational and tourism stories of whales and the ocean, and stepping in to help uncover otherwise hidden forces of imperialism, and other oppressions. This study about perceptions of the ocean explores whose expression of heritage provides the driving force for commerce, business, leisure and politics. It also looks at the dynamic nature of heritage as it responds to changes in work, play and politics. Using various interview techniques including photo elicitation and focus groups, we gather rich narratives of visiting, living near and working in the sea. Multiple frames of lived experiences, ethics and politics support the narratives told. Some frames support the perceptions of diverse groups of people, while others privilege the stories of only a few. This study explores local power dynamics and global forces by asking about the ways in which people have learned about the ocean as well as how people decide what is relevant to their learning and what is important to sustain.
- Urban sustainability : Q method application to five cities of the Azorean IslandsPublication . Fuentes-Sánchez, Ana; Dentinho, Tomás P.; Arroz, Ana Moura; Gabriel, RosalinaAre perspectives on urban sustainability forged by global context or influenced by local contexts or by personal features? To respond to this question the Q method approach is used to identify the main perspectives of urban sustainability in five Azorean cities and compare them with the local context. Results show that: a) urban contexts, rather than personal features, exert a strong influence on the sustainable perspectives of the stakeholders; b) positive perspectives on sustainable development are always assumed by respective municipal employees; and c) social worries are often more relevant than environmental problems. Summing up, even for global problems, such as urban sustainability, people’s awareness is strongly influenced by local context and by issues that can be addressed locally reinforcing the concept of place-based policies having a say.
- Nature exposure scale : Psychometric properties, reliability and validity evidence from Azores (Portugal)Publication . Arroz, Ana Moura; Picanço, Ana; Silva, Alexandra R.; Rosário, Isabel Amorim do; Gabriel, RosalinaAlthough exposure to nature has asserted its impact on health and well-being in numerous studies, the way in which it is assessed is still problematic and there are no validated measures for Portuguese-speaking countries. Hence, in this study, we carried out a psychometric analysis of the Nature Exposure Scale (NES), a self-report instrument with four Likert items, from its administration to a convenience sample of 579 adults residing in the Azores (Portugal). Overall, the results of the NES scale show good reliability and adequate divergent and convergent validity. But the understanding of its latent structure must be deepened.
- Climate-driven vicariance and long-distance dispersal explain the Rand Flora pattern in the liverwort Exormotheca pustulosa (Marchantiophyta)Publication . Rodrigues, Ana S. B.; Martins, Anabela; Garcia, César Augusto; Sérgio, Cecília; Porley, Ron; Fontinha, Susana; González-Mancebo, Juana M.; Gabriel, Rosalina; Phephu, Nonkululo; Van Roy, Jacques; Dirkse, Gerard; Long, David; Stech, Michael; Patiño, Jairo; Sim-Sim, ManuelaThe ‘Rand flora’ is a biogeographical disjunction which refers to plant lineages occurring at the margins of the African continent and neighbouring oceanic archipelagos. Here, we tested whether the phylogeographical pattern of Exormotheca pustulosa Mitt. was the result of vicariance induced by past climatic changes or the outcome of a series of recent long-distance dispersal events. Two chloroplast markers (rps4-trnF region and psbA-trnH spacer) and one nuclear marker (ITS2) were analysed. Phylogenetic and phylogeographical relationships were inferred as well as divergence time estimates and ancestral areas. Exormotheca possibly originated in Eastern Africa during the Late Oligocene/Early Miocene while Exormotheca putulosa diversified during the Late Miocene. Three main E. pustulosa groups were found: the northern Macaronesia/Western Mediterranean, the South Africa/Saint Helena and the Cape Verde groups. The major splits among these groups occurred during the Late Miocene/Pliocene; diversification was recent, dating back to the Pleistocene. Climate-driven vicariance and subsequent long-distance dispersal events may have shaped the current disjunct distribution of E. pustulosa that corresponds to the Rand Flora pattern. Colonization of Macaronesia seems to have occurred twice by two independent lineages. The evolutionary history of E. pustulosa populations of Cape Verde warrants further study.
- Perspective 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.
- Extinction debt on oceanic islandsPublication . Triantis, Kostas A.; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Ladle, Richard J.; Hortal, Joaquín; Cardoso, Pedro; Gaspar, Clara; Dinis, Francisco; Pereira, Enésima; Silveira, Lúcia M. A.; Gabriel, Rosalina; Melo, Catarina; Santos, Ana M. C.; Amorim, Isabel R.; Ribeiro, Sérvio P.; Serrano, Artur R. M.; Quartau, José A.; Whittaker, Robert J.Habitat destruction is the leading cause of species extinctions. However, there is typically a time-lag between the reduction in habitat area and the eventual disappearance of the remnant populations. These “surviving but ultimately doomed” species represent an extinction debt. Calculating the magnitude of such future extinction events has been hampered by potentially inaccurate assumptions about the slope of species–area relationships, which are habitat- and taxon-specific. We overcome this challenge by applying a method that uses the historical sequence of deforestation in the Azorean Islands, to calculate realistic and ecologically-adjusted species–area relationships. The results reveal dramatic and hitherto unrecognized levels of extinction debt, as a result of the extensive destruction of the native forest:>95%, in<600 yr. Our estimations suggest that more than half of the extant forest arthropod species, which have evolved in and are dependent on the native forest, might eventually be driven to extinction. Data on species abundances from Graciosa Island, where only a very small patch of secondary native vegetation still exists, as well as the number of species that have not been found in the last 45 yr, despite the extensive sampling effort, offer support to the predictions made. We argue that immediate action to restore and expand native forest habitat is required to avert the loss of numerous endemic species in the near future.
- Bryophyte Diversity along an Elevational Gradient on Pico Island (Azores, Portugal)Publication . Coelho, Márcia Catarina Mendes; Gabriel, Rosalina; Hespanhol, Helena; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Ah-Peng, ClaudineThe study of elevational patterns is a valuable method for inferring the influence of the climate and other variables in the regional distributions of species. Bryophytes are ideal for revealing different environmental patterns in elevational studies, since they occur from sea level to above the tree line. Taking advantage of the long elevational transect of Pico Island and the use of standardized survey methods, our main aims were: (1) to identify and characterize the alpha and beta diversities of bryophytes across the full elevational gradient (12 sites of native vegetation, ranging from 10 to 2200 m above sea level [a.s.l.]); (2) to detect the ecological factors driving bryophyte composition; (3) to identify bryophytes’ substrate specificity; and (4) to check the presence of rare and endemic species. The identification of 878 microplots yielded 141 species (71 liverworts and 70 mosses), almost half of those known to occur on Pico Island. The bryophyte species richness followed a parabolic unimodal pattern with a mid-elevation peak, where the richest native forests occur. A canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) of the bryophyte composition and explanatory variables revealed the effect of the elevation, precipitation, disturbance, richness of vascular plants and bark pH in explaining bryophyte compositions at regional levels. Very few species of bryophytes showed substrate specificity. Pico Island’s elevational gradient could be an asset for studying long-term changes in bryophyte species composition and alpha diversity under global change.
- Birds from the Azores : An updated list with some comments on species distributionPublication . Barcelos, Luís Miguel Duarte; Rodrigues, Pedro; Bried, Joël; Pereira, Enésima; Gabriel, Rosalina; Borges, Paulo A. V.BACKGROUND An updated checklist of the Birds of the Azores is presented based on information compiled from Rodrigues et al. (2010) and from the websites, Azores Bird Club. (2014), Aves dos Açores (2014), Azores Bird Sightings (2014) and Vittery (2014), since 2010. NEW INFORMATION The checklist has a total of 414 species, including 38 new species. Almost half of the species and subspecies that occur in the Azores have a Palearctic origin, the remaining ones being essentialy Nearctic and Holarctic species. São Miguel is the island with the highest number of bird species, followed by Terceira, Corvo and Flores islands.