Article
Ecology
Ana C. Costa, Ana Balibrea, Pedro M. Raposeiro, Sofia Santos, Martin Souto, Vitor Goncalves
Summary: Freshwater ecosystems in the Azores Archipelago are facing threats from non-indigenous species invasions, with the number of introductions steadily increasing and potentially benefiting from climate change and globalization. Plants are the most representative group of introduced species on all islands, while unintentional introductions are on the rise, enhancing the connectivity among the islands.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Filipa C. Soares, Jorge M. Palmeirim, Ana S. L. Rodrigues, Pedro Cardoso, Ricardo F. de Lima
Summary: Humans are quickly reshaping species assemblages on oceanic islands through extinctions and introductions, leading to taxonomic and functional homogenization. Bird extinctions and introductions have promoted taxonomic and functional homogenization on most oceanic islands. While the loss of species with similar traits has led to functional differentiation across archipelagos, this effect is offset by the homogenizing effect of introductions.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Anna Diem, Patricio Ramalhosa, Eva Cacabelos, Jasmine Ferrario, Nuno Castro, Filipe Henriques, Joao Gama Monteiro, Paula Chainho, Christopher Kim Pham, Joao Canning-Clode, Jose Paula, Ignacio Gestoso
Summary: The synergistic effects of biological invasions have long been considered significant causes of biodiversity loss worldwide. Therefore, early detection monitoring is crucial in mitigating nonindigenous species (NIS) threats. However, the current methods used to monitor biological invasions in the marine environment are inadequate in collecting mobile biota and assessing its diversity. This study conducted a pilot study using different prototypes to improve the efficiency of monitoring and to collect more representative samples of both sessile and mobile biota.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2023)
Review
Plant Sciences
Valenti Rull
Summary: This paper compares the impact of human settlement and landscape modifications on Rapa Nui and the Azores Islands. It discusses the similarities and differences between these two islands/archipelagos in terms of colonization, forest removal, and landscape transformations. The study uses evidence from various disciplines to gain a holistic understanding of the socioecological systems of these islands from a human ecodynamic perspective, and identifies unresolved issues and future research prospects.
Article
Entomology
Bozena Lagowska, Katarzyna Golan, Christopher J. Hodgson
Summary: This study describes a new species of mealybug from the Cape Verde Islands, provides a taxonomic key to mealybugs from the Afrotropical Region, and records seven new scale insect species from the Cape Verde Islands. An updated checklist of Coccomorpha species from this region is also provided.
Article
Zoology
Jorge Nunez, Alejandro Martinez
Summary: This study reported two new species of meiofaunal orbiniids in the genus Questa Hartman, 1966, which were discovered during benthic surveys around the Azores and the Canary Islands. The new species, Q. manuelgerardi n. sp. and Questa ericnunezi n. sp., were described, figured, and discussed in detail. In addition, new records of the species Q. caudicirra Hartman, 1966 were provided, and an identification key to the 12 known species of Questa was included.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Paulo A. V. Borges, Lucas Lamelas-Lopez, Michael Schuelke
Summary: This article presents an updated checklist of Staphylinidae in the Azores, based on new identified records from recent studies. The records were obtained through standardized sampling campaigns and non-standardized observations across five islands of the Azores Archipelago. The data includes records from various habitat types and provides new information on an exotic rove-beetle and seven new island records.
BIODIVERSITY DATA JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Matthias Jentzsch, Wolf-Harald Liebig
Summary: Records of soldier flies in Iran now include six species, with the addition of Odontomyia annulata and Adoxomyia cinerascens. The range of Odontomyia annulata has shifted about 1200 km to the east, extending to the eastern Black Sea coast and north-western Caucasus region. The total number of soldier fly species in Iran is now 48.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Italo Fernandez-Cisternas, Jorge Majlis, M. Isidora avila-Thieme, Robert W. Lamb, Alejandro Perez-Matus
Summary: Ecological interactions among reef fishes on two oceanic islands with high rates of endemism show that species composition, density, and abundance impact the type and strength of interactions. Endemic species play a significant role in the interaction networks, and the relative frequency of positive and agonistic interactions varies with species density and richness.
Article
Entomology
Jan Peter Reinier de Vries, Emiel van Loon, Paulo A. Borges
Summary: The research on arthropod diversity in native forests on Terceira Island found that total species richness decreases with elevation for most species, with peaks at mid-high elevation for spiders and endemic species. These patterns are likely driven by climatic factors and human disturbance, showcasing the importance of studying biodiversity along elevation gradients.
Article
Zoology
Antonio Onofre Soares, Hugo Renato Calado, Jose Carlos Franco, Antonio Franquinho Aguiar, Miguel M. Andrade, Vera Zina, Olga M. C. C. Ameixa, Isabel Borges, Alexandra Magro
Summary: A comprehensive annotated checklist of ladybeetle species in Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira, was presented, comprising a total of 101 species with 10 exotic species. The distribution and categorization of the listed species were detailed, with new records reported in the study. The findings provide valuable information for the study of ladybeetle biodiversity in Portugal.
Article
Ecology
Filipa C. Soares, Ricardo F. Lima, Jorge M. Palmeirim, Pedro Cardoso, Ana S. L. Rodrigues
Summary: This study analyzes the impacts of species extinctions and introductions on the functional diversity and composition of island bird assemblages. The results show that introduced species compensate for the loss of species richness and increase the prevalence of functional traits, but they do not compensate for the loss of functional richness due to extinctions. The current island bird assemblages are becoming functionally poorer.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Angela G. Bartolo, Konstantinos Tsiamis, Frithjof C. Kupper
Summary: A study found that invasive non-indigenous species have negative impacts on Mediterranean habitats, which require prioritization and management. By using the CIMPAL model, it is possible to identify high-impact areas and high-priority invasive species, providing important insights for policy-making and fund allocation.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hanna B. Margonska, Jeffrey Champion, Monika M. Lipinska
Summary: Bali and Lombok are popular tourist destinations, but there is limited and scattered information on the orchid flora of these islands. This study attempts to organize and document the unique and often underestimated orchids in Bali and Lombok, and reports several new species records.
Article
Ecology
Alejandro Escanez, Angel Guerra, Rodrigo Riera, Fancisco J. Rocha
Summary: This study systematically reviewed and updated the cephalopod species diversity in the Canary Islands, revealing 85 confirmed species, representing approximately 10% of the overall known cephalopod diversity globally. The cephalopod community in the area was dominated by oceanic species, with shelf-slope and coastal species also present.
REGIONAL STUDIES IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Nuno Castro, James T. Carlton, Ana C. Costa, Carolina S. Marques, Chad L. Hewitt, Eva Cacabelos, Evandro Lopes, Francesca Gizzi, Ignacio Gestoso, Joao G. Monteiro, Jose L. Costa, Manuela Parente, Patricio Ramalhosa, Paul Fofonoff, Paula Chainho, Ricardo Haroun, Ricardo S. Santos, Rogelio Herrera, Tiago Marques, Gregory M. Ruiz, Joao Canning-Clode
Summary: This study aimed to understand the scale and richness of marine biological invasions in Macaronesia. By conducting a comprehensive non-native species inventory and statistical modeling, the researchers identified diversity patterns and native distribution origins. The results showed variations in non-native species richness among different archipelagos in Macaronesia, which were influenced by anthropogenic activities, demographic, and geographical variables.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Joana Micael, Pedro Rodrigues, Alfonso A. Ramos-Espla, Sindri Gislason
Summary: The non-indigenous species Botryllus schlosseri and Diplosoma listerianum are spreading in south-western Iceland, and their breeding activity is influenced by temperature, with more intense larval release during warmer months. Field control actions to keep their population density levels under control should be applied during winter before sexual reproduction and recruitment.
MARINE AND FRESHWATER RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yu-Chun Chang, Neil Mitchell, Rui Quartau, Christian Huebscher, Liliana Rusu, Fernando Tempera
Summary: Sediment waves on the submarine flanks of volcanic islands are identified and studied using multibeam sonar data from the Azores. It is found that these sediment waves are more common on the north slopes of the islands compared to the south slopes. Analysis of sediment mobility, ocean density structure, and sediment lithologies provides insights into the origins of these sediment waves, suggesting that sedimentary gravity flows associated with wind and wave effects are the most likely explanation for the observed asymmetry.
Article
Plant Sciences
Daniel Martin, Maria Capa, Alejandro Martinez, Ana Cristina Costa
Summary: The study describes a new species of large marine bristle worm, Loimia davidi sp. nov., found on São Miguel Island in the Azores. It shares similarities with another large bristle worm species, Loimia gigantea, but also exhibits differences in various morphological features. Through genetic analysis, the large and small specimens of L. davidi sp. nov. were determined to be the same species, and the taxonomic implications of size-dependent morphological differences were discussed. The study also provides an overview of the morphological information of all known species within the Loimia genus and discusses the four species reported in Europe.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TAXONOMY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Joana Micael, Nina Denisenko, Sindri Gislason, Gudmundur Gudmundsson, Piotr Kuklinski, Pedro Rodrigues
Summary: This study highlights the importance of biodiversity of bryozoan species in Icelandic waters, while also indicating the limited understanding of bryozoan diversity and its ecological aspects in the area. It serves as a starting point for further in-depth investigations of this specific group of organisms.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Argyro Zenetos, Konstantinos Tsiamis, Marika Galanidi, Natacha Carvalho, Catia Bartilotti, Joao Canning-Clode, Luca Castriota, Paula Chainho, Robert Comas-Gonzalez, Ana C. Costa, Branko Dragicevic, Jakov Dulcic, Marco Faasse, Ann-Britt Florin, Arjan Gittenberger, Hans Jakobsen, Anders Jelmert, Francis Kerckhof, Maiju Lehtiniemi, Silvia Livi, Kim Lundgreen, Vesna Macic, Cecile Masse, Borut Mavric, Rahmat Naddafi, Martina Orlando-Bonaca, Slavica Petovic, Lydia Png-Gonzalez, Aina Carbonell Quetglas, Romeu S. Ribeiro, Tiago Cidade, Sander Smolders, Peter A. U. Staehr, Frederique Viard, Okko Outinen
Summary: The study lists verified records of non-indigenous species (NIS) in European marine waters until 2020 to establish a baseline, assess trends, and discuss appropriate threshold values for good environmental status (GES) according to relevant European legislation.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Danica Mitrovic, Ellen C. Hopmans, Nicole J. Bale, Nora Richter, Linda A. Amaral-Zettler, Allix J. Baxter, Francien Peterse, Pedro Miguel Raposeiro, Vitor Goncalves, Ana Cristina Costa, Stefan Schouten
Summary: Membrane-spanning archaeal lipids were examined in sediment samples from various lacustrine environments using UHPLC-HRMS. Regular isoprenoidal GDGTs and GDDs were found to be the most abundant membrane-spanning lipids in all samples.
ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Limnology
Emanuela Di Martino, Bjorn Berning, Dennis P. Gordon, Piotr Kuklinski, Lee Hsiang Liow, Mali H. Ramsfjell, Henrique L. Ribeiro, Abigail M. Smith, Paul D. Taylor, Kjetil L. Voje, Andrea Waeschenbach, Arthur Porto
Summary: DeepBryo is a web application based on deep learning for morphometric characterization of cheilostome bryozoans. It has been trained and validated to provide accurate measurements and reduce the time and labor required for manual annotation. DeepBryo enables efficient morphological research in the field of bryozoans.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY-METHODS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Heather E. Grant, Andrew N. Ostrovsky, Helen L. Jenkins, Leandro M. Vieira, Dennis P. Gordon, Peter G. Foster, Olga N. Kotenko, Abigail M. Smith, Bjoern Berning, Joanne S. Porter, Javier Souto, Wayne K. Florence, Kevin J. Tilbrook, Andrea Waeschenbach
Summary: Parental care is crucial for the survival and evolutionary success of offspring in metazoan groups. This study investigated the evolution of incubation chambers in bryozoans and found that at least 10 different types of brood chambers evolved in the Cheilostomatida order. The modular nature of bryozoans likely contributed to the diverse array of incubation chambers observed.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Joana Micael, Saeunn Sigurjonsdottir, Sindri Gislason
Summary: Patterns of biological invasions are influenced by human activities, such as the trade of biota. The aquarium trade, in particular, moves numerous species globally and may lead to the release of unwanted organisms into aquatic systems. A study in Icelandic aquarium stores found a large number of marine species available, some of which have been introduced elsewhere and considered invasive. In addition, many of these species are listed as Vulnerable, Near Threatened, or Endangered. It is crucial to implement management strategies, including information gathering and educational campaigns, to prevent the release of unwanted organisms.
JOURNAL OF COASTAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Neus Campanya-Llovet, Amanda E. Bates, Daphne Cuvelier, Eva Giacomello, Diana Catarino, Andrew J. Gooday, Bjorn Berning, Blanca Figuerola, Manuel A. E. Malaquias, Carlos J. Moura, Joana R. Xavier, Tracey T. Sutton, Laurence Fauconnet, Sofia P. Ramalho, Barbara De Moura Neves, Gui M. Machado, Tammy Horton, Andrey V. Gebruk, Kirill Minin, Joel Bried, Tina Molodtsova, Monica A. Silva, Anna Dilman, Antonina Kremenetskaia, Eudriano F. S. Costa, Jameson Clarke, Helen R. Martins, Christopher K. Pham, Marina Carreiro-Silva, Ana Colaco
Summary: Trait-based approaches have become increasingly popular in the scientific community, providing insights into species vulnerability and ecosystem functioning. The FUN Azores trait database, developed collaboratively by 30 researchers, represents a comprehensive assessment of diverse fauna in the Azores Marine Park. The database covers 14 traits for 1,210 species, highlighting gaps in knowledge related to species behavior and life history. The functional maps generated from the database reveal different distribution patterns among size classes and provide a basis for ecological understanding of the marine park.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Nora Richter, Ellen C. Hopmans, Danica Mitrovic, Pedro M. Raposeiro, Vitor Goncalves, Ana C. Costa, Linda A. Amaral-Zettler, Laura Villanueva, Darci Rush
Summary: Bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs) are lipid molecules produced by bacteria and this study characterized their distribution in lakes and coastal lagoons of the Azores Archipelago. High abundance of BHPs associated with methane-oxidizing bacteria were found in sediments of low-oxygen lakes, while water columns contained dominant BHPs such as BHT. Nucleoside BHPs were found in low abundance under oxic conditions but increased near the chemocline, suggesting in situ production. Different BHPs were detected in coastal lagoons, indicating their potential as taxonomic markers.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Bjoern Berning, Mary Spencer E. Jones
Summary: Of the 21 species recorded from the greater Azores region during the HMS 'Challenger' Expedition, 12 were newly introduced during the late 19th century. Eight of these species were redescribed based on scanning electron microscope analysis, while four species were dealt with shortly due to insufficiently preserved material or recent revisions. Additionally, two Azorean species introduced by later workers were synonymized with 'Challenger' species.
JOURNAL OF THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
(2023)
Article
Education & Educational Research
Ana Isabel Santos, Ana C. Costa, Andrea Z. Botelho, Manuela Parente, Jose Cascalho, Diana Freitas, Andre Behr, Ana Rodrigues, Armando B. Mendes
Summary: This study aims to identify the pedagogical resources used by kindergarten, primary, and secondary teachers in Azores Islands and investigate how these resources are utilized in their teaching practice. The findings suggest that there is still a significant gap in the use of digital resources, particularly learning objects, as a tool to enhance meaningful learning.
EDUCATION SCIENCES
(2022)
Letter
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pedro M. Raposeiro, Armand Hernandez, Sergi Pla-Rabes, Vitor Goncalves, Roberto Bao, Alberto Saez, Timothy Shanahan, Mario Benavente, Erik J. de Boer, Nora Richter, Veronica Gordon, Helena Marques, Pedro M. Sousa, Martin Souto, Miguel G. Matias, Nicole Aguiar, Catia Pereira, Catarina Ritter, Maria Jesus Rubio, Marina Salcedo, David Vazquez-Loureiro, Olga Margalef, Linda A. Amaral-Zettler, Ana Cristina Costa, Yongsong Huang, Jacqueline F. N. van Leeuwen, Pere Masque, Ricardo Prego, Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernandez, Joan-Albert Sanchez-Cabeza, Ricardo Trigo, Santiago Giralt
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)