Metal contamination in Ria Formosa saltmarsh sediments and halophyte vegetation

Saltmarsh vegetation may retain certain substances from anthropogenic activities in surrounding areas, providing a control of contaminants such as heavy metals, coming from industry, agriculture and urbanization. In the last decades there are been na increase in urbanization and industrialization of the area surrounding Marim – Ria Formosa, where this study was performed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of hydraulic dredging on the physiological responses of the target species <i>Chamelea gallina</i> (Mollusca: Bivalvia): laboratory experiments and field surveys

El efecto del stress mecánico en la chirla Chamelea gallina durante el dragado hidráulico se estimó tanto en el laboratorio como en estudios de campo, midiendo algunos marcadores fisiológicos a nivel de los organismos (tasa de aclarado, tasa de respiración, energía disponible para el crecimiento y supervivencia en pruebas fuera del agua). En el laboratorio se simuló el stress mecánico mediante agitación de las chirlas en un mezclador vortex. En el campo, las chirlas se recolectaron estacionalmente en dos puntos de muestreo a lo largo de la costa del Adriático norte (Lido y Jesolo) y se aplicaron cuatro niveles de stress: el más alto fue el utilizado en la pesca comercial (i.e. alta presión de agua y separación mecánica) y el más bajo fue el muestreo manual por submarinistas. La supervivencia fuera del agua fue el marcador más sensible en la evaluación del stress mecánico en el laboratorio. La tasa de aclarado también decreció significativamente cuando se aplicó agitación. Los resultados de campo indicaron que la alta presión de agua y separación mecanizada afectaron el aclarado, la energía disponible para el crecimiento y la supervivencia fuera del agua, mostrando todos ellos tendencias decrecientes a medida que el stress mecánico incrementaba en los dos puntos de muestreo. Los efectos perjudiciales de la perturbación mecánica pueden ser enfatizados dependiendo de la estación, cuando incrementa el stress endógeno y externo. Se destaca un riesgo potencial para las chirlas pequeñas que son pescadas y posteriormente descartadas

Plankton community and copepod production in a temperate coastal lagoon: what is changing in a short temporal scale?

Coastal lagoons are often exposed to intense short-term environmental changes and strong anthropogenic pressures influencing zooplanktonic communities and production. However, most works focus on long-term temporal scales using monthly or seasonal sampling strategies. The present study analysed the structure of the mesozooplanktonic assemblages, the production (egg production rates) and physiological condition (RNA:DNA ratio) of the copepod Acartia clausi in a temperate coastal lagoon (Ria Formosa) during the summer, using an intensive sampling approach. Salinity was the main factor affecting the short-term variability of mesozooplankton composition, followed by tidal phase (ebb tides) and semilunar cycle (spring tides). There was a positive relationship between the abundance of Appendicularia and the cladoceran Penilia avirostris with the toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum, suggesting no deleterious effects. The egg production rate of A. clausi was influenced by salinity and ammonia concentration, with a positive correlation between the egg productivity and the macronutrient, showing a possible adaptation of this calanoid species. The RNA:DNA index was positively related to egg production rate, suggesting that it is a good proxy for the reproductive output of copepods, even in short-term periods. This study shows that different timescales need to be included in regular monitoring of planktonic assemblages in coastal lagoons in order to understand the influence of environmental and anthropogenic variables on marine organisms.Investigador FCT Program: IF/01546/2015. European Regional Development Fund (COMPETE program- Operational Competitiveness Programme), and Portuguese national funds from FCT through projects MODELA (PTDC/MAR/098643/2008), UID/Multi/04326/2016, UID/Multi/04326/2019 and UID/MAR/04292/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

RNA:DNA ratios as a proxy of egg production rates of Acartia

Estimates of copepod secondary production are of great importance to infer the global organic matter fluxes in aquatic ecosystems and species-specific responses of zooplankton to hydrologic variability. However, there is still no routine method to determine copepods secondary production in order to eliminate time consuming experimental analyses. Therefore, we determined whether there is a correlation between Egg Production Rates (EPR) and RNA:DNA ratios of Acartia species, by measuring their seasonal and spatial variability and the influence of environmental factors for Acartia sp. collected in the Guadiana river estuary. EPR of Acartia tonsa was positively related with chlorophyll a concentration, freshwater inflow and biomass of dinoflagellates, while Acartia clausi was only related to dinoflagellates. Dinoflagellates seem to be the optimal food item influencing the reproduction of both Acartia species in the studied area. The biochemical index RNA:DNA was positively related to EPR, indicating that it is a good proxy of copepod production and a promising method to use in the future to estimate secondary production. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [SFRH/BD/28198/2006]FCT [SFRH/BSAB/113684/2015, SFRH/BPD/105419/2014, IF/01546/2015]FTC [UID/Multi/04326/2013]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Metals from human activities in a coastal Lagoon Saltmarsh - Sediment toxicity and phytoremediation by Sarcocornia fruticosa

Anthropogenic pressure on coastal areas has been increasing in the last decades, threating the saltmarshes and the ecosystem services they provide. Sarcocornia fruticosa can have an important role in sequestration of metals from human activities. This study evaluated the effect of metal toxicity in saltmarsh sediment (measured by Ecological Risk Index-ERI) on S. fruticosa ability to metal (Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn) remediation (Enrichment Factor and metal translocation). The impact of urbanization was studied through the metal loads on stormwaters during two main rainfall events, and the industrial impact was assessed through data analyses in a saltmarsh area influenced by a stream that receives industrial runoffs. The S. fruticosa response on metal remediation was affected by ERI. In more polluted locations, retained metals on roots and prevented the most toxic (Cd and Pb) from reaching the aerial organs, avoiding tissues death and metal remobilisation to the saltmarsh. Meanwhile, in rhizosediments with conditions to high metal bioavailability, S. fruticosa transported Cd and Pb to aerial organs, but used the Zn translocation to decrease their toxicity. This halophyte resilience is important to saltmarsh metal sequestration in high toxicity conditions, and allows the maintenance of other ecosystem services, contributing to the environmental protection and public health.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development of a metric of aquatic invertebrates for volunteers (MAIV): a simple and friendly biotic metric to assess ecological quality of streams

Citizen science activities, involving local people in volunteer-supported and sustainable monitoring programs, are common. In this context, the objective of the present work was to develop a simple Metric of Aquatic Invertebrates for Volunteers (MAIV), including a user-friendly tool that can be easily accessed by volunteers, and to evaluate the e ciency of a volunteer monitoring program following an audit procedure. To obtain MAIV values, macroinvertebrate communities were reduced to 18 surrogate taxa, which represented an acceptable compromise between simplicity, e ciency, and reproducibility of the data, compared to the regular Water Framework Directive monitoring. When compared to results obtained with the National Classification System of Portugal, MAIV accurately detected moderate, poor, and bad ecological status. Thus, MAIV can be used by volunteers as a complement to the o cial monitoring program, as well as a prospective early warning tool for local problems related to ecological quality. Volunteers were students supervised by their teachers. Results obtained by volunteers were compared to results obtained by experts on macroinvertebrate identification to measure the e ciency of the procedure, by counting gains and losses on sorting, and identification. Characteristics of groups of volunteers (age and school level) did not influence significantly the e ciency of the procedure, and generally results of volunteers and experts matched.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Food web structure of three Mediterranean stream reaches along a gradient of anthropogenic impact

Anthropogenic impact can alter food web structure through changes in species interactions. In this study, we explored the food web of three Mediterranean stream reaches (two seasonal and one permanent) along an anthropogenic impact gradient to test the hypothesis that increasing impact simplifies food webs. To test this, we applied the isotopic (δ13C and δ15N) niche concept to compare reaches using isotopic metrics (isotopic richness, divergence, dispersion, evenness, and redundancy). The isotopic indices were useful to identify differences in food web architecture among the three reaches. The least impacted site had the highest isotopic richness, dispersion, and isotopic redundancy, suggesting higher ecological resilience at this site. The effect of disturbance in the remaining two sites was masked by the presence of invasive crayfish, which increased isotopic divergence and was responsible for higher food-chain length in the most impacted reach, but not in the moderately impacted reach. Consumers displayed generalistic feeding habits, with Bayesian mixing models indicating that they relied primarily on a mixture of periphyton, other macroinvertebrates, and to a lesser extent, detritus. Some taxa displayed changes in their dietary habitats depending on the site, indicating that the same type of taxa fed on distinct foods at each stream reach

Long-term effects of fishing on physiological performance of the Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) in the Lagoon of Venice

The Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) is an important economic resource for fisheries in the Lagoon of Venice, where this species is fished and farmed. With the aim of evaluating possible fishing-induced long-term effects undergone by clam populations subjected to fishing efforts, physiological biomarkers were measured at organism level (clearance and respiration rates, scope for growth and survival-in-air test). Clams were collected on a seasonal basis from sites characterized by various fishing management practices: a free fishing area at S. Angelo and an area licensed for clam farming at Chioggia, where a non-fishing sub-area was established. R. philippinarum collected at S. Angelo generally showed reduced filtering activity and higher oxygen consumption, revealing general worsening in clam well-being in comparison with individuals from both Chioggia areas. This condition, resulting in lower standardized scope for growth values, may be explained by both environmental and fishing effort differences. Comparing Chioggia samples, better physiological performances were exhibited by clams from the non-fishing area, though no significant differences were observed. In winter, the survival-in-air test revealed the detrimental effects of fishing on clams, whereas in the other seasons this response generally seemed to be mostly related to other exogenous and endogenous factors. Although differences among sites and seasons were always statistically significant, all physiological parameters indicate the great tolerance of R. philippinarum to changing environmental conditions.European Commission [99/062

International Centre for Coastal Ecohydrology: applying the ecohydrology approach for the sustainable functioning of coastal ecosystems

Coastal areas are among the most sensitive and productive ecosystems around the world, providing for the subsistence of large numbers of people, particularly in developing countries. Human pressure on coastal areas has dramatically increased during the last decades and climate changes will pose new threats to these areas, as expected from sea-level rise and the decrease in freshwater discharges from rivers (Chicharo et al., 2009). The International Centre for Coastal Ecohydrology (ICCE) a newly approved centre under the auspices of UNESCO, in October 2009, is located in the Algarve region (south Portugal). The centre acts as a facilitator and synergetic structure by providing the articulation of different scientific and institutional stakeholders at national and international levels. ICCE aims are to contribute scientific knowledge, capacity-building, educational and dissemination activities to support, design and implement adaptation and mitigation strategies and policies for coastal zones, including the impacts of climate change, addressing the goals of the Strategic Plan of the 7th Phase of UNESCO-IHP, the Millennium Development Goals (UN-MDGs) and the key themes for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UN-DESD), particularly in African and Mediterranean regions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Climate change vulnerability assessment of the main marine commercial fish and invertebrates of Portugal

This is the first attempt to apply an expert-based ecological vulnerability assessment of the effects of climate change on the main marine resources of Portugal. The vulnerability, exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity, and expected directional effects of 74 species of fish and invertebrates of commercial interest is estimated based on criteria related to their life-history and level of conservation or exploitation. This analysis is performed separately for three regions of Portugal and two scenarios of climate change (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). To do that, the fourth assessment report IPCC framework for vulnerability assessments was coupled to the outputs of a physical-biogeochemical model allowing to weight the exposure of the species by the expected variability of the environmental variables in the future. The highest vulnerabilities were found for some migratory and elasmobranch species, although overall vulnerability scores were low probably due to the high adaptive capacity of species from temperate ecosystems. Among regions, the highest average vulnerability was estimated for the species in the Central region while higher vulnerabilities were identified under climate change scenario RCP 8.5 in the three regions, due to higher expected climatic variability. This work establishes the basis for the assessment of the vulnerability of the human activities relying on marine resources in the context of climate change.FCT: UIDB/04326/2020/ UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020; MAR2020-FEAMP through project CLIMA-PESCA: MAR-01.03.02-FEAMP-0052/ n2/SAICT/2017-SAICT/ SAICT-45-2017-02/ ALG-01-0145-FEDER-028518/ PTDC/ASP-PES/28518/2017info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio