6 research outputs found
The impact of trammel nets as an MPA soft bottom monitoring method
With the global increase of marine protected area (MPA) implementation, the need for monitoring and the
evaluation of their effectiveness becomes ever more important. Currently there is a severe lack of information
about the protection effects of soft-substrate ecosystems. While many different methods have been established
for the monitoring of hard-substrate ecosystems, most of these minimally invasive methods prove ineffective for
soft- bottom habitats. Information and quantification of the impact of monitoring methods is needed to provide
decision makers with the necessary knowledge to choose appropriate and feasible monitoring methods. In this
study we quantify the impact of experimental trammel net fishing as a monitoring method of the soft-substrate
demersal fish community using the Arrábida MPA (Portugal) as a case study. Over the 14 biannual sampling
campaigns (between 2010 and 2019) 21,873 individuals and 5.61 tonnes of fish were caught. The gear is highly
effective with an average catch per unit effort higher than reported for commercial fisheries in adjacent areas.
When excluding the pelagic species, mortality rates are 41.2% and 30.4% in numbers and biomass, respectively.
Most of the dead individuals belong to small, non-protected species with relatively little commercial value while
MPA conservation target groups such as Soleidae and Rajidae have high survival rates. Due to its low size- and
species-selectivity and the high survival rate of protected valuable species, the trammel net experimental fishing
proved to be an effective monitoring method for soft-substrate demersal fish communities. Given their relatively
low impact on the local ecosystem experimental trammel nets are a good alternative for areas where nonextractive
methods are not effective. Nevertheless, quantification of the impact of other monitoring methods is
necessary to enable the determination of the methods with the lowest mortality and impact for future softsubstrate
MPA monitoring.LIFE06 NAT/P/000192
FCT: UID/Multi/04326/2020; DL 57/2016/CP1361/CT0036; European Maritime and Fisheries Fund INFORBIOMARES: POSEUR-03-2215-FC-000047info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Molecular Genetics and Metabolism 86 (2005) S142-S144 Brief communication Use of handheld computers for assessment of prefrontal cortex function in patients with phenylketonuria
Abstract Assessment of prefrontal brain cortex function can be helpful in treatment monitoring in patients with phenylketonuria. We aimed to assess the usefulness of computerized neuropsychological tests developed for handheld computers for this purpose. We observed worse test performance among persons with blood phenylalanine concentrations exceeding the recommended range. Use of handheld computers was assessed by patients and by doctors as interesting, not time-consuming and convenient. This method can be helpful during routine follow-up visits