Impact of eutrophication on the life cycle, population dynamics and production of Ampithoe valida (Amphipoda) along an estuarine spatial gradient (Mondego estuary, Portugal)

The life cycle, population dynamics and production of Ampithoe valida was studied from an intertidal mudflat in central Portugal, close to the northern limit of the species¹ distributional range in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Sampling was carried out in eutrophicated areas, where macroalgae blooms of Enteromorpha spp. occur usually from January to early summer, and also in non-eutrophicated areas, with Zostera noltii meadows. A. valida showed a contagious distribution and the population density clearly changed during the study period along the eutrophication gradient. No migratory patterns were detected between the estuary and the sea, but migrations inside the estuary might have occurred. Females were morphologically recognisable at smaller sizes than males. Females reached sexual maturity before males, but males may live slightly longer than females. Females are iteroparous, producing 2, perhaps 3, broods. A 2-generation life cycle involving a short-lived (7 mo), fast-growing summer generation and a longer-lived (9 mo), slower-growing generation that overwinters is hypothesised. Ovigerous females were present year-round. Eggs, depending on the season, increase differently in volume during marsupial development. No correlations were found between fecundity (number of eggs) and the size of females. Along the eutrophication gradient no differences were found regarding the biology of the species. Besides these features, differences were observed between eutrophicated and non-eutrophicated areas with regard to productivity. Growth production (P) of A. valida in the most eutrophicated area was 0.098 g m-2 18 mo-1 and 0.64 g m-2 18 mo-1 in the Z. noltii meadows. P/B- and E/B- ratios (where E is the elimination production and B- is the average population biomass) ranged from 1.42 and 3.06 in the most eutrophicated area to 5.98 and 12.41 in the Z. noltii beds. To a certain extent, the increase of macroalgae biomass may favour A. valida populations, but extensive blooms affecting the whole area of distribution of this species will determine its disappearanc

Phosphorus speciation and availability in intertidal sediments of a temperate estuary: relation to eutrophication and annual P-fluxes

For a better understanding of the phosphorus dynamics and bioavailability in temperate climates, sequential chemical extraction techniques were used to study sediment P-pools distribution and relative importance in a eutrophicated estuary.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WDV-4D34K0B-4/1/81664d8a2942d81fa74d7a11d696e2b

Hydrological Modeling in temporary streams: A case study in Pardiela basin, Southern Portugal

The project “Conservation and rehabilitation strategies for temporary Mediterranean river corridors: a case study on Pardiela basin, southern Portugal (Guadiana basin)", is being carried out,with the collaboration of researchers from diverse scientific areas, in order to increase the knowledge on temporary streams. The project includes different approaches at reach and basin scales, regarding the study of temporal interactions among different ecological components such as climate, morphology of stream corridor and hydrology. The obtained results were integrated in basin models: Mohid Land, an integrant part of the software Mohid River Network and in SWAT model. The outputs from Mohid Land model defined that there is 10% average of probability of total annual runoff occurrence in headwater reaches. This means that, in headwaters reaches,which represent the major area of the river basin, the percentage of time without runoff is close to 90%, exposing the ephemerality of temporary headwater reaches, the most fragile areas. The main issue related to temporary rivers is regarding water scarcity since rainfall is concentrated in small temporal events which makes water availability management a complex issue. The sustainable development at local and regional levels requires the improvement of conservation and rehabilitation strategies for this ecosystem

Safeguarding freshwater life beyond 2020: Recommendations for the new global biodiversity framework from the European experience

Plans are currently being drafted for the next decade of action on biodiversity-both the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Biodiversity Strategy of the European Union (EU). Freshwater biodiversity is disproportionately threatened and underprioritized relative to the marine and terrestrial biota, despite supporting a richness of species and ecosystems with their own intrinsic value and providing multiple essential ecosystem services. Future policies and strategies must have a greater focus on the unique ecology of freshwater life and its multiple threats, and now is a critical time to reflect on how this may be achieved. We identify priority topics including environmental flows, water quality, invasive species, integrated water resources management, strategic conservation planning, and emerging technologies for freshwater ecosystem monitoring. We synthesize these topics with decades of first-hand experience and recent literature into 14 special recommendations for global freshwater biodiversity conservation based on the successes and setbacks of European policy, management, and research. Applying and following these recommendations will inform and enhance the ability of global and European post-2020 biodiversity agreements to halt and reverse the rapid global decline of freshwater biodiversity

Desafios à gestão da água no contexto das alterações climáticas: a perceção de atores-chave do Baixo Vouga Lagunar

A área de estudo, o Baixo Vouga Lagunar (BVL, Portugal), situa-se na confluência da Ria de Aveiro com o rio Vouga e inclui várias linhas de água doce e de transição sob a influência da maré. Na investigação, agora apresentada, procurou-se esclarecer a problemática da gestão dos recursos hídricos no BVL, tendo em conta os possíveis efeitos das alterações climáticas (AC) e as medidas de adaptação desejáveis. Foi feita uma análise ao conhecimento atual no que se refere às pressões (existentes e potenciais) sobre os recursos hídricos em cenários de alterações climáticas, bem como um estudo sobre a perceção dos atores-chave do BVL sobre os impactes das AC, através de 18 entrevistas. A análise das entrevistas permitiu verificar que as AC não constituem a maior preocupação no BVL e que o impacte causado é bem menor do que o atribuído a outros fatores, nomeadamente alterações na geomorfologia da laguna. O estudo mostrou que os problemas existentes no BVL (intrusão salina, inundações, entre outros) apresentam-se como prioritários e daí a necessidade da sua consideração na formulação de políticas públicas, independentemente de decorrerem diretamente ou indiretamente das AC.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Psychosocial drivers for change: understanding and promoting stakeholder engagement in local adaptation to climate change in three European Mediterranean case studies

Stakeholder engagement in the processes of planning local adaptation to climate change faces many challenges. The goal of this work was to explore whether or not the intention of engaging could be understood (Study 1) and promoted (Study 2), by using an extension of the theory of planned behaviour. In Study 1, stakeholders from three European Mediterranean case studies were surveyed: Baixo Vouga Lagunar (Portugal), SCOT Provence Méditerranée (France), and the island of Crete (Greece) (N = 115). Stakeholders' intention of engaging was significantly predicted by subjective norm (which was predicted by injunctive normative beliefs towards policy-makers and stakeholders) and by perceived behavioural control (which was predicted by knowledge of policy and instruments). Study 2 was conducted in the Baixo Vouga Lagunar case study and consisted of a two-workshop intervention where issues on local and regional adaptation, policies, and engagement were presented and discussed. A within-participants comparison of initial survey results with results following the workshops (NT1 = 12, NT2 = 15, NT3 = 12) indicated that these were successful in increasing stakeholders' intention of engaging. This increase was paired with a) an increase in injunctive normative beliefs towards policy-makers and consequently in subjective norm, and to b) a decrease in perceived complexity of planning local adaptation and an increase in knowledge regarding adaptation to climate change.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

An integrated Pan-European perspective on coastal Lagoons management through a mosaic-DPSIR approach

© The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Scientific Reports 6 (2016): 19400, doi:10.1038/srep19400.A decision support framework for the management of lagoon ecosystems was tested using four European Lagoons: Ria de Aveiro (Portugal), Mar Menor (Spain), Tyligulskyi Liman (Ukraine) and Vistula Lagoon (Poland/Russia). Our aim was to formulate integrated management recommendations for European lagoons. To achieve this we followed a DPSIR (Drivers-Pressures-State Change-Impacts-Responses) approach, with focus on integrating aspects of human wellbeing, welfare and ecosystem sustainability. The most important drivers in each lagoon were identified, based on information gathered from the lagoons’ stakeholders, complemented by scientific knowledge on each lagoon as seen from a land-sea perspective. The DPSIR cycles for each driver were combined into a mosaic-DPSIR conceptual model to examine the interdependency between the multiple and interacting uses of the lagoon. This framework emphasizes the common links, but also the specificities of responses to drivers and the ecosystem services provided. The information collected was used to formulate recommendations for the sustainable management of lagoons within a Pan-European context. Several common management recommendations were proposed, but specificities were also identified. The study synthesizes the present conditions for the management of lagoons, thus analysing and examining the activities that might be developed in different scenarios, scenarios which facilitate ecosystem protection without compromising future generations.This study was supported by the European Commission, under the 7th Framework Programme, through the collaborative research project LAGOONS (contract n° 283157); by European funds through COMPETE and by Portuguese funds through the national Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT (PEst-C/MAR/LA0017/2013). The post-Doc grant SFRH/BPD/41117/2007 (M Dolbeth) and the PhD grant SFRH/BD/79170/2011 (LP Sousa) supported by FCT are also acknowledged

Global typologies of coastal wetland status to inform conservation and management

Global-scale conservation initiatives and policy instruments rely on ecosystem indicators to track progress towards targets and objectives. A deeper understanding of indicator interrelationships would benefit these efforts and help characterize ecosystem status. We study interrelationships among 34 indicators for mangroves, saltmarsh, and seagrass ecosystems, and develop data-driven, spatially explicit typologies of coastal wetland status at a global scale. After accounting for environmental covariates and gap-filling missing data, we obtained two levels of clustering at 5 and 18 typologies, providing outputs at different scales for different end users. We generated 2,845 cells (1° (lat) × 1° (long)) globally, of which 29.7% were characterized by high land- and marine-based impacts and a high proportion of threatened species, 13.5% by high climate-based impacts, and 9.6% were refuges with lower impacts, high fish density and a low proportion of threatened species. We identify instances where specific actions could have positive outcomes for coastal wetlands across regions facing similar issues. For example, land- and marine-based threats to coastal wetlands were associated with ecological structure and function indicators, suggesting that reducing these threats may reduce habitat degradation and threats to species persistence. However, several interdimensional relationships might be affected by temporal or spatial mismatches in data. Weak relationships mean that global biodiversity maps that categorize areas by single indicators (such as threats or trends in habitat size) may not be representative of changes in other indicators (e.g., ecosystem function). By simplifying the complex global mosaic of coastal wetland status and identifying regions with similar issues that could benefit from knowledge exchange across national boundaries, we help set the scene for globally and regionally coordinated conservation

Effects of climate and atmospheric nitrogen deposition on early to mid-term stage litter decomposition across biomes

Litter decomposition is a key process for carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and is mainly controlled by environmental conditions, substrate quantity and quality as well as microbial community abundance and composition. In particular, the effects of climate and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on litter decomposition and its temporal dynamics are of significant importance, since their effects might change over the course of the decomposition process. Within the TeaComposition initiative, we incubated Green and Rooibos teas at 524 sites across nine biomes. We assessed how macroclimate and atmospheric inorganic N deposition under current and predicted scenarios (RCP 2.6, RCP 8.5) might affect litter mass loss measured after 3 and 12 months. Our study shows that the early to mid-term mass loss at the global scale was affected predominantly by litter quality (explaining 73% and 62% of the total variance after 3 and 12 months, respectively) followed by climate and N deposition. The effects of climate were not litter-specific and became increasingly significant as decomposition progressed, with MAP explaining 2% and MAT 4% of the variation after 12 months of incubation. The effect of N deposition was litter-specific, and significant only for 12-month decomposition of Rooibos tea at the global scale. However, in the temperate biome where atmospheric N deposition rates are relatively high, the 12-month mass loss of Green and Rooibos teas decreased significantly with increasing N deposition, explaining 9.5% and 1.1% of the variance, respectively. The expected changes in macroclimate and N deposition at the global scale by the end of this century are estimated to increase the 12-month mass loss of easily decomposable litter by 1.1-3.5% and of the more stable substrates by 3.8-10.6%, relative to current mass loss. In contrast, expected changes in atmospheric N deposition will decrease the mid-term mass loss of high-quality litter by 1.4-2.2% and that of low-quality litter by 0.9-1.5% in the temperate biome. Our results suggest that projected increases in N deposition may have the capacity to dampen the climate-driven increases in litter decomposition depending on the biome and decomposition stage of substrate

Introducing the H2020 AQUACROSS project: Knowledge, assessment, and management for AQUAtic biodiversity and ecosystem services aCROSS EU policies

The AQUACROSS project was an unprecedented effort to unify policy concepts, knowledge, and management of freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems to support the cost-effective achievement of the targets set by the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. AQUACROSS aimed to support EU efforts to enhance the resilience and stop the loss of biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems as well as to ensure the ongoing and future provision of aquatic ecosystem services. The project focused on advancing the knowledge base and application of Ecosystem-Based Management. Through elaboration of eight diverse case studies in freshwater and marine and estuarine aquatic ecosystem across Europe covering a range of environmental management problems including, eutrophication, sustainable fisheries as well as invasive alien species AQUACROSS demonstrated the application of a common framework to establish cost-effective measures and integrated Ecosystem-Based Management practices. AQUACROSS analysed the EU policy framework (i.e. goals, concepts, time frames) for aquatic ecosystems and built on knowledge stemming from different sources (i.e. WISE, BISE, Member State reporting within different policy processes, modelling) to develop innovative management tools, concepts, and business models (i.e. indicators, maps, ecosystem assessments, participatory approaches, mechanisms for promoting the delivery of ecosystem services) for aquatic ecosystems at various scales of space and time and relevant to different ecosystem types