A State-of-the-Art Review of Marine Ecosystem Services in the Rías Baixas Natura 2000 Network (Galicia, NW Spain)

Humans are deeply connected to the oceans, who provide us vital ecosystem services (ES) (climate regulation, control of natural threats, wealth of its biodiversity, etc.), but the oceans are the first to suffer from human activity (climate change, destruction of ecosystems, overexploitation of marine resources, pollution, endangered species, etc.). Marine biodiversity is a fundamental natural capital in the generation of marine ecosystem services (MES), fundamental elements for the maintenance of human wellbeing. The objective of this article is to empirically demonstrate the role of marine ES in natural protected areas in Nature 2000 Rías Baixas (N2RB) (Galicia, NW Spain) in order to (1) to improve the knowledge on natural capital and ES associated to conserved coastal areas, (2) to analyze the contribution of these conserved coastal areas to the provision of sustainable business opportunities, and (3) to analyze if green-oriented policies can revert the current unsustainable exploitation model by providing real opportunities for business development. By creating an inventory, we gathered detailed information collected up to October 2020 of scientific literature, research projects, press releases, information on business initiatives and public policies regulations on ES and conservation of marine biodiversity in the N2RB (Cíes Islands and Island of Ons, including the Ons–O Grove Complex). Better protection of marine natural capital needs coordinated efforts among all sectors of government, business, and international institutions. It is a priority to generate a greater degree of social and business commitment that promotes the conservation of marine biodiversity, through the design of social and business participation strategies in the planning and use of ES in the N2RB areasThis work has been carried out within the framework of the ECOSOCIETY Project (Citizen participation for the improvement of conservation of marine biodiversity in the areas Rías Baixas Natura 2000 Network), with the support of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, through the Biodiversity Foundation. PP received funds from the Xunta de Galicia under the modality of Grupos de Referencia Competitiva (Grant ED431C2019/11), and RECREGES I and II projects under Grants ED481B2014/034-0 and ED481B2018/017S

Relevancia de la pesca recreativa desde la costa en el archipiélago de Madeira, Portugal (Atlántico nororiental)

In 2017, a total of 4825 licences were issued for shore angling in Madeira. Surveys were conducted on 734 anglers, some in the government fisheries office during the licence request and others during the fishing activity. Shore angling is practised throughout the year, mostly at weekends and during day time, and with an increase in summer. More than 60% of the anglers are unemployed, have low incomes, and spend on average €254 per person per year on this activity, adding up to a total of €1.16 million per year. Shore angling average number of fishing days per year per fisher was 65.1±62.0 and the average catch per unit of effort was 0.35±0.26 kg/angler/hour. The estimated total annual catch was 520.7 t. Forty-three teleost species, 2 elasmobranchs and 6 invertebrates were identified in the catches. Despite the limitations and inaccuracies inherent to the surveys, they still provided valuable information and gave a general perception of the recreational shore fisheries in Madeira. The possible impact on the most captured species, such as the white seabream, Diplodus sargus (Linnaeus, 1758), and the parrotfish Sparisoma cretense (Linnaeus, 1758), should be analysed because high fishing pressure could affect populations and ecosystems.En 2017 se tramitaron un total de 4825 licencias para la pesca recreativa desde la costa en la Región Autónoma de Madeira. En este periodo se realizaron 734 encuestas a los pescadores de esta modalidad, algunas en las oficinas, durante el trámite necesario para obtener la licencia y otras a personas mientras estaban pescando. La pesca desde la costa es una actividad que se practica durante todo el año, principalmente los fines de semana y normalmente durante el día, con un aumento de pescadores durante el verano. Más del 60% están desempleados o tienen bajos ingresos, y gastan en promedio 254 € por persona al año en esta actividad, contabilizándose un total de 1.16 millones de € por año. El numero medio de días de pesca por pescador al año fue de 65.1±62.0, mientras que la CPUE media fue de 0.35±0.26 kg/pescador/hora. La captura anual total estimada fue de 520.7 t, y se identificaron 43 especies de teleósteos, 2 de elasmobranquios y 6 de invertebrados en las capturas. A pesar de las limitaciones e imprecisiones inherentes a las encuestas, por primera vez se ha logrado obtener una valiosa información, que nos permite tener una percepción general de la pesca recreativa desde la costa en Madeira. El posible impacto sobre las especies más capturadas, como el sargo Diplodus sargus (Linnaeus, 1758) y la vieja Sparisoma cretense (Linnaeus, 1758), debe ser analizado ya que están sujetos a una importante presión pesquera que podría afectar a sus poblaciones y al ecosistema

The tritryps comparative repeatome: insights on repetitive element evolution in trypanosomatid pathogens

The major human pathogens Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei, and Leishmania major are collectively known as the Tritryps. The initial comparative analysis of their genomes has uncovered that Tritryps share a great number of genes, but repetitive DNA seems to be extremely variable between them. However, the in-depth characterization of repetitive DNA in these pathogens has been in part neglected, mainly due to the well-known technical challenges of studying repetitive sequences from de novo assemblies using short reads. Here, we compared the repetitive DNA repertories between the Tritryps genomes using genome-wide, low-coverage Illumina sequencing coupled to RepeatExplorer analysis. Our work demonstrates that this extensively implemented approach for studying higher eukaryote repeatomes is also useful for protozoan parasites like trypanosomatids, as we recovered previously observed differences in the presence and amount of repetitive DNA families. Additionally, our estimations of repetitive DNA abundance were comparable to those obtained from enhanced-quality assemblies using longer reads. Importantly, our methodology allowed us to describe a previously undescribed transposable element in Leishmania major (TATE element), highlighting its potential to accurately recover distinctive features from poorly characterized repeatomes. Together, our results support the application of this low-cost, low-coverage sequencing approach for the extensive characterization of repetitive DNA evolutionary dynamics in trypanosomatid and other protozoan genomes

Satellitome analysis of Rhodnius prolixus, one of the main Chagas disease vector species

The triatomine Rhodnius prolixus is the main vector of Chagas disease in countries such as Colombia and Venezuela, and the first kissing bug whose genome has been sequenced and assembled. In the repetitive genome fraction (repeatome) of this species, the transposable elements represented 19% of R. prolixus genome, being mostly DNA transposon (Class II elements). However, scarce information has been published regarding another important repeated DNA fraction, the satellite DNA (satDNA), or satellitome. Here, we offer, for the first time, extended data about satellite DNA families in the R. prolixus genome using bioinformatics pipeline based on low-coverage sequencing data. The satellitome of R. prolixus represents 8% of the total genome and it is composed by 39 satDNA families, including four satDNA families that are shared with Triatoma infestans, as well as telomeric (TTAGG)n and (GATA)n repeats, also present in the T. infestans genome. Only three of them exceed 1% of the genome. Chromosomal hybridization with these satDNA probes showed dispersed signals over the euchromatin of all chromosomes, both in autosomes and sex chromosomes. Moreover, clustering analysis revealed that most abundant satDNA families configured several superclusters, indicating that R. prolixus satellitome is complex and that the four most abundant satDNA families are composed by different subfamilies. Additionally, transcription of satDNA families was analyzed in different tissues, showing that 33 out of 39 satDNA families are transcribed in four different patterns of expression across samples

Economic contribution and social welfare of recreational charter boat fisheries in the northeast Atlantic: The cases of Galicia (Spain) and Madeira archipelago (Portugal)

Recreational charter boat fisheries provide alternative economic development to traditional commercial fisheries, especially to coastal communities in warm seas. Charter boat fishing has been little studied in temperate regions, and the factors that trigger its development and social contribution to fishing communities are unknown. We performed an economic analysis of recreational charter boat fisheries in the Eastern North Atlantic to assess their contribution to social welfare. We selected two case studies located in Galicia (NW Spain) and Madeira archipelago (Portugal). The two cases differ in the socioecological attributes in which recreational charter boat fishing is developed (e.g., relevance of commercial fishing, tourism, or targeted species), that were included in the assessment. Up to 7 charter fishing companies were identified in Galicia (10 boats) and 14 in Madeira (18 boats), and information on the costs and benefits of the activity were collected by a questionnaire answered by company managers and skippers. Charter boats in Galicia are operating throughout the year, and anglers mostly engage in bottom fishing targeting demersal predators like ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) and European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) that they retain. Despite the strong seasonality of the fishery in Madeira, focused on summers, the fishing effort is higher than in Galicia. On average, charter boats go fishing for 39.3 ± 41.5 (SD) fishing journeys and take 2 500 anglers on board per year in Galicia, while in Madeira they fish 63.7 ± 32.7 journeys and take 3 200 anglers on board. Anglers target in Madeira pelagic top predators like blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), or some tuna species, e.g., bigeye (Thunnus obesus), by trolling in a catch and release fishery. The economic balance of companies was more favorable in Madeira, with an average gross annual profit of € 28 883 ± 30 755, while economic yield in Galicia was € 4 444 ± 7 916. We also applied a travel cost method to assess the recreation demand of recreational fishing trips based on a questionnaire answered by 150 clients in Galicia and 55 in Madeira. We estimated the visitor surplus mean value to be € 1 385 per year in Galicia (95% confidence interval, CI95%= € 1 219 – € 1 550), and € 1 738 in Madeira (CI95%= € 1 433 – 2 043). The social annual recreation value of Galician fishery was worth € 3.4 Million, ranging between € 3.0 M and € 3.8 M, a value well below the annual economic impact generated by commercial fishing (€ 700 M). The recreation value of the charter boat fishery in Madeira, € 6.3 M, ranging between € 5.2 M and € 7.5 M, is comparable to the annual economic impact of commercial fishing, that contributes to the local economy with € 12 M

Biology of the <em>Trypanosoma cruzi</em> Genome

The genome of Trypanosoma cruzi was first made available in 2005, and the intrinsic genome complexity of this parasite has hindered high-quality genome assembly and annotation. Recent technological developments in long read sequencing allowed to circumvent this problem, showing very interesting features in the genome architecture of T. cruzi, allowing to accurately estimate gene copy numbers, abundance and distribution of repetitive sequences (including satellites and retroelements), and the complexity of multigene families implied in host-parasite interactions. The genome of T. cruzi is composed of a “core compartment” and a “disruptive compartment” which exhibit opposite GC content and gene composition, with high differences on their regulatory regions. The novel tandem and dispersed repetitive sequences identified, in addition to recombination events, allows to conclude that genome plasticity is a key survival strategy during its complex life cycle

Using graph theory and social media data to assess cultural ecosystem services in coastal areas: Method development and application

The use of social media (SM) data has emerged as a promising tool for the assessment of cultural ecosystem services (CES). Most studies have focused on the use of single SM platforms and on the analysis of photo content to assess the demand for CES. Here, we introduce a novel methodology for the assessment of CES using SM data through the application of graph theory network analyses (GTNA) on hashtags associated to SM posts and compare it to photo content analysis. We applied the proposed methodology on two SM platforms, Instagram and Twitter, on three worldwide known case study areas, namely Great Barrier Reef, Galapagos Islands and Easter Island. Our results indicate that the analysis of hashtags through graph theory offers similar capabilities to photo content analysis in the assessment of CES provision and the identification of CES providers. More importantly, GTNA provides greater capabilities at identifying relational values and eudaimonic aspects associated to nature, elusive aspects for photo content analysis. In addition, GTNA contributes to the reduction of the interpreter's bias associated to photo content analyses, since GTNA is based on the tags provided by the users themselves. The study also highlights the importance of considering data from different social media platforms, as the type of users and the information offered by these platforms can show different CES attributes. The ease of application and short computing processing times involved in the application of GTNA makes it a cost-effective method with the potential of being applied to large geographical scales.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures, 2 appendice

Comparative repeatome analysis on Triatoma infestans Andean and Non-Andean lineages, main vector of Chagas disease

Triatoma infestans is the most important Chagas disease vector in South America. Two main evolutionary lineages, named Andean and non-Andean, have been recognized by geographical distribution, phenetic and genetic characteristics. One of the main differences is the genomic size, varying over 30% in their haploid DNA content. Here we realize a genome wide analysis to compare the repetitive genome fraction (repeatome) between both lineages in order to identify the main repetitive DNA changes occurred during T. infestans differentiation process. RepeatExplorer analysis using Illumina reads showed that both lineages exhibit the same amount of non-repeat sequences, and that satellite DNA is by far the major component of repetitive DNA and the main responsible for the genome size differentiation between both lineages. We characterize 42 satellite DNA families, which are virtually all present in both lineages but with different amount in each lineage. Furthermore, chromosomal location of satellite DNA by fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that genomic variations in T. infestans are mainly due to satellite DNA families located on the heterochromatic regions. The results also show that many satDNA families are located on the euchromatic regions of the chromosomes

Using graph theory and social media data to assess cultural ecosystem services in coastal areas: Method development and application

The use of social media (SM) data has emerged as a promising tool for the assessment of cultural ecosystem services (CES). Most studies have focused on the use of single SM platforms and on the analysis of photo content to assess the demand for CES. Here, we introduce a novel methodology for the assessment of CES using SM data through the application of graph theory network analyses (GTNA) on hashtags associated to SM posts and compare it to photo content analysis. We applied the proposed methodology on two SM platforms, Instagram and Twitter, on three worldwide known case study areas, namely Great Barrier Reef, Galapagos Islands and Easter Island. Our results indicate that the analysis of hashtags through graph theory offers similar capabilities to photo content analysis in the assessment of CES provision and the identification of CES providers. More importantly, GTNA provides greater capabilities at identifying relational values and eudaimonic aspects associated to nature, elusive aspects for photo content analysis. In addition, GTNA contributes to the reduction of the interpreter’s bias associated to photo content analyses, since GTNA is based on the tags provided by the users themselves. The study also highlights the importance of considering data from different SM platforms, as the type of users and the information offered by these platforms can show different CES attributes. The ease of application and relative short computing processing times involved in the application of GTNA makes it a cost-effective method with the potential of being applied to large geographical scalesThis work is a result of the ECOMAR Network, “Evaluation and monitoring of marine ecosystem services in Iberoamérica” (project number 417RT0528) funded by the CYTED program. During the time of the study and writing period ARF was supported by a H2020-Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action MSCA-IF-2014 (ref. 655475); AOA was supported by a H2020-Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action MSCA-IF-2016 (ref. 746361); SdJ was supported by a H2020-Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action MSCA-IF-2016 (ref. 743545); PP was funded by the Xunta de Galicia (RECREGES II Project, Grant ED481B2018/ 017)S

Holocentric chromosome evolution in kissing bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae): diversification of repeated sequences

Background: The analysis of the chromosomal and genome evolution in organisms with holocentric chromosomes is restricted by the lack of primary constriction or centromere. An interesting group is the hemipteran subfamily Triatominae, vectors of Chagas disease, which affects around 6 to 7 million people worldwide. This group exhibits extensive variability in the number and chromosomal location of repeated sequences such as heterochromatin and ribosomal genes. This paper tries to reveal the significant differences of the repeated sequences among Triatoma species through the use of genomic DNA probes. Methods: We analysed the chromosomal distribution and evolution of repeated sequences in Triatoma species by genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) using genomic DNA probes from two North American Triatoma species. These genomic probes were hybridized both on their own chromosomes and on other Triatoma species from North and South America, with different amounts and chromosome location of C-heterochromatin. The results were compared with those previously described using South American Triatoma genomic probes. Results: We observed two chromosomal hybridization patterns: (i) very intense hybridization signals concentrated on specific chromosomal regions or particular chromosomes; and (ii) lower intensity hybridization signals dispersed along all chromosomes. Self-GISH on T. rubrofasciata and T. dimidiata chromosomes presented strong hybridization signals on all C-heterochromatin regions. However, when we perform genomic cross-hybridizations, only strong signals are detected on the Y chromosome, leaving the C-heterochromatic autosomal regions unmarked. Conclusions: We confirm that repeated DNA of the Y chromosome is shared among Triatoma species and probably represents an ancestral character of the Triatomini tribe. On the contrary, autosomal heterochromatic regions are constituted by species-specific DNA repeats, most probably satDNA families, suggesting that Triatoma speciation involved the amplification of diverse types of autosomal repeats. Molecular characterization of principal repetitive DNAs seems to be an appropriate approach to infer evolutionary relationships in triatomines