Browsing by Author "Pombo, Ana"
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- How increasing temperature affects the innate immune system of sea urchin paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816) reared in a RAS systemPublication . Rodrigues, Ana Filipa; Lourenço, Sílvia; Gomes, Ana; Tchobanov, Carolina F.; Pombo, Ana; Baptista, TeresaThe purple sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus, is the most exploited and economically important in Southern Europe due to the high value of its gonads. Temperature generally affects several physiological functions of marine invertebrates and the ocean warming has been linked to increasing frequency and severity of disease outbreaks in several echinoderms. Sea urchins have an innate immune system consisting of coelomocytes, the cellular components responsible for the immune response, supported by proteases and lysozymes. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of increasing seawater temperature on the immunological response of P. lividus. In this experiment, the animals were exposed to an increase in temperature up to 24 degrees C for 36 days, after which cellular and humoral immunity parameters were measured. The number of coelomocytes in the animals increased with the temperature rise, mainly the phagocytes and the colourless granulocytes. In the humoral response of the animals, only the concentration of lysozyme responded to the increase in temperature.
- Insight into aquaculture's potential of marine annelid worms and ecological concerns: a reviewPublication . Pombo, Ana; Baptista, Teresa; Granada, Luana; Ferreira, Susana M. F.; Gonçalves, Sílvia C.; Anjos, Catarina; Sá, Erica; Chainho, Paula; Fonseca, Luís Cancela da; Costa, Pedro Fidalgo e; Costa, José L.Polychaetes are marine annelid worms that can contribute to aquaculture diversification. Its culture has been viable, and commercially attempted, but intensive production has progressed only in few countries around the world. In the countries with no production, marine polychaetes are imported or harvested. A strong and sustained research investment provided to a better understanding of the nutritional requirements and reproduction of some species. Recent studies showed new technical improvements, which can lead to an important progress in productivity and give a new impetus to the polychaete production. Some marine worm species were identified as good candidates for integrated multitrophic aquaculture. The development of cost-effective aquaculture techniques for marine annelid worms is essential to ensure a balance between commercial interests and the preservation of ecosystems. The influence of polychaete aquaculture on the environment and vice versa raise important concerns related to ecological security and sustainability of this activity. This review focus on the main technical improvements and advances that have been made in areas as diverse as: aquaculture potential of polychaetes, reared species, main species used worldwide, and highlights biological and ecological concerns, important challenges and recommendations.
- Polychaete annelids as live bait in Portugal: harvesting activity in brackish water systemsPublication . Cabral, Sara; Alves, Ana Sofia; Castro, Nuno; Chainho, Paula; Sá, Erica; Cancela Da Fonseca, Luís; Fidalgo e Costa, Pedro; Castro, João; Canning-Clode, João; Pombo, Ana; Costa, José LinoPolychaete annelids are some of the most heavily harvested invertebrates collected in coastal areas and estuaries for their economic value as live fishing bait or as food supplement in aquaculture activities. However, information on bait digging in Portugal is scarce or incomplete. Thus, the present study aimed at investigating the bait digging activity in the four most relevant brackish water systems in Portugal: Ria de Aveiro and Ria Formosa coastal lagoons and Tagus and Sado estuaries. Direct observations were performed in each brackish water system 1 h and a half before and after the diurnal low spring tide (< 0.8 m height), on working days. Additionally, logbooks were delivered to bait diggers and two types of surveys were conducted in every system: one to all the intertidal users and the other only to bait diggers. The estimated daily weighted number of bait diggers varied between 31 in the Tagus estuary and 69 in the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon. Diopatra neapolitana (Delle Chiaje, 1841) was the main target species in Ria de Aveiro (more than 83%), Tagus estuary (more than 60%) and Ria Formosa (more than 90%), while in Sado estuary most of the bait diggers targeted Marphysa sp. (92.6%). The highest and lowest amount of polychaete annelid catches were estimated for Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon (almost 50 tons per year) and Tagus estuary (11 tons per year), respectively. A total annual bait catch value in these four systems was estimated as €3.84 millions. The most important brackish water systems concerning bait diggers’ number and bait captures were Sado estuary and Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon where management measures should be considered, although managing polychaete harvesting activity is still difficult due to limited information on harvesting and on direct and indirect impacts on population dynamics.