Browsing by Author "Tempera, Fernando"
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- Broad-scale mapping of seafloor habitats in the north-east Atlantic using existing environmental dataPublication . Vasquez, Mickaël; Mata Chacón, D.; Tempera, Fernando; O'Keeffe, Eimear; Galparsoro, Ibon; Sanz Alonso, J. L.; Gonçalves, J. M. S.; Bentes, L.; Amorim, Patrícia; Henriques, Victor; McGrath, Fergal; Monteiro, Pedro; Mendes, Beatriz; Freitas, Rosa; Martins, Roberto; Populus, JacquesIf marine management policies and actions are to achieve long-term sustainable use and management of the marine environment and its resources, they need to be informed by data giving the spatial distribution of seafloor habitats over large areas. Broad-scale seafloor habitat mapping is an approachwhich has the benefit of producing maps covering large extents at a reasonable cost. This approach was first investigated by Roff et al. (2003), who, acknowledging that benthic communities are strongly influenced by the physical characteristics of the seafloor, proposed overlaying mapped physical variables using a geographic information system (GIS) to produce an integrated map of the physical characteristics of the seafloor. In Europe the method was adapted to the marine section of the EUNIS (European Nature Information System) classification of habitat types under the MESH project, andwas applied at an operational level in 2011 under the EUSeaMap project. The present study compiled GIS layers for fundamental physical parameters in the northeast Atlantic, including (i) bathymetry, (ii) substrate type, (iii) light penetration depth and (iv) exposure to near-seafloor currents andwave action. Based on analyses of biological occurrences, significant thresholds were fine-tuned for each of the abiotic layers and later used in multi-criteria raster algebra for the integration of the layers into a seafloor habitat map. The final result was a harmonised broad-scale seafloor habitat map with a 250 m pixel size covering four extensive areas, i.e. Ireland, the Bay of Biscay, the Iberian Peninsula and the Azores. The map provided the first comprehensive perception of habitat spatial distribution for the Iberian Peninsula and the Azores, and fed into the initiative for a pan- European map initiated by the EUSeaMap project for Baltic, North, Celtic and Mediterranean seas.
- Evaluating seabed habitat representativeness across a diverse set of marine protected areas on the Mid-Atlantic RidgePublication . Milla-Figueras, David; Schmiing, Mara; Amorim, Patricia; e Costa, Horta; Afonso, Pedro; Tempera, FernandoMarine ecosystem-based management requires good spatial information on the distribution of marine species and habitats. Often, such information is limited to a few sampled locations, but modelling techniques can be applied to produce predictive distribution maps. A harmonized broad-scale seabed habitat map was recently produced for the archipelagos of Macaronesia under the EMODnet Seabed Habitats Programme. We use this new information to produce an extent-based evaluation of the representativeness and level of protection conferred by the current set of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Azores to the variety of benthic marine habitats found in this oceanic region. A more objective assessment of the protection effectively provided to the habitats is obtained by applying a scoring system to the MPAs based on the number of allowed extractive and non-extractive human activities and their potential impact on marine biodiversity and habitats. Results show that Azorean habitats within the MPAs are nearly entirely classified as highly protected. In total, 26 habitats (7 of which are endangered and 2 are rare) have at least 10% of their extent in the Azores EEZ protected by MPAs, but another 29 fail to meet this target (4 on-shelf habitats and 25 deep-sea habitats), highlighting the need to extend current protection of bathyal and abyssal habitats and applying adequate ecological coherence criteria. This approach sets a standard that can be used wherever similar information is available, be it in other European regions or beyond.
- On some interesting opisthobranchs (Mollusca, Gastropoda) from the AzoresPublication . Fontes, Jorge; Tempera, Fernando; Wirtz, PeterThe nudibranch Eubranchus farrani Alder and Hancock, 1844 is recorded from the Azores for the first time. The presence of the sacoglossan Placida cremoniana (Trinchese, 1892) in the Azores is confirmed. Pleurobranchus sp. from the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands is compared with P. garciagomesi Cervera et al. 1996; it probably is an undescribed species.