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- Fish assemblages and rapid colonization after enlargement of an artificial reef off the Algarve coast (Southern Portugal)Publication . Leitão, Francisco; Santos, Miguel N.; Erzini, Karim; Monteiro, Carlos C.Artificial reefs (ARs) have been deployed in Algarve (Southern Portugal) coastal waters to contribute to the sustainability of local nearshore fisheries. Herein, we describe the colonization process of the recently deployed Faro/Ancao AR, and assess the time until the fish assemblage reaches stability and their seasonal patterns. In addition, we compare the results from the present study with those previously reported for an older AR. The fish assemblages were monitored monthly over a 2-year period by means of visual census. A rapid increase in fish colonization occurred within the first 4 months. After this initial period the assemblage structure showed high similarity (> 73%). The high rate of colonization of the AR was related to the maturity already achieved by the nearby 14-year-old AR and to the fish migration from the Ria Formosa lagoon, a nearby nursery habitat. The reef fish assemblage structure showed a seasonal pattern, mainly associated with recruitment episodes of occasional demersal species (Boops boops, Trachurus trachurus and Pagellus spp.) in spring and summer. A total of 66% of the species found in AR are of commercial and recreational importance. The overall mean density and biomass were 2.8 ind.m(-3) and 207 g.m(-3). The occasional demersal species accounted for 42% of the fish density. The most important species in terms of biomass belong to the Sparidae family along with Dicentrarchus labrax. The fish assemblage of the new ARs showed higher mean number of species, diversity, density and biomass values than those reported for the older AR. This result was associated with enlargement of the AR area and with the fishing exploitation of the isolated, small and patchy old AR. Moreover, the high biomass values recorded in the new ARs were mainly due to the increased density of D. labrax after AR enlargement. The results of the present study are used to define guidelines for suitable management strategies for the AR areas that are exploited by the local commercial and recreational fisheries.
- Ensaios & outros escritosPublication . Carvalho, João Carlos Firmino Andrade de; Carvalho, Ana Alexandra Mendonça Seabra da Silva Andrade deOs catorze trabalhos aqui reunidos em livro, uns inéditos outros dispersos em publicações científicas, possibilitam agora ao Leitor o contacto com autores e temas diversos da Literatura e Cultura Portuguesas e Francesas, bem como da Literatura e Cultura Comparadas. Por opção dos autores, os referidos trabalhos surgem dispostos de acordo com um critério cronológico e em função da natureza do texto. Assim, a abordagem de autores e textos literários inicia-se no século XVI e prossegue até aos nossos tempos (Camões, Fernão Mendes Pinto, Chassignet, Prévost, Crébillon, Mallarmé, Perec). (...) Confluem neste livro antológico algumas amostras quer do resultado do trabalho de investigação levado a cabo pêlos seus dois autores enquanto investigadores do Centro de Estudos Linguísticos e Literários da Universidade do Algarve, quer do resultado do trabalho relacionado com a actividade docente enquanto professores de Literaturas e Culturas Portuguesas e Francesas, bem como de Literatura Comparada, na referida Universidade.
- Development and validation of a gene expression oligo microarray for the gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata)Publication . Ferraresso, Serena; Vitulo, Nicola; Mininni, Alba N.; Romualdi, Chiara; Cardazzo, Barbara; Negrisolo, Enrico; Reinhardt, Richard; Canario, Adelino V. M.; Patarnello, T.; Bargelloni, LucaAquaculture represents the most sustainable alternative of seafood supply to substitute for the declining marine fisheries, but severe production bottlenecks remain to be solved. The application of genomic technologies offers much promise to rapidly increase our knowledge on biological processes in farmed species and overcome such bottlenecks. Here we present an integrated platform for mRNA expression profiling in the gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), a marine teleost of great importance for aquaculture.
- Imagens animadas realizadas por crianças na sala de aula: motivação, literacia e criatividadePublication . Graça, Marina EstelaNa comunidade europeia da era da sociedade de informação, da transmissão mediática de conhecimentos e da economia criativa é imprescindível encontrar metodologias de ensino interessantes, capazes de cativar as crianças mas, igualmente, capazes de aliciar professores que não estão familiarizados com processos de produção, equipamentos e linguagens audiovisuais, suportados ou não por tecnologias digitais. Neste ensaio a autora propõe-se demonstrar que a utilização de técnicas de imagem animada, enquanto veículo no processo de aprendizagem, consegue responder não apenas às recomendações e objectivos europeus como, mais especificamente, permite desenvolver a criatividade e a literacia visual e audiovisual no contexto da sociedade altamente mediatizada que se avizinha. Torna possível, sobretudo, um processo pedagógico simultaneamente concreto, inclusivo e apoiado: tanto para professores que querem utilizar regularmente ferramentas digitais no contexto da sala de aula como para que estes possam criar um ambiente de trabalho de projecto em equipa propício a alunos individualmente distintos.
- Gla-rich protein (GRP), a new vitamin K-dependent protein identified from sturgeon cartilage and highly conserved in vertebratesPublication . S B Viegas, Carla; Simes, D; Laizé, Vincent; Williamson, M. K.; Price, P. A.; Cancela, LeonorWe report the isolation of a novel vitamin K-dependent protein from the calcified cartilage of Adriatic sturgeon (Acipenser nacarii). This 10.2-kDa secreted protein contains 16 -carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) residues in its 74-residue sequence, the highest Gla percent of any known protein, and we have therefore termed it Gla-rich protein (GRP). GRP has a high charge density (36 negative 16 positive 20 net negative) yet is insoluble at neutral pH. GRP has orthologs in all taxonomic groups of vertebrates, and a paralog (GRP2) in bony fish; no GRP homolog was found in invertebrates. There is no significant sequence homology between GRP and the Gla-containing region of any presently known vitamin K-dependent protein. Forty-seven GRP sequences were obtained by a combination of cDNA cloning and comparative genomics: all 47 have a propeptide that contains a -carboxylase recognition site and a mature protein with 14 highly conserved Glu residues, each of them being carboxylated in sturgeon. The protein sequence of GRP is also highly conserved, with 78% identity between sturgeon and human GRP. Analysis of the corresponding gene structures suggests a highly constrained organization, particularly for exon 4, which encodes the core Gla domain. GRP mRNA is found in virtually all rat and sturgeon tissues examined, with the highest expression in cartilage. Cells expressing GRP include chondrocytes, chondroblasts, osteoblasts, and osteocytes. Because of its potential to bind calcium through Gla residues, we suggest that GRP may regulate calcium in the extracellular environment.