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- 1st METECH workshop – From deep-sea to coastal zones: Methods and Techniques for studying PalaeoenvironmentsPublication . Veiga-Pires, Cristina; Guillaume St-OngeReconstructing past climate and past ocean circulation demands the highest possible precision and accuracy which urges the scientific community to look at different sediment records such as the ones from coastal zones to deep-sea with a more complete set of technical and methodological tools. However, the information given by each tool varies in precision, accuracy and in significance according to their environmental settings. It is therefore essential to compare tools. With that in mind, and as part of the International year of Planet Earth, a workshop entitled `From deep-sea to coastal zones: Methods and Techniques for studying palaeoenvironments' took place in Faro (Portugal), from 25–29 February 2008.
- 2-D difference gel electrophoresis approach to assess protein expression profiles in Bathymodiolus azoricus from Mid-Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal ventsPublication . Company, Rui; Antúnez, Oreto; Bebianno, Maria João; Cajaraville, Miren P.; Torreblanca, AmparoHydrothermal vent mussels Bathymodiolus azoricus are naturally exposed to toxic chemical species originated directly from vent chimneys. The amount of toxic elements varies significantly among vent sites along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and B. azoricus must be able to adapt to changes in hydrothermal fluid composition, temperature and pressure. The aim of this work was to study changes in the proteome in the "gill-bacteria complex" of mussels B. azoricus from three hydrothermal vent sites with distinct environmental characteristics using 2-D Fluorescence Difference Gel Electrophoresis (2-D DIGE). Results showed that 31 proteins had different expression profiles among vent sites and both cluster and principal component analysis confirm a clear separation of mussels between sites. This suggests the existence of specific parameters grouping individuals from the same hydrothermal site. Protein spots of the more abundant differentially expressed proteins were excised, digested with trypsin and identified by mass spectrometry. All identified proteins (actin, ubiquinone, S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase, cysteine peptidases, chaperonin and catalase) have been related previously with oxidative stress conditions and are known to be affected by ROS inducing stressors, including metals. Results point out to specific adaptations at the proteome level of B. azoricus depending on the level of toxicants present in their environment.
- A combined DPSIR and SAF approach for the adaptive management of beach erosion in Monte Hermoso and Pehuen Co (Argentina)Publication . Semeoshenkova, Vera; Newton, Alice; Rojas, Mara; Cintia Piccolo, M.; Lujan Bustos, M.; Huamantinco Cisneros, M. Andrea; Berninsone, Leonardo G.Coastal areas experience multiple pressures from anthropogenic activities that negatively change the ecological and environmental status of beaches and impact human welfare. The focus of this paper is coastal erosion, an issue that is very relevant for Argentina, the second largest nation in Latin America with an extensive coastline of nearly 5000 km. Coastal erosion decreases the attractiveness of coastal areas for tourism development, leading to considerable economic impacts. In this paper, two complementary approaches, the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) and the Systems Approach Framework (SAF), were used to analyse two beach resorts in Argentina: Monte Hermoso and Pehuen Co. Application of the SAF included stakeholder mapping, governance (institutional) mapping and issue identification. During the participatory meetings with stakeholders and decision makers, the problem of coastal erosion was identified as the most important in the region. The joint approach of DPSIR and SAF contributed to: (i) the determination and description of the economic drivers of coastal erosion; (ii) the identification of the associated activities and pressures; (iii) the assessment of the ecological and environmental state of coastal areas; (iv) the assessment of impacts of environmental changes on human wellbeing; and finally (v) a proposal of the possible management responses for mitigating the coastal erosion problem and the sustainable development of the region to the responsible authorities. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- A comparison of rural community perceptions and involvement in conservation between the Fiji Islands and Southwestern PortugalPublication . Thaman, Baravi; Icely, John; Fragoso, Bruno D. D.; Veitayaki, JoeliCommunity involvement in conservation provides significant benefits including the ownership of resources and initiatives that integrate traditional and local knowledge into decision-making processes and management activities. This study assesses and compares the effectiveness of community involvement in conservation initiatives in two different countries, by examining the community's level of involvement and their perceptions of conservation in Yadua (Fiji) and the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina (PNSACV) (Portugal). The hypothesis was that "Effective community involvement contributes to the success, ownership, benefits, positive impacts and sustainability of conservation projects". Using questionnaires, structured interviews and document analyses of past literature, information obtained about community involvement in conservation activities in the two study areas was compared. Results showed that while community members showed high levels of involvement in all conservation activities in the Fiji study (88%), this was not the case in the Portugal study (43%), where results showed that lack of community involvement, leading to ineffective conservation. In both cases, however, the levels of involvement appear to have influenced community perceptions of conservation efforts' impact upon livelihoods. The Fiji study showed that community-focused conservation can be successful given appropriate community involvement. This contrasted with the Portugal study where conservation efforts were not community-focused and often led to conflicts and criticisms. A bottom-up approach has been utilized in Yadua, Fiji, whereas a top-down approach is clearly observed for the PNSACV in Portugal. A more holistic approach to conservation would empower local communities and ensure the successful implementation of conservation programmes. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- A decade to study deep-sea lifePublication . Howell, Kerry L.; Hilario, Ana; Allcock, A. Louise; Bailey, David; Baker, Maria; Clark, Malcolm R.; Colaco, Ana; Copley, Jon; Cordes, Erik E.; Danovaro, Roberto; Dissanayake, Awantha; Escobar, Elva; Esquete, Patricia; Gallagher, Austin J.; Gates, Andrew R.; Gaudron, Sylvie M.; German, Christopher R.; Gjerde, Kristina M.; Higgs, Nicholas D.; Le Bris, Nadine; Levin, Lisa A.; Manea, Elisabetta; McClain, Craig; Menot, Lenaick; Mestre, Nélia; Metaxas, Anna; Milligan, Rosanna; Muthumbi, Agnes W. N.; Narayanaswamy, Bhavani E.; Ramalho, Sofia P.; Ramirez-Llodra, Eva; Robson, Laura M.; Rogers, Alex D.; Sellanes, Javier; Sigwart, Julia D.; Sink, Kerry; Snelgrove, Paul V. R.; Stefanoudis, Paris V.; Sumida, Paulo Y.; Taylor, Michelle L.; Thurber, Andrew R.; Vieira, Rui; Watanabe, Hiromi K.; Woodall, Lucy C.; Xavier, Joana R.The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development presents an exceptional opportunity to effect positive change in ocean use. We outline what is required of the deep-sea research community to achieve these ambitious objectives.
- À descoberta da Ria FormosaPublication . Aníbal, Jaime; Gomes, Ana; Mendes, Isabel; Moura, DelmindaRecentemente, o CIMA foi abordado por vários autarcas, membros de organizações locais e regionais, e stakeholders da região algarvia, os quais gostariam de ter uma publicação em português, que pudessem consultar aquando da tomada de posições/decisões sobre questões ambientais costeiras. O produto desse desafio é este livro, o qual se destaca pela sua facilidade de leitura e adequação à divulgação científica da investigação realizada no CIMA. Deste modo, não é um livro monotemático, pretendendo pelo contrário uma abordagem sistémica a um alvo territorial, que neste caso é o sistema lagunar da Ria Formosa. Este livro visa transmitir conhecimentos científicos, em uma linguagem simples, mas cientificamente correta. Esse compromisso às vezes é difícil de alcançar. Portanto, cada capítulo contém caixas de texto que explicam os conceitos menos comuns e também um glossário no final do livro.
- A glyphosate-based herbicide induces histomorphological and protein expression changes in the liver of the female guppy Poecilia reticulataPublication . Rezende dos Santos, Ana Paula; Lopes Rocha, Thiago; Borges, Clayton Luiz; Bailao, Alexandre Melo; de Almeida Soares, Celia Maria; Teixeira de Saboia-Morais, Simone MariaGlyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) are among the most common herbicides found in aquatic systems, but limited data are available about their mode of action and hepatotoxicity in fish. This study investigated the hepatotoxicity induced by GBH in the guppy Poecilia reticulae using a histopathological assessment associated with a proteomic approach. Guppies were exposed to GBH for 24 h at 1.8 mg of glyphosate L-1, corresponding to 50% of the LC50, 96 h. The results indicate that the GBH at 1.8 mg of glyphosate L-1 induce the development of hepatic damage in P. reticulate, which is exposure-time dependent. The histopathological indexes demonstrate that GBH cause inflammatory, regressive, vascular and progressive disorders in the liver of guppies. Using 2D gel electrophoresis associated with mass spectrometry, 18 proteins that changed by GBH were identified and were related to the cellular structure, motility and transport, energy metabolism and apoptosis. The results show that the acute exposure to GBH causes hepatic histopathological damage related to protein expression profile changes in P. reticulate, indicating that a histopathological assessment associated with a proteomic analysis provides a valuable approach to assess the toxic effects of GBH in sentinel fish species. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- A high-performance computing framework for Monte Carlo ocean color simulationsPublication . Kajiyama, Tamito; D'Alimonte, Davide; Cunha, Jose C.This paper presents a high-performance computing (HPC) framework for Monte Carlo (MC) simulations in the ocean color (OC) application domain. The objective is to optimize a parallel MC radiative transfer code named MOX, developed by the authors to create a virtual marine environment for investigating the quality of OC data products derived from in situ measurements of in-water radiometric quantities. A consolidated set of solutions for performance modeling, prediction, and optimization is implemented to enhance the efficiency of MC OC simulations on HPC run-time infrastructures. HPC, machine learning, and adaptive computing techniques are applied taking into account a clear separation and systematic treatment of accuracy and precision requirements for large-scale MC OC simulations. The added value of the work is the integration of computational methods and tools for MC OC simulations in the form of an HPC-oriented problem-solving environment specifically tailored to investigate data acquisition and reduction methods for OC field measurements. Study results highlight the benefit of close collaboration between HPC and application domain researchers to improve the efficiency and flexibility of computer simulations in the marine optics application domain. (C) 2016 The Authors. Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
- A high-precision liDAR-based method for surveying and classifying coastal notchesPublication . Terefenko, Pawel; Wziatek, Dagmara Zelaya; Dalyot, Sagi; Boski, T.; Lima-Filho, Francisco PinheiroFormation of notches is an important process in the erosion of seaside cliffs. Monitoring of coastal notch erosion rate and processes has become a prime research focus for many coastal geomorphologists. Observation of notch erosion rate considers a number of characteristics, including cliff collapse risk, distinction of historical sea levels, and recognition of ongoing erosional mechanisms. This study presents new approaches for surveying and classifying marine notches based on a high-precision light detection and ranging (LiDAR)-based experiment performed on a small region of a coastal cliff in southern Portugal. A terrestrial LiDAR scanner was used to measure geometrical parameters and surface roughness of selected notches, enabling their classification according to shape and origin. The implemented methodology proved to be a highly effective tool for providing an unbiased analysis of marine morphodynamic processes acting on the seaside cliffs. In the analyzed population of voids carved into Miocene calcarenites in a coastal cliff section, two types of notch morphology were distinguished, namely U-shaped and V-shaped. The method presented here provides valuable data for landscape evaluation, sea-level changes, and any other types of analyses that rely on the accurate interpretation of cliff morphological features.
- A Historical View on Coastal Erosion: The Case of Furadouro (Portugal)Publication . De Freitas, Joana Gaspar; Dias, JoaoThe village of Furadouro, on the north-western coast of Portugal, is emblematic of current problems of coastal management. The purpose of this article is to analyse the interaction between human communities and the coast in Furadouro, in order to understand how practices and arrangements have contributed to potentiate coastal erosion effects in the last century. The conceptual tools of 'socio-natural sites'; 'co-evolution'; and 'socio-natural sites as nexus of practices and arrangements' guide this investigation. The methodology adopted is socio-ecological long-term research. Data used comes mainly from primary historical sources (church registers, minutes of local authorities' meetings and newspapers) and secondary literature (local writers and monographs). Historical information was cross-referenced with geomorphological data to allow for a more global approach to the coastal erosion phenomenon. The analysis of the evolution of Furadouro shows that human activities determined the increase of coastal erosion problems, not only by contributing to the decrease of sand on the beach, but also by destroying its natural protection structures the dunes. The reconstruction of past coastal landscapes and human intervention gives us a better understanding of the complex and intertwined history of this socio-ecological site, also offering a model of analysis and interpretation that can be applied to other cases around the world.