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- Aplicação multimédia sobre a Ria Formosa e seus fins educacionais (ForDid)Publication . Oliveira, Sónia; Boski, T.; Moura, Delminda; Mendes da Silva de Sousa, Carlos A; Gomes, Ana; Pereira, LauraNa atualidade torna-se inquestionável a necessidade de integrar a aprendizagem com as novas tecnologias de modo a cativar e facilitar a compreensão dos temas abordados através de aplicações didáticas. Durante a última década o Centro de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIMA) assumiu a responsabilidade de criar meios eficazes de comunicação entre o público em geral e a comunidade científica, através de plataformas multimédia interativas. Foram objecto destas aplicações didáticas as várias vertentes do património natural do Algarve. Após o sucesso das primeiras aplicações GuaDid e MonDid visando o Estuário do Rio Guadiana e a Serra de Monchique respectivamente, o desafio de criar e inovar foi acrescido, resultando numa nova aplicação – ForDid, visando a divulgação do importante sistema lagunar Ria Formosa.
- Mudança do nível do mar no golfo de Cádiz durante o Plistocénico tardio e HolocénicoPublication . Boski, T.; Moura, Delminda; Mendes da Silva de Sousa, Carlos A; Gomes, Ana; Pereira, Laura; Oliveira, Sónia; Santana, PauloThe multiproxy information data set obtained from borehole sequences permitted to establish a robust chronology of events, which led to the post glacial infilling of the terminal stretches of regional river palleovaleys. The paleoecological reconstructions combined with 14C age model of Guadiana Estuary sedimentary record revealed the fast sea level rise period since ca 13.5 kyr cal BP, halted during the Younger Dryas and resuming at ca 11500 yr cal BP. The Holocene history of coastal evolution is also well documented in the Estuary of Arade and in Ria Formoza, pointing to the sea level stabilization at ca 7500 cal BP after a last jump of up to 8 meters in 700 years which corresponds to the Meltwater pulse 1c. Since then, the upwards movement of the sea surface continued at much slower pace, ie with the 1.2 mm yr-1 rate. The integration of the data embracing the period from since ca 13.5 ka cal BP, to the actuality enabled us to propose the sea-level rise curve for the SW Iberian Atlantic margin. When confronted with the current altimetric data from TOPEX/POSEIDON, Jason I and Jason II satellites, the millennial time-scale natural trend enables to estimate the anthropogenic forcing of SLR to be in order of 1.2 – 1.8 mm year.
- Holocene history of Ria Formosa coastal lagoon system (Southern Portugal): borehole evidence and threedimensional paleotopographyPublication . Mendes da Silva de Sousa, Carlos A; Boski, T.; Gomes, Ana; Pereira, Laura; Lampreia, João; Oliveira, SóniaA paleotopographic model of Ria Formosa is presented based on two borehole campaigns and a systematic comparison with previous works, revealing the existence of a complex network of fluvial valleys. Vertical sediment profiles showed a mosaic of changing depositional environments, resulting from local hydrodynamics, sedimentary sources and, to an extent, by the structurally inherited accommodation space. Sedimentological, geochemical and micropaleontological data were put in the context of an age model obtained from 14C datings, pointing to the existence of an estuarine environment subjected to a rapid coastal flooding from ca. 10000 to 7500 cal. years B.P., followed by a period of infilling in an increasingly confined coastal lagoon environment.
- Geochemical characteristics of sediments along the margins of an atlantic-mediterranean estuary (the Guadiana, Southeast Portugal): spatial and seasonal variationsPublication . Camacho, Sarita; Moura, Delminda; Connor, Simon; Boski, T.; Gomes, AnaThe present work describes spatial and seasonal variability in grain-size, pH and elemental characteristics (TOC, TIC, TN and C/N) in superficial sediments, as well as salinity, temperature and oxygen in the water, within the intertidal range of the Guadiana Estuary, SW Iberian Peninsula, during the year 2010. The results indicate that environmental parameters in the estuary are strongly dependent on spatial patterns, which reflect seasonal oscillations in freshwater discharge. The sediment is generally poorly sorted, with a symmetrical to very finely skewed distribution, in accordance with the low-energy conditions typical of the deposition areas. During winter, heavy rains forced the continuous discharge of Europe’s largest reservoir, the Alqueva dam, creating exceptional hydrodynamic conditions and causing coarser sediment deposition in the estuary. High marsh areas are controlled by flood tides, promoting vertical accretion of muddy sediments, especially silts. The lower areas of the saltmarsh and-mud flat areas are controlled by the ebb, with more efficient export of fines toward the platform and retention of sands, sometimes with significant amounts of bioclasts. In winter (average Q = 654 m3 s -1), salinity remained low throughout the estuary with the highest values (< 3) recorded up to 3 km inland from the river mouth, except in the most confined environments subject to greater evaporation. In summer (average Q = 52 m3 s -1), the estuarine waters are better mixed and significant saltwater intrusion extends approximately 8 km inland. The seasonal variation in surface water temperature was very high, with a difference of ca 14 º C in the maximum temperature recorded in winter and summer. A clear relationship between elevation (in relation to mean sea level) and organic matter, pH and particle size was observed. In the higher areas of the marsh, where the hydrodynamics is attenuated, differential deposition of fine sediments promotes organic matter entrapment and low pH. Sedimentary organic matter derives from a mixture of native aquatic and terrestrial sources. The mid-upper estuary areas and higher zones of the saltmarsh in the lower estuary incorporate a greater terrestrial component, whereas the low-middle marsh areas of the lower estuary experience a substantial contribution from indigenous aquatic sources. The present data help to understand the present environmental condition of the Guadiana Estuary and contribute baseline data for future climatic and environmental management studies based on sediment-dependent proxies
- Drought, fire and grazing precursors to large-scale pine forest declinePublication . Connor, Simon; Araújo, João; Boski, Tomasz; Gomes, Ana; Gomes, Sandra D.; Leira, Manel; Freitas, Maria da Conceição; Andrade, Cesar; Morales‐Molino, César; Franco‐Múgica, Fátima; Akindola, Rufus B.; Vannière, BorisAim Temperate forests are currently facing multiple stresses due to climate change, biological invasions, habitat fragmentation and fire regime change. How these stressors interact with each other influences how, when and whether ecosystems recover, or whether they adapt or transition to a different ecological state. Because forest recovery or collapse may take longer than a human lifetime, predicting the outcomes of different stressor combinations remains difficult. A clearer vision of future forest trajectories in a changing world may be gained by examining collapses of forests in the past. Here, we use long-term ecological data to conduct a post-mortem examination of the decline of maritime pine forests (Pinus pinaster Ait.) on the SW Iberian Peninsula 7000-6500 years ago. Location Portugal and Spain. Methods We compared four palaeoecological records-two with pine declines and two without-using a multiproxy approach. Bioclimatic differences between the four sites were explored. Proxies for past vegetation and disturbance (fire and grazing) were compared with independent palaeoclimatic records. We performed functional traits analysis and used phase plots to examine the causes of pine decline. Results The pine decline represents a critical transition in SW Iberia, which lies close to maritime pine's bioclimatic limits. Prolonged drought likely killed trees and suppressed the fires that normally stimulate pine germination and pinewood recovery. Increased grazing pressure facilitated the rapid spread of resprouter shrubs. These competed with pine trees and ultimately replaced them. Our data highlight complex interactions between climate, fire, grazing and forest resilience. Main Conclusions The pine decline occurred at least a century after post-fire resprouters overtook obligate seeders in the vegetation, constituting an early-warning signal of forest loss. Fire suppression, resprouter encroachment and grazing may threaten the persistence of Mediterranean forests as droughts become more frequent and extreme.
- O registo de diatomáceas e foraminiferos da Ria Formosa (Sul da Península Ibérica): uma contribuição para a compreensão da evolução Holocénica do sistema lagunar.Publication . Gomes, Ana; Pereira, Laura; Boski, T.; Connor, Simon; Mendes da Silva de Sousa, Carlos A; Oliveira, Sónia; Santana, PauloAs part of a multi-proxy study to reconstruct the Holocene evolution of the Ria Formosa Lagoon, diatom and foraminifera assemblages were analyzed in a ca. 24.6-m-deep borehole, which crossed the entire infill sequence of the local paleovalley. Except in a few samples, diatom assemblages were generally poorly preserved, whereas foraminiferal assemblages were mostly well preserved. In the core depths interval from 23.5 and 3.2 m, both proxies indicate a marine environment installed during the progressive flooding of the fluvial valley during the Holocene. Above 3.2-m, both proxies
- Modern diatom assemblages as tools for paleoenvironmental reconstruction: a case study from estuarine intertidal zones in southern IberiaPublication . Gomes, Ana; Boski, T.; Moura, Delminda; Szkornik, Katie; Witkowski, Andrzej; Connor, Simon; Laut, Lazaro; Sobrinho, Frederico; Oliveira, SóniaDiatoms are unicellular algae that live in saline, brackish and freshwater environments, either floating in the water column or associated with various substrates (e.g., muddy and sandy sediments). Diatoms are sensitive to changes in environmental variables such as salinity, sediment texture, nutrient availability, light and temperature. This characteristic, along with their short lifespan, allows diatoms to quickly respond to environmental changes. Since the beginning of the 20th century, diatoms have been widely used to study the Holocene evolution of estuaries worldwide, particularly to reconstruct ecological responses to sea-level and climate changes. However, diatoms have been poorly studied in estuarine intertidal zones, due to the complexity of these environments, which have both fluvial and marine influences.
- Simonsenia aveniformis sp nov (Bacillariophyceae), molecular phylogeny and systematics of the genus, and a new type of canal raphe systemPublication . Witkowski, Andrzej; Gomes, Ana; Mann, David G.; Trobajo, Rosa; Li, Chunlian; Barka, Frederik; Gusev, Evgeniy; Dabek, Przemyslaw; Grzonka, Justyna; Kurzydlowski, Krzysztof J.; Zglobicka, Izabela; Harrison, Michael; Boski, T.The genus Simonsenia is reviewed and S. aveniformis described as new for science by light and electron microscopy. The new species originated from estuarine environments in southern Iberia (Atlantic coast) and was isolated into culture. In LM, Simonsenia resembles Nitzschia, with bridges (fibulae) beneath the raphe, which is marginal. It is only electron microscope (EM) examination that reveals the true structure of the raphe system, which consists of a raphe canal raised on a keel (wing), supported by rib like braces (fenestral bars) and tube-like portulae; between the portulae the keel is perforated by open windows (fenestrae). Based on the presence of portulae and a fenestrated keel, Simonsenia has been proposed to be intermediate between Bacillariaceae and Surirellaceae. However, an rbcL phylogeny revealed that Simonsenia belongs firmly in the Bacillariaceae, with which it shares a similar chloroplast arrangement, rather than in the Surirellaceae. Lack of homology between the surirelloid and simonsenioid keels is reflected in subtle differences in the morphology and ontogeny of the portulae and fenestrae. The diversity of Simonsenia has probably been underestimated, particularly in the marine environment.