Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre

Funder

Organizational Unit

Publications

Red, gold and green: microbial contribution of Rhodophyta and other Algae to Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) Gut Microbiome

Publication . Díaz-Abad, Lucía; Bacco-Mannina, Natassia; Miguel Madeira, Fernando; Serrao, Ester; Regalla, Aissa; Patrício, Ana R.; Rodrigues Frade, Pedro

The fitness of the endangered green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) may be strongly affected by its gut microbiome, as microbes play important roles in host nutrition and health. This study aimed at establishing environmental microbial baselines that can be used to assess turtle health under altered future conditions. We characterized the microbiome associated with the gastrointestinal tract of green turtles from Guinea Bissau in different life stages and associated with their food items, using 16S rRNA metabarcoding. We found that the most abundant (% relative abundance) bacterial phyla across the gastrointestinal sections were Proteobacteria (68.1 ± 13.9% “amplicon sequence variants”, ASVs), Bacteroidetes (15.1 ± 10.1%) and Firmicutes (14.7 ± 21.7%). Additionally, we found the presence of two red algae bacterial indicator ASVs (the Alphaproteobacteria Brucella pinnipedialis with 75 ± 0% and a Gammaproteobacteria identified as methanotrophic endosymbiont of Bathymodiolus, with <1%) in cloacal compartments, along with six bacterial ASVs shared only between cloacal and local environmental red algae samples. We corroborate previous results demonstrating that green turtles fed on red algae (but, to a lower extent, also seagrass and brown algae), thus, acquiring microbial components that potentially aid them digest these food items. This study is a foundation for better understanding the microbial composition of sea turtle digestive tracts.

2022-10-08Journal article

Open access

Distribution and composition of Decapod larvae assemblages on the Berlengas archipelago and Peniche coast (western coast of Portugal)

Publication . Monteiro, Marta; Miranda Azeiteiro, Ulisses Miranda M.; Cruz, Joana; Maia, Simão; Leandro, Sérgio Miguel F.M.; Marques, Sónia Cotrim

For the first time, the decapod larval community in the Berlenga and coastal Peniche region have been investigated in detail, from a short-term time series (2015 - 2020). Sampling was conducted in two locations, at Berlengas archipelago, and near the coast, at Peniche. The communities found at both stations were revealed to be 80% different in terms of species composition, but species of Brachyura, Caridea, and Anomura were the most abundant in both locations. A marked seasonality, with abundance peaks during summer and autumn, was found for the assemblages near the coast, but absent in the assemblages of the Berlenga region. This suggests that factors other than the environmental variables examined in this study may play a crucial role in shaping the assemblages more offshore. Water temperature, upwelling index, salinity, and chlorophyll-a were the main factors dictating species abundance, especially at Peniche. This emphasizes the significant role of the Iberian upwelling productivity, which in turn influences decapod communities. Also, the progressive warming of coastal water will most likely have a negative impact on the decapod meroplanktonic life forms, with further consequences on recruitment and adult life stages.

2024-01Journal article

Restricted access

Modulatory effect of Gracilaria gracilis on European seabass gut microbiota community and its functionality

Publication . Gonçalves, Ana Teresa; Simões, Marco; Costa, Cátia; Passos, Ricardo; Baptista, Teresa

Seaweeds are an important source of nutrients and bioactive compounds and have a high potential as health boosters in aquaculture. This study evaluated the effect of dietary inclusion of Gracilaria gracilis biomass or its extract on the European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) gut microbial community. Juvenile fish were fed a commercial-like diet with 2.5% or 5% seaweed biomass or 0.35% seaweed extract for 47 days. The gut microbiome was assessed by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, and its diversity was not altered by the seaweed supplementation. However, a reduction in Proteobacteria abundance was observed. Random forest analysis highlighted the genera Photobacterium, Staphylococcus, Acinetobacter, Micrococcus and Sphingomonas, and their abundances were reduced when fish were fed diets with algae. SparCC correlation network analysis suggested several mutualistic and other antagonistic relationships that could be related to the predicted altered functions. These pathways were mainly related to the metabolism and biosynthesis of protective compounds such as ectoine and were upregulated in fish fed diets supplemented with algae. This study shows the beneficial potential of Gracilaria as a functional ingredient through the modulation of the complex microbial network towards fish health improvement.

2022Journal article

Open access

Fluorescent quinine-based tracking techniques for measurement of open-channel surface flow velocities under low luminosity conditions using a UAS

Publication . Zehsaz, Soheil; L. M. P. de Lima, João; Isidoro, Jorge; de Lima, M. Isabel P.; Martins, Ricardo

This study presents techniques based on the use of fluorescent quinine as a visual tracer for surface flows, to assess surface flow velocities in channels and streams under low luminosity conditions. Fieldwork was conducted in three open channels, with different hydraulic characteristics. A quinine solution, in both liquid and solid (ice cube) forms, was applied on the water flow surface and an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) was used to record the movement of the fluorescent quinine. The results were compared to the velocities estimated using the thermal tracer technique and flowmeter-based velocity maps. The findings show that the quinine solution, in both liquid and solid forms, can be used to estimate open-channel surface flow velocities under low luminosity conditions. While the solid form of the quinine tracer was applied in a smaller volume than the liquid tracer, its fluorescence effect persisted longer. By comparison, the liquid tracer had the advantage of continual availability and was devoid of the constraint of melting.

2023Journal article

Open access

Global dataset of soil organic carbon in tidal marshes

Publication . Maxwell, Tania L.; Rovai, André S.; Adame, Maria Fernanda; Adams, Janine B.; Álvarez-Rogel, José; Austin, William E. N.; Beasy, Kim; Boscutti, Francesco; Böttcher, Michael E.; Bouma, Tjeerd J.; Bulmer, Richard H.; Burden, Annette; Burke, Shannon A.; Camacho, Saritta; Chaudhary, Doongar R.; Chmura, Gail L.; Copertino, Margareth; Cott, Grace M.; Craft, Christopher; Day, John; de los Santos, Carmen B.; Denis, Lionel; Ding, Weixin; Ellison, Joanna C.; Ewers Lewis, Carolyn J.; Giani, Luise; Gispert, Maria; Gontharet, Swanne; González-Pérez, José A.; González-Alcaraz, M. Nazaret; Gorham, Connor; Graversen, Anna Elizabeth L.; Grey, Anthony; Guerra, Roberta; He, Qiang; Holmquist, James R.; Jones, Alice R.; Juanes, José A.; Kelleher, Brian P.; Kohfeld, Karen E.; Krause-Jensen, Dorte; Lafratta, Anna; Lavery, Paul S.; Laws, Edward A.; Leiva-Dueñas, Carmen; Loh, Pei Sun; Lovelock, Catherine E.; Lundquist, Carolyn J.; Macreadie, Peter I.; Mazarrasa, Inés; Megonigal, J. Patrick; Neto, Joao M.; Nogueira, Juliana; Osland, Michael J.; Pagès, Jordi F.; Perera, Nipuni; Pfeiffer, Eva-Maria; Pollmann, Thomas; Raw, Jacqueline L.; Recio, María; Ruiz-Fernández, Ana Carolina; Russell, Sophie K.; Rybczyk, John M.; Sammul, Marek; Sanders, Christian; Santos, Rui; Serrano, Oscar; Siewert, Matthias; Smeaton, Craig; Song, Zhaoliang; Trasar-Cepeda, Carmen; Twilley, Robert R.; Van de Broek, Marijn; Vitti, Stefano; Antisari, Livia Vittori; Voltz, Baptiste; Wails, Christy N.; Ward, Raymond D.; Ward, Melissa; Wolfe, Jaxine; Yang, Renmin; Zubrzycki, Sebastian; Landis, Emily; Smart, Lindsey; Spalding, Mark; Worthington, Thomas A.

Tidal marshes store large amounts of organic carbon in their soils. Field data quantifying soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks provide an important resource for researchers, natural resource managers, and policy-makers working towards the protection, restoration, and valuation of these ecosystems. We collated a global dataset of tidal marsh soil organic carbon (MarSOC) from 99 studies that includes location, soil depth, site name, dry bulk density, SOC, and/or soil organic matter (SOM). The MarSOC dataset includes 17,454 data points from 2,329 unique locations, and 29 countries. We generated a general transfer function for the conversion of SOM to SOC. Using this data we estimated a median (+/- median absolute deviation) value of 79.2 +/- 38.1 Mg SOC ha-1 in the top 30 cm and 231 +/- 134 Mg SOC ha-1 in the top 1 m of tidal marsh soils globally. This data can serve as a basis for future work, and may contribute to incorporation of tidal marsh ecosystems into climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies and policies.

2023Journal article

Open access