Conservation Priority Index for Estuarine Fish (COPIEF)     

Paulo Branco  Jos Lino Costa  Pedro Raposo de Almeida 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》2008,80(4):581-588

Public awareness regarding environmental issues has increased in recent decades. The increasing number of impact assessment studies, management and conservation plans, as well as ecological monitoring studies, demand new and more efficient techniques. Indices are an important tool to aid biologists in these studies and should allow an easier comprehension of the data by managers, decision-makers and the general public. This study presents the first multi-metrical index able to establish a hierarchical ordination of the conservation priority of the estuarine fish species using 72 species from 16 estuarine systems (W and S coasts of Portugal). The index is composed of 10 metrics, comprising species life traits, distribution and population trends. The information needed to score each metric was gathered from the published literature and the index validation was done by external means. This methodology allowed the definition of those fish species most in need of conservation planning, and those less prone to extinction in Portuguese estuarine systems. The proposed index fills a gap in our knowledge and provides a useful tool to the scientific community and to the decision-makers, being a breakthrough in the field of conservation planning of estuarine fish species.  相似文献   

The trade of live crustaceans in Portugal: space for technological improvements     

Barrento  Sara; Marques  Antonio; Pedro  Sonia; Vaz-Pires  Paulo; Nunes  Maria Leonor 《ICES Journal of Marine Science》2008,65(4):551-559

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Biochemical alterations in juvenile carp (Cyprinus carpio) exposed to zinc: glutathione reductase as a target     

Franco JL  Posser T  Mattos JJ  Sánchez-Chardi A  Trevisan R  Oliveira CS  Carvalho PS  Leal RB  Marques MR  Bainy AC  Dafre AL 《Marine environmental research》2008,66(1):88-89

The aim of this study was to investigate biochemical changes in juvenile carp (Cyprinus carpio) exposed to zinc chloride (10, 30 and 100 microM) for a period of 48 h. Zinc exposure caused a concentration-dependent reduction in glutathione reductase (GR) activity in gills, liver and brain. Gill glutathione S-transferase (GST) was reduced when animals were exposed to the highest concentration of 100 microM zinc. The phosphorylation of p38(MAPK) increased in the brain of fish exposed to zinc 100 microM, while phosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase 1/2 (JNK1/2) remained unchanged. Expression of proteins HSP60 and HSP70 were not affected by zinc exposure. Considering the significant concentration-dependent inhibition of GR in all tissues analyzed, this enzyme could be a potential biomarker of exposure to zinc, which has to be confirmed.  相似文献   

Dynamics of arrays of floating point-absorber wave energy converters with inter-body and bottom slack-mooring connections     

Pedro C. Vicente  António F. de O. Falcão  Luís M.C. Gato  Paulo A.P. Justino 《Applied Ocean Research》2009,31(4):267-281

If point absorbers are employed in the extensive exploitation of the offshore wave energy resource, they should be deployed in arrays, the distance between the elements in the array being possibly tens of meters. In such cases, it may be more convenient that the array is spread moored to the sea bottom through only some of its elements, located in the periphery, while the other array elements are prevented from drifting and colliding with each other by connections to adjacent elements. An array of identical floating point absorbers located at the grid points of an equilateral triangular grid is considered in the paper. A spread set of slack-mooring lines connect the peripheric floaters to the bottom. A weight is located at the centre of each triangle whose function is to pull the three floaters towards each other and keep the inter-body mooring lines under tension. The power take-off system (PTO) is a linear damper activated by the buoy heaving motion. The whole system–buoys, moorings and power take-off systems–is assumed linear, so that a frequency domain analysis may be employed. Hydrodynamic interference between the oscillating buoys in array is accounted for. Equations are presented for a set of three identical point absorbers. This is then extended to more complex equilateral triangular grid arrays. Results from numerical simulations, with regular and irregular waves, are presented for the motions and power absorption of hemispherical converters in arrays of three and seven elements and for different mooring parameters and wave incidence angles. Comparisons are given with the unmoored and independently-moored buoy situations.  相似文献   

Environmental effects on the reproduction and fecundity of the introduced calcareous sponge Paraleucilla magna in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil          下载免费PDF全文

Emilio Lanna  Rodolfo Paranhos  Paulo C. Paiva  Michelle Klautau 《Marine Ecology》2015,36(4):1075-1087

The calcareous sponge Paraleucilla magna (Porifera, Calcarea) has been the subject of several studies in the last decade. It was first described along the Brazilian coast, where it is considered cryptogenic, and was subsequently found in the Mediterranean, where it is considered invasive. The wide artificial distribution of this species allows us to compare different aspects of the biology of an introduced species in different locations. Here, we analysed the effects of selected environmental parameters on the reproductive dynamics of P. magna in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) over 18 months and compared our results with those obtained for the same species in the Mediterranean Sea. Specimens were collected monthly and analysed through histological methods. The density of reproductive elements in each month was calculated, and the effects of environmental parameters (photoperiod, precipitation, temperature, phytoplankton and bacterioplankton) were analysed using a regression tree analysis. Paraleucilla magna was reproductive throughout the study period. The densities of the reproductive elements (oocytes, embryos and larvae) showed no seasonality, and this species presented one of the highest reproductive efforts documented to date in the phylum Porifera (99.0 oocytes · mm^?3; 89.0 embryos · mm^?3; 319.0 larvae · mm^?3). The main environmental parameters related to the reproduction of P. magna were temperature, photoperiod and bacterioplankton. Temperature was the main driver associated with the densities of oocytes and embryos, while bacterioplankton was the main driver of larvae (positive relationships). In Rio de Janeiro, larvae were present and continuously released. This strategy is different from that observed in the Mediterranean, where a larger larval output was observed but only during the summer months. Our results show that P. magna is a species with a strong invasive potential, considering its high and continuous reproductive effort. This high fecundity stimulated by high temperatures may be a key factor contributing to the growth of P. magna populations and its invasion of new areas.  相似文献   

Microbial biomass response to different quantities and sources of organic matter in Brazilian coastal sediments          下载免费PDF全文

Cintia O. Quintana  Paula C. de Moraes  Marcos Y. Yoshinaga  Stuart G. Wakeham  Paulo Y. G. Sumida 《Marine Ecology》2015,36(3):766-779

This study investigates the benthic microbial responses to organic matter (OM) variations in quantity and sources in two shallow water bays (Fortaleza and Ubatuba Bays) on the SE coast of Brazil on six occasions during the year. The pelagic and benthic compartments of the bays were evaluated by: (i) nutrients and chlorophyll a (Chl a) in the water column; (ii) quantity and sources of OM in the sediment (Chl a, total organic carbon and total nitrogen and lipid biomarker composition); and (iii) microbial biomass in sediments as an indicator of active benthic response. Although there were changes in water‐column nutrients during the year, Chl a was fairly constant, suggesting a regular supply of microalgae‐derived OM to the sea bottom. Based on the composition of lipid biomarkers in sediments, OM sources were classified as mostly marine and with high contributions of labile (microalgae‐derived) OM. Labile OM composition varied from diatoms in the summer to phytoflagellates in the winter and tended to accumulate in areas protected by physical disturbances in one of the bays. Microbial biomass followed this trend and was 160% higher in protected than in exposed areas. This study suggests that the coupling between labile OM and benthic microbial biomass occurs primarily in protected areas, irrespective of the time of the year. Since meio‐ and macrofaunal assemblages depend upon secondary microbial production within the sediments, this coupling may have an important role for the benthic food‐web.  相似文献   

Concurrent imaging of chlorophyll fluorescence,Chlorophyll a content and green fluorescent proteins‐like proteins of symbiotic cnidarians          下载免费PDF全文

Miguel Costa Leal  Bruno Jesus  João Ezequiel  Ricardo Calado  Rui Jorge Miranda Rocha  Paulo Cartaxana  João Serôdio 《Marine Ecology》2015,36(3):572-584

Research on photosynthetic cnidarians has been mainly focused on the symbiosis established between the cnidarian host and its dinoflagellates endosymbionts from genus Symbiodinium. Despite the potential of imaging techniques for assessing the spatial distribution of key parameters of cnidarian photobiology, such as photochemical activity, chlorophyll a content or green fluorescent proteins (GFPs), to our best knowledge, no study has ever attempted to simultaneous map these three features. In this study, we developed a modified imaging pulse amplitude fluorometer by applying excitation light of different wavelengths and selectively detecting short spectral bands through bandpass filters. The imaging system was used to sequentially excite and quantify chlorophyll variable fluorescence (maximum quantum yield of photosystem II, F_v/F_m), Chl a content (normalized difference vegetation index) and relative content of GFPs. The spatial distribution of these photophysiological parameters was mapped both horizontally, across the surface of the soft corals Sarcophyton cf. glaucum and Sinularia flexibilis and the zoanthid Protopalythoa sp., and vertically, throughout a vertical section of S. cf. glaucum. Results showed bleached areas within each individual coral colony and registered photophysiological changes with S. cf. glaucum tissue depth. Analysis of Protopalythoa sp. polyps’ expansion revealed differential surface patterns of NDVI and GFP concentration, and a negative relation between these latter parameters within each polyp. This novel non‐invasive approach allowed a high‐resolution characterization of the spatial relationship between these key parameters through the analysis of image information on a pixel‐by‐pixel basis, which has great potential for investigating the physiological state of symbiotic associations.  相似文献   

Bounce Rock—A shergottite‐like basalt encountered at Meridiani Planum,Mars     

Jutta ZIPFEL  Bradley L. JOLLIFF  Ralf GELLERT  Kenneth E. HERKENHOFF  Rudolf RIEDER  Robert ANDERSON  James F. BELL III  Johannes BRÜCKNER  Joy A. CRISP  Philip R. CHRISTENSEN  Benton C. CLARK  Paulo A. De SOUZA Jr.  Gerlind DREIBUS  Claude D’USTON  Thanasis ECONOMOU  Steven P. GOREVAN  Brian C. HAHN  Göstar KLINGELHÖFER  Timothy J. McCOY  Harry Y. McSWEEN Jr.  Douglas W. MING  Richard V. MORRIS  Daniel S. RODIONOV  Steven W. SQUYRES  Heinrich WÄNKE  Shawn P. WRIGHT  Michael B. WYATT  Albert S. YEN 《Meteoritics & planetary science》2011,46(1):1-20

Abstract– The Opportunity rover of the Mars Exploration Rover mission encountered an isolated rock fragment with textural, mineralogical, and chemical properties similar to basaltic shergottites. This finding was confirmed by all rover instruments, and a comprehensive study of these results is reported here. Spectra from the miniature thermal emission spectrometer and the Panoramic Camera reveal a pyroxene‐rich mineralogy, which is also evident in Mössbauer spectra and in normative mineralogy derived from bulk chemistry measured by the alpha particle X‐ray spectrometer. The correspondence of Bounce Rock’s chemical composition with the composition of certain basaltic shergottites, especially Elephant Moraine (EET) 79001 lithology B and Queen Alexandra Range (QUE) 94201, is very close, with only Cl, Fe, and Ti exhibiting deviations. Chemical analyses further demonstrate characteristics typical of Mars such as the Fe/Mn ratio and P concentrations. Possible shock features support the idea that Bounce Rock was ejected from an impact crater, most likely in the Meridiani Planum region. Bopolu crater, 19.3 km in diameter, located 75 km to the southwest could be the source crater. To date, no other rocks of this composition have been encountered by any of the rovers on Mars. The finding of Bounce Rock by the Opportunity rover provides further direct evidence for an origin of basaltic shergottite meteorites from Mars.  相似文献   

Comparisons of ocean scatterometer and anemometer winds off the southwestern Iberian Peninsula     

Ricardo F. Sánchez  Paulo Relvas  Henrique O. Pires 《Continental Shelf Research》2007

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Chemostratigraphy of the Tamengo Formation (Corumbá Group,Brazil): A contribution to the calibration of the Ediacaran carbon-isotope curve     

Paulo C. Boggiani  Claudio Gaucher  Alcides N. Sial  Marly Babinski  Cynthia M. Simon  Claudio Riccomini  Valderez P. Ferreira  Thomas R. Fairchild 《Precambrian Research》2010

The Corumbá Group, cropping out in the southern Paraguay Belt in Brazil, is one of the most complete Ediacaran sedimentary archives of palaeogeographic, climatic, biogeochemical and biotic evolution in southwestern Gondwana. The unit hosts a rich fossil record, including acritarchs, vendotaenids (Vendotaenia, Eoholynia), soft-bodied metazoans (Corumbella) and skeletal fossils (Cloudina, Titanotheca). The Tamengo Formation, made up mainly of limestones and marls, provides a rich bio- and chemostratigraphic record. Several outcrops, formerly assigned to the Cuiabá Group, are here included in the Tamengo Formation on the basis of lithological and chemostratigraphical criteria. High-resolution carbon isotopic analyses are reported for the Tamengo Formation, showing (from base to top): (1) a positive δ¹³C excursion to +4‰ PDB above post-glacial negative values, (2) a negative excursion to −3.5‰ associated with a marked regression and subsequent transgression, (3) a positive excursion to +5.5‰, and (4) a plateau characterized by δ¹³C around +3‰. A U-Pb SHRIMP zircon age of an ash bed interbedded in the upper part of the δ¹³C positive plateau yielded 543 ± 3 Ma, which is considered as the depositional age ( Babinski et al., 2008a). The positive plateau in the upper Tamengo Formation and the preceding positive excursion are ubiquitous features in several successions worldwide, including the Nama Group (Namibia), the Dengying Formation (South China) and the Nafun and Ara groups (Oman). This plateau is constrained between 542 and 551 Ma, thus consistent with the age of the upper Tamengo Formation. The negative excursion of the lower Tamengo Formation may be correlated to the Shuram–Wonoka negative anomaly, although δ¹³C values do not fall beyond −3.5‰ in the Brazilian sections. Sedimentary breccias occur just beneath this negative excursion in the lower Tamengo Formation. One possible interpretation of the origin of these breccias is a glacioeustatic sea-level fall, but a tectonic interpretation cannot be completely ruled out.  相似文献