The shell of Hexaplex (Trunculariopsis) trunculus (Gastropoda: Muricidae) as a mobile hard substratum for epibiotic polychaetes (Annelida: Polychaeta) in the Ria Formosa (Algarve coast—southern Portugal)

Hydrobiologia ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 575 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Vasconcelos ◽  
João Cúrdia ◽  
Margarida Castro ◽  
Miguel B. Gaspar
Keyword(s):  
Hard Substratum ◽  
Ria Formosa ◽  
Southern Portugal

scholarly journals Bioinformatic tools help molecular characterization of Perkinsus olseni differentially expressed genes

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita M. T. Ascenso
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Characterization ◽  
Protozoan Parasite ◽  
Bioinformatic Tools ◽  
Host Interaction ◽  
Ria Formosa ◽  
Genes Expression ◽  
Bioinformatic Tool ◽  
Southern Portugal ◽  
Heavy Mortality

Abstract In the 80ies, in Southern Europe and in particular in Ria Formosa there was an episode of heavy mortality of the economically relevant clam Ruditapes (R.) decussatus associated with a debilitating disease (Perkinsosis) caused by Perkinsus olseni. This protozoan parasite was poorly known concerning its’ differential transcriptome in response to its host, R. decussatus. This laboratory available protozoan system was used to identify parasite genes related to host interaction. Beyond the application of molecular biology technologies and methodologies, only the help of Bioinformatics tools allowed to analyze the results of the study. The strategy started with SSH technique, allowing the identification of parasite up-regulated genes in response to its natural host, then a macroarray was constructed and hybridized to characterize the parasite genes expression when exposed to bivalves hemolymph from permissive host (R. decussatus), resistant host (R. philippinarum) and non permissive bivalve (Donax trunculus) that cohabit in the same or adjacent habitats in Southern Portugal. Genes and respective peptides full molecular characterization depended on several Bioinformatic tools application. Also a new Bioinformatic tool was developed.

Occurrence and characterization of pearls from oysters of the genus Crassostrea

2016 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-302
Author(s):  
Frederico M. Batista ◽  
Ana Grade ◽  
Deborah M. Power ◽  
Francisco Ruano ◽  
Elizabeth M. Harper
Keyword(s):  
Oyster Shell ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Parasitic Copepods ◽  
Ria Formosa ◽  
Crassostrea Angulata ◽  
Mollusc Species ◽  
Southern Portugal ◽  
Foot Disease ◽  
The Right ◽  
Almost All

The occurrence of pearls in the ‘true’ oysters, the Ostreioidea, is poorly documented despite being the most produced mollusc species in the world. Oysters of the Crassostrea genus were collected in two different sites in southern Portugal where both Crassostrea angulata and C. gigas are present, namely in: (1) the Ria Formosa lagoon where pearls were not observed (N = 446); and (2) the Guadiana estuary where pearls were found in 12 out of the 798 oysters analysed. The pearls were located mainly at the edge of the right mantle lobe in the inhalant chamber and their maximum length ranged from 0.9 to 5.5 mm. Almost all the pearls had a white-cream colouration with the exception of two pearls that had a black-brown colour. X-ray diffraction analysis of one pearl showed that it was entirely calcitic with no traces of either aragonite or vaterite. The pearls observed were therefore non-nacreous pearls. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a diversity of microstructures including prismatic, foliae-like sheets and blocky textures, i.e. highly reminiscent of the host oyster shell microstructures. Parasites (e.g. parasitic copepods, Haplosporidium-like plasmodia) and signs of diseases (e.g. foot disease) were observed in some of the oysters analysed, but they were not associated with the occurrence of pearls. The present work is one of the few studies on the occurrence of natural pearls in ‘true’ oysters and to our knowledge the first description of their microstructure by SEM.

Morphometric relationships and relative growth of Hexaplex trunculus and Bolinus brandaris (Gastropoda: Muricidae) from the Ria Formosa lagoon (southern Portugal)

2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (7) ◽  
pp. 1417-1425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Vasconcelos ◽  
Carlos M. Barroso ◽  
Miguel B. Gaspar
Keyword(s):  
Shell Length ◽  
Morphological Plasticity ◽  
Shell Shape ◽  
Shell Weight ◽  
Geometric Morphometric ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Ria Formosa ◽  
Hexaplex Trunculus ◽  
Southern Portugal ◽  
Bolinus Brandaris

The present study reports morphometric relationships and discusses the relative growth in the banded murex (Hexaplex trunculus) and the purple dye murex (Bolinus brandaris) from the Ria Formosa lagoon (southern Portugal). A total of 11 morphometric parameters (eight linear variables: shell length, shell width, total aperture length, aperture length, aperture width, spire length, spire width and siphonal canal length; three ponderal variables: total weight, soft parts weight and shell weight) were analysed in both species. The analyses comprised numerous individuals of both sexes and with broad size ranges (H. trunculus: 10.7–82.8 mm shell length; B. brandaris: 14.6–107.7 mm shell length), fairly representative of the populations from the Ria Formosa lagoon. In general, B. brandaris exhibited greater morphological plasticity and higher variability in shell shape compared with H. trunculus. In both species, the vast majority of morphometric relationships displayed positive allometries, distantly followed by negative allometries and by isometries. Although H. trunculus and B. brandaris are known to lack external sexual dimorphism, several morphometric relationships revealed significant differences in the type of growth between sexes, which should be further confirmed using more powerful techniques, such as geometric morphometric analyses of shell shape.

The western lagoon marshes of the Ria Formosa (Southern Portugal): Sediment-vegetation dynamics, long-term to short-term changes and perspective

2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles Arnaud-Fassetta ◽  
Frédéric Bertrand ◽  
Stéphane Costa ◽  
Robert Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Dynamics ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Ria Formosa ◽  
Southern Portugal

Long-term changes in fish communities of the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon (southern Portugal) based on two studies made 20years apart

2008 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquim Ribeiro ◽  
Carlos C. Monteiro ◽  
Pedro Monteiro ◽  
Luis Bentes ◽  
Rui Coelho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Lagoon ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Ria Formosa ◽  
Long Term Changes ◽  
Southern Portugal

Diet and feeding biology of Haminoea orbygniana (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Cephalaspidea)

2004 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 767-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel António E. Malaquias ◽  
Silvia Condinho ◽  
Juan L. Cervera ◽  
Martin Sprung
Keyword(s):  
Gut Contents ◽  
Gut Content Analysis ◽  
Gut Content ◽  
Additional Food ◽  
Ria Formosa ◽  
Feeding Biology ◽  
The Family ◽  
Southern Portugal ◽  
Functional Biology

The diet and functional biology of the digestive system of the cephalaspidean gastropod Haminoea orbygniana was investigated by gut content analysis of animals collected in the Ria Formosa, a coastal lagoon in southern Portugal. The results show that this species is herbivorous, stenophagic and probably non-selective, feeding mainly on diatoms (67·61%) and occasionally on vegetal detritus (4·16%) and Foraminifera (0·04%), but also including sand grains as an important part of the gut contents (28·34%). The role of the gizzard plates in the fragmentation of diatom frustules was demonstrated and is discussed. Data reveal that this process, although possibly important for the digestion and assimilation of food, seems not to be crucial. The role of sand as an additional food source and as an accessory tool complementary to the gizzard plates is discussed. A general review of the diet within the family Haminoeidae is presented, with all recent work indicating that they feed on diatoms and green algae.

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