Variability in Carcinus maenas Fecundity Along Lagoons and Estuaries of the Portuguese Coast

Although Carcinus maenas as a species is widely studied, research focusing on fecundity is still scarce. The main objective of this study was to evaluate size-fecundity relationships across different lagoons and estuaries, along the Portuguese coast, to understand how the local environment affects reproductive patterns. Between 2019 and 2020, ovigerous females were collected from the Southern (Ria Formosa and Ria de Alvor), Central (Rio Sado) and Northern regions (Ria de Aveiro) of Portugal, and the fecundity of each female was estimated by counting and weighing eggs. Morphometric relationships (carapace width–egg counting; egg counting–egg weight; body wet weight–egg weight; carapace width–body wet weight) were inferred from 180 egg-bearing females with a carapace width between 26.96 and 61.25 mm. A positive correlation between fecundity and the morphological parameters was observed. Differences in fecundity were found among all systems, from northern to southern Portugal, varying between 22121 and 408538 eggs per female. Furthermore, a regional gradient was observed across regions, with lower temperature estuaries (Ria de Aveiro) displaying an increase in fecundity. The fecundity in Rio Sado was also affected by salinity. Fecundity differences across regions were associated with hydrodynamics, temperature, and salinity differences among systems. No statistically significant differences were observed between Carapace Width—Body Wet Weight regressions performed in each studied system, indicating that, contrary to fecundity, the somatic growth of C. maenas is not affected by latitudinal or environmental conditions.

Moving Seascapes: The Architecture and Biology of Fishing and Canning on the Portuguese Coast

When they fish, humans play an active part in the dynamics of marine ecosys-tems, and architecture is subsequently involved in the processing of their catch. Our goal is to develop the idea of Fishing Architecture as a useful concept for understanding the interconnected relationship between architecture and fish-ing. By analysing the architectural and ecological outcomes of fisheries and can-ning industry, we will try to assess the complex relationship between human ac-tivities and environmental transformations. How can we represent the intricate relationship between the sea and the coast? This text seeks to state this hypothe-sis and incorporate ecological information into the analysis of the development of the sardine canning industry in Matosinhos. Based on the knowledge of ma-rine ecology, we hope to find an original perspective from which to visualize and evaluate urban developments and their environmental impacts.

A comprehensive assessment of the intertidal biodiversity along the Portuguese coast in the early 2000s

The unprecedented rates of current biodiversity loss have motivated a renewed interest in environmental and biodiversity monitoring. The need for sustained monitoring strategies has prompted not only the establisment of new long-term monitoring programmes, but also the rescue of data from historical or otherwise archived sources. Amongst the most valuable datasets are those containing information on intertidal systems, as they are particularly well suited for studying the biological effects of climate change. The Portuguese rocky coast is quite interesting for studying the effects of climate change on the distribution of species due to its geographical orientation, latitudinal patterns in temperature, species richness, species' distribution patterns and availability of historical information. This work aims at providing a comprehensive picture of the distribution and abundance of intertidal macro-invertebrates and macro-algae along the Portuguese rocky coast in the early 2000s. This study provides a description of the rocky shore intertidal biodiversity of the mainland Portuguese coast in the early 2000s. The spatial distribution and semi-quantitative abundance of a total of 238 taxa were assessed at 49 wave-exposed locations. These data provide a comprehensive baseline against which biodiversity changes can be effectively and objectively evaluated.

Validation and Evaluation of Selected Organic Pollutants in Shrimp and Seawater Samples from the NW Portuguese Coast

The development of coastal regions has contributed to the intensification of environmental contamination, which can accumulate in aquatic biota, such as shrimps. These crustaceans, besides being delicious and being a good source of nutrients, can also accumulate environmental pollutants. Amongst others, these include organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs), brominated flame retardants (BFRs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and synthetic musks (SMs). These pollutants, classified as endocrine disruptors, are related to adverse effects in humans and since one of the major routes of exposition is ingestion, this is a cause for concern regarding their presence in food. The aim of the present study was to quantify the presence of environmental pollutants in shrimp samples and in the water from their habitat along the northwest Portuguese coast. In seawater samples, only two OCPs (lindane and DDD) and one BFR (BTBPE) were detected, and in shrimp samples, one OCP (DDD) and three SMs (HHCB, AHTN and ketone) were found. Bioaccumulation and the risk assessment of dietary exposure of SMs in shrimp samples were investigated. It was observed that all shrimp samples analyzed significantly presented bioaccumulation of the three SMs found. Concentrations of SMs detected in shrimp samples do not present a health risk for the adult Portuguese population.

Outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease in the Northern Portuguese Coast During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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On the use of drones to detect and map marine macro-litter on the North Atlantic Portuguese beach-dune systems: the experiences of UAS4Litter project

<p>Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS, aka drones) are being used to map marine macro-litter on the coast. Within the UAS4Litter project, the application of UAS has been applied on three sandy beach-dune systems on the wave-dominated North Atlantic Portuguese coast. Several technical solutions have been tested in terms of drone mapping performance, manual image screening and marine litter map analysis. The conceptualization and implementation of a multidisciplinary framework allowed to improve and making more efficient the mapping of marine litter items with UAS on coastal environment. </p><p>The location of major marine litter loads within the monitored areas were found associated to beach slope and water level dynamics on the beach profiles. Moreover, the abundance of marine pollution was related to the geographical location and level of urbanization of the study sites. The testing of machine learning techniques underlined that automated technique returned reliable abundance map of marine litter, while manual image screening was required for a detailed categorization of the items. </p><p>As marine litter pollution on coastal dunes has received limited scientific attention when compared with sandy shores, a novel non-intrusive UAS-based marine litter survey have been also applied to quantify the level of contamination on coastal dunes. The results showed the influence of the different dune plant communities in trapping distinct type of marine litter, and the role played by wind and overwash events in defining the items pathways through the dune blowouts. </p><p>The experiences on the Portuguese coast show that UAS allows an integrated approach for marine litter mapping, beach morphodynamic and nearshore hydrodynamic, setting the ground for marine litter dynamic modelling on the shore. Besides, UAS can give a new impulse to coastal dune litter monitoring, where the long residence time of marine debris threat the bio-ecological equilibrium of these ecosystems.</p>