1
|
Rego RMC, Moura M, Olangua-Corral M, Roxo G, Resendes R, Silva L. Anthropogenic disturbance has altered the habitat of two Azorean endemic coastal plants. BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:111. [PMID: 39164629 PMCID: PMC11337623 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-024-02300-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 08/14/2024] [Indexed: 08/22/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anthropogenic threats are causing alteration of coastal areas worldwide. Most of the coastal biodiversity is endangered, taking a particular toll on island ecosystems, like the Azores. To better understand the biotic and abiotic factors constraining the distribution and conservation status of two endemic plants, Azorina vidalii (Campanulaceae) and Lotus azoricus (Fabaceae), we performed a global survey of coastal plant communities in the archipelago, also covering environmental descriptors, natural and anthropogenic threats. Moreover, we revised their IUCN conservation status and estimated the population fractions within protected areas. RESULTS Non-indigenous plants were commonly found in plots with or without the target endemics, contributing to the absence of well-defined coastal plant communities. Nonetheless, indigenous taxa commonly occurred at the plots with L. azoricus. With a larger area of occurrence, A. vidalii ecological niche differed from that of L. azoricus, the latter being restricted to dry and rocky sea cliffs, mostly in Santa Maria Island. Besides the presence of invasive plants, signs of habitat destruction, trampling and grazing, and of natural threats, such as coastal erosion, were commonly observed. CONCLUSIONS Occurrence data indicated an endangered status for both species, although this would change to critically endangered for L. azoricus when using smaller-sized occurrence cells. Both species are threatened since their habitat is restricted to a very narrow vegetation belt, strongly limited by sea influence and human pressure, and with the frequent presence of invasive plants. While focusing on two endemic plants, our study allowed a broader view of the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on Azorean coastal plant communities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rúben M Correia Rego
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade dos Açores, R. Mãe de Deus 13A, Ponta Delgada, 9500-321, Portugal.
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal.
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, UNESCO Chair - Land Within Sea: Biodiversity & Sustainability in Atlantic Islands, Universidade dos Açores, R. Mãe de Deus 13A, Ponta Delgada, 9500-321, Portugal.
| | - Mónica Moura
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade dos Açores, R. Mãe de Deus 13A, Ponta Delgada, 9500-321, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, UNESCO Chair - Land Within Sea: Biodiversity & Sustainability in Atlantic Islands, Universidade dos Açores, R. Mãe de Deus 13A, Ponta Delgada, 9500-321, Portugal
| | - Maria Olangua-Corral
- Banco Germoplasma & Dpto. Biología Reproductiva, Jardín Botánico Canario "Viera y Clavijo" - u.a. CSIC, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
| | - Guilherme Roxo
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade dos Açores, R. Mãe de Deus 13A, Ponta Delgada, 9500-321, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, UNESCO Chair - Land Within Sea: Biodiversity & Sustainability in Atlantic Islands, Universidade dos Açores, R. Mãe de Deus 13A, Ponta Delgada, 9500-321, Portugal
| | - Roberto Resendes
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade dos Açores, R. Mãe de Deus 13A, Ponta Delgada, 9500-321, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, UNESCO Chair - Land Within Sea: Biodiversity & Sustainability in Atlantic Islands, Universidade dos Açores, R. Mãe de Deus 13A, Ponta Delgada, 9500-321, Portugal
| | - Luís Silva
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade dos Açores, R. Mãe de Deus 13A, Ponta Delgada, 9500-321, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, UNESCO Chair - Land Within Sea: Biodiversity & Sustainability in Atlantic Islands, Universidade dos Açores, R. Mãe de Deus 13A, Ponta Delgada, 9500-321, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Sacchetti C, Landau B, Ávila SP. The Lower Pliocene marine gastropods of Santa Maria Island, Azores: Taxonomy and palaeobiogeographic implications. Zootaxa 2023; 5295:1-150. [PMID: 37518462 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5295.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
In this work, all the Lower Pliocene gastropod assemblages of Santa Maria Island are revised. These all form part of the Touril Complex. Seventy-seven species are identified representing 61 genera. Two species are described as new: Bittium miradouroense nov. sp. and Erato mayeri nov. sp. The name Tritonium secans Bronn in Reiss 1862 is considered a junior subjective synonym of Monoplex comptus (A. Adams, 1855). Pleurotoma perturrita Bronn in Reiss 1862 is considered a junior subjective synonym of Crassopleura maravignae (Bivona, 1838). However, due to the difficulties in collecting from these deposits, this is likely to be a considerable underestimate of the original diversity of local Early Pliocene gastropod faunas. The assemblage reflects a fully tropical with mean annual sea surface temperatures (SSTs) estimated about 3.7°C to 6.3°C higher than the present-day 20.6°C, and with mean monthly SSTs ranging from 20°C to 28°C, with six months with mean SSTs over 24°C. The assemblages all represent relatively shallow water, fully saline marine environments. At genus level the assemblage is typical of that seen in the tropical Mediterranean-West African Palaeobiogeographical Province during the early Pliocene (MPPMU1; roughly equivalent to the Zanclean and earliest Piacenzian). At species level, 35% of the species taxa found in Santa Maria are also found in the Mediterranean during MPPMU1. There is a much weaker association with the northern warm temperate Pliocene Boreal-Celtic Province, with only 17% of species occurring in both. Moreover, most of those are ubiquitous European species with both wide geographic and stratigraphic distributions. The assemblage is relatively endemic (29%) suggesting that the Azorean subprovince/ecoregion, which is recognised today, was already in place in the Lower Pliocene. A small number of tonnoidean species found in Santa Maria are species known to have had an amphiatlantic distribution during the Pliocene, and for Distorsio mcgintyi Emerson & Puffer, 1953, a well-known and widely distributed tropical American Atlantic species from the Early Miocene to present-day, its presence in Santa Maria marks the most easterly range expansion for the species, as today is not found in the Azores.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Sacchetti
- Departamento de Biologia Animal; Universidade de Lisboa; Cidade Universitária; Alameda da Universidade; 1649-004 Lisbon.
| | - Bernard Landau
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center; P.O. Box 9517; 2300 RA Leiden; Netherlands; Instituto Dom Luiz da Universidade de Lisboa; Campo Grande; 1749-016 Lisboa; Portugal; and International Health Centres; Av. Infante de Henrique 7; Areias São João; P-8200 Albufeira; Portugal.
| | - Sérgio P Ávila
- MPB-Marine Palaeontology and Biogeography Lab; University of the Azores; Rua da Mãe de Deus; 9501-801 Ponta Delgada; Azores; Portugal; CIBIO-Açores; Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos; InBIO Laboratório Associado; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics; Biodiversity and Land Planning. UNESCO Chair-Land Within Sea: Biodiversity & Sustainability in Atlantic Islands; Universidade dos Açores; R. Mãe de Deus 13A; 9500-321 Ponta Delgada; Portugal.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Baptista L, Berning B, Curto M, Waeschenbach A, Meimberg H, Santos AM, Ávila SP. Morphospecies and molecular diversity of ‘lace corals’: the genus Reteporella (Bryozoa: Cheilostomatida) in the central North Atlantic Azores Archipelago. BMC Ecol Evol 2022; 22:128. [PMCID: PMC9635095 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-022-02080-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Background As in most bryozoans, taxonomy and systematics of species in the genus Reteporella Busk, 1884 (family Phidoloporidae) has hitherto almost exclusively been based on morphological characters. From the central North Atlantic Azores Archipelago, nine Reteporella species have historically been reported, none of which have as yet been revised. Aiming to characterise the diversity and biogeographic distribution of Azorean Reteporella species, phylogenetic reconstructions were conducted on a dataset of 103 Azorean Reteporella specimens, based on the markers cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1, small and large ribosomal RNA subunits. Morphological identification was based on scanning electron microscopy and complemented the molecular inferences. Results Our results reveal two genetically distinct Azorean Reteporella clades, paraphyletic to eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean taxa. Moreover, an overall concordance between morphological and molecular species can be shown, and the actual bryozoan diversity in the Azores is greater than previously acknowledged as the dataset comprises three historically reported species and four putative new taxa, all of which are likely to be endemic. The inclusion of Mediterranean Reteporella specimens also revealed new species in the Adriatic and Ligurian Sea, whilst the inclusion of additional phidoloporid taxa hints at the non-monophyly of the genus Reteporella. Conclusion Being the first detailed genetic study on the genus Reteporella, the high divergence levels inferred within the genus Reteporella and family Phidoloporidae calls for the need of further revision. Nevertheless, the overall concordance between morphospecies and COI data suggest the potential adequacy of a 3% cut-off to distinguish Reteporella species. The discovery of new species in the remote Azores Archipelago as well as in the well-studied Mediterranean Sea indicates a general underestimation of bryozoan diversity. This study constitutes yet another example of the importance of integrative taxonomical approaches on understudied taxa, contributing to cataloguing genetic and morphological diversity. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12862-022-02080-z.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lara Baptista
- grid.5808.50000 0001 1503 7226Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, CIBIO, InBIO Laboratório Associado, 9501-801 Pólo dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal ,grid.5808.50000 0001 1503 7226BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal ,grid.7338.f0000 0001 2096 9474MPB-Marine Palaeontology and Biogeography Lab, Universidade dos Açores, 9501-801 Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal ,grid.5808.50000 0001 1503 7226Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 1021/1055, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal ,grid.5173.00000 0001 2298 5320University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute for Integrative Nature Conservation Research, Vienna, Austria
| | - Björn Berning
- grid.5808.50000 0001 1503 7226Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, CIBIO, InBIO Laboratório Associado, 9501-801 Pólo dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal ,grid.7338.f0000 0001 2096 9474MPB-Marine Palaeontology and Biogeography Lab, Universidade dos Açores, 9501-801 Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal ,Oberösterreichische Landes-Kultur GmbH, Geowissenschaftliche Sammlungen, 4060 Leonding, Austria
| | - Manuel Curto
- grid.5173.00000 0001 2298 5320University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute for Integrative Nature Conservation Research, Vienna, Austria ,grid.9983.b0000 0001 2181 4263MARE, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | | | - Harald Meimberg
- grid.5173.00000 0001 2298 5320University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute for Integrative Nature Conservation Research, Vienna, Austria
| | - António M. Santos
- grid.5808.50000 0001 1503 7226Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 1021/1055, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal ,grid.5808.50000 0001 1503 7226Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, CIBIO, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Sérgio P. Ávila
- grid.5808.50000 0001 1503 7226Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, CIBIO, InBIO Laboratório Associado, 9501-801 Pólo dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal ,grid.5808.50000 0001 1503 7226BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal ,grid.7338.f0000 0001 2096 9474MPB-Marine Palaeontology and Biogeography Lab, Universidade dos Açores, 9501-801 Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal ,grid.5808.50000 0001 1503 7226Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 1021/1055, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal ,grid.7338.f0000 0001 2096 9474Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade dos Açores, 9501-801 Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Protecting Coastlines from Flooding in a Changing Climate: A Preliminary Experimental Study to Investigate a Sustainable Approach. WATER 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/w12092471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Rising sea levels are causing more frequent flooding events in coastal areas and generate many issues for coastal communities such as loss of property or damages to infrastructures. To address this issue, this paper reviews measures currently in place and identifies possible control measures that can be implemented to aid preservation of coastlines in the future. Breakwaters present a unique opportunity to proactively address the impact of coastal flooding. However, there is currently a lack of research into combined hard and soft engineering techniques. To address the global need for developing sustainable solutions, three specific breakwater configurations were designed and experimentally compared in the hydraulic laboratory at Coventry University to assess their performance in reducing overtopping and the impact of waves, quantifying the effectiveness of each. The investigation confirmed that stepped configurations work effectively in high amplitudes waves, especially with the presence of a slope angle to aid wave reflection. These results provide a very valuable preliminary investigation into novel sustainable solutions incorporating both artificial and natural based strategies that could be considered by local and national authorities for the planning of future mitigation strategies to defend coastal areas from flooding and erosion.
Collapse
|