Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research

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Publications

Nature-based solutions to support the management of aquatic ecosystems: potential application of floating islands to Fervença river

Publication . Geraldes, Ana Maria; Calheiros-Nogueira, Bruno; Calheiros, Cristina

Accordingly to The United Nations World Water Development Report 2018, “Nature-based solutions (NBS) are inspired and supported by nature and use, or mimic, natural processes to contribute to the improved management of water”. They delivery a wide range of ecosystem services depending on their configurations and purpose of aplication, being widely applied for ecosystems restoration. The restoration of ecosystems is a top priority has declared by the United Nations General Assembly, being 2021 - 2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. To meet the current challenges, it is thus important to look closely to the threatened ecosystems such the ones found in urban rivers and streams, that are under severe anthropogenic pressures. The Fervença River, located into Portuguese part of the Douro basin (latitude: 41º47’N; longitude 6º46’W), is about 25 km long and it is regarded as an urban river, because flows through the city of Bragança. Along its course it encounters nonpoint sources of pollution, originated by agricultural activities, and point sources of pollution from some villages located in the vicinity. The introduction of nature-based solutions, such floating wetland islands, to support the ecosystem rehabilitation of this heavily arterialized and modified river section, can contribute to (1) reduce nutrient concentrations in the water and thus, the algal blooms; (2) recreation of lost fluvial habitats, contributing to the increase of the biodiversity levels. The objective of the present approach is to evaluate the technical and economic viability of the installation of Floating islands - one of bioengineering technologies considered nature-based - in this highly modified section of the Fervença River. If viable, this solution could assist the improvement of ecological and visual quality of the surrounding urban area.

2020Conference object

Open access

Diversity, biogeography, evolutionary relationships, and conservation of Eastern Mediterranean freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae)

Publication . Lopes-Lima, Manuel; Gürlek, Mustafa Emre; Kebapçi, Ümit; Şereflişan, Hülya; Yanık, Telat; Mirzajani, Alireza; Neubert, Eike; Prié, Vincent; Teixeira, Amílcar; Gomes-dos-Santos, André; Barros-García, David; Bolotov, Ivan N.; Kondakov, Alexander V.; Vikhrev, Ilya V.; Tomilova, Alena A.; Özcan, Tahir; Altun, Ayhan; Gonçalves, Duarte V.; Bogan, Arthur E.; Froufe, Elsa

Located at the junction between Europe, Africa, and Asia, with distinct evolutionary origins and varied ecological and geographical settings, together with a marked history of changes in orogeny and configuration of the main river basins, turned the Eastern Mediterranean into a region of high diversity and endemism of freshwater taxa. Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionidae) from the Western Palearctic have been widely studied in their European range, but little attention has been dedicated to these taxa in the Eastern Mediterranean region and their diversity and phylogeography are still poorly understood. The present study aims to resolve the diversity, biogeography, and evolutionary relationships of the Eastern Mediterranean freshwater mussels. To that end, we performed multiple field surveys, phylogenetic analyses, and a thorough taxonomic revaluation. We reassessed the systematics of all Unionidae species in the region, including newly collected specimens across Turkey, Israel, and Iran, combining COI + 16S + 28S and COI phylogenies with molecular species delineation methods. Phylogeographical patterns were characterized based on published molecular data, newly sequenced specimens, and species distribution data, as well as ancestral range estimations. We reveal that Unionidae species richness in the Eastern Mediterranean is over 70% higher than previously assumed, counting 19 species within two subfamilies, the Unioninae (14) and Gonideinae (5). We propose two new species, Anodonta seddoni sp. nov. and Leguminaia anatolica sp. nov. Six additional taxa, Unio delicatus stat. rev., Unio eucirrus stat. rev., Unio hueti stat. rev., Unio sesirmensis stat. rev., Unio terminalis stat. rev. removed from the synonymy of Unio tigridis, as well as Unio damascensis stat. rev. removed from the synonymy of Unio crassus, are re-described. The nominal taxa Unio rothi var. komarowi O. Boettger, 1880 and Unio armeniacus Kobelt, 1911 are proposed as new synonyms of Unio bruguierianus, and Anodonta cyrea Drouët, 1881 and Anodonta cilicica Kobelt and Rolle, 1895 as new synonyms of Anodonta anatina. Also, the presence of Unio tumidus in the Maritza River is confirmed. The phylogeographic patterns described here are interpreted concerning major past geological events. Conservation needs and implications are presented, together with populations and species conservation priorities.

2021Journal article

Open access

Floating islands, a nature-based solution for the ecological integrity promotion in rivers? - The case of Fervença river (NE Portugal)

Publication . Geraldes, Ana Maria; Calheiros-Nogueira, Bruno; Calheiros, Cristina

Despite the existence of the Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60 / EC of 23 October, modified in 2019) and a set of “satellite legislation” advocating that water quality depends not only on the good physical-chemical state, but also on the good ecological status of freshwater ecosystems, these continue to be subjected of accelerated ecological degradation. Indeed, freshwater ecosystems are considered to be the most threatened ecosystems on the planet (Dudgeon et al., 2006). Urban rivers and streams are crucial to cities, because they provide environmental services that are essential to maintaining urban environmental quality (Hua & Chen, 2019). Nevertheless, many of the so called “urban river rehabilitation actions”, carried out either the past, either recently, promoted the regularization of the riverbeds and the riverbanks leading to riparian wood degradation and consequently to the entire riverine structure collapse.

2020Conference object

Open access

The gill transcriptome of threatened European freshwater mussels

Publication . Gomes-dos-Santos, André; Machado, André M.; Castro, L. Filipe C.; Prié, Vincent; Teixeira, Amílcar; Lopes-Lima, Manuel; Froufe, Elsa

Genomic tools applied to non-model organisms are critical to design successful conservation strategies of particularly threatened groups. Freshwater mussels of the Unionida order are among the most vulnerable taxa and yet almost no genetic resources are available. Here, we present the gill transcriptomes of five European freshwater mussels with high conservation concern: Margaritifera margaritifera, Unio crassus, Unio pictorum, Unio mancus and Unio delphinus. The final assemblies, with N50 values ranging from 1069–1895 bp and total BUSCO scores above 90% (Eukaryote and Metazoan databases), were structurally and functionally annotated, and made available. The transcriptomes here produced represent a valuable resource for future studies on these species’ biology and ultimately guide their conservation.

2022Journal article

Open access

Application of floating wetland islands for water and habitat promotion in two contexts: urban river and small fish farm

Publication . Geraldes, Ana Maria; Calheiros-Nogueira, Bruno; Teixeira, Amílcar; Calheiros, Cristina

Despite the proven vital importance of freshwater ecosystems for humanity, those continue to be subjected of accelerated ecological degradation. Floating wetland islands (FWI) - one of bioengineering technologies classified as nature-based solutions – have shown ability to assist the reduction of nutrient concentrations, improving water and habitat quality for wildlife. Therefore, if properly used, FWI can be important tools for assisting the sustainable management and the rehabilitation of these ecosystems. Herein, are presented two proposals for FWI installation: one concerning the water and habitat quality improvement of an urban river section (Case 1); the other aiming the reduction of the small fish farm outflow impact on downstream water quality and the improvement of reared fish welfare (Case 2).

2021Conference object

Open access