ORCID Profile
0000-0001-6597-0268
Current Organisation
Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2006
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-09-2018
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.14431
Abstract: Increased temperature and CO
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2012
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-04-2014
DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE2210
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 02-2008
DOI: 10.1017/S0025315408000192
Abstract: Ornamental crabs of the genus Mithraculus (Decapoda: Brachyura: Majidae) are utilized in reef aquaria to control nuisance algae, particularly bubble algae. Although Mithraculus have modified, spooned-shaped chelae to feed on both fleshy and filamentous algae, they may consume alternative foods offered in a reef aquarium. The objective of this study was to determine the efficiency of using Mithraculus sculptus to control the bubble alga Ventricaria ventricosa (Siphonocladales–Cladophorales complex, Chlorophyta) in the presence of alternative foods (commercial pellets and frozen mysids) commonly utilized in reef aquaria. Results indicated that medium and large sized crabs consumed more bubble algae than smaller conspecifics. Although, M. sculptus first chose alternative foods to bubble alga (77% and 69% of the time chose pellets and frozen mysids, respectively), algal consumption only decreased significantly if, besides algae, pellets were provided when only algae were provided, algal consumption was similar to when they were provided with mysids. The prey choice model was used as a conceptual framework to study the mechanisms underlying active selection food energy content and handling time were measured and food profitability was calculated. Handling time decreased with increasing crab size. Pellets presented a higher profitability than algae but mysids and algae presented similar profitability this seems to be in agreement with the observed reduced algal consumption when pellets made part of the diet. Mithraculus sculptus feeding behaviour on V. ventricosa recorded with digital high-speed video (DHSV) suggests that as the crab tears the algal cell apart, the cell liquid that contains juvenile cytoplasmatic spheres is released into the water this behaviour might contribute to algal dispersal and consequently algal infestation. These results seem to indicate that M. sculptus might not be such an efficient bio-controller of the pest V. ventricosa as previously thought, particularly when pellets are used as food however, its bio-control efficiency might be improved if, mysids are used as food.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-04-2011
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-02-2008
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2008
DOI: 10.1651/07-2937R.1
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2008
Publisher: OMICS Publishing Group
Date: 2012
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-09-2017
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-017-12607-W
Abstract: Corals worldwide are facing population declines due to global climate change and local anthropogenic impacts. Global climate change effects are hard to tackle but recent studies show that some coral species can better handle climate change stress when provided with additional energy resources. The local stressor that most undermines energy acquisition is sedimentation because it impedes coral heterotrophic feeding and their ability to photosynthesize. To investigate if reducing local sedimentation will enable corals to better endure ocean warming, we quantitatively assessed the combined effects of increased temperature and sedimentation (concentration and turbidity) on the survival of coral recruits of the species, Porites astreoides . We used sediment from a reef and a boat basin to mimic natural sediment (coarse) and anthropogenic (fine) sediment (common in dredging), respectively. Natural sediment did not negatively impact coral survival, but anthropogenic sediment did. We found that the capacity of coral recruits to survive under warmer temperatures is less compromised when anthropogenic sedimentation is maintained at the lowest level (30 mg.cm −2 ). Our study suggests that a reduction of US-EPA allowable turbidity from 29 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) above background to less than 7 NTU near coral reefs would facilitate coral recruit survival under current and higher temperatures.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-12-2021
Publisher: No publisher found
Date: 2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2007
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2008
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-05-2017
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-017-02402-Y
Abstract: Reef coral assemblages are highly dynamic and subject to repeated disturbances, which are predicted to increase in response to climate change. Consequently there is an urgent need to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying different recovery scenarios. Recent work has demonstrated that reef structural complexity can facilitate coral recovery, but the mechanism remains unclear. Similarly, experiments suggest that coral larvae can distinguish between the water from healthy and degraded reefs, however, whether or not they can use these cues to navigate to healthy reefs is an open question. Here, we use a meta-analytic approach to document that coral larval swimming speeds are orders of magnitude lower than measurements of water flow both on and off reefs. Therefore, the ability of coral larvae to navigate to reefs while in the open-ocean, or to settlement sites while on reefs is extremely limited. We then show experimentally that turbulence generated by fine scale structure is required to deliver larvae to the substratum even in conditions mimicking calm back-reef flow environments. We conclude that structural complexity at a number of scales assists coral recovery by facilitating both the delivery of coral larvae to the substratum and settlement.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 08-07-2008
DOI: 10.1017/S0025315408002063
Abstract: Fatty-acid and energy content of Maja brachydactyla eggs at different developmental stages (recently spawned, half-developed and ready to hatch) were analysed in order to understand what is being consumed and produced during the embryonic development. Egg volume increased during development (34%, 0.187 to 0.285 mm 3 , N = 270) and was negatively correlated with egg energy and fatty-acid content (r = −0.80 and r = −0.46, respectively), which decreased through embryogenesis. The most consumed fatty acids were the PUFA (21.2 μg · mg dw −1 ), followed by the SFA (18.8 μg · mg dw −1 ) and MUFA (14.9 μg · mg dw −1 ). Palmitic (16:0), oleic (18:1n-9) and eicosapentaenoic (EPA, 20:5n-3) acids were preferentially consumed (13.14, 9.21 and 8.67 μg · mg dw −1 , respectively). The fatty acid composition found in M. brachydactyla eggs reflected the habitat and omnivorous and detritivorous scanvenger diet of the adults, although the consumption of algae was more important than previously thought, at least in the area where these adults were captured. Pre-hatching eggs have a high PUFA content (64.5 μg · mg dw −1 or 46.3% of the egg fatty-acid content). We conclude that larvae of this species might need a diet rich in PUFA, particularly EPA and DHA, for successful development. From the culture perspective, live preys commonly used in aquaculture will likely require to be enriched with DHA.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2009
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2005
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-08-2015
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12360
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 22-05-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2006
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2003
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2013
DOI: 10.1890/12-0767.1
Abstract: Many organisms have a complex life-cycle in which dispersal occurs at the propagule stage. For marine environments, there is growing evidence that high levels of recruitment back to the natal population (self-recruitment) are common in many marine organisms. For fish, swimming behavior is frequently invoked as a key mechanism allowing high self-recruitment. For organisms with weak-swimming larvae, such as many marine invertebrates, the mechanisms behind self-recruitment are less clear. Here, we assessed whether the combination of passive retention of larvae due to re-circulation processes near reefs, and the dynamics of settlement competence, can produce the high levels of self-recruitment previously estimated by population genetic studies for reef-building corals. Additionally, we investigated whether time to motility, which is more readily measurable than competence parameters, can explain the between-species variation in self-recruitment. We measured the larval competence dynamics of broadcast-spawning and brooding corals and incorporated these in a model of larval retention around reefs to estimate the potential for self-recruitment and assess its variation among species and reefs. Our results suggest that the larvae of many corals, even those with an obligate planktonic phase, develop with sufficient rapidity to allow high levels of self-recruitment, particularly for reefs with long water retention times. Time to motility explained 77-86% of the between-species variation in potential self-recruitment in scenarios with a realistic range of retention times. Among broadcast spawners, time to motility was strongly and positively correlated with egg size, i.e., broadcast spawner species with small eggs developed more rapidly and exhibited greater potential for self-recruitment. These findings suggest that, along with water retention estimates, easy-to-measure species traits, such as egg size and time to motility, may be good predictors of potential self-recruitment, and therefore may be used to characterize the spectrum of self-recruitment in corals.
Publisher: F1000 Research Ltd
Date: 20-09-2013
DOI: 10.12688/F1000RESEARCH.2-193.V1
Abstract: Hybridization is often cited as a potential source of evolutionary novelty in the order Scleractinia . While hybrid embryos can be produced in vitro , it has been difficult to identify adult hybrids in the wild. Here, we tested the potential for hybridization between two closely related species in the family Fungiidae. We mixed approximately 5000 eggs of Ctenactis echinata with sperm from Ctenactis crass . No hybrid embryos were produced. This observation adds to a growing body of evidence for pre-zygotic barriers to hybridization in corals and challenges the claim that hybridization is a major source of evolutionary novelty in the order.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.MARPOLBUL.2019.02.018
Abstract: Ocean acidification and warming are predicted to affect the early life of many marine organisms, but their effects can be synergistic or antagonistic. This study assessed the combined effects of near-future (2100) ocean acidification (pH 7.8) and warming (+3 °C) on the fertilization, larval development and growth of the green sea urchin, Lytechinus variegatus, common in tropical reefs of Florida and the Caribbean. Acidification had no effect on fertilization, but delayed larval development, stunted growth, and increased asymmetry. Warming decreased fertilization success when the sperm:egg ratio was higher (1847:1), accelerated larval development, but had no effect on growth. When exposed to both acidification and warming, fertilization rates decreased, larval development accelerated (due to increased respiration/metabolism), but larvae were smaller and more asymmetric, meaning acidification and warming had additive effects. Thus, climate change is expected to decrease the abundance of this important herbivore, exacerbating macroalgal growth and dominance on coral reefs.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 09-04-2003
DOI: 10.1017/S0025315403007549H
Abstract: Portuguese sole, Synaptura lusitanica , were collected from the Portuguese coast, between April 2001 and March 2002, to examine feeding habits, age and growth, and sexual cycle. Synaptura lusitanica fed on few prey items, its diet mainly composed of polychaeta, bivalvia and cephalochordata. Significant differences were found between the proportion of prey items according to season, length class of fish and coastal area. The main differences related to fish size were the higher ingestion of bivalvia by larger fish, in the west coast area, and the increase in the important cephalochordata for fish larger than 300 mm total length, in the south coastal areas. Polychaeta presented a lower importance in the spring–summer period while bivalvia increased its values in the autumn–winter period. Cephalochordata were more important in the autumn–winter period, but only for fish larger than 300 mm total length and in the south coastal areas. Vacuity was extremely high (mean value of 52%). Ages of S. lusitanica were determined from sagittae otoliths. The length of fish analysed varied from 157 mm to 480 mm, and the oldest fish was age 8. The von Bertalanffy growth equation parameters differed little between sexes, being the asymptotic length obtained for females higher compared to males. The highest values of the gonadosomatic index were obtained in summer, which was the period when the highest percentage of in iduals in the spawning stage were recorded. Therefore, the spawning season seems to be from mid-spring (May) until the end of summer (September).
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-01-2012
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-07-2016
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1071/MF17393
Abstract: Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are an endangered species whose growth and reproductive biology are poorly understood. Given their conservation concern, estimating growth parameters, as traditionally derived from vertebral s les of dead animals, is challenging. We used a non-invasive approach to investigate growth parameters of whale sharks frequenting the South Ari Atoll, Mal es, by analysing repeat measurements of free-swimming sharks over a 10-year period. Total lengths of the sharks were estimated by three measurement methods. Visual estimates underestimated the sizes of large sharks, whereas laser and tape measurements yielded results that were similar to one another. The Mal es aggregation consisted of primarily male (91%) juvenile (total length=3.16–8.00m) sharks and sharks new to the area were significantly smaller than were returning sharks, which suggests that this site may constitute a secondary nursery ground. Estimates of von Bertalanffy (VBG) growth parameters for combined sexes (L∞=19.6m, k=0.021year–1) were calculated from 186 encounters with 44 sharks. For males, VBG parameters (L∞=18.1m, k=0.023year–1) were calculated from 177 encounters with 40 sharks and correspond to a male age at maturity of ~25 years and longevity of ~130 years. Differences between these estimates and those from other studies underscore the need for regional studies.
Location: United States of America
No related grants have been discovered for Joana Figueiredo.