relatório actividades de j - DOP/UAç - Universidade dos Açores

esults of this study will convey a revision of the taxonomic status of this species
listed in Annex I of the EC Birds Directive, which is expected to result in the
recognition of two distinct species with an increased vulnerable status, requiring
immediate conservation measures.
Regarding cetaceans, a database of the present populations of the different
species will be compiled and the consequence of the increasing touristic
pressure due to whale watching for the populations will be monitored. This is a
recent activity in the Azores, but a large expansion is expected since it is the
region in the North Atlantic with the highest diversity of cetaceans. A special
importance is given to the resident groups of Tursiops truncatus (species
included in Annex II of the EC Habitats Directive). The data collected will be used
in calculating the capacity load for the whale watching and in elaborating and
implementing a complex of management measures, which could lead to the
proposal of new protection areas.
Concerning marine turtles, the present project will seek to supervise tagging,
access the impacts of accidental capture of turtles by the fishing fleet and study
the distribution of the populations. The results of these studies will help in
adopting practical measures for protecting the different species of turtles,
especially the loggerhead (Caretta caretta), a priority species of the “Habitats
Directive”, which has its nursery ground around the Azores on its migratory route
in the North Atlantic.
VENTOX – Deep-Sea hydrothermal vents: a natural pollution laboratory.
UE – EVK3-CT1999-00003
The VENTOX project is intended to underpin this important European
endeavour by providing innovative insights into the long-term (i.e. evolutionary)
adaptations of a unique group of organisms, the deep-sea hydrothermal fauna
(and associated microbes), which are unique amongst life on earth in having
been exposed to high levels of environmental contamination (low pH, high CO 2,
poisonous sulphides, heavy metals and hazardous radionuclides) throughout
their evolutionary history. Furthermore, vent species have shallow-water
relatives that are important both in terms of biodiversity (community structure)
and commercial exploitation (e.g. shellfish). The evolutionary adaptations and
responses of vent species to their highly toxic and hostile environment are
therefore extremely relevant to our understanding of the short and long-term
consequences of contaminant exposure in shallow-water marine ecosystems.
The contaminant history of the deep-sea vent fauna extends back to at least the
Mesozoic (further in the case of vent bacteria); by comparison, anthropogenic
pollution is only a very recent phenomenon (covering the past 100 years).
Without such a long-term, evolutionary perspective on contaminant impact in
marine ecosystems, it is not possible to consider the development of truly viable
long-term management strategies.
The primary objective of this RTD proposal is to carry out innovative research
into the specialised adaptations and processes found in representatives of the
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