Departamento de Biologia

Concentrations of cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead [Pb (µg g(-1) wet weight)] were determined in liver and muscle samples of 15 bigeye (Thunnus obesus) and 15 skipjack tunas (Katsuwonus pelamis) caught over an active volcanic region in the Mid-Atlantic Ocean (Azores, Portugal) and evaluated regarding consumption safety. None of the muscle samples (edible part) exceeded the European Union (EU) maximum limits (MLs) for Hg and Pb. Cd concentrations in muscle were much greater than EU MLs with 53 and 26 % of the bigeye tuna and skipjack tuna, respectively, in exceedance of the limits. Results obtained in this work, together with other studies in the same region, support the existence of an important volcanic source of Cd in waters of the Mid-Atlantic region, which should be carefully monitored given the importance of many commercial marine species for human consumption, mainly in Europe.

Subfossil biotic assemblages in lakes’ surface sediments have been used to infer ecological conditions across environmental gradients. Local variables are usually the major drivers of assemblage composition, but in remote oceanic islands biogeographic filters may play a significant role. To assess the contribution of local and regional filters in the composition of subfossil diatom and chironomid assemblages in surface sediments, 41 lakes in Azores archipelago were studied and related to environmental variables. Ordination techniques were used to identify the forcing factors that best explain the composition of these assemblages. Both assemblages are influenced by multiple limnological variables (conductivity, pH and nutrients). However, diatom assemblages differed mainly in the proportion of planktonic versus benthic species along lakes’ depth gradient while chironomids differed significantly among islands but not among lake depths. Thus, biogeographic filters play an important role in shaping islands’ freshwater communities, particularly insect ones, more influenced by geographic variables. Results demonstrate the accuracy and potential of biotic remains in sediments for applied studies of lake ecology, trophic status, climatic trends and ecological reconstruction and evolution of lakes. In the Azores, the application of this informa- tion for the development of inference models is envisaged as a further step to accomplish these goals.

Freshwater communities on remote oceanic islands can be depauperate due to the influence of biogeographic processes that operate over a range of spatial scales, influencing the colonization of organisms, and events that shape local freshwater assemblages. The consequences of this paucity in organism diversity for the functioning of these ecosystems are, however, not well understood.
Here, we examine the relative decomposition rate of leaf litter of native vs. exotic origin by aquatic macroinvertebrates and microbial communities in an isolated and depauperate oceanic environment.
Bags containing a standard amount of leaf litter of each of 10 tree species (5 native and 5 non-native species) were deployed on two streams. Two types of bags differing in mesh size were used to allow or prevent the access of leaf litter to macroinvertebrates, respectively. Over a period of 28 days, mass loss of leaf litter was similar in the two bag types suggesting that macroinvertebrates had little influence on the break down of leaf litter in this system. In addition, there was no difference in mass loss of leaf litter of native and exotic origin. Decomposition rates were highly species-specific suggesting that decomposition rates were related to inhibitory substance specific of each leaf species. Our results add to the wider literature by showing that in depauperate and isolated ecosystems, and in contrast to temperate continental ecosystems, decomposition of plant litter by aquatic macroinvertebrates is negligible.