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On April 18th, the presentation ceremony of the Red List of Mammals of Mainland Portugal took place at the National Museum of Natural History and Science. The event, featuring several speakers, included the presence of the general coordinator of the project, Maria da Luz Mathias (CESAM/FCUL).

The Center for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) and the Center for Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Changes (cE3c) were the organizations responsible for the scientific coordination of this project. The project’s beneficiary is FCiências.ID – Association for Research and Development of Sciences, and the partner is ICNF – Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests.

The Red List is a public document created to record rare and threatened species of plants and animals, as well as some local subspecies, present in a specific region. It serves to classify wild species that inhabit a territory based on their risk of extinction within a given period.

These assessments inform decisions regarding nature conservation policies and generally catalyze projects and actions aimed at preserving biodiversity. The assessment can be done at the global and regional levels (by countries or regions) and is an important tool that provides information about species distribution, population size, habitat and ecology, uses, and threats.

Each species is assigned a category according to the risk of extinction they face: Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, for example. These categories are based on the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which apply to all species. This allows for comparisons between analogous situations, and whenever more information becomes available, the threat statuses can be updated.

For additional information about the project, please visit this link.

Our researcher Bruno Nunes (CESAM/DBIO) was on the program “Turno da Tarde” of Rádio Renascença on the 19th of the past month to talk about Ecology and Environmental Sustainability.

During the interview, Bruno Nunes highlighted the environmental impact of improperly discarded medications. According to him, all medications contain biologically active compounds and, as such, have the capacity to alter functions of our body and of organisms exposed to them, such as in aquatic environments.

The researcher also explained that we often accumulate these substances at home and that if we dispose of them through the domestic waste treatment system (common trash or sewage), it has a negative influence on the environment. He recommends, therefore, that unused medications be returned to pharmacies participating in the VALORMED service so that they can be correctly processed, thus avoiding environmental contamination.

You can listen to the full interview here.

Our researcher Ana Miranda (CESAM/DAO) has been appointed to the scientific council of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the domain of Natural Sciences and the Environment. The new scientific councils of FCT were presented on April 19th at the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Higher Education, in a ceremony attended by the Minister, Elvira Fortunato, and the Board of Directors of FCT.

The Scientific Councils serve as advisory bodies to support the Board of Directors of FCT, playing a very relevant role in strategic advice and recommendations regarding the development, implementation, and adequacy of science and technology support programs. They are divided into four scientific domains: Exact and Engineering Sciences; Life and Health Sciences; Natural Sciences and the Environment; Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

These councils bring together a total of 46 members covering different areas of knowledge, including elements from the national scientific community as well as Portuguese researchers affiliated with foreign institutions. The composition also took into account institutional and geographical diversity as well as gender balance.

For more information, see here.

The Ibero-American Program of Science and Technology for Development (CYTED) has opened applications for the 2023 Competition, with a submission deadline of May 12, 2023.

This year, the competition covers 7 thematic areas, which are specifically: health, agri-food, industrial development, sustainable development, ICT, science and society, and energy.

The Thematic Networks that can be part of the program are research and development (R&D) teams from public or private entities and companies in the member countries of the CYTED Program. Their scientific and/or technological activities are related within a common area of interest and fall under one of the Program’s thematic areas. The main objective is to facilitate knowledge exchange among R&D teams and promote cooperation as a working method. A minimum of 6 teams from 6 different Ibero-American countries, members of the CYTED Program, with demonstrated capacity and activity in R&D+I actions, are required.

Deadline: May 12, 2023

The 39th edition of Ovibeja, the largest national event dedicated to agriculture and agri-food activities, took place from April 27 to May 1 in the city of Beja. Joaquim Pedro Ferreira, a member of the CESAM communication team, participated in one of the four main panels of the 2023 edition’s program: “Communication, A Great Challenge for Agriculture.”

Communication was the central theme of this year’s edition, and this panel featured the presence of other experts in science and agriculture, addressing topics such as technology, sustainability, and food production. Joaquim Pedro presented audiovisual content as an important tool for scientific dissemination, stating that these tools, “particularly videos, present a significant challenge for the communication offices of research units. As demonstrated by the high interest of participants, including officials from various research centers, in CESAM’s audiovisual products.”

The Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education was scheduled to be present on this panel, but her attendance did not occur due to a decision by the event’s organizing committee. Throughout the event’s several days, it also featured the presence of the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

This fair aims to promote dialogue among researchers, producers, and companies, as well as to drive innovation and development in the agri-food sector in Portugal. With over 150,000 visitors, this edition included more than a thousand exhibitors, several thematic pavilions dedicated, for instance, to agri-food, livestock, institutional and services, pedagogical activities, and communication of good agricultural practices.

Researchers from CESAM and other Research Units at the University of Aveiro will have free and unlimited access to the Reaxys database until June 30, 2023. Reaxys is a specialized database in the field of Chemistry published by Elsevier.

During this period, participants will also have the opportunity to take part in a wide range of online training sessions (more information below). All sessions will be recorded and distributed to registered participants.

For more information about this database, visit here.

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Total Synthesis 05/05/23 – 11 a.m. Register

Catalysis 5/05/23 – 3 p.m. Register

Bioactivity data & Target search 08/05/2023 – 11 a.m. Register

Green Chemistry 08/05/23 – 3 p.m. Register

Agro and Food 09/05/23 – 11 a.m. Register

Material Science 09/05/23 – 3 p.m. Register

Spectroscopy 10/05/23 – 11 a.m. Register

Intellectual Property 10/05/23 – 3 p.m. Register

1st Q&A session 05/06/23 – 3 p.m. Register

2nd Q&A session 12/06/23 – 3 p.m. Register

Additional training material can be found on the Reaxys Academy free platform.

The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) has launched a public consultation on its new policy regarding open access to scientific publications resulting from research funded by the Foundation.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the development of this document (available here) should send their comments to cp-politica-aa@rcaap.pt by the upcoming May 22nd.

FCT’s Open Access Policy was adopted in 2014, and the experience gained from its implementation, along with observed developments and the growing awareness of the benefits of open access publishing, have prompted the Foundation to undertake a comprehensive review. FCT’s adherence to Plan S (promoted by cOAlition S and supported by Science Europe) is another significant influence on the policy’s revision.

By joining Plan S, FCT has committed itself to the initiative’s goals: ensuring that all publications resulting from research funded by participating institutions are published in open-access journals or platforms or made available in open-access repositories, without embargoes.

The newly presented Open Access Policy defines what constitutes Open Access, outlines the publication requirements for each type of publication and the retention of rights, establishes the deposit requirement in the RCAAP network, and provides advertising rules. The document also includes an annex with minimum technical standards for open-access journals or platforms.

For more information, visit here.

The first edition of the field course “Ecological Research in Mediterranean Ecosystems – From Theory to Practice” took place from April 17th to 29th, 2023, in the Faia Brava Reserve, in Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo.

This course was organized by researchers from the Wildlife Unit, João Carvalho, Eduardo Ferreira, and Jorge Henriques (CESAM/DBIO), in partnership with the Department of Communication and Art of the University of Aveiro (DeCA). It also had the collaboration of various national institutions (Transhumance and Nature Association, Municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo) and international institutions (Autonomous University of Barcelona, Polytechnic University of Madrid, University of Castilla-La Mancha, University of Córdoba, and University of Lublin).

The main objectives of this course were to demonstrate the importance of field studies and the application of the scientific method in ecological studies through practical examples. Throughout the course, various topics related to the dynamics of Mediterranean ecosystems were explored, and the processes governing different components, from soil to vegetation, were investigated. In an integrated and multifunctional perspective, the diversity and ecology of wildlife communities were also addressed (e.g. arthropods, reptiles, amphibians, micromammals, carnivores, and large herbivores).

Recognizing the importance of public communication of knowledge, several instructors from DeCA presented participants with techniques for proper and effective collection of audiovisual material in the field for later production of graphic summaries and video formats. As one of the participants states, “The formal scientific method of observation, hypothesis production, and experimental design based on predictions is incredibly powerful. And combining that with going to the field and testing these hypotheses was a great opportunity. Another great advantage was the combination of scientific research with scientific communication.”

According to João Carvalho (CESAM/DBIO), “from defining scientific hypotheses to data collection in the field, culminating in the communication and dissemination of results, the course provided its participants with a set of tools for a better understanding of the fascinating dynamics of Mediterranean ecosystems.” The possibility of a second edition of this course is being considered by the organizers.

Text by: João Carvalho (CESAM/DBIO) in collaboration with CESAM

The study by our researcher Paulo Baganha (CESAM/DGEO), part of a consortium led by the European Space Agency (ESA), has been featured in national media. This program, launched by ESA to monitor European coastal erosion from space, is coordinated in Portugal by the University of Aveiro (UA).

As Paulo Baganha stated in a press release, “trends of shoreline retreat are evident in many European coastal areas.” In Portugal, for example, the sandy stretch between Óbidos Lagoon and Baleal Beach is retreating at a rate of about 2.1 meters per year. Along the Costa da Caparica, the beach shoreline is receding by around 2.5 meters per year. The rates of coastline retreat between Troia and Sines and various points along the Algarve coast are also concerning. These are some of the national coastal erosion points detected by the “Space for Shore” program.

For four years, over 70 scientific and coastal management organizations from the six member countries of the program (France, Germany, Portugal, Greece, Romania, and Norway) shared their concerns and expressed the need for regular data and information to characterize coastal dynamics, assess the evolution of erosion risk, and the vulnerability of coastal areas to climate change. This work covered 4,500 kilometers of coastline in these six countries, from the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts, through the Atlantic-Channel-Manche-North Sea coasts, to the Arctic (Svalbard Archipelago).

For each of the European countries participating in this study, Paula Baganha points out, “several indicators of coastal erosion were produced, including the maximum wash-up line, the baseline of the dune, the position of the base and crest of rocky cliffs.” Climate change, increased severity and persistence of storms, and the general trend of rising sea levels seem to anticipate concerning scenarios of coastal erosion if concerted mitigation policies are not adopted.

However, “despite the erosive trend in most of the Portuguese coast, it is observed that, in certain locations, measures taken by coastal managers show positive results, such as in Nazaré or the beaches south of Costa da Caparica,” points out Paulo Baganha Baptista.

The end of funding for this project by the European Space Agency does not mean that indicators of coastal erosion will cease to be generated. Paula Baganha reminds us that “the provision of dedicated services for the entire national territory, in nearly real-time, of the various coastal erosion indicators considered in this project, for which specific algorithms have been developed for automatic calculation, is being studied for the community of users interested in coastal management.”

Text by: CESAM based on content from the University of Aveiro

In addition to our researcher Sara Peixoto (CESAM/DBIO), researchers Andreia Pereira (University of Porto), Joana Sacramento (Nova University of Lisbon), and Raquel Boia (University of Coimbra) were also awarded the L’Oréal Portugal Honorary Medals for Women in Science 2022. Each of these scientists will receive 15,000 euros to further develop their research projects.

As Sara Peixoto states to CESAM’s communication: “For me, receiving this award is very gratifying and signifies recognition for the work I have developed in recent years. This award is also a great incentive to continue in science and to carry out research in the area I intend to pursue in the future. As an early-career researcher, the Women in Science initiative promoted by L’Oréal will also help me raise awareness among different audiences about the problem associated with the need to develop and use more sustainable strategies to promote the conservation of terrestrial ecosystems. In fact, minimizing the environmental impact associated with the degradation of agricultural and forest soils is extremely relevant and in the interest of the general public, as it can have direct consequences for human health and quality of life.”

Sara Peixoto’s work is related to the recovery of degraded soils. Degradation can have various causes, but two of its major destroyers are wildfires and intensive agriculture. Sara Peixoto seeks to protect these soils using biostimulants – products with microorganisms that increase the availability of nutrients in the soil, improve its fertility, and help it resist environmental pressures such as wildfires.

This award is the result of a joint initiative by the cosmetics company L’Oréal Portugal, which funds the grants, the National Commission for UNESCO, and the Foundation for Science and Technology, which appoints the jury that evaluates the applications. This year, the jury was chaired by Alexandre Quintanilha.

These awards, given annually to four female researchers aged between 31 and 35, aim to promote the participation of women in science by encouraging young and promising scientists at the beginning of their careers to pursue advanced studies in the fields of health or environmental sciences, engineering, and technology.

Text by: CESAM based on information from LUSA and PÚBLICO