Category: Sem categoria

The XV Meeting of Iberian Wild Ungulates took place on the 23rd and 24th of November, in Cazorla, Spain, with the participation of researchers from CESAM and the University of Aveiro: Mariana Rossa, Eduardo Ferreira, Fernando Sicuro and João Carvalho.

During the event, PhD student Mariana Rossa presented the work entitled “Impact of large herbivores on acorn removal and dispersal dynamics“. This study, carried out in collaboration with members of the Wildlife Unit of the University of Aveiro, was awarded the “Best Oral Presentation” award at the congress.

Researchers Fernando Sicuro and Eduardo Ferreira presented the work “Invasive wild boar affected feral hog skull evolution over 25 years in Brazilian Pantanal wetland”, which addresses the influence of invasive wild boars on the cranial evolution of wild pigs in the Brazilian Pantanal. In turn, researcher João Carvalho moderated the first panel of oral presentations.

The congress ended with a field trip to the Parque Natural de las Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y las Villas, the largest protected natural space in the Iberian Peninsula, providing participants with a unique opportunity to get in touch with nature and local biodiversity.

CESAM participated in the SINOPORT Ocean Conference 2024, the 5th Annual Meeting of the Portugal-China International Joint Research Centre for Marine Biology, held in Macau on 27th and 28th November. Co-organised by the Shanghai Ocean University and the University of Algarve, this year’s event also included participation from the University of Saint Joseph, Macau, standing as a milestone in Sino-Portuguese cooperation, with editions alternating between Portugal and China.

The main objectives of the conference included:

1. Enhancing Sino-Portuguese collaboration in marine biological research,
2. Facilitating the exchange of scientific knowledge and advancements between Chinese and Portuguese researchers,
3. Promoting joint research initiatives in areas such as aquaculture, marine ecology, and biotechnology,
4. Discussing sustainable practices and innovations in marine resource management, and
5. Strengthening academic partnerships and fostering international cooperation in marine sciences.

CESAM’s Coordinator, Professor Amadeu Soares, gave an oral presentation titled “CESAM, Opportunities for Cooperation in Research, Development, and Innovation”. In his talk, he highlighted CESAM’s broad capabilities, reflecting its interdisciplinary nature, with a particular focus on marine sciences, as well as numerous examples of CESAM’s research projects in partnership with Chinese institutions. Notably, among all the representatives of universities and research units/associated laboratories present, CESAM stands out as the research unit/associated laboratory with the highest number of scientific collaborations with China.

In addition, Professor Amadeu Soares explored opportunities in Macau for CESAM researchers, emphasising the attractive employment conditions at Macau universities, including the University of Saint Joseph. With its ten higher education institutions, both public and private, Macau has the highest number of scientific publications per capita worldwide and offers almost continuous openings for academic and research positions in Marine Sciences and Blue Biotechnology, with highly competitive salaries.

Furthermore, Professor Rosa Freitas, from CESAM/DBIO, invited by the organisers, also gave an oral presentation on Marine Ecotoxicology, titled “Complex Interactions of Rare Earth Elements in Aquatic Ecosystems”. This work exemplifies the significance of CESAM’s research in aquatic ecosystems, making a valuable contribution to the advancement of scientific knowledge in this field.

The OCEAN4FUEL project, which focuses on protecting the oceans and marine ecosystems, stood out as one of the winners of the TransforMAR 2024 Award, promoted by Lidl Portugal. This award recognizes innovative initiatives that contribute to environmental sustainability.

Developed by Catarina Costa Marques, PhD fellow from CESAM and the Department of Environment and Planning at the University of Aveiro, under the guidance of Professor Maria Isabel da Silva Nunes and Professor Luís António da Cruz Tarelho, the project presents an innovative and sustainable solution to pollution navy. OCEAN4FUEL transforms marine plastics into recycled liquid fuel through the pyrolysis process, simultaneously addressing two major global challenges: ocean pollution and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

CESAM actively supported this application, as the project’s prominence was further enhanced by a presentation video (pitch) produced by CESAM’s Communication, Promotion, and Outreach Service, illustrating the objectives, methodology, and environmental impact of this research. This is an example of how the strategic use of CESAM’s internal resources, including the valuable contribution of the Support Technicians (TAG), often invisible but crucial in their diverse roles — administrative, accounting, and others — plays a decisive role in the success of proposals and their implementation.

This distinction highlights the crucial role of scientific research in creating solutions to the environmental challenges the planet currently faces.

To find out more about the project and the TransforMAR Award, visit Lidl’s official website and watch the presentation video to learn about this transformative initiative.

See the video here

Ana Lillebø, a researcher at CESAM and Vice-Rector for Sustainability at the University of Aveiro, took part in the international forum “Navigating a Sustainable Blue Economy: Maritime Transport’s Pathway to Climate Resilience”, organised by the League of Arab States during COP29. In the event, she contributed to the discussion on the carbon tax and the extension of the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to the maritime sector, an instrument of the European Union’s climate policy framework aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. She also contributed to the discussion on the decarbonization of the sector from an integrated perspective in the territory, having referred to the innovative solution being developed within the scope of the A-AAGORA project, which she coordinates. Funded within the scope of the European Union’s Mission to Restore Oceans and Waters, the solution integrates the decarbonization of maritime-port activity with the use of greener fuel formulations in the local nautical-tourist sector, and with the large-scale restoration of ecosystems. Blue carbon, which together contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and, thus, mitigates the effects of climate change. In the context of large-scale restoration of blue carbon ecosystems, she also referenced existing synergies with other European initiatives, such as RESTORE4Cs, REWRITE and LIFE SeaGrassRIAwild projects, which involve citizen science actions, as an example of collaboration between stakeholders at the local/regional level for enhancing climate resilience.

The discussion focused on European and international goals set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), with an emphasis on decarbonisation, climate resilience, and innovative solutions capable of establishing the sector as a pillar of a sustainable blue economy. The event underscored the importance of an integrated and collaborative approach, fostering the exchange of experiences between nations and aligning strategies with global objectives.

A-AAGORA Project has been honoured with the 2024 Atlantic Project Awards in the International Cooperation category. The award ceremony took place on 22 November during the 11th Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference (ASPC 2024) in Bordeaux, France.

A-AAGORA Project’s foundation of international cooperation traces back to the ancient Greek concept of the AGORA, an “open meeting space,” envisioned to extend to the Atlantic-Arctic basins. This grand AGORA encompasses three living labs located in northern Norway, Ireland, and Portugal, which now serve as platforms for co-developed and validated innovative solutions with local stakeholders. As part of the European Commission’s Mission to Restore Oceans and Waters, the project’s international cooperation further extends to associated regions from Iceland to Cyprus, involving all four European maritime basins.

Researchers Dionísia Laranjeiro and Mariana Pinho accepted the award on behalf of the scientific coordination team and all those involved.

The award recognises the project’s significant contributions to addressing challenges in marine and coastal ecosystems through collaborative and innovative approaches.

Universidade de Aveiro (UAveiro) is the national higher education institution with the largest number of researchers whose scientific papers are among the most cited in the world by other scientists. Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers 2024 list, one of the most important rankings in the academic world, was released this week and identifies three researchers from this academy.

Armando da Costa Duarte and Teresa Rocha Santos both researchers at the Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), and Jorge Alexandre Saraiva from the Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry (LAQV-REQUIMTE), are the three UAveiro researchers featured in the Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers 2024 a list that analyzed the work of 6,636 scientists from 59 countries.

Armando Duarte and Jorge Saraiva have been on the Clarivate list for four consecutive years and Teresa Rocha Santos for three. Delfim F. Marado Torres from the Centre for Research and Development in Mathematics and Applications (CIDMA) has also been on the list in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.

Created by Clarivate, a global research consultancy, the list of names comes from articles ranked in the top one percent of the world’s most influential research articles by scientific area. It covers publications in journals indexed in the Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index, between January 2013 and December 2023, and is based on data from the Web of Science citation index and qualitative analysis by experts from Clarivate’s Institute for Scientific Information.

This ranking aims to recognize the most influential scientists around the world, with relevant contributions to their scientific fields and to the future of science, technology and academia worldwide, to disseminate the impact of global research and promote collaborative innovation, as well as to provide insights into global research and innovation trends.

Portugal has 18 scientists listed, representing a total of 11 higher education institutions. Worldwide, scientific influence is concentrated in the US, China and the UK.

The 2024 edition of Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers 2024 was released on November 19th and can be viewed here

Note: Text and image from the news on the UA website

On October 30th, 65 sixth-grade students from Rio Novo do Príncipe School Group visited ECOMARE, a center dedicated to marine ecosystem research and preservation. The activity was an initiative of the Portuguese demonstrator (DEMO-PT) of the A-AAGORA project to promote ocean literacy and contribute to the solution of reducing marine litter.

During the visit, the students participated in an art workshop with artist Bruno Costa, who creates artwork using litter collected from beaches. Under his guidance, the students crafted artistic pieces from marine debris, while learning about the impacts of waste on ecosystems and the importance of recycling and reducing plastic usage.

In addition, the students visited ECOMARE’s facilities, where they learnt about the research carried out on various species and heard stories of rescued and recovering animals. The visit and the interactive activities allowed the students to develop a deeper understanding of environmental problems and the role of each person in preserving the seas.

On November 25th, at 9 PM, the Municipal Library of Estarreja will host the public presentation session of the “Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of BioRia.” This event will feature the authors Ivo Santos, Alexandre Azevedo, Fernando Correia, and Victor Bandeira (CESAM/DBIO).

The guide, published by BioRia in collaboration with the Municipality of Estarreja and CESAM/DBIO of the University of Aveiro, highlights the amphibians and reptiles that inhabit the region and represents BioRia’s third publication, following the field guides to the Mammals and Flora of Baixo Vouga Lagunar.

Aiming to facilitate the identification of amphibians and reptiles and to dispel negative myths associated with these animals, the guide encompasses various species, including the Iberian frog, the orange-bellied newt, and the Lusitanian salamander, all of which are threatened and endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.

In addition to information about characteristics and habitats, the guide includes photographs, illustrations, and distribution maps, thereby contributing to scientific knowledge and the conservation of the region’s natural heritage.

For more information: Municipality of Estarreja.

The extinction risk for 16 species of wading birds has increased significantly, according to a recent report published by the newspaper Público. For all these species, their classification on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species has worsened. In some cases, species have jumped two categories, such as the Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), which moved from “Least Concern” to “Vulnerable” due to sharp declines of around 30%. This species is still relatively easy to spot in Portuguese wetlands. According to José Alves, a researcher at CESAM and the University of Aveiro, four of these species find refuge in Portuguese territory for most of their annual cycle and others only during the winter, which reinforces the country’s importance in the conservation of these birds.

Speaking to Público, José Alves emphasized the importance of “Portuguese coastal habitats, such as the Ria de Aveiro, the Tagus Estuary and the Ria Formosa, particularly during migration” for the conservation of these birds. These sites, which are also used as resting and feeding areas, are under threat from pollution, the destruction of wetlands and climate change.

The Público article also underscores the role of Portuguese researchers in raising awareness about the global impact of coastal ecosystem degradation. José Alves pointed out that the population declines of these birds have cascading effects on ecosystems, making it urgent to adopt conservation measures, such as protecting coastal areas and reducing pollution.

The appeal is clear: Portugal, with its extensive coastline and strategic position on migration routes between North America, Eurasia, and Africa, must intensify efforts to ensure the protection of these species. Such efforts will contribute to global biodiversity and ecological balance. The loss of these birds would have a significant impact not only at the local level but also on coastal ecosystems worldwide.

The University of Aveiro, through the Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), will host the Alternet Conference 2025 from 13 to 16 May 2025.

Under the theme “Achieving Transformative Change for Biodiversity,” the event will bring together experts to discuss research and policies aimed at promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable environmental practices.

The conference is organised by Alternet, a European network based in Brussels that connects science and public policy. This gathering will explore globally relevant topics, including biodiversity monitoring, nature-based solutions, and climate resilience, with the goal of driving systemic changes to restore ecosystems and tackle climate change challenges.

Event Highlights

• Science-policy interface: Alternet reaffirms its commitment to supporting projects across Europe that address biodiversity-related challenges.
• Interdisciplinary dialogue: The conference encourages researchers and policymakers to submit session proposals that foster discussions on environmental transformation and sustainable solutions.
• European collaboration: As a network of leading research institutions, Alternet works to integrate interdisciplinary science into policy decisions, strengthening the resilience of natural landscapes.

The Alternet Conference 2025 represents a unique opportunity to unite efforts in addressing multiple environmental crises, advancing practical solutions for a sustainable future.

Conference information: Alternet Conference 2025

Call for New Sessions: in addition to the 7 definitive thematic sessions, new thematic sessions can be proposed till the deadline 22 November 2024