Teresa Amaro, a researcher at CESAM/DBio, led the multidisciplinary COAST project, which integrated ecology, oceanography, social sciences, conservation policy, and community engagement to investigate the coastal marine ecosystems of Cabo Verde. She coordinated interdisciplinary research and implemented closed-circuit rebreather diving campaigns, habitat mapping, and ecological analyses, fostering collaboration between international researchers and local stakeholders.
This work resulted in the first comprehensive ecological baseline of the region’s mesophotic coral ecosystems, documenting black coral and gorgonian forests and identifying key habitat-forming taxa, in collaboration with CIIMAR, the University of Barcelona, and Underwater Explorer (Amaro et al., 2025, Progress in Oceanography, 237, 103527).
Building on these results, the project also carried out the first biodiversity assessment of Cabo Verde’s mesophotic black coral forests on the island of Santo Antão, led by Tristan Ornelas, a PhD student supervised by Teresa Amaro at CESAM/DBio. Surveys revealed diverse benthic and fish communities, including endemic species, significant variation between sites, and unique habitats. These findings provide a crucial biodiversity baseline and highlight the urgent need to protect these vulnerable marine ecosystems.
Together, these initiatives contribute to more informed conservation planning and policy discussions, while establishing a network betw