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125
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Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Additional affiliations
January 2003 - present
Independent Researcher
Position
- Marine Mammal Researcher
Publications
Publications (125)
Cetaceans are key sentinel species of marine ecosystems and ocean health, being a strategic taxonomic group that evaluates the well-being of aquatic habitats and detects harmful environmental trends. Respiratory diseases are amongst the main causes of death in these animals, so identifying the microbiome community in their exhaled breath condensate...
Plastic additives, such as phthalates, are pervasive pollutants in aquatic environments, with concerning impacts on the health of marine life and the integrity of ecological systems. Monitoring key indicator species, such as cetaceans (e.g., dolphins and whales), can provide valuable information on the state and vulnerability of marine ecosystems....
Cetaceans are key sentinel species of marine ecosystems and ocean health, being a strategic taxonomic group to evaluate the well-being of aquatic habitats and to detect harmful environmental trends. Respiratory diseases are among the main causes of death in these animals, so the identification of the microbiome community existent in their exhaled b...
In this study, an innovative method was developed to detect and quantify phthalates in fresh cetacean blubber. An adaptation of the ammonium formate QuEChERS method was used and adapted as a micro-extraction for small quantities of samples. Significantly, this technique utilized minimal quantities of reagents and salts, with the additional implemen...
The common bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ) is a top marine predator widely dispersed in coastal and pelagic habitats and with a generalist feeding behavior. Yet, information on the trophic ecology of animals inhabiting pelagic environments is still scarce. Using carbon (δ ¹³ C: ¹³ C/ ¹² C) and nitrogen (δ ¹⁵ N: ¹⁵ N/ ¹⁴ N) stable isotope...
Wild animals are increasingly exposed to human‐induced threats in the ocean realm. Cetacean species, as predators and biomonitoring models, are subjected to a variety of stressors that may result in poor health, injuries, and persistent marks. These malformations can easily be documented by photography or video and can be used to infer about the an...
The ubiquitous presence of microplastics (MPs) in the ocean represents a potential threat to marine organisms, with poorly understood long-term adverse effects, including exposure to plastic additives. The present study investigated the ingestion of MPs in two epipelagic fish species (Trachurus picturatus and Scomber colias) and three pelagic squid...
In oceanic ecosystems, the nature of barriers to gene flow, and the processes by which populations may become isolated are different from the terrestrial environment, and less well understood. In this study we investigate a highly mobile species (the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus) that is genetically differentiated between an open North Atlan...
The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus is considered one of the most endangered species of marine mammal globally. The Madeira archipelago (NE Atlantic) represents the last refuge of M. monachus in the European Atlantic, with only 20 individuals thought to remain. Prey availability has been identified as one of the main concerns regarding th...
We describe the first observations of aggregation behavior in the endangered smoothhound, Mustelus mustelus, on Madeira Island (NE Atlantic) across six consecutive years. These observations contribute to the understanding of habitat use by early life stages of this endangered species, with regional implications for conservation efforts.
Over the last decades, global warming has contributed to changes in marine species composition, abundance and distribution, in response to changes in oceanographic conditions such as temperature, acidification, and deoxygenation. Experimentally derived thermal limits, which are known to be related to observed latitudinal ranges, have been used to a...
Knowledge of the distribution and residency of pelagic marine megafauna, particularly deep-diving species, is scarce due to their high mobility over difficult-to-access oceanic areas and long periods underwater. However, the threatened status of many of these species, such as the sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus, increases the need to obtain quan...
Open oceanic systems are affected by the contamination from microplastics (MPs; plastic particles < 5 mm). These particles can resemble plankton in size and colour, and thus be ingested, directly or indirectly, by marine organisms. Few studies exist on the presence of this contaminant in oceanic epipelagic organisms, such as small planktivorous fis...
Microplastics (<5 mm) are a ubiquitous marine pollutant which are highly bioavailable to marine organisms across all trophic levels. Marine predators are especially vulnerable to microplastic pollution through direct and indirect ingestion (e.g., trophic transfer) due to their high trophic position. In particular, oceanic islands are more susceptib...
The ingestion of microplastics (MPs - plastic particles <5 mm) by planktivorous organisms represents a significant threat to marine food webs. To investigate how seasonality might affect plastic intake in oceanic islands' ecosystems, relative abundances and composition of MPs and mesozooplankton samples collected off Madeira Island (NE Atlantic) be...
The Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus, is considered one of the most endangered species of marine mammal globally. The Madeiran archipelago currently represents the last refuge of M. monachus in the European Atlantic, with only ~20 individuals thought to remain. Here we present the first assessment of environmental pollutants, namely micro...
Marine megafauna serve valuable ecological and economical roles globally, yet, many species have experienced precipitous population declines. The significance of marine megafauna is particularly evident in Macaronesia, a complex of oceanic archipelagos in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. Macaronesian islands provide important habitats for marine megaf...
Knowledge of the role of individual associations has provided an insightful understanding of the structures of animal societies, especially in highly social mammals such as primates. Yet, this is unbalanced towards marine mammals, particularly to beaked whales, due to their elusive nature. In addition, information on the fundamental drivers of the...
In the present study, the ammonium formate version of the QuEChERS method, considered highly advantageous in relation to instrument maintenance and other issues, was applied for the first time to extract a group of twelve phthalic acid esters (PAEs, i.e. dipropyl phthalate, DPP; diisobutyl phthalate, DIBP; dibutyl phthalate, DBP; diisopentyl phthal...
The whale-watching industry can represent a critical anthropogenic stressor for the targeted populations. Identifying and characterizing the individual exposure to wildlife tourism in island-associated cetacean communities is especially relevant in small, remote oceanic regions relying on tourism. This study characterized the spatial and temporal v...
Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are a group of endocrine disruptors, usually used as plasticizers in various kinds of chemical products, toxic to many marine organisms. The objective of this work was: (i) determine the phytoremediation potential of the Nannochloropsis gaditana of three common PAEs (diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-buthyl phthalate (DBP) a...
• The conservation of marine megafauna presents numerous difficulties owing to their high mobility over difficult-to-access oceanic areas that impairs the collection of basic, but essential, biological information.
• The Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni) is one of the most elusive species of baleen whales, and although it is known to be a seasonal...
Over the last decades global warming has caused an increase in ocean temperature, acidification and oxygen loss which has led to changes in nutrient cycling and primary production affecting marine species at multiple trophic levels. While knowledge about the impacts of climate change in cetacean's species is still scarce, practitioners and policyma...
Species distributional estimates are an essential tool to improve and implement effective conservation and management measures. Nevertheless, obtaining accurate distributional estimates remains a challenge in many cases, especially when looking at the marine environment, mainly due to the species mobility and habitat dynamism. Ecosystems surroundin...
Wide-ranging connectivity patterns of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops trunca-tus) are generally poorly known worldwide and more so within the oceanic archipelagos of Macaronesia in the North East (NE) Atlantic. This study aimed to identify long-range movements between the archipelagos of Macaronesia that lie between 500 and 1,500 km apart, and...
Nucleic acid-derived indices such as RNA/DNA ratios have been successfully applied as ecophysiological indicators to assess growth, nutritional condition and health status in marine organisms given that they provide a measure of tissue protein reserves, which is known to vary depending on changes in the environment. Yet, the use of these biochemica...
The common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and the short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) occur year-round in the waters off the Madeira Archipelago, and present island-associated populations, yet no literature is found about their diet composition in this region. Bottlenose dolphins usually are opportunistic feeders inhabiti...
Aim
The knowledge of a species biogeographical patterns greatly enhances our understanding of geographical ecology, which can improve identifying key conservation needs. Yet, this knowledge is still scarce for many marine top predators. Here, we aim to analyse movement patterns and spatial structuring of a large predator, the short‐finned pilot wha...
Movement patterns of delphinid populations are generally known to occur within specific geographical areas; with the exception of the killer whale (Orcinus orca). Additionally, knowledge of wide-ranging migrations in these animals are mainly attributed to individual records with limited information on their social structure, residency status or pur...
Management and conservation issues are addressed through the identification of areas of particular importance, which requires the acquisition of baseline information on species distribution and dynamics. These types of data are particularly difficult to obtain at high resolution for large marine vertebrates like cetaceans, given that dedicated surv...
The whale-watching industry considerably increased worldwide in the last decades, leading the scientific community to urge for more studies and assessments. Indeed, several studies suggested that the cumulative effect of repeated exposure of cetacean populations to this disturbance can affect their behaviour, reproductive success and even mortality...
In order to investigate social structure, 11 years of individual photo-identification data of bottlenose dolphin were analysed. We examined the type of association indices between pairs of identified individuals; the patterns of affiliation between individual dolphins and the probabilities of association between individuals over time. Between 2001...
Laterally bent dorsal fins are rarely observed in free-ranging populations of cetaceans, contrary to captivity, where most killer whale Orcinus orca adult males have laterally collapsed fins. This topic has been poorly explored, and data/information on its occurrence and possible causes are limited. The present study: (i) undertakes a review of the...
Sightings of anomalously all-white (leucistic) or all-black (melanistic) individuals are rare in
nature, with information on hypo- and hyper-pigmented short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus
delphis) and Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) being scarce in the literature. This
study describes seven sightings of anomalously pigmented D. de...
The use of ferries as platforms of opportunity for cetacean monitoring is wide spreading from several years. This is a cost-effective and efficient system, allowing a regular and continuous effort, both in space and in time, through fixed transect surveys. In order to start a long-term monitoring programme in the ferry route between Madeira and Por...
Human population growth has resulted in an increase of marine traffic. This has been associated with wildlife disturbance and the effects are
expected to increase with continued traffic expansion. A particularly impacted group is cetaceans, known to play an important role in the sustainability
and regulation of marine ecosystems. An assessment of m...