Joao N Franco

Instituto Politécnico de Leiria | ESTG · Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre

Accurately quantifying primary productivity in highly dynamic subtidal rocky habitats, particularly those with high canopy-forming macroalgae, is inherently challenging, leading to a scarcity of information. Kelp primary productivity has primarily been assessed through (1) quantification of carbon standing stock and biomass, which provides limited...

Introduction To counteract the rapid loss of marine forests globally and meet international commitments of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the Convention on Biological Diversity ‘30 by 30’ targets, there is an urgent need to enhance our capacity for macroalgal restoration. The Green Gravel Action Group (GGAG) is a global network of 67 me...

Understanding climate change impacts on benthic habitats is crucial to acknowledge their actual ecosystem functioning value. One pertinent way to achieve this is by measuring primary productivity. Accurately quantifying primary productivity in turbulent subtidal, rocky habitats, particularly those with high canopy forming seaweeds, such as kelp, is...

Essential for healthy oceans, coastal communities, fisheries, economies, and marine biodiversity from the subtropics to the polar regions, kelp forests are an integral and threatened ocean ecosystem. Their benefits are connected to over 740 million people who live beside a kelp forest, and their economic potential is valued at least 500 billion USD...

Marine kelp forests cover 1/3 of our world's coastlines, are heralded as a nature-based solution to address socio-environmental issues, connect hundreds of millions of people with the ocean, and support a rich web of biodiversity throughout our oceans. But they are increasingly threatened with some areas reporting over 90% declines in kelp forest c...

Anthropogenic climate change, particularly seawater warming, is expected to drive quick shifts in marine species distribution transforming coastal communities. These shifts in distribution will be particularly noticeable in biogeographical transition zones. The continental Portuguese coast stretches from north to south along 900 km. Despite this sh...

Aim Global warming is affecting the distribution of species worldwide, but the level of adaptation of edge populations to warmer temperatures remains an open question. Here, we assess the thermal tolerance of populations of two habitat‐forming seaweeds along their latitudinal range, using thermal niche unfilling to assess their resilience to global...

Anthropogenic climate change, particularly seawater warming, is expected to drive quick shifts in marine species distribution transforming coastal communities. These shifts in distribution will be particularly noticeable in biogeographical transition zones. The continental Portuguese coast stretches from north to south along 900 Km. Despite this sh...

The recovery of degraded marine coasts and the improvement of natural habitats are current issues of vital importance for the development of life, both marine and terrestrial. In this sense, the immersion of artificial reefs (ARs) in the marine environment is a way to stimulate the recovery of these damaged ecosystems. But it is necessary to have a...

Cycling of organic carbon in the ocean has the potential to mitigate or exacerbate global climate change, but major questions remain about the environmental controls on organic carbon flux in the coastal zone. Here, we used a field experiment distributed across 28° of latitude, and the entire range of 2 dominant kelp species in the northern hemisph...

The UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration is a response to the urgent need to substantially accelerate and upscale ecological restoration to secure Earth’s sustainable future. Globally, restoration commitments have focused overwhelmingly on terrestrial forests. In contrast, despite a strong value proposition, efforts to restore seaweed forests lag far...

Tropical seagrass meadows are critical habitats for many fish species, yet few studies have investigated the influence of multiple scale-dependent factors and marine protected areas on seagrass fish species of differing life histories. We assessed the influence of fine-scale seagrass meadow characteristics and seascape-scale variables on the abunda...

Drastic losses of kelp forest habitat have already occurred in the southern part of the OSPAR area with significant declines at several locations elsewhere. Considering the sensitivity of this complex and highly productive habitat to cumulative effects of multiple pressures, and the increasing threat posed by climate change, the nominated kelp fore...

Artificial reefs have been deployed in multiple regions of the world for different purposes including habitat restoration and protection, biodiversity and fish stock enhancement, fisheries management and recreation. Artificial reefs can be a valuable tool for ecosystem protection and rehabilitation, helping mitigate the effects of anthropogenic imp...

Aim The influence of niche and neutral mechanisms on the assembly of ecological communities have long been debated. However, we still have a limited knowledge on their relative importance to explain patterns of diversity across latitudinal gradients (LDG). Here, we investigate the extent to which these ecological mechanisms contribute to the LDG of...

As the environment is getting warmer and species are redistributed, consumers can be forced to adjust their interactions with available prey, and this could have cascading effects within food webs. To better understand the capacity for foraging flexibility, our study aimed to determine the diet variability of an ectotherm omnivore inhabiting kelp f...

Context Seagrass meadows act as efficient natural carbon sinks by sequestering atmospheric CO2 and through trapping of allochthonous organic material, thereby preserving organic carbon (Corg) in their sediments. Less understood is the influence of landscape configuration and transformation (land-use change) on carbon sequestration dynamics in coast...

Context Seagrass meadows act as efficient natural carbon sinks by sequestering atmospheric CO 2 and through trapping of allochthonous organic material, thereby preserving organic carbon (C org) in their sediments. Less understood is the influence of landscape configuration and transformation (land-use change) on carbon sequestration dynamics in coa...

Protection, restoration, and regeneration of aquatic habitats are an increasingly important issue and are requiring intensive research. In the marine environment, artificial reefs may be deployed to help offset habitat loss, increase local biodiversity and stimulate the recovery of ecosystems. This study aimed at the fabrication of artificial reefs...

Artificial reefs have been deployed in multiple regions of the world for different purposes including habitat restoration and protection, biodiversity and fish stock enhancement, fisheries management and recreation. Artificial reefs can be a valuable tool for ecosystem protection and rehabilitation, helping mitigate the effects of anthropogenic imp...

Compelling new evidence shows that kelp production contributes an important and underappreciated flux of carbon in the ocean. Major questions remain, however, about the controls on the cycling of this organic carbon in the coastal zone, and their implications for future carbon sequestration. Here we used field experiments distributed across 28° lat...

Nuclear receptors (NRs) are transcription factors accomplishing a multiplicity of functions, essential for organismal homeostasis. Among their numerous members, the retinoid X receptor (RXR) is a central player of the endocrine system, with a singular ability to operate as a homodimer or a heterodimer with other NRs. Additionally, RXR has been foun...

Herbivory plays a major role in shaping community dynamics across freshwater, marine and terrestrial habitats, by controlling patterns of abundance and distribution of primary producers, including seaweeds. In the context of biological invasions, the proliferation of non-native seaweeds has been often attributed to limited grazing by native herbivo...

Seagrass meadows have a high ability to capture and store atmospheric CO2 in the plant biomass and underlying sediment and thereby function as efficient carbon sinks. The seagrass Zostera marina is a common species in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, a region with strong seasonal variations in climate. How seasonality affects carbon storage capac...

Most of the biodiversity studies in the South European Atlantic Shelf ecoregion are limited to shallow subtidal or intertidal habitats, while deeper reef habitats, also of relevant ecological importance, are particularly understudied. Macroalgal communities, associated fauna, and sea surface temperature were studied in deep reefs (25–30 m) at two l...

Signalling molecules and their cognate receptors are central components of the Metazoa endocrine system. Defining their presence or absence in extant animal lineages is critical to accurately devise evolutionary patterns, physiological shifts and the impact of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Here, we address the evolution of retinoic acid (RA) sign...

World's oceans are warming, and recent studies suggest that the Iberian upwelling system may be weakening. To understand the potential consequences of both trends, six intertidal seaweeds that recently followed opposite upward and downward abundance shifts in the Iberian upwelling region were exposed for six weeks to conditions simulating present a...

Paracentrotus lividus is a common and intensely harvested sea urchin at several European locations, including the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The increasing human pressure on this resource due to the growing demand and market value of sea urchin gonads as seafood raises concerns on the ecological sustainabilit...

Despite the evidence of trend of decreasing abundance of ecological important seaweeds such as kelps in different parts of the Iberian Peninsula, subtidal sampling/data, specially monitoring data are scarce preventing an adequate long term comparison, particularly in the continental Portuguese coast. This coast encompasses the southern distribution...

The loss of marine foundation species, in particular kelps at temperate latitudes, has been linked to climatic drivers and co‐occurring human perturbations. Ocean temperature and nutrients typically covary over local and regional scales and play a crucial role on kelp dynamics. Examining their independent and interactive effects on kelp physiologic...

There is evidence that some seaweeds are changing their abundance and range along the North Atlantic in recent years, and climatic drivers are often invoked as potential culprits for these changes. In the particular case of north-west Iberia, recent decadal changes in the frequency of occurrence of several intertidal perennial seaweeds coincided wi...

Partitioning the effects of herbivory on different life stages of primary producers is key to understanding the population-wide consequences of herbivory. We assessed the performance of microscopic (MiS <1 mm) juveniles, macroscopic (MaS) juveniles and adult kelp (Laminaria ochroleuca) under contrasting herbivory regimes through a herbivore exclusi...

The degree of development and operability of the indicators for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) using Descriptor 1 (D1) Biological Diversity was assessed. To this end, an overview of the relevance and degree of operability of the underlying parameters across 20 European countries was compiled by analysing national directives, legisla...

Assessing effects of herbivory across broad gradients of varying ocean climate conditions and over small spatial scales is crucial for understanding its influence on primary producers. Effects of herbivory on the distribution and abundance of kelp recruits were examined experimentally at two regions under contrasting ocean climate. Specifically, th...

Kelp communities are in decline in many regions. Detecting and addressing population declines require knowledge of patterns of spatial and temporal variation in the distribution and abundance of kelps and their associated organisms. Wequantified kelp and associated macroalgal assemblages three times over a period of 2 years, at three regions along...

Kelp communities are in decline in many regions. Detecting and addressing population declines require knowledge of patterns of spatial and temporal variation in the distribution and abundance of kelps and their associated organisms. We quantified kelp and associated macroalgal assemblages three times over a period of 2 years, at three regions along...

Assessing effects of herbivory across broad gradients of varying ocean climate conditions and over small spatial scales is crucial for understanding its influence on primary producers. Effects of herbivory on the distribution and abundance of kelp recruits were examined experimentally at two regions under contrasting ocean climate. Specifically, th...

Kelps (large brown seaweeds) are conspicuous elements of the Portuguese coast, although kelp abundance is declining, especially at central and southern Portugal. While many studies point out increased seawater temperature as the main factor explaining kelp decline, little attention has been given to top-down (predatory) influences. Through in situ...

Sandy beaches are natural dynamic ecosystems, which are becoming worldwide increasingly disturbedby intensive human direct use, coastal development and erosive evolution. In this study, we have exam-ined whether ten years of potential increased human pressures have resulted in significant changes inthe macrofaunal assemblages’ structure and composi...

The freshwater–saltwater-transition-zone was analysed using two different sampling protocols and assessment methodologies, developed for freshwater and estuaries, to compare their agreement level in terms of community composition and quality assessments. The use of different protocols resulted in significant differences in macroinvertebrate communi...

The freshwater-saltwater-transition-zone was analysed using two different sampling protocols and assessment methodologies, developed for freshwater and estuaries, to compare their agreement level in terms of community composition and quality assessments. The use of different protocols resulted in significant differences in macroinvertebrate communi...

From 2003 to 2008, research on spatial and temporal dynamics of Corbicula fluminea was conducted at 10 sites along the Mondego Estuary (Portugal). A clear spatial and temporal variation in terms of density and biomass was observed, the highest values being found in the upstream oligohaline site, especially in warmer seasons. Seasonal density ranged...

The Portuguese coast has overlapping distributions of species of both boreal and Lusitanian origins; a large number of cold- and warm-water species have their southern or northern distributional range edges here. A latitudinal gradient in ocean climate, particularly sea surface temperature (SST) and primary production, has been described along this...

Robust approaches to evaluate ecological quality in aquatic ecosystems become demanding concomitantly with the degradation resulting from increasing human-induced pressures. Aiming at a successful management, numerous evaluation tools are currently available and have been widely used for quality status assessment in estuaries mainly through the ana...

The Portuguese coast has overlapping distributions of species of both boreal and Lusitanian origins; a large number of cold- and warm-water species have their southern or northern distributional range edges here. A latitudinal gradient in ocean climate, particularly sea surface temperature (SST) and primary production, has been described along this...

Resumo Em 1981, as Berlengas, arquipélago localizado a cerca de 7 milhas da costa de Peniche (costa Oeste de Portugal), tornou-se área marinha protegida. Censos visuais subaquáticos, nomeadamente percursos aleatórios, foram usados para fazer o levantamento das espécies de peixes na área, durante duas campanhas de Verão, 2004 e 2005, contabilizando...

a b s t r a c t Robust approaches to evaluate ecological quality in aquatic ecosystems become demanding concomi-tantly with the degradation resulting from increasing human-induced pressures. Aiming at a successful management, numerous evaluation tools are currently available and have been widely used for quality status assessment in estuaries mainl...