João Manuel Gonçalves

• PhD
• University of the Azores

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Moon jellies are some of the most popular, widely distributed, and best-studied marine jellyfish. By the end of the past century only two or three Aurelia species were recognized, but with the rise of DNA barcoding studies, around thirty Aurelia species are presently accepted. Most of the species are morphologically indistinguishable and have restr...

The fried egg jellyfish Phacellophora camtschatica (senso lato) is a morphologically peculiar and conspicuous species occurring mostly in the cold waters of the North Pacific. It is less common in the cold waters of the NW Atlantic, and occasionally has been reported in the Mediterranean, Arctic, East and South Pacific, and E, SW and NE Atlantic. H...

Presented at Biodiversity Next in Leiden, 23th October 2019 in "CP06 Contributed papers: Data extraction, literature and collections", moderated by Ely Wallis.

Seamounts are common topographic features in the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (MAR) including the Azores. However, the knowledge on the ecology of seamounts in this region remains scarce despite needs for assessment and management of seamount resources such as the developing fisheries for deep‐water crabs. We described here for the first time the biological...

The deep ocean is the largest and least explored biome with the highest richness of species and phylogenetic biodiversity on Earth. The high costs of using sophisticated technological means to access deep-sea ecosystems gives an inestimable value to specimens collected in these environments. Azorean scientists have long started collaborating with f...

Publication: Além do Azul (Beyond the Blue), Exhibition of underwater photography by Nelson Raposo (20 photographs 40x60 cm, coastal biodiversity of the Azores Sea), with scientific texts. Promoted: Municipality of Lagoa, island of São Miguel – Azores. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5uhjDI-PZQ

Patella candei d'Orbigny is an exploited limpet endemic to the archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira, Selvagens and Canaries (Macaronesia). Marked declines reported for the species likely reflect overexploitation and inadequacy of current management measures with biodiversity further threatened by illegal harvesting and an-thropogenic movement of lim...

Background. A lutjanid recently captured in Flores Island represents the first documented record of a snapper for the Azores Islands. Since this specimen was not made available to us besides photographs and a muscle sample, a genetic study approach was necessary in order to accurately describe and discuss this somewhat unexpected occurrence. The ma...

Pelagic octopods have secondarily left the seafloor and evolved a holopelagic existence. One of the most striking adaptations among a suite of related pelagic octopod families (superfamily Argonautoidea) is their associations with gelatinous zooplankton (jellyfishes and salps). Here, we report a unique interaction between a male octopod (Haliphron...

Combined analysis of genetic and morphological variation can provide synergistic insights into eco-evolutionary forces shaping biodiversity, as well as tools for conservation and management. Macaronesian limpets are undergoing severe declines due to overexploitation which calls for an evaluation of the evolutionary significance and taxonomic status...

Gomes-Pereira, J.N., J.M. Gonçalves & M.R. Clarke 2016. Cephalopod identification keys to Histioteuthidae, Cranchiidae and Octopodiformes of the Azores, with an updated checklist. Arquipelago. Life and Marine Sciences 33: 1-12. This work is a combination of unpublished cephalopod identification keys compiled by Malcolm R. Clarke for the Azores regi...

Sperm whales produce codas for communication that can be grouped into different types according to their temporal patterns. Codas have led researchers to propose that sperm whales belong to distinct cultural clans, but it is presently unclear if they also convey individual information. Coda clicks comprise a series of pulses and the delay between p...

Sperm whales produce stereotyped click series, called codas, for communication that can be grouped into different types according to their temporal patterns. These distinctive phonations have led researchers to propose that sperm whales belong to distinct cultural clans, but it is presently unclear if they also convey individual information for com...

Gomes-Pereira, J.N., J.M. Gonçalves & M.R. Clarke 2016. Cephalopod identification keys to Histioteuthidae, Cranchiidae and Octopodiformes of the Azores, with an updated checklist. Arquipelago. Life and Marine Sciences 33: 1-12. This work is a combination of unpublished cephalopod identification keys compiled by Malcolm R. Clarke for the Azores regi...

The stock structure of the sei whale Balaenoptera borealis in the North Atlantic is unknown, despite years of commercial hunting. New and up-to-date data on distribution and movements are essential for the creation of plausible hypotheses about the stock structure of this species. Between 2008 and 2009 satellite tracks of 8 sei whales were obtained...

The stock structure of the sei whale Balaenoptera borealis in the North Atlantic is unknown, despite years of commercial hunting. New and up-to-date data on distribution and movements are essential for the creation of plausible hypotheses about the stock structure of this species. Between 2008 and 2009 satellite tracks of 8 sei whales were obtained...

Malcolm Roy Clarke (1930–2013) was a British teuthologist who made an important contribution to marine science in the Azores archipelago (Portugal). Malcolm started doing research in the Azores from 1980s onward, settling for residency in 2000 after retirement (in 1987). He kept publishing on Azorean cephalopods collaborating in 20% of the peer rev...

Life Watch Europe FCT (Potuguese Science and Technology Foundation) AZOREAN BIODIVERSITY PORTAL The Azorean Biodiversity Portal -PORBIOTA-, a key e-infrastructure for the integrated management of terrestrial and marine biodiversity of the Azores • improve the e-infrastructure to allow complex queries and improve user-friendliness; • guarantee a rig...

Foi observada pela primeira vez no Arquipélago dos Açores (NE do Atlântico) uma “maré vermelha”, com coloração acastanhada. Este fenómeno natural ocorreu a 2 de Setembro de 2013 na Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo, na ilha de S. Jorge. A microalga responsável pela mudança de cor da água foi identificada como Alexandrium c.f. minutum através de micr...

Seamounts are among the most common topographic features in the world ocean. Depending on their particular morphological traits, they can also be referred to as banks, knolls, guyots, mounds, or hills. Condor seamount is a linear volcano located in the Azores (northeast Atlantic), 35 km in length, 2-6 km wide, and of varied seafloor morphology. A s...

Reproductive cycles of marine invertebrates with complex life histories are considered to be synchronized by water temperature and feeding conditions, which vary with season and latitude. This study analyses seasonal variation in the occurrence of oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and mussel (Mytilus edulis/ galloprovincialis) larvae across European coast...

A study was conducted during 2005 and 2007, aiming at estimating the value of observation tourism of the estuarine dolphin in the Cananéia region and the satisfaction levels reported by the tourists. The measure of tourist satisfaction can be considered as high and the application of the Travel Cost Method depicted that the economic evaluation of t...

1 A bibliometric analysis of the literature on the sei whale Balaenoptera borealis is presented. Research output on the species is quantified and compared with research on four other whale species. The results show a significant increase in research for all species except the sei whale. Research output is characterized chronologically and by oceani...

An egg mass of Loligo forbesi was observed in the field for the first time while conducting a remotely operated vehicle dive at a depth of 370 m, off the São Jorge Island (Azores, north-east Atlantic). This observation allowed the confirmation of two hypotheses previously suggested for the reproduction of this species: (i) that in the Azores this s...

Satellite telemetry as a tool to help defining the International Whaling Commission whale management areas

The sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) can be found in all ocean basins, normally in pelagic waters. Like most large whales, sei whales undertake extensive, seasonal, latitudinal migrations, spending the summer feeding in sub-polar waters and returning to lower latitudes in the winter to calve. On a global scale, the sei whale has the broadest range...

Trials with a new kind of fishing trap, the Japanese baited pot (JBP), were performed in the Atlantic for the first time, covering three target depths, 25 m, 75 m and 125 m in the Azores. The JBPs were proved to be efficient and highly specific to octopus. An average catch per unit of effort (CPUE) of 0.22 octopuses/trap/hour*100 was attained, and...

The population of Loligo forbesi inhabiting the Azorean Archipelago achieves the largest size ever reported for this species but also for any Loliginidae. Despite their importance as a food source for local communities, very little is known about their biology and ecology. In this paper, we describe our efforts in capturing, transporting, handling,...

Despite being an exploited and economically important species, little is known about the reproductive behaviour of Loligo forbesi. During a captive trial performed in a closed seawater system in the Azores, three spawning events were directly witnessed. An account of their main behavioural aspects is given. A number of behavioural components are de...

The whale‐watching activity has been growing in the Azores during the last 15 years. To contribute to the sustainability and management of the activity it is crucial to monitor its influence on cetacean populations. This work aimed to determine the sound produced by whale‐watching boats, in terms of frequencies and sound pressure levels (SPLs). Dif...

The whalewatching activity in the Azores archipelago

Azorean whale watching started in 1993. This activity has some whaling influence and it is characterized by the special topography and biologic features of the islands. The regulation process started in 1996. The first law order was created in 1999. In 2003, another law order appeared with several modifications and, one year after, a governmental l...

Azorean whale watching activity started in 1993 and it has been growing rapidly during the last 10 years. Enterprise surveys and tourist inquiries were made in 2004 and 2005. Fifteen enterprises and 146 (2004) and 222 (2005) tourist inquiries were analysed. In 2004 there were records of 15 licensed operators, 35 boats and around 30,000 clients (mos...

Marine benthic species introduced to the Az-ores are collated from scientific publications, internal reports and own data. Twelve algae and 21 invertebrates are classified as non-indigenous species, 18 as crypto-genic. Two species of algae and two ascidians are re-garded as particularly invasive along the shores of this oceanic archipelago.

Research to mitigate the bycatch of sea turtles in pelagic longline fisheries is reviewed at four levels of interaction: mechanistic, demographic, ecological, and socio-political. We focus on the importance of taking an ecological approach to bycatch reduction and present data on shark bycatch to illustrate what can happen when we focus our researc...

The problem of sea turtle bycatch in longline fisheries has been recognized worldwide. The bycatch of loggerhead sea turtles in the swordfish and blue shark longline fisheries in the Azores has been well documented. The waters around the Azores are an important developmental habitat for the oceanic-juvenile stage of the Atlantic loggerhead populati...

Boat-based surveys were conducted during the summer and autumn months of 1999 and 2000 around the islands of the Archipelago of the Azores to determine occurrence, distribution, and relative abundance of cetaceans. A total of 222 cetacean schools, corresponding to 11 species, were sighted over the two years. Cetaceans were widely distrib-uted in th...

A bstract We studied the operational and ecological interactions between cetaceans and the tuna‐fishery in the Azores, based on reports of observers placed on board tuna fishing vessels from 1998 to 2000. Data were collected during 617 fishing trips (representing 43% of total fishing trips) and 6,554 fishing events. Cetaceans were present during <1...

There is agreat lack of information on the e ff ects of boat operations on sperm whales (Physeter macro-cephalus), which is the target species of the recent whale-watching industry in the Archipelago of the Azores. During the 1998 Azorean whale-watching season, between 4June and 23 September, observa-tions were carried-out from land-based lookouts...

During 1997, quarterly exploratory cruises of the R/V “Archipelago” were carried out in order to study the deep water crab Chaceon affinis [Res. Camp. Sci. Mónaco Fasc. VII (1894) 1], South of Pico island (Azores) and at the Menez Gwen hydrothermal vent area (SW of the Azores, within the Azorean Economic Exclusive Zone). The crabs were caught with...

RNA and protein concentrations, and the RNA to protein ratio, were measured in four species of cephalopods, to evaluate sources of variation and the potential for using RNA concentration and the RNA to protein ratio as growth indices. In field samples of Loligo forbesi and Eledone cirrhosa, RNA concentrations and the RNA to protein ratio were highe...

An up-to-date commented check-list of the shallow-water marine molluscs of Pico, Faial, Flores and Corvo islands (Azores, Portugal) is provided, based on literature records, on material deposited at the Department of Biology of the University of the Azores (DBUA) as a result of the scientific expeditions "Flores/89", "Açores/89" and "Pico/91", and...

Forty nine strandings of 13 species of cetaceans were recorded in the archipelago of the Azores from 1992 to 1996. The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) was the most frequent stranded cetacean. For the first time in this region of the Atlantic, a stranded fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) was recorded. An unusual occurrence of a live stranding, ap...

The coastal lagoon of "Santo Cristo" (north coast of SBo Jorge Island, Azores archipelago), is a small brackish polyhaline-euryhaline lagoon (500 m length, 300 m wide and 4 m average depth) connected to the sea by two tidal channels. Due to the lack of streams the freshwater imput comes from, rainfall and underground seapage. A barrier of smooth bo...

Two research cruises carried out in Madeiran waters in 1990 and i991 by the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, collected two species of Octopoda not previously recorded from the region, namely: Scaeurgus unicirrhus (Orbigny, 1840) and Preroctopus tetracirrhus (Delle Chiaje, 1830). The behaviour and chromatic patterns of P. tetracirrhus, are d...