José Lino Costa

Faculty of Sciences of University of Lisbon (FCUL)

The present study provides the first results of the exploratory research campaign to Gloria seamount (summit at 45.03◦N, 15.54◦W), a newly identified seamount in the NE Atlantic. New multibeam bathymetry and an 8 h remote operated vehicle footage and photography data were compiled and analyzed to give the first insights on the geological nature and...

The green crab (Carcinus maenas) population was investigated in a coastal lagoon (Santo André) located on the southwest coast of Portugal. This study assessed the spatial-temporal variability of green crab abundance in the lagoon and its relationship with environmental variables. Experimental fishing was used to collect data on abundance, size stru...

The introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) induces severe impacts on marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Macaronesia is an ecologically relevant region where several NIS were detected recently. For the first time, a standard experimental approach was designed to examine biofouling assemblages and investigate NIS across the region. In this con...

The upstream movement of juvenile eels (median total length (TL) = 138 mm) in the Mondego River, Portugal, was analysed between January 2017 and August 2019. A total of 12,019 individuals (TL ranging from 60 to 287 mm) were counted and measured on an eel ladder at Coimbra weir, 44 km upstream from the river mouth, during their upstream movements. A...

In the framework of stock enhancement, field experiments were conducted between March and July 2021 in rocky shores of Central Portugal to test the usefulness of refuges and calcein marking for juvenile sea urchins releases. Individuals with 10–20 mm in test diameter were captured in nature and tagged through immersion in a calcein bath with a conc...

The European sardine (Sardina pilchardus) is the most abundant and socio-economically important small pelagic fish species in Western Iberia Upwelling Ecosystem. As a result of a long series of low recruitments, sardine biomass off Western Iberia has greatly reduced since the 2000s. Recruitment of small pelagic fish is mainly dependent on environme...

This report summarizes current threats to the Tagus estuary and adjacent ecosystems, presented in Lisbon in June 2021, and prioritizes actions to maintain or improve ecosystem services for a densely populated area close to the deep ocean.

The sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816) (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) is an important economic resource in Europe, but intense harvesting has led to the collapse of several natural populations. Echinoculture, associated with restocking and stock enhancement practices, is an alternative to this problem. In these procedures, reliable indiv...

Anthropogenic pressures such as the introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) have impacted global biodiversity and ecosystems. Most marine species spreading outside their natural biogeographical limits are promoted and facilitated by maritime traffic through ballast water and hull biofouling. Propagule pressure plays a primary role in invasion...

Salinity plays a major role in several physiological processes in sea urchins, including reproduction and growth, ultimately affecting survival. Optimal salinity ranges vary considerably between species, as a consequence of ecological adaptations. However, related research in the context of aquaculture is quite scarce, particularly for the stenohal...

The market value of sea urchin roe (female and male gonads) depends on several quality criteria, such as size, color, texture, and flavor. Sea urchins given dry pellet feed often produce large gonads, but the preferred bright orange color has been difficult to achieve without the inclusion of supplementary dietary carotenoids. Gonad color depends o...

No-take areas are key instruments to promote the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), particularly concerning the protection of endangered species such as the dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus). However, despite the establishment of no-take areas and the prohibition of catching this species in a southwestern Portuguese MPA (SACVMP—‘S...

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have played an important role in the protection of endangered species such as the dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus), and the no-take areas have been particularly crucial for this purpose. Yet, despite the establishment of no-take areas and the legislation banning dusky groupers’ catches since 2011 in a southwester...

The meagre is among the largest Sciaenidae in the world (max: 230 cm, 103 kg), with a wide distribution range encompassing the NE and CE Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The life cycle in Atlantic waters includes migratory movements from feeding and overwintering areas at sea to spawning and nursery areas in estuaries and coastal waters. H...

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) require effective indicators to assess their performance, in compliance with the goals of relevant national and international commitments. Achieving and prioritizing shortlists of multidisciplinary indicators demands a significant effort from specialists to depict the multiple conservation and socioeconomic interests,...

Cockles are amongst the most exploited bivalve species in Portugal, playing an important ecological and socioeconomic role in coastal ecosystems. Two sympatric species of cockles, Cerastoderma edule ( Linnaeus, 1758 ) and Cerastoderma glaucum ( Bruguière, 1789–1792 ) may co-occur in estuaries and coastal lagoons in mixed populations along the Europ...

Aims The present study is the first attempt to grasp the scale and richness of marine biological invasions in Macaronesia. We pioneered a comprehensive non‐native species (NNS), inventory in the region to determine their diversity patterns and native distribution origins. NNS were defined here as the result of both introductions and range expansion...

The present work aims to identify changes in the macroinvertebrate community of the Tagus estuary (Portugal) due to improvements in water quality and to climate change. Data was collected over a period of 16 years (1998–2014) from different sites located along the estuarine gradient. The AZTI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) was used to assess the ecolog...

The production of cupped oysters is an important component of European aquaculture. Most of the production relies on the cultivation of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, although the Portuguese oyster Crassostrea angulata represents a valuable product with both cultural and economic relevance, especially in Portugal. The authors of the present...

Understanding food webs environmental condition is a challenging task since evaluations are limited by data on key ecosystem elements, by the availability of indicators that incorporate relevant guilds and by the difficulty in establishing cause-effect relations between pressures and health status, as multiple overlapping pressures can affect taxon...

Hydropeaking is widely known for changing the quantity and quality of the available habitat downstream of hydroelectric facilities, thus affecting all stages of fish life cycles. Hydropeaking impacts on salmonids are widely studied, but knowledge of its effects on cyprinids, which are dominant in Mediterranean areas, is scarce. In this study, 11 Ib...

There is an increasing demand for sea cucumbers, for human consumption, mainly from Asian markets and, as a consequence, NE-Atlantic species are now new targets for exploitation and exportation. Holothuria mammata is one of the most valuable species in Europe. However, the lack of historical economic interest in this species in most European countr...

As tarefas do projeto têm vindo a ser todas executadas, no entanto com atrasos em algumas, por motivos diferentes. A tarefa da governança participativa (Tarefa 8) teve início com grande atraso, pelas dificuldades na contratação. Os resultados desta tarefa são essenciais para a capacitação do setor da apanha de bivalves e para dar suporte à elaboraç...

Age and growth of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) from a coastal lagoon in southwestern Europe were investigated using a sample of 871 eels. Fish were caught with fyke nets in two fishing seasons, 2011/12 and 2015/16. Age was determined by reading sagittal otoliths and age estimates were validated through semi-direct methods. The yellow and silver...

Global warming is increasing the frequency, duration and intensity of extreme events such as marine heat waves (MHWs). The effects of MHWs include a variety of negative environmental impacts. Extreme weather events can interact with other environmental stressors such as invasion by marine non-indigenous species (NIS). The aim of this study was to (...

Abstract Background Three-axis acceleration sensor acoustic transmitters (AccelTag) programmed to identify specific acceleration patterns associated with particular behaviours (e.g., burrowing, attack) were used to study some aspects of the ecology of the Lusitanian toadfish Halobatrachus didactylus (Bloch & Schneider 1801). The AccelTag combines t...

The natural park “Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina” (PNSACV; SW coast of continental Portugal) includes a recently implemented marine protected area of 2 km along its coast, where important, although not quantified, small-scale commercial fisheries are carried out. Conservation measures are implemented since 2011.The present...

Sea urchin roe is a gastronomic delicacy appreciated worldwide and Portugal is the third largest consumer nation of seafood. However, sea urchin roe is recognized as a seafood by few members of the national coastal communities. Motivated by an increasing interest of gastronomic and aquaculture sectors in producing this seafood, a survey was conduct...

The implementation of food web criteria in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive context faces several difficulties, namely the lack of data for relevant taxa, the absence of operational indicators, and spatially and temporally limited datasets. This work aims to identify ecologically relevant scales in the Celtic Seas (CS) and the Bay of Biscay...

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive is undergoing its second implementation cycle while work is ongoing to promote further harmonization, especially regarding the European Commission standards on datasets, metrics, and thresholds. Even though spatial scales for Biodiversity descriptor criteria concerning fish are set by the Directive at subdivi...

One of the actions that has been implemented to support the recovery of the panmictic population of European eel is stocking of waterbodies where natural recruitment is low or null. However, growth conditions of the stocked eels can vary greatly. This circumstance emphasises the importance to determine ideal habitat conditions to contribute to the...

The introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS) is considered as one of the main causes associated with biodiversity loss. The number of NIS has increased significantly emphasizing the need to know and manage the processes of biological invasions. Recreational marinas are points of entry for potential colonizers and can act as stepping-stones for...

In recent decades, maritime traffic has been increasing globally. Introduction vectors involving ships, hull fouling and ballast water are often cited as having high risk for introducing marine non-indigenous species (NIS) worldwide. Due to its geographical location, Madeira Island (Portugal) had a significant role in past maritime connections, wit...

The common sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816) is the most consumed echinoid in Europe. It is considered a seafood delicacy, given its high-valued gonads. In sea urchins, temperature probably represents the most important abiotic factor affecting several physiological processes and it is essential to better establish optimal reference...

The catadromous life cycle of the European eel encompasses a spawning migration to the Sargasso Sea. Prior to their migration, eels develop a silver coloration being referred to as “silver eels.” Due to the dramatic European eel recruitment decline, it is crucial to quantify silver eel escapement to evaluate the success of measures taken under Eel...

The current study aimed at characterizing the marine news in a Portuguese quality newspaper between October 2002 and December 2010. The search for keywords related to the marine environment resulted in the collection of 1309 news items, with a mean number of 13.22 news per month. These modest values seem to be related to the low public interest and...

The beach‐seine fishery is a commercial fishing activity on the Portuguese coast, with reports dating as far back as the early 15th century. The main target species of this fishery are small pelagic fish such as Atlantic chub mackerel, Atlantic horse mackerel and sardine. To identify the best conditions for fishing the target‐species, catches of be...

Gonads of Paracentrotus lividus are considered a delicacy and the increasing market demand depleted several wild stocks. In this context, sustainable echinoculture can play an important role for supplying commercially gonads and also for local restocking. Nevertheless, the success of this activity largely depends on the development of valuable hatc...

Polychaetes are marine annelid worms that can contribute to aquaculture diversification. Its culture has been viable, and commercially attempted, but intensive production has progressed only in few countries around the world. In the countries with no production, marine polychaetes are imported or harvested. A strong and sustained research investmen...

In an attempt to assist the recovery of the panmictic population of the European eel, declining since the late 1980s, the restocking of areas with low or no natural recruitment has been one of the measures adopted to reverse this trend. However, the main focus in several monitoring programmes for these actions, has been in the best interest of its...

European Union Member States have made an unprecedent effort to implement the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). However, the coherent assessment of Europe’s marine waters towards Good Environmental Status is yet to be achieved. This work analysed the implementation level and time scales used to report biodiversity criteria in the 1st MSFD...

Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck 1816) has high-value reddish orange gonads that are regarded as a delicacy. In this study, three jellified diets have been tested for 90 days to assess the effect of different diets on P. lividus somatic and gonadal growth, gonad color, and reproductive state. All diets contained agar as a gelling agent and consisted...

The sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816), mainly distributed in the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas and in the North-Eastern Atlantic coast, represents an important economic resource. Its reddish-orange gonads, also designated as roe, are long considered a luxury food item, with a high nutritional content, particularly in carotenoids. G...

Non-indigenous species (NIS) are increasingly widespread and abundant in coastal areas, hence being considered indicators to assess the environmental status of marine waters under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. However, information on the effects of biological invasions on species composition and abundance is still scarce, particularly fo...

The development and operationalization of Food-web indicators Descriptor 4 - Food-webs) in the MSFD context faces several difficulties, such as: lack of data for relevant taxa, absence of fully operational indicators, spatially and temporally limited datasets. This work aims to improve methodologies used to assess Food-webs by identifying relevant...

During 2008, the Zostera noltii meadows located in the lower Mira estuary (SW Portugal) disappeared completely. However, during 2009, symptoms of natural recovery were observed, and in 2015 totally mature patches were detected. This allowed to investigate the temporal and spatial distribution patterns of the composition and structure of ichthyofaun...

Polychaete annelids are some of the most heavily harvested invertebrates collected in coastal areas and estuaries for their economic value as live fishing bait or as food supplement in aquaculture activities. However, information on bait digging in Portugal is scarce or incomplete. Thus, the present study aimed at investigating the bait digging act...

The adoption of the EC Regulation 1100/2007 for the recovery of the European eel required EU member states to implement and periodically report on their Eel Management Plans (EMPs) with the goal of achieving at least 40% of the silver eel escapement relative to the best estimate of escapement that would have existed if no anthropogenic influences h...

In this study, the effects of three diets were investigated to enhance Paracentrotus lividus production for commercial purposes. P. lividus were fed ad libitum for 80 days with: diet A—fresh Codium tomentosum Stackhouse, 1797; diet B—formulated using a jellified mix of macroalgae and vegetables, including C. tomentosum (20%), Coralina sp. Linnaeus,...

This exploratory study is focused on the perceptions of science communication practitioners about the activities of scientists and the audiences of the marine sciences outreach in Portugal. Using the qualitative method of thematic analysis and collecting data through semistructured interviews of 14 practitioners of diverse professions, backgrounds,...

Polychaetes are marine annelid worms that can contribute to aquaculture diversification. Its culture has been viable, and commercially attempted, but intensive production has progressed only in few countries around the world. In the countries with no production, marine polychaetes are imported or harvested. A strong and sustained research investmen...

European Member States have made a large effort to implement the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, however data sets used are heterogeneous across countries in terms of indicators reported, implementation level and scales used. In the present work, biodiversity and ecosystem indicators scales (i.e. D1- Biodiversity, D2 – Non-Invasive species, D3...

In the past three decades the European eel Anguilla anguilla experienced up to 99% decline in recruitment in some parts of its distribution range. In addition to this long-term trend, glass eel recruitment exhibits significant inter-annual variability partially explained by large-scale oceanographic processes as well as local-scale meteorological a...

This study focused on the marine science communication done in the past to the general audiences in Portugal, through interviews with practitioners.More specifically, it aimed to identify perceived events, initiatives and actors, ways of communication used and their impact, and priorities for future communication. Data collection involved 14 semi-s...

In 2011, several type I marine protected areas (no-take MPAs) were established inside the Sudoeste Alentejano and Costa Vicentina Marine Park, located along the southwestern coast of Portugal. This study quantified the home range, movement patterns and activity levels of 19 moray Muraena helena and 6 conger Conger conger eels to assess if the size...

The present study aims to establish the rearing conditions for the edible sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. Several other studies were developed with P. lividus and other sea urchins that might have high potential for aquaculture and commercial fisheries. This aquaculture research project will last 36 months and is part of a multidisciplinary proje...

Jellyfish modulate the energy fluxes between compartments of aquatic ecosystems and the period that energy remains within each compartment. However, the contribution of different sources of organic matter (OM) to the production of most estuarine jellyfish species is unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and quantify the putative sources...

The present study aimed to describe the reproductive cycle and estimate the size at sexual maturity of the Manila clam ( Ruditapes philippinarum ) in the Tagus Estuary (Portugal). Specimens were collected monthly from September 2013 to December 2015 during fishing surveys using bivalve dredges. The gametogenic cycle was described in detail using go...

The hydrozoan Blackfordia virginica has been reported over a wide geographical area, although it is mainly restricted to scattered records within estuarine areas of temperate and tropical regions. The aim of this study was to understand the spatial and temporal variability of an established population of this non-indigenous species on a temperate e...

Different invertebrate groups are often exploited on sediment shores and mudflats, including polychaetes, sipunculids, bivalves and crustaceans. The commercial importance of polychaetes and sipunculids, that has increased in the early 2000's because of its use as a food source for the aquaculture sector and a growing demand of worms for use as sea...

The Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum (Adams & Reeve, 1850) was introduced in several regions worldwide where it is permanently established. In Portuguese waters, the colonisation of the Tagus Estuary by this invasive species coincided with a significant decrease in abundance of the native Ruditapes decussatus (Linnaeus, 1758). This study aimed t...