Nuno CastroMARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre · MARE-Madeira
Nuno Castro
MS
About
49
Publications
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606
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Citations since 2017
Introduction
My research is connected to marine biological invasions, particularly on the island of Madeira and Macaronesia. I also focus my studies on non-indigenous species introduction pathways, particularly maritime traffic. One particular aspect that I find interesting is to understand the NIS dispersion outside hotspots and the effects that climate change has on invasion ecology. I am interested in diving, scientific and technical diving.
Publications
Publications (49)
Aim
The introduction of aquatic non‐indigenous species (ANS) has become a major driver for global changes in species biogeography. We examined spatial patterns and temporal trends of ANS detections since 1965 to inform conservation policy and management.
Location
Global.
Methods
We assembled an extensive dataset of first records of detection of A...
Environmental changes due to non-native species introductions and translocations are a global concern. Whilst understanding the causes of bioinvasions is important, there is need for decision-support tools that facilitate effective communication of the potential risks of invasive non-native species to stakeholders. Decision-support tools have been...
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 (...
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...
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...
Intensive and regular fishing occurs in the marine area of the natural park "Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina" (PNSACV; SW coast of continental Portugal). In 2011, this area became a marine park with different protection levels (total, partial, and complementary). We assessed in 2011 and 2012 if partial protection (PP) in Mar...
The synergistic effects of biological invasions have long been considered significant causes of biodiversity loss worldwide. Therefore, early detection monitoring is crucial in mitigating nonindigenous species (NIS) threats. In the marine environment, settlement plates were used as monitoring devices in ports, but this method was mainly applied to...
Marinas are a gateway for the introduction and establishment of non-indigenous species (NIS). In these habitats, competition and predation are crucial determinants for NIS establishment and invasiveness. However, fish trophic preferences and biotic effects inside marinas are poorly known. This study proposes a novel method that combines the deploym...
Current trends in the global climate facilitate the displacement of numerous marine species from their native distribution ranges to higher latitudes when facing warming conditions. In this work, we analyzed occurrences of a circumtropical reef fish, the spotfin burrfish, Chilomycterus reticulatus (Linnaeus, 1958), in the Madeira Archipelago (NE At...
Macroalgal forests play a key role in shallow temperate rocky reefs worldwide, supporting communities with high productivity and providing several ecosystem services. Sea urchin grazing has been increasingly influencing spatial and temporal variation in algae distributions and it has become the main cause for the loss of these habitats in many coas...
The threat posed by invasive non-native species worldwide requires a global approach to identify which introduced species are likely to pose an elevated risk of impact to native species and ecosystems. To inform policy, stakeholders and management decisions on global threats to aquatic ecosystems, 195 assessors representing 120 risk assessment area...
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...
Seagrass meadows are globally recognized as important coastal habitats due to the various ecological functions and ecosystem services they provide. Substantial global decline of seagrass habitats has been recorded over the last decades, underlining the need for extensive studies, including monitoring and mapping these habitats across their distribu...
Environmental changes due to non-native species introductions and translocations are a global concern. Whilst understanding the causes of bioinvasions is important, there is need for decision-support tools that facilitate effective communication of the potential risks of invasive non-native species to stakeholders. Decision-support tools have been...
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...
Mass mortality events involving marine taxa are increasing worldwide. The long-spined sea urchin Diadema africanum
is considered a keystone herbivore species in the northeastern Atlantic due to its control over the abundance and
distribution of algae. After a first registered mass mortality in 2009, another event off the coasts of Madeira archipela...
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...
This manuscript reports the first sightings and collection of the swimming crab Cronius ruber (Lamarck, 1818) on the coast of Madeira Island, Portugal. After the recent record in the Canary Islands, this represents a further step northward on this species' expansion in distribution in the eastern Atlantic. The crab was first spotted during underwat...
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...
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...
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...
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly being recommended as management tools for biodiversity conservation and fisheries. With the purpose of protecting the region's biodiversity and prevent the over exploitation of marine resources, in February 2011 the no-take MPAs of Ilha do Pessegueiro and Cabo Sardão were implemented within the “Parque...
The capture in intertidal sediments of live bait for fishing has increased at a global scale and is an important source of revenue for the people living along the coast given the increase in demand. This activity is the source of strong impacts caused by trampling and disturbance of large areas of sediment that significantly influence both the biog...
Over the years, the Mondego estuary has undergone various anthropogenic impacts. One of the most serious was the closing of the communication between the two arms of the system (north and south), in the 1990s, which promoted eutrophication and a consequent water quality decline in the south arm. Several mitigation measures were subsequently impleme...
1 MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal; 2 MARE– Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Av. N. Sra. do Cabo, 939, 750-374, Portugal; 3 CTA - Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias da Água, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de G...
Mark-recapture tagging and acoustic telemetry were used to study the movements of Diplodus sargus within the Pessegueiro Island no-take Marine Protected Area (MPA), (Portugal) and assess its size adequacy for this species’ protection against fishing activities. Therefore, 894 D. sargus were captured and marked with conventional plastic t-bar tags....
O interesse comercial por algumas espécies da macrofauna bentónica marinha, nomeadamente de anelídeos poliquetas, vulgarmente designados de minhocas-do-mar, tem vindo a aumentar devido à sua utilização como isco vivo na pesca à linha marinha com anzol (lúdica e profissional) e também à sua crescente utilização como alimento na aquacultura de peixes...
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly being recommended as management tools for biodiversity conservation and fisheries. With the purpose of protecting the region’s biodiversity and prevent the over exploitation of marine resources, in February 2011 the MPAs of Ilha do Pessegueiro and Cabo Sardão were implemented in the “Parque Natural do...
1 Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal (easa@fc.ul.pt) 2 Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal. 3 Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Gra...
The diets and trophic ecology of the dominant fish species from the marine coastal region of Aveiro (north-western Portugal) caught during a summer survey were studied. Mysids were the most important prey group for the fish assemblage analysed. As a consequence, there was a high dietary overlap between species and a low incidence of piscivory. Neve...
According to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) transitional waters should be differentiated according to type and, in some cases, divided into different water bodies. This raises a dilemma in trying to define parts of a continuum. In the sequence of WFD several indices have been proposed including the Estuarine Fish Assessment Index, which can be...
The assessment of water quality has changed markedly worldwide over the last years, especially in Europe due to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. Fish was considered a key-element in this context and several fish-based multi-metric indices have been proposed. In this study, we propose a multi- metric index, the Estuarine Fish Ass...
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...
The present study aims to evaluate the utilization of several benthic macroinvertebrate and fish species as bioindicators of heavy metal contamination in a relatively enclosed estuarine area, the Seixal Bay (Tagus estuary, Portugal). 266 specimens of 16 taxa were captured during four sampling campaigns and the concentration of lead, chromium, nicke...
Projects
Project (1)
The aim of this project is the development of native polychaetes rearing technology and contribute to the harvesting and imports management. Polychaete annelids are important species used as fishing bait and as food for marine reared species. The rearing technology can be easily entering the market, being beneficial for the sustainable development of the Portuguese aquaculture.
