Teresa Modesto

• PhD
• Professor (Assistant) at University of Algarve

Crustacean bottom trawling in southern Portugal is an economic and culturally important fishing activity but may result in considerable bycatch of deep-sea elasmobranchs (DSE). Due to DSE life-history strategies, at-vessel mortality (AVM) rates in crustacean bottom trawl fisheries are expectedly high but require further investigations. This study a...

The current study investigated the structure and function of the olfactory system of the Lusitanian toadfish, Halobatrachus didactylus, using histology and electrophysiology (electro‐olfactogram [EOG]), respectively. The olfactory system consists of a digitated anterior peduncle, of unknown function, containing the inhalant nostril. This then leads...

The maturation of the intestinal digestive and absorptive functions might limit the amount of absorbed nutrients to fulfil the high requirements of the fast-growing marine fish larva. Glutamine (Gln) has been described to improve intestinal epithelium functions, due to its involvement in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. The purpose of this...

Anthropogenic noise is a growing threat to marine organisms, including fish. Yet very few studies have addressed the impact of anthropogenic noise on fish reproduction, especially in situ. In this study, we investigated the impacts of boat noise exposure in the reproductive success of wild Lusitanian toadfish (Halobatrachus didactylus), a species t...

The effect of temperature on oxygen consumption in the oyster Crassostrea gigas was studied as a strategy to define the metabolic rates for use in multitrophic system. Oysters were taken to the laboratory, acclimated for 5 days to four differente temperatures (18, 21, 25 and 28 °C), and transferred to respiration chambers for individual measurement...

In teleost fish sex steroids are essential for gonadal function and have marked effects in reproductive and agonistic behaviour and in the expression of secondary sexual characteristics. The Lusitanian toadfish, Halobatrachus didactylus, has two male morphotypes: type I males are territorial nest-holders and have large accessory glands while type I...

In many fish species in which males guard nests with their eggs, parental care directed to genetically unrelated offspring may arise for example from nest takeovers or cuckoldry. Lusitanian toadfish (Halobatrachus didactylus) has exclusive male parental care and face intensive nest competition during the breeding season that may lead to care of fos...

The relation between acoustic signaling and reproductive success is important to understand the evolution of vocal communi-cation systems and has been well studied in several taxa but never clearly shown in fish. This study aims to investigate whether vocal behavior affects the reproductive success in the Lusitanian toadfish (Halobatrachus didactyl...

Estradiol (E(2)) increases circulating calcium and phosphate levels in fish, thus acting as a hypercalcemic and hyperphosphatemic factor during periods of high calcium requirements, such as during vitellogenesis. Since parathyroid hormone (PTH)-related protein (PTHrP) has been shown to be calciotropic in fish, we hypothesized that the two hormones...

The developing oocyte is surrounded by an acellular envelope that is composed of 2-4 isoforms of zona pellucida (ZP) proteins. The ZP proteins comprise the ZP1, ZP2, ZP3, and ZPX isoforms. While ZP1 (ZPB) and ZP3 (ZPC) are present in all species, ZP2 (ZPA) is not found in teleost fish and ZPX is not found in mammals. In the present study, we identi...

17,20β,21-Trihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17,20β,21-P) was identified as the major metabolite of incubations of Lusitanian toadfish Halobatrachus didactylus ovarian follicles with [3H]-17hydroxyprogesterone. The potency of several steroids in inducing germinal vesicle breakdown of follicle-enclosed oocytes of Lusitanian toadfish was systematically exam...

The swimbladder and associated sonic muscle of the Lusitanian toadfish Halobatrachus didactylus increase in size throughout life and are, respectively, 25% and 30% larger in type I (nest-holder) males than females, which may generate sexual differences in sound production. Sexual dimorphism in swimbladder is also evident in the morphological featur...

The Lusitanian toadfish has group synchronous oocytes, which grow from November until June-July when they are released probably as a single batch. Blood plasma levels of estradiol-17beta (E(2)) and testosterone (T) increase during vitellogenesis and drop rapidly during final maturation and ovulation, when 17,20beta, 21-trihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (1...

17,20β,21-Trihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17,20β, 21-P) was identified as the major metabolite of incubations of Lusitanian toadfish Halobatrachus didactylus ovarian follicles with [3H]-17hydroxyprogesterone. The potency of several steroids in inducing germinal vesicle breakdown of follicle-enclosed oocytes of Lusitanian toadfish was systematically exa...

Several batrachoidids have been known to produce sounds associated with courtship and agonistic interactions, and their repertoires have been studied acoustically and behaviourally. In contrast, sound production of the Lusitanian toadfish Halobatrachus didactylus, although often noted, has not been acoustically studied.This sedentary predator of No...