Vitor Gonçalves

Verified

Vitor verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

Learn more

Verified

Vitor verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

Learn more

• PhD in Biology
• Associate Professor at University of the Azores

Eutrophication and global climate change gather advantageous conditions for cyanobacteria proliferation leading to bloom formation and cyanotoxin production. In the Azores, eutrophication is a major concern, mainly in lakes where fertilizers and organic matter discharges have increased nutrient concentration. In this study, we focused on understand...

Significance We use a diverse set of lake and landscape proxy indicators to characterize initial human occupation and its impacts on the Azores Archipelago. The occupation of these islands began between 700 and 850 CE, 700 years earlier than suggested by documentary sources. These early occupations caused widespread ecological and landscape disturb...

A multiproxy approach was applied to a sediment core retrieved from the deep crater lake Funda, located in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean on Flores Island, Azores archipelago (Portugal). The purpose of this study was to determine how this ecosystem responded to natural and anthropogenic forces over the last millennium. We distinguished thre...

Global warming significantly alters lake ecosystems worldwide. However, the effects of warming at a regional scale are often overlooked due to the scarcity of multidecadal to centennial regional studies. Here, we examined diatom sedimentary records from five lakes on São Miguel Island (Azores archipelago) over the last 170 years. Our analysis using...

The Tolypotrichaceae is a well-defined family within the filamentous heterocyst-forming cyano-bacteria. However, the morphological and genetic similarity of some of its genera is very high, making the taxonomic assessment and the description of new taxa in this family challenging. Here we describe six strains of Tolypothrix-like cyanobacteria that...

The Azores region plays a crucial role as a pathway for precipitation fronts traversing the North Atlantic from west to east, driven by the prevailing westerly winds. Variations in the strength of the Azores High affect the dynamics of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), leading to latitudinal shifts in the trajectory of the westerlies and jet st...

Abstract Aim To evaluate the patterns of stream diatom beta diversity in islands vs. continents across scales, to relate community similarities with spatial and environmental distances and to investigate the role of island characteristics in shaping insular diatom beta diversity. Location Africa, America, Europe, and Pacific. Time period Present....

Cyanobacteria are rich producers of secondary metabolites, excreting some of these to the culture media. However, the exometabolome of cyanobacteria has been poorly studied, and few studies have dwelled on its characterization and bioactivity assessment. In this work, exometabolomes of 56 cyanobacterial strains were characterized by HR-ESI-LC-MS/MS...

The location of the Azores Archipelago makes this group of islands an excellent setting for investigating past long-term temperature and precipitation changes in the central North Atlantic region. Here, we present a chironomid-based quantitative temperature reconstruction and a record of oxygen isotope composition of chironomid head capsules for th...

The morphological plasticity of cyanobacteria and their widespread ecological dominance in a wide range of habitats highlights the need for in-depth taxonomic studies. This work focused on the taxonomical revision of Leptolyngbya (Cyanophyceae) strains deposited in the ESSACC culture collection and their metabolomic characterization. Although the s...

This paper presents an annotated checklist of the Basidiomycota taxa (including lichenicolous fungi and the subdivision Pucciniomycotina) from the Azores archipelago and reviews the published records to account for their taxonomic status. The number of Basidiomycota species recorded in the Azores has increased considerably during the 20th century a...

Aim: Understanding the roles of deterministic and stochastic processes in community assembly is essential for gaining insights into species biogeographical patterns. However, the way community assembly processes operate is still not fully understood, especially in oceanic islands. In this study, we examine the importance of assembly processes in sh...

Coccoid cyanobacteria represent an important part of cyanobacterial freshwater diversity, with many studied strains in public databases identified as Synechococcus. This is a diverse genus, both morphologically and ecologically, with a global distribution. However, many of the so-called Synechococcus-like cyanobacteria strains could represent sever...

The taxonomy of cyanobacteria has advanced quickly with the use of molecular methods in combination with well-defined morphological and ecological characters. Using this approach, many taxonomical changes have occurred in the Synechococcales and Oscillatoriales, with the description of new families, genera and species. Here we present the study of...

Simple filamentous cyanobacteria comprise a diverse and polyphyletic group of species, primarily in the orders Leptolyngbyales and Oscillatoriales, that need more sampling to improve their taxonomy. Oceanic islands, such as the Azores archipelago, present unique habitats and biogeographic conditions that harbor an unknown range of diversity of micr...

Plastic debris is thought to be widespread in freshwater ecosystems globally¹. However, a lack of comprehensive and comparable data makes rigorous assessment of its distribution challenging2,3. Here we present a standardized cross-national survey that assesses the abundance and type of plastic debris (>250 μm) in freshwater ecosystems. We sample su...

Bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs) are a diverse class of lipids produced by bacteria across a wide range of environments. In this study, we aim to further identify BHPs related to ecological niches and/or specific bacteria by characterizing the distribution of BHPs in suspended particulate matter (SPM) of the water column and in sediments in a range of...

The Desmidiales comprise a diverse assemblage of mainly unicellular green algae that primarily inhabit freshwater ecosystems. Their cells exhibit symmetry and ornamental structures. While these organisms have a global distribution, their presence and diversity in the Azores archipelago have received limited attention. In this study, we present the...

Streams naturally enriched with metals from runoffs or discharges of lava aquifers are common in active volcanic islands. In the Azores archipelago, some streams are naturally acidic and have high concentrations of metals (such as Fe, Al, and Mn). Here, we exposed leaf litter differing in physical and chemical characteristics (high-quality litter o...

Bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs) are a diverse class of lipids produced by bacteria across a wide range of environments. In this study, we aim to further identify BHPs related to ecological niches and/or specific bacteria by characterizing the distribution of BHPs in suspended particulate matter (SPM) of the water column and in sediments in a range of...

Paleoclimatological information derived from the study of lacustrine sedimentary records is not only biased by taphonomical processes but also by potential differences in the expression of climate variability in the sediments due to site-specific factors. Using a multiproxy approach (the elemental and isotopic compositions of organic matter, diatom...

Aim The species–area relationship (SAR) is one of the most distinctive biogeographic patterns, but global comparisons of the SARs between island and mainland are lacking for microbial taxa. Here, we explore whether the form of the SAR and the drivers of species richness, including area, environmental heterogeneity, climate and physico‐chemistry, di...

Knowledge about cyanobacteria diversity in the Azores is spread over several publications, dating from 1874, with some of them not generally available to the scientific community due to their restricted access. The dispersion and sometimes inaccessibility of this information hinder a deeper analysis and a better understanding of the biodiversity of...

Human land use and climate change threaten ecosystems and natural resources, particularly on remote islands such as the Azores Archipelago in the North Atlantic. Since the official Portuguese settlement of the archipelago in the 15th and 16th centuries humans have extensively modified the Azorean landscape, with invasive plants dominating the prese...

Background The Madeira Island (Portugal; 32°24’–33°07’N, 16°16–17°16’W; 796 km2) is an oceanic island located in the North Atlantic, about 980 km south of Portugal and about 700 km west of the African coast. The presence of freshwater invertebrates in oceanic islands has always raised questions concerning dispersal, colonisation and evolution. Ther...

Research in Macaronesia has led to substantial advances in ecology, evolution and conservation biology. We review the scientific developments achieved in this region, and outline promising research avenues enhancing conservation. Some of these discoveries indicate that the Macaronesian flora and fauna are composed of rather young lineages, not Tert...

To determine the drivers of phytoplankton biomass, we collected standardized morphometric, physical, and biological data in 230 lakes across the Mediterranean, Continental, and Boreal climatic zones of the European continent. Multilinear regression models tested on this snapshot of mostly eutrophic lakes (median total phosphorus [TP] = 0.06 and tot...

This dataset presents the distribution of freshwater macroinvertebrates in Madeira Island streams.

Disentangling the effects of climate change on nature is one of the main challenges facing ecologists nowadays. Warmer climates forces strong effects on lake biota for fish, leading to a reduction in size, changes in diet, more frequent reproduction, and stronger cascading effects. Space-for-time substitution studies (SFTS) are often used to unrave...

Anthropogenic impacts have been reported as one of the main causes of eutrophication in freshwater systems and nutrient availability, mainly from discharges, are key to cyanobacteria development and harmful cyanobacteria blooms (cyanoHABs) upsurge. As these scenarios are common in the Azores, a cyanobacteria monitoring program was implemented in th...

Freshwater systems on remote oceanic islands are particularly vulnerable to biological invasions. The case of freshwater ecosystems in the Azores Archipelago is especially relevant considering the islands’ youth and remoteness, and low natural connectivity. This study presents a review of the introduction and presence of non-indigenous freshwater s...

Microcystins (MCs), Saxitoxins (STXs), and Cylindrospermopsins (CYNs) are some of the more well-known cyanotoxins. Taking into consideration the impacts of cyanotoxins, many studies have focused on the identification of unknown cyanotoxin(s)-producing strains. This study aimed to screen strains from the Azorean Bank of Algae and Cyanobacteria (BACA...

Background Testate amoebae are a polyphyletic group of protists living preferentially in soils, freshwaters and wetlands. These Protozoa have a worldwide distribution, but their presence and diversity in the Azores (a remote oceanic archipelago) is poorly known, with only twelve taxa recorded so far. The published information reflects occasional ol...

Freshwater diversity, and diatoms in particular, from Desertas Islands (Madeira Archipelago, Portugal) is poorly known, although the Islands are protected and became a Natural Reserve in 1995. During two field expeditions in 2013 and 2014 to Deserta Grande Island, several freshwater and terrestrial habitats were sampled. The analysis of these sampl...

The Azorean islands have been historically affected by human activities, mainly due to the combined effects of habitat degradation and fragmentation, and the introduction of exotic species. We here aim to analyze the role of environmental characteristics and spatial descriptors in supporting regional biodiversity of macroinvertebrates by considerin...

Collections were undertaken, and occurrence data recorded during 2020 in São Miguel Island. The collectors were Martin Souto, Vitor Gonçalves and Pedro Miguel Raposeiro. Identification was done by Martin Souto and Xabier Pontevedra-Pombal. Production and analysis of scanning electron microscopy images was done by Xabier Pontevedra-Pombal. Study are...

Here, we present the data obtained from the samples collected in a field campaign during the spring of 2015 which aims for a better understanding of the diversity and distribution patterns of freshwater diatoms in Madeira Island. Following European and Portuguese standards and recommendations for routine diatom sampling and analysis, we collected s...

Diatom from Deserta Grande (Madeira Archipelago, Portugal) Study area Desertas subarchipelago is formed by three uninhabited small islets belonging to the Madeira Archipelago located 20 km southeast of Madeira Island. Deserta Grande is the largest of the three islets, with an area of approximately 10 km2 and a maximum altitude of 479 m. The Deserta...

The discovery and colonization of remote oceanic islands drastically modified their ecosystems and the settlement of the Azores archipelago was no exception. One of the first impacts of human arrival is the change in vegetation due to land clearance practices (e.g. slash and burn), which is often associated with increase of macroscopic charcoal par...

The discovery and settlement of the Azores archipelago is generally attributed to the Portuguese during the XVth century, but recent insights have raised questions about whether the islands were discovered earlier. Paleolimnological data from São Miguel suggest that the island was settled 150 years before the official Portuguese arrival date. To pi...

Background: Due to their isolation, islands offer excellent areas for the study of distribution of benthic diatoms. On the other hand, diatoms bearing canal raphe have received less attention compared to other groups of diatoms such as Navicula, Pinnularia or Amphora. Questions: Is it possible that thermal springs on islands offer a refuge for inf...

Diatom distribution in Madeira Island streams (Portugal) Study area Madeira is a typical oceanic island with unique biodiversity under increasing pressure. Madeira island is located 600 km off the Atlantic coast of North Africa, has an area of 742 km2 and a maximum altitude of 1861 m (Pico Ruivo). Madeira island comprises approximately 126 catchmen...

This study presents the first morphological description and illustration of the late instar larva of Limnephilus atlanticus Nybom 1948, an endemic caddisfly from the Azores. Taxonomic comparisons with a recently recorded limnephilid species, Limnephilus affinis (Limnephilidae), and notes of their ecology and distribution in the Azores are also prov...

Cyanobacteria are among the most diverse morphological microorganisms that inhabit a great variety of habitats. Their presence in the Azores, a volcanic archipelago of nine islands in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, has already been reported. However, due to the high diversity of cyanobacteria habitats, their biodiversity is still understud...

Cyanobacteria are diverse, complex and a unique group of microorganisms that inhabit a wide variety of environments. Contrarily to continental areas, studies on cyanobacteria in islands are scarce and need to be reinforced, since climate change impacts are expected to be harsher in islands, due to their geographical isolation and higher exposition...

Aquatic hyphomycetes are a phylogenetically heterogeneous group of fungi living preferentially in fast flowing, well-aerated forest streams. These fungi have worldwide distribution, but with the exception of Articulospora tetracladia , no aquatic hyphomycete taxon was previously recorded on Madeira Island. Aquatic hyphomycetes were sampled from 40...

The Azores are oceanic islands located in the Northern Atlantic Ocean and are particularly rich in aquatic systems, ranging from freshwater, brackish, marine and thermal habitats. Due to the increase in local anthropogenic pressures and global warming, several azorean lakes began to reveal signs of eutrophication that led to the implementation of m...

Shredders play a crucial role in litter decomposition in streams. However, in oceanic islands, many streams have low shredder density and richness, and microbes seem to be the main litter decomposers. Here, we evaluate the effects of shredders and aquatic hyphomycetes on litter decomposition in insular streams. Three leaf species differing in physi...

Study area Madeira is a typical oceanic island with unique biodiversity under increasing pressure. Madeira island is located 600 km off the Atlantic coast of North Africa, has an area of 742 km2 and a maximum altitude of 1861 m (Pico Ruivo). Madeira island comprises approximately 126 catchments and 200 streams ranging from 1st to 6th order. Funding...

Shredders play a crucial role in litter decomposition in streams. However, in oceanic islands, many streams have low shredder density and richness, and microbes seem to be the main litter decomposers. Here, we evaluate the effects of shredders and aquatic hyphomycetes on litter decomposition in insular streams. Three leaf species differing in physi...

Cyanobacteria from freshwater lakes in the Azores Archipelago, Portugal The data present here come from samples collected during several monitoring programs developed between 1996 and 2018 which aimed to characterize the biodiversity of inland aquatic ecosystems (lakes and streams) from the islands of Santa Maria, São Miguel, Terceira, Pico, São Jo...

Conservation and sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems is a priority in environmental programs worldwide. However, these aims are highly dependent on the efficiency, accuracy and cost of existent methods for the detection of keystone species and monitoring of biological communities. Rapid advances in eDNA, barcoding and metabarcoding promote...

The Azores have a singular biota, mainly due to the unique character of the oceanic islands ecosystems and the diversity of habitats found in the archipelago, including freshwater, terrestrial, thermal and marine environments. The high diversity and quantity of suitable habitats for the development of microalgae and cyanobacteria makes the Azores a...

The impacts of natural- and human-induced processes on lake ecosystems in remote oceanic islands remain to be fully elucidated. These lakes are excellent candidates to analyze the importance of anthropogenic vs. natural forces driving lacustrine long-term ecological evolution from previous pristine pre-colonized conditions. Disentangling the effect...

Cyanobacteria can be found in a variety of habitats, including freshwater, marine, terrestrial and extreme environments (e.g. temperature, salinity). Their presence in the Azores has been reported for more than a century, however, very little is known about their biodiversity and toxin production. Due to environmental factors, such as geographic is...

Global patterns of biodiversity have emerged for soil microorganisms, plants and animals, and the extraordinary significance of microbial functions in ecosystems is also well established. Virtually unknown, however, are large-scale patterns of microbial diversity in freshwaters, although these aquatic ecosystems are hotspots of biodiversity and bio...

As águas termo-minerais apresentam diferentes quantidades de sais minerais que dependem do tempo e da natureza das rochas com as quais a água esteve em contacto. Dentro destas, as águas termais são aquelas cuja temperatura é mais elevada que a temperatura ambiente, em pelo menos 5°C. Portugal é um dos países da Europa mais rico neste tipo de ocorrê...

Under ongoing climate change and increasing anthropogenic activity, which continuously challenge ecosystem resilience, an in-depth understanding of ecological processes is urgently needed. Lakes, as providers of numerous ecosystem services, face multiple stressors that threaten their functioning. Harmful cyanobacterial blooms are a persistent probl...

Leaf litter from riparian vegetation is the main energy for forest streams. Litter is decomposed mainly by microbial and detritivore macroinvertebrates, thus diversity and abundance of decomposers will be determinant of litter decomposition. Oceanic freshwater systems tend to be species poor but rich in endemism due to their physical isolation. The...

Until recently, the distribution in the surface of lake sediments of the diatom and chironomid assemblages and their attributes (species richness/diversity) in relation to water depth and sedimentary environments have been identified but not quantified. The influence of environmental variables on assemblage distribution and taxa richness in a high...

Environmental reconstructions based on lacustrine sedimentary records are important tools to assess long-term changes in lake conditions and correlate these changes with environmental drivers, such as climatic fluctuations, volcanic activity and anthropogenic disturbances. Here we present the main impacts of these drivers on Lake Caveiro (Pico isla...

During the second half of XX century, lake eutrophication has become a matter of concern all over the world. The increase in lake productivity has been mainly related to inputs of nutrients, particularly phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N), originated by local human activities. However, evidence of lake eutrophication on remote areas with no significan...

Cladocera occupy an intermediate trophic level in aquatic food webs, responding to bottom-up and top-down control of the food web. Furthermore, Cladocera shells are resistant to degradation and their remains often accumulate in lake sediments. Therefore, Cladocera fossil remains from lake sediments can be used to assess past environmental condition...

Cladocera occupy an intermediate trophic level in aquatic food webs, responding to bottom-up and top-down control of the food web. Furthermore, Cladocera shells are resistant to degradation and their remains often accumulate in lake sediments. Therefore, Cladocera fossil remains from lake sediments can be used to assess past environmental condition...

The study of cyanobacteria from the Azores islands started in the late XIX and early XX centuries, when the islands were visited by several naturalists during the scientific expeditions crossing the Atlantic Ocean. However, at that time only a few sites were sampled and very few species were found. More recently, due to anthropogenic impacts, lake...

Until recently, the distribution of diatom and chironomid assemblages and their attributes (species richness/diversity) in relation to water depth and sedimentary environments have been identified but not quantified. The influence of environmental variables on assemblage distribution and taxa richness in a deep, monomictic lake in São Miguel Island...

It has been widely reported that shredders play an important role in leaf decomposition, especially in continental temperate streams. However, the paucity of shredders in many oceanic island streams leads to a greater contribution of microbes to litter decomposition in these streams. In this study, we investigated the importance of shredder presenc...

Microalgae and cyanobacteria represent an enormous reserve of genetic and functional diversity. They are important sources of bioactive molecules with multiple biotechnological applications in pharmacology, food technology, agriculture, among others. Macaronesian islands have a high biodiversity, and endemism is common. This is mainly due to the di...

In recent years, much interest has been focused on the biotechnological potential of microalgae, mainly due to their rapid growth and the identification of several substances synthesized by these organisms. The isolation and in vitro cultivation of native microalgae species is very important for taxonomic and conservation studies and is the first s...

Insight into how environmental change determines the production and distribution of cyanobacterial toxins is necessary for risk assessment. Management guidelines currently focus on hepatotoxins (microcystins). Increasing attention is given to other classes, such as neurotoxins (e.g., anatoxin-a) and cytotoxins (e.g., cylindrospermopsin) due to thei...

Insight into how environmental change determines the production and distribution ofcyanobacterial toxins is necessary for risk assessment. Management guidelines currently focus onhepatotoxins (microcystins). Increasing attention is given to other classes, such as neurotoxins (e.g.,anatoxin-a) and cytotoxins (e.g., cylindrospermopsin) due to their p...