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Oceanario de Lisboa through Project \"SHARK-TAG: Migrations and habitat use of the smooth hammerhead shark in the Atlantic Ocean\"; Investigador-FCT from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia) [Ref: IF/00253/2014]; EU European Social Fund; Programa Operacional Potencial Humano

One of the chief consequences of climate change is the worldwide redistribution of species in the pursuit of physiologically and ecologically favourable conditions. As part of one of the most threatened groups of vertebrates, assessing how climate change may affect the distribution patterns of key shark species is essential for their long-term conservation and management. The present study aims to assess how climate change projections (based on the representative concentration pathways 2.6, 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5) for the middle and end of the century may affect the global patterns of habitat suitability (HS) for large hammerhead sharks – a unique and particularly threatened group of elasmobranchs. Here, a decline in the global average HS is projected for both Sphyrna lewini and Sphyrna zygaena , with the scale of HS decline generally increasing with time and RCP severity, while a global increase in HS is generally projected for Sphyrna mokarran , albeit reduced over the long-term and overturned under long-term RCP8.5. Meanwhile, poleward shifts are projected for all three species, with considerable tropical declines for both S. lewini and S. zygaena . Additionally, regional shifts in suitability have the potential to affect population connectivity, the access to key habitats, and levels of exposure to other anthropogenic pressures, along with the effectiveness of conservation and management efforts. Taken together, these results showcase the importance of climate change for species’ extinction risk assessments and the urgency of the consideration of climate change within the design and implementation of conservation measures.

Coastal areas are home to more than 2 billion people around the globe and, as such, are especially vulnerable to climate change consequences. Climate change adaptation has proven to be more effective on a local scale, contributing to a bottom-up approach to the problems related to the changing climate. Portugal has approximately 2000 km of coastline, with 75% of the population living along the coast. Therefore, this research had the main objective of understanding adaptation processes at a local scale, using Portuguese coastal municipalities as a case study. To achieve this goal, document analysis and a questionnaire to coastal municipalities were applied, and the existence of measures rooted in nature-based solutions, green infrastructures, and community-based adaptation was adopted as a variable. The main conclusion from this research is that 87% of the municipalities that answered the questionnaire have climate change adaptation strategies implemented or in development. Moreover, it was possible to conclude that 90% of the municipalities are familiar with the concept of nature-based solutions and all the municipalities with adaptation strategies include green infrastructure. However, it was also possible to infer that community-based adaptation is a concept that most municipalities do not know about or undervalue.

This study describes the first potential multi-species shark nursery area in Atlantic Africa (Sal Rei Bay – SRB, Boa Vista Island, Cabo Verde). From August 2016 to September 2019, 6162 neonates and juveniles of 5 different shark species were observed in SRB using beach gillnet-based bycatch surveys, namely milk ( Rhizoprionodon acutus ; n= 4908), scalloped hammerhead ( Sphyrna lewini ; n= 1035), blacktip ( Carcharhinus limbatus ; n=115), Atlantic weasel ( Paragaleus pectoralis ; n= 93) and nurse ( Ginglymostoma cirratum ; n= 12) sharks. Except for nurse sharks, significant seasonal variations in shark relative abundance were observed, with higher levels being recorded during summer and autumn. These findings, together with local knowledge (interviews to fishermen), denote the consistent use of SRB by juvenile sharks and its preference relative to other areas in the region. Ensuring the protection and conservation of SRB nursery area is especially relevant as, according to IUCN, all identified shark species are threatened with extinction over the near-future – in particular, scalloped hammerheads (critically endangered) and Atlantic weasel sharks (endangered). The effective protection of SRB will not only support the conservation of shark populations, but also of other charismatic fauna (e.g., loggerhead turtles) and broader benthic and pelagic ecosystems.

Despite the long evolutionary history of this group, the challenges brought by the Anthropocene have been inflicting an extensive pressure over sharks and their relatives. Overexploitation has been driving a worldwide decline in elasmobranch populations, and rapid environmental change, triggered by anthropogenic activities, may further test this group's resilience. In this context, we searched the literature for peer-reviewed studies featuring a sustained (>24 h) and controlled exposure of elasmobranch species to warming, acidification, and/or deoxygenation: three of the most pressing symptoms of change in the ocean. In a standardized comparative framework, we conducted an array of mixed-model meta-analyses (based on 368 control-treatment contrasts from 53 studies) to evaluate the effects of these factors and their combination as experimental treatments. We further compared these effects across different attributes (lineages, climates, lifestyles, reproductive modes, and life stages) and assessed the direction of impact over a comprehensive set of biological responses (survival, development, growth, aerobic metabolism, anaerobic metabolism, oxygen transport, feeding, behavior, acid-base status, thermal tolerance, hypoxia tolerance, and cell stress). Based on the present findings, warming appears as the most influential factor, with clear directional effects, namely decreasing development time and increasing aerobic metabolism, feeding, and thermal tolerance. While warming influence was pervasive across attributes, acidification effects appear to be more context-specific, with no perceivable directional trends across biological responses apart from the necessary to achieve acid-base balance. Meanwhile, despite its potential for steep impacts, deoxygenation has been the most neglected factor, with data paucity ultimately precluding sound conclusions. Likewise, the implementation of multi-factor treatments has been mostly restricted to the combination of warming and acidification, with effects approximately matching those of warming. Despite considerable progress over recent years, research regarding the impact of these drivers on elasmobranchs lags behind other taxa, with more research required to disentangle many of the observed effects. Given the current levels of extinction risk and the quick pace of global change, it is further crucial that we integrate the knowledge accumulated through different scientific approaches into a holistic perspective to better understand how this group may fare in a changing ocean.

Coastal areas are densely populated areas, and they have been experiencing increasing pressures as a consequence of population growth, but also because of climate change aggravation. For this reason, hazard, vulnerability, and risk indexes have been becoming more recurrent, especially to study and analyze low-lying coastal areas. This study presents an analysis on wave overtopping and coastal flooding, using an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) multicriteria methodology, in Costa da Caparica (Portugal). The definition of the different criteria, as well as their respective weighting for the overall problem and index calculation, was carried out with the help of experts in the subject. By following this methodology, and by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), hazard, vulnerability, and risk indexes were obtained. The most hazardous areas are located closest to the sea, where the elevation is the lowest, whereas the most vulnerable areas are in neighborhoods with specific socioeconomic characteristics (high urban and economic density). Overall, around 30% of the study area displays moderate to very high risk regarding the occurrence of overtopping and flooding events. The results of this study will be helpful in decision-making processes in matters of coastal zone management and monitoring.

The advances on the development of novel materials capable to enhance the shelf life of food products may contribute to reduce the current worldwide food waste problem. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are considered GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and due to their good antimicrobial properties are suitable to be applied as active compounds in food packaging. ZnO NPs were synthesized to be tested in active bionanocomposites through an eco-friendlier route using apple peel wastes. This work aimed to develop bionanocomposites based on chitosan and incorporated with ZnO NPs to characterize its bioactivity via in vitro and in situ studies, using fresh poultry meat as the food matrix. Overall, bio-based biodegradable films presented good antimicrobial activity, being the intrinsic antimicrobial properties of chitosan enhanced by the ZnO NPs added on the system. When used as primary packaging of the meat, the samples protected with the films presented a decrease on the deterioration speed, which was represented by the preservation of the initial reddish color of the meat and reduction on the oxidation process and microbiological growth. The nanoparticles enhanced especially the antioxidant properties of the films and proved to be potential food preservatives agents to be used in active food packaging.

Ecosystems all over the world are under increasing pressure from human uses. The UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 (UN SDG 14) seeks to ensure sustainability below water by 2020; however, the ongoing biodiversity loss and habitat deterioration challenge the achievement of this goal. Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is a developing practice with a similar objective to the UN SDG 14, albeit research shows that most MSP cases prioritize economic objectives above environmental objectives. This paper presents an assessment of how MSP can contribute to achieving the UN SDG 14. Results are presented in three steps. First, a representative definition of MSP is presented. Secondly, activities that can be addressed through MSP are laid out. Lastly, results are used to assess how MSP can contribute to the achievement of the UN SDG 14 targets and indicators. This assessment shows great potential for MSP to play a role in the achievement of the UN SDG 14.

Beach nourishment is a soft engineering intervention that supplies sand to the shore, to increase the beach recreational area and to decrease coastal vulnerability to erosion. This study presents the preliminary evaluation of nourishment works performed at the high-energy wave-dominated Portuguese coast. The shoreline was adopted as a proxy to study beach evolution in response to nourishment and to wave forcing. To achieve this aim, images collected by a video monitoring system were used. A nourishment calendar was drawn up based on video screening, highlighting the different zones and phases where the works took place. Over the six-month monitoring period, a total amount of 25 video-derived shorelines were detected by both manual and automated procedures on video imagery. Nourishment works, realized in summer, enlarged the emerged beach extension by about 90 m on average. During winter, the shoreline retreated about 50 m due to wave forcing. Spatial analysis showed that the northern beach sector was more vulnerable and subject to erosion, as it is the downdrift side of the groin.