scholarly journals Ethnobotanical Knowledge in Sete Cidades, Azores Archipelago: First Ethnomedicinal Report

Plants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro T. M. Silva ◽  
Marta A. F. Silva ◽  
Luís Silva ◽  
Ana M. L. Seca
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Folk Medicine ◽  
First Record ◽  
Citrus Limon ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
The North ◽  
Mentha X Piperita ◽  
Preparation Mode ◽  
Volcanic Islands

Knowledge about folk medicines is limited to elder community members of remote communities, like Sete Cidades in the Azores. The Azores, 1300 km west of Portugal, are nine volcanic islands, totalling 2330 km2 of land dispersed by 173,200 km2 in the North Atlantic Ocean. The present study aims to scientifically document the uses of plant species for medicinal purposes, in the Sete Cidades. Twenty-eight community members from 40 to 84 years of age, of whom half were 55 to 64 years old, were interviewed. Twenty-nine taxa were reported as being used for medicinal purposes, ten of which have not been previously reported for ethnomedicinal use in Portugal, with a first record of the use of Morella faya. Leaves were the most used plant part (55%), and decoction the most common preparation mode. The five reported taxa with both the highest use value (0.71–0.25) and relative frequency of citation (0.14–0.11) were Clinopodium menthifolium subsp. ascendens, Aloysia citriodora, Mentha x piperita, Citrus limon and Rosmarinus officinalis. The traditional uses of some of the reported plants are supported by scientific studies, confirming their ethnomedicinal value and the need to preserve local knowledge of folk medicine practices.

First record of the deep-water whalefish Cetichthys indagator (Actinopterygii: Cetomimidae) in the North Atlantic Ocean

2012 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 1133-1137 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. Vieira ◽  
B. Christiansen ◽  
S. Christiansen ◽  
J. M. S. Gonçalves
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
First Record ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

First record of the rare deep-sea polychaete Rhamphobrachium (Rhamphobrachium) agassizii (Annelida: Onuphidae) in European waters

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (5) ◽  
pp. 719-724
Author(s):  
Andrés Arias ◽  
Hannelore Paxton
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
First Record ◽  
Polychaete Species ◽  
Azores Archipelago ◽  
The North ◽  
Deep Water Species ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Water Species

AbstractRhamphobrachium (Rhamphobrachium) agassizii is reported from the Cantabrian Sea, Spain, from depths of 925–1207 m. This is its first record off the Iberian Peninsula and in European waters, representing its northernmost distribution in the North Atlantic Ocean to date. Previous reports of R. (R.) agassizii from the eastern and western North Atlantic demonstrate its apparent amphi-Atlantic distribution, which appears consistent with the distribution of the main Atlantic currents. It is a typical deep-water species with its deepest record at 2165 m from the Azores archipelago. The specimens were collected singly at two stations, attesting to the rarity of the species in contrast to its congener R. (Spinigerium) brevibrachiatum which was the most dominant polychaete species in a previous study.

Two new species of Suberitida (Porifera, Heteroscleromorpha) from the Bering Sea

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4338 (3) ◽  
pp. 546
Author(s):  
HELMUT LEHNERT
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
North Pacific Ocean ◽  
First Record ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Valid Species ◽  
The North ◽  
Two New Species ◽  
The Bering Sea

Two new species, Plicatellopsis borealis and Spongosorites beringensis, from the Bering Sea are described; both belong to genera previously not reported from the area. The genus Plicatellopsis, Burton, 1932 (Porifera, Suberitida, Suberitidae) contains five valid species, all recorded from the southern hemisphere. The record of P. borealis n. sp. from the Bering Sea is consequently the first record of the genus from the northern hemisphere. The genus Spongosorites Topsent, 1896 (Porifera, Suberitida, Halichondriidae) contains 22 valid species but none reported from the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea or the Arctic Ocean. The geographically closest records are six species occurring in the North Atlantic Ocean. So the description of Spongosorites beringensis n.sp. is the first record of the genus in the region. 

scholarly journals Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) new record for mainland Portugal

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-80
Author(s):  
Joana Castro ◽  
André Cid ◽  
Marina I Laborde
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
New Record ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
First Record ◽  
Baleen Whale ◽  
Adult Individual ◽  
The North ◽  
Mainland Portugal ◽  
The North Atlantic

Brydes’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) is a species of baleen whale known to live year-round in warm waters, although the distribution of the species in the North Atlantic Ocean is still poorly known. In this work we report the sighting of an adult individual during the summer of 2020 in the South coast of Portugal. The whale was observed 6.4 nautical miles from the shore at a depth of 50.6 metres. Initially this individual was associated with a group of bottlenose dolphins. This is the first record of this species for mainland Portugal.

scholarly journals Ecosystem respiration, vegetation development and soil nitrogen in relation to breeding density of seagulls on a pristine volcanic island, Surtsey, Iceland

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 8393-8409 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. D. Sigurdsson ◽  
B. Magnusson
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Ecosystem Respiration ◽  
Vegetation Development ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
The North ◽  
Soil Temperatures ◽  
Volcanic Islands ◽  
And Function ◽  
Contrasting Structure ◽  
Natural Laboratory

Abstract. Since its birth in 1963 by volcanic eruption in the North Atlantic Ocean off Iceland, Surtsey has been a unique natural laboratory on how organisms colonize volcanic islands and form ecosystems with contrasting structure and function. In July, 2004, ecosystem respiration rate, soil properties and surface cover of vascular plants were measured on 21 plots distributed among the main plant communities found 40 years after the primary succession started. The plots could be divided into two groups, inside and outside seagull (Larus sp.) colonies found on the island. Vegetation cover of the plots was strongly related to the density of seagull nests within and around them. The occurrence of seagull nests and increased vegetation also coincided with significant increase in ecosystem respiration, soil carbon and nitrogen, and with significantly lower soil pH and soil temperatures. The ecosystem respiration was high inside the gull colonies, similar to the highest fluxes measured in drained wetlands or agricultural fields in Iceland. The most important factor for vegetation succession and ecosystem function on Surtsey seems to be the amount of nitrogen, which was mainly brought in by the seagulls.

Cape Verde

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Schneider ◽  
Vanessa Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Slave Trade ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Cape Verde ◽  
The West ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Volcanic Islands

Cape Verde (officially known as the Republic of Cabo Verde) is a group of sub-tropical and volcanic islands in the north Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa, approximately 664 kilometres (km) from Dakar, Senegal. The islands were first colonized by the Portuguese in 1462 and were an important part of the transatlantic slave route, where slaves were brought to the islands from West Africa, until the abolishment of the slave trade in 1876. Until 1879, Cape Verde was part of Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau) and was incorporated as an overseas department of Portugal in 1951. The islands continued to campaign for independence which was peacefully achieved in 1975. Since the early 1990s, Cape Verde has been a stable representative democracy and remains one of the most developed and democratic countries in Africa.

scholarly journals Effects of seagulls on ecosystem respiration, soil nitrogen and vegetation cover on a pristine volcanic island, Surtsey, Iceland

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 883-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. D. Sigurdsson ◽  
B. Magnusson
Keyword(s):  
Soil Nitrogen ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Ecosystem Respiration ◽  
C:N Ratio ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Vegetation Development ◽  
The North ◽  
Soil Temperatures ◽  
Volcanic Islands

Abstract. When Surtsey rose from the North Atlantic Ocean south of Iceland in 1963, it became a unique natural laboratory on how organisms colonize volcanic islands and form ecosystems with contrasting structures and functions. In July, 2004, ecosystem respiration rate (Re), soil properties and surface cover of vascular plants were measured in 21 permanent research plots distributed among the juvenile communities of the island. The plots were divided into two main groups, inside and outside a seagull (Larus spp.) colony established on the island. Vegetation cover of the plots was strongly related to the density of gull nests. Occurrence of nests and increased vegetation cover also coincided with significant increases in Re, soil carbon, nitrogen and C:N ratio, and with significant reductions in soil pH and soil temperatures. Temperature sensitivity (Q10 value) of Re was determined as 5.3. When compared at constant temperature the Re was found to be 59 times higher within the seagull colony, similar to the highest fluxes measured in drained wetlands or agricultural fields in Iceland. The amount of soil nitrogen, mainly brought onto the island by the seagulls, was the critical factor that most influenced ecosystem fluxes and vegetation development on Surtsey. The present study shows how ecosystem activity can be enhanced by colonization of animals that transfer resources from a nearby ecosystem.

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