Anthropogenic debris pollution in yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis atlantis) nests in biosphere reserves of the Canary Islands.

Anthropogenic debris, particularly plastic pollution, has emerged as a significant environmental threat to biodiversity. Given that seabirds interact with artificial debris through ingestion, entanglement, and nest incorporation, it is particularly important to quantify the quantity, origins, and chemical composition of these debris items. In this work, it was evaluated for the first time the occurrence of anthropogenic debris in nests of yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis atlantis) in biosphere reserves of the Canary Islands (Spain). A total of 48 abandoned nests were collected from five remote and hardly accessible sampling areas, revealing that 81.3 % contained anthropogenic waste, with plastic accounting for 34.7 % of the debris, followed by metal (33.6 %) and paper (19.6 %). On average, 32.8 ± 40.9 items were found per nest. Regarding the origin, food packagings (47.8 %), personal hygiene products (21.7 %), and textiles (15.8 %) were identified as the predominant sources. Furthermore, the polymer composition of the plastics was characterised by means of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, being polyester the most abundant (38.2 %), followed by polyethylene (25.6 %) and rayon (10.3 %). The incorporation of anthropogenic debris into nest construction may result from outdoor human activities carried out far from nesting areas.

Trait-based insights into sustainable fisheries: A four-decade perspective in Azores archipelago.

The trait-based approach provides a powerful perspective for analyzing fisheries and their potential impact on marine ecological processes, offering crucial insights into sustainability and ecosystem functioning. This approach was applied to investigate trends in fish assemblages landed by both local and coastal fishing fleets in the Azores archipelago over the past four decades (1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s). A matrix of ten traits was built to assess functional redundancy (Fred), functional over-redundancy (FOve), and functional vulnerability (FVul) for the fish assemblages caught by every fishing fleet in each decade. The susceptibility of the Azorean fishery to negative impacts on ecosystem functioning was evidenced by low FRed (<1.5 species per functional entity) and high FVul (exceeding 70 %). However, there is reason for optimism, as temporal trends in the 2000s and 2010s showed an increase in FRed and FOve along with a significant decrease in FVul. These trends indicate the adaptation of the fishery to new target species and, notably, the effectiveness of local fish regulations in mitigating the impacts of targeting functionally important species, such as Elasmobranchii, over the past two decades. These regulations have played a pivotal role in preserving ecological functions within the ecosystem, as well as in managing the removal of high biomass of key important species (e.g., Trachurus picturatus, Pagellus bogaraveo, and Katsuwonus pelamis) from the ecosystem. This study contributes to understanding the delicate balance between fishing pressure, ecological resilience, and sustainable resource management in Azorean waters. It also highlights the importance of continued monitoring, adaptive management, and the enforcement of local fishing regulations to ensure the long-term health and sustainability of the fishery and the broader marine ecosystem.

Lost and found: Patterns of marine litter accumulation on the remote Island of Santa Luzia, Cabo Verde.

Santa Luzia, an uninhabited island in the archipelago of Cabo Verde, serves as a natural laboratory and important nesting site for loggerhead turtles Carettacaretta. The island constitutes an Integral Natural Reserve and a Marine Protected Area. We assessed marine litter accumulation on sandy beaches of the island and analysed their spatial patterns using two sampling methods: at a fine scale, sand samples from 1 × 1 m squares were collected, identifying debris larger than 1 mm; at a coarse scale, drone surveys were conducted to identify visible marine debris (>25 mm) in aerial images. We sampled six points on three beaches of the island: Achados (three points), Francisca (two points) and Palmo Tostão (one point). Then, we modelled the abundance of marine debris using topographical variables as explanatory factors, derived from digital surface models (DSM). Our findings reveal that the island is a significant repository for marine litter (>84% composed of plastics), with up to 917 plastic items per m2 in the sand samples and a maximum of 38 macro-debris items per m2 in the drone surveys. Plastic fragments dominate, followed by plastic pellets (at the fine-scale approach) and fishing materials (at the coarse-scale approach). We observed that north-facing, higher-elevation beaches accumulate more large marine litter, while slope and elevation affect their spatial distribution within the beach. Achados Beach faces severe marine debris pollution challenges, and the upcoming climate changes could exacerbate this problem.

DNA Metabarcoding Reveals Cryptic Diversity in Forest Soils on the Isolated Brazilian Trindade Island, South Atlantic.

Located 1140 km from the South American coastline in the South Atlantic Ocean and with an age of 4 million years, Trindade Island is the most recent volcanic component of Brazilian territory. Its original native vegetation has been severely damaged by human influence, in particular through the introduction of exotic grazing animals such as goats. However, since the complete eradication of goats and other feral animals in the late 1990s, the island's vegetation has been recovering, and even some endemic species that had been considered extinct have been rediscovered. In this study, we set out to characterize the contemporary cryptic diversity in soils of the recovering native forest of Trindade Island using metabarcoding by high throughput sequencing (HTS). The sequence diversity obtained was dominated by microorganisms, including three domains (Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya) and five kingdoms (Fungi, Metazoa, Protozoa, Chromista, and Viridiplantae). Bacteria were represented by 20 phyla and 116 taxa, with Archaea by only one taxon. Fungi were represented by seven phyla and 250 taxa, Viridiplantae by five phyla and six taxa, Protozoa by five phyla and six taxa, Metazoa by three phyla and four taxa and Chromista by two phyla and two taxa. Even after the considerable anthropogenic impacts and devastation of the island's natural forest, our sequence data reveal the presence of a rich and complex diversity of microorganisms, invertebrates, and plants and provide important baseline biodiversity information that will contribute to ecological restoration efforts on the island.

The Neuroptera of São Tomé e Principe

ABSTRACT Two new entomological surveys were carried out in the República Democrática de São Tomé e Principe in 2019 (earlier surveys were in 1956 and 2001). Of 16 species of Neuroptera identified, only one, a Mantispidae, appears endemic to the archipelago. Chrysopidae and Hemerobiidae account for the majority of species and individuals collected, concentrated here in plantations and anthropized environments, and known to be widely distributed in Africa and even worldwide. Unusually, the family Coniopterygidae is again absent, this time on natural terrains, confirming its earlier absence in 2001 on anthropized and plantation terrains. The findings and ecological distribution support the hypothesis that Hemerobiidae and Chrysopidae were introduced with cash crop cultivation, some of them as late as the 19th century. Their isolation in island environments is probably too recent to have allowed speciation mechanisms to generate endemic species in São Tomé.

[Prevention Harmful Consumption of Alcohol and Drugs in Sao Tome and Principe Through Public Health Communication: The Scientific Protocol]. / Comunicação em Saúde Pública na Prevenção do Consumo Excessivo de Álcool e Drogas na População Escolar de São Tomé e Príncipe: Protocolo Científico.

INTRODUCTION: Sao Tome and Principe is an African low-and-middle-income country, where extreme poverty causes major health inequalities. No systematic research has been done on the consumption of alcohol and drugs in Sao Tome and Principe, and only overall statistics are available based on the importation of alcoholic drinks and their distribution among the population. There are also no studies on consumption of alcohol and illicit substances in children and youth and no preventive measures being undertaken. Besides that, manual databases present significant limitations, considering the lack of causes associated with mortality rates (0 - 5 years and > 5), and the difficulty to establish a cause/effect relation between diseases, deaths and life expectancy. No relevant data with burden of life was found in the reports of Centro Nacional de Endemias or the non-governmental, organization Instituto Marques de Valle Flor, a facilitator on healthcare clinical specialties selected on a voluntary basis by doctors from Portuguese hospitals. So, we proposed to provide a first overview of family and housing conditions, and above all, the consumption of alcohol and illegal drugs in young people. Thus, a project, the National Survey on Harmful Consumption of Alcohol and Drugs in Schools of Sao Tome and Principe, will be realized in order to better characterize the situation among children and young students and test public health communication strategies and preventive interventions aimed at this target-population. Interventions were designed taking into consideration local sociocultural realities of target audiences. We considered dialect language, single-parent families (matriarchal structure) and polygamy (mostly) in men and a country and governments led by men (patriarchal structure) and, in which the woman's role, as Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports, remains overlooked. Subsequently, we will collect traditional alcohols samples from the two main islands for analysis (at Laboratório de Estudos Farmacêuticos and Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil - Portugal) and to determine heavy metals in the production process and impact on burden of life. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In order to characterise the country's situation in terms of alcohol and illicit substances consumption a literature review was carried out through a search in several international electronic databases, such as those of the World Health Organization, World Health Organization Africa, United Nation, The Lancet and Lancet Global Health, etc. Available data of the following institutions of Sao Tome and Príncipe was also analyzed: National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Education, Culture and Training and Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. Several interviews with community and church leaders as well as with members of catholic missions were carried out to better understand the local situation. Following this, a nationwide cross-sectional survey of a sample of 2064 students will be carried out. This will include a questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyles, health behaviors/attitudes, alcohol and illicit substances consumption. Finally, based on the overall diagnosis obtained, some edutainment health communication preventive interventions will be tested in the primary schools of three districts (EDUCA_TURTLE) and on the radio journalists (EDUCA_PRESS). These were evaluated by primary school teachers and by radio journalists.

Introdução: São Tomé e Príncipe é um País Africano de Língua Oficial Portuguesa, de rendimento baixo-médio, onde a extrema pobreza potencia grandes desigualdades em saúde. Pouco se sabe sobre o consumo de álcool e substâncias ilícitas, além dos indicadores de importação e distribuição pela população. Não existem estudos realizados sobre este tema em crianças e adolescentes e são desconhecidas quaisquer medidas preventivas. Além disso, as bases de dados manuais apresentam limitações significativas, perante a inexistência de causas associadas às taxas de mortalidade (0 - 5 anos e > 5), e incapacidade de estabelecer uma relação causa-efeito entre doenças e morte e esperança média de vida. Inexistência de dados relativo às causas de mortalidade nos relatórios do Centro Nacional de Endemias ou nos relatórios da organização não-governamental Instituto Marquês de Valle Flor, entidade facilitadora de cuidados de saúde em especialidades clínicas selecionadas em regime de voluntariado de médicos de hospitais Portugueses. Propusemos assim realizar o primeiro diagnóstico de situação familiar e condições de habitação, e sobretudo, sobre o consumo de álcool e de substâncias ilícitas nos jovens. Neste sentido, foi desenvolvido o Inquérito Nacional sobre o Consumo de Álcool e Drogas em Meio Escolar em São Tomé e Príncipe para melhor caraterização da situação na população escolar, e para testar estratégias de comunicação em saúde e intervenções preventivas adaptadas às realidades socioculturais das populações-alvo. Foram considerados o dialeto, as famílias monoparentais, (estrutura matriarcal) a poligamia (sobretudo nos homens) num país e com governos liderados por homens (estrutura patriarcal), onde o papel da mulher, como refere a Organização das Nações Unidas para a Alimentação e a Agricultura, continua esquecido. Posteriormente procederemos à recolha de amostras de álcoois tradicionais, nas duas principais ilhas, para análise (pelo Laboratório de Estudos Farmacêuticos e Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil) e determinar os metais pesados no processo de produção e impacto na esperança média de vida.Material e Métodos: Revisão da literatura nas bases de dados eletrónicas da Organização Mundial da Saúde, Organização Mundial da Saúde África, Organização das Nações Unidas, SCOPUS, MEDLINE, The Lancet e Lancet Global Health. Também considerámos e analisámos os dados disponíveis no Instituto Nacional de Estatística, Ministério das Finanças, Estatísticas da Educação, Ministério da Educação, Cultura e Formação, Estatística da Saúde, Ministério da Saúde e Assuntos Sociais do XV Governo de Iniciativa Presidencial 2013-14. Serão realizadas algumas entrevistas qualitativas aos líderes de todas as comunidades, à igreja e missões católicas com intervenção humanitária e apoio aos mais desfavorecidos. Posteriormente, aplicação de um questionário biográfico, demográfico e socioeconómico sobre o uso de substâncias lícitas e ilícitas a uma amostra de 2064 estudantes. Foram consideradas as caraterísticasdemográficas, sociais e culturais. Após resultados e conclusões, iremos ensaiar algumas intervenções preventivas de comunicação em saúde como o edutainment nas escolas primárias de três distritos (EDUCA_TARTARUGA) e com os jornalistas de rádio (EDUCA_PRESS), as quais serão avaliadas pelos professores primários e pelos jornalistas de rádio.

Consumption of Alcohol and Drugs in the School Population of Sao Tome and Principe.

INTRODUCTION: In Sao Tome and Principe there are no studies on alcohol and drug use among students, who could be potential allies in preventive interventions. The objectives of the present study are 1) to determine the frequency of alcohol and drug consumption in the school population, and 2) to identify the main characteristics associated with this behaviour. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We applied a biographical, demographic and socioeconomic questionnaire on the use of licit and illicit substances to a sample of 2064 students. Demographic and social characteristics are presented based on observed frequencies and comparisons between groups were made using chi-square tests. Significance was assessed at α = 0.05. RESULTS: More than half of the students reported consumed alcohol at least once in their lifetime, and 32% consumed in the last 30 days. Older students were more likely to consume alcohol (p < 0.0001), but even in students under 16 years, 17% consumed in the last 30 days. We also found that 7% consumed one or more times per week in the last 30 days. The reasons presented for frequent consumption were different for boys ("participation in their group of friends") and girls ("decrease anxiety") (p = 0.005). Less than 1% of respondents admitted to having used marijuana, cocaine, crack or ecstasy. DISCUSSION: Despite some limitations, such as self-reporting, we provide a first overview showing high consumption of alcohol by young people and the existence of illegal drugs circulating in the schools. CONCLUSION: It is urgent to implement preventive interventions, namely in the context of public health communication.

Introdução: Em São Tomé e Príncipe não há estudos sobre o uso de álcool e drogas na população escolar, potencial aliada em intervenções preventivas. Os objetivos do presente estudo são 1) determinar a frequência do consumo de álcool e drogas na população escolar e 2) identificar as principais características associadas a estes comportamentos. Material e Métodos: Foi aplicado um questionário biográfico, demográfico e socioeconómico sobre o uso de substâncias lícitas e ilícitas para uma amostra de 2064 alunos. As características demográficas e sociais apresentadas baseiam-se nas frequências observadas e as comparações entre os grupos foram feitas usando testes de qui-quadrado. A significância foi avaliada em α = 0,05. Resultados: Mais de metade dos alunos referiram consumir álcool pelo menos uma vez na vida, e 32% nos últimos 30 dias. Os alunos mais velhos mostraram-se mais propensos a consumir álcool (p < 0,0001), mas mesmo nos alunos com idade inferior a 16 anos, 17% consumiram nos últimos 30 dias. Constatou-se também que entre todos os alunos, 7% consumiram uma ou mais vezes por semana nos últimos 30 dias. As razões apresentadas para o consumo frequente foram diferentes para os rapazes ("participação no grupo de amigos") e raparigas ("diminuição da ansiedade") (p = 0,005). Menos de 1% dos entrevistados admitiram ter usado maconha, cocaína, crack ou ecstasy. Discussão: Apesar de algumas limitações, como o auto reporte, publica-se um primeiro diagnóstico de situação mostrando um elevado consumo de álcool pelos jovens e ainda a utilização de drogas ilegais nas escolas. Conclusão: É urgente o desenvolvimento de intervenções preventivas, nomeadamente, no âmbito da comunicação em saúde pública.

Widespread continental mtDNA lineages prevail in the bumblebee fauna of Iceland.

Origins of the fauna in Iceland is controversial, although the majority of modern research supports the postglacial colonization of this island by terrestrial invertebrates rather than their long-term survival in glacial refugia. In this study, we use three bumblebee species as a model to test the hypothesis regarding possible cryptic refugia in Iceland and to evaluate a putative origin of recently introduced taxa. Bombus jonellus is thought to be a possible native Icelandic lineage, whereas B. lucorum and B. hortorum were evidently introduced in the second half of the 20th century. These phylogeographic analyses reveal that the Icelandic Bombus jonellus shares two COI lineages, one of which also occurs in populations on the British Isles and in mainland Europe, but a second lineage (BJ-02) has not been recorded anywhere. These results indicate that this species may have colonized Iceland two times and that the lineage BJ-02 may reflect a more ancient Late Pleistocene or Early Holocene founder event (e.g., from the British Isles). The Icelandic populations of both Bombus lucorum and B. hortorum share the COI lineages that were recorded as widespread throughout Eurasia, from the European countries across Russia to China and Japan. The findings presented here highlight that the bumblebee fauna of Iceland comprises mainly widespread ubiquitous lineages that arrived via natural or human-mediated dispersal events from the British Isles or the mainland.