Browsing by Author "Ferreira, Ana"
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- “Bottom-up management approach to coastal marine protected areas in Portugal”Publication . Ferreira, Ana; Seixas, Sónia; Marques, João CarlosThe classification and management of coastal marine protected areas is traditionally implemented without a strong public participation process in its early stage, resulting in conflicts. A bottom-up approach with public participation before defining regulations is an innovative, yet difficult process. The case study presented is a local experience of Avencas Biophysical Interest Zone in Cascais, Portugal. The objective of this paper is to evaluate a new approach, to assess the success of the management action applied in terms of the short-term response from users of the costal marine protected area. Public participation assemblies were conducted to welcome input from the fishing community regarding the new regulation; visual census and interviews directed at different users, were used to assess the short-term effectiveness of the implemented management actions. A new regulation is underway and user management actions have been implemented: visitors' pathways through the rocky platforms and information spots at the entrance to the beach. Positive results point to the success of this approach, as visitors either agreed or respected the various management actions implemented: 84% of them agree with information spots, and 76% agree with the pathways. Recreational fishers are now mostly located outside the protected area, though there are still some who choose to stay inside, which indicates the need to change some points in the regulation, to improve its compliance by the fishing community. The short-term evaluation methodology was effective in detecting changes in usage patterns from users when the bottom-up approach was applied.
- Ecosystem response to different management options in Marine Protected Areas (MPA): a case study of intertidal rocky shore communitiesPublication . Ferreira, Ana; Alves, Ana Sofia; Marques, João Carlos; Seixas, SóniaMarine Protected Areas (MPA) can be powerful coastal management tools with several specific goals, although there is debate concerning their effectiveness. There is no consensus regarding the ideal size of MPAs, and actually there is some evidence that perhaps size is not as critical as other specific factors in determining their success in terms of populations’ protection and ecological functions conservation. On the other hand, depending on the objectives, zones with different classification regimes in terms of rules and uses might enable the maintenance of the intended uses. At this light, we examined the case of the small (605 002 m2) rocky shore area of Avencas, near Lisbon, on the Atlantic western Coast of Portugal, which was classified as Biophysical Interest Zone (ZIBA) in 1998, due to its exceptional intertidal biodiversity, after what its protection status became controversial, leading to conflicts with the local population and incompliance with extant regulations. From 2010 efforts were carried out by local authorities to reclassify Avencas as Marine Protected Area, which was achieved in 2016. Monitoring intertidal communities in a MPA and adjacent areas is an effective and low-cost procedure to evaluate the evolution of the biodiversity of rocky shores. Therefore, antedating the creation of the new MPA, assessments of the ZIBA biodiversity were conducted from January 2013 to December 2015 on a monthly basis. This timeline was selected as a function of a change in visitors’ behavior induced from 2013 by several management and outreach initiatives, which increased in a certain extent the user’s compliance with regulations. A positive evolution was expected for density and/or species diversity of the different groups analysed (flora, sessile fauna and mobile fauna) in this three years period. However, a very strong storm occurred in 2014 produced a significant impact and changed large areas of the Avencas rocky shore. As a consequence, results did not display a recognizable recovery pattern of the intertidal communities, and following that extreme event are not even consistent with a hypothesized enhanced recovery capability of the ecosystem in a protected area. This suggests that longer data series are necessary to obtain more robust data regarding natural variability, since alterations caused by extreme events are always likely to occur. Additionally, results illustrate that indeed size matters because it influences the MPA openness, expressed as the ratio of periphery to area, and therefore its susceptibility to external driving forces. Such considerations must be taken into account in any management plan, which in this case should encompass an increase in the intertidal protected area, a new conditioned small-scale fishing regime, and an adequate monitoring programme to evaluate the effectiveness of the new management scheme.
- Hands on science : the case study of Pedra do Sal Interpretation CenterPublication . Ferreira, Ana; Seixas, Sónia; Faria, SaraPedra do Sal Interpretation Center offers an original experience, and the possibility to observe and touch all of Avencas beach fauna and flora, once it is equipped with a touch tank, representative of a rocky shore tide pool. In 2013 the Municipality of Cascais developed and installed the permanent exhibition “Cascais, from Land to Sea“ and adjusted all of its scholarly activities to this theme. Since the opening of the exhibition, the number of visitors of Pedra do Sal Interpretation Center has been increasing and is currently four times higher than in the past year (2012 vs 2013).
- Hands on science: the case study of Pedra do Sal Interpretation CentrePublication . Ferreira, Ana; Seixas, Sónia; Faria, SaraPedra do Sal lnterpretation Center offers an original experience, and the possibifity to observe and touch ai/ of A vencas beach fauna and flora, once it is equipped with a touch tank, representative of a rocky shore tide pool. ln 2013 the Municipality of Cascais developed and installed the permanent exhibition "Cascais, from Land to Sea" and adjusted ai/ of its scholarly activities to this theme. Since the opening of the exhibition, the number of visitors of Pedra do Sal fnterpretation Center has been increasing and is currentfy four times higher than in the past year (2012 vs 2013).
- Impact of harvest by humans on mussel populations around EasterPublication . Ferreira, Ana; Seixas, Sónia; Rijo, Andreia; Faria, Sara; Fialho, VâniaThe current macroeconomic scenario has subjected Portuguese coastal areas to greater human pressure caused by the ever-increasing shellfish harvest. Every year on Holy Friday, hundreds of people make their way to coastal areas and frantically capture hundreds of bags worth of mussels in a short amount of time. It causes not just inevitable and profound changes to the intertidal zone, but also slows down its recovery. In 2010 Cascais Municipality (CM) was made aware of this problem and in 2011 and 2012 released a general awareness campaign entitled “In Easter who pays is the mussel”. More than just providing a legal perspective, the goal was to test the impact of said campaign in Meixilhoeiro’s mussel beds. Biological data sampling in “Mexilhoeiro” was conducted over a three-year period, from 2010 to 2012. In 2010 there was no awareness campaign but sampling was done after Holy Friday. In 2011 and 2012 it was done both after and before Holy Friday. The average length and coverage percentage of individuals in rocks were recorded. The subsequent graphical analysis indicated that the average coverage percentage of mussels had been decreasing over the years. However a positive sign was recorded in after the 2012 awareness campaign, when the average length of individuals showed an increase. This could mean a reduction in harvesting during Holy Friday. Results suggest that awareness campaigns are effective measures in the immediate protection of marine resources, when supported by reinforcement in surveillance from fisheries protection authorities. For such improvements to persist, so must those efforts. Beachgoers in the summertime can have a detrimental impact on mussel bed size. Prohibiting recreational fishing will not suffice.
- Propofol administration in the induction phase of general anesthesia in PortugalPublication . Ferreira, Ana; Mendes, Joaquim; Nunes, Catarina S.; Amorim, PedroIntrodução: A administração adequada de propofol por via intravenosa durante a indução da anestesia geral implica um bom conhecimento da farmacocinética e da farmacodinâmica, um bom entendimento de como a anestesia altera a consciência e a habilidade de interpretar corretamente a monitorização dos sinais vitais. Este trabalho pretende avaliar a prática usual dos anestesiologistas em Portugal no que diz respeito à administração de propofol por via intravenosa durante a indução da anestesia geral. Material e Métodos: Estudo observacional transversal, descritivo e analítico realizado através de um questionário enviado por correio eletrónico a todos os médicos internos e especialistas em Anestesiologia de vários hospitais portugueses. O questionário apresentava um cenário convencional (Sujeito do sexo masculino, 50 anos, 60 kg, 160 cm, ASA I, submetido a anestesia geral com propofol a 1%) e incluía 10 questões relacionadas com a administração de propofol durante a indução. Foi realizada análise descritiva dos dados obtidos através do programa SPSS 23.0®. Resultados: Responderam ao inquérito 118 médicos, sendo que, a maioria eram especialistas há mais de 5 anos (56,9%). Baseados no cenário apresentado, a maioria dos anestesiologistas administraria uma dose de 60 mg de propofol na indução, a uma velocidade superior a 1200 mL/horas, avaliariam a perda de consciência através da perda do reflexo palpebral, o que se refletiria num índica BIS de 60. A maioria dos participantes medem a pressão arterial do doente a cada 5 minutos e nunca utilizaram sistemas de infusão alvo-controlada. Discussão: Os resultados do inquérito mostraram que existe uma grande variedade de métodos para avaliar a perda de consciência, uma diversidade no manuseamento e doses de propofol na indução, uma falta de experiência no uso de sistemas de infusão alvo-controlada e na avaliação da relação entre a dose, a velocidade e a concentração de propofol. Neste trabalho apresentaram-se também algumas sugestões para os anestesiologistas ponderarem implementar nas suas práticas clínicas. Conclusão: Parece haver uma diversidade na quantidade e na forma como os anestesiologistas portugueses utilizam o propofol na indução da anestesia geral.
- Temporal variation in element concentrations in arms of the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris)Publication . Seixas, Sónia; Faria, Maria; Ferreira, Ana; Pierce, Graham