Joana Marques

A survey of spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions in 10 years of activity in a pharmacovigilance centre in Portugal

Reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) may differ between countries.

A Peltula Nyl. diversity hotspot in north-east Portugal, with one species new to science and three species new to mainland Europe

Recent fieldwork carried out for the study of the lichen flora in the Upper Douro region (north-east Portugal) has resulted in a remarkable collection of Peltula specimens, including one new species ( Peltula lobata J. Marques, M. Schultz & Paz-Berm.), three new species records for mainland Europe [ Peltula bolanderi (Tuck.) Wetmore, Peltula farinosa Budel and Peltula zahbruckneri (Hasse) Wetmore] and seven species new for mainland Portugal, that are reported here with a notes on their morphology and currently known distribution. The new species Peltula lobata is differentiated from any other known Peltula species by its thallus shape and size, presence of large, sessile apothecia with widely opened discs and by a complete absence of soredia. Identical specimens were also obtained from the nearby locality of Siega Verde in the province of Salamanca, and from the southern locality of Abla in the province of Almeria, both in Spain. New insights into the morphological diversity of Peltula euploca and Peltula bolanderi are also provided. The region is revealed to be a hotspot for Peltula diversity and a very promising area for further research on the morphological and molecular variation among the former species. A revised key to European species of the genus is also presented.

The susceptibility of weathered versus unweathered schist to biological colonization in the Côa Valley Archaeological Park (north-east Portugal)

This study addresses the primary and secondary bioreceptivity of schist used as a support for prehistoric rock art in the Côa Valley Archaeological Park (north-east Portugal) and provides some parameters that can be related to the risk of biologically induced schist weathering. Samples of freshly quarried and naturally weathered schist were characterized in terms of their intrinsic properties and maintained in controlled environmental conditions after inoculation with biofilm-forming cyanobacteria. The physical properties of the studied schist, as well as its abrasion pH, all varied according to the weathering degree of the samples and so did its susceptibility to colonization by biofilm-forming cyanobacteria. Complete separation between weathered and unweathered schist samples in terms of laboratory-induced photosynthetic biomass was obtained by measuring total colour change in the CIE (International Commission on Illumination) L*a*b* colour space. Weathered schist was more bioreceptive than unweathered schist, associated with increased open porosity, water saturation, capillary water and capillarity coefficient and decreased abrasion pH. In the future, it might be possible to determine the susceptibility of schist surfaces to biological colonization through evaluation of colour differences associated with the different weathering degrees presented by those surfaces prior to colonization.

Análise espacial e estudo da fragmentação da Paisagem da Aboboreira

Na atualidade os processos de fragmentacao representam uma das maiores preocupacoes no âmbito da conservacao da biodiversidade, ja que a heterogeneidade dos fragmentos afeta a dinâmica e o estabelecimento de especies vegetais e animais. Neste trabalho caracterizamos a evolucao e transformacao da paisagem da Aboboreira (NO Portugal) atraves da analise da evolucao da ocupacao do solo nos ultimos 20 anos. Os resultados mostram uma diminuicao de manchas agricolas, com consequente substituicao por manchas florestais e urbanas, sendo a expansao urbana mais pronunciada nas areas de vale. No entanto, o resultado mais relevante aponta para uma fragmentacao geral da paisagem com consequente perda de habitats naturais. http://dx.doi.org/10.17127/got/2013.4.003 Data de submissao: 2013-09-05 Data de aprovacao: 2013-12-06 Data de publicacao: 2013-12-30

Local lithological drivers of post-fire vegetation recovery and implications for fire-prone regions

Local ecosystem resilience to fire disturbance can be influenced by multiple factors, from topography and climate, to fire history and pre-fire structure of biotic communities. Here we investigated the factors affecting post-fire recovery of scrub vegetation in areas under Mediterranean climate affected by frequent fires. We hypothesized that, under comparable climatic and topographic conditions, geological factors (with bedrock type as a proxy) would be at least as important as fire history in explaining patterns of post-fire recovery. We surveyed scrub vegetation in a mountain study area in Portugal, using a stratified random sampling scheme, with fire frequency, time since last fire, and bedrock type (granite vs. schist) as stratifying layers. Based on vegetation and plant community data from 40 plots, we analyzed total species richness and composition, and the relative abundance of functional groups defined on the basis of general (non fire-specific) life-history traits. We found that, at a local scale, lithology can override fire history in determining post-fire recovery. Vegetation plots on granite exhibited a considerable development of tall scrubs and higher values of total species richness. They also hosted higher numbers of animal-dispersed woody species, of trees and tall scrubs, of woody deciduous species, and of forest, edge and tall scrub species. Differences in the post-fire development of scrub vegetation and in the functional profile of plant communities highlight the need to consider local geological diversity when establishing priorities for post-fire active restoration under scenarios of limited resources.

On the dual nature of lichen‐induced rock surface weathering in contrasting micro‐environments

Contradictory evidence from biogeomorphological studies has increased the debate on the extent of lichen contribution to differential rock surface weathering in both natural and cultural settings. This study, undertaken in Côa Valley Archaeological Park, aimed at evaluating the effect of rock surface orientation on the weathering ability of dominant lichens. Hyphal penetration and oxalate formation at the lichen-rock interface were evaluated as proxies of physical and chemical weathering, respectively. A new protocol of pixel-based supervised image classification for the analysis of periodic acid-Schiff stained cross-sections of colonized schist revealed that hyphal spread of individual species was not influenced by surface orientation. However, hyphal spread was significantly higher in species dominant on northwest facing surfaces. An apparently opposite effect was noticed in terms of calcium oxalate accumulation at the lichen-rock interface; it was detected by Raman spectroscopy and complementary X-ray microdiffraction on southeast facing surfaces only. These results suggest that lichen-induced physical weathering may be most severe on northwest facing surfaces by means of an indirect effect of surface orientation on species abundance, and thus dependent on the species, whereas lichen-induced chemical weathering is apparently higher on southeast facing surfaces and dependent on micro-environmental conditions, giving only weak support to the hypothesis that lichens are responsible for the currently observed pattern of rock-art distribution in Côa Valley. Assumptions about the drivers of open-air rock-art distribution patterns elsewhere should also consider the micro-environmental controls of lichen-induced weathering, to avoid biased measures of lichen contribution to rock-art deterioration.

Regional Environmental Gradients Influence Ecophysiological Responses of Dominant Coastal Dune Plants to Changes in Local Conditions

ABSTRACT Fidalgo, F.; Santos, A.; Pimenta, S.; Marques, J., and Honrado, J., 2014. Regional environmental gradients influence ecophysiological responses of dominant coastal dune plants to changes in local conditions. Coastal dunes are dynamic systems exposed to multiple environmental changes; therefore, specific, sensitive, and cost-efficient indicators are needed for ecological assessment and monitoring. We addressed whether biochemical indicators of plant physiological stress could provide a complementary approach to classic disturbance indicators for identifying dune areas undergoing ecological change. We hypothesized that disturbance related to a shift from (meta-) stability to erosive dynamics would promote increased stress on foredune plants, which would exhibit adaptive physiological responses that could be captured through standard biochemical tests. Such responses would anticipate other reported responses of foredune communities, such as loss of facilitation capacity or decrease of species richness. We also hypothesized that such responses would be influenced by biogeographic context, based on reported interactions between regional and local gradients. We compared patterns of proline accumulation and membrane lipid peroxidation in plants of sand-couch (Elytrigia juncea), a foredune specialist, from 27 transects at nine locations under contrasting dynamics along a climatic gradient in northern Portugal. Next, we evaluated effects of coastal dynamics and biogeographic context on proline accumulation and lipid peroxidation and compared physiological stress patterns with variations in topographic and phytocoenotic attributes of dune ecosystems related to contrasting coastal dynamics. We found proline accumulation to be significantly higher (and lipid peroxidation proportionally lower) in plants from sites under chronic erosive dynamics. This response of physiological stress indicators was further confirmed by their significant correlation with topographic and phytocoenotic indicators. We also confirmed significant effects of regional gradients on the ecophysiological responses to contrasting coastal dynamics, which were better discriminated under Mediterranean climate than among Atlantic sites. This interaction between regional climate and local disturbance suggests caution in the wide use of ecophysiological responses for ecological assessment and monitoring before regionally stratified models are calibrated to compensate for interactions among processes operating at different scales.