Paula Bacelar-Nicolau

Ferrimicrobium acidiphilum gen. nov., sp. nov. and Ferrithrix thermotolerans gen. nov., sp. nov.: heterotrophic, iron-oxidizing, extremely acidophilic actinobacteria

Two novel extremely acidophilic, iron-oxidizing actinobacteria were isolated, one from a mine site in North Wales, UK (isolate T23(T)), and the other from a geothermal site in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA (Y005(T)). These new actinobacteria belong to the subclass Acidimicrobidae, and in contrast to the only other classified member of the subclass (Acidimicrobium ferrooxidans), both isolates were obligate heterotrophs. The mine site isolate was mesophilic and grew as small rods, while the Yellowstone isolate was a moderate thermophile and grew as long filaments, forming macroscopic flocs in liquid media. Both isolates accelerated the oxidative dissolution of pyrite in yeast extract-amended cultures, but neither was able to oxidize reduced forms of sulfur. Ferrous iron oxidation enhanced growth yields of the novel mesophilic actinobacterium T23(T), though this was not confirmed for the Yellowstone isolate. Both isolates catalysed the dissimilatory reduction of ferric iron, using glycerol as electron donor, in oxygen-free medium. Based on comparative analyses of base compositions of their chromosomal DNA and of their 16S rRNA gene sequences, the isolates are both distinct from each other and from Acidimicrobium ferrooxidans, and are representatives of two novel genera. The names Ferrimicrobium acidiphilum gen. nov., sp. nov. and Ferrithrix thermotolerans gen. nov., sp. nov. are proposed for the mesophilic and moderately thermophilic isolates, respectively, with the respective type strains T23(T) (=DSM 19497(T)=ATCC BAA-1647(T)) and Y005(T) (=DSM 19514(T)=ATCC BAA-1645(T)).

E-Learning for the Environment: The Universidade Aberta (Portuguese Open Distance University) Experience in the Environmental Sciences Post-Graduate Courses

Purpose – In recent decades, there has been an increase of public awareness about environmental problems. A simultaneous effort to increase educational course offerings in this area has been made. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the first edition of the blended learning MSc in Environmental Citizenship and Participation that is offered by Universidade Aberta, Lisbon, Portugal. This is the first and only MSc offered in the distance learning mode in Portugal in this scientific area. The Masters programme includes environmental and social sciences contents. Also the programme includes tools and methodologies designed to help the students put into practice their expanded awareness, and knowledge within educational and public participation processes, within environment projects, programs or plans.Design/methodology/approach – Evaluation is performed with the students using three data sources: a questionnaire survey, personal interviews and assessment materials produced by the students. These data are...

Bacterioplankton dynamics in the Mondego estuary (Portugal)

In this work, the density of bacterioplankton and environmental parameters were monitored over a 11 month period (July 1999-June 2000), and also during one tidal cycle (15 June 2000), at two sampling stations, in the estuary of River Mondego. These data were treated by multivariate analyses methods in order to identify the key factors that control the dynamics of the bacterioplankton in the estuary. Bacterial dynamics were dominated by temporal gradients (annual seasons and tide-related) and less by the spatial structure of the estuary. Three main metabolic groups of bacterioplankton—aerobic heterotrophic bacteria, sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and nitrate-reducing bacteria (NRB)—involved in the cycling of organic matter, were present in the water column of the estuary. Their relative abundance depended on the particular physical, chemical and biological environment. The abundance of aerobic heterotrophic bacteria, during the 11 month study, was modelled as a function of nitrate (the most important variable, with a negative effect), temperature, salinity and pH (with positive effects). SRB appeared to be limited to the water-sediment interface, where concentrations of sulphate and POM were greater. A competition between SRB and NRB for carbon has also been suggested.

Education for sustainable development in higher education: evaluating coherence between theory and praxis

Universities are an important part of the process of change taking place in society. However, this is often overshadowed by these institutions giving priority to technocratic models in the relationship between science and society. In this context, according to Habermas, theories can serve to clarify practical questions and guide praxis into the right actions (social emancipation and rational autonomy). Habermas introduces the need to evaluate the particular contexts in which scientific arguments are made and assessed. The aim of this study was to develop a set of assessment criteria for education for sustainable development in higher education curricula. These were developed in line with Habermas by introducing further adaptions within the context of education for sustainable development. These criteria were tested in a blended learning master’s programme in Environmental Citizenship and Participation at the Universidade Aberta, Portugal. The following research tools were used as follows: (i) a questionnaire survey to the graduates; (ii) content analysis applied to the information guide and to the abstracts of the dissertations that were produced. The case study revealed that an absence of theoretical frameworks could lead to inconsistencies between theory and praxis. Improvements to curricula are then drawn from this study.

Population dynamics of Acartia clausi from a temperate estuary (Mondego Estuary, Western Portugal)

Summary The main purpose of this study was to estimate the distribution, production and production/biomass ratio values of Acartia clausi, one of the most representative taxa of the Copepoda community in the Mondego estuary. The following biomass/length relationship was estimated for specimens of Acartia clausi: AFDW = 2.27 BL 2.41. Length-weight relationships were used to estimate production taking into account cohort growth and mortality. The annual production was calculated at 63.44 mgC m−3y−1 and the production/biomass (P/Ƀ) ratio was estimated at 25.50. These results indicate that Acartia clausi may play a significant role in transferring energy to higher trophic levels in the Mondego estuarine system.

Assessing university student perceptions and comprehension of climate change (Portugal, Mexico and Mozambique)

Purpose Higher education system has a critical role to play in educating environmentally aware and participant citizens about global climate change (CC). And, as shown by the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UN Convention on Climate Change – COP 21, held in Paris in December 2015, there is still a path to be followed regarding the role played by universities in the negotiations and in influencing decision-making on a matter of such global importance. The purpose of this first study conducted within Portuguese (Europe), Mexican (Spanish-speaking North America University) and Mozambican (Africa) universities is to investigate higher education system students’ perceptions on CC. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected through a questionnaire aiming at characterising students from the socio-demography, and from their perceptions, motivations, attitudes and knowledge relating to the topic of CC. Statistical analysis was used to compare and characterise the three national groups under study. Findings This study did not show significant perception differences among the analysed subsamples, although there was a tendency for Mexican students to express lesser belief that CC was happening, and for Mozambicans to show a greater belief in CC issues and motivation to mitigate its effects which may be related to the specifics contexts. The results show that relevant differences among nationalities mostly concerned the magnitude of choices (e.g. most respondents of each nationality expressed interest in CC issues, but the magnitude of this expression differed according to nationality). The principal component analysis (second and third components) clearly embodied nationality profiles (discussed in the context of different cultures, educational structures and CC impacts). Research limitations/implications Further research is warranted to understand the integration of CC into higher education curriculum to improve and target educational efforts to suit students’ needs. Practical implications How CC perceptions vary cross-nationally and how research studies that examine the integration of CC into higher education curriculum are areas for which more research is needed. Originality/value The results highlight the importance of socio-cultural dimensions of each country in relation to the understanding or perception of CC issues, namely, in what concerns aspects related with gender roles, age, active learning and citizenship. This study’s data evidenced that despite the surveyed students being familiarized with CC phenomena, this knowledge does not translate necessarily into concrete mitigation practices and behaviours.

Assessing student perceptions and comprehension of climate change in portuguese higher education institutions

The higher education system has a critical role to play in educating environmentally aware and participant citizens about global climate change. Yet, few studies have focused on higher education students’ knowledge and attitudes about this issue. This study aims to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of views and attitudes about climate change issues, across the postgraduate student population in three universities—the on Campus University of Porto and University of Coimbra, and the distance learning Universidade Aberta, Portugal. We surveyed university students and graduates from three master programs in environmental sciences targeting their knowledge, attitudes and behaviour on climate change issues, and their views of the role that their master degree had on it. A majority of the respondents believed that climate change is factual, and is largely human-induced; and a majority expressed concerns about climate change. Still, the surveyed students hold some misconceptions about basic causes and consequences of climate change. Further research is necessary to comprehend the university postgraduate students’ population, so that curricula programs can be adapted to grant consensus on scientific knowledge about climate change, and an active engagement of the graduate citizens, as part of the solution for climate change problems.

Attitudes, Barriers and Motivators as Factors for Sustainability of Higher Education e-Learning Programmes at Universidade Aberta, Portugal

In higher education distance learning institutions, where studies are carried on through a variety of distance learning regimes, from the correspondence and earlier forms of distance education to fully online e-learning programmes, and where planners and administrators seize the effective adoption and deployment of technology-enabled education, student attitude and motivation assume considerable significance. Attitudinal pre-dispositions, institutional and allied barriers (including appropriate policy initiatives), besides the scientific and pedagogical quality of degree programmes are assumed to play a crucial role in sustainability of higher education systems. This article reports the findings of a study conducted at Universidade Aberta, Portugal—the Portuguese Distance Learning Education University—to examine student attitudes towards e-learning and to identify barriers and motivators of e-learning adoption, which are key factors for decreasing dropout rates of a 2nd cycle degree e-learning programme, analysed as a case study.

The challenge of widening citizen participation in climate change education: developing open educational resources on the lived experiences of climate change

If climate change education is to become more than self-serving and contribute to meeting the global challenge of sustainable development, it must broaden its scope to include a wider range of students in terms of age, social group and ethnicity than is usually the case. In this paper the authors discuss how open and flexible learning can apply its strengths in the area of widening participation, as it can lever years of experience with non-traditional target groups. They show how flexible learning universities, such as Open Universities, may offer their curriculum as open educational resource (OER) for these types of learning and can indeed contribute for achieving such a needed critical mass. Mass education of this type may have a key role to play in meeting any global challenge, and climate change is no exception. In this paper, the authors exemplify it through an exploration of a partnership project between eight European universities in developing the LECH-e materials for a Masters curriculum on the lived experiences of climate change.

Online Teaching for Biodiversity Conservation

The aim of this work was to present the Biodiversity and Conservation teaching contents, teaching and learning methodologies and their results/effectiveness through e-learning in higher education (HE) at the Universidade Aberta (UAb), Portugal. Two curricular units covering the thematic of Biodiversity Conservation are taught in the three cycle degree system at UAb: Biodiversity and Conservation (compulsory CU, 6 ECTS, integrated in the curricular plan of the major in Environmental Sciences) and Biodiversity, Geodiversity and Conservation (optional CU, 6 ECTS, integrated in the curricular plan of the Master degree in Environmental Citizenship and Participation). Based on the teaching experience of nine editions of the e-learning courses on Biodiversity Conservation, particularly on the students perceptions and on the number of completed dissertations on the topic of Biodiversity, we consider that their main objectives were fulfilled, i.e. knowledge acquisitions about fundamentals on biodiversity conservation, interpretation, and applications. Some improvements are needed: foster the competencies needed among teachers to use e-learning in a meaningful way; materials suitable for use on e-learning programmes and the need to create synergies and interfaces between scientific knowledge and traditional knowledge (essential in this area of Biodiversity conservation) and also the lead role that e-learning can play establishing and developing a broader awareness on biodiversity conservation.