Pedro Ribeiro

Movement of blue shark, Prionace glauca , in the north-east Atlantic based on mark–recapture data

A shark tagging programme along the Portuguese coast was initiated in 2001 in collaboration with the National Marine Fisheries Service. From a total of 168 blue sharks (Prionace glauca) tagged, 34 sharks were recaptured (20% return rate) providing important information on this species’ movement patterns for the area. A total of 28 sharks travelled less than 1000 km while at liberty for time periods ranging from 22 to 1294 days. The remaining ¢sh travelled long distances to north-west Africa, central Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay. Only one shark made a transatlantic migration, being recaptured 3187 km from the tagging site. North ^ south movements seem to be related to seasonal sea-surface temperature variation in the north-east Atlantic. Seasonal segregation of diierent life stages also occurs.

Development of microsatellite loci for the black-footed limpet, Patella depressa , and cross-amplification in two other Patella species

Limpets (Patella spp.) are suitable organisms to investigate the effects of climate change in marine systems. They are widespread over NE Atlantic intertidal rocky shores and have been extensively studied in terms of population dynamics and ecology. Within genus Patella, microsatellites have only been developed for Patella caerulea and cross-species tests are unknown. In this work, we describe 11 primer pairs for Patella depressa and the results of cross-species testing on Patella candei and Patella rustica.

New polymorphic microsatellite markers for the limpet Patella rustica and cross-priming testing in four Patella species

Eighteen microsatellite markers have been characterized from the Patella rustica genome. An average of 10 alleles per locus and an expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.054 to 0.937 were observed in a sample of 32 wild individuals from Viana do Castelo, Portugal. Distinct cross‐priming amplification rates were recovered on four additional Patella species. Three monomorphic P. rustica loci were polymorphic in other Patella species. The microsatellites developed herein could be a useful intraspecific genetic tool to undertake fine population studies in the genus Patella.