© Rui Guerra
This "reef" is actually an artificial substracte designed during Project Reeffish to attract juveniles during their settlement and this way enable the regular sampling of several species targeted by the project.
©Nuno Sá 2018 Oceano Azul Expedition, organised by Oceano Azul Foundation & partners.
Capable of submerging up to 6,000 meters deep, the ROV Luso is a remotely operated vehicle. In 2012, ROV Luso was used to collect samples of the seabed in Canhão de Setúbal, contributing to a greater knowledge about this deep ecosystem that contributes to the high biodiversity found in Arrábida.
©Carlos Franco e Ester Serrão
This photograph was taken in the 70’s in a location that is today part of the Marine Park. The Arrabida coast has always been a refugee for kelp forests, which have resisted here for the last thousands of years, even in times when the climate of glacial periods led to the extintion of kelp populations further North. This way, the kelp forests in Arrabida have accumulated and preserved high genetic diversity, which is different and higher than that of populations of Northern Europe.
©Miguel Saldanha
Professor Luiz Saldanha performing scientific illustration (1960’s/1970’s)
© Rui Guerra
The method of larvae sampling using light trapps is based on the fact that many marine organisms are attracted to light. The light trap is placed at night close to the seabed (rocky reefs) or close to the surface, in order to allow comparing the different species and larval phases that occupy these layers of the water column. Its light attracts the larvae, which are then collected together with the net.
©Gustavo Franco
An octopus (Octopus vulgaris) explores with interest the bait box of a baited video sampling system for benthic environments (near the bottom) during monitoring work at Professor Luiz Saldanha Marine Park. These works use high definition video systems to monitor marine life using underwater images of animals that are attracted using bait, which are then analyzed to identify the species and estimate their abundance.
©Gustavo Franco
Blue sharks Prionace glauca filmed using baited underwater video sampling systems (BRUV) in a pelagic environment (that is, in the water column) off Sesimbra. This technique makes it possible to monitor and characterize the fish communities in the deepest areas of the Marine Park, as well as the pelagic communities in the surrounding areas. In these areas, pelagic fish such as the blue shark have frequently been observed. Many of the blue sharks observed are juveniles, which may indicate the existence of a nursery area around the Park for some species.
©Armando Ribeiro
Coral aggregations present in the Marine Park include rare species. They are very vulnerable to human impacts as they have a high longevity and very slow growth. They serve as habitat for many other species, some with commercial value. The Deep reefs project was started in 2010 with the aim of increasing knowledge and dissemination about the seabed of the Portuguese coast.
©Carlos Franco e Ester Serrão
In 1987, underwater work to characterize algal populations in Arrábida revealed big kelp forests in the Marine Park. These magestic marine forests are important zones of protection, reproduction and feed for a huge variety of species of fish and invertebrates, some with high commercial value.
© Ester Serrão e Diogo Paulo
Under the BIOMARES program, testing of techniques to recover brown algae (kelp) have been carried out using the natural species of the Marine Park. The conservation of the areas where these populations remain is crucial, since their characteristics are unique throughout their global distribution.
© Rui Guerra
Larvae are stages of development of marine animals before they grow into adulthood. In the Marine Park, several research projects have been carried out to register their presence, identifying species and assessing their density. In the image, a sample is placed in a flask and immediately preserved in alcohol to allow the preservation of small fish.
©Fernando Simões
Before a scientific five during field work campaign coordinated by Professor Luiz Saldanha, from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. Prof. Luiz Saldanha carried out extensive work on the ecology of the marine ecosystems of Arrábida (left-right: Pedro Ré, Maria José Costa, Luiz Saldanha).
©Fernando Simões
Giving the camera to the diver, for underwater records. (1960s / 1970s)
©Ester Serrão e Diogo Paulo
During seagrasses monitoring actions across the Marine Park, researchers study the area (m2), the canopy high and density.
©Diogo Paulo
Underwater photography allows the study of larger marine organisms using less diving time, postponing the work of identification and quantification until later, in image analysis. These remain as a record that can be re-analyzed in the future, but do not allow studies as detailed as the collection of organisms for laboratory analysis. The PVC structure ensures that the distance to the camera is constant and that the area photographed is always the same.
©Ester Serrão e Diogo Paulo
During the seagrass restoration work, a researcher from the BIOMARES Program removes a unit of seagrass from healthy donor populations in Ria Formosa and "plants" it in Arrábida where extensive seagrass prairies were once found.
©Diogo Paulo
Corals form an important habitat for many marine species. Several dives were made in the Luiz Saldanha Marine Park in order to identify and characterize the populations of gorgonians. Thus, in the sampling process, demographic data, photographs and samples for genetic analysis were collected.
©David Abecasis
With the collaboration of local fishermen, the researchers of the BIOMARES program resort to experimental fishing with the use of trammel nets to study the effects of the Marine Park on the different species of fish in this area (ichthyofauna). The work team brings together fishermen and biologists, who place fishing nets in areas of sand and seeps into the different protected areas of the Marine Park. The caught fish is quickly identified, measured and released while still alive back to the sea, in order to have the least impact on the ecosystem.
©Nuno Sá 2018 Oceano Azul Expedition, organised by Oceano Azul Foundation & partners.
Capable of submerging up to 6,000 meters deep, the ROV Luso is a remotely operated vehicle. The ROV is operated from a control center on a surface vessel, to which it is connected. In this center, a specialized team controls multiple sensors and features that allow the collection of water, geology and biology samples, as well as analyzing some of the physicochemical characteristics of sea water. In 2012, ROV Luso was used to collect samples of the seabed in Canhão de Setúbal, contributing to a greater knowledge about this deep ecosystem that contributes to the high biodiversity found in Arrábida.
©Emanuel Gonçalves
In years with cold waters, which are rich in nutrients, kelp abundance raises. However, due to the rise in water temperature and the resulting reduction of nutrients, some of these brown algae populations seem to be in regression.
©David Abecasis
After being captured and measured, a transmitter was placed in the abdominal cavity of this skate. This acoustic telemetry transmitter will allow researchers to better understand behavior and movements of skates in the Marine Park. In the image we can see the suture and the transmitter through the transparency. This whole process of placing the transmitter is very fast, in order to reduce the impact on the animal as much as possible, and it follows the European Union rules for the use of animals in scientific works, being authorized by the Portuguese Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary.
©David Abecasis
Where do marine animals travel? And why do they do it? What are their favorite areas and habitats? To answer these questions, biologists tagg animals with small acoustic transmitters and detect their movements through a network of acoustic receivers scattered throughout the Marine Park. See how researchers study the movements of marine animals in the Park in this short film!
©Ester Serrão e Diogo Paulo
Seagrass meadows in the Marine Park are considered essential habitats. The leaves of around 40 cm serve as a refuge and shelter for several species and mainly protect juveniles, creating a kind of “maternity” in this habitat. Their high ecological importance justifies the effort put into their restoration.
©Alexandra Huth
Leptogorgia sarmentosa and Eunicella verrucosa are the species used in gorgonian transplantation tests across the Marine Park. The results are very promising, with a success rate above 98% at the end of 2 years for both species.
©Fernando Simões
In the 1960s/1970s, a group of researchers going to another dive in the Arrabida coast (left-right: Pedro Ré, Maria José Costa, Luiz Saldanha, João Alberto Gil, Fernando Simões, unidentified sailor).
©Ester Serrão e Diogo Paulo
In an effort directed at the recovery of the seagrass meadows in Portinho da Arrábida, researchers developed a method of transplanting seagrass through which seaweed units ("sods") of about 20x20 cm composed of sediments, roots, rhizomes and plants are collected from donor populations
©David Abecasis
An acoustic receiver, placed on the seabed, goes unnoticed by the passing of a common two-banded seabream Diplodus vulgaris. Receivers like this one collect the signal emitted by transmitters that have been inserted on marine animals whenever they pass in their surroundings. This information helps us understand which areas are used and which habitats are preferred by some species that are commercially important or of conservation interest for the Marine Park. One of the species that has been studied in the Marine Park is another seabream species: the common sea bream Diplodus sargus. Studies revealed that this species lives for long periods in small areas, in rocky reefs. During the breeding season, however, they move far beyond their usual areas. The information we have suggests that the Marine Park plays an important role in protecting this species.
©Armando Ribeiro
In the Marine Park we can find beautiful coral gardens, formed by corals in the shape of shrubs up to about one meter height. These gardens can be formed by one or more species. Before the Deep Reef project, the existence of some of these species on the Portuguese seabed was unknown and their discovery contributes to enrich our knowledge of national marine biodiversity.
©David Abecasis
In the Marine Park, biologists tag marine animals with small acoustic transmitters and detect their movements through a network of acoustic receivers scattered throughout the coast. These receivers capture the sound signals emitted by the transmitters when the tagged animals pass within a radius of approximately 300m, recording their presence, date, time and depth. Moorings like this, built with reinforced cement, were placed in Parque Marinho to enable the placement and removal of acoustic telemetry receivers more easily. They have this unusual aspect, as they were designed to minimize interaction with the different fishing gears.
© Rui Guerra
Divers carry out visual censuses to characterize the biodiversity of the Marine Park and monitor the evolution of abundance and the size of fish and cephalopod species over the years. In these visual census, trained divers perform 65-meter transects perpendicular to the shoreline. In the image, one of the divers sets the transect with an underwater measuring tape, while a second diver records all the observed fish species.
© Rui Guerra
On this SMURF we can observe biofilm - a group of microorganisms that join together and fixes into a surface - that has developed on the surface of this structure that was deployed underwater for several weeks. Developed to monitor the recruitment of fish species, SMURFs are cuboid structures made of a rigid net that is filled with a more malleable net. They work as shelters that allow only small recruits to enter. They are placed at a predefined depth for a certain time, after which they are collected with a very fine mesh bag. The larvae are collected in a container and identified in the laboratory.
© Rui Guerra
During larvae studies it is often necessary to process some of the samples collected in the SMURF while still on board. This entails separating small fish from the remaining organisms that have lodged on the equipment’s surfaces.
© Rui Guerra
Remotely Operated Vehicles - ROV - are used by researchers to study the deepest habitats of Professor Luiz Saldanha Marine Park, where access through scuba diving becomes difficult.
©Ester Serrão e Diogo Paulo
Over the years, researchers have made great efforts to recover the marine prairies in the bay of Portinho da Arrábida. In 2011, they developed a method to successfully transplant 11 m2 of the Zostera marina species, a segrass patch that persisted and expanded. In 2014, this area had already increased about 5 times its initial size.
©Ana Faria
In larvae studies, swimming cameras are used to test the swimming skills of fish larvae, in particular how long they resist swimming in currents with different speeds. These studies provide information on how these swimming skills change troughout larval development and how they vary from species to species.
©Ester Serrão e Diogo Paulo
The seagrass meadoows of the Marine Park provide refuge for endangered species such as seahorses. Seagrasses are their habitat - its where they feed and shelter from predators. The importance of seagrass habitats for these iconic species justify the efforts that the Marine Park has put on their recovery.
©Diogo Paulo
The disappearance of extensive seagrass meadows in Portinho da Arrábida has led the Marine Park to promote studies to find new ways to recover populations and monitor their development.
©Ester Serrão e Diogo Paulo
In the Marine Park, several monitoring actions are carried out throughout the year for seagrass transplants, to control their development.
© Rui Guerra
SMURF means Standard Monitoring Unit for the Recruitment of Reef Fishes. They are cobblestone structures developed to monitor the recruitment of fish species. The image reflects the moment when the researchers are starting to process the larvae sample collected by the SMURF.
©Armando Ribeiro
In 2010, the Deep Reefs research project began with the objective of contributing to increase knowledge and dissemination of the seabed of the Portuguese continental coast. The project team of divers performed dives in the Professor Luíz Saldanha Marine Park and adjacent area (off Cape Espichel), at depths between 30 and 70 meters, having found amazind deep-sea coral gardens.
©Diogo Paulo
Diver taking notes underwater. Scientific diving, a highly technical activity, provides researchers a unique access to the marine ecossystems of Arrábida.
©Gustavo Franco
How to characterize the ecosystem when scuba diving is not an option, such as in places with few conditions for diving or when species hide in the presence of the diver? How can scientists know more about them, their habits and the habitats they frequent? Currently, high definition video systems are used to monitor marine life using underwater images of animals that are attracted using bait, which are then analyzed to identify species and estimate their abundance. This technique makes it possible to monitor and characterize the fish communities in the deepest areas of the Marine Park, as well as the pelagic communities in the surrounding areas.
©David Abecasis
Biologist of the BIOMARES programme attaches an acoustic receiver to a mooring at the bottom of the sea. With the information that this receiver will collect, it will be possible to understand how the animals that have been tagged with acoustic transmitters use the marine space, namely to assess the size of the areas they use, identify which habitats they prefer and estimate how long the animals stay in each area. In this way, researchers will be able to analyze the impacts of protection measures and fishing patterns in the Marine Park on species that exhibit different behaviors, as well as identify measures that can lead to greater protection of these species.
©Fernando Simões
In the 60s / 70s, Professor Luiz Saldanha takes notes on board with his students and collaborators (left-right: Fernando Simões, Maria José Costa, Luiz Saldanha, João Gil Pereira, Miriam Guerra, João Gomes, and behind these Pedro Re). Luiz Saldanha (1937-1997) was a professor and researcher at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon who consolidated Marine Biology as a scientific discipline in Portugal. A lover of diving, he started working on the ecology of the marine ecosystems of Arrábida during the 1960s, alerting at the time to the need to create a marine reserve that would protect this special coast. In his honor, the Marine Park received its name.
©Maria Klein
This adult fish - Lepadogaster spp. – has a ventral fin that he uses as a sucker to cling to rocky bottoms. This photograph was taken during larvae studies carried out in the Marine Park in the scope of BIOMARES program and shows a marine biologist having some unexpected difficulties in returning this fish into the ocean after measurements had been made.
©Ana Faria
Larvae of Gobius cruentatus. The Marine Park is very important for the reproduction and growth of many species of fish, functioning as a “nursery”, since there is a high density of larvae along the coast. In the Parque Marinho, several research works have been carried out to register their presence, identifying species and assessing their density.
©Fernando Simões
Field work carried out in the intertidal zone (between tides) on the coast of Arrábida in the 60s and 70s, under the supervision of Professor Luiz Saldanha. Luiz Saldanha (1937-1997) marked the marine sciences in Portugal, having done most of his research work on the coast of Arrábida.
©Nuno Sá
BIOMARES program researchers transplanting gorgonians in the Marine Park.
©Emanuel Gonçalves
There are different species of large algae in the Marine Park that form marine forests. Some are shaped like ribbons (known as kelp algae) and others are very branched and form very closed and dense forests. Some form forests during all months of the year and others are annual - they grow a lot in spring and summer and in winter they are not observed. All marine forests create shelter conditions for different species of animals.
© Rui Guerra
Researchers use a plankton net to collect samples of fish larvae during a dive with an underwater scooter. During these larvae studies, larvae are collected close to the seabed (rocky reef) and also close to the surface in order to compare the different species and different developmental stages.
©Pedro Coelho/Gonçalo Silva
During project Reeffish, fish larvae were collected in Arrabida with nets pulled during underwater dives with scooters and with lightraps deployed at night. Left: several Lepadogaster candolii at the onset of larval development, an otolith is shown above; Right: a Pomatoschistus pictus in a late larval developmental stage, an otolith is shown above.
©Alexandra Huth
For gorgonian transplants, three recipient populations were chosen in different protection areas of the marine park, in order to test the best methodology to recover these populations.
©Ester Serrão e Diogo Paulo
Over the last decades, about 10 hectares of seagrass meadows that used to cover the seabed in Portinho da Arrábida area have been lost. The Marine Park Professor Luiz Saldanha promotes initiatives to recover these habitats.
©Rafaela Fernandes
An adult Lepadogaster purpurea monitors its eggs. The ecossystem characterization studies of the BIOMARES Program show that the Marine Park is an important area for the reproduction and growth of different species of fish and invertebrates.
©David Abecasis
The Senegalese sole Solea senegalensis is one of the species studied in the Marine Park with acoustic telemetry methods. Captured individuals were tagged with transmitters and released into their habitat. Studies have shown that this species is more active at night and prefers medium sandy bottoms. Of the tagged soles, about half occupied relatively small areas. However, some soles migrated to areas outside the Marine Park. This information suggests that part of the sole population is protected by the Marine Park while another part goes outside the protection limits. The Park thus contributes to a more sustainable management of this important commercial resource.
©David Abecasis
An eyed-electric-ray Torpedo torpedo is measured on board a vessel. As part of the BIOMARES program, researchers carry out experimental fishing, a monitoring methodology with which information is collected on the length of each captured animal. With this information it is possible to estimate the capture value per unit of effort (500 m of net), in relation to the different levels of protection.
© Rui Guerra
During larvae studies within the Marine Park, researchers collect a SMURF from the seabed using a red net that will allow them to carry the structure to the team that is aboard, preventing the small fish from escaping. Developed to monitor the recruitment of fish species, SMURFs are cuboid structures made of a rigid net that is filled with a more malleable net. They work as shelters that allow only small recruits to enter. They are placed at a predefined depth for a certain time, after which they are collected with a very fine mesh bag. The larvae are collected in a container and identified in the laboratory.
© Rui Guerra
During larvae studies, artificial substrate is placed underwater to attract larvae of marine fish during settlement. To collect these individuals, a diver deploys a wide net, while the other diver uses clove oil to anesthetise the larvae.
© Rui Guerra
Researchers use a plankton net to collect samples of fish larvae during a dive with an underwater scooter. The speciemens collected will later be studied in the lab to provide insights on the importance of the Marine Park for the reproduction and growth of different species.
© Rui Guerra
In the Marine Park, this school of small mackerels stays close to a SMURF as this structure provides shelter. SMURFs are structures used to collect larvae samples.
©Diogo Paulo
For the coral recovery tests carried out in the Marine Park, two methods were used, where in both methodologies they resort to cutting apical fragments of 6 cm from donor colonies.
