Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar
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Browsing Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar by Author "Afonso, André S."
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- Does lack of knowledge lead to misperceptions? Disentangling the factors modulating public knowledge about and perceptions towards sharksPublication . Afonso, André S.; Roque, Pedro; Fidelis, Leonardo; Veras, Leonardo; Conde, Anxo; Maranhão, Paulo; Leandro, Sérgio; Hazin, Fábio H.V.Identifying sources of variability in public perceptions and attitudes toward sharks can assist managers and conservationists with developing effective strategies to raise awareness and support for the conservation of threatened shark species. This study examined the effect of several demographic, economic and socioenvironmental factors on the quality of knowledge about and perceptions toward sharks in two contrasting scenarios from northeastern Brazil: a shark hazardous coastal region and a marine protected insular area. Ordered logistic regression models were built using Likert data collected with a self-administered questionnaire survey (N = 1094). A clear relationship between education, knowledge and perceptions was found, with low education level and knowledge of sharks resulting in more negative perceptions toward these species. Prejudice toward sharks stemmed as a potentially limiting factor because the positive effects of other variables such as affinity for nature and specific knowledge about sharks were superseded by the effects of negative prejudice. Other practical factors such as age, economic level, and gender, also influenced respondent’s knowledge and perceptions and could provide a guidance for optimizing socioenvironmental gains relative to public engagement efforts. Results also suggested that populations inhabiting regions with high shark bite incidence likely require distinct outreach methods because some factors underlying knowledge and perception dynamics exhibited structural differences in their effects when compared to the trends observed in a marine protected area. Altogether, public perceptions and attitudes toward sharks could be feasibly enhanced with educational development and nature experiencing strategies. Moreover, disseminating shark-specific knowledge across the society might catalyze support for the conservation of these species in a cost-effective way. This study provides a Frontiers in potentially useful socioenvironmental framework to deal with the human dimensions of shark management and to strengthen conservation policies aimed at promoting societal compliance with pro-environmental values, which is crucial to endow shark populations with effective protection from anthropogenic threats.
- Ecological features of a rocky intertidal community exposed to sewage effluentPublication . Conde, Anxo; Pacheco, Joana; Marques, Sónia Cotrim; Afonso, André S.; Leandro, Sérgio; Maranhão, PauloSewage is among the largest components of coastal pollution, showing a variable scale and size when causing an impact. In this study, temporal and spatial sewage-related gradients were identified using univariate and multivariate methods. Phosphates and nitrogen-based nutrients, except nitrate, were associated to sewage. Abundance and species richness decrease with distance from the sewage outfall while evenness increased. Filterfeeder bivalves and grazer crustaceans showed preference for the sewage discharge site. Gastropods were more abundant at an intermediate distance, likely reflecting primary production enhancement by sewage. Beta diversity was lower at the location and time with highest sewage loadings. The turnover component of beta diversity expressed as an absolute or proportional value was also useful to detect temporal and spatial sewagerelated gradients. Highly energetic hydrodynamics contributes to ameliorate sewage impacts, yet not enough to veil the effect of pollution in this study.
- Global spatial risk assessment of sharks under the footprint of fisheriesPublication . Queiroz, Nuno; Afonso, André S.; Humphries, Nicholas E.; Sims, David W.Effective ocean management and conservation of highly migratory species depends on resolving overlap between animal movements and distributions and fishing effort. Yet, this information is lacking at a global scale. Here we show, using a big-data approach combining satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and global fishing fleets, that 24% of the mean monthly space used by sharks falls under the footprint of pelagic longline fisheries. Space use hotspots of commercially valuable sharks and of internationally protected species had the highest overlap with longlines (up to 76% and 64%, respectively) and were also associated with significant increases in fishing effort. We conclude that pelagic sharks have limited spatial refuge from current levels of high-seas fishing effort. Results demonstrate an urgent need for conservation and management measures at high-seas shark hotspots and highlight the potential of simultaneous satellite surveillance of megafauna and fishers as a tool for near-real time, dynamic management.
- Public support for conservation may decay with increasing residence time in suboptimal marine protected areasPublication . Afonso, André S.; Fidelis, Leonardo L.; Roque, Pedro L.; Galindo, Renato; Dionisio, Wanderson; Veras, Leonardo B.; Hazin, Fábio H.V.Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are potentially effective conservation and management instruments yet they often produce socioeconomic conflicts which may challenge their success. Knowledge and perceptions about environmental subjects among MPA residents were examined to identify possible effects of conservation policies upon local communities. Sharks were used as a proxy for wildlife given their local relevance and socioenvironmental context. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from 134 randomly-selected residents of Fernando de Noronha (FEN), Brazil. Affinity towards nature tended to decrease among people>44 years old, whereas>10 years residents were more associated with negative feelings about sharks. Homogeneity in knowledge was noticed but perceptions decreased conspicuously across residence time-classes. Only 33% of respondents reported unarguable MPA benefits to local welfare, while several problems pertaining to infrastructure, management and resources were mentioned. These results are worrisome because they might translate into growing frustration along with residence time, which could potentially jeopardize the success of conservation policies. Wildlife conservation and at least partial improvements to welfare being positively signalized by a relevant proportion of respondents suggest an encouraging potential for relationship improvement between MPAs and stakeholders. Nonetheless, the long-term sustainability of inhabited MPAs could depend on properly integrating human users and ensuring their support and compliance, which must be considered while designing management strategies. Given the prestige of FEN in the South Atlantic and worldwide, it is important that this MPA delivers successful, sustainable outcomes that can be representative of efficient conservation trajectories to be replicated elsewhere.