Of the 21 species recorded from the greater Azores region during the HMS ‘Challenger’ Expedition, 12 were newly introduced during the late 19th century. The respective types of these species are fixed, and eight species are redescribed based on scanning electron microscope analysis (Notoplites bilobus, Raxifabia minuta, Hemicyclopora canalifera, Smittoidea oratavensis comb. nov., Buskea ovalis comb. nov., Buskea fayalensis comb. nov., Celleporina ansata comb. nov. and Reteporella atlantica comb. nov.). Another four species are merely dealt with shortly either because the material is insufficiently preserved for a thorough revision (Columnella gracilis, Carbasea pedunculata), or because the species have recently been revised already (Notoplites clausus, Microporella hastigera). Moreover, two Azorean species that were introduced by later workers are synonymized with ‘Challenger’ species: S. oratavensis is considered a senior synonym of Smittia ensifera, and Lekythopora laciniosa is synonymized with C. ansata.

The multidisciplinary research described here shows how archaeologists can help reconstruct past seismic episodes and understand the subsequent relief operation, rehabilitation, and reconstruction processes. In October 1522, a major earthquake and landslide struck the then capital of the Azores, Vila Franca do Campo, 1500 km from the European mainland. Damage was extensive, destroying key monuments, affecting most of the inhabited area, and leaving few survivors among the early colonists. The results from twenty-six archaeological trenches, geological and geoarchaeological investigations, and documentary analysis are reviewed here. Distinctive archaeological deposits are identified and explained, using the high density of artefacts and the erosional contact between the landslide and the pre-1522 palaeosol to reconstruct the episode in detail.

Biodiversity loss is a complex issue and a risk that education cannot overlook. Teachers play a crucial role in how biodiversity, and in particular local biodiversity, is understood. To provide insight into how to improve communication on the subject, we investigate teachers’ perspectives and social representations regarding biodiversity, their fluency in terms of Internet use, their familiarity with biodiversity web portals and perceived pedagogical usefulness of technology. A sample of 243 K–12 schoolteachers of multiple scientific domains from eight Azorean islands answered an online survey, including three free-word association tests using inductive terms such as ‘Internet’, ‘biodiversity’ and ‘familiar biodiversity portals’. Overall, the schoolteachers failed to incorporate the multidimensionality of the biodiversity concept (including natural science teachers) or to show technological fluency, and they tended not to use biodiversity web portals as tools to engage students in teaching activities. Our results indicate that teachers’ perspectives about biodiversity need to be broadened and improved and that it is worth exploring whether information and communication technology represents a window of opportunity to do so. As an example, biodiversity web portals, which are widely recognized as trustworthy information repositories, may be used to engage teachers in this endeavour.

The introduction of mammal predators has been a major cause of species extinctions on oceanic islands. Eradication is only possible or cost-effective at early stages of invasion, before introduced species become abundant and widespread. Although prevention, early detection and rapid response are the best management strategies, most oceanic islands lack systems for detecting, responding to and monitoring introduced species. Wildlife managers require reliable information on introduced species to guide, assess and adjust management actions. Thus, a large-scale and long-term monitoring programme is needed to evaluate the management of introduced species and the protection of native wildlife. Here, we evaluate camera trapping as a survey technique for detecting and monitoring introduced small and medium-sized terrestrial mammals on an oceanic island, Terceira (Azores). Producing an inventory of introduced mammals on this island required a sampling effort of 465 camera-trap days and cost EUR 2,133. We estimated abundance and population trends by using photographic capture rates as a population index. We also used presence/absence data from camera-trap surveys to calculate detection probability, estimated occupancy rate and the sampling effort needed to determine species absence. Although camera trapping requires large initial funding, this is offset by the relatively low effort for fieldwork. Our findings demonstrate that camera trapping is an efficient survey technique for detecting and monitoring introduced species on oceanic islands. We conclude by proposing guidelines for designing monitoring programmes for introduced species.

This article foregrounds the role of migration and transnational cultural exchange in the (trans)formation of cultures of ageing. It argues that sustained emigration and return to the Azores archipelago have contributed to the transnational production of hybrid cultures of ageing. The paper suggests that understanding transnational cultures of ageing in the context of return requires a broader field of enquiry that considers return migrants’ discursive framings in tension with transnational and local contexts. Returnees’ accounts of ageing, produced in relation to transnational exchange and local interactions, emphasise three intersecting themes – health and the ageing body, ageing and care, and mindset and work ethic in later life – which reveal a cultural shift towards forms of active ageing. The discussion shows that new, hybrid lexicons of ageing are articulated through practices and languages of othering and negotiating that are conducive to unsettling social relations and economic contexts in the homeland.

The rare potassium zirconium silicate dalyite has been identified for the first time on Terceira, Azores, within syenitic ejecta of the Caldeira-Castelinho Ignimbrite Formation. New quantitative analyses of this dalyite were combined with the small number of published analyses from various locations worldwide to evaluate the mineral's compositional variability. Additionally, solid-state modelling has been applied to assess the site allocations of substituting elements. The new analyses yield the average formula (K1.84Na0.15)∑=1.99(Zr0.94Ti0.012Hf0.011Fe0.004)∑=0.967Si6.03O15. Model results predict the placement of substituting Hf and Ti in the octahedral site, and highlight the overall complexity in the incorporation of Fe, Mg and Ba. The combined dataset reveals that dalyite found within peralkaline granites and syenites is generally defined by higher Na↔K substitution and lower Ti↔Zr substitution relative to dalyite from highly potassic rocks. The Terceira dalyite exhibits a bimodal variation in the degree of Na↔K substitution which is attributed to a K-enrichment trend induced by late-stage pore wall crystallization and albitization, coupled with the control of pore size upon the degree of supersaturation required to initiate nucleation of dalyite in pores of varying size.

Short-term measures of behavioural responses of cetaceans to tourism operations have been used in many studies to interpret and understand potential long-term impacts of biological importance. The short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is the species most frequently observed in the Azores and constitutes an important component of the marine mammal tourism industry in this region. This study investigated the potential effects of tour boats on the behaviour of common dolphins off São Miguel, Azores, with particular focus on the changes in activity budget and the time required to resume activities after a tour boat interaction. Behavioural data were collected from land using a group focal-follow methodology. Markov chains were applied to analyse control and interaction sequences and to assess behavioural transition probabilities in both scenarios. In the presence of tour boats, dolphins significantly reduced the time spent foraging and increased the time engaged in other high energy activities. Dolphins also took significantly longer to resume feeding after an interaction occurred. The average bout length varied significantly between control and interaction scenarios, with foraging bouts being shorter during tour boats interactions. The results presented have management implications since feeding is a biologically critical activity. Disruption of foraging behaviour could lead to a decrease in energy intake for this population. With cetacean tourism likely to increase in the future, a precautionary approach to issuing new licences is advisable and any expansion would warrant an appropriate monitoring programme.

Using the Safe Islands for Seabirds LIFE project as a case study, we assessed the socio-economic impact of a nature conservation project on the local community, focusing on the wealth created and the jobs supported directly and indirectly by the project. The Safe Islands for Seabirds project took place during 2009–2012, mainly on Corvo Island, the smallest and least populated island of Portugal's Azores Archipelago. To assess the impact of the project we used a combination of methods to analyse the project expenditure, the jobs created directly as a result of it, and, by means of multipliers, the incomes and jobs it supported indirectly. We estimate that during 2009–2012 direct expenditure of EUR 344,212.50 from the project increased the gross domestic product of the Azorean region by EUR 206,527.50. Apart from the 4.5 jobs created directly by the project, it also supported indirectly the equivalent of 1.5–2.5 full-time jobs. The project also provided the opportunity to preserve and promote natural amenities important for the quality of life of the local community. Our findings show that a nature conservation project can have positive economic impacts, and we recommend the creation of a standardized tool to calculate in a straightforward but accurate manner the socio-economic impacts of conservation projects. We also highlight the need to design projects that support local economies.

Realization that hard coastal infrastructures support lower biodiversity than natural habitats has prompted a wealth of research seeking to identify design enhancements offering ecological benefits. Some studies showed that artificial structures could be modified to increase levels of diversity. Most studies, however, only considered the short-term ecological effects of such modifications, even though reliance on results from short-term studies may lead to serious misjudgements in conservation. In this study, a seven-year experiment examined how the addition of small pits to otherwise featureless seawalls may enhance the stocks of a highly-exploited limpet. Modified areas of the seawall supported enhanced stocks of limpets seven years after the addition of pits. Modified areas of the seawall also supported a community that differed in the abundance of littorinids, barnacles and macroalgae compared to the controls. Responses to different treatments (numbers and size of pits) were species-specific and, while some species responded directly to differences among treatments, others might have responded indirectly via changes in the distribution of competing species. This type of habitat enhancement can have positive long-lasting effects on the ecology of urban seascapes. Understanding of species interactions could be used to develop a rule-based approach to enhance biodiversity.

Malcolm Roy Clarke (1930–2013) was a British teuthologist who made an important contribution to marine science in the Azores archipelago (Portugal). Malcolm started doing research in the Azores from 1980s onward, settling for residency in 2000 after retirement (in 1987). He kept publishing on Azorean cephalopods collaborating in 20% of the peer reviewed works focusing on two main areas: dietary studies; and the ecology of cephalopods on seamounts. Since his first visit in 1981, he was involved in the description of the dietary ecology of several cetaceans, seabirds, and large pelagic and deep-water fish. Using his own data, Malcolm revised the association of cephalopods with seamounts, updating and enlarging the different cephalopod groups according to species behaviour and ecology. Malcolm taught several students working in the Azores on cephalopods and beak identification, lecturing the Third International Workshop in Faial (2007). He empowered the recently established research community, by providing important contacts with foreign institutes and informal advice. He collaborated in the regional cetacean stranding network (RACA) and was an active member of the advisory board of the journal Arquipelago—Life and Marine Sciences. But the scientific role of Malcolm Clarke in the Azores went beyond his academic activities. In the last 10 years Malcolm and Dot Clarke dedicated themselves to building and running a museum on Pico Island, showing the biology of the sperm whale and its interaction with squid; a cultural and touristic legacy for future generations to enjoy.

The seastar Ophidiaster ophidianus is a vulnerable and protected species in the Mediterranean Sea but is common on North Atlantic islands such as the Azores and Madeira archipelagos. This work presents new insights into the phylogeography and genetic diversity of O. ophidianus from the Azores, based on 67 sequences of the 16S mitochondrial gene and 46 sequences of the nuclear ATP intron 5 gene. Twenty-six samples from the Mediterranean and seven samples from Madeira were used as out-groups. The results revealed that there is a lack of genetic differentiation between O. ophidianus from the Azores and the out-groups. All, therefore, belong to the same lineage and argue for a fast and recent range expansion of this species into the Azores. Our results also suggest the existence of distinctive periods of strong gene flow followed by periods of either low or non-existent gene flow between the Mediterranean Sea and this archipelago, which could explain the presence of private haplotypes in all studied areas.

In this study we examined the epibiont assemblage on shells of the living limpet Patella aspera. Limpets were collected at two sites at each of the nine islands of the Azores, totalling 707 individuals examined. Shells were measured and all the epibiota identified to the lowest taxonomic resolution possible. 190 taxa were recorded, of which 97% were algae, including 17 new records for the Azores. Only five shells were devoid of fouling organisms. The assemblage was dominated by a few algal taxa, whereas the majority of species occurred on less than 10% of the shells. A significant and positive relationship was generally found between basibiont size (shell length) and epibiota richness. The strength (slope) of the relationship, however, varied between islands and sites. These results suggest that a range of processes operating at multiple spatial scales influenced epibiont assemblages. Many features identified in these assemblages resemble, in many ways, those examined in island biogeography, suggesting that basibionts may be considered as ‘islands’ and may provide a suitable model system to test ecological hypotheses about ecosystems that are not so amenable to experimentation.

Malcolm Roy Clarke, FRS (1930–2013) made lasting contributions to cephalopod biology through his productive research programme, his commitment to furthering cephalopod biology and his congenial spirit. His professional legacy includes many important contributions. He wrote over 150 scientific papers, book chapters and other scholarly works, including, the Discovery Report on the role of cephalopods in the diet of sperm whales in the Southern Hemisphere, he edited A handbook for the identification of cephalopod beaks, which made the study of trophic interactions more accessible, and with colleagues he developed and instituted the Cephalopod International Advisory Council to provide advice on cephalopods and a framework for international meetings. His impact on marine science was broad and longstanding.

The Azorean seabed is depauperate in terms of bivalve species richness, there being only between ~70 and 80 recorded to date, most being sub-tidal and generally lacking of specialists. Analysis of large numbers (>3200) of Azorean bivalve shells has revealed that, overall, each species is only ~50% the shell length size of Mediterranean conspecifics. Thus, although Azorean bivalve size may be a consequence of decreasing latitude (Bergmann's Rule), the islands are located at approximately the same latitude as the Mediterranean (and are influenced by those waters) where larger conspecifics occur. Hence, the main reason for bivalve dwarfism in the archipelago appears to result from low oceanic productivity (Foster's Rule). This, in turn, is associated with low diversity, possibly resulting from past extinctions and isolation, and low population sizes, except for Ervilia castanea, which here overwhelmingly occupies higher-energy inshore habitats and associated higher productivities. Nevertheless, this species too is dwarfed by mainland conspecifics. Similarly, the introduced Venerupis decussata, found solely within the lagoonal environment of Fajã de Santo Cristo on São Jorge, is somewhat smaller than its mainland conspecifics, although it is abundant enough to warrant artisanal exploitation. This study therefore, supports Foster's Rule and argues for the role of nutrient deficiency in regulating Azorean species richness and individual maximum size. In waters of locally higher productivities, however, population densities increase, but not size.

Magmas in Faial Island, Azores (Portugal), were mostly erupted from two fissure zones and the Caldeira central volcano during overlapping periods. The fissure zones follow extensional trends oriented WNW and ESE and erupted nepheline- to hypersthene-normative basalts and hawaiites. The Caldeira central volcano builds the central part of the island, which is cut by the fissure zones. Ne-normative basalts show similar high-field-strength element (HFSE) concentrations but higher large ion lithophile element (LILE) concentrations than hy-normative equivalents. Primitive melts were generated by small (3–5%) degrees of partial melting of garnet-bearing peridotite, variably enriched in incompatible elements. Overall, basalts from Faial show relatively higher LILE abundances and LILE/HFSE ratios than those of the other islands of the Azores and of many other volcanoes in the Atlantic area. This feature indicates the existence of chemical heterogeneities in the mantle sources characterized by variable degrees of metasomatism, both at local and regional scales. Hawaiites evolved from basalts through 30–40% fractional crystallization of mafic phases plus some plagioclase, in deep reservoirs, at about 430–425 MPa (~ 15 km). The Caldeira central volcano rocks range from basalts to trachytes. Basalts, produced under similar conditions as fissure basalts, evolved to trachytes through large degrees of polybaric fractional crystallization (100–760 MPa; i.e. ~ 3.6–26 km), involving olivine, clinopyroxene, feldspar and minor quantities of amphibole, biotite, apatite and oxides. In contrast, mafic magmas from the fissure zones were erupted directly onto the surface from magma reservoirs mainly located at the crust–mantle boundary.

The occurrence of the opisthobranchs Diaphana globosa, Hermaeopsis variopicta, Doris bertheloti, Rostanga rubra, Janolus cristatus and Flabellina bulbosa in the Azores is reported for the first time. Our findings expand the known geographical distribution of these species in the north-east Atlantic Ocean and increase the known diversity of opisthobranchs in the archipelago to 150 species. These results provide further support for the well-documented affinity of the Azorean marine biota to the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.

Re-examination of Megabalanus azoricus from the Azores revealed previously unknown morphological features. Examination of more exemplars also confirmed the description made by Pilsbry in 1916. Morphological features are herein described (e.g. true tergal spur) and morphometric relations are established for the first time, providing a significant contribution towards the management of this important Azorean seafood resource.

Little is known about the movements of male sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, in the North Atlantic. Recoveries of traditional harpoons and tags during commercial whaling indicated movements from Nova Scotia to Spain and from the Azores to Iceland and Spain. We compared collections of photo-identification images from different areas using the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sperm Whale Catalogue and the Eurphlukes Phlex/Match programs. The largest collections of identified males (number of individuals, start and end date for data collection shown in parentheses) are for the Azores (297, 1987–2008), Andenes (375, 1988–1996 and 2008), Tromsø (84, 2005–2008). There were six matches between Andenes and Tromsø (~25 nm), with three of these re-sighted in multiple years and three photo-identification matches from the Azores to Norway (~2400 nm). In all cases individuals first photographed in the Azores (in 1993, 1999 and 2003) were matched to images collected later in Tromsø (in 2007 and 2008). In 1997 a photo-identification image from Andenes matched a male stranded on the west coast of Ireland. No matches were made to images in smaller collections from Iceland, Nova Scotia, Greenland, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean. These findings show the value of data collected from whale watching vessels and the importance of collaboration between groups to allow investigation on an ocean basin scale. It is hoped that with the coordinated collection of more images from around the Atlantic, further insight might be gained into the movements of these widely ranging animals.

A comprehensive review of the literature on shallow-water asteroids (Echinodermata) recorded in Azores was carried out to establish a definitive list for the Archipelago. A total of 49 echinoderm species was compiled, comprising members of all extant classes; Crinoidea (1), Asteroidea (12), Ophiuroidea (11), Echinoidea (10) and Holothuroidea (7). References of asteroids occurence in the Azores, including historical records and distribution of asteroids from the Azores are given. Seven asteroid species recorded found in the Azores are found also in the Mediterranean and adjoining Atlantic coastlines, three are recorded from the Mediterranean and both sides of the Atlantic, one is limited to the Eastern Atlantic and one is circumtropical. Differences between the littoral hydrological conditions found on the North American coast and those in Azores makes the colonization from American coasts particularly difficult and probably are related to chance events like the episodic anomalies found in the general pattern of oceanic circulation. Asteroids are important in determining habitat structure for other species and can represent a substantial portion of the ecosystem biomass.