@article{OREJAS2026103579,

title = {Seamounts of Cabo Verde: A review of their ecological and economic significance, anthropogenic impacts, and conservation needs},

author = {Covadonga Orejas and Beatriz Vinha and Gillian B. Ainsworth and Sarah Saldanha and Teresa Militão and Christian Mohn and Thor H. Hansteen and Sara S. Ratão and Henk-Jan Hoving and Teresa Amaro and Dominique M. J. Anderson and Deusa Araújo and Ana Mafalda Correia and Simon Berrow and Herculano A. Dinis and Rui Freitas and Evandro Lopes and Vanessa Lopes and Pedro Lopez and Thais Macedo and David March and Samir Martins and Diana M. Matos and Fernando Medrano and Tommy Melo and Gilda Monteiro and Ángela Mosquera Giménez and Vitor H. Paiva and Nuno Queiroz and Florian Schütte and Julian B. Stauffer and Albert Taxonera and Celine Van Weelden and Jacob González-Solís and Veerle A. I. Huvenne},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079661125001673},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2025.103579},

issn = {0079-6611},

year  = {2026},

date = {2026-01-01},

urldate = {2026-01-01},

journal = {Progress in Oceanography},

volume = {240},

pages = {103579},

abstract = {The deep-sea areas of the Cabo Verde Archipelago remain largely unexplored, with seamounts standing out as the most prominent and abundant geomorphological features. The ecological significance of these underwater structures is well-documented in various regions of the planet, as they often serve as biodiversity hotspots, stepping stones for species connectivity and, in some cases, areas with high levels of endemism. However, the biology and ecology of the seamounts around Cabo Verde are still largely unknown. Preliminary studies of the geomorphology, oceanographic characteristics and ecology of specific features suggest that the Cabo Verde seamount network — comprising 14 known conspicuous seamounts as well as smaller elevations less than 1000 m — harbours high biological diversity. That biodiversity associated with the Cabo Verde seamounts spans a wide range of forms, from microscopic organisms to cetaceans, encompassing both pelagic and benthic communities. Commercial activities associated with seamounts, in particular fishing, are a critical aspect to consider for ecosystem management. Evaluating their current uses, future prospects, and the existing and potential threats the Cabo Verde seamounts face is essential for effective and sustainable marine spatial planning. This study reviews and synthesises the current knowledge on the Cabo Verde seamounts within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), focusing on their environmental and biological aspects, including geology, oceanography, and associated biological communities. Key topics include primary production, zooplankton communities, benthic organisms, large vertebrates such as elasmobranchs, sea turtles, seabirds, and cetaceans, as well as microbes and trophic linkages. Additionally, this review explores the socio-economic dimensions linked to seamounts, highlighting their importance to the local economy and emphasizing the need for effective marine spatial management plans. These considerations are crucial for balancing conservation efforts with sustainable use, ensuring the long-term health of these vital underwater ecosystems.},

keywords = {Biodiversity, Biological oceanography, Cabo Verde, IOS4DOM, Macaronesia, Management, Marine protected areas, Protection socioeconomics, Vulnerable marine ecosystems, Webnesia},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{OTERO2025103278,

title = {Challenges of passive citizen science in ecology within a shifting social media landscape},

author = {Pablo Otero and Javier Menéndez-Blázquez and David March},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954125002870},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2025.103278},

issn = {1574-9541},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-01-01},

urldate = {2025-01-01},

journal = {Ecological Informatics},

volume = {90},

pages = {103278},

abstract = {Effective conservation relies on comprehensive ecological data, including detailed species occurrences, to track distribution shifts, detect invasive species, and assess wildlife-human interactions. Despite recent technological advancements, environmental and biodiversity monitoring still faces financial and logistical limitations. Passive citizen science, which gathers data from social media platforms, provides a complementary approach that has proven effective in monitoring plants, insects, coral reefs, birds, recreational fishing, or marine pollution, among others. However, the rapid transformation of established social media platforms, the emergence of new distributed networks, and the rise of misinformation are reshaping the social media landscape and casting uncertainty on the future of this method. In this Viewpoint article, we review the current challenges of passive citizen science and call for strengthening this valuable approach for regional solutions that consider linguistic diversity, multiple data sources, fluctuating user engagement, and the integration of artificial intelligence tools for supervising and classifying images and text. At the policy level, a collaborative effort between platform providers and policymakers is essential to democratize research data access.},

keywords = {Biodiversity, Ecology, IOS4DOM, Passive citizen science, Social networks},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{bates_global_2021,

title = {Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment},

author = {Amanda E. Bates and others},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320721002275},

doi = {10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109175},

issn = {0006-3207},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-11-01},

journal = {Biological Conservation},

volume = {263},

pages = {109175},

abstract = {The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence. However, negative effects of lockdown on conservation also emerged, as confinement resulted in some park officials being unable to perform conservation, restoration and enforcement tasks, resulting in local increases in illegal activities such as hunting. Overall, there is a complex mixture of positive and negative effects of the pandemic lockdown on nature, all of which have the potential to lead to cascading responses which in turn impact wildlife and nature conservation. While the net effect of the lockdown will need to be assessed over years as data becomes available and persistent effects emerge, immediate responses were detected across the world. Thus, initial qualitative and quantitative data arising from this serendipitous global quasi-experimental perturbation highlights the dual role that humans play in threatening and protecting species and ecosystems. Pathways to favorably tilt this delicate balance include reducing impacts and increasing conservation effectiveness.},

keywords = {Biodiversity, Global monitoring, Pandemic, Restoration},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}