15 results on '"Franco, Sofia C."'
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2. Growth, egg production and hatching success of Acartia tonsa cultured at high densities
- Author
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Franco, Sofia C., Augustin, Christina B., Geffen, Audrey J., and Dinis, Maria Teresa
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- 2017
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3. Poly(ethylene) glycol-modified, amphiphilic, siloxane–polyurethane coatings and their performance as fouling-release surfaces
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Galhenage, Teluka P., Webster, Dean C., Moreira, Augusto M. S., Burgett, Ryan J., Stafslien, Shane J., Vanderwal, Lyndsi, Finlay, John A., Franco, Sofia C., and Clare, Anthony S.
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- 2017
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4. Food System Resilience: Concepts, Issues, and Challenges.
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Zurek, Monika, Ingram, John, Sanderson Bellamy, Angelina, Goold, Conor, Lyon, Christopher, Alexander, Peter, Barnes, Andrew, Bebber, Daniel P., Breeze, Tom D., Bruce, Ann, Collins, Lisa M., Davies, Jessica, Doherty, Bob, Ensor, Jonathan, Franco, Sofia C., Gatto, Andrea, Hess, Tim, Lamprinopoulou, Chrysa, Liu, Lingxuan, and Merkle, Magnus
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COMMUNITIES - Abstract
Food system resilience has multiple dimensions. We draw on food system and resilience concepts and review resilience framings of different communities. We present four questions to frame food system resilience (Resilience of what? Resilience to what? Resilience from whose perspective? Resilience for how long?) and three approaches to enhancing resilience (robustness, recovery, and reorientation—the three "Rs"). We focus on enhancing resilience of food system outcomes and argue this will require food system actors adapting their activities, noting that activities do not change spontaneously but in response to a change in drivers: an opportunity or a threat. However, operationalizing resilience enhancement involves normative choices and will result in decisions having to be negotiated about trade-offs among food system outcomes for different stakeholders. New approaches to including different food system actors' perceptions and goals are needed to build food systems that are better positioned to address challenges of the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2022
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5. Blue Nitrogen: A Nature-Based Solution in the Blue Economy as a Tool to Manage Terrestrial Nutrient Neutrality.
- Author
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Hughes, Adam D., Charalambides, George, Franco, Sofia C., Robinson, Georgina, and Tett, Paul
- Abstract
There is growing concern about the impact of rising nutrient loading on aquatic ecosystems and on human health, due to increased urbanisation and associated sewage effluents. This has led to a policy focus on land-use change or agricultural practice change as nutrient mitigation strategies, but these fail to consider the ultimate downstream receiving environments such as marine ecosystems. Within the UK there has been increasing recognition that housing density in certain sensitive locations is impacting the conservation status of marine features, through the increase in nutrient loading to the marine environment. In order to comply with the statutory obligations to protect these marine features, the competent authorities have required developers to mitigate the impact of these additional nutrients. Current approaches include converting agricultural land to woodland and wetland habitats that release less nitrogen than the agricultural land they replace. This difference is used to offset the nutrient loading from the new development, but such a terrestrial-focused catchment-based mass balance approach has a number of limitations. Current solutions for nutrient neutrality in the UK take a narrow land-focused approach that fails to acknowledge the potential contribution of the marine environments to mitigate nutrient enrichment. We propose that marine nature-based solutions offer an economically and ecologically viable alternative to terrestrial schemes, that can reduce the nitrogen loading to the marine environment, increase ecosystem service provision and increase biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2022
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6. Modulation of gregarious settlement of the stalked barnacle, Pollicipes pollicipes: a laboratory study
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Franco, Sofia C., Aldred, Nick, Cruz, Teresa, and Clare, Anthony S.
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lcsh:SH1-691 ,metamorfosis ,larva cipris ,cyprids ,metamorphosis ,SH1-691 ,asentamiento ,lcsh:Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling ,percebes ,settlement ,larva ,aquaculture ,acuicultura ,Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling ,fijación ,larvas ,stalked barnacles ,attachment - Abstract
Although recruitment patterns of Pollicipes pollicipes (Crustacea: Scalpelliformes) in the wild have been investigated, no studies have yet focused on the factors that affect settlement. In the present paper, settlement of P. pollicipes on conspecifics (gregarious settlement) was investigated in the laboratory as a function of environmental conditions (hydrodynamics, temperature, light and salinity), larval age and batch. This study aimed to understand how these factors modulate settlement in the laboratory and elucidate how they might impact recruitment patterns in nature. Maximum attachment on adults was 30-35%, with a one-week metamorphosis rate of 70-80%. Batch differences affected both attachment and metamorphosis. Attachment rate was higher at natural salinity (30-40 psu), with lower salinity (20 psu) decreasing metamorphosis rate. Cyprid attachment was stimulated by light conditions and circulating water. This might relate to a preference for positioning high in the water column in nature, but also to increased cyprid-surface contact in conditions of circulating water. Older cyprids (3 or 6 days) showed higher attachment than un-aged larvae, though fewer 6-day-old larvae metamorphosed. Temperature did not affect attachment rate, but the metamorphosis rate decreased at 14°C (compared with 17 or 20°C), implying that differences in temperature during the breeding season can affect how quickly cyprids metamorphose to the juvenile. Cyprids survived for prolonged periods ( ≥ 20 days; 40% survival), likely due to efficient energy saving by intercalating long periods of inactivity with fast bursts of activity upon stimulation. Aunque se han investigado los patrones de reclutamiento de Pollicipes pollicipes (Crustacea: Scalpelliformes) en la naturaleza, actualmente no existen estudios sobre los factores que afectan al asentamiento larval. En el presente trabajo, el asentamiento de larvas de P. pollicipes sobre adultos conspecíficos (asentamiento gregario) fue investigado en el laboratorio en función de las variables ambientales (hidrodinamismo, temperatura, luz y salinidad), la edad y los distintos lotes de larvas. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo comprender cómo estos factores afectaban al asentamiento en el laboratorio y elucidar el modo en que podrían afectar a los patrones de reclutamiento en el medio natural. La fijación máxima en adultos fue de 30-35%, con una tasa de metamorfosis de 70 a 80% en una semana. Las tasas de fijación y de metamorfosis variaron dependiendo de los distintos lotes de larvas. La tasa de fijación fue superior cuando la salinidad era la natural (30-40 psu), mientras que la tasa de metamorfosis disminuía cuando la salinidad era inferior (20 psu). La fijación de la larva cipris se estimulaba en condiciones de luz y agua circulante, lo que puede estar relacionado con la preferencia por el posicionamiento de la larva cipris en lo alto de la columna de agua en el medio natural, y además, también con un mayor contacto entre la larva cipris con las superficies en condiciones de agua circulante. Las larvas cipris de más edad (de 3 a 6 días) tuvieron una fijación más alta que las de menor edad, aunque luego, menos larvas de 6 días de edad metamorfosearan. La temperatura no afectó a la tasa de fijación, pero sí se reducía la tasa de metamorfosis a 14°C (en comparación con 17 o 20°C), lo que implica que las diferencias en la temperatura durante el período de reproducción pueden afectar a la rapidez de la metamorfosis de las larvas cipris a juveniles. Las larvas cipris sobrevivieron periodos de tiempo prolongados ( ≥ 20 días; con un 40% de supervivencia), probablemente debido a una capacidad de conservación de energía eficiente, intercalando largos períodos de inactividad con movimientos repentinos y actividad cuando eran estimuladas.
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- 2016
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7. Lipidomics analysis of juveniles' blue mussels (Mytilus edulis L. 1758), a key economic and ecological species.
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Laudicella, Vincenzo Alessandro, Beveridge, Christine, Carboni, Stefano, Franco, Sofia C., Doherty, Mary K., Long, Nina, Mitchell, Elaine, Stanley, Michele S., Whitfield, Phillip D., and Hughes, Adam D.
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MYTILUS edulis ,MEMBRANE lipids ,LIPID analysis ,LIPID metabolism ,NUTRITIONAL requirements ,DOMOIC acid ,SPECIES - Abstract
Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis L. 1758) are important components of coastal ecosystems and in the economy of rural and coastal areas. The understanding of their physiological processes at key life stages is important both within food production systems and in the management of wild populations. Lipids are crucial molecules for bivalve growth, but their diversity and roles have not been fully characterised. In this study, traditional lipid profiling techniques, such as fatty acid (FA) and lipid class analysis, are combined to untargeted lipidomics to elucidate the lipid metabolism in newly settled spat fed on a range of diets. The evaluated diets included single strains treatments (Cylindrotheca fusiformis CCAP 1017/2 –CYL, Isochrysis galbana CCAP 927/1– ISO, Monodopsis subterranean CCAP 848/1 –MONO, Nannochloropsis oceanica CCAP 849/10– NANNO) and a commercial algae paste (SP). Spat growth was influenced by the diets, which, according to their efficacy were ranked as follows: ISO>NANNO/CYL>SP>MONO. A higher triacylglycerols (TG) content, ranging from 4.23±0.82 μg mg
ashfree Dry weight (DW) -1 at the beginning of the trial (T0) to 51±15.3 μg mgashfreeDW -1 in ISO, characterised significant growth in the spat, whereas, a reduction of TG (0.3±0.08 μg mgashfreeDW -1 in MONO), mono unsaturated FA–MUFA (from 8.52±1.02 μg mgFAashfreeDW -1 at T0 to 2.81±1.02 μg mgFAashfreeDW -1 in MONO) and polyunsaturated FA–PUFA (from 17.57±2.24 μg mgFAashfreeDW -1 at T0 to 6.19±2.49 μg mgFAashfreeDW -1 in MONO) content characterised poor performing groups. Untargeted lipidomics evidenced how the availability of dietary essential PUFA did not influence only neutral lipids but also the membrane lipids, with changes in lipid molecular species in relation to the essential PUFA provided via the diet. Such changes have the potential to affect spat production cycle and their ability to respond to the surrounding environment. This study evidenced the advantages of coupling different lipid analysis techniques, as each technique disclosed relevant information on nutritional requirements of M. edulis juveniles, expanding the existing knowledge on the physiology of this important species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2020
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8. The effects of rearing temperature on reproductive conditioning of stalked barnacles (Pollicipes pollicipes)
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Franco, Sofia C., Aldred, Nick, Sykes, António V., Cruz, Teresa, and Clare, Anthony S.
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Reproduction ,Larva ,Temperature ,Aquaculture ,Barnacles - Abstract
Submitted by Paula Luz (pluz@ualg.pt) on 2018-11-07T11:42:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Franco et al. 2015.pdf: 620083 bytes, checksum: 41dcd0a95104dd2293ecdc955bd35705 (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Filipa Custódio (fccustodio@ualg.pt) on 2018-11-07T14:26:00Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Franco et al. 2015.pdf: 620083 bytes, checksum: 41dcd0a95104dd2293ecdc955bd35705 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-07T14:26:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Franco et al. 2015.pdf: 620083 bytes, checksum: 41dcd0a95104dd2293ecdc955bd35705 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
- Published
- 2015
9. Effects of culture conditions on larval growth and survival of stalked barnacles ( Pollicipes pollicipes).
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Franco, Sofia C, Aldred, Nick, Cruz, Teresa, and Clare, Anthony S
- Subjects
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BARNACLES , *LARVAL behavior , *LARVAL ecology , *MEASUREMENT of salinity , *TEMPERATURE measurements , *ANIMAL behavior - Abstract
Pollicipes pollicipes (Crustacea: Scalpelliformes) is a highly prized food in Portugal and Spain and consequently a species of considerable interest to aquaculture. Surprisingly, however, larval culture conditions for this barnacle have not been optimized. This study investigated the effects of temperature, diet, photoperiod and salinity on the growth and survival of P. pollicipes larvae. Temperature had a significant effect on specific growth rate (2.6-5.9% total width per day, from 11 to 24°C), reducing mean development time to the cyprid from 25 days at 11 °C to 10 days at 24°C, although this was accompanied by a significant increase in mortality to over 90% above 22°C. Mid-range temperatures (15-20°C) maximized total survival (19-31% respectively). Algal diets of Tetraselmis suecica, T. suecica/Skeletonema marinoi and S. marinoi/ Isochrysis galbana did not affect specific growth rate significantly, but survival (on average 39% in 15 days) and the proportion of high-quality healthy cyprids was significantly higher on the latter two diets (11-15% of initial number of larvae). Photoperiod did not significantly affect the survival, although specific growth rate was significantly higher at 24:0 and 16:8 L:D. Salinity (20-40 g L−1 range) did not affect growth and survival significantly. The best growth and survival were accomplished using rearing temperatures of 15-20°C, daily feeding with T. suecica/ S. marinoi or I. galbana/ S. marinoi and a photoperiod of 24:0 L:D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
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10. Role of Backbone Chemistry and Monomer Sequence in Amphiphilic Oligopeptide- and Oligopeptoid-Functionalized PDMS- and PEO-Based Block Copolymers for Marine Antifouling and Fouling Release Coatings.
- Author
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Patterson, Anastasia L., Wenning, Brandon, Rizis, Georgios, Calabrese, David R., Finlay, John A., Franco, Sofia C., Zuckermann, Ronald N., Clare, Anthony S., Kramer, Edward J., Ober, Christopher K., and Segalman, Rachel A.
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- 2017
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11. Marine anti-biofouling efficacy of amphiphilic poly(coacrylate) grafted PDMSe: effect of graft molecular weight.
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Kuliasha, Cary A., Finlay, John A., Franco, Sofia C., Clare, Anthony S., Stafslien, Shane J., and Brennan, Anthony B.
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BIOCIDES ,AMPHIPHILES ,GRAFT copolymers ,METHYL acrylate ,MOLECULAR weights - Abstract
There is currently strong motivation due to ecological concerns to develop effective anti-biofouling coatings that are environmentally benign, durable, and stable for use by the maritime industry. The antifouling (AF) and fouling-release (FR) efficacy of amphiphilic, charged copolymers composed of ~52% acrylamide, ~34% acrylic acid, and ~14% methyl acrylate grafted to poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMSe) surfaces were tested against zoospores of the green algaUlva linzaand the diatomNavicula incerta. The biofouling response to molecular weight variation was analyzed for grafts ranging from ~100 to 1,400 kg mol−1, The amphiphilic coatings showed a marked improvement in the FR response, with a 55% increase in the percentage removal of diatoms and increased AF efficacy, with 92% reduction in initial attachment density of zoospores, compared to PDMSe controls. However, graft molecular weight, in the range tested, was statistically insignificant. Grafting copolymers to PDMSe embossed with the Sharklet™ microtopography did not produce enhanced AF efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2017
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12. The performance of hybrid titania/silica-derived xerogels as active antifouling/fouling-release surfaces against the marine alga Ulva linza : in situ generation of hypohalous acids.
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Damon, Corey A., Gatley, Caitlyn M., Beres, Joshua J., Finlay, John A., Franco, Sofia C., Clare, Anthony S., and Detty, Michael R.
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TITANIUM dioxide ,XEROGELS ,BIOCIDES ,MARINE algae ,HYPOHALOUS acid - Abstract
Mixed titania/silica xerogels were prepared using titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) and tetraethoxy orthosilicate (TEOS). Xerogel properties were modified by incorporatingn-octyltriethoxysilane (C8). The xerogels catalyze the oxidation of bromide and chloride with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to produce hypohalous acids at pH 7 and pH 8. The antifouling/ fouling-release performance of a TTIP/C8/TEOS xerogel in the presence and absence of H2O2was evaluated for the settlement of zoospores of the marine algaUlva linzaand for the removal of sporelings (young plants). In the absence of H2O2, differences in the settlement of zoospores and removal of sporelings were not significant relative to a titanium-free C8/TEOS xerogel. Addition of H2O2gave a significant reduction in zoospore settlement and sporeling removal relative to the C8/TEOS xerogel and relative to peroxide-free conditions. The impact of TTIP on xerogel characteristics was evaluated by comprehensive contact angle analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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13. Exploring UK consumers’ perceptions and attitudes towards aquaculture
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Simões, Bruna Rodrigues, Pombo, Ana Margarida Paulino Violante, Franco, Sofia C., and Kuznesof, Sharron
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Sustainability ,Communication ,Consumer perception ,Engenharia e Tecnologia::Outras Engenharias e Tecnologias [Domínio/Área Científica] ,Aquaculture ,Focus groups - Abstract
Aquaculture is expanding quickly worldwide and provides more than half of the seafood production, introducing a range of potentially controversial issues, which may impact public perceptions. UK aquaculture is one of the largest EU producers by volume and value, with farmed fish and shellfish sub-sectors having very different production basis, representation, socio-economic standing and visibility across the UK. Increasing the acceptability of aquaculture, both in terms of its products and production process, evidenced by positive consumer behaviour and effective social licence to operate, is essential to enable the sustained growth of aquaculture. Similarly, improving consumer and citizen awareness and engagement with aquaculture production can constitute an important tool to motivate the transition to more sustainable production practices and higher transparency within the supply chain. However, building this approval, awareness and meaningful engagement requires an understanding of the perceptions and attitudes to aquaculture, so that effective communication and engagement strategies can be developed. The goal of this study is to enable such a transition. Accordingly, the study has been divided in two parts. Firstly, a critical literature review of consumers’ perceptions/attitudes towards aquaculture and acceptance of seafood products. Secondly, a qualitative focus group study on the perception and attitudes of UK consumers and communities towards fish and shellfish aquaculture and their products. The findings showed that there is a lack of knowledge of all participants about fish and shellfish farming, however the community mixed-consumers group (CMC) had a clearer vision of what these practices consist of, given their proximity to them. Regarding risks and benefits of aquaculture, the non-consumers (NC) emphasized a lot more the main risks of these practices, them being fish welfare and environmental impacts, likely due to this groups’ ethical beliefs. CMC group highlighted the fact that wild fish are of higher quality, being fresher and tastier, and confirming again the socio-demographic effects on consumer behaviour. Wild fish was perceived as the best regarding health and safety, which emphasizes the importance for the fish farming sector to communicate the benefits of farmed fish. The main reason for this gap between consumer perception and evidence seems to be the lack of consumer knowledge concerning aquaculture, resulting in the use of emotions to judge farmed fish and its "industrial" production process as less positive than the "natural" wild fish. Nevertheless, farmed fish has two major advantages compared to wild fish, which are more availability and lower price. The findings of this study also revealed that a more conscious choice is dependent on each person's financial standing. The future of aquaculture depends on consumer’s and citizen’s acceptance of the industry and effective social licence to operate. Studies like this one are fundamental to understand the factors that affect people's perception of aquaculture and its products. It is essential to consider potential marketing strategies designed to enhance awareness and facilitate communication about the aquaculture and its products. Therefore, a marketing strategy aiming to increase public awareness could improve the value of the product, improving the image of aquaculture products and increasing consumer preferences for farmed fish.
- Published
- 2019
14. Engineered Chemical Nanotopographies: Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain-Transfer Mediated Grafting of Anisotropic Poly(acrylamide) Patterns on Poly(dimethylsiloxane) To Modulate Marine Biofouling.
- Author
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Kuliasha CA, Fedderwitz RL, Finlay JA, Franco SC, Clare AS, and Brennan AB
- Abstract
Effectively negating the deleterious impact of marine biofouling on the world's maritime fleet in an environmentally conscientious manner presents a difficult challenge due to a variety of factors including the complexity and diversity of fouling species and the differing surface adhesion strategies. Understanding how surface properties relate to biofouling can inform and guide the development of new antibiofouling coatings to address this challenge. Herein, we report on the development of a living photopolymerization strategy used to tailor the surface properties of silicone rubber using controlled anisotropic poly(acrylamide) patterns and the resulting antibiofouling efficacy of these surfaces against zoospores of the model marine fouling organism, Ulva linza . Chemical patterns were fabricated using reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) living polymerization in conjunction with photolithography. Pattern geometries were inspired by the physical (i.e., nonchemical) Sharklet engineered microtopography system that has been shown to be effective against the same model organism. Sharklet chemical patterns and analogous parallel channels were fabricated in sizes ranging from 2 to 10 μm in the lateral dimension with tailorable feature heights ranging from tens to hundreds of nanometers. Nonpatterned, chemically grafted poly(acrylamide) silicone surfaces inhibited algal spore attachment density by 59% compared to the silicone control; however, attachment density on chemical nanotopographies was not statistically different from the control. While these results indicate that the chemical nanotopographies chosen do not represent an effective antibiofouling coating, it was found that the Sharklet pattern geometry, when sized below the 5 μm critical attachment size of the spores, significantly reduced the algal spore density compared to the equally sized channel geometry. These results indicate that specific chemical geometry of the proper sizing can impact the behavior of the algal spores and could be used to further study the mechanistic behavior of biofouling organisms.
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
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15. Fouling-Release Performance of Silicone Oil-Modified Siloxane-Polyurethane Coatings.
- Author
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Galhenage TP, Hoffman D, Silbert SD, Stafslien SJ, Daniels J, Miljkovic T, Finlay JA, Franco SC, Clare AS, Nedved BT, Hadfield MG, Wendt DE, Waltz G, Brewer L, Teo SLM, Lim CS, and Webster DC
- Abstract
The effect of incorporation of silicone oils into a siloxane-polyurethane fouling-release coatings system was explored. Incorporation of phenylmethyl silicone oil has been shown to improve the fouling-release performance of silicone-based fouling-release coatings through increased interfacial slippage. The extent of improvement is highly dependent upon the type and composition of silicone oil used. The siloxane-polyurethane (SiPU) coating system is a tough fouling-release solution, which combines the mechanical durability of polyurethane while maintaining comparable fouling-release performance with regard to commercial standards. To further improve the fouling-release performance of the siloxane-PU coating system, the use of phenylmethyl silicones oils was studied. Coatings formulations were prepared incorporating phenylmethyl silicone oils having a range of compositions and viscosities. Contact angle and surface energy measurements were conducted to evaluate the surface wettability of the coatings. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiling experiments demonstrated self-stratification of silicone oil along with siloxane to the coating-air interface. Several coating formulations displayed improved or comparable fouling-release performance to commercial standards during laboratory biological assay tests for microalgae (Navicula incerta), macroalgae (Ulva linza), adult barnacles (Balanus amphitrite syn. Amphibalanus amphitrite), and mussels (Geukensia demissa). Selected silicone-oil-modified siloxane-PU coatings also demonstrated comparable fouling-release performance in field immersion trials. In general, modifying the siloxane-PU fouling-release coatings with a small amount (1-5 wt % basis) of phenylmethyl silicone oil resulted in improved performance in several laboratory biological assays and in long-term field immersion assessments.
- Published
- 2016
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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