Azorean Biodiversity Group (CITA-A) /Grupo da Biodiversidade dos Açores (CITA-A) 2013 Annual Report and Achievements

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1 PEERS Platform for Enhancing Ecological Research & Sustainability (Plataforma para o Desenvolvimento da Investigação em Ecologia e Sustentabilidade) Azorean Biodiversity Group (CITA-A) /Grupo da Biodiversidade dos Açores (CITA-A) 2013 Annual Report and Achievements Angra do Heroísmo & Ponta Delgada, January

2 Azorean Biodiversity Group (CITA-A) /Grupo da Biodiversidade dos Açores (CITA-A) 2013 Annual Report and Achievements Executive Summary In the end of 2013 the Azorean Biodiversity Group was invited to be part of another FCT center, the CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE (Ce3C), based in Lisbon. Ce3C s main objective is to perform research that addresses societal challenges in ecology, evolution and the environment the three Es in the Centre s name, for the period covering the EU 2020 Horizon. Our 19 integrated members with Ph.D., plus Ph.D. students and collaborators will be now part of a large research centre, based in Lisbon, with 101 integrated members in which research questions will be addressed at both the continental and insular scales. The ABG had a steady growth in the number of projects, publications and personnel over these last six years ( ), increasing from six integrated members in 2008 to the current 19. In this period 25 senior researchers participated in the ABG ten with an academic position, one with a research contract, and 14 post-doctoral grant holders. In addition, 23 Ph.D. students and 13 research grant holders worked with the senior researchers. The group also worked with 18 International collaborators acting as Associated Research Fellows in several projects and publications. Main achievements by integrated members in 2013 included 44 publications, 25 of which being in International Indexed Journals with Impact Factor (57%). The mean Impact Factor in 2013 was 3.0, being the publications in high Impact Factor Journals (IF > 3.0) in the area of Environmental Sciences - Ecology, corresponding to. 38% of the ISI publications (a total of 9 papers). Overall 357 publications were published between 2008 and The Integrated Members of Azorean Biodiversity Group published 131 ISI papers between , with an impact factor of up to 9,737 (PNAS paper). 2

3 Particularly relevant is the fact that those publications in high Impact Factor Journals (IF > 3.0 area Environmental Sciences - Ecology), equate to c. 35% of the ISI publications (a total of 45 papers). In the period , other main achievements included the publication of seven authored Books and nine edited Books, 67 books chapters, 46 outreach publications, 39 papers in peerreviewed journals with no impact factor, 20 papers in Proceedings of Symposia, seven publications online and an additional 31 other type of publications. In these last six years the Azorean Biodiversity Group was substructured along several main research lines to achieve their integrated goals: i) species distribution and abundance (mainly bryophytes, arthropods and vascular plants) at different scales, performing multi-level evaluation of species extinction risk; ii) cave biodiversity and evolution, namely organisms that inhabit the extensive underground habitats of volcanic islands; iii) invasiveness and invasibility, investigating why some organisms are more prone to become established in the Azores, using ladybirds as model group; iv) ecological processes underlying small agro-ecosystems functioning in the islands in order to explore the use of autochthonous arthropods as natural crop protection and forestry resources; v) taxonomy, distribution, physiology and ecology of Azorean bryophytes; vi) unified theory of island biodiversity under the framework General Dynamic Model of Island Biogeography (GDM); and vii) promote nature conservancy, viii) impacts of environmental risk factors on human health and other island organisms; ix) sustainable development of insular agro-ecosystems and natural ecosystems; x) Integrated Pest Management to control and possibly eradicate the termite pest in island systems; xi) communication and cooperation between the scientific and technological community, decision makers and the general public. In an unprecedented collaboration of more than 200 taxonomists and other scientists the Azorean Biodiversity Group coordinated two accurate and comprehensive lists of terrestrial species in the Azores (Borges et al., 2010) and Madeira - Selvagens (Borges et al., 2008). This unique collaboration was fundamental to create the baseline taxonomic information for updating the taxonomic information, listing synonyms of the species, and quantified the total number of described species in Macaronesia. In this way we contributed to solve in part the Linnaean shortfall, i.e. an incomplete taxonomic description of species-level diversity and the Wallacean shortfall, i.e., incomplete knowledge of species distributions. These lists are now being used for testing biogeographical theories (e.g. SARs; GDM). In the period, members of Azorean Biodiversity Group participated in about 100 international meetings with (15 Plenary, 87 Oral presentations, 118 Posters) and 66 national conferences (13 Plenary, 59 oral presentations, 45 posters. 3

4 An interesting indicator for our scientific output is the relative proportion of our production with that of the other research groups based in Azores. In 2011 and 2012 we published respectively 21% and 17% of the scientific output of Azores. This is a remarkable output since we were only about 10% of the researchers publishing in the years of Fifty six projects run in , 43 of which were coordinated by integrated members: 14 received international funding, 12 received national funding (eight by FCT) and 30 received regional funding (21 by DRCT and nine more projects were funded by other Agencies). These 56 projects brought about ,00 Euros to the group. To these projects we must also add the funds obtained for Ph.D. and Pos-Doc Grants, which totalled 1, Euros in 23 grants (13 Ph.D and 10 Post-Docs). The contribution of Azores regional funds was 51% of the total funds raised by Azorean Biodiversity Group, FCT contributed with 33% and international projects contributed with 16%. Group members performed consulting in the areas of agriculture and urban pest control (particularly related to termites) and taxonomic species identification, particularly for bryophytes, vascular plants and arthropods, and provided tools (images, keys, literature) for species identification on its website, Azorean Biodiversity Portal and SOSTERMITAS. In these last years our team with collaborations with other research groups (e.g. CIBIO-Azores) gathered enough data to overcome seven impediments to the effective protection of island species and test ecological and biogeographical theories for islands: 1) Azorean endemic species (particularly those of invertebrates) and their ecological services are mostly unknown to the general public (the public dilemma). With several initiatives our team is putting endemic species in the local Press agenda. With Azorean Biodiversity Portal (ABP; ( we are contributing to enhance public knowledge and appreciation of the Azorean biodiversity. ABP provides a wide range of resources that are used to promote students autonomy on the elaboration of herbarium projects, by improving their species identification skills and the understanding of higher rank taxonomy, allowing them to compare current published distributions with their observations; after validation, their records are used to feed the database, promoting collaborative work among scientists, teachers and students. 2) Policymakers and stakeholders are mostly unaware of species conservation problems (the political dilemma). By providing unrestricted, detailed information on the distribution and abundance of species, our team is contributing to conservation efforts in the Azores. Government managers frequently consult the team to obtain data on individual species distributions or 4

5 maps of species richness, and such information has been used to reshape the boundaries of protected areas of the region, both terrestrial and coastal. 3) Basic science on Azorean endemic species is scarce and underfunded (the scientific dilemma). For the first time, there is for a group of islands (Azores) information of quality for a group of arthropods and bryophytes, including taxonomy, natural history data, distribution and abundance data obtained with standardized techniques, information on species traits and also phylogenies of some arthropod genera. Natural history and ecological studies, based on broad sampling programs allows now knowing the species distributions and abundances, how such parameters change in space and time and how these changes relate with ecological change. 4) Most species are undescribed (the Linnean shortfall). In the last twenty years members of Azorean Biodiversity Group demonstrated that the knowledge on Azorean biodiversity was not uniform, and many groups lacked adequate sampling and/ or taxonomic revision. To solve that we performed research on classical (as well as molecular) taxonomy of the most diverse Azorean taxonomic group (arthropods), describing many species of beetles and spiders. Moreover, the web site Azorean Biodiversity Portal ( allows everyone to access updated information on Azorean biodiversity. As a direct outcome of this online database many national and international taxonomist have shown a growing interest in Azorean biodiversity and many new collaborations have been established that include taxonomic revisions and additional field work for specimens collection. 5) The distribution of described species is mostly unknown (the Wallacean shortfall) 6) The abundance of species and their changes in space and time are unknown (the Prestonian shortfall). To overcome the Wallacean shortfall implies the recognition that there is need to enhance the funding of traditional local and regional inventories, if possible using adequate standardized and optimized protocols. To overcome the Prestonian shortfall, implies the recognition that absolute abundances of species are usually impossible to obtain and too variable to measure, which can be solved with comparisons in space (through inventorying) and time (through monitoring). This was achieved using The BALA project ( ; Biodiversity of Arthropods from the Laurisilva of the Azores) a survey of arthropods distribution in Azorean native forests, which was also an important step towards the inclusion of arthropod groups in biodiversity conservation planning in the Azores. In addition, other standardized databases were obtained for 5

6 arthropods (ISLANDBIODIV and EDEN), bryophytes (MOVECLIM altitudinal gradients database), and vascular plants (ISLANDBIODIV). 7) Species ways of life and sensitivities to habitat change are largely unknown (the Hutchinsonian shortfall). Although the ecology and sensitivity to habitat change of most species is unknown, our team is now gathering trait data for many arthropod, bryophytes and vascular plants species in Azores. With such kind of data it will be possible testing the impact of land-use and climatic changes in the functional diversity of native and disturbed communities. But more importantly we are contributing to create unique databases on species distribution and abundance in Azorean islands. With this kind of data Azores archipelago can be used to test fundamental biogeographical and ecological patterns and processes: i) neutral vs. niche species assembly; ii) species abundance distributions ( SADs); iii) influence of scale on ecological processes; iv) the role of local vs. regional processes in local species richness; v) the impact of land-use and climatic changes on phylogenetic, taxonomic and functional diversities; vi) the impact of forest fragmentation on species extinctions; etc. Island ecosystems are particularly less resilient to the impacts of human activity or any other natural disrupting factor (e.g. species invasions). The results of our research were fundamental to the development of programs and preventive/mitigation measures to minimize the impacts of environmental risk factors (either of anthropogenic or natural origin) on insular inhabitants and other organisms. Our expertise on environmental risk assessment, pest control, science and environmental communication and outreach, provided an integrated outlook to support decision-making on island environmental health and sustainable development policies. Our most important websites created or maintained in the last six years are the following: Azorean Biodiversity Group Page ( Azorean Biodiversity Portal ( Azorean Biodiversity Gallery ( ATLANTIS database ( Azorean Spiders: ( Termites from the Azores ( E.D.E.N Azores Habitats ( 6

7 Research Group Description and Achievements for 2013 and for the period 2008/2013 INTRODUCTION Researchers that compose the Azorean Biodiversity Group (ABG) have complementary expertise that allow to address research questions framed in the study of biodiversity patterns (taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity), and its changes under the impact of climatic, land use alterations, and species invasions, which is key for guidelines of management and conservation. Emphasis are also given on the implementation of communication strategies and instruments to be used in participated risk appraisal, characterization and evaluation processes intended to facilitate the governance of the risk of environmental hazards, climate change and to increase social efficacy in the regions conservation of nature. The ABG had a steady growth in the number of projects, publications and personnel over these last six years ( ), increasing from six integrated members in 2008 to the current 20. In this period 25 senior researchers participated in the ABG ten with an academic position, one with a research contract, and 14 postdoctoral grant holders. In addition, 23 Ph.D. students and 13 research grant holders worked with the senior researchers. It also worked with 18 International collaborators acting as Associated Research Fellows collaborating in several projects and publications. The Group employed an integrated approach that combined multi-spatial and temporal scales (scale has a profound effect on detecting ecological and evolutionary patterns) with multi-metric measures of biodiversity (taxonomic, functional, phylogenetic) and their inter-relationships. It holds unique standardized databases from the last 13 years for arthropods (BALA, ISLANDBIODIV and EDEN), bryophytes (MOVECLIM altitudinal gradients database), and vascular plants (ISLANDBIODIV). 7

8 Spreading its acquired knowledge both within the scientific community and to the general public, was important for the ABG group in these last six years. Their interdisciplinary approach integrated science and education allowed the creation of six web-based resources (see below details). The research produced by the ABG was crucial for wildlife conservation in Azorean natural habitats and the management of invasive species, some of which are useful for economic development. The Azorean government relied on the group for accurate information to establish protected areas. The year of 2013 was another excellent year for the Azorean Biodiversity Group (ABG- CITA-A). The balance of the members of the ABG is good, especially those registered for Doctoral Degrees. It is particularly encouraging that the turnover in this latter group of researchers is predictably high, with a high and growing number of new students registering in There is a healthy number of Associate Scientists including an international component as well as scientists who were formerly registered as doctoral students or Post-doctoral researchers. The great novelty is the application of Azorean Biodiversity Group to another FCT center, the CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE (Ce3C), based in Lisbon. Ce3C s main objective is to perform research that addresses societal challenges in ecology, evolution and the environment the three Es in the Centre s name, for the period. Our 19 integrated members with Ph.D., plus Ph.D. students and collaborators will be now part of a large research centre, based in Lisbon, with 101 integrated members in which research questions will be addressed at both the continental and insular scales. We are also keeping our participation in CITA-A during 2014, a year of transition, and enhance our activity in Portuguese Platform for Enhancing Ecological Research & Sustainability (PEERS) network ( Between the years of 2008 and 2013 the Azorean Biodiversity Group (ABG) contributed to the CITA-A vision and mission, by conducting research on oceanic islands used as natural labs for testing ecological theory to understand how human 8

9 activities and natural processes interact under global changes. TEAM in 2013 (see also The ABG had a steady growth in the number of projects, publications and personnel over these last five years, increasing from eight integrated members with Ph.D. in 2008 to the current 20. In 2013 the group was composed by 20 senior researchers with Ph.D., nine of whom have academic positions at the University of Azores, one a position in a State Laboratory (LNEC), nine hold post-doctoral grants (six funded by Azorean Government FRCT and three funded by FCT) and one is a Research technician (funded by Azorean Government FRCT). The groups include at present 21 Ph.D. students (11 with FCT grants), seven research grant holders and 19 M.Sc. students. In addition, 16 Associated Research Fellows from several countries collaborate on different projects, creating a network of Island research investigators. Integrated members with Ph.D. (21) Coordinator: Paulo A. V. Borges (Univ. Azores, DCA) Scientists with contract Ana Moura Arroz (Univ. Azores, DE) António Onofre Soares (Univ. Azores, DB) David Horta Lopes (Univ. Azores, DCA) João Pedro Barreiros (Univ. Azores, DCA) Lina Nunes (LNEC) Patrícia Ventura Garcia (Univ. Azores, DB) Rosalina Gabriel (Univ. Azores, DCA) Rui Bento Elias (Univ. Azores, DCA) Virgílio Vieira (Univ. Azores, DB) 9

10 Post-Docs: Alison L. Neilson (Univ. Azores, DCA), Funded by FRCT Artur Gil (Univ. Azores, DB), Funded by FRCT Carla Rego (Univ. Azores, DCA), Funded by FCT François Rigal (Univ. Azores, DCA), Funded by FCT Isabel Amorim (Univ. Azores, DCA), Funded by FRCT Isabel Borges (Univ. Azores, DB), Funded by FRCT José A. P. Marcelino (Univ. Azores, DB), Funded by FRCT Margarita Patricia Florencio Diaz (Univ. Azores, DCA), Funded by FRCT Mário Boieiro (Univ. Azores, DCA) (Starting in 2013), Funded by FCT Grant Students: Maria Teresa Ferreira (Univ. Azores, DCA) Other Integrated members Ph.D. Students: Ana Picanço (Univ. Azores, DCA), Funded by FRCT (M3.1.2/F/031/2011) Carolina Parelho (Univ. Azores, DB), Funded by FRCT (M3.1.2/F/048/2011) Christiana Faria (in collaboration with other research Center in UK) Débora Henriques (Univ. Azores, DCA), Funded by FRCT (M3.1.2/F/051/2011) Márcia Coelho (Univ. Azores, DCA), Funded by FRCT (M3.1.2/F/007/2012) Marta Costa (Univ. Azores, DCA), Funded by FRCT (M3.1.2/F/053/2011) Orlando Guerreiro (Univ. Azores, DCA), Funded by FRCT (M3.1.5/F/003/2011) Reinaldo Pimentel (Univ. Azores, DCA) Funded by FCT (SFRH/BD/81079 / 2011) Rita Godinho (Univ. Azores, DCA), Funded by FRCT (M3.1.2/F/030/2011) Rui Nunes (Univ. Azores, DCA), Funded by FRCT (M3.1.2/F/035/2011) Ruben Abreu (Univ. Azores, DCA) (Self-funded) Sara Silveira (Univ. Azores, DCA) (Self-funded) Silvia Calvo Aranda (in collaboration with other research Center in Spain) Sofia Terzopoulou (in collaboration with other research Center in Greece) Sónia Duarte (LNEC, Lisbon) Funded by FCT (FRH/BD/84920/2012) Thomas Matthews (in collaboration with other research Center in UK) 10

11 Lara Silva (started in 2013) (Self-funded) Lurdes Silva (started in 2013) (Self-funded) Dinis Pereira (in collaboration with other research Center in PT) (funded by FCT) Diana Paula Linhares (in collaboration with other research Center in PT) Lisa Adelaide Toste(in collaboration with other research Center in PT) Grant Students: Enésima Mendonça (Univ. Azores, DCA) (Funded by FRCT) Lúcia Silveira (Univ. Azores, DCA) (Project grant) Nídia Homem (Univ. Azores, DCA) (Project grant) Rui Carvalho (Univ. Azores, DCA) (Funded by FCT) Annabella Borges (Univ. Azores, DCA) (finished contract in 2013) (Funded by FRCT) Filomena Ferreira (Univ. Azores, DCA) (finished contract in 2013) (Funded by FRCT) Nuno Bicudo (Univ. Azores, DB) (finished contract in 2013) (Funded by FRCT) Technicians: Alda Brasil (Univ. Azores, DCA) Fernando Pereira (Univ. Azores, DCA) Isabel Cunha Neves (Univ. Azores, DCA) Paulo Rogério Silva (Univ. Azores, DCA) Associate Research Fellows: Alain Vanderpoorten (University of Liege) Collaboration in the Biogeography of Azorean Bryophytes Ana Margarida Santos (Past Ph.D. Student), collaborator based in the Natural History Museum of Madrid and team member in the Project PTDC/BIA- BIC/119255/2010 Biodiversity on oceanic islands: towards a unified theory Aris Parmakelis (University of Athens) and team member in the Project PTDC/BIA- BIC/119255/2010 Biodiversity on oceanic islands: towards a unified theory Clara S. Gaspar (Past Ph.D. Student and past Post-Doc, based now in Finland), current collaborator in Macroecology 11

12 François Guilhaumon (Ecosym, Univ of Montpellier), collaborator in Macroecology Jairo Patiño (University of Liege) Collaboration in the Biogeography of Azorean Bryophytes Joaquín Hortal (Past Post-Doc), collaborator in Macroecology and based in the Natural History Museum of Madrid Jorge M. Lobo, collaborator in Macroecology and based in the Natural History Museum of Madrid José Carlos Carvalho, collaborator in Macroecology (Independent researcher). Kostas Triantis (Started in 2013 after finishing his Post-Doc contract), collaborator in Island Biogeography and based in the University of Athens, Greece Luís Crespo (Started in 2013 after finishing his Grant), collaborator in Spider Taxonomy Pedro Cardoso (Started in 2013 after finishing his Post-Doc contract). collaborator in Macroecology and based in the Finish Museum of Natural History Rudolf Scheffrahn, collaborator in Termite ecology and based in University of Florida (USA) Sérvio P. Ribeiro, collaborator in Canopy ecology and based in Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP), Brasil. Simone Fattorini, collaborator in Island Biogeography (Independent Researcher based in Rome, Italy) Past members: Ana Isabel Brasil Carolina Couto João Moniz Francisco Dinis Catarina Melo Rita São Marcos Lúcia Borba Ventura Ana Santos Jorge Azevedo Liliana Marques Ana Maria Ávila Simões Past Associate Research Fellows: Alberto Jimenez-Valverde Andrés Baselga Hanno Schaeffer 12

13 PUBLICATIONS YEAR 2013 Main achievements by integrated members in 2013 were the publication of 44 works, 25 of which being in International Indexed Journals with Impact Factor (57%). The mean Impact Factor in 2013 was 3.0, publications in high Impact Factor Journals (IF > 3.0 area Environmental Sciences - Ecology), equate to c. 38% of the ISI publications (a total of 9 papers). We published also of one authored Book and one Book as editors, three book chapters, five outreach publications, five papers in peer-reviewed journals with no impact factor, three papers in Proceedings of Symposia and one other type of publications (see Fig. 1) ISI Journal with IF Book Author Book Editor Chapters - Books Papers in Journals without IF Education & Outreach Publications Papers Proceedings Symposia Other Publications Online Other Type of publications N Figure 1. Number ou publications on the year of 2013 in the several possible categories. This makes more than two publications by integrated member with a Ph.D., and about 1.3 ISI papers per integrated member with a Ph.D. To those 44 publications we can add 23 more with the affiliation of the ABG (CITA-A, University of Azores) published only by our Associate Research Fellows (13 ISI 13

14 papers; 3 papers in Journals without IF; 1 proceedings paper; and 6 other type of publications). We must highlight the contribution of our collaborator Simone Fattorini, a freelance investigator based in Rome (Italy) that is contributing with many publications. The publications restricted to collaborators are promoting the internationalization of the ABG (CITA-A, University of Azores) and increasing the visibility of the group.. In summary the publications in 2013 were: By integrated members (Total = 44) INTERNATIONAL PEER REVIEWED PAPERS = 25 BOOKS = 2 BOOK CHAPTERS = 3 OTHER PEER REVIEWED PAPERS = 5 PAPERS ON PROCEEDINGS OF SYMPOSIA = 3 EDUCATION & OUTREACH PUBLICATIONS = 5 OTHER TYPE OF PUBLICATIONS = 1 By Associate Research Fellows (Total = 23) INTERNATIONAL PEER REVIEWED PAPERS = 13 OTHER PEER REVIEWED PAPERS = 3 PAPERS ON PROCEEDINGS OF SYMPOSIA = 1 OTHER TYPE OF PUBLICATIONS = 6 PERIOD The Integrated Members of Azorean Biodiversity Group published 131 ISI papers between , with an impact factor of up to 9,737 (PNAS paper) (Fig. 2) (Table 1). Particularly relevant is the fact that those publications in high Impact Factor Journals (IF > 3.0 area Environmental Sciences - Ecology), equate to c. 35% of the ISI publications (a total of 45 papers) (see Fig. 3). 14

15 ISI Journal with IF Book Author Book Editor Chapters - Books Papers in Journals without IF Education & Outreach Publications Papers Proceedings Symposia Other Publications Online Other Type of publications N Figure 2. Number of publications between in the several possible categories. Table 1. Detailed data on scientific output between the years of 2008 and Other Type of publications Other Publications Online Papers Proceedings Symposia Education & Outreach Publications Papers in Journals without IF Chapters - Books Book Editor Book Author ISI Journal with IF TOTAL In the period the main achievements included the publication of seven authored Books and nine edited Books, 67 books chapters, 46 outreach publications, 39 papers in peer-reviewed journals with no impact factor, 20 papers in Proceedings of Symposia, seven publications online and an additional 31 other type of publications (Table 1). Overall 357 publications were published between 2008 and Members of Azorean Biodiversity Group participated in about 100 international 15

16 Number of publications meetings with (15 Plenary, 87 Oral presentations, 118 Posters) and 66 national conferences (13 Plenary, 59 oral presentations, 45 posters >6 Impact Factor Figure 3. Number of papers (N= 130) by integrated members per class of Impact Factors in the period The mean Impact Factor was 2.2 in 2008, increasing for 2.88 in 2013 (Fig. 4). 16

17 4 3,5 3 2,5 IF 2 1,5 1 0, Year Figure 4. Mean (+ se) Impact Factors in the period There was a steady increase in the number of publications in the last six years in Journals with Impact Factor (Fig. 5), with a maximum value of 36 in This increase in publication was related with the number of integrated members with Ph.D. (Fig. 6 and Table 3). The years of 2011 and 2012 were particularly productive. For the year of 2014 we have already 15 papers In Press (most of them online early in 2013) and 20 in evaluation, which gives a projection for 35 papers for 2014 (Fig. 5). 17

18 Figure 5. Number of papers in Journals of IF in the period and projection for Considering the main type of publications (books and papers in Journals with referee) and two main cycles and , the output shows an increase from 70 to 113 publications (see also Table 2). In the period about 1.6 ISI papers were published per integrated member with a Ph.D. (90 papers in three years by 19 researchers). Table 2. Number of publications between and in the most important categories Papers in Journals without IF Book Editor Book Author ISI Journal with IF Total

19 Proportion log (number of publications) 1,8 1,6 y = 1,4441x - 0,394 R² = 0,6627 1,4 1,2 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0,2 0 0,8 0,9 1 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 log (number of researchers) Figure 6. Relationship between the log number of papers in Journals of IF and the log number of integrated researchers in the period ,25 0,20 0,21 0,17 0,15 0,10 0,10 0,12 0,05 0,04 0, Year Figure 7. Proportion of papers in Journals of IF in relation to the totals published in Azores in the period

20 Proportion 0,12 0,1 0,08 0,06 0,04 0, Year Figure 8. Proportion of researchers of Azorean Biodiversity Group in relation to total Azorean researchers publishing papers in Journals of IF in the period An interesting indicator for our scientific output is the relative proportion of our production with that of the other research groups based in Azores. We investigated the information in the Science Citation Index database (SCI) for the period (2013 is still not updated). In 2011 and 2012 we published respectively 21% and 17% of the scientific output of Azores (Fig. 7). This is a remarkable output since we were only about 10% of the researchers publishing in the years of (Fig. 8). 20

21 Table 3. Number of publications in the period in journals with impact factor for the integrated members with Ph.D. We give details on the status of each author in 2014 and in grey the years in which the authors were not members (*NOTE: Mário Boieiro started in the end of 2013). Author Status in 2014 Authors Total (mean per year) PI - UA Borges, P.A.V (8) Coll. (Past Post_Doc) Cardoso, P (6,33) Coll. (Past Post_Doc) Triantis, K.A (3,33) PI - UA Gabriel, R (2,67) Post_Doc Amorim, I (2,2) Post_Doc Gil, A (3) Coll. (Past Post-Doc) Gaspar, C (2) PI - UA Soares, A.O (2) Post_Doc Rigal, F (1,5) PI - UA Garcia, P (1,67) Post_Doc Rego, C (1,25) PI - UA Barreiros, J.P (1,00) PI - UA Elias, R.B. 4 4(1,33) PI - UA Vieira, V (0,67) Post_Doc Florencio, M. 2 2(1) Post_Doc Borges, I (0,66) PI - LNEC Nunes, L. 1 1(1) PI - UA Arroz, A.M. 1 1(0,16) PI - UA Lopes, D.H. 1 1(0,33) Post_Doc Marcelino, J.A.P. 1 1(0,33) 21

22 log number of papers Coll. (Past PI - UA) Simões, A. 0(0) Coll. (Past Post_Doc) Neilson, A. 0(0) Post_Doc Boieiro, M. * - The detailed output of papers in journals with impact factor for each integrated member with Ph.D. is given in Table 3 and the profile of the relative paper abundance distribution per author is given in Figure 9. Eight out of 22 authors had 2 or more papers per year on average (36%), and 14 out of 22 authors had at least one paper per year (64%) (Table 3 and Fig. 9). Three of the most productive members will not be integrate members in 2014, but will keep their collaboration with ABG for some years in on-going projects. However, many Ph.D. students started their projects in and it is expected that they can contribute for a higher productivity of ABG between 2014 and ,8 1,6 1,4 1,2 log (total papers) log (papers/year) 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0, Rank Figure 9. Rank authors productivity in Journals with IF in the period , considering the total number of papers and the number of papers per year of participation in the research group. 22

23 Research Group But what about the relative performance of our researchers in comparison with the researchers of other Azorean research groups? To answer this question we investigated the information in the Science Citation Index database (SCI) for the period (2013 is still not updated) and considered all the authors with affiliation to a particular research group that published in the period. Following the recent indicator of FCT for the evaluation of research groups in Portugal in the period , we calculated the number of investigators (here including all investigators, not only those with Ph.D.) with at least four papers in IF journals for this period. As we can see in Figure 10, the performance of our research group (ABG- CITA-A) was equivalent to CVARG, CITA-A (other sub-groups) and CIBIO- Azores. It is remarkable the number of researchers of IMAR-DOP with this indicator. IMAR-DOP ABG (CITA-A) CVARG CITA_A (Others) CIBIO-Azores CBA CEEAplA Figure 10. Number of researchers with at least 4 papers in Journals with IF in the period (see text). N However, if we standardize for the pool of investigators publishing in this period and affiliated to these research groups, the results show an equilibrium between research groups, with ABG keeping a good relative performance. Howver, we we 23

24 Research Groups consider only the TOP researchers, i.e., those that published at least 10 papers in this five years period (average of two per year) the results are quite different with only four research groups having such indicator: IMAR-DOP (12 researchers); ABG (4 researchers); (CIBIO-Azores (4 researchers) and CITA-A (others) (2 researchers) (see also Fig. 12 for the proportions based in the pool of researchers). CVARG IMAR-DOP ABG (CITA-A) CITA_A (Others) CIBIO-Azores CBA CEEAplA 0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 Proportion Figure 11. Proportion of researchers with at least 4 papers in Journals with IF in the period (see text) 24

25 Research Groups IMAR-DOP ABG (CITA-A) CIBIO-Azores CITA_A (Others) CVARG CBA CEEAplA 0 0,02 0,04 0,06 0,08 0,1 0,12 0,14 Proportion Figure 12. Proportion of researchers with at least 10 papers in Journals with IF in the period (see text). Highlights of the group s main achievements include the following: We demonstrated that species richness does increase with increasing habitat diversity both in islands and the mainland, and that such effect appears even after accounting for other factors such as area or altitude (PNAS - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2013) We have demonstrated that exotic species increase the homogenisation in indigenous assemblages in the Azores archipelago, but the trajectory of this process is independent and contingent of each island with the consequent implications for conservation programs (Diversity and Distributions 2013); Described the first phylogeography of an invertebrate genus at a Macaronesian scale (J. Biogeography 2012); Influenced the modification of the Common European Fisheries Policy via book created and sent specifically to EU Parliment members who make changes to the CFP (Neilson et al. (2012). Coastal fisheries in the Azores, Portugal A question of sovereignty, sustainability and space. In K. Schriewer & T. Højrup (Eds.) European Fisheries at a tipping-point. pp , Murcia, Es: Cátedra Jean Monnet Universidade de Murcia.) Added to global discussions of sustainability via contributing to the creation of a book launched in Brasil at the Rio +20 conference (Neilson, A. L., Blomberg, D., & Gabriel, R. (2012). Spirited practice of transformative education for sustainability. In 25

26 A. Wals & P. Blaze Concoran (Eds.) Learning for sustainability in times of accelerating change. pp Wageningen University Press, Wageningen, NL.) Evaluated the worldwide biology and statistics of the island SAR (J. Biogeography 2012); Studied the effects of volcanogenic air pollution on human health, having for the first time demonstrated a higher risk of carcinogensis in humans inhabiting volcanically active environments (Environmental International 2012); Demonstrated of the attraction to different light wavelengths of alates of the termite Cryptotermes brevis in South Florida and the Azores (Journal of Economic Entomology 2012); Used remote sensing techniques to map influence of light pollution on Cory s shearwater (European Journal of Wildlife Research 2012); Studied the occupational exposure to air pollutants in workers from power plants exposed to VOCs, showing a higher risk for DNA damage (Mutation Research Gentetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis 2012);. Revealed the side-effects of agrochemicals on natural enemies, particularly on coldstored diapausing egg wasps (BioControl 2009) and on the voracity of insect predators (Journal of Pest Science 2011); Developed a sampling protocol for bryophytes that revealed 8 new species citations for Terceira island in less than twenty sampling stations (The Bryologist 2011) Evaluated ecosystem services provided by a Special Protected Area (Journal of Coastal Research 2011); Adapted the IUCN Red Listing criteria for invertebrates (Biol. Conservation 2011); Described seven impediments in invertebrate conservation and how to overcome them (Biol. Conservation 2011); Evaluated how the structure of the species pool influences the structure of island parasitoid communities worldwide (Journal of Biogeography 2011) Described how archipelagos tend follow the same species-area relationship as their constituent islands (Global Ecology and Biogeography 2010). Discovered extinction debt on oceanic islands for arthropods (Ecography 2010); Developed the Azorean Biodiversity Portal, recognized as an internet database for regional biodiversity outreach (invited paper in Systematics and Biodiversity 2010); Recorded, for the first time, an urban invasive termite Cryptotermes brevis in continental Spain and Portugal (Journal of Applied Entomology 2010). 26

27 Demonstrated the role of island geological age in driving the diversification of Azorean arthropods (J. Biogeography 2009); Edited books include the two most updated Biodiversity Checklists of Azores and Madeira archipelagos and the TOP100 most threatened species list of Macaronesia (see also publication in Biodiversity and Conservation, 2010), that involved the cooperation of more than 250 taxonomists. In the ten most cited scientific articles of ABG, nine were published in the period. Below the complete list of these 10 influential papers: 1) Hortal, J., Borges, P.A.V. & Gaspar, C. ( ). Evaluating the performance of species richness estimators: Sensitivity to sample grain size. Journal of Animal Ecology, 75: (IF: 4.841) (Selected for the first number of Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 1 (2009) DOI: /j x (Virtual Issue) (IF: 5.924) (16.25 Citations/Year) (see odspapers.html). df 2) Bini, L.M., Diniz-Filho, J.A.F., Rangel, T.F.L.V.B., Akre, T.S.B., Albaladejo, R.G., Albuquerque, F.S., Aparicio, A., Araújo, M.B., Baselga, A., Beck, J., Bellocq, M.I., Böhning-Gaese, K., Borges, P.A.V., Castro-Parga, I., Chey, V-K., Chown, S.L., Marco, P., Dobkin, D.S., Ferrer-Castán, D., Field, R., Filloy, J., Fleishman, E., Gómez, J.F., Hortal, J., Iverson, J.B., Kerr, J.T., Kissling, W.D., Kitching, I.J., León-Cortés, J.L., Lobo, J.M., Montoya, D., Morales-Castilla, I., Moreno, J.C., Oberdorff, T., Olalla-Tárraga, M.Á., Pausas, J.G., Qian, H., Rahbek, C., Rodríguez, M.Á., Rueda, M., Ruggiero, A., Sackmann, P., Sanders, N.J., Terribile, L.C., Vetaas, O.K. & Hawkins, B.A. (2009). Coefficient shifts in geographical ecology: an empirical evaluation of spatial and non-spatial regression. Ecography, 32: DOI: /j x, (IF: 5.124) (15.60 Citations/Year) See more in 3) Cardoso, P., Erwin, T.L., Borges, P.A.V. & New, T.R. (2011). The seven impediments in invertebrate conservation and how to overcome them. Biological Conservation, 144: DOI: /j.biocon (IF: 3.794) (9.00Citations/Year) 86.pdf 4) Hortal, J., Lobo, J.M. & Jiménez-Valverde, A. (2007). Limitations of biodiversity databases: case study on seed-plant diversity in Tenerife (Canary Islands). Conservation Biology, 21: DOI: /j x (IF:4.355)(8.86Citations/Year) x/abstract 27

28 5) Cardoso, P., Arnedo, M., Triantis, K.A., Borges, P.A.V. (2010). Drivers of diversity in Macaronesian spiders and the role of species extinctions. Journal of Biogeography, 37: DOI: /j x. (IF: 4.863)(8.25Citations/Year) pdf 6) Borges, P.A.V. & Hortal, J. (2009). Time, area and isolation: Factors driving the diversification of Azorean arthropods. Journal of Biogeography, 36: DOI: /j x (IF: 4.863) (5.80 Citations/Year) f 7) Triantis, K.A., Borges, P.A.V., Ladle, R.J., Hortal, J., Cardoso, P., Gaspar, C., Dinis, F., Mendonça, E., Silveira, L.M.A., Gabriel, R., Melo, C., Santos, A.M.C., Amorim, I.R., Ribeiro, S.P., Serrano, A.R.M., Quartau, J.A. & Whittaker, R.J. (2010). Extinction debt on oceanic islands. Ecography, 33: DOI: /j x. (IF: 5.124) (5.50 Citations/Year) f 8) Borges, P.A.V., Lobo, J.M., Azevedo, E. B., Gaspar, C., Melo, C. & Nunes, L.V. (2006). Invasibility and species richness of island endemic arthropods: a general model of endemic vs. exotic species. Journal of Biogeography 33: DOI: /j x (IF: 4.863) (5.25 Citations/Year) 9) Carvalho, J.C., Cardoso, P. & Gomes, P. (2012). Determining the relative roles of species replacement and species richness differences in generating betadiversity patterns. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 21: DOI: /j x (IF: 7.223) (5.00 Citations/Year) f 10) Triantis, K.A., Guilhaumon, F. & Whittaker, R.J. (2012). The island species area relationship: biology and statistics. Journal of Biogeography, 39: DOI: /j x (IF: 4.863) (5.00 Citations/Year) 28

29 Euros PROJECTS Fifty six projects run in , 43 of which were coordinated by integrated members: 14 received international funding, 12 received national funding (eight by FCT) and 30 received regional funding (21 by DRCT and nine more projects were funded by other Agencies). These 56 projects brought about ,00 Euros to the group. In Figure 13 we see that most of these projects started in 2009, 2010 and Year Figure 13. Money obtained in the 56 projects in the period Each bar is the sum of the total budget of the projects started in a particular year. These 56 projects include eight service acquisition projects, being the budget distribute as follows: Euros in service acquisition and 1, Euros in research projects. To these projects we must also add the funds obtained for Ph.D. and Pos-Doc Grants, which totalled 1, Euros in 23 grants (13 Ph.D and 10 Post-Docs). If we consider three types of funding, i.e. research projects, grants and service acquisition, in total we received almost 4 million Euros in the period , more 29

30 Euros precisely 3, Euros (Fig. 14). As shown in Figure 14 most grants were obtained in 2012 although every year we obtained grants. Most of the money obtained in service acquisition was based in contracts starting in Comp SAq Grants Year Figure 14. Money obtained in the 56 projects and 23 Grants (Ph.D and Post-Docs) in the period Each bar is the sum of the total budget of the projects started in a particular year. Comp research projects; SAq = service acquisition; Grants = Ph.D. and Post-doc grants. If we consider the money available for investment in each year, between 2010 and 2013 there was in average Euros for investment (Fig. 15). 30

31 Euros Year Figure 15. Funds available in the period for each year. Table 4) The coordination of the 43 out of the 56 projects was distributed by 13 PIs (see Table 4. The number of projects coordinated by each PI between 2008 and Members Grand Total Borges, P.A.V Neilson, A.L Lopes, D.H Gabriel, R Soares, A.O Arroz, A.M Borges, I. 1 1 Cardoso, P. 1 1 Costa, M. 1 1 Elias, R.B. 1 1 Garcia, P. 1 1 Triantis, K.A. 1 1 Ventura, L

32 Euros Euros INT FCT DRCT FRCT Year Figure 16. Money obtained in the 56 projects and 23 Grants (Ph.D and Post-Docs) in the period in different funding institutions. Each bar is the sum of the total budget of the projects started in a particular year. Int international projects; FCT = Portuguese Science Foundation; DRCT= Azores Science Foundation; FRCT = Azores Fund for Grants INT FCT DRCT FRCT Others Fuding Institutions Figure 17. Funds obtained from the 56 projects and 23 Grants (Ph.D and Post-Docs) in the period in difffrent funding institutions. Each bar is the sum of the total budget of the projects. Int international projects; FCT = Portuguese Science Foundation; DRCT= Azores Science Foundation; FRCT = Azores Fund for Grants. 32

33 Analysing the main funding institutions (Fig. 16) we can highlight the growing contribution of FCT between 2008 and 2010, and the important contribution of regional projects (DRCT and FRCT) in the year of The contribution of Azores regional funds (DRCT, FRCT and most of the Others) was 51% of the total funds raised by Azorean Biodiversity Group, FCT contributed with 33% and international projects contributed with 16% (Fig. 17). We must highlight several research contracts with national or international entities: 1) PEERS (starting in 2013) Platform for Enhancing Ecological Research & Sustainability, a consortium between the Center of Environmental Biology (University of Lisbon, Portugal), the Azorean Biodiversity Group (University of the Azores, Portugal) and the Center of Functional Ecology (University of Coimbra, Portugal). 2) NATURE PARKS OF AZORES (starting in 2012) We started an unprecedented collaboration with several Azorean environmental organizations to perform a Long Term Ecological Study in the natural forest of several Azorean islands. This study is possible due to the collaboration with the Natural Parks of Santa Maria, Terceira, Faial, Flores and Pico islands, the Botanical Garden of Faial island and the Furnas Monitoring and Research Centre (São Miguel island); and the SPEA. 3) BIG Biodynamical Island Group (starting in 2013) This is an International consortium research group implemented to model the General Dynamic Model of Island Biogeography. It includes 14 international Researchers, where five of them are either integrated members (P.A.V. Borges, F. Rigal), Ph.D. students (T. Matthews) or collaborators (K. Triantis, R. Whittaker) of the Azorean Biodiversity Group. 4) Development and Coordination for RCE Açores (starting in 2009)- part of UN international education network Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development, accredited by the Institute Of Advanced Studies. United Nations University, 33

34 OUTREACH ACTIVITIES Events ( ) Organisation of scientific dissemination activities (Training courses, symposiums, conferences, seminars, etc., organised by the research group) 1) (2012) Organization of the XV Iberian Congress of Entomology held in Terceira island (Azores, Portugal), 2-6 September, with approximately 140 participants from five countries. 2) (2012). Workshop Software Prion - Priority Optimization Analysis. Pedro Cardoso. 6 September, with approximately 15 participants; Workshop Computing functional diversity - A brief travel in a burgeoning literature François Rigal. 6 September, with approximately 20 participants. 3) (2012). Workshop Biotecnologia em Controlo Biológico, held in Ponta Delgada, Açores (25 to 27 October). 50 participants. 4) (2012) Workshop Augmentative Biological Control: scientific research, field application and business, held in Ponta Delgada, Açores (15 th May). 53 participants 5) (2011) Workshop Identification and Taxonomy of Azorean Springtail Biodiversity held in Ponta Delgada, Açores (7 September). 15 participants 6) (2011) Contributed to the Organization of the II Iberian Symposium of Subterranean Biology (University of Aveiro, Portugal 2-4 September). 7) (2011). Seminar: Exploring the wealth of coastal fisheries: Listening to community voices Conference-Community Input Hybrid, October 2011 Angra do Heroísmo & Ponta Delgada participants from all nine islands, plus 12 scientists from Iceland, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, England, USA and Poland 8) (2011) Workshop on Prevention and Control of Invasive Species (27 to 29 October), 70 participants. 9) (2010) Conference cycle Knowing and protecting nature: