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BIOREMEDIATION AND ECOSYSTEMS FUNCTIONING

Principal Investigator:
Ana Paula Mucha

ECOBIOTEC aims to contribute to the advance of marine and environmental science from a multidisciplinary point of view. We couple fundamental ecology and ecosystems function research with bioprospecting and biotechnology tools for ecosystems recovery. Our group encompasses a broad range of studies from fish assemblages to microbial communities and associated biogeochemical cycles. Studies on fundamental microbial ecology and biogeochemistry of key elements in highly diverse environments (from estuarine to Polar ecosystems), and research on biological degradation/transformation of contaminants generate essential knowledge to develop biotechnological tools for innovative bioremediation approaches. We are also interested in the diverse services and societal benefits that marine and estuarine ecosystems provide, namely in unravelling the potential of oceans as a natural resource of microorganisms capable of providing bioactive molecules with multiple benefits to the society and in exploring native microorganisms or plant-microorganisms associations for environmental cleaning/recovery through nature-based solutions. ECOBIOTEC integrates the CIIMAR research line on Marine Biotechnology, although it gives also an important contribution to the line on Global Changes and Ecosystems Services.

TEAM

Publications Highlights

Alexandrino D.A.M., Mucha A.P., Almeida C.M.R, Gao W., Jia Z., Carvalho M.F. (2017). Biodegradation of the veterinary antibiotics enrofloxacin and ceftiofur and associated microbial community dynamics. Science of the Total Environment: 581/2: 359-368.

Almeida C.M.R., Ferreira A.C.F., Santos F., Lourinha I., Basto M.C.B., Mucha A.P. (2017). Can veterinary antibiotics affect constructed wetlands performance during treatment of livestock wastewater? Ecological Engineering 102: 583-588.

Lillebø A.I., Pita C., Garcia Rodrigues, J., Ramos, S., Villasante, S. (2017). How can marine ecosystem services support the Blue Growth agenda? Marine Policy, 81: 132-142.

Magalhães C., Machado A., Frank-Fahle B., Lee C.K., Cary C.S. (2014). The ecological dichotomy of ammonia oxidizing archaea and bacteria in the hyper-arid soils of the Antarctic Dry Valleys. Frontiers in Microbiology. 

Fernandes J.P., Almeida C.M.R., Andreotti F., Barros L., Almeida T., Mucha A.P. (2017). Response of microbial communities colonizing salt marsh plants rhizosphere to copper oxide nanoparticles contamination and its implications for phytoremediation processes. Science of the Total Environment, 581/2: 801-810.

Projects