Where We Do it

Country: Portugal

Location: Central east (Idanha-a-Nova)

BIOTA's Client: Go'We, Consultancy Education Territory

Final Client: Idanha-a-Nova Municipality

Start Date: 2020

Completion Date: 2020

Components: Habitats, flora and fauna.

Description of the project: Development of the biodiversity manual of Idanha-a-Nova Municipality was directed to the students of the municipality. Manual contents were developed based on the research, collection and compilation of available information in databases, particularly from bibliographic sources and spatial information. The following groups were assessed: flora and habitats, terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, terrestrial vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) and aquatic vertebrates (fish).

Country: Portugal

Location: Central West

BIOTA's Client: Go'We, Consultancy Education Territory

Final Client: Oeste Intermunicipal Community

Start Date: 2018

Completion Date: 2020

Components: Environmental education

Description of the project: Development of various activities, indoor and outdoor, that encourage children to explore the following themes: Agriculture, Oceanography and Environment. BIOTA developed the theoretical contents that were the basis of each activity. Created the activities, as well as the registration sheets, support manuals, etc.. The elaboration of the manual also counted on a team of pedagogues, who ensured the pedagogical contents.

Country: Portugal

Location: North region (Boticas, Cabeceiras de Basto, Chaves, Ribeira de Pena and Vila Pouca de Aguiar municipalities)

BIOTA's Client: Biosfera

Final Client: Iberdrola

Start Date: 2016

Completion Date: Ongoing

Components: Flora and habitats; bats; mammals, ichthyofauna and freshwater mussels.

Description of the project: Development of Monitoring Programmes concerning the hydropower scheme of Gouvães, Alto Tâmega and Daivões and associated elements/infrastructures. Concerning the Minimization and Compensatory Measures, BIOTA coordinates the translocation of freshwater mussels and participates in the implementation of these measures for fish communities.

Country: Mozambique

Location: Cabo Delgado

BIOTA's Client: CONSULTEC – Consultores Associados, Lda.

Final Client: Mozambique Rovuma Venture

Start Date: March 2021

Completion Date: Ongoing

Components: Cetaceans, Fishes, Seabirds, Turtles.

Description of the project: Offshore surveys of cetaceans, large fishes, sea turtles and seabirds to monitor impacts of the drilling phase of Coral Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Offshore Project.

Country: Portugal

Location: Lisbon

BIOTA's Client: COBA – Consultores em Engenharia e Ambiente, S.A.

Final Client: GAMEK

Start Date: 2014

Completion Date: 2014

Components: Ecological flows

Description of the project: The training seminar was directed to GAMEK technical staff. BIOTA’s contribution concerned capacity building on methods to evaluate the efficiency of ecological stream flows, within the scope of the European Water Framework Directive.

Country: Angola

Location: Luanda

BIOTA's Client: Centro de Botânica - Universidade Agostinho Neto

Final Client: Centro de Botânica - Universidade Agostinho Neto

Start Date: June 2016

Completion Date: June 2016

Components: Statistics

Description of the project: Course on multivariate analysis of ecological data directed to members of the Agostinho Neto University and other Angolan public entities. The course approached statistical techniques such as Principal Component Analysis, Correspondence Analysis, Redundancy analysis and Canonical Correlation Analysis.

Country: Portugal

Location: Whole Country

BIOTA's Client: FCiências.ID - Associação para Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências

Final Client: FCiências.ID - Associação para Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências

Start Date: 2018

Completion Date: 2021

Description of the project: The following activities were carried out: creation of the visual identity, editorial design and development and management of the project’s website; creation of visual identity of SNIPAD digital platform, web design and development and management of its website; photographic collection production; project’s divulgation in media and social networks; organization of divulgation events; production of divulgation material.

Country: Angola

Location: Luanda

Final Client: Centro2020, Portugal2020, União Europeia – Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional

Start Date: 2018

Completion Date: 2018

Description of the project: BIOTA organized the international seminar, including the production of divulgation material, divulgation of the event in media and social network, seminar speakers invitation, program organization and logistical organization.

Country: Portugal

Location: Portugal

BIOTA's Client: FCiências.ID - Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciência

Final Client: FCiências.ID - Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciência

Start Date: 2018

Completion Date: Ongoing

Components: Crustacea and Mollusca.

Description of the project: Assess the risk of extinction of selected species from various groups of invertebrates. The project involves the compilation of existing information on the target species of the project, the assessment of the risk of extinction of target species, according to IUCN criteria and the publication of the Red Book of Terrestrial and Freshwater Invertebrates of Mainland Portugal.

Country: Angola

Location: Whole Country

BIOTA's Client: COBA – Consultores em Engenharia e Ambiente, S.A.

Final Client: Angola Government

Start Date: 2012

Completion Date: November 2015

Components: Ecology (fauna and flora) and ecological flows.

Description of the project: For each hydrographic region of Angola, the potential ecological values concerning fauna and flora were identified, as well as its ecological sensitivity. A valuation scale of ecological richness was then applied within each hydrographic region. Environmental flows were estimated for each hydrographic region using the curve displacement method. Angola’s national water plan is in force since 2017.

Country: Portugal

Location: Whole Country

BIOTA's Client: EDP Labelec

Final Client: EDP - Gestão da Produção de Energia, S.A

Start Date: 2012

Completion Date: November 2015

Components: Freshwater fish, macroinvertebrates, macrophytes and hydromorphology.

Description of the project: This monitoring program involved the annual sampling of macroinvertebrates and fish fauna, and characterization of macrophytes communities and hydromorphological condition each 5-7 years. Data collected allow to estimate biological, hydromophological and ecological quality which allows to evaluate ecological flow efficacy.

Country: Portugal

Location: Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro

BIOTA's Client: Hydrotua

Final Client: Hydrotua

Start Date: September 2012

Completion Date: July 2013

Components: Environmental flows.

Description of the project: Estimation of the environmental flows regime for the hydropower projects based on the IFIM methods. The project involved the hydraulic characterization and simulation of habitat in river sections downstream the projects dams, and the estimation of potential suitable habitats for target fish and freshwater mussels species according to their ecological requirements and flow regimes scenarios.

Country: Portugal

Location: Southeast (Estremoz)

BIOTA's Client: STRIX Environment and Innovation (Strix - Ambiente e Inovação, Lda.)

Final Client: Prosolia Portugal, Lda

Start Date: 2017

Completion Date: 2018

Components: flora and fauna

Description of the project: Field assessment of flora and fauna, including flora and habitats, amphibians, reptiles, terrestrial birds and mammals. Sampling methods included flora inventory points, fauna transects and bird count points. The development of the ecology component also included assessing impacts on ecological values caused by the Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant and associated Connection line.

Country: Mozambique

Location: Palma, Cabo Delgado Province

BIOTA's Client: CH2MHILL

Final Client: ENI

Start Date: June 2014

Completion Date: August 2015

Components: Flora and habitats; terrestrial invertebrates; ichthyofauna; amphibians, reptiles, marine and terrestrial birds and mammals.

Description of the project: Field inventory of flora and fauna, encompassing the following communities: flora and habitats; terrestrial invertebrates; ichthyofauna; amphibians, reptiles, marine and terrestrial birds and mammals. Sampling methods applied included camera-traps surveys, pitfalls, Tomahawks sampling, bat ultrasound recording and day and night transects. Ecosystem services were also assessed.

Country: Mozambique

Location: Cabo Delgado

BIOTA's Client: CONSULTEC – Consultores Associados, Lda.

Final Client: Mozambique Rovuma Venture

Start Date: October 2018

Completion Date: May 2019

Components: Hawksbill turtle.

Description of the project: Development of a Biodiversity Action Plan for the Hawksbill turtle to deliver a Net Gain for hawksbill turtles under the Coral South Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Project. The plan has been produced to identify priorities for hawksbill turtle conservation and provide an implementation, monitoring and evaluation approach for the delivery of a Net Gain for this species.

Country: Portugal

Location: Trás-os-Montes

BIOTA's Client: Gestão da Produção de Energia, S.A.

Final Client: Gestão da Produção de Energia, S.A.

Start Date: 2015

Completion Date: 2018

Components: Freshwater mussels.

Description of the project: The project consisted in freshwater mussels translocation from the future reservoir to upstream in the basin, with the goal of strengthening populations in receptor areas. The work involved scanning and selecting suitable areas, and follow-up monitoring of receptor areas to access the efficacy of the translocation, by quantifying individual survival and growth.

Country: Portugal

Location: Portugal

BIOTA's Client: FCT Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia

Final Client: FCT Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia

Start Date: 2018

Completion Date: Ongoing

Components: Freshwater mussels

Description of the project: The aim of this project is to clarify the evolutionary paths of freshwater mussels using a multidisciplinary approach including population genetics, reproductive biology and hydrology.

Country: Portugal

Location: Portugal

Final Client: Centro2020, Portugal2020, União Europeia – Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional

Start Date: 2019

Completion Date: Ongoing

Components: Fauna

Description of the project: This project aims to develop a "support system" for the work of ecologists. Besides other functionalities this platform will allow the gathering of images of wild animals in different environments and geographies. The system will use image processing and deep learning technologies aiming the identification of the species(s) present in the images, perform the counting of elements of the species(s) and characterize its behavior (use of space, eating habits, interaction with other species, etc.).