Quercus suber is one of the most abundant plant species nationwide.

The cork oak is one of the most important forest trees of Portugal. While common throughout the country, covering around 737 000 hectares of land, the plant specimen is seen more frequently, "south of the Tagus where it comes in the form of assembled and sporadically in the North. It occupies large plantations in the western part of the Alentejo, the river Tagus and Earth Hot Trás-os-Montes. It is often associated with Holm oak and cistus, but also exists in their own forests, where is only one dwelling species. It is a tree that can live to be 300 years, due in part to its high tolerance in climates with periods of scarce rainfall and because it thrives in any soil type.

The "cork forest "as "the Holm oak mounts" are usually in association with another crop or pasture. There is also in mixed stands with oaks. It also offers a good soil and is an invaluable ally in the fight against fires due to its poor coverage undergrowth. The cork oak forests are also a great economic value: the glans are used for pigs food, wood to make charcoal burned directly or ultimately and the inner bark where the tannins are extracted, "as outlined the site trees in Portugal. In ecological terms the cork is of vital importance, for serving as a shelter to numerous animals, especially insects and plants: mosses, lichens and even microscopic algae. Its commercial value is also important. From it, derive also a range of industrial products vital for the world economy, thus making our country one of the world's largest exporters of this commodity.

Ongoing is a national petition to classify the oak tree as a national of Portugal. An act intended to give greater visibility to this specimen plant that has been declining in the territory, due to human pressure, although it is a protected tree.

http://arvoresdeportugal.free.fr/IndexArborium/FichaSobreiroQuercussuber1.htm

http://www.peticaopublica.com/?pi=sobreiro

It's an album made ​​of complicity and friends of Sergio Godinho.

Speak about the music of Sergio Godinho is the same as talking about Portugal. He is a poet that writes songs about the everyday life, its experiences, its weaknesses and its oddities. It is also one of the voices April, of the covert wars and the youth who inhale the first breath of freedom, audible in duet with another companion of struggle and friend, José Mário Branco, on "What is this force" and in a more recent arrangement the "ballad of Rita" with David Fonseca. This is also an album of affections, which he defines as something that is "very pleased to do" and not because "I am obliged to thank you because I owe you." Just as well. With this in mind, he invited a series of musicians, singers and instrumentalists, who generously and humbly gave their personal touch to his songs. "Photos of fire" is sung in two voices, the young and old fado, it's the magnificent performances of Carlos do Carmo and Camané and of course, Sergio Godinho. "Let's change the subject" with Jorge Palma is unavoidable, "the many slowly began to realize/ the many slowly was humming, the many slowly were able ... to do a story." And to cheer the more sullen spirits lost in metaphysical contemplations, listen to "Let's dance to the world", with the band cla. Following the path of female voices, remember the "unforgettable" by her very particular voice, Teresa Salgueiro, who sings the theme "can be someone who is not." I conclude with another duo of road friends, "Barnabé", with Vitorino, "who will win will win, even if the hopes are few", why is this Sergio different from the others?

This native species is likely to disappear from our mountains, so that is an ongoing original campaign to preserve then.

The garrano is like Portugal small and robust, although its name comes from the Galician language, "Guer" which means tiny and "guerran" which means horse. It is an indigenous breed of northern Portugal, who walks freely in herds, with particular focus on Peneda Geres, Serra Cabreira, Serra Amarela, to name a few locations. It is believed the cave paintings that exist in our country, shows that this horse race inhabiting our region since prehistoric times and since then little or nothing has changed in terms of physique, since there is little evidence of interbreeding. The rural populations, thru centuries, domesticated this animal and mainly used then in agricultural work and to saddle, due to their docile and friendly nature.
The herds are composed almost exclusively of females and one male, whose only function is to protect the group of wolves or other predators. The birth rate of this species is very low, which puts them in the list of endangered animals. The reserve of Praia Brava, in the Coa Valley, has created a campaign for preservation of these specimens at the least alternative; intend to create an extensive regime of garranos horses, whose intervention also has an ecological function, avoiding the risk of fire, as this breed eats herbs without jeopardizing the Mediterranean forest. This initiative aims to establish a group of 30 animals, to help all you have to do is, adopt an animal and at the same time you're helping to preserve this indigenous species and contributing, at the same time, to the maintenance of the forest park.

http://www.atnatureza.org/apoie_atn/Garranos_da_Faia_Brava.pdf

The first settlers helped create a new landscape on the slopes of Madeira.

The mountain dominates the landscape of the island. It has always been a challenge for the early settlers since the discovery of Madeira to open paths in the lush landscape. The first settlers torn the deep gorges with their own hands and rudimentary utensils for survival. The collective effort created the terraces, which are nothing more than rock walls that served to stabilize the soil to plant the first crops. The rocks that underlie the slopes were cut and slid down the mountain, to the steep cliffs which were fitted to contain the land. Animal traction was of little used because of the so rugged terrain that prevented the passage of animals; everything was loaded on the back, although in some parts of the island, transport could be made by cows and mules.
Agriculture was the main activity of the early pioneers who came to Madeira. Wheat was among the first crops to thrive in this fertile soil, a farming of great importance for the people who produced it for their own subsistence. Later the sugar cane streamlined the island economy to the point that Madeira has been one of the largest exporters of saccharine production in Europe. A monopoly that disappeared with the appearance of sugar produced in Brazil and Guinea in the seventeenth century. The vine, one of other cultures introduce had not the same fatal fate. Due to an essentially semi-tropical climate, the wine produced on the island has become the most important product of exploitation by their unique qualities, a reputation beyond the borders that lasts until today. Now days, the landscape has suffer undergoing changes derived from the demographic pressure that enabled a rampant urban growth and the abandonment of agriculture, however much at the expense of very small stubborn farmers attached to their land, one can still glimpses the pergolas and other vegetables cultures that adorn the slopes of the mountain and are a tourist attraction of the region.

http://www.naturemeetings.com/pt/node/385

http://www.sper.pt/VCHER/Pdfs/Adelino_Gouveia.pdf

They are one of the most cherished species by humans.

There is an immediate empathy between humans and dolphins. Although they live in the ocean, they are not fish, they are mammals. They breathe through lungs and so are often sighted up to come to breathe. They have streamlined bodies that allows them to glide at high speed at sea in search of their preferred prey, are still covered with a thick layer of fat that keeps them warm when swimming in open water and at greater depths. Due to their social nature they create deep bounds with each other, so they live and hunt in groups, which may even reach hundreds of individuals.

Reproduction of this species is a complex process in which the male has to court the female, through physical permanent contact. "Dolphins are polygamous, but do not live in harems. The female often mates with more than one male at the same time. Among the dolphin, bottlenose dolphins, males are sexually mature at around 10 years, but frequently only mate after 15 years. The bridal parades can last several weeks, during which the males perform numerous acrobatic stunts. Then they fertilized females able to be inseminated and form the pairs. Desiring for caresses, dolphins rub on the pectoral fins of their partners. Next, the copulation only lasts 15-20 seconds and it’s done under water "according to the data provided by golhinhos.net page.

Gestation lasts in some species a year, which ends the female, gives birth to a little young with the help of a second dolphin that watches the whole process, so-called mentors, helping to move to the surface of the water for his first inspiration. During a period of about eighteen months, the baby is breast-fed at frequent intervals, while the mother teaches her techniques to search for food independently. The connection is so strong that lasts for life. Females are true warrior when it comes to protecting their offspring, when their main predator, the shark is around them, ht group swims really fast in a circle around them while the more experienced dolphins attack without pity, nor mercy. A defensive behavior, which also has saved many, lives at sea.

The dolphins hunt by echolocation. It is emitting a sound and echo through the water, allowing then to get a mental picture of the fish, or objects that are around. Their hearing is highly developed for that reason, since their vision is weak and can only see various shades of gray.There are 37 known species of dolphins in the world, however the most common in the Portuguese coast, are the bottlenose dolphin. The only resident colony is located in the Sado River, but is in danger of extinction; there is a great mortality among the young, due to growing pollution of the river. The common dolphin can also be spotted in the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores; there are several tour operators that carry outputs for watching these wonderful and highly intelligent aquatic animals.

http://golfinhos.net/parcerias/vertigem-azul.html

It is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula which is in danger of disappearing due to pollution and eucalyptus forests.

It is a small animal that lives in wetlands and unpolluted order to survive, while the adult specimens prefer an activity mainly terrestrial. "It lives in mountainous areas along the rivers of flowing water with abundant vegetation on the banks and atmosphere saturated with moisture. The surrounding biotopes have also great importance for this species, conditioning sharply their movements and even their presence. They are typically composed of deciduous forests and marshes, where high humidity at ground level allows individuals to turn away tens of meters from the nearest water line. However, it is common to find specimens of this species along the waterways surrounding areas with very different, ranging from farmland to the cultivation of exotic forest. They avoid areas and limestone streams contaminated with high hardness" according to the data from online water site. One of its most curious is waiving their tail when threatened, a capability quite rare in amphibians. Another curious feature is that the mating season, males are distinguished from females by staining the front feet and swollen anus. Specimens have been found of semi-albino and albino. The Lusitanian salamander feeds on spiders and other small insects.
http://www.aguaonline.net/gca/?id=201

It is a species endemic to the national territory and very rare to the point of being in the process of extinction.

The cavern spider of friar was only discovered in 2005 during the core activities of speleologists on the blue coast and described only in 2009. "This is the smallest spider of Europe (0.43-0.58mm) and one of the worlds smallest. It is the only representative of the family in the European territory, and the closest known relatives of the Ivory Coast only. With a distribution area of only 1 to 2 km2 in the Friar System on Sesimbra. Their numbers have suffered a sharp decrease due to the quarries, was recently listed with the status of critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This spider is the only European and the only of 13 species in Portugal to have this status, the highest ranking in the IUCN" according to naturdata, a group of Portuguese scientists who congregate to classify the various types of wildlife that inhabit in our country.

Its scientific name is anapistula ataecina that derives from an ancient Lusitanian goddess, gum of Nature, Death and Rebirth. According to mythology lived in the underground, which meets the characteristics of this stealthy arachnid. Interesting, males of this species are unknown. Parthenogenic it seems, that is to say, there are no males in the reproduction process. The procedure is through female "cloning". Very feminists are these small spiders. Also important to underline, this specimen is part of the ranking of the most representative species for any reason that stood out as the most emblematic of all described from Portugal between 2000 and 2010. If you want to see the remaining elected of this list that had 303 votes at national level, just see it in the link at the end of this text.

http://naturdata.com/top-10

The Association of Friends of the Ecological Park did not crossed its arms after the fire that destroyed almost its entire natural heritage.

It’s been one year and ten days that the Ecological Park (PEF) saw its biodiversity disappears, about 90% of several plant species, due to a fire that swept in just a few hours a natural heritage that took hundreds of years to develop and embellished the central mountain ranges of the island of Madeira. An environmental tragedy of incalculable valor, leaving a gray landscape, that gradually rises from the ashes thanks to the invaluable efforts of volunteers from PEF. After a titanic labor of cleaning the skeletons of trees along the slopes of the mountains of Cabeco da lenha, with the soil still smoldering, were introduced so-called pioneer plants, created a nursery of indigenous plants, which will later be replanted in areas of greatest altitude in early autumn.

By the end of the year, friends of the park expect to replant about 10 000 plant species, twenty of which are endemic, which are growing in the greenhouse of the association, together with the already returned 3000 trees in an area of approximately 10 km2, which represents 13% of the surface of the county. Rise from the ashes is the theme of the work of the association that focuses on fundraising and volunteering with a view to full recovery of the lung of the capital of Madeira. According to one of the promoters of the association, Raimundo Quintal, this is a project "that requires a lot of volunteer work, dedication and a lot of persistence, because there is a huge gap between the ecology of carpet and restore biodiversity in the mountains that guard  Funchal ".

http://bisbis.blogspot.com/

It is a very abundant species in the waters of the Azores. Due to overfishing is been targeted for an international study led by the local University.

Currently it is estimated that there are 100 million sharks that are subject to overfishing. A statistic number that confirms the drastic decline of certain species to the point of being at risk of extinction worldwide. One of these specimens very popular in international markets for the production of oil from their liver and their fins to Asian cuisine is the blue shark, best known as dyeing. Taking off in the currents of the Gulf Stream, these cartilaginous fish abound in large numbers the waters of the archipelago, "like reaching an oasis after a long and tiring journey in the desert, is notoriously the most abundant food in these parts. Vertical walls of tuna, anchovies and mackerel among others "eaters" break the continuity of what appears to be a more giant aquarium without walls in sight. Supporting all this life, and as if exploding from the 500 up to 30 feet deep seabed has the Princess Alice Bank, located west of Faial Island "as outlined in a study carried out by the local university.
Altogether there are 31 species in Azorean waters, divided into two groups. The first are called depth sharks because they live and reproduce, as the name implies, in the deep sea. Then we have the pelagic, species that are associated with water column, the pelagic environment such as the dye. This fish due to its commercial value, being one of the most fished species in Azorean waters has been the target of an international study, which is part of a team of University of the Azores, which aims to understand the life cycle and their migratory movements, in order to preserve this top predator, which contributes to the balance of marine ecosystems. The blue shark is thus "an elongated body. It features a blue-live that practically indistinguishable from the Azores Sea itself, his belly is not quite white and his eyes large and curious. Riding in their body are 3 pilot fish, opportunistically, will be feeding on small particles left over from your meals. The adult female is about 2.40 m long and a gestation period that lasts about nine months. Within two wombs of their 80 embryos develop more seem to be miniature replicas of their mother. It is possibly in Azorean waters, water or other European or North Africa, that this shark will give birth. During the first 2-3 years of life, newborns soon will find a greater availability of food in these areas calls for maternity and growth. Their chance of survival is enhanced by the fact that adults do not abound in these parts, reducing thus competition for food". Although data confirm their high birth rate, the fact is that overfishing is having an alarming effect on the regeneration of the species, hence the importance of this more alert.

http://www.horta.uac.pt/projectos/MSubmerso/old/199902/Artigo.htm

Located in Mora, Alentejo, this infrastructure has become one of the biggest attractions in the area. And one of the few on its kind in the world.

The creation of Fluviarium Mora was a dream comes true. An idea wich purpose was mainly to promote tourism in this town of the Alentejo and the scientific research on life in rivers. It is an innovative structure, because recreates the aquatic universe existing in the Iberian Peninsula. Show the public the course of several native species of a river from its source to its mouth. Imagine several aquariums that tell the story of a tadpole to adulthood in a shoal. A tour, which includes about 70 varieties of fish, which is not limited to show the evolution of wildlife that abounds or scarce in fresh water, but also the flora that helps support this entire fragile ecosystem.
Scientific research is one of the most important poles in the Fluviarium, because it's an almost unique opportunity to investigate the evolving capacities of the various aquatic specimens in a controlled environment and the human impact on rivers. Hence the integration of Nature 2000 project, collaboration with several national and international agencies that aimed to find long-term sustainable solutions to these ecosystems. Another cornerstone of this local enterprise is the area dedicated to environmental education. On this topic, the Fluviarium plays a key role to the new generations, through study tours and other activities it promotes.
Another aspect to highlight is its landscape. Its architecture. The building is intended to evoke the barns of the rural district of Évora. It was thought of as a monolithic compact volume, protected from the sun by a set of thin white porches. An architectural concept that has won several awards in the area.

http://www.fluviariomora.pt/