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The COVID-19 pandemic has been the greatest global public health threat of the 21 st century. Additionally, it has been challenging for the Brazilian shores that were recently (2019/2020) affected by the most extensive oil spill in the tropical oceans. Monitoring programs and studies about the economic, social and ecological consequences of the oil disaster were being carried out when the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic was declared, which has heavily affected Brazil. For Brazilian seagrasses conservation, this scenario is especially challenging. An estimated area of +325 km 2 seagrass meadows was affected by the 2019 oil spill. However, this area is undoubtedly underestimated since seagrasses have not yet been adequately mapped along the 9000 km-long Brazilian coast. In addition to scientific budget cuts, the flexibilization of public and environmental policies in recent years and absence of systematic field surveys due to COVID-19 has increased the underestimation of affected seagrass areas and ecosystem service losses due to the oil spill. Efforts to understand and solve the oil spill crisis were forced to stop (or slow down) due to COVID-19 and the economic crisis, leaving ecosystems and society without answers or conditions to identify the source(s) that was/were responsible for this spill, mitigate the damage to poor communities, promote adequate impact assessment or restoration plans, or properly monitor the environment. Our results highlight that pandemic and large-scale environmental disasters may have had a synergistic effect on the economy (e.g., artisanal fisheries and tourism), public health and ecology, mainly due to government inaction, social inequality and poorly studied tropical ecosystems. The results of this study also demonstrate the need to analyze the short- and long-term impacts of the combined effects (oil spill + COVID-19) on the recovery of the economy and coastal ecosystems.

Sandy beaches constitute a key ecosystem and provide socioeconomic goods and services, thereby playing an important role in the maintenance of human populations and in biodiversity conservation. Despite the ecological and social importance of these ecosytems, Brazilian sandy beaches are significantly impacted by human interference, chemical and organic pollution and tourism, as well as global climate change. These factors drive the need to better understand the environmental change and its consequences for biota. To promote the implementation of integrated studies to detect the effects of regional and global environmental change on beaches and on other benthic habitats of the Brazilian coast, Brazilian marine researchers have established The Coastal Benthic Habitats Monitoring Network (ReBentos). In order to provide input for sample planning by ReBentos, we have conducted an intensive review of the studies conducted on Brazilian beaches and summarized the current knowledge about this environment. In this paper, we present the results of this review and describe the physical, biological and socioeconomics features of Brazilian beaches. We have used these results, our personal experience and worldwide literature to identify research projects that should be prioritized in the assessment of regional and global change on Brazilian sandy beaches. We trust that this paper will provide insights for future studies and represent a significant step towards the conservation of Brazilian beaches and their biodiversity.

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